Exposed in Darkness

by Heather Sunseri

  “Those assholes just ordered me to cancel the charity gala.”

  “What assholes?” I asked.

  “Agents Donaldson and Salazar. They said the FBI director feels that despite tracking down O’Roark’s missing tacin, there’s still too much risk since we haven’t identified the people responsible for the crimes.”

  I squeezed the bridge of my nose. “Truman, canceling might not be a bad idea. We have no way of knowing who these people are or what they have planned next.”

  “I hired you to figure it out.”

  “And I’m working on it,” I said, attempting to keep my voice calm.

  “I am not canceling the gala. Increase the security if you have to. Or solve the case.” His order sounded more like a dare.

  He hung up, and immediately the phone rang again. Declan.

  “Hello,” I said cautiously.

  “I was just told the FBI was trying to force the governor to cancel the gala. Is that really necessary?” His voice was calm but direct. “It seems that my bourbon is the target for the poison. What if I just agree not to be a part of the event?”

  “You’d do that? Detach your name from everything?” I asked, knowing that this threat was bigger than Declan.

  “Yes, if you told me the risk had everything to do with me.”

  “You do realize that the event is on your property.”

  “It would be difficult to move the event at this point, but…” His voice trailed off. I sensed he didn’t want to finish that sentence.

  I was facing the fusion center, peering through the windows, when Mike entered, followed by Carlos and Sasha. Ty pointed them my way, and I gave a weak wave.

  “Declan, I’m going to need to call you back.” I started to lower the phone.

  “Brooke, wait.”

  “What?” I sounded more harsh than I’d intended.

  “Why don’t you come by the farm later? I’d like to talk about what happened yesterday.”

  “That’s not a good idea.”

  Mike and Carlos entered the conference room. Carlos escorted Sasha, who had a scowl on her face.

  “Please just think about it,” Declan said in my ear.

  I hung up without responding. “Good morning, agents. I see you’ve been busy already this morning.” I purposely didn’t speak to Sasha.

  “Was that the governor?”

  “You think we could have talked about canceling the gala before you made that decision without me?” I asked instead of answering.

  “You feel left out of the loop, Agent Fairfax?” Mike asked.

  I tilted my head side to side. “Let’s just say after your lecture about teamwork last night, I’m feeling a bit disappointed.”

  “What would you have said if we had come to you first?” Carlos asked.

  “I would have said let’s wait until Friday to decide if we need to cancel.” That was two days from now. “Let’s see if something comes of Fritz Hahn’s testing of the poison.”

  The room was silent for a couple of beats before Mike smiled. “Fine. We’ll make a final decision on Friday. But if we aren’t any closer to understanding how the poison made it into that bourbon, I’m shutting the gala down. And then the Derby.”

  “Fine,” I agreed, though I knew it wasn’t possible to shut down the Bluegrass Derby. People were already arriving from all over the world to attend the event that many would argue defined Kentucky. Our only choice was to beef up security even more than we already had. “Did you get anything more out of Sasha and Darren?”

  “Hello.” Sasha waved a hand in front of me. “I’m standing right here.”

  I ignored her.

  “No,” Carlos said. “Nothing more than the login and password information we gave you earlier today so that you could control the listing on Amber Road. We let Darren go earlier.”

  “Was he upset that you didn’t let his sister go at the same time?” I asked.

  “Oh.” Carlos feigned ignorance. “Was I supposed to tell him that his sister was brought in?”

  Sasha jutted a hip to the side and crossed her arms. “My brother will hate you for keeping me.” She looked directly at me with a look that was meant to wound.

  I wanted to tell her that Declan hadn’t even asked about her when he’d called minutes ago, but decided that behind her tough exterior, this was a young woman in way over her head.

  A knock against the window to the fusion center made us all look up. Ty motioned for us to join him.

  “Cuff her to the chair over there,” Mike said. “We’ll keep an eye on her through the glass.”

  “You can’t hold me here,” Sasha said. I was surprised she didn’t stomp her foot when she said it. “My attorney says you can’t hold me unless you arrest me.”

  “Do you want us to arrest you?” Carlos said. “I’m pretty sure I could come up with a pretty good federal case, seeing as you stole a highly controlled substance and tried to sell it on the dark web.” He gently pushed her into a chair and cuffed her to it. “You’re with us for as long as we need you.”

  The three of us closed the door behind us. Sasha yelled something, but none of us could make out exactly what. Shrugging, we made our way into the fusion center and stood behind Ty.

  “What’s up?” I asked, then noticed the picture up on his screen. “Is that an arm?”

  “A wrist, actually. Romeo’s wrist.”

  “He’s a Cavalier,” I said.

  “What’s a cavalier?” Mike asked.

  Carlos answered. “A gentleman or knight trained in arms and horsemanship. Kind of like—”

  “I know what a cavalier means,” Mike interrupted his partner. “Why is that significant?”

  “He’s a University of Virginia Cavalier,” I explained. “That’s their mascot. And see the crossed sabers tattooed on the inside of his wrist? That’s part of the logo.”

  “That’s where you went to school,” Mike said, and I confirmed with a nod. “Are you saying you think Romeo might have gone to school with you?”

  “No idea.” I shrugged. A chill moved through me at the thought that Romeo might know me as someone other than the person he’d been passing information to for the past few years. “I’ll have to give that some thought. But good work, Ty.”

  “I’ll get someone to start looking for parlors who’ve sold that particular tattoo,” Carlos said.

  “Start in Charlottesville, then fan out into the surrounding towns.” My source had been communicating with me for years, and this was the first clue to his identity we’d ever gotten.

  I turned back to Ty. “What about the listing? Anything new?”

  “Yes. Someone wants to purchase the stolen tacin.”

  “Really? Pull it up.”

  Ty logged into the dark web, specifically into Amber Road, and pulled up the listing. There was a message from someone with the username “MaxVoigt”: I’ll purchase everything you have for $500k.

  MaxVoigt. No one would be stupid enough to use their real name on a black market inside the dark web. “Is five hundred grand even enough?” I asked.

  “Depends on the quantity?” Ty asked.

  “And why aren’t they requesting bitcoin?” I asked as I called Declan. Most dark web users used bitcoin for financial transactions in order to remain anonymous.

  Ty simply shrugged in answer.

  “Calling back so soon?” Declan said. “I think you’re starting to miss me, Miss Fairfax.”

  I refrained from rolling my eyes. “We got an offer on your tacin.”

  “How much?” His voice turned serious.

  “Half a million.”

  “Dollars?” he asked.

  “Apparently he likes good ol’ American money.”

  “Well, someone knows it’s worth something, but that’s not enough. Counter with one point five million. Settle on an even mil.”

  “Thank you.” I hung up before he could engage me further. “He said to counter with one point five million. It’s worth about a mill
ion. And let’s go ahead and propose a meeting place.”

  Mike looked at me. “What do you propose?”

  Ty sat with his fingers poised to type.

  “Type this: You must come to us. Won’t travel with tacin.” I thought for a minute. Where could we meet that was out in the open? “Exchange will take place in Thoroughbred Park, Lexington, Kentucky. Tonight.”

  “Perfect,” Mike said. “It will tell us if the person is close enough to get here that quickly.”

  “We can bring in agents from Louisville’s Joint Terrorism Task Force,” Carlos added.

  “We’ll need to involve the Lexington police,” I said.

  Ty typed what I’d said. Less than thirty seconds later, Max Voigt replied:

  9 p.m., Thoroughbred Park. MBlahnik comes alone.

  I whipped around and looked at Sasha. One thing was now certain. “Whoever this Max Voigt is… He knows MBlahnik.”

  Chapter 29

  I entered the bed & breakfast as Carrie Anne’s staff was cleaning up after lunch. Carrie Anne looked up from where she was wiping down the coffee station. “I’ll be right with you, honey,” she called.

  I made my way over to the table by the window.

  It had been a fairly productive morning, I thought as I sat and stared out at the street in front of the B&B. We were closing in on at least one dealer of tacin, someone close enough to Lexington who could be at Thoroughbred Park by nine p.m. tonight. But was it our killer?

  Of course, I wasn’t going to win any points with Declan O’Roark when he discovered we were using his sister as bait to lure this MaxVoigt out into the open.

  A simple internet search had revealed that there was a real man named Max Voigt—he was the creator of a poisonous nerve agent in the early nineteen hundreds. He had tested his creation on his own classmates in an effort to prove that he was the best chemist in the world. After documenting his findings, he killed himself.

  Carrie Anne crossed the room, then leaned down and hugged me. “Hi, honey,” she said. “You look tired and hungry. I can help with half of that. What are you in the mood for?”

  “A sandwich would be great.”

  She disappeared into the kitchen and returned a minute later with a glass of iced tea. “Half sweet, half unsweetened.”

  “Perfect.” I gave her a smile. “Business back to normal?” I asked, referring to the coffee scare last week.

  “Mostly. Once word got around that it was a false alarm, locals returned immediately in a show of support. I could tell that some of them were purchasing coffee, but not drinking it at first. But when they saw that the out-of-towners weren’t dropping dead, they began trusting it again.” She tried to keep her tone light, but there was definitely no humor in what we were talking about. “People are trying to act like there’s not a crazy lunatic out there, but I can sense the fear in our little community. They want to tell themselves that the lieutenant governor’s murder was political—that something like that won’t happen in our little town, but…”

  “But I brought it to this little town when I ran into your café that morning.” Several uncomfortable beats of silence passed between us. “How’s Marti?” I asked.

  “She’s fine. She’s a little confused about having to stay away from Ben. He’s been calling her three times a day, and stopping by at least once a day.”

  “I know. I’m getting reports of his every move.”

  “Do you really think he hurt my baby?”

  I held her gaze. “Yes, I do. And as soon as we have enough evidence to keep him in jail, we’re going to pick him up. Just be patient, and only let Marti see him in the public areas down here. There will always be at least two agents close by when he comes around. We’re tailing him twenty-four seven.”

  One of Carrie Anne’s waitresses placed a sandwich in front of me—a mozzarella, tomato, and basil sandwich. I thanked her and was about to use my good hand to pick it up when Carrie Anne covered my hand with hers.

  “I just want this town to get back to normal,” she said.

  “I’m doing everything I can to make sure that happens.”

  “I know you are.” She patted my hand.

  Chapter 30

  I stared at myself in the mirror in the hotel room. Ty had done an amazing job with my makeup, and with tucking all my hair beneath the blond wig that looked so similar to Sasha’s hairstyle. Even I had to do a double take.

  Mike and Carlos were with us as well. Carlos had delivered Sasha to Declan earlier in the day, with an order to keep her at home and away from downtown Lexington and off of the internet. We couldn’t have her posting a status on Facebook that might let MaxVoigt know that it wouldn’t be her making the drop tonight.

  “You sure you want to do this?” Ty asked, framing my face.

  I nodded.

  My back tensed when there was a knock at the door. Carlos opened it, and Declan entered carrying a large, square bag that looked like a soft cooler. His eyes widened when he saw me, and his jaw hardened.

  “Is that the tacin?” I asked, nodding toward the bag.

  “It’s a decoy. But I’ve made sure this looks exactly like the tacin this guy thinks he’s getting. It’s also exactly how it should be transported: tacin is typically kept cold, and any buyer would know that.”

  “The real tacin is at the Kentucky state lab,” Carlos said.

  “Has Hahn examined it yet?” I asked.

  “No. Last I checked he was still examining the samples used on our victims. We should hear more before the end of the night.”

  Mike looked down at his watch. “It’s time. Let’s get you wired.”

  I glanced down at my outfit—skinny white jeans, a loose, flowing blouse that slid easily over my bandaged arm, and a pair of strappy, signature Manolo Blahniks—all borrowed from Sasha. “I need you to remove this.” I held out my arm to Ty, who started to unwrap my bandage.

  Declan set the decoy bag down at his feet. “Can I please speak with Agent Fairfax alone for a minute?”

  “There’s no time,” Mike said.

  Declan stepped forward. “May I?” he asked Ty, nodding toward the bandage.

  Mike and Carlos traded frustrated looks. “Fine. We’ll be just outside. But hurry.”

  Ty lifted his brows at me. I took the wad of Ace bandage from his grip.

  When the door clicked shut, and everyone else was gone, Declan stepped closer. He picked up a thick strand of the wig hair. “This isn’t you.”

  “You don’t think I look sexy as a blonde?”

  He took the wad of Ace bandage from my hand and angled his head. “I wouldn’t go that far, but I prefer your natural color.”

  He continued undressing my arm. His very steady hands went round and round my arm until the bandage fell away. He set it on the hotel dresser, then carefully removed the brace that had been holding my arm steady for the past few days. I winced slightly at the movement.

  After he set the brace aside, he held my arm gently in his hands. We both analyzed the dark grays, yellows, and purples that colored my skin like a Jackson Pollock painting. He brushed his cool fingers along the bruising. Slowly, he lifted his head. I could feel his eyes urging me to look at him. “Brooke.”

  My name on his lips was too much right now. I could no longer pretend that there wasn’t something between us. I squeezed my eyes closed.

  He slipped a finger under my chin and lifted. “Look at me.”

  My eyes fluttered open. I didn’t know how to react to the warmth and compassion I found in his face.

  “I’m not going to tell you not to do this. I want to, but I know I can’t. It’s part of who you are. But please, be careful.”

  “Why would I be anything but?” I asked, simply.

  “How good is your shot with your left hand?”

  “Nearly as good as my right.”

  “Nearly?”

  I nodded. I didn’t bother to tell him I hadn’t practiced with my left in a while. What good would that serve?
/>   Because I was nervous I wouldn’t get the chance later, I grabbed his hand and said something I’d wanted to say since the day before. “I’m sorry I hurt you by turning in your brother for questioning.”

  He placed a finger over my lips. “You were doing your job. That’s how I knew you wouldn’t listen to me now. My brother and sister were wrong for what they did. And it’s going to take quite a bit of work by our lawyers to keep them off of the terrorist watch list.”

  “Will they stay in the States?”

  “Sasha is returning to my family in Ireland. That’s the deal I’ve worked out with prosecutors. She’s out of money. She’ll attend university there. I’m not sure about Darren yet. My family is complicated—a story for another time.” He offered a weak smile.

  “Declan, I’m leaving when the threat to Truman—to Kentucky—is over. My home is in Virginia.”

  “And my home is in Ireland. Yet, here we are.”

  I smiled.

  He placed a hand on my cheek and rubbed a finger across my skin. “Will you at least attend the gala and the Derby with me?”

  “I’ll be working,” I said.

  “So will I.” He leaned in and brushed his lips across mine. They were soft, inviting.

  I didn’t know what it was about Declan O’Roark that made me want to rethink everything in my life.

  He dropped his hand at the sound of someone sliding a key card in and out, then opening the door.

  “It’s time,” Mike said. He took a look at my heavily bruised arm. “How’s the arm?”

  “Okay. But know that I can’t hold that bag and go for my weapon.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll have eyes on you the whole time, and agents on the ground nearby. There will be a couple who will appear to be on a date in front of the horses in the park. A group of girls will appear to be celebrating a bachelorette party in the fountains. All agents.”

  Declan lifted a hand and massaged the back of his neck. It was strange to see someone so outwardly concerned for my well being after knowing me for so little time. “I’ll carry the bag down,” he said. “What will Agent Fairfax be driving?”