Night Watch

by Susan Sleeman

  He’d tried to sound confident with Sierra and Kennedy before, but he hadn’t a clue if they would ever get this important list that could point to the person who was trying to hurt Kennedy.

  19

  As Kennedy stepped ahead of Erik into the Nighthawk office late that afternoon, she wished she were still at the river working the scene with Sierra. Not that Kennedy didn’t trust Sierra. She did, but there was nothing like having your own eyes on a crime scene to be sure nothing was missed.

  Kennedy entered the main area to find Malone waiting for them, Stella sitting behind her desk. Malone marched toward them in spiky heeled patent leather sandals that had to have cost a pretty penny, as did her power suit.

  “Hi, Malone.” Kennedy smiled at the attorney.

  Malone trained her gaze on Kennedy, but her smile was tight, and Kennedy was tempted to reach for a strand of hair. She curled her fingers instead.

  “Mind if we step inside the other room,” Malone asked, but headed through the doorway without waiting.

  A ball of dread formed in Kennedy’s stomach as she followed Malone into the other room. Once the three of them were inside, she closed the door.

  “Please tell me you stopped by to give me a copy of the Responsible Officials list,” Erik said.

  “Well hello to you too.” Malone rolled her eyes.

  Erik took a breath and let it out. “We’re desperate for that list. I’d hoped your contacts came through for you.”

  “I didn’t even know you had contacts with the feds,” Kennedy said.

  Malone gave a sharp nod. “Former federal prosecutor.”

  “Oh, wow.” Kennedy was duly impressed. “Why the change, if I might ask?”

  Malone tilted her head, her striking blue eyes narrowing, but she didn’t speak.

  “It’s okay,” Kennedy said. “I was being nosy.”

  “No, it’s not that. I don’t talk about it often, so I was just figuring out what to tell you.” She started to cross her arms then let them fall to her sides.

  “You know attorneys.” Erik grinned. “They always have to watch what they say.”

  Malone flicked a hand at him. “It’s not that. I left because of the stress. You see all kinds of things as a federal prosecutor. I mean, all kinds of things. Many that are hard to handle. Especially when you can’t do anything about them.”

  “That’s the way it was in law enforcement too,” Erik said, his tone somber now.

  Malone smiled at him and took a breath. “One of the things I couldn’t do anything about and couldn’t get over was seeing battered women or suffering children. I had a particularly bad case, and it forced me into a change. I decided to devote myself to helping others. With Reed’s support, I opened my own practice. My main focus is helping marginalized people, but I have to take on additional clients to pay the bills.” She stuck out a foot. “And keep myself in shoes.”

  She laughed, and despite her polished appearance that had thrown Kennedy at first, it was clear Malone was down to earth and a good person to know.

  “We’re getting off track here.” Erik’s tone was gentle, which Kennedy appreciated when she could see the frustration in his eyes.

  “Okay, okay. I get it.” Malone reached into her jacket pocket, took out a flash drive, and handed it to Erik. “The list. I wanted to drop it off in person so we didn’t leave any electronic trails. Don’t want to get my source in trouble.”

  Erik cupped the drive and pumped his hand in the air. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

  Kennedy smiled at his reaction and enjoyed his celebration with him. You’d think he’d won the lottery, not just received a list of people. He was fully invested in this case. Despite how Kennedy had wronged him, he’d overcome the rejection to do his very best to help her.

  What a man.

  The kind of man you don’t let go once, let alone a second time.

  “I have news for you, too, Kennedy,” Malone said. “I checked in with your WITSEC deputy. He’s not happy with you sharing with others without checking with him first. Given what’s going on now with your mother’s potentially suspicious death, he wants you and Finley to stay in the program. However, if you do, you would both need to be relocated.”

  Erik pocketed the flash drive. His jaw was clenched, and his shoulders tightened into a hard line as he stared over her shoulder at the wall. “Because she told us about it, you mean?”

  Was he thinking the same thing as Kennedy was thinking? That if she stayed in WITSEC, they could never see each other again?

  “Yes,” Malone said. “I know that seems drastic, but it would keep you safe.”

  “It wouldn’t solve the problem of who murdered her mother, though,” Erik said.

  Malone didn’t bend under the intensity of his gaze. “Have you located proof that she actually was murdered?”

  “Not yet.”

  “So it could still be an accident or—”

  “Don’t waste your breath saying it,” Kennedy snapped. “My mom did not kill herself.”

  Malone held up her hands. “Okay. Okay.”

  “Sorry,” Kennedy took a breath. “I’ll talk to Finley about what she wants to do. Should I get back to you or call Tyrone directly?”

  “Let’s keep the communication going through me for now so I have a record of it.” Malone smoothed back her already perfectly groomed hair. “Now if it’s okay for Stella to escort me to your sister’s place, I’d like to spoil my nephew before I have to go back to work.”

  “I’ll go ask her.” Erik left the room.

  Malone rested a hand with perfectly manicured nails on Kennedy’s arm. “Let me tell you what I tell all my clients. It’s always darkest before a real breakthrough. So keep the faith and your spirits up.”

  Kennedy nodded, but she wasn’t certain that was true. Kennedy’s darkest hour had come when her mother died, and her father’s death was a close second. No breakthrough had come either time, unless Kennedy considered seeing and falling for Erik again as a breakthrough. Because if she did, she’d really broken through, and that was a fact she could no longer dispute.

  Erik printed the list of Responsible Officials and made copies for his brothers, and then he and Kennedy highlighted a portion of the list for each of them to research. When his brothers arrived at the office and were seated in the conference area, he slid a copy down the table to each of them.

  “Malone came through for us, but the Responsible Officials list is confidential.” Erik’s brothers knew how to keep things quiet, but Erik still ran his gaze over them to confirm their agreement. “I’ve assigned sections of the list to each of you so you can work up a background on the individuals. We’re looking for people who might be avid gardeners and who would have a connection to Wanda.”

  “Gardeners?” Aiden looked up from the page he’d been reviewing.

  “Right. You don’t know.” Kennedy explained the prickly caterpillar bean to the team.

  Drake’s eyes narrowed. “This sounds like a long shot.”

  “It is.” Erik slapped his list on the table. “But the list is over a hundred people long. You have a better way to narrow it down other than by people connected to Wanda, which is a given?”

  Drake snapped his chair forward. “We interview the gardeners first then go back to the others. I just don’t want us to forget about the others.”

  “Hopefully, the prickly caterpillar bean will lead somewhere, but yeah, we can’t forget about anyone connected to Wanda.” Erik let out a breath. “You all get started on the list, and also look for potential anthrax connections. Does anyone have any questions?”

  “Yeah,” Brendan said. “Why are you so cranky?”

  “I’m not—”

  “Save it.” Clay flashed up his hand. “You’re the poster child for cranky right now.”

  They were right. His brothers were giving of their time to help and deserved civil responses from him.

  “Sorry,” he said sincerely. “We’re not making m
uch progress, and I feel like I’m failing.”

  Aiden held up the list. “But we have a solid lead now, and it’s bound to turn something up.”

  Bound to? Erik wasn’t quite so optimistic, but he wouldn’t bring his brothers or Kennedy down with him. “You’re right. I’ll cool it. “

  “At the risk of making you madder, my turn to ask about the anthrax for you two.” Brendan split his focus between Erik and Kennedy.

  “I’m good,” Kennedy said.

  “Me too,” Erik said. “And I’m ready to get to work.”

  “Before we start,” Clay said, “I wanted to update you on my investigation into Finley and a potential loan shark. If she’s in debt to someone, I couldn’t find it.”

  “Glad to hear that,” Kennedy said.

  “I had a similar bust on Nora’s sons,” Aiden said. “They’re squeaky clean and all have solid alibis for the times in question.”

  Erik frowned. “These guys were a long shot at best. Let’s get moving on the list. Kennedy and I’ll first review Wanda’s phone and email contacts for gardeners, then start on our portion of the list.”

  “Time to head to the cubicles.” Drake got up and squeezed Erik’s shoulder as he passed by.

  Erik cast his brother a thank you look and the same with his other brothers as they went to their respective cubicles. Erik looked at Kennedy. “The list is on the server. Let me get a computer for you to use.”

  He grabbed a laptop from his cubicle, set the machine next to her, and logged her into the network.

  “You really have a great support group, don’t you?” she asked.

  “It sure is hard to stay in a bad mood with them around,” he said. “They’ll work until they get you out of it.”

  “My mom was like that.” She frowned. “Now, I need to be the one to do that for Finley, but how can I from across the country?”

  “You could just move back here.”

  “Not if I want to keep diving for the bureau,” she said. “The Portland office isn’t big enough to support such a position.”

  “Maybe they’d let you work from here but keep you on salary out of Virginia.”

  “I can’t imagine they’d do that.”

  “But you’re on the road for the job, so does it really matter where your home base is?”

  “I suppose not, though Portland is a fairly expensive city to fly from on short notice. But when I’m not diving, I work in the lab, and that’s not possible here.”

  She had him there. Why was he trying to talk her into moving back here? Was it for Finley or for himself?

  “Besides, if Finley chooses to remain in WITSEC, this conversation is moot.”

  His mood had improved some, but her comment sent it diving again. “You’ll go with her, of course.”

  “Yes.” The word was so quiet, he almost missed it.

  He’d hoped she wouldn’t answer. Especially not so quickly. That she would say she had to think about it. But he knew she was making the right decision. Family was everything.

  “I assume you’ll talk to her tonight.”

  Kennedy nodded.

  He grabbed his own laptop, logged into the network, and opened the file. “You take the first half of the list, and like we did when we worked the phone calls, enter any information you learn in the spreadsheet.”

  “Will do.”

  He turned his attention to the names. On the sixth one, he looked up. “Here’s something. One of your mother’s fellow scientists is a botanist. Judson Purvis. He’s on faculty at OHSU, and he fits the intruder’s description.”

  Oregon Health and Sciences University was one of Oregon’s premier colleges.

  “Botany could very well mean he’s a gardener,” she said, her face beaming.

  “And since he’s local, we can interview him.”

  “We should also talk to Oscar Edwards, the department chairman at PSU, where my mom taught. I met him at her memorial luncheon, and he was very sympathetic. “

  “Does he fit the intruder’s build?”

  “No. He’s short and round, but he might be able to give us a lead on this Purvis guy. Or maybe he hired a hitman.” She shook her head. “Listen to me. A hitman. But you do hear of people hiring others to commit murder.”

  “You do indeed,” Erik replied, because it was true, but he doubted that was the case here. He tapped the list. “You think Edwards might know Purvis?”

  “PSU and OHSU share a science building, so it’s possible.”

  “Then let’s arrange an interview with both of them before they go home for the day.” Erik let the excitement of a lead bubble up in his voice. “And maybe, just maybe, we’ll find out what the prickly caterpillar bean means, and if it’s related to your mother’s death.”

  20

  Nearing five o’clock, the sun still hung high and bright in the sky as Kennedy slipped out of the SUV and walked between Erik and Drake on a busy Portland street toward Portland State University. They headed straight for the science building.

  The brothers had done their usual risk assessment, and finding minimal risk in attending this interview, they stationed themselves in various locations near the building. Kennedy couldn’t pick them out, but she knew they were watching.

  She felt the eager energy of the students they passed and nostalgia for an easier and less stressful time in her life—a time when both of her parents were alive. She missed them even more. She’d been back to PSU only a few times since she’d received her master’s degree, and it felt odd to be on campus again. Her visits were back in the day when she once thought she wanted to be a researcher just like her mom, but after a year of research, Kennedy discovered she couldn’t be inside all day. So she’d gone back to get a criminal justice degree too.

  She reached the sunny atrium of the contemporary steel-and-glass building connecting two tall towers. The south wing held administrative offices, which was where they were headed to meet with Professor Oscar Edwards. The department chair and her mother’s former supervisor, was the only one of the two professors who’d returned their call.

  Inside the lobby, Erik and Drake looked up.

  “Wow,” Erik said. “This place is something else.”

  “The walkways make me think of the many Portland bridges,” Drake said.

  “I’ve read that’s what the designer had in mind.” Kennedy tried to look at the wide-open space with polished concrete floors, glass walls, and suspended walkways through their eyes. “It’s hard to believe this building houses research labs, and there’s even a dental school on the top floor.”

  “You must’ve loved going to school here,” Drake said.

  “Sadly, this building didn’t open until after I graduated, but I’ve had several tours since then.” She tipped her head toward the south wing. “Come on.”

  She walked between them to a communal space designed for conferences or lounging. Professor Edwards, wearing a lab coat, stood by a group of plush contemporary chairs. Behind him was a gorgeous view of the river, and the sunlight streaming in reflected off the sixty-something’s shiny bald head. He stiffly waved them over, the crisp white fabric of his lab coat flapping with the motion.

  “Kennedy.” Edwards awkwardly shook her uninjured hand before introducing himself to the others. “Now, sit down and tell me what I can do for you.”

  All but Drake obeyed Edwards’ demand and sat in the gray fabric chairs. Drake stood, his gaze roving the area.

  Erik leaned toward Edwards. “Would you have any reason to believe that someone might’ve wanted to hurt Wanda?”

  Edwards’ gaze flew to Kennedy, alarm in his eyes. “Did someone hurt your mother before she died?”

  Kennedy shook her head. “I’m having a hard time believing she took her own life or accidentally took too many pills. So we’re looking into her death.”

  Edwards tugged the lapels of his lab coat together. “I know how hard it is to accept a parent’s death, but if you’re asking me if anyone around here would
hurt her? No. She was loved by all. You saw that at the memorial luncheon.”

  “People can mask their true feelings,” Kennedy said.

  Edwards gave a vigorous nod. “Probably truer in academia than many fields, but not in this case. She helped others whenever possible. She never stepped on another professor’s toes to climb the ladder. She had what she wanted in her own lab and didn’t need to vie for tenure or a full-time position.”

  “And yet she still taught here,” Erik said, sounding like he was fishing.

  “She loved enriching young minds.” He steepled his fingers. “I know it took a toll on her to do both jobs, but she didn’t want to give up the teaching.”

  “Was she close to anyone on staff here?” Erik asked.

  “Close?” He tapped his fingers together. “She didn’t attend any social outings with faculty.”

  “There were notes in her journal about presenting a potential lab on medicinal chemistry and blood cancers,” Kennedy said. “Do you know anything about that?”

  “She never mentioned it.”

  “How about gardeners?” Erik asked. “Any professors in the department who are into gardening?”

  He tilted his head. “Several people come to mind.” He smiled, but she thought it to be forced. But then, his behavior had been stiff and formal so far, and he’d acted the same way the other time she’d met him. His first concern here was likely to put the best spin on his department for any questions posed to him, and she wondered if he was telling the truth about anything.

  “Could we get a list of names?” Erik asked.

  “I’ll have to check with legal first,” Edwards replied. “As department chair, I can’t hand out information on our faculty without authorization.”

  “I don’t suppose you can do that quickly,” Kennedy said.

  “I’ve never seen our attorneys work fast.” He offered a patronizing smile.