“Taylor.” Matt reached for her, but she blew him off, beelining for the front door.
After making sure no one was around, she hustled outside, her pulse erratic and her head a mess. Matt’s footsteps pounded behind her.
He didn’t say anything else, just followed silently behind her. At his car, she planted her hands on the hood and tried to catch her breath.
“So that was fun,” he said, leaning next to her. “What were you taking pictures of in that folder?”
“Fun?” She shook her head and ground her teeth. “We almost got caught. We’re lucky we’re not on our way to jail right now.”
“Eh.” Matt shrugged, staring at the apartment. “Grey would’ve bailed us out.”
Jesus! How could he be so flippant about all of this? “Working undercover is one thing. This is a horse of an entirely different color, Matt. This is criminal.”
“Sometimes to get to the truth, we have to color outside the horse’s lines.”
Every step of the way, you’ve broken protocol on this case… Meredith’s words rang in her head. Taylor pushed off the hood and balled her fists. “I can’t be this person, Matt. I’m sorry. I want to solve this case, but I can’t do it this way.”
A humorous frown passed over his features. “Did you not feel that? The rush. The nudge in your gut that you’re onto something that’ll crack this case wide open?”
It had been a rush all right. That didn’t make it okay. “Are you nuts?”
Matt boosted himself off the car and took one of her hands. “Look, we’re after a killer here, and maybe a child abductor. With the press shining a light on this case, and the FBI rushing to find someone to prosecute, we may have to bend a few rules to make sure justice is served. I thought you understood that and were on board with it.”
Taylor blew out a breath, kicked at a rock. “I thought I was, too, but this is completely new territory for me. I’m one of the good guys, remember? You, Grey, and the others—you’re used to doing things more…creatively. I may push a few boundaries here and there, but I don’t break laws, Matt.”
He released her hand and took a step back. His face was stern. “Do you want to solve this case or not, because the last time I checked, you’re suspended from the Bureau, and from what I can see, they don’t deserve you?”
He was pissed. Royally.
Didn’t he understand?
He stepped toward her again, close enough he had to look down on her. His voice was low when he spoke. “I told you going in how I work. So don’t give me this bullshit that I’m corrupting you.”
She’d never seen him like this and she didn’t like it. “Bullshit? Are you serious right now?” Her voice shook. She couldn’t help it. The adrenaline was wearing off and she felt weak from the seriousness in his voice, on his face.
“I promise you, we will solve this case for better or for worse, and I don’t go back on my promises. But I need to know. Are you in or out?”
An ultimatum. Lovely.
She paced away, aware of the no-win situation she was in. She’d made sure her whole life, since Isabel’s disappearance, that she’d done the right thing, because when she didn’t, bad shit happened.
Isabel had been taken because Taylor had shamed her into staying in that goddamn tent. Her parents had become distant and their marriage had fallen apart because Taylor had made the mistake of leaving Izzy out there alone.
Her family had imploded and it was all her fault.
She’d worked her ass off to be the good daughter, the hotshot FBI agent, the perfect citizen, boss, employee.
Was she seriously going to blow all of that to bits over this case? Over this man?
A headache pounded in her temples. A throbbing pain pulsed in her chest as well. Her feet moved of their own accord, bringing her back to face Matt. “You really know how to seduce a girl to the dark side, don’t you?”
His face was neutral, but curiosity lit his eyes. “Does that mean you’re in?”
“Yes. No.” She sighed. “Maybe.”
He grinned. “You haven’t even scratched the surface of the dark side yet, Agent Sinclair, but stick with me and you will.” He sat on the hood again and playfully chucked her chin with his knuckles. “And that’s a promise.”
He grinned and Taylor felt herself melting under those pretty eyes. She took a step closer, her fingers itching to touch him.
What am I doing?
“How did you get the nickname Mad Dog?”
He seemed surprised. “When people push me too far, I tend to get a bit snippy.”
Yeah, she’d just seen that. “Good. I was afraid it was because you’re insane.”
With that, he threw his head back and laughed. “Maybe that too.”
She had to admit, she was incredibly relieved that Rosalind hadn’t seen him hiding behind her office door. That they wouldn’t be spending the night in separate jail cells. “There was a birth certificate and adoption papers in the folder,” she told him. “I snapped pictures of all of it and sent them to Grey.”
He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her in close between his long legs. “Risky move, sweet cheeks, but I admire your guts, among so many of your other attributes.”
He dropped a kiss on her lips and she responded, because, honestly, she couldn’t resist him, no matter what.
After a long, deep kiss with lots of tongue, Matt helped her into his car.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“To talk to my boss. She worked an identity fraud case and is now somewhat of an expert on birth certificates. Let’s talk to her and see if she can tell us about the one you snapped a picture of.”
Chapter Sixteen
At the office, Matt printed the photos and they now stood in front of Charlie’s desk as she studied the birth certificate.
“If I had the original,” she said, “we’d be able to tell from the intaglio and seal if this was an official document. The watermarks are there though.” She looked up at Taylor. “Do you remember what the paper looked like? If they’d used the intaglio technique, there’d be an almost grooved surface. The printing plates have depressions. When the birth certificates are printed, depressions are made and they hold the ink. The grooves are almost unidentifiable unless you know what you’re looking for. They could be fractions of a millimeter.”
Taylor shook her head. “I didn’t touch it, but the surface looked smooth. I remember the seal though. It was flat.”
That got Charlie’s attention. Her head snapped up from her study of the documents. “It wasn’t embossed?”
“No. Should it have been?”
“All states do it differently, but yes, this particular one, if the document was the original and not a copy, should be raised.”
“Well, unless it was a color copy, it looked like an original. It had the steel engraved borders and everything.”
“Look, guys, without seeing what you saw, it’s hard to tell. Complicating this are the adoption papers. Typically, when an adoption is finalized the birth certificate is amended. The biological parents are removed and the adoptive parents are added. Then the records are closed. Now, that’s not always the case. In some states, the biological parents can request that the information remain open.”
Matt walked around the desk and compared the names on the birth certificate with the adoption papers. “The parents’ names are different.”
“Which,” Taylor said, “indicates this could be the original birth certificate.”
“Yes.”
Taylor shook her head. “I don’t understand what this woman is doing. Even if it were an open adoption, she should have an amended birth certificate.”
Matt leaned against the wall and rested his head back. They needed to research the adoptions Rosalind had handled. And that whole comment she’d made about the baby’s parents being good stock? What the hell was that about?”
From her spot near the desk, Taylor eyed him. “What are you thinking?”
&n
bsp; “I’m thinking Teeg better get moving on intel for Hearts of Love. I don’t care how positive the reviews are. Something, somewhere is screwed.”
Taylor whipped out her phone. “I’ll call him. Besides, he owes us an update on the list of people who own silver trucks.”
Ha. Good luck there. Even if nerd boy had that list, there could be thousands of people on it. It would take a small army to check each one. “Don’t bet the farm on that list. It’ll take us a month to run it down.”
“Don’t be so negative. Turns out Grey’s little wonder kid is developing software that will help.”
Now this sounded promising. “What software?”
“I don’t know the exact deets, but it’s basically an eye in the sky that lets agents zoom in on addresses.”
“Like a street view?”
“Yes. Grey mentioned it the other day, then I asked Teeg about it when we were at the armory earlier. The way he explained it, he can upload a giant list of addresses and a street view for each will pop up on the screen. Initially, he was hoping to track specific people. Now, he’s testing parameters to figure out if there are things that could be entered and searched for.”
“Like stickers on the back of silver trucks?”
She waggled her finger. “Now you’re getting it.”
“If we could use that software, it’d speed things up. In the meantime, I’m gonna take another run at Walt, see if he remembers this sticker.”
“I’ll come with you.”
Oh, right. That’d be brilliant. The suspended FBI agent sitting in on a meeting with a senator who Matt had signed a confidentiality agreement with. He glanced at Charlie, whose gaze ping-ponged between them.
His boss wasn’t stupid. By now, if she hadn’t already figured it out, she at least suspected Matt and Taylor were actively swapping bodily fluids. He jerked his head to the door.
“Let’s finish this in my office.”
Not waiting for a response, he led Taylor down the hall and closed the door behind them.
“Honey,” he said, “I’m sorry. You can’t come with me.”
“Sure I can. I’m acting as a private citizen, consulting with your firm. Remember?”
Did he ever. “Yes, but the last time you met with Walt, it was on behalf of the FBI. We weren’t there together. No matter what we think he’s hiding, he’s still my client and you’re an FBI agent. Even on suspension.”
“And you signed an NDA.”
Non-disclosure agreement. “I did. Plus, Walt isn’t exactly your biggest fan.”
As irritated as she must have been, she hid it well. No pissy pressed lips or glaring looks.
“I understand,” she said. “If the roles were reversed, I’d tell you the same.”
“If you want, stay here. Work from my office. I shouldn’t be gone long. When I get back, we’ll huddle up.”
* * *
The Schock office was quiet. Too quiet.
Taylor was used to the hustle and bustle of the Bureau with the constantly ringing phones and people rushing to meetings.
Here it was the opposite. Matt was gone, Charlie was busy, and Meg was having coffee with a friend.
Taylor checked her phone for messages. The same as five minutes ago. Beck had texted her five times. Janiece two. No calls from Teeg or Grey.
Beck and Janiece were keeping her abreast of the shitstorm at the Bureau that Grey’s highjacking of the Jarvis case had caused. Everyone, from Cunningham down to Leo, was blaming her.
It felt righteously good to be the thorn in their side right now, even though Grey was the one who’d stuck it there.
Beck had brought her up-to-date on the fact that he’d checked all the area hospitals and no one fitting the description of her attacker had turned up with a gunshot wound. No surprise there. Whoever had broken into her condo and evaded the parking garage security in an attempt to mess with her car was no amateur. He wouldn’t be dumb enough to go to a public hospital for treatment, and the wound hadn’t been life threatening. Anyone with basic medical treatment could probably handle patching him up.
Especially someone who might have medical training and a military background.
She had the list of silver trucks, she just needed access to Teeg’s software. Matt’s laptop had gone into sleep mode waiting for that access. Until Teeg did his magic, Taylor was stuck twiddling her thumbs.
Rocking back in Matt’s office chair, she studied his desk. Solid, honey oak. Very pedestrian for such an energetic guy, but he might not have had any say in it.
Colored files and various folders were stacked all over the top. Amongst them were investigator manuals and a car magazine with a beautiful, very busty gal doing a move on the hood of a car that Taylor was sure only a gymnast could pull off.
Go figure.
Inside the pencil drawer, highlighters and pens fought for space with paper clips and loose change. Dry erase markers tangoed with notecards and a travel-size bottle of hand sanitizer.
Underneath a spiral notebook lay a set of handcuffs.
Taylor fingered the cuffs, wondering how many criminals Matt had arrested over the years.
How many women had he used these on?
Jealousy flitted through her stomach and she shoved the drawer closed. The feeling was a new one. She hadn’t felt jealousy over anyone since…
Isabel.
Their parents had never treated Izzy any differently when she’d been around, but after her kidnapping, they’d been all-Isabel, all the time.
She couldn’t blame them, but they’d had another daughter still around who felt just as lost and awful as they did. A little attention would have been like an oasis in the desert of her childhood.
Now, here she was, feeling jealousy for the first time in years.
I’ve totally fallen for Mad Dog.
As in…
Love.
Her phone buzzed, jarring her, and giving her the much-needed excuse to slam the door on that thought. She snatched it up and saw Teeg’s text.
She was in.
Waking up Matt’s laptop, she followed the instructions Teeg sent and loaded in the address at the top of her list. The software took her to the street view of the first silver truck.
No sticker or emblem of any kind on the back window.
As the next half hour went by, Taylor click-click-clicked her way through dozens of addresses and street views, her shoulders getting tight and the quiet of the office closing in on her. She took a break to text Beck and Janiece and tell them to keep their heads down and stay out of Leo’s path. As soon as she wrapped up this case, she’d be back and things would once again be normal.
I hope.
Click-click-click, she went to work again.
This could take all day.
This will take all day.
Could the owner of the silver truck be the same person who’d broken into her condo? The same man who’d attacked her?
Of course, the emblem could have peeled off after all these years. Or the truck could have been sold.
And while she’d rather be chasing down Rosalind and the baby adoption ring, Matt wanted this truck thing cleared up first.
Because his job was to find the man who’d taken Felicity, first and foremost.
What seemed like a thousand clicks later, Taylor froze and blinked her tired eyes.
There. A decal in the back window.
She zoomed in, blinked again, and yep. That’s it! The eagle with ‘God Bless America.’
Shazam!
Unlike the current programs available to the general public that blanked out license plates and other personal information from street views, Teeg’s software allowed her to get up close and personal to the plate. She was jotting down the number and address when a voice from the doorway startled her.
“You must be Taylor.”
Taylor looked up to see who she assumed to be Meg Schock smiling at her.
The woman raised a hand with a purple mug that said, I brake f
or unicorns. “I brought you coffee.”
Meg looked like a unicorn kind of gal. The boho artist getup she wore was topped off with a long braid and hemp necklace at her throat.
The smell of a good Colombian roast drifted into the air, teasing Taylor’s nose. She returned Meg’s friendly smile. “Just what I need. Thank you.”
Meg entered and handed Taylor the mug. “I’m Meg, by the way. Charlie told me you and Matt have a couple of fresh leads on the Jarvis case.”
The coffee was smooth, dark, and warmed Taylor’s throat. She sighed her pleasure and nodded. “Matt is speaking with Senator Jarvis now about the silver truck with the decal. I may have located it, in fact, so I need to call Matt and let him know. We also have our sights on Rosalind Gardener who runs an adoption agency that’s somehow linked to the TriCare Birthing Center.”
“Hmm.” Meg sipped her coffee and sat in the chair across from Taylor, adjusting the folds of her multicolored skirt. “Do you have any pets?”
Taylor stilled with the mug halfway to her lips. “Excuse me?”
“You know, cats, a dog, fish, anything?” At Taylor’s look of confusion, Meg went on. “There’s a stray cat in our neighborhood. I’m trying to find it a home.”
A stray cat. Right. “I work long hours, so no, I don’t have pets. Doesn’t seem fair to leave one alone all the time.”
“What made you want to become an FBI agent?”
Not the first time she’d been asked that question, but it still seemed out of place. “Who wouldn’t want a job with long hours, mediocre pay, and bad guys shooting at you?”
They shared a smile. “Must be tough being on suspension.”
Ah. The rub. “The Bureau is under a lot of scrutiny and pressure to solve this case. Once I do that, my suspension will be lifted.”
Meg’s smile turned cool. “You and Matt seem to be working well together. I assume you’ll give him credit where it’s due.”
“Of course. I didn’t mean to imply—”
“Your family,” Meg interrupted. “Do you see them much?”
Charlie may have been the more assertive sister, but Meg knew her way around an interrogation. A sharp, sarcastic reply burned on Taylor’s tongue, and she bit it back. The sisters were Matt’s employers and she didn’t want to piss them off or offend them. “My mother and father are divorced and living on opposite coasts. I see them when I can.”
Missing Justice (The Justice Team Book 7) Page 20
