The Sixth Man (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell 5)

“WE GOT YOU A ROOM at Martha’s Inn, Megan,” said Sean, as Michelle drove them back. “A couple of guests checked out.”

Megan’s gaze had really never left the shattered windows. She tugged her thin jacket closer around her. “Did you report this?”

Sean glanced back at her. “Not yet. But we will. Unfortunately, the police are pretty busy with other things. Bullets that missed from an unknown shooter probably rank pretty low on their priority list right about now.”

“I know one FBI agent who’ll probably be sorry they missed,” added Michelle.

“Their priority is Mr. Bergin’s murder?” said Megan.

“You can call him Ted.”

“No, he’ll always be Mr. Bergin to me,” she said stubbornly.

Michelle asked, “Anything good in the docs you brought?”

“I’m not sure. I was in court all day yesterday and just got back to the office when I called you back today. But I brought everything that looked relevant.”

“We appreciate that,” said Sean.

“So are you working with the FBI?”

Sean glanced at Michelle and said, “Sort of.”

Michelle added, “What about Bergin’s house in Charlottesville? Has the FBI searched it?”

“I don’t know. Does it matter?”

Sean said, “If we can get there first, it might matter a lot.”

“But wouldn’t that be interfering in an official investigation?” Megan pointed out.

Michelle raised her eyebrows but held her tongue.

Sean turned around in the seat. “Do you have Hilary’s home phone number?”

She gave it to him off her cell phone contacts list. He punched it in, waited.

“Hilary? Sean King. Quick question.” He asked her about Bergin’s house.

“Okay, how far away are you from it?” He paused as she answered. “Do you think you can drive over there and let us know if there’s any activity? Okay, thanks a lot. We’ll wait to hear from you. Oh, one more thing. Did the FBI come by the office? Nobody? All right.”

He put his phone away and glanced at Michelle, who was swinging her gaze back and forth like a lighthouse beam. “See anything suspicious?”

She shrugged. “We won’t see any optics sig until the round hits. End of story.”

Megan must’ve overheard this remark because she immediately sank lower in the backseat. “Do you need me to stay up here long?”

“Maybe,” said Sean.

“I have to get back at some point.” Her gaze flicked to the darkness all around.

“We’re all hoping to get back home at some point. Unfortunately it’s too late for Ted,” he added, his tone a bit harder.

She obviously noted this. “I’m not trying to chicken out. It’s just that—”

Sean turned around in the seat once more. “You don’t look like a coward to me at all, Megan. You got on the plane and came up here. You saw what happened to our car and didn’t turn tail and run. That takes courage.”

She said slowly, “Well, truthfully, I almost did run. But I do want to help.”