He said it so matter of fact like he believed every word he’d just said.
“But not anymore,” he said. “I’m your property to protect now. You pinky-promised, so no take backsies.”
***
Half an hour later, I walked out of the room after putting Cosmo down for a nap. His eyes had been tired and droopy, and I remembered what Nate had said about littles and nap time. They might fight against it, but they wanted their Big to insist on their naps, so I’d read a book to Cosmo while he curled up on the bed with his thumb in his mouth. He’d fallen asleep quickly, looking relaxed and so soft. For the first time since he was in the facility, he didn’t have his guard up. He trusted me enough to talk to me and tell me information that could finally solve this case.
“You took your sweet time,” Knight said when I closed the door behind me. “He gave you an address. You should have gotten that to us half an hour ago.”
I ripped the piece of paper off the notepad and handed it to him, speaking in hushed tones so my voice didn’t carry. “He trusts me, Knight. I couldn’t destroy that by leaving right after he gives us what we want.”
“He’s useless to us once we have the information.”
Anger surged inside me. What the hell did they plan to do to Cosmo when all this was over?
“You want to burn the bridge too early, Knight. What if we need more information from him? Wouldn’t you rather that he still trusts me?”
When he didn’t answer, I knew I’d won, but this was one battle. There was still the war to conquer.
I watched Cosmo sleep while Knight prepared a team and secured a search warrant for the farmhouse. Would we find anything when we got there?
From the disturbing things Cosmo had said about how strict his Daddy was, I was sure we would discover a lot more under the surface. Guilt seeped into the cracks he’d forged into my usual professional veneer. Guilt that we were doing this to someone who’d had such a tough life. We were using him only as a pawn to catch the king. Then what?
“I already have a team ready to go.” Knight came up behind me so closely his breath warmed my ear. “You’re riding with me.”
I didn’t like taking orders from Knight, but this was his sting, and he didn’t have to bring me along. With one last lingering look at the sleeping boy, I followed Knight.
Four black SUVs left the facility, our car leading the convoy.
“What’s your plan once we get to the farmhouse?” I asked Knight. “What are we even looking for? We don’t have a name or—”
“Yes, we do.”
“You do what? Have a name?”
“Yes. We had our tech guy check the records to find out who owns the land. One Virgil Manning paid taxes on it. By the time we get back to the facility, we’ll have everything we need to know about our guy. Right now, we need to detain him and search his property to see if we find anything that corroborates that these two are the ones behind the Handkerchief Murders.”
“These two? I thought we’d already established Cosmo’s too young to be a part of this.”
“He might not have pulled the triggers that killed these people—that killed your wife—but if he gave us this information, it means he knew what this so-called Daddy of his was doing. We’ll put both of them away for as long as possible.”
Even if I had anything further to say, my throat closed up, and I couldn’t get any words out.
After an hour, we drove up a dirt and gravel driveway toward a wide house with a broad porch. A sign warned they didn’t welcome trespassers. A battered Ford truck was parked at the front of the yard.
Knight parked and got out of the car. I jumped out after him and followed him, unholstering my gun. The other cars drove up, parked, and FBI agents poured out of the vehicles.
“Fan out,” Knight said, then rattled out names and which position they should take to surround the house. “We need the suspect alive, but if it’s him or you, you take him down.” He turned to me. “Neely, we’re up.”
Together we climbed the porch while the FBI agents fanned out to ensure all four corners of the house were secure. Knight and I took opposite sides of the door. He knocked hard several times.
“Virgil Manning, FBI. We’re here to execute a search warrant.”
After a couple of minutes without a response, Knight nodded at me. I grasped the handle of the door and turned. Unlocked. He entered, his gun raised as he crept down the hall quickly with me at his heels. A ghastly odor hit us. The stench of a dead body left rotting out in the open.
A quick survey of the living room revealed it was empty, not much furniture and no TV, just like Cosmo had said. The kitchen was next.
“Shit.”