“Then Kane ordered the assassinations.”
“Oh fuck, Rich. Get over Kane. He didn’t do this. He’s not that stupid.”
“Then why does his name keep coming up?”
“Perhaps he’s a distraction. It’s damn sure working on you. Set Kane aside and ask the right questions.”
His expression tightens. “Eddie says—”
“Eddie is part of the cover-up.”
“Does your brother know this?”
“Yes, Rich. And so does my father, who’s going to run for governor of New York.”
He blanches. “Your father’s running for governor?”
“Yes. He is. And a killer on the loose doesn’t exactly work in his favor. I’m either going to have to talk sense into my brother and my father or claim jurisdiction.”
He shakes his head. “I can’t believe Murphy has you on this case.”
My mind goes back to that talk with Murphy yet again:
“I have a history with Kane Mendez.”
“Which makes you the perfect candidate to get into his head.”
“Why do I need to be in Kane’s head?”
“He’s connected to this. Tonight makes that clear.”
Is Murphy protecting Kane or working against him? Rich is against him, and Murphy pushed Rich on me and this case. “I need to go,” I say, rotating with the full intent of leaving and confronting Murphy.
“Lilah, damn it,” Rich grinds out, putting himself between me and the car. “We aren’t done.”
“I’m done with this argument, Rich,” I snap. “I’m going to go make a phone call and then catch a killer. You go chase Kane Mendez and end up dead.”
“Why the hell would you date a man who requires that warning?”
“Food for thought, Rich,” I say, trying to jolt him into pleading off this case as I add, “Fucking someone isn’t the same as dating him.” He blanches again, and I step around him, leaving him to wonder if I’m talking about him or Kane or both of them.
I click my locks open, climb inside my car, and lock up. Almost instantly, Rich is pounding on the passenger door. I have a short, pleasant fantasy in which I leave him outside and drive away. But that won’t do anything but restart the battle we’re presently fighting, and I need him on board with me or gone. There is no in-between. I hit the lock and let him join me, then he turns to face me. “I’m here to help.”
I study him for a few beats, searching his chiseled face, which still manages to be etched with fifty shades of hate for Kane. “This isn’t going to work.”
“You need someone you trust at your back. You trust me.”
He’s right, at least partially. At my back, in a professional capacity, I trust him. But I don’t trust Murphy, who insisted Rich stay here. Maybe that means I need to trust Murphy, or maybe it means I shouldn’t trust Rich. My cell phone rings with Tic Tac’s number displayed. I study Rich for another beat and then answer the call on speaker. “Agent Moore is with me, Tic Tac,” I say, warning my tech partner in crime that we are not alone.
“Agent Love.”
At the sound of Director Murphy’s voice, I stiffen, a bad feeling sliding down my spine. “Director,” I say, glancing at Rich for some sort of guidance. He shakes his head, telling me he knows nothing. “What happened to Tic Tac?” I ask.
“If you mean Agent Landers,” Murphy says, “he’s right here.”
Tic Tac clears his throat. “I’m here.”
“Tell me, Special Agent Love,” Murphy says, his tone and the formal use of “Special Agent” telling me that he’s pissed, “why exactly did you have Agent Landers looking into my history?”
Oh fuck. How did he find out?
Rich gives me an incredulous look and mouths, “What the fuck, Lilah?”
“How did I find out?” Murphy asks, apparently reading my mind. “I found out because Landers here used the company system for research.”
“You searched on the FBI system, Landers?” I snap.
“Yes,” Murphy says. “He did. And what kind of example would I set if I didn’t have alerts set up, particularly as they relate to myself?” He doesn’t wait for a reply. “Agent Landers,” he adds, clearly talking to Tic Tac. “Share the details you’ve learned about me.”
Tic Tac clears his throat. “Director Murphy came up the ranks with his New York City equal, Assistant Director James Carter. Carter has a variety of political scandals surrounding him. He was involved in an investigation with at least three high-powered political figures funded by you can guess who.”
“Pocher,” I say, and glancing at Rich, I explain, “the Pocher of the Pocher family, who’s my father’s main financial backer for his run for office.” Refocusing on the call, I say, “Carter made those political cases go away in Pocher’s favor.”
“Unproven,” Murphy says. “But that’s how it reads to me, especially knowing Carter as I do. He’s ambitious in all the wrong ways. Which brings me, Special Agent Love, to your poor communication. Why the hell do I not know about the double beheading last night linked to Kane Mendez?”
I bristle with the reprimand, opening my mouth to remind him that he ended our call this morning by hanging up on me, but Rich reaches over and grabs my arm, giving me a warning look. My lips thin, and I nod before reframing my planned smart-ass remark as something a bit more professional. “I had just returned from consulting on the case when I ended up knocked out. But I followed up this morning. I spoke with Kane Mendez and Old Man Romano. Kane didn’t do it. It’s some sort of setup.”
“I didn’t ask if Mendez did it. I asked why the hell I didn’t know. Agent Moore,” he says, addressing Rich. “Based on what you’ve learned in this conversation and the fact that Lilah strongly believes that Woods is a fall guy, tell me why we now have jurisdiction issues?”
Realization hits me, as does dread. “I have a bad feeling that I have the answer.”
“I said Agent Moore,” Murphy replies.
Rich looks over at me, my realization now in his eyes. “Kane’s linked to the murders we’re investigating through the one murder on his property of his employee,” he says. “He’s linked to the beheadings simply because that’s a signature Mendez kill. He’s a local with a long family history of crime, which means the local FBI could easily fight to claim jurisdiction.”
He’s nailed my thoughts exactly, and I am not pleased when Murphy validates his statement and my thoughts with, “You’re exactly right, Agent Moore. Which is why you are not there to fuck Kane Mendez and us right along with him. You’re there because between you and him, Lilah stays alive and catches us the real killer. Protect her. Protect the case. And make sure she communicates.” He turns the attention back to me. “Agent Love. Spend your energy hunting a killer, not me. And I need that killer now, not later.”
“Or what? We lose jurisdiction?”
“I don’t lose, Agent Love. Make sure you don’t either. You get me my killer. I’ll get you jurisdiction. Just keep your mouth shut about it until I say ‘go.’”
He hangs up.
Rich and I sit there for a good thirty seconds without speaking before Rich says, “Kane Mendez is a problem I don’t plan to forget, but I will put him on hold for now.” He looks over at me. “I’m in this. I’m with you. What’s the plan?”
I turn to face him. “We need to avoid the battle of jurisdiction, which means we can’t let the locals close the case.”
“That’s a touchy order.”
“But you can buy me some time.”
“How?”
“Keep playing the bad guy,” I say. “Convince Eddie and my brother that you can influence me to back out of this. Get them to keep the case open for a little while longer.”
“All right. I can do that.”
“Can you?”
“You might not know this, Lilah, but I’m more than the surfer dude you called me. I’m a damn good agent.”
“I know you’re a good agent.”
“A damn good agent.
”
“Okay. A damn good agent.”
“What are you going to do if your family crosses the line?”
“The right thing.”
“Translated to mean any number of things,” he says, “but I won’t push. We’ll take it one step at a time. Let’s go inside and get lunch.”
I reach to the floorboard and shove the doughnut bag at him. “There’s your lunch.”
He doesn’t look inside the bag. “I get it. You want me to go. And I will, but Lilah, this is my last word on this for now. I’m the good guy. Kane Mendez is not. And I’m not going to let you forget that.” He opens the car door and gets out, shutting me inside.