Wild Justice (Nadia Stafford 3)

"Yes, that'd be the best plan," Evelyn said. "Let Dee gather information from the inside, while giving her a chance to see if she's interested in what the Fellowship has to offer. Two birds with one stone."

"Um, you're suggesting sending me into a group that might have a bounty on my head?"

"We'll use a disguise. A very good disguise. And, as you and Quinn have reasoned, it's unlikely the group itself--"

"No," Jack said.

Evelyn looked at him.

"Absolutely fucking not," he said.

"I believe Dee is quite capable of making her own decision."

"Yes, she is," I said. "And she says absolutely fucking not. The solution is obvious. You set up the interview for Quinn. He's perfect. He can go in as himself--well, his Quinn self. He's already got the professional reputation for doing exactly the kind of work the society undertakes. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they have a file on him as a potential recruit."

"They don't recruit."

"Then I bet they still have that file, in hopes he figures out how to contact them."

"Dee's right," Jack said. "Quinn's a lousy actor. But this isn't acting. He is interested. He likes it? He can sign up. He brings us what we need for Dee's problem. We handle it. No connection to him."

Evelyn grumbled, but it was the perfect solution and ultimately she had no choice but to make the call. The Boy Scout was about to apply for membership in the Contrapasso Fellowship.

Evelyn's contact at Contrapasso worked fast--I suspect Evelyn had carried on laying the groundwork for an eventual interview for me. Whatever she'd told them likely fit Quinn, too, since she wouldn't have mentioned my gender. Now that she'd given them the professional name of this potential recruit, she'd gotten a call back within the hour. They wanted to meet Quinn. The interview was set for first thing tomorrow morning in New York.

Quinn left the moment we suspected an interview was forthcoming. He was going to swing by the office in Virginia first, putting in an appearance, which would help if he needed more time off.

Evelyn left as soon as that interview was confirmed. She'd fly to New York, where she'd meet Quinn first thing in the morning and support him through the interview process. And me? Jack and I were going back to the lodge. The Shannon Broadhurst lead had been a dead end, and it looked as if Aldrich's killer came from a whole other direction, unconnected to our "like-minded friend" theory. There was nothing for us to do but wait.

CHAPTER 31

Jack and I weren't in any hurry to leave--we'd already paid for the night. As we were getting ready, I got a call on my regular cell. It was my cousin Neil.

He asked how I was doing, was I enjoying my time off, was I still with my "friend." Not being nosy. Just making conversation and, yes, teasing me a little because that's what cousins do, no matter how old you are.

"I called to see if you had any other questions," Neil said finally. "I wanted to remind you I'm here, if you need to ask something or you just want to talk . . ."

"Thanks. I'm okay right now. Keeping busy, which helps."

"It does." A pause. Then Neil cleared his throat. "I, uh, have . . . I mean, when you were here, we discussed the file. The case file. I know you haven't seen it and I thought you might want to so . . ."

My heart stuttered. "You have it?"

"I do."

"You didn't need to do that."

"It's your dad's copy. He . . . kept one at home. Locked away. When he got sick, he asked my dad to take it. He was worried that when he passed and your mom cleared his things, she might . . . Anyway, I was at my parents' yesterday for dinner and I asked for the file. I didn't tell them why. They just figured I was interested now that Aldrich is dead. But I have it here, if you want to see it."

"No." The word came out fast, sharp even. "I mean . . ." I sucked in breath. "I will. Someday. But right now . . ."

"It's too soon."

"Yes. I'm sorry. I know you got it--"

"Just picked it up while I was already there, like I said. No pressure, Nadia. You never have to see it if you don't want to. I just thought I should have it here, in case you do."

I told him I appreciated that, and we talked for a few more minutes on other subjects, before we hung up. Then I sat on the edge of the bed, thinking. It took a minute to remember that I wasn't alone. Jack stood in the open doorway, bag in hand.