Penumbra (Spook Squad 3)

Illie’s wry grin flashed. “In other words, ‘Get lost while I interview the military men.’?”

Amusement ran through Gabriel. “Basically, yes.”

“All you had to do was ask, Boss.” And he walked away.

Gabriel shoved his hands into his pockets and waited for the two men. He had every intention of taking them into the bedroom to view the murder scene and watch their reaction, but first he wanted to assess them.

Within a few minutes, the apartment’s front door was opened and a police officer escorted the two men in. The first was about six feet tall and broad shouldered, with a shock of silver hair that was accentuated by the dark brown of his suit. His face was flat, hard, and the red of a barely healed wound marred its left side. The second man was shorter by several inches, yet had a more powerful presence. Gabriel recognized him instantly, even though he’d seen him only once, on Sam’s com-screen. General Frank Lloyd from the Hopeworth Military Base. Was he here by coincidence? Gabriel suspected the answer was no.

The CSM spun around to record the two men walking in. “ID, please.”

“General Frank Lloyd, from Hopeworth Military Base.”

“General Michael Blaine, also from Hopeworth.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “Even with Pegasus’s close military ties, surely it’s overkill to send two generals to investigate.”

“No more than the SIU sending an assistant director,” Lloyd said and held out his hand. “I don’t believe we’ve met officially.”

“No, General, we haven’t.” Gabriel shook the man’s hand. Power rose when their flesh touched, an electricity that felt oddly disturbing. “And since you specifically asked for me and my partner to investigate the Pegasus break-in, it should come as no surprise that we’re now investigating the murder of the person who ran that facility.”

“I guess not.” Lloyd paused. “While General Blaine here also works at Hopeworth, it’s not in the same capacity. His area of expertise meant he was in contact with Douglass more than I was.”

Gabriel’s gaze switched to the silver-haired man. “How much contact?”

Blaine’s expression was polite, almost disinterested, and yet there was something in the man’s gray eyes that had Gabriel’s hackles r

ising. He was facing an enemy, even if they’d only just met.

“Not socially, if that’s what you’re implying. We were merely business acquaintances.”

“Have you talked to her in the past few days?”

“Yes.”

“And did she appear distracted? Concerned by anything?”

“Not that I was aware of.”

“Not even by the break-in?”

Blaine smiled. “Aside from that, no.”

Gabriel switched his gaze back to Lloyd. Of the two, he seemed the more approachable—which in itself had alarms ringing simply because the general had been of very little help in the past. Except, of course, when it suited him.

“Why are you here, General? This murder hasn’t even hit the headlines yet, so how did you hear about it?”

“All of those scientists and team heads involved with military projects at Pegasus have emergency call buttons installed in their homes. As the director of the company, Douglass also had one. It was pressed at two forty.”

Ten minutes after she’d arrived home. Thirty-five minutes before the neighbor heard the screams and called the police. Given what Marsdan had said about the state of the bed, did that mean Douglass pressed the buzzer and then seduced her attacker? Or were the seducer and the attacker two entirely different people?

“If Douglass pressed the emergency call button at two forty, why are you only responding now?”

“Hopeworth is a long way from St. Kilda.”

“Not by helicopter.” And there were military offices in the city itself. Why couldn’t they have dispatched military police from one of them to investigate?

“Helicopters are not allowed to land around here, and, given the sensitivity of Pegasus’s links with Hopeworth, we prefer to send out our own personnel.” Lloyd studied him for a moment, blue eyes assessing. “Why do you suspect us of wrongdoing?”