Fine. That was Beck’s response. I couldn’t help but smile. She seemed like a capable agent, but whatever her true motives were, she did a shit job of keeping her emotions in check.
“Ms. O’Connor will see you now.” The almost invisible assistant approached as quiet as a ninja, appearing in front of me like a goddamn ghost. “Ready?”
“Yeah, I am. Thanks.” She led me to the same office where Beck and I had spoken with Savannah last week. “Good morning, Savannah. How are things?”
She looked up, an amused smile on her face. “Things are…better every day, thanks. You?”
I shrugged. “Most days I’m not sure. Not bad, not good, just moving along.” She motioned for me to take the seat across from her and leaned back in her leather chair, her fingertips pressed together in a steeple formation.
“You’re not here just to check up on me.” It wasn’t a question. Savannah was a smart woman with good instincts.
“Not just, no.” I sighed and sat a little taller, looking her right in the eyes so she would see me as the law and not as Charlie’s younger brother. “I was hoping without Agent Beck around we could talk a bit more openly.”
“Is that so?” Her brow arched in suspicion.
“Yeah. I just want to know anything you know that might be useful to solving the murders. I don’t give a shit about anything else.”
Savannah assessed my words with a slow, thoughtful nod, and she opened her mouth just as the office door smacked open.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing here?” Charlie glared down at me like he thought of me as the enemy.
I sighed and turned my gaze back to Savannah. “Anything?”
“I’m talking to you, not her,” he growled.
I looked up at my brother with a bored expression. “And this isn’t your clubhouse, and you’re not her attorney, so I don’t need to hear from you at all, Charles.” I knew that would piss him off because it had for as long as I could remember.
“Go away, Jameson.”
I stood and got in my brother’s face, not because I wanted to fight him, but because sometimes it was useful to impose my height and weight advantage just to remind him that yes, I could kick his ass. If I wanted.
“No.”
“Don’t make me tell you again.” He bumped my chest with his, growling and angry.
I pushed him away and turned to Savannah.
“Look, I know you know Beck has some kind of hard on for you or your family or the Ashby family, but if I bring her back, she won’t be asking and certainly not nicely. I just want to know what you can tell me about Mueller.”
“Charlie. Relax, I’m okay,” Savannah admonished, her tone gentle and affectionate, her gaze filled with nothing but love for my brother.
I turned to Charlie, not intimidated by the angry gaze he threw at me. “Bro, I don’t know what the fuck your problem is with me, but we’re talking about a double murder. This shit isn’t going to go away. The feds see two upstanding citizens gunned down for no reason, everybody has to answer questions.”
“Have a seat, Jameson and ask your questions.” Savannah made a gesture for my brother to calm down, and he stood behind her like a bodyguard.
“Were you serious the other day when you said you thought Mueller might be a cop, or were you just trying to get a rise out of Beck?”
It was something that stuck with me, more so when I couldn’t find much on Mueller past twelve years ago.
“A little of both, actually. Something beyond the sex trade business was going on with him, and I never knew what, but given the family business, a cop is always a safe assumption.”
“Good point. Anything else?”
She nodded. “Yeah, there was something about him I couldn’t quite figure out. Sometimes I got the impression he was more than a crooked priest with nasty habits.”
“Anything specific?”
Charlie opened his mouth to speak, and I blew out my irritation in a loud sigh. “Jesus Christ, Charlie. I’m your brother. There’s nothing you’ll have to corroborate or testify, just anything that might point me in a helpful direction.”
Savannah remained cool and calm. “Nothing all that specific anyway, just that Ronan got away with things he shouldn’t have. Things that no one is connected enough to get around. He should have done at least a few years in all the years he did business, but he never did. Neither did Mueller.”
“Until now,” I reminded her.
“Until now,” she echoed. “And now the tri-city area is crawling with Feds and I’m curious why.”
I stroked my chin, a grim reminder that I’d skipped my Monday morning shave in my hurry to question Savannah.
“Me too, Savannah. So far, they’re being really tight-lipped on that particular detail.” I got up from the chair and flashed a grateful smile at her. “Thanks for answering my questions.”