Page 28 of Fatal Betrayal

She saw an array of female masturbation tools in the drawer before Cooper slammed it shut with an awkward grimace. She bit back a smile. "It's perfectly natural," she said. "We need to find Jillian and bring her in."

"It sounds like she might be hard to find."

"In the meantime, let's check out her car."

As they walked out of the apartment, she handed Tamara her card. "If you hear from Jillian or she comes back, call me right away. Where is her car parked?"

"It's in number three, the silver Toyota," Tamara said as she pushed them out the door and quickly closed it.

They found Jillian's car in her spot. It was locked. Peering inside, Andi didn't see any evidence that a child had been inside in the vehicle, but it was doubtful that Jillian would have left that kind of evidence behind.

"Looks like we're out of options," Cooper said. "Jillian isn't here. Her car is locked. What's next?"

"I'll let my team know about Jillian's affair with Neil and her blackmail strategy. That should be enough to bring her in if we can find her. I'll also get someone out here to check her car for forensic evidence."

As they left the garage, she pulled out her phone and called Savannah as she walked back to her car, filling her in on the pertinent details. When that was done, she said, "Let's check out the bar where Kristine worked, and then I'll need to get back to the office."

"All right." As she drove away from the building, Cooper added, "It's strange how fast things can change, isn't it? I woke up this morning, thinking I wanted to get in a workout, prep for my next podcast, do some research, maybe get a haircut."

"Sounds like an exciting day," she said dryly.

"And now I'm helping you—someone I never thought I'd see again—chase down a kidnapper. It's surreal. But maybe not as much for you."

"Not as much," she agreed. "I'm used to days ending completely differently from how they started.”

"What did you think you were going to be doing today?"

"Beginning a new job, reconnecting with old friends. I'm working with many people I met when I started at the FBI. We were in the same class at Quantico."

"That's cool. You've all kept in touch."

"Off and on through the years."

"I've been meaning to ask you, why aren't you working out of the LA office?"

"I'm part of a special unit run by Agent MacKenzie."

His brows drew together in confusion. "But why did your unit take the case? More specifically, you?"

"I'm good at my job."

He frowned. "That still doesn't explain why the LA office, which has a team of agents that works on kidnapping cases, isn't taking the lead. I know a lot about that team, because your old friend is still there. And we've had a few conversations."

"Agent Burnett was never my friend," she snapped. "He was just the agent assigned to find Hannah. He questioned me like he questioned dozens of people, including you."

"Wait a second. I know why you're in charge," Cooper said. "This is about Neil and me and the questions we asked Burnett and his coworkers a few months back."

"Questions or accusations?" she asked, sending him a quick look. "Did you get into it with Agent Burnett about your brother?"

"I might have had a few questions for him about his relentless focus on Kyle," Cooper conceded.

"A few questions?" she asked doubtfully. "What really happened?"

"Burnett got hostile and defensive. Started yelling at me to back off. He said he wasn't going to cooperate with any hit job on the bureau and threw Neil and me out of the building."

"Then you just answered your own question as to why my unit is involved," she said. "Damon—Agent Wolfe—the head of the office didn't want there to be any hint of bias or lack of cooperation in getting Neil's daughter back. But my team is just as good, if not better, than Burnett and the other agents. You don't have to worry about that. You don’t need to get Neil worked up about the fact that this investigation is being run through a special task force."

Cooper didn't say anything right away, making her worry that he was going to muck things up by causing a problem where there didn't need to be one.

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