Page 83 of Jep

“Trust me. We had a falling out of sorts. I don’t want to get into it right now.”

“Okay, then what about Jep?”

“I don’t know where he is.”

Gardener ran her thumbnail along her bottom lip. “I don’t see any other way. I won’t let you go out on your own.”

“Fine, then I’ll find Jep and bring him with me.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.”

“If you can’t get ahold of him, don’t go.”

“I won’t.”

“And don’t make me regret this.”

Em smiled. “Thank you. When I get back, I’ll fill you in on everything.”

“You’d better. No detail is too small.”

Em stood and turned for the door, but then stopped. “Do you ever wish you had become an agent instead of an analyst?”

“Me? No way. I don’t like participating in the action. I just like to hear about. I am strictly a numbers woman.”

“Well, thank you for helping.”

“No problem. Go get ’em. Figuratively speaking, of course.”

“Of course.”

Jep tossed a box aside and leaned over the table, scanning the few items that he’d laid out. They belonged to the man Em had killed.

He lifted a lighter for the second time and held it up to the light to see the level of the fuel. Half empty. And it had a splatter on it that could have been blood.

After replacing the lighter, he sifted through the pile of coins that were found in the man’s coat pocket. Eighty-five cents worth. Could be the change for the unopened packet of gum. But why buy gum if you intend to blow yourself up?

The only other thing he had on him was a flyer with information on a meeting in a local mosque. Jade and the two other deceased suspects had the same thing. The FBI was monitoring the mosque, but after everything that had happened already, they weren’t prepared to move on it until they had more information. Jep was already convinced the flyers were a plant intended to send them in the wrong direction.

His phone rang. “Em, how’s it going?”

“It’s going okay. Where are you? I haven’t seen you all day.”

“Yeah, sorry. I thought we should give each other space for Lawson’s sake. Save a confrontation.”

“He also won’t let me anywhere near the case, so you wouldn’t get much done with me around.”

“Also true,” Jep said. “Have you spoken to Carla? Did they tell her much?”

“They told her enough. She wasn’t very surprised. I guess she saw more of the truth in Jade than I did.”

“Pearce told me about your visit with your sister.”

“Did he? What did he say?”

“Just that it didn’t go well. Sounds like she has some deep wounds from the past that made her easy pickings for extremists.”

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