Page 36 of Duplicity

Bob asked, “But you and your NSA friend got into the network?”

Simon nodded. “We’re trying to figure out the center of the nexus.”

“The person who forced you to create it.”

Here it was. The information Peter wanted to gain from Simon but couldn’t come here to ask himself. All the students would notice if Simon’s twin suddenly showed up pretending to be unrelated to him. They were way too similar looking, even with different hairstyles.

“We need the location of the server.”

“You need to tell us what the guy’s name is. Or her.” Bob shrugged, but there was nothing nonchalant about it. “We need to do a full work-up on the person that took you.”

How on earth was he supposed to explain that?

Before he could figure out what to say, commotion erupted in the hallway. Voices filtered down to him. Snatches of broken conversation.

“…know that, Romeo. You don’t have to keep saying it.”

Simon pushed back his chair and strode to the doorway. He spotted Romeo in plain clothes walking beside Cat, who looked frazzled. He watched them approach, and when she spotted him, he shook his head, asking silently what was going on.

Cat’s brother looked a little exasperated. “I need more than what you’re giving me, or there’s nothing I can do about what happened to you.”

She hung back a step, then moved behind him and headed for Simon. “Hey. Everything okay here?”

“Yeah,” Simon said. “What happened when you went out for lunch?”

Romeo stepped up beside them. “That’s the thing. She didn’t go out for lunch. She took a meeting with a guy in a shady tire shop.”

“Just because a tire shop is in a run-down part of Benson doesn’t mean it’s shady.” Cat put a hand on her hip. “There might be nothing illegitimate about it, and if you can’t prove otherwise, then you’re just being prejudiced.”

Simon asked, “What happened?”

He’d seen her leave through the window and had almost texted her to ask if she could pick him up something.

Cat brushed hair back from her face that had come loose from her ponytail. “I got into an altercation with another car, and Romeo picked me up. All we need to do now is wash my car.”

There was definitely more to it than that. Was her hesitation to share due to her brother’s presence here or because she didn’t want Simon to be concerned?

Romeo said, “Some guy tossed a paint can onto the front of her car. She could have been killed.”

“I’m not downplaying the risk. I’m just saying that no harm came of it except my shattered windshield.”

“Did it have anything to do with the meeting you went to?” Simon stuck his hands in his slacks pockets. The phone he had in his possession, the one that no one had the number to, was vibrating. “Did someone follow you, maybe?”

“I doubt Carlos sicced anyone on me. Doesn’t seem like his style.” Cat shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I gotthe feeling he wants me to look into the person who coerced Arlo into confessing.”

Bob shifted a lot closer to their huddle. “It might not be a cold case, but solving mysteries is what my department does. Especially when there are no obvious leads to explain what happened.”

Romeo shook his head. “The police department doesn’t need Vanguard’s help on a case where a conviction has already been made. The shooter is in prison.”

Cat glanced at her brother. “And the fact I don’t believe he did it isn’t relevant?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Romeo ran a hand through his hair. “You’ve been through enough. You don’t need to be worrying about this.”

Cat said, “I’m not trying to heal anymore. This isn’t about what I went through. It’s about getting a shooter off the streets.”

Her words were strong and her face stoic. No lingering fear. Whatever had happened on the street might have shaken her initially, but she had worked through the reaction. Probably using skills she learned in the group she attended. The one Jasper was forcing him to be a part of for at least three more weeks.

His job was no longer a sure thing.

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