Page 90 of Sunflower

“Oh, if only I could,” Koby said sadly, settling into his chair and interlacing his slender fingers over his slim stomach. “I do believe that I’ve just met my new bestie and I’m already feeling the overwhelming need to integrate myself into his life. Step aside, former-bestie-Callum; make way for shiny-new-bestie-Joey.”

A slow grin spread over my face as I raised an eyebrow at him. “Overwhelming need?”

He nodded solemnly, but with a playful twinkle in his eyes. “Yes. The need is confirmed to be exceedingly whelmed.”

I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing.

“Oh, dear God, help us all,” Callum muttered as he buried his forehead into my shoulder. “You’re not supposed to laugh,mo lus na gréine.You’re supposed to ignore him and lavish attention onme.”

“Who says I can’t do both?” I asked cheerfully, scratching my fingers through Callum’s mop of curls enough to make him purr and nudge into me to ask for more.My man was so needy.

“Alright, everyone, listen up.”

Instantly, the room fell silent as we all turned to look towards Orchestra, who stood at the head of the table. Even Koby sat up and became serious.

“I’ve called you all in for this early emergency meeting on a Sunday, because something has come up that we need all hands on deck for.” She leaned forward gravely and rested her hands on the back of the chair she was standing behind before she looked at me. “For those that don’t know much about me, I’m known as Orchestra. I don’t have any other name under this roof.”

I nodded once to let her know I’d heard her.

Satisfied, she turned her focus back to the others in this room. “You’ll notice that George and Marcy are not here with us. Sadly, they both lost their spouses last night—” A gasp went through the room. “—and Marcy also lost her son.”

The noise returned with a vengeance, with alarm, shock, and horror all being displayed.

Koby turned with wide eyes to Callum, all hint of his playfulness from earlier now long gone. “Callum?”

Callum nodded grimly. “It’s true. I was with Marcy when she found out.”

“Jesus.” Koby wiped a palm over his mouth. “How are you joking around with me when that happened?”

“Compartmentalisation.” Callum sighed. “I’m finding that I’m apparently excellent at it.”

Orchestra held her hands up in a stopping motion. “Guys, we’ll give you all the details soon, but note that neither of them will be in the office for the foreseeable future. That does leave us with an immediate leadership problem, however.” She glanced at Erin. “Some of you know Erin and have worked with her in other offices. She’s agreed to come out of retirement to take on George’s role while he’s out of action.”

A murmur rose at the news. It sounded mostly positive, although, understandably, several people were still focusing on the news of the deaths.

“For those of you who don’t know Erin, she worked closely with George for over twenty years before she retired. She has the knowledge and the skills to take on George’s caseload and hit the ground running; however, I will be sticking around for the next few weeks to assist.” Orchestra took a deep breath, then continued, “In light of what happened last night, we also have two new team members joining us.” She nodded to Dad, then to me. “Barry and Joey. Both will be receiving intensive training in the coming weeks to get them up to speed, but I’m positive that they will both prove to be valuable additions to our team.”

Silence filled the room once more, and I noticed several frowns looking at both Dad and me. I couldn’t tell if it was because of suspicion or concern, or both.

“Lastly, it has come to our attention that one amongst you here today is a mole.”

If I thought it had been silent before, now I could have heard a pin drop as Orchestra stared steadily at each and every person in the room with narrowed eyes.

“We may not know yet who amongst you is betraying us, but trust me when I tell you that wewillfind you. You may have succeeded in flying under the radar until now, but we know what you’re doing. We know you had a heavy hand in the murder of three innocent people last night, and we know that you’ve been hindering cases all over the country for the past several years. It will only be a matter of time before we catch you.”

I chanced a look around at the people destined to become my new work colleagues. Every single person looked shell shocked by the news that a traitor was amongst them.

“Because of this, I’ve authorized Coalminer to be transferred to this team as part of the ongoing investigation. He is on his way and should arrive by the end of the day.”

Once again, gasps filled the room. After how I’d heard Erin describe Coalminer when she spoke to Leland, I could understand everyone’s reaction. Whoever this guy was, his reputationdefinitelypreceded him.

“That’s all for now, everyone. I’ve uploaded all relevant details to the server so you can catch up on the basics while Erin and I organize the team into smaller working groups where we can issue targeted assignments. Make sure you keep your eyes open, especially when you’re not within the agency’s four walls. None of us want a repeat of last night.”

The ambient noise within the war room lifted now that it was obvious the meeting was ending.

Turning towards Callum, Koby leaned forward to mutter, “If she’s bringing Coalminer in, things must really be desperate. How much trouble are we in, Honey?”

With no trace of amusement, Callum responded steadily, “A fuck ton.”

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