Page 25 of Deadly Secrets
It totally turned him on.
Sick bastard.
Not that serial killers were a turn-on. Brooke’s determination, though, definitely was.
Out in the lobby, Sue was gone, the elevator locked down. Brooke loitered near the security desk, still speaking on her phone. “I promise, I’ll be there as soon as I can. I have to check flights.”
So she still planned on leaving him to go off on her next adventure. He could respect that, but he’d hoped she’d get caught up in the hunt for The Reverend and stay.
She must have felt his presence and turned, lifting a hand to him while speaking to whoever this David character was. “I have to go. I’ll be in touch tomorrow after I reschedule my flight.”
The man on the other end said something and Brooke rolled her eyes skyward. “Of course, it’s important to me. I won’t leave you in a lurch. It’s just—”
By the way her body tensed, David must have interrupted. She listened, lips pursing.
Normally, Roman would have gone back inside and done a minute on his punching bag in order to give his guest privacy, but something inside him wanted to use David’s face for the bag instead.
Brooke leaned her forehead against the far wall. Her voice lowered a notch. “David, I have never let you or the Smithsonian down before, and I certainly don’t intend to now, but there are lives on the line. The people you found in Utah are long dead, and we’ll get to them and make sure they are properly identified. If they’re indigenous, we’ll get their tribe involved. But they can wait. The people this serial killer is hunting can’t.”
David said something else and she cut him off. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
She punched a button on her phone, took a deep breath, and spun to face Roman again. “Sorry, where were we?”
“We’re taking a break. Smithsonian, huh? Is David a colleague?”
“I contract out with the Smithsonian on certain projects, which you already know, and yes, I answer to David Borgman when I do. Hikers found bones in a very remote site in Utah. They may date back to the Late Holocene period. It’s a sensitive site because of the ancestry of the bones. They no doubt belong to indigenous Americans. Lots of hoops and red tape to get through. But if the bones and artifacts are as old as David thinks they are, it’s a landmark discovery and could really help us understand the early people in that area, how they lived, the tools they used, etc. I’m excited to get there and see what we’ve got.”
He nodded as if he understood. Past cultures and history were important, but excavating old bones in the middle of nowhere? No thanks. “Food should be here in half an hour. Feel free to use my office if you need to make any other calls.”
“Thanks.”
She didn’t move, didn’t say anything. The air snapped with electricity, and still she just stood there, staring at him. There was something behind her eyes, as if she were at war with herself.
“Brooke? You okay?”
A shake of her head and the moment was gone. “I’m fine. We should get back to work.”
God, she was die-hard. Even his team of trained agents needed a break now and then. “You’ve been at this for hours. It’s okay to clear your head for a few minutes and walk around. Or lay down. You’re free to use the couch in the main area, or the one in my office. It’s quieter in there. Plus, there’s a treadmill and a punching bag, if you need to work out any kinks.”
“Sounds swanky.” She glanced around. “This place is so…”
Her voice trailed off. “So what?”
“Expensive. Homeland must have better funding than the FBI.”
“Yeah, sort of.”
“Sort of?” She laughed. “Have you seen the SCVC Taskforce headquarters? It’s a pit compared to this. You and your agents are lucky you’re so well funded.”
Yes, they were. “Guess I know my way around a budget request better than Harris. He isn’t much for paperwork.”
“You have to give him credit, he gets the job done.”
“So do we.”
“Speaking of that.” She headed for the door. “I have a theory.”
Bingo. “I knew you did.”
