Page 20 of Missing Justice
“Felicity was the one with the money,” Grey mused aloud. “Not Walt. He inherited everything after she was declared legally dead. The money, the house, all of it. Money is always a motivator for murder, but doesn’t seem smart to make her disappear and be forced to wait seven years for the courts to declare her dead before you can officially become rich.”
“I always believed he didn’t want the kid,” Mitch added. “Another good reason to get rid of Felicity.”
Taylor stared at the black sculpture, not really seeing it. Her skin crawled at the thought of what had happened to Felicity. To her baby. “The CSI team is still working the site, so until they’re done, I can’t be sure what role the baby may have played. Maybe nothing.”
Grey removed his sunglasses and cleaned them with a cloth from his jacket pocket. “Felicity’s bones are the best lead at this point.”
Taylor jumped up, the warm spurt of adrenalin that always came when she knew she was onto something pumping in her veins. “Did you tell Meredith I called you yesterday?”
“No.” His voice sounded slightly perplexed. He set his glasses back on his face. “She knew?”
“Chastised me properly.” Taylor fidgeted with her handbag strap, then rounded on Mitch. “I don’t suppose you had anything to do with that?”
“Me?” He looked genuinely abashed. “First of all, I didn’t catch wind of this whole thing until I walked into the…”—he shot a look at Grey—“officethis morning.”
Grey had a secret hideout for his Justice Team. Taylor felt a certain annoyance that he didn’t trust her with the whereabouts, hence why they were meeting at the museum.
“Secondly,” Mitch continued, “I hate Sardana. She’s a total bitch. It’s not like we’re pals who shoot the shit on occasion and I threw her some gossip about you. Thirdly, why the hell would I waste time tattling on you? Grey may like cold cases, but I don’t. I’m only here because he promised to take me by the gun range for target practice after he was done helping you. Which he shouldn’t be doing. If you haven’t noticed, the FBI doesn’t necessarily like us anymore.”
At least with Mitch you knew where you stood. No beating around the bush. No bullshit. “Funny, cuz I heard through the grapevine, you’ve been doing some independent work for us.”
“Yeah, the unsolvable cases you Feds can’t be bothered with because you don’t want to step on toes.”
Grey had told her that his Justice Team specialized in cases involving people who were considered above the law. Foreign diplomats, judges, district attorneys. They also looked into election fraud and other delicate cases.
“Monroe.” Grey’s tone was borderline scolding. “We’re not here to talk aboutourcases. We’re here to help Taylor with hers.”
Mitch did a childish eye roll. “I know, but I like to rile her up. She’s got that whole Caroline demeanor going.” He winked at Taylor and she knew he’d been an ass on purpose, just to test her. Kind of like she’d gotten in Matt’s face that night at the bar, just to see if he would run. “You know I can’t resist sassy women.”
Oh, good Lord. No wonder Meredith hated him.
“Well, someone told my boss,” Taylor said to both men, “so if it wasn’t any of us, I’m guessing either my phone or yours is tapped.”
Grey didn’t say anything but the look on his face dittoed Mitch’s soft curse. “It can’t be us,” Mitch insisted looking to Grey. “Right? We have the highest security tech software and a genius IT geek who scans for bugs and cameras every day.”
That left door number 2. Taylor’s stomach sank.
…eyes and ears everywhere. That’s what Meredith had said.
“She has spies,” Taylor reluctantly confirmed.
“This case could get dangerous for you, Taylor.” A muscle in Grey’s jaw jumped. “If the senatorisresponsible and you expose him, he could lose everything—the money, the house, his new marriage, his power and fame. Most men will do anything—anything—to keep that from happening.”
“Yeah,” Mitch added. “You’re not going to know who’s working for him or who you can trust. I sure as hell wouldn’t trust Sardana any more than Stephens. She might even have some type of software like Teeg is working on that can track your vehicle better than GPS or Google Maps.”
Wasn’t that a lovely thought? “Do I want to know about this software?”
Grey shook his head. “It’s in beta mode and was developed for the intelligence community. It’s basically an eye in the sky. Agents zoom in on addresses in real time and get close enough for facial rec to get accurate intel on the criminals involved in things like drug deals and such. Nothing illegal, I assure you.”
Hmm. She really didn’t want to know. “Meredith is my mentor. She’s been priming me for the past several years to take over the entire Missing Persons unit, not just cold cases. I trust her, even if she is checking up on me.”
“She’ll throw you under the bus if it serves her purpose or the Bureau’s,” Grey warned.
Nice. Just what she needed to hear. From an expert on the subject, no less.
Grey and Mitch were jaded, and while they might have gotten the shit end of the stick with the Bureau, they weren’t entirely innocent of creating the situation in the first place. Taylor hefted her strap onto her shoulder. “I have to go. Thanks for the input.”
She started to walk away, but Grey stood and blocked her path. “I have people who can watch your back, Taylor. Keep you safe.”
