Page 4 of Just Now

“But someone else knew, too. Most likely, someone within the FBI.”

“It’s all pointing toward that,” Kieran agreed.

“Jenna’s case seemed to have been well investigated, at first,” Cami said. “From what I saw on Liam’s laptop, he didn’t botch it. He did everything right. So down the line, either he was told to back off, or someone else stepped in.”

“Yes. That’s logical,” Kieran said.

“So then I did something else,” Cami said. “Something you don’t know yet.”

“What’s that?” Kieran asked. Now there was a note of apprehension in his voice.

“I decided I was going to confront Liam about this,” Cami said.

“What?” Kieran stopped in his tracks, turning to stare at her. “Confront him?”

“Yes. I figured it was the only way to get the information I needed. And that was where it got weird, because his reaction wasn’t what I expected.”

“What did he do?”

This was why Cami had wanted to be out in the open, far away from anyone, when she told Kieran this. Because right now, she didn’t know who to trust. She remembered the expression in Liam’s eyes, the fear in his voice.

“He said Jenna was a friend, he’d known her slightly before this happened. He said of course he didn’t want to give the case up, but that he was forced to.”

“Forced?” Kieran said. “That’s so weird. That’s not what I expected at all.”

“Me, either. I asked who forced him. He wouldn’t say. He said he wasn’t getting involved in that again. That they are watching and they are listening.”

Kieran’s eyes widened as Cami continued.

“He said if I have any sense, I’ll leave it be. He said…” Cami leaned closer. “He said, look what happened to Ethan. That this could happen to you or to me, and that maybe it would. He said I should drop it, keep my hands clean, not ask questions about Ethan, or about Jenna. And that I shouldn’t go digging into what happened to Jenna. Because it might get deadly.”

She stared into Kieran’s eyes, feeling a pang at how similar his gaze was to Ethan’s, how she could see the same spark and the same emotion in his gaze.

“You think he was really scared? Or was he threatening you?”

“I think he was really scared,” Cami said. “He wasn’t threatening me, he was warning me. He was terrified. Basically, I’m getting the impression he left the FBI to save himself, and that he might have been forced into it, and he agreed just to get himself out of there and away. He got another very good job, I mean, he’s not a deadbeat. He seems to be doing well. Nice house, nice car. He’s clearly professional at what he does and I think he always was. Whatever happened at the FBI with him leaving, it wasn’t because he was incompetent.”

“I see what you mean,” Kieran said. He stared at her, frowning. “This is serious, Cami. Because how do we know who to trust?”

“We don’t know,” she said. “And it’s a problem, because there’s one person I know I can trust—my boss, Connor, who partners with me when I come on board for FBI cases. But I can’t tell him.” She shook her head, feeling helpless.

“I get you,” Kieran said. “You can’t tell him because you don’t know who else he’ll have to tell. I mean, they’ve got a chain of command there, I guess. He can’t keep things like that to himself.”

“Exactly,” Cami said. Whenever she thought about telling Connor, she felt two emotions. Utter relief at the thought of handing her problems over to someone she trusted. And then wretched fear, because she knew that he couldn’t keep it private, and would have to share the information with others in the FBI. Others she didn’t trust.

“I think we need to ask Liam more. I’ll do it, if you like?” Kieran volunteered.

Cami felt a pang. No way. What if whoever was behind this targeted him too? She could see in his face that he wasn’t going to let go of the idea.

“No. Please don’t do that. Let me do it.”

“But if you get face to face with him again, there’s a big risk. A risk someone might see you, surely? And if you call him, and someone’s keeping tabs? I know I’m maybe paranoid, but it seems he is too, and with reason,” Kieran said, concern etched in his face.

Cami shook her head. “I don’t have to get face to face with him. There’s a way I can communicate without anyone knowing, and persuade him to tell us more. I’ve done it before, and I can do it again as soon as I’m back in my room.”

CHAPTER TWO

Kieran stared at Cami. She saw he now looked even more worried than he had a minute ago.

---