Page 56 of The Ghost Assassin

“I guess we know who’s really going to be running this state. Was Murphy with you?” I ask.

“That’s not a discussion we’re going to have now or ever.”

“That’s not a no.”

“Read it how you will. I have nothing to offer you to aid your investigation. And if you’ll excuse me, I have a governor election to focus on. Goodnight, Agent Mendez.” He hangs up.

Chapter Forty-Two

Two hours later, I’m in Purgatory with a bag of chocolate, Cheetos, and a Diet Sprite, staring at my notecards pinned to my board when Kane appears in the doorway. His tie is hanging from his pocket. The top two buttons of his shirt are undone, and his hair is a rumpled mess.

“Did it go that badly?”

He runs a hand through his hair and crosses the room to stand in front of me, kissing me before he buries his face in my neck and says, “Worse.”

I ease back to look at him and he perches on the edge of the desk. “Say more.”

“They all want my father dead. They all want to replace my uncle.”

“Then one of them is going to kill him. It’s a time bomb.”

“Yes, bella, it is.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ve got some crazy ideas in my head I need to sleep on. Tell me what happened in Washington.”

“I met the President in the Oval Office.”

His brow lifts. “You,” he laughs, “met the President of the United States of America.”

“Yes. He says we should vote.”

He laughs again. Kane doesn’t really laugh but it’s good to hear him do it now. “You’d be proud, too. I didn’t say ‘fuck’ one time.”

“Small miracles.” He eyes my board and studies it a moment, fairly unimpressed by the Oval Office apparently. “Two directors dead.”

“Yes. I mean technically Murphy was a deputy director until a few hours before his death, when he was made Acting Director of the FBI. If a second director didn’t die today, I’d say someone didn’t want him to be confirmed for a full appointment, but the second murder rules out that option.” I glance at the board where I placed a “Pocher” card and then eye Kane again. “Pocher knows about the murders, but says he doesn’t know who did them, and refused to talk with me about Murphy.”

“Don’t assume that means Murphy was dirty. It might actually mean the opposite. Pocher loves his head games.”

“Yes, well there’s a lot of reasons why the world is better off without certain humans. Pocher embodies all of them. He’s ruthless. He’s a killer. He’s a manipulator. He’s a pain in my ass. He’s bored me at this point with his self-serving, predictable agenda. I don’t know if Murphy was dirty or not. And Director Ellis and President Arden did little to aid me in my assessment. All they did was tell me to solve the crimes without asking questions.”

“Do you have any leads?”

“A card for Micki’s Diner left in Murphy’s desk drawer, with nothing else but that. A piece of paper with a Nashville number in his pocket that’s a burner phone. The diner has no cameras. Andrew is on his way there now to investigate.”

“Did Rich search Murphy’s house?”

“According to Tic Tac, yes. Nothing to show for it, either. Oh. Ghost showed up.”

“What? Where?”

“In Washington. He was there when the second director was murdered. He says he knows who committed the murders and that it makes him look bad. Now he’s the number two assassin, so his plan is to kill the assassin for me.”

“I’m surprised you let him get away.”

“Thank Jay for that. I want him to go to the police academy. He has to learn self-preservation. Me and Ghost had guns pulled on each other. He stepped between us. Ghost then got away.”

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