Page 36 of Gone Too Far

“Why would you lie about how involved the two of you were?” Kerri joined her at the counter. “Is there some reason you didn’t want to share with us what he—or the two of you—were doing?”

Cross, her expression locked down like a vault, stared at Kerri. “I said I would check with my sources and see what I could find out. Otherwise,nowyou know what I know. Can we move on?”

Kerri shook her head. “Then why feel as if his death is on you? You said he’s dead because of you. What was he working on specifically? How exactly were you helping him? You’re sharing only vague details, Cross. Reluctantly at that. And what I’m reading in your body language isn’t vague at all. His death affected you deeply. Why, if—as you say—you don’t really know anything at all?”

“Maybe you’re not as good at reading people as you think. You got it wrong this time.”

“I am not wrong.”

Cross plunked the mug down on the counter. “Trust me, Devlin. You do not want to go down this path. You have a daughter. She needs you.”

The words took Kerri aback as nothing else the woman could have said or done would have, but she rallied. “Don’t use my daughter as an excuse to avoid the truth. You know we’re investigating this case. Why leave us in the dark?”

“I thought you said dear old Dad took it from you.”

Kerri held her stare until, remarkably, the other woman flinched.

“Fine. Just remember that you asked for this.” Cross looked from Kerri to Falco and back. “Walsh believed that someone in a powerful position in Birmingham helped the Osorio family forge a path through Birmingham as their major channel of distribution. He wanted to find that link no matter the cost. You happy now?” Cross waved an arm at the dozens of sticky notes on her wall. “This isn’t going to help you solve your case, but if you start asking questions on the subject, it will get you dead.”

“He’s been here only a few months,” Falco argued before Kerri could respond. “He came to this conclusion that quickly when no one else had?”

“Maybe the link is in the DA’s office,” Kerri offered, barely keeping her voice level as anticipation pounded through her veins.

Cross held up her hands. “I don’t know who he suspected; he wouldn’t say. All I know is he wanted my help. I made the mistake of agreeing, and now he’s dead.”

“He got too close to the truth,” Falco said.

Kerri turned to him. Her partner was right. It was the only reason to bother eliminating such a high-profile target. “Your father said Walsh’s murder was because he’d stumbled into an ongoing DEA operation. Ifthat’s what happened, why wasn’t Walsh working with him instead of behind his back?”

Cross thought about the question for a bit before answering. Kerri wondered if she was putting a story together or collecting her thoughts.

“The DEA and every other law enforcement agency you can name has wanted to stop the Osorio cartel for years,” she said finally. “Walsh wanted to stop the people in positions of power who support the cartel, starting here. Those two goals aren’t the same.”

“Why do you say that?” Kerri asked.

Cross stared at her. “The ones Walsh wanted to stop are people the world around them believes in, respects. Except they have no idea that some of those icons of trust and justice wear masks that conceal the worst kind of evil.”

11

2:30 p.m.

Brighton Academy

Seventh Avenue

Birmingham

Tori kept her head turned down as if reading while she surveyed the other tables in the library.

They were watching her.

All of them.

“I’m terrified for you,” Alice whispered.

Fear slid icy cold through Tori’s body. She turned her head just enough to look her friend in the eye. Alice was the only person who had sat down at Tori’s table.

No one else was speaking to her ... just watching her. They were all watching her. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

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