Ann Peterson - Special Assignment

Where were the other agents? Had she gotten the wrong conference room?

Evangeline breezed through the door behind them. “Shall we get started?”

Cassie frowned in her boss’s direction. Where is everyone?

“The disk’s decryption concerns only the two of you. Please take a seat. We need to get started.” Evangeline focused on Mike. “Glad you decided to take me up on my offer, Detective. After yesterday, I wasn’t sure you’d make it.”

“Funny. I got the feeling you were far too sure.”

Cassie tore her gaze from Mike’s lips and slipped into the closest chair. Mike folded himself into the seat next to her. Evangeline strode to the head of the table and punched a few buttons on the laptop. An image materialized on the screen in front of them. Movie star Nick Warner gazed from the screen with fierce determination in a famous scene from his action film Sayonara, Baby.

Cassie felt Mike shift beside her.

Evangeline gave Mike a pointed look. “I’m sure the two of you have heard about Nick Warner’s death.”

Mike glowered.

Cassie didn’t know what was going on, but it was clear Mike wasn’t expecting Evangeline’s reference to the deceased movie star. And he wasn’t happy about it.

His lips tightened as they formed the words. “Is that why you wanted me on this case? Something to do with Warner?”

Evangeline returned his gaze unfazed. “I wanted you on the case for the reasons I gave you. Of course, any knowledge you have about Nick Warner will be appreciated.”

“I don’t know anything about him.”

“I heard he came to the Denver film festival at least partially to meet with you.”

“I never spoke to him.”

“You did talk to people who worked for him, though.” Evangeline’s expression made it clear she was not asking a question but stating a fact.

It seemed there was more to Evangeline’s selection of Mike as her bodyguard than his knowledge of American Sign Language. Much more. Cassie watched Mike for an answer.

“I talked to them long enough to tell them I was not going to let them option my story, no matter what they paid me.”

“Who did you talk to? Specifically?”

Mike shifted in his chair, as if the answer made him uncomfortable. “Mitchell Caruthers.”

Evangeline nodded. “You know, Caruthers set Nick Warner up to be killed?”

“It doesn’t surprise me.”

“He endangered Nick, his wife and their four-year-old daughter.”

Cassie had heard the talk about Nick’s wife and little girl. Even neck deep in computers, she couldn’t miss that story. Especially the gossip about the budding relationship between the widowed Mrs. Warner and PPS agent Jack Sanders.

“Specifically, Detective, do you remember Caruthers mentioning anything to you about a list?”

“A list? A list of what?”

“That’s what we need to know.”

“Listen, I don’t know anything about Caruthers beyond the fact that he said he worked for Nick Warner. He said nothing to me about a list.”

Cassie eyed Evangeline. How did you hear about this list? she signed.

“Caruthers told Jack.” Evangeline glanced at Mike. “Agent Jack Sanders, that is. He referred to it as a list of names. Jack thinks it has something to do with investments Caruthers made with money he stole from Nick Warner. Unfortunately that’s about all we know. We have no idea if this list contains the names of investors, or the names of companies or what exactly. But I aim to find out.”

Is that what is on the disk? Cassie signed the question.

“Perhaps. Perhaps it’s something else entirely. The disk showed up at our office after Nick Warner’s death. But we don’t know who sent it. Or what data it contains. I guess you’ll have to decipher it to find out how it’s connected to this list. Or if it’s connected at all.”

“But you think it is connected,” Mike said.

Evangeline nodded. “The timing was too much of a coincidence. And I don’t believe in coincidences.”

Neither did Cassie.

“There’s more.” Evangeline focused on Mike. “Caruthers mentioned a specific name in connection to all of this. Milo Kardascian.”

Mike frowned. “The CEO of Vasco Pharmaceuticals.”

“The same.” She tapped a key on her computer and the screens in front of them flashed a picture of the multimillionaire.

Cassie recognized the man’s prominent flat nose and heavy jowls. PPS had provided security at parties he’d attended. She’d worked on the technical support end of the surveillance teams, though she didn’t know much about Kardascian personally. Just that the hard look in his eyes had given her the creeps. How is he involved in this? she asked.

Evangeline focused her attention on Cassie. “That’s what we need to find out. He might know something about this list, or something about the cipher or ciphers needed to read that disk. I’ve had no luck reaching Mr. Kardascian, but I have it from a reliable source that he’s vacationing in his cabin west of Denver. I need you to visit him in person, find out what he knows.”

Cassie straightened in her seat. I can go while the computer is running my next set of algorithms.

“The two of you can go.”

The two of them? Wasn’t that overkill? What was Mike supposed to do? Hold her hand? I don’t need a bodyguard to talk to the CEO of a respected company.

Evangeline shook her head. “Actually, you might be happy to have that bodyguard around Mr. Kardascian. Isn’t that right, Detective Lawson?”

Cassie turned to look at Mike.

A muscle tensed along his jaw. “Don’t tell me. You also brought me aboard because I’m acquainted with Milo Kardascian, or is that just a coincidence, too?”

Evangeline gave a calm smile in answer. “Any additional questions or comments?”

Cassie had dozens of comments. Though she doubted any of them would change Evangeline’s mind.

“Good. Report back to me after you talk to Kardascian. Don’t let her out of your sight, Detective. And, Cassie?”

The terse look on Evangeline’s face caused a hitch in Cassie’s stomach. She raised her eyebrows at her boss, conveying the fact that she understood. And was listening.

“Do your job. Nothing more. I need you back here in one piece to run those decryption programs.”

CASSIE WHIRLED to face Mike as soon as they pulled out of the PPS underground parking garage. What do you know about Milo Kardascian? What isn’t Evangeline telling me?

Kardascian. Not one of Mike’s favorite topics.

Hands on the steering wheel, he turned his head toward Cassie, to give her a clear view of his lips. “He’s not a nice guy.”

She stared, waiting for him to go on.

“He has a nasty habit of beating up women. When I was still on patrol, I was called to his house at the Polo Grounds a few times.” He didn’t need to tell her the rest. Ancient history. And not one of his prouder moments.

He caught the movement of Cassie’s fingers from the corner of his eye.

Then he’ll be defensive around you. I’ll ask him the questions.

He’d known from the first time he’d met Cassie that she was independent. He hadn’t realized she had a chip on her shoulder the size of the Rocky Mountain range. “Listen, I’m betting a self-absorbed bastard like Kardascian doesn’t know one word in ASL. How are you going to ask him anything?”

“I can talk when I have to.”

Her voice sounded low and rich. The inflections were a little flat, but her voice was still the sexiest he’d ever heard. He’d forgotten Cassie hadn’t always been deaf, unlike Tommy, who’d been deaf from birth. “Why don’t you talk more? You have a great voice.”

I don’t like not knowing how I sound, she said, back to using her hands.