The Watched (CSI Reilly Steel #4) (29 page)

Then there had been
Daniel’s surprise at the beach house later that evening.

‘I made the call Todd wanted me to make.’ Daniel kept his voice low. ‘The Feds are worried about the Tampa lab running things. Between Holly and now Bradley, Todd’s personal stake in this is way too high; he shouldn’t be working it at all. I can’t step in and, really, no one else on the team should either. However, my contact at the field office agreed to let the team stay on the case if you run point and report to their special agent in charge. I recommended that as the best course of action.’

‘I can’t.’
Reilly shook her head. ‘I can’t run a CSI lab here. I’m not . . .’

Daniel
’s hand closed around her wrist, the urgency in his voice harder than Reilly had ever heard before. ‘You’re former FBI and senior CSI in Dublin. Of course you can do it. The field office will issue the necessary credentials. If Todd doesn’t want outsiders – and in truth, I’m not completely crazy about that myself given how far into this we are – then it’s the only realistic option.’

‘Daniel . . .’
she started.             

‘Reilly
,’ he pleaded. ‘Do you know what it will do to Todd if this is taken from him?’

She couldn’t do it. She
knew Todd would hate her for it, because effectively it
was
being taken away from him. And she also knew that any chance she had for something real with him would vanish the moment he found out that she was the FBI’s go-between. Still, how could she say no?

‘
I’ll do it,’ she said.

‘
Thank you.’ The two words were heartfelt. ‘Now, come out to the living room. Agent Kent needs to meet you.’

Reilly
frowned. The SAC was
here
at the house? Typical Daniel, pre-empting her response even before she knew the question.

The special agent in charge was not
what she’d had in mind. The moment she saw the burly, balding forty-something scowling out of the living room window, she knew this was not going to go well at all.

‘
You must be Steel.’ He gave Reilly the usual once-over and she could see him dismiss her. There was a man with serious women issues.

‘Agent Kent.’ S
he kept her voice polite and held out her hand.

He
shook it, two brisk pumps. ‘Look, I might as well tell you – I don’t deal with the science geeks. You do your thing, give me what you’ve got and I’ll decide if it’s worth anything.’

Reilly
bristled. She was in no mood to be patronized. ‘Excuse me?’

‘This wasn’t my idea.’
Agent Kent stared down at Reilly, his face hard. ‘Forrest has influence at the Bureau and I was told to make this work. You were the only viable option.’ He turned and headed toward the door. ‘Like I said, you call, I make the decisions. The evidence from the Bradley Ford murder will be delivered to the Tampa lab first thing tomorrow.’

‘
We have a funeral in the morning.’ Reilly’s voice was sharp.

‘And w
e have keys. Good night.’

As she watched the door close behind Kent, she sighed and muttered,
‘Yeah, this was a great idea.’

Reilly
was standing in front of her mirror, criticizing the outfit she’d bought in Macy’s at the Westfield Mall the day before. She’d needed something appropriate for a memorial service, but had never been good at dressing for somber occasions. She sighed. It would have to do.

‘Reilly.’
Daniel’s voice accompanied his knock at the bedroom door. ‘It’s time to go.’

‘Coming.’ G
iving herself one final glance in the mirror, Reilly picked up her purse and went out to join Daniel.

The ride to the church
took place in silence. Reilly supposed she should have been used to it by now. The last couple of days had been filled with the most silence she’d experienced in a long time. At least this one wasn’t filled with the awkward memories of a night that probably should’ve never happened.

Speaking of
which . . .

Todd and Emilie stood on the sidewalk in front of the church, talking to
the computer expert Peni and, based on what Todd had told her, a woman Reilly could only assume was Peni’s partner. As short as Peni was tall, Ivy looked very much like a poet who would be dating someone like Peni Westmore. Long corn-silk blond hair with dark purple streaks. A flower-printed skirt that swished around her hemp sandals. A peasant top and dozens of sparkly bracelets.

Reilly
suddenly felt very plain in her dark gray dress and simple gold locket.

As she and
Daniel approached, her eyes flicked to Todd and she thought she saw a flash of something, but when she looked closer, it was gone, leaving her to wonder if it had really been there at all. She felt a stab of sadness before chastising herself. This was his close friend’s memorial service. Fortunately, there was little time for anything other than quick introductions among the small group before they were herded inside.

Reilly
barely heard any of the service, she was entirely too aware of Todd just an inch away. She’d tried to position herself further away from him, but couldn’t without explaining to Daniel exactly why she didn’t want to sit next to him. Instead, she just concentrated on not looking at him.

When the minister asked if anyone wish
ed to share a memory, Todd stood.

His leg brushed against hers as he made his way out of the pew and
Reilly’s gaze flicked up to his face. He was staring straight ahead, expression stony.

‘
I first met Bradley when I was still at Quantico,’ he began, his throat working. ‘He’d just been made a junior investigator at CSI and was well on his way to being senior investigator. I’d needed to visit for a paper I had to write . I’m not sure what I’d expected, but Bradley definitely wasn’t it. He showed me a side of forensic investigation that I hadn’t considered before. He took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. After I graduated from the Academy, I came back to Tampa because I wanted to work with Bradley Ford. Even though he hadn’t seen me for years, he remembered me. Bradley was like that. He cared about people, cared about helping them.’ Todd paused, his voice catching. He cleared his throat and continued. ‘He was my mentor, my big brother, my best friend. And I am going to find the person responsible for taking him from us. I’m going to get justice for my friend.’

On his way back to his seat, Todd’s jaw was set, his eyes flashing with the anger he’d bottled up. He didn’t look at anyone, didn’t acknowledge his colleagues
, as he settled back into his seat, his eyes on his hands as the next person got up to speak.

Reilly
let out a breath she hadn’t realized that she’d been holding. So that was it, then. If there had ever been a moment where he would’ve looked to her for some form of encouragement or support, it would have been then. Instead, he hadn’t even glanced in her direction. Apparently, he thought their night together had been a mistake.

Well,
Reilly decided; if she’d had any misgivings about continuing in Dublin at least that made her decision easy.

After the service,
Daniel excused himself to make a call, leaving Reilly standing with the rest of the team and Ivy. As the others discussed the impending FBI takeover, Reilly gave Ivy an awkward smile. Daniel had told her to wait until he received official confirmation today that everything he’d talked about with Agent Kent the evening before would be authorized.

‘
Peni says you’re from Ireland?’ Ivy asked with a smile.

‘
Originally from California, actually,’ Reilly clarified. ‘I moved to Dublin a couple of years or so ago for a job.’

‘
So you’re just back to visit, or to stay for good?’

Reilly
sensed Todd’s body tense, but ignored him. ‘Just to visit. It’s been great seeing Daniel and everyone again, but I have a good job in Dublin, and friends too.’

‘
And a boyfriend, I presume?’ Ivy inquired with a smile.

Reilly
shook her head, suddenly uncomfortable with where the questions were heading. She didn’t like having these types of discussions at any time, much less in the presence of the man she’d slept with just a few days before.

Talk about awkward.

Fortunately, at that moment, Daniel returned. ‘I just spoke to Cam at the Bureau.’

‘
What’d she say?’ Todd was immediately alert and his tone was curt.

‘
She had to pull some strings, but she was able to convince her boss to let your crew stay on the case.’ Daniel paused, glancing at Reilly. Her expression must’ve told him that she wanted him to share the news because he did just that. ‘The only condition is that Reilly run point on the investigation from now on.’

‘
Figures,’ Todd muttered darkly.

‘
What figures?’ Reilly hadn’t been happy about the decision, but she’d reasoned it was better than losing everything to the Feds. She’d known Todd wouldn’t be happy about it, but she thought he’d at least keep quiet about it for the moment, rather than complain in front of the team.

‘
Come on, Reilly.’ He finally turned toward her but didn’t meet her gaze. ‘You don’t think it’s a little strange that the FBI would rather have a consultant who’s spent the last three years in Dublin running a case rather than the person with the next highest ranking within the department? I wonder who put
that
idea in their heads?’ He gave his father a pointed look.

Daniel
crossed his arms over his chest. ‘Yes, I suggested Reilly be in charge, but only after Cam said she couldn’t consider the idea without someone with a less personal connection heading it.’

‘Whatever.’
Todd raised a hand and shook his head. ‘We’ve got to get back. We have a case to solve.’ He glared at Reilly. ‘If that’s OK with you, boss?’

Reilly
resisted the urge to tell Todd exactly what he could spend the next few hours doing and instead just raised an eyebrow. ‘I didn’t ask for this, Todd, but you might want to try being grateful that your father actually got us a way to keep the case.’

‘
Sure,’ Todd sneered. ‘Thanks, Dad. I’ll try to make sure I don’t let your protégé down.’

Reilly
scowled as Todd stalked away. After an awkward moment, Emilie excused herself to follow. Peni and Ivy said their goodbyes as well, leaving Daniel and Reilly alone.

‘
It really was the only way, you know.’ Daniel broke the silence.

‘
I believe you,’ she said. Whatever vestige of hope she’d maintained that she and Todd would be able to work out this weird thing between them had vanished.

Not that it mattered, since once this was done, she was going
back to where she belonged. Reilly couldn’t, however, silence the small voice that countered that maybe she didn’t quite belong anywhere.

CHAPTER 34

‘I know your team has just gotten back to work after the terrible passing of Bradley Ford.’ Captain Harvell’s usual gruffness was tempered by his sympathy. ‘I was so sorry to hear about it. Bradley was a good man, a valued member of the department.’

Todd gave a stoic nod.

‘Agent Kent spoke with me yesterday and told me that you were taking point for the duration of the murder case, Ms Steel,’ the captain said, turning to Reilly. Once again the chief was all business. ‘He showed me a report of suspicious activity by actor Bruce Reynolds?’

‘
Yes, sir, a media interview.’ Reilly had a vague recollection of Todd saying something about that, something Peni had unearthed apparently. She hadn’t read through all of the reports she’d delivered to the FBI agent thus far, trusting the investigative team’s notes to be up-to-date.

‘
We’re bringing him in for questioning.’ Captain Harvell’s voice tightened. ‘Agent Kent, actually, is bringing Reynolds in for questioning, and I’d appreciate your perspective.’

By the time
Reilly arrived upstairs at the station, Reynolds was already in the interview room with Agent Kent. The actor looked completely different than he had when Reilly had last spoken with him. Gone was the arrogance, the snarky attitude. Reynolds was nervous, biting his nails, eyes darting around the room.

Agent Kent relied on intimidation as he interrogated the suspect. Rapid-fire questions designed to trip up inconsistencies. Lots of looming. Walking behind the suspect.
Reilly felt like she was learning as much about the FBI agent as she was about Reynolds.

‘
What do you think?’ Captain Harvell asked, after nearly thirty minutes.

Reilly
shook her head. Her previous belief that the actor wasn’t the kidnapper or the killer had been solidified after just the first few questions. ‘Reynolds may come across as arrogant, but he doesn’t have the ego or the courage to be our perp.’

‘
You don’t think he’s acting?’

‘
The way Agent Kent is delivering the questions, Reynolds barely has time to answer, let alone think. I’ve seen his movies. He’s not that good an actor. He’s got far too many nervous habits to be as cold and calculating as he would need to be to set up some of these scenes. Also, he’s chewing his nails. No nail or skin fragments have been found at any of the scenes. Someone with that much anxiety wouldn’t be able to stop himself.’ Reilly was interrupted when the door to the room opened and a fresh-faced rookie entered. He spoke the words none of them wanted to hear.

‘
There’s been another murder.’

It
was one of the oddest things she had ever come across, Reilly thought a little later as she followed Todd across the sand.

Well,
apart from the whole Wicked Witch thing, that was. She didn’t think that one would ever be beaten for most bizarre murder. She was just glad she’d never been a fan of
The Wizard of Oz
. A friend had made her watch it once. Stupid bloody winged monkeys had freaked her out.

‘
Do you ever wonder how writers come up with these ideas in the first place?’ Todd asked as they walked.

Reilly shrugged.
‘I try not to think about it. Anyway, sometimes it’s not the big picture that’s revealing. Very often it’s the little details that are the most telling.’

‘You sound just like my dad.’
For once, his words held amusement rather than anger and Reilly took note that this was the first actual conversation she and Todd had had since spending the night together. At least it proved they could still work together. Their common goal outweighed their personal issues.

For now anyway.

She suspected that when they went back to the lab later and she placed the call to Agent Kent to give him the required daily update, things would get messy again.