Honeymoon To Die For (4 page)

Ah, that explained it. Bianca had found only one blurred photo of this woman when she’d dug around on Sabrina Slye and her agency. Slim pickins when it came to intel on that bunch, which said a lot. If Bianca couldn’t find it, the information wasn’t there.

Murdock’s gaze tightened with recognition, too. “What’re you doing here?”  

“Watching out for one of my people.”  Sabrina Slye held up a hand to stave off Murdock’s next comment. “If you have any issues with my presence, you’re welcome to contact your superior, and just to be clear, I’m talking about the director.”

The top man in the agency had approved Van Dyke’s prior boss’s attendance at
this
meeting? What did it say about Slye Temp that they supported a man facing a murder conviction?

Two
murder convictions.

Bianca’s conscience niggled that maybe there was a more revealing question. What did it say about
Van Dyke
that Slye was still supporting him?  

Bianca would ask Murdock later about Sabrina Slye. Now was not the time to say or do anything that might undermine her boss’s position.

Murdock stood there for several seconds until he finally said, “I’ve heard about you and your
corporate
security. You can stay, but you have no say over what is decided here today.”

 “Never said I did.”  Sabrina Slye walked over to the chairs that were across from Bianca and Murdock. When the Slye woman pulled two away from the table and flicked a look at Van Dyke, his eyes shifted with resignation, then he trudged forward. His wrists were still cuffed and linked to his chain belt. Ankle cuffs prevented him from moving fast, but Bianca noticed he worked to conceal a limp.

Once the prisoner was seated next to Slye, Murdock dropped into his seat, putting everyone back on the same playing level. “To bring you up to speed, Ms. Slye, we’re discussing the fact that Ryder Van Dyke now faces another murder charge. One he hasn’t got a snowball’s chance in hell of beating.”

Mr. Finnick interjected, “Once we hear what you have to offer, I’ll inform Mr. Van Dyke of his options and—”

Murdock cut him off. “He has
no
options.”  

“Let us be the judge of that,” Sabrina Slye said, ending that argument.

Murdock nodded at Bianca, who opened her file and looked at notes for show since she knew this case by heart. “Our research has produced strong evidence that points to Ryder Van Dyke as the person who shot J. K. Kearn with a 300-grain, match-grade .338 Lapua bullet discharged from a custom-built McMillan TAC-338 rifle with a special-order, one-in-eight-point-five barrel twist
.
That exactly matches the weapon Mr. Van Dyke carried when he was in the Army, built to his specifications.”  Bianca glanced up at Van Dyke, who watched her with that penetrating gaze, but said nothing as she rattled off the ballistic details she’d memorized.

“Said weapon went missing from the armory,” she went on, “the same week it arrived back in the United States from Mr. Van Dyke’s last duty station. The same week he was discharged. Over the past five months, the FBI has accounted for all other relevant weapons and vetted the alibis of potential suspects who possess comparable expertise.”

Sabrina Slye shrugged. “Still circumstantial and Ryder has a flawless military record.”  

Bianca mentally amended that statement to more accurately say that Van Dyke had left the military as a decorated hero. For that very reason, she’d worked twice as hard in building a file on this case. With no eyewitness and no murder weapon with fingerprints, Bianca had suffered nightmares over the possibility that she’d play a role in convicting an innocent man.  

But Van Dyke’s military record also raised the question of
why
he’d opted out early on a promising career, only to join a corporate security agency. Granted, the money was better in the private sector for a man with his skills.

Now that Bianca had deduced by Murdock’s comment that Slye Temp was not to be taken at face value, Bianca had new suspicions about why Van Dyke would join up with a woman rumored to have once been a covert operative.

Was she still one?

Bianca had found no hard evidence to substantiate that rumor, which actually gave the spook angle more gravity. She asked Van Dyke, “Why did you leave the military only to take a job stateside doing similar work with Slye Temp? A DA would bring up the point that covert operations with Slye Temp offered you the ability to disappear to execute wet work.”

For all that Van Dyke had relaxed his guard, he came to full alert with that jab. “I’m no one’s hired killer.”

Sabrina said with a lethal calm, “Careful how you word your accusations, agent. I might mistake that as suggesting I contract for wet work.”

Bianca ignored the eyeball daggers coming from Sabrina. “I am accusing no one. Simply stating how this could be perceived in court.”

Sabrina added, “I hired Ryder knowing he did not want to use his long range expertise and he
hasn’t
.”

“According to what you know,” Bianca clarified then persisted in pushing Van Dyke for an answer. “You still haven’t explained why you left the military, Mr. Van Dyke.”

Van Dyke’s eyes narrowed to hard slits. He took his time answering, then finally uttered in a tight voice, “Because I couldn’t make the shots any more, Special Agent Brady.”

Rolling her eyes, Bianca said, “Right. You all of a sudden lost the ability to hit a target in your crosshairs.”

Van Dyke’s penetrating stare turned frigid. His cheek muscles flexed above the beard that hid things like a clenched jaw.

Murdock shook his head and made a disgusted sound. “Trying to convince us that you woke up one morning without the ability to perform a function you knew as well as drawing a breath is wasting time. We have an offer for you that’s good
right
now. Not an hour from now, tomorrow or at any later date.”  

Van Dyke glowered at Murdock. “What do you want?”

Murdock calmly answered, “In addition to the research our intel department has compiled on you, Agent Brady and her team have spent the last two years building a file on a suspected connection between Van Dyke Enterprises and illegal arms ending up in the hands of terrorists.”

Suspected, my butt.
But Bianca didn’t let a muscle twitch at that comment, waiting for the fireworks to erupt.

Van Dyke muttered a soft curse.

Sabrina Slye shot Murdock a death glare. “You son of a bitch.”  

Finnick snarled at Murdock, “My client will
not
be held responsible if that information leaks out.”

Murdock smiled with feigned politeness. “Agreed, but if Van Dyke doesn’t accept my offer, he’ll just have to stay in the SHU until our mission is accomplished. Might take a while.”

At the mention of returning to the SHU, Van Dyke’s flinty gaze faltered for the first time since walking into the room. His skin lost what little color he’d had. Anguish flooded his eyes.

Guilt clubbed Bianca, but she shook it off. Her team had built a file based on facts. Van Dyke would have a chance to dispute them and argue his innocence in court.

In the span of a second, Van Dyke’s face shuttered again.

But in that tiny moment when his hard shell had cracked, Bianca had gotten a glimpse of the man in the military photos whose beautiful gray eyes had screamed
honorable
the first time they’d smiled up at her from his file.

Those eyes had tormented her dreams, accusing her of sending Van Dyke to his death.

Ryder Van Dyke’s case would be decided by a jury. She had no reason to lose sleep, but tell that to her mind at night.

And her daddy had taught her a simple rule a long time ago.

People lie. Facts don’t.

Murdock continued, “Let’s get down to business. We want to infiltrate Van Dyke operations. We’re willing to offer you a chance to reduce the length of your sentence, Van Dyke, if you help us figure out how to insert one of our people inside the Van Dyke family compound
and
the headquarters of Van Dyke Enterprises.”

“For what purpose?” Van Dyke asked, surprising Bianca when he didn’t argue his innocence.

Was he finally accepting the future he faced?

“To gather evidence that Hubrecht Van Dyke is selling arms to terrorists.”

Van Dyke sat back and looked over at Sabrina. “What do you know about this?”

“Just what you’ve heard.”

Then Van Dyke lifted an eyebrow in question at Finnick, who said, “Any agreement here will be binding by law with all of us as witnesses.”

“Bottom line,” Van Dyke ordered.

Finnick nodded, understanding what was asked of him. “There is still no murder weapon in J. K. Kearn’s death, but the circumstantial evidence is strong. Additionally, in the case of the guard’s death, the eye-witnesses and videotape will bear significant weight with regard to the trial.”

Bianca watched Sabrina, who stared at Van Dyke during a long silence then said, “We’ll support any decision you make.”

That seemed obvious based on Slye Temp’s having paid for his legal defense. So what exactly had Sabrina meant by her statement?

Van Dyke addressed Murdock. “You can’t get inside the family compound without me.”

“Right.”  Bianca made a soft scoffing sound that brought the prisoner’s attention to her.

Van Dyke’s eyes gleamed with condescending amusement. “If
any
of your research is accurate, you would know that.”   

That got Bianca’s back up. “My team’s research is spot on. I
know
how tightly your father controls his world. What I was commenting on was the fact that you think we’ll just turn you loose.”

He sat forward and when he did all that dangerous energy came with him. His voice lost any hint of civility. “I’ll make this real simple so take notes if you can’t keep up. If I agree to help you, I have to go with the agent being inserted for
any
chance of getting inside that compound,
or
the VDE offices that rival the Pentagon for security. If the agent with me makes a mistake, we’re both dead. So the person facing the greatest risk right now is me.”

Murdock broke in. “You’d have to wear an RFID chip.”

“Think I don’t know that? But we
both
know they don’t have much range.”

“The new RFID-X does. It was developed for us.”

Bianca clenched the pen in her hand, shocked that Murdock was considering releasing Van Dyke. She knew Murdock’s number-one priority was to nail Hubrecht Van Dyke, but to risk giving this prisoner a chance to escape and vanish?

Asking Murdock about that right now would be the fastest way to put the kibosh on her hopes for a permanent position on his anti-terrorism team.  

Sabrina interjected, “My team can back him up.”

Murdock shook his head. “No. Our people only.”

Van Dyke and Sabrina traded a look, a silent communication that resulted in Van Dyke saying, “No deal.”

“What?” Murdock barked. “You’re willing to give up this chance to reduce your sentence
and
spend an indefinite stay in the SHU? Think you’ll get a better offer any time in the next millennium?”

Van Dyke lifted a shoulder, causing his handcuff chains to jangle. “You and I both want something, so it’s a matter of who wants what the most. I
can
get you inside Van Dyke properties. Think you’ll get a better chance at nailing Hubrecht Van Dyke
without
me?”

The stare down between Murdock and Van Dyke lasted thirty grueling seconds.

Murdock stood. “Give me a minute.”  He stepped away, punching buttons on his cell phone.

While he discussed whatever he was calling about, Bianca considered what Van Dyke was willing to do. She ignored the hard glint in his eyes and asked with sincere interest, “You’ll really help the FBI nail your father?”“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because someone set me up for a murder charge.”

Did this guy expect Bianca to believe a former Special Forces soldier was “set up” by his father?

Bianca would have scoffed at that, but beneath the anger simmering in his words, she heard pain that poked at her again.

What was Van Dyke’s true story? What had led him to this?

She could almost hear Sara Lynn reminding her, “Don’t go trying to save the wrong person, BB.”

Sara Lynn was right. Van Dyke’s family had enough money to fund a small country and the resources to protect it. Bianca had a job to do. She trusted her team’s research.

Murdock ended his call and shoved his phone into a pocket on his way back to the table. “Fine. Slye’s team will coordinate with ours.”

With a nod from Sabrina, Finnick began negotiating the terms with Murdock.

Bianca forced her jaw to lock so her mouth didn’t fall open. She’d never trust Van Dyke not to run even with an RFID chip in him.

Grim amusement settled in Van Dyke’s eyes.

Bianca maintained her indifference, refusing to let her disappointment show. Van Dyke would see that as a win.

Finnick paused in negotiating the length of Van Dyke’s reduced sentence that would be offered only if he pleaded guilty. He asked the prisoner, “Is that acceptable to you?”

Van Dyke didn’t appear to have been listening, but he answered, “Sure,” without any debate.

He seemed too accepting. Something about that stirred the puzzle solver inside Bianca, but she couldn’t put her finger on what had pricked her curiosity.

Van Dyke announced, “Now that we’ve got all that out of the way, there’s another detail to get straight.”

“What’s that?” Murdock asked.

“As I said, the only way inside the family compound is with me and I can’t take anyone I present as
just
a friend.”

That was total crap. Bianca gave a sigh of disgust as she sat back. “Then there’s no deal.”

“I’m
not
finished. I
can
get a woman inside.” Van Dyke studied Bianca too closely, then said, “Hubrecht and his people will spot an experienced field agent a mile away.”

“We’ll find someone suitable,” Murdock said dismissively.