Ring of Lies (52 page)

She
was about to argue, but
he
was right.
But that didn’t stop her feeling
guilty.

‘
I can’t do this
anymore
, Jack
.
I can’
t be responsible for
any
more deaths
.
’

‘
None of this is your fault, Grace
. Y
ou know that.
I know you’re having trouble believing that just now, but it’s true.
F
ocus on the one thing that matters
,
b
ringing
Elliott’s
killer to justice
before you become
his
next victim
.
Let’s get out of here.
’

Empty and drained, fatigue settled in
dark rings
under
Grace’s eyes.
Every now and again a
whimper
escaped
her
lips and
her body
tremble
d
,
as
she
reliv
ed
the
images and sensations
of the last
few
hours
.

Jack ignored the speed limit
and
drove in the outside lane of the freeway
.
Once
they reached
the city limits
,
h
e adjusted his speed to match the heavy t
raffic
w
h
ere
every driver jostl
ed
for position in
the
usual stop-go
chaos
.

Aroused from the
numbness that weighed her down,
Grace yawned and looked out of the window at the skyscrapers glinting in the late afternoon sunlight.
She felt hot and dirty, and longed for a shower to cleanse her body and soul of the death and lies that had become her life.

‘
I thought you were asleep,
’
Jack said.

‘
The change in momentum woke me up.
Where are we?
’
she asked, straightening her shoulders and finger combing her dishevelled hair.

‘
About five minutes away from headquarters.
’

Grace’s hands clenched.

‘
Stop worrying,
Mike isn’t going to blame you for
Jacobs
’s death.
’

Her head snapped round to look at him.
‘
How can you be sure?
’

‘
Because
he
’s a good agent.
He examines the facts
,
all of them
,
before making
a judgement
.
’

Grace looked at him for a long moment.
Nothing he said made her feel better.

He drove
into the parking lot reserved for Federal employees
, and
took his ID out of his jeans and slipped it
,
badge out, in the pocket of his shirt.

‘
Ready?
’
he said to Grace as they
entered the building.

‘
You make it sound as if I’m about to be arrested.
’

Jack smiled.
‘
Don’t
be scared
.
Mike’s only going to ask you
some
more questions,
j
ust be honest with him.
’

‘
I
have
been honest with him and look what’s happened.
There’s nothing more I can tell him, Jack.
’

He took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
‘
Then there’s no need to feel
apprehensive.
’

They found Mike Zupanik
in his office
, but he wasn’t alone.
‘
Jack.
Grace.
Take a seat.
I’ve asked
A
gent Diego to join us.
He’s
come up with some interesting information
.
’

‘
Mike,
you
ought to
know that Pete
Jacobs
died
this morning
.
’

‘
Jesus, Jack.
How
’d
it happen?
’

‘
His plane exploded on
take-off
. I
t didn’t look like
an accident.
’

‘
What makes you say that?
’

‘
We were there.
’

Mike switched his attention to Grace.
‘
Seems
folk
have a habit of dying after you meet them.
Makes me wonder if you’ve come here to clean up for whoever’s behind this scam.
’

Grace jumped to her feet.
The look on her face said she was scared.

And angry.

‘
How dare you accuse me of…
what exactly are you accusing me of
,
Mr
.
Zupanik?
’

Mike met her cool stare.
‘
Sit down,
Grace
.
I
’m
merely making an observation, that’s all.
’

Grace glanced at Jack, but his face was unreadable.
S
he’d asked for his help,
but
she didn’t have to sit here and be insulted by his boss.
She could walk away whenever she wanted.

Or could she?

Images of
Pete Jacobs’ burning plane
filled her mind.
If she left now his death
would remain
on her consci
ence
for the rest of her life
.
She slumped down into the chair and buried her face in her hands.
It took her several
minutes to regain her composure.
When she lifted her head it was to find Mike Zupanik
regarding her with impassive coldness
.

‘
Parous and Jacobs death
s
are
more than a coincidence
.
’

‘
Explain, Jack.
’

‘
There are three possibilities.
Either Grace was followed here
. S
omeone was worried that Parous and Jacobs would ta
lk
, and is sending a message to everyone else involved, or
someone
inside the Bureau is
leaking
information.
’

Mike glanced at Diego.
‘
Have the airlines come up with the passenger manifests yet?
’

Diego shook his head.
‘
We’re still waiting on them.
’

‘
Then start kicking butt.
I want them on my desk within twenty-four hours.
In the meantime,
nothing
said here
goes beyond these four walls.
Understood?
Now, Diego,
why don’t you
fill
Jack and Grace
in on
what you’ve found out so
far?
’

Diego consulted his notes.
‘
Until eight months ago,
Lionel Lattide didn’t exist.
There’s no record of him owning property or filing taxes
,
and he’s never been issued with a drivers
’
licence
.
I’m
waiting to hear back from
the banks
regarding
any
accounts he may have held.
And so far, there’s no record of him owning a cell phone.
’