“I hope you don’t mind, but I instructed him to get a rundown from Samantha Kennedy. Fresh eye, so to speak,” Reynolds said.
“We never really finished debriefing her,” Cameron admitted as she took a sip of coffee. “Angel had been captured and Murdock all but took us off the case. Since then, there hasn’t been time.”
“I hope she’ll be forthcoming,” he said.
“Actually, I think Andi should talk to her.”
Andrea flicked her eyes at her and nodded. They’d talked a little about it last night. Sam was very clinical in her answers, not emotional at all. Cameron had suggested that maybe the trauma was more than Sam let on. Maybe she needed to speak with someone. A professional. But Andrea didn’t think so. Andrea thought there was tension between Sam and Tori, tension brought on by Angel. She thought that Sam did want to talk but that Tori was too close.
“You think she can get more out of her than Eric can?” Reynolds asked.
“It would be more girl talk and not quite an interrogation,” Andrea said.
“I know last night you thought I was being too hard on her. Certainly Agent Hunter did. But we don’t really know much about Angel,” he said. “Kennedy spent more time with him than anyone else has in years. Anyone that we know of anyway.”
“I agree,” Cameron said. “But keep in mind she’s on our team. You came across as accusing last night.”
Reynolds stared at her. “Do you really think it’s wise to have her and Agent Hunter still involved in this? Talk about personal,” he said.
“Murdock wants Hunter to stay on. He said to cut Sam loose when we get everything we need out of her.”
Andrea laughed lightly. “You cut Sam loose, Hunter’s going with her. No way Tori stays here without her.”
“Orders are orders,” Reynolds said.
At that, Cameron also laughed. “Yeah, well, Hunter is kinda like me when it comes to orders,” she said.
“She’d risk being reprimanded and possibly losing her job?”
“In a heartbeat.”
Reynolds shook his head. “There’s no discipline anymore.”
Cameron smiled. “At least you’re not in a damn suit today.” She put her coffee cup down. “Come on. Let’s get back to the hotel. We should go over this information that Rowan put together.” She turned to Andrea. “And maybe you can slip away with Sam for a bit.”
“Yes. If you can keep Tori occupied.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“So he was married?” Sam asked.
“Yeah. Surprised me too,” Cameron said. “He never seemed the type.”
Sam read through the report Rowan had compiled. It was much more revealing than the one Murdock had given them. The two-year gap that was missing from Murdock’s report had him in Spain, living in a small villa near the sea. And married. Wife and son. She nearly gasped as she read the next sentence. Murdered.
She glanced up at Cameron who nodded.
“He didn’t tell you any of that, I guess.”
Sam shook her head. No. In fact, she’d asked him once if he’d ever been in love. Maybe that’s why his answer had been so abrupt. His wife had been murdered. Perhaps he tried not to remember that part of his life.
Sam glanced over at Tori, who was watching her intently. She met her gaze, wondering what thoughts were going through her mind. Last night, after everyone had left their room, they’d talked some. But Sam couldn’t find the words to explain to Tori how she was feeling. Tori was confused, Sam knew. She also knew how emotionally vulnerable Tori was sometimes. She had seen the doubt in her eyes, and Sam could think of only one way to reassure her. They’d made love with such abandon last night, it had felt almost like at the beginning of their relationship where their hunger for each other could not be satisfied with just one time. Even this morning, the passion was still simmering. Sam had tried to tell Tori without words that everything was okay. That she was okay. Tears had come for both of them finally and it was almost a relief to shed them.
Tori pulled her eyes away, looking over at Cameron. “So what’s the plan?”
“We wait on Rowan to give us something,” she said.
“Like?”
Cameron shrugged. “The most likely places to hide three million dollars.”
“How does he even know where to start?”
“Since we don’t have a lot of data, he’ll use different scenarios,” she said. “The programs that Jason wrote hit a lot of different databases so Rowan can pretty much plug in whatever criteria he wants and get some decent returns.”
“So we just wait?” Tori asked.
“Afraid so,” Reynolds said. “It took some getting used to. But Rowan is very good.”
Sam couldn’t imagine how they hoped to find Angel using Cameron’s computers, but she said nothing.
“I’m in charge of lunch,” Andrea said. “I thought burgers.” She turned to Sam. “You want to go with me and lend a hand?”
Sam nodded. “Sure.”
“I can help too, if you want,” Eric offered. “Not much happening here.”
Sam saw Cameron and Andrea exchange glances and realized the lunch was staged. Eric had grilled her with questions this morning. She assumed it was now Andrea’s turn.
“I think we can handle it,” Andrea said to Eric. “Why don’t you get everyone’s order and email it to me.” She held her hands out and smiled. “I will take monetary contributions, however.”
Everyone shuffled around as they handed over some cash to her. Sam was about to go to her backpack when Tori stopped her.
“I got it.”
Cameron tossed keys at Andrea, who deftly caught them in one hand.
“Be right back.”
Sam squeezed Tori’s arm as she passed, then dutifully followed Andrea out into the hallway. She was surprised when Andrea leaned closer, a smile on her face.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said.
“What? An interrogation is forthcoming?”
Andrea laughed quietly. “Yeah. I figured that’s what you thought.”
“You mean it’s not?”
They walked outside the hotel—the Pueblo Inn. It was an authentic southwestern design, adobe siding and all. Sam thought it was charming and wished they were here under different circumstances. The sky was again cloudless and the air was pleasantly cool with only a slight breeze.
“It’s so different from the big city,” she said. “I’ve grown to love Dallas, but I do miss places like this.”
“Where are you from originally?” Andrea asked.
“Denver.” She shook her head. “And no, I don’t get back there often.”
“I’m from Los Angeles,” Andrea said. “No way would I go back. I met Cameron in Sedona. I loved it there. But traveling like we do now, we’ve seen so many lovely little towns. I can’t decide which one is my favorite.”
Andrea unlocked Cameron’s truck and they got inside.
“I think I would miss having a home,” Sam said. “Do you?”
“Not really. The rig has become home to us. We just change our backyard views quite often,” she said with a smile. “Although Cameron has mentioned settling down somewhere.”
Sam nodded. After a few seconds of silence, she asked what was foremost on her mind. “So what are we really doing if not an interrogation?”
Andrea looked at her quickly, then turned her attention back to the road. “Honestly? I thought you might need to talk.”
Sam was nearly taken aback by the statement. Was she that easy to read?
“If I’m out of line, please say so,” Andrea said. “We can get the burgers and go right back. But there’s a park a few blocks away. We could sit and talk.”
Sam knew the offer was sincere and that Andrea wasn’t simply fishing for information—information they assumed she was withholding.
Sam sighed and nodded. “Yes. The park sounds nice.”
True to her word, Andrea found the park without a problem. It was small, with only a handful of picnic tables. There was a playground made out of natural materials. No bright blues, yellows or reds to be found. A young mother with two toddlers occupied the swings. She and Andrea walked past them to one of the picnic tables and sat down.