Page 30 of Rules of Engagement

"Is that when you met him?" I asked, turning my attention to Flaherty.

"Nah. I've known Solomon since before he joined the Army."

"That long?"

"That long," agreed Fletcher, a small smile on his face. "I met him when he was twenty-one or twenty-two and I was just promoted to detective in homicide. His parents were still alive then and he was thinking about what to do with his life. He'd just graduated from a university, a good one too, when his parents were killed, and he had to start raising his sister and brother. He was thinking about joining the police force before that. We got to be friends and I tried to look out for him."

"How come he didn't join?"

"I don't know. He would have made a good cop. I think he did something with computers that allowed him to stay with Anastasia and Damien. He looked after them, got them both into universities, made sure they led good lives despite losing their parents, and when they were ready to look after themselves, he joined the Army. When I got shot a few years ago and retired from the force, I didn't know what to do with myself. He asked me to join him here." Fletcher paused. "I've known Solomon a really long time, and some of the stuff about the CIA I didn't know until much later, but I can't say he's ever come to me about receiving any threats. The Solomon I know has a lot of people in his debt."

"What about everyone else here?" I asked, looking around at the team that worked on this floor. "Do they all have some kind of background with Solomon?"

"My guess is some of them do," said Lucas. "But you could take a look at their employee files."

"I will," I agreed, wondering why I hadn't thought of that before. "Where are they?"

"On the secure server. Only Solomon has the password," he said.

"Break it," I said.

"There's probably some files in his office too," said Delgado. "I think he keeps them in one of those filing cabinets."

I checked my watch. I'd been away from the hospital for too long, and I had too much information to scour through. It was all starting to fuse together in my head. I needed a break and I needed to see Solomon. "I’ll check on my way out," I said.

"Leave everything else with us," said Delgado.

"Thank you. Make sure MPD have access to all the employees and I want a written report on everything they're told by the end of today. Have them emailed to me, please," I added. I got to my feet and waved to my brother. He came over promptly.

"Ready to go?" he asked. "Or did you work something out?"

"I'm ready to go. Can you take me back to the hospital? Delgado will help you with anything you need here."

"What about running shifts?" asked Fletcher.

"Do what you need to do here first," I replied, "and then decide who's coming over first."

I took a few minutes to search Solomon’s offices for the files but found nothing. It didn’t surprise me that Solomon hadn’t kept hard copies available. Garrett and I drove quietly to the hospital and he parked directly out front but didn't get out.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I'm afraid this is going to be the biggest case my division has ever handled. All I'm getting from his employees is that Solomon has been everywhere, knows everyone, and has his fingers in many pies. Did you know all that about him?"

"Some things are new to me," I admitted. The conversations ran around in my head and I wasn’t sure what to make of all the new information.

"You two are going to have one helluva conversation when he wakes up."

I smiled. "I hope so."

We walked into the hospital and through the doors, which beeped loudly. A security guard approached us and put his hand up, forcing us to stop. "Do you know why you set off security?" he asked.

Garrett put a hand to his forehead. "That was me. I forgot to take off my gun." He produced his badge and put both it and the gun in the tray, then stepped through the metal detector again. "These new?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. Have a nice day, Lieutenant."

"The world's gone crazy when the hospitals need metal detectors," said Garrett. He tucked his gun into his waist holster and made for the elevator. As I pressed the call button, I realized my gun was still under my jacket. No one patted me down and no one made me go through the detectors again. I thought about pointing that out, but then decided not to.

I stopped at the nurse's desk and inquired after Solomon. "He's stable and all his vitals are looking good," said a nurse I didn't recognize. "You can visit with his family briefly. I'm sure his wife will be glad of the support."

I gulped and blinked. Did I hear that right? "His... his wife?" I stammered.

What else didn't I know about my future husband?

---