Page 37 of Rules of Engagement

Maddox fell quiet, thinking. Then he said, "Maybe Solomon wanted me to protect you?"

"Maybe, but there's a lot of other people who could do that if necessary."

"True."

"Why you?"

"I don't know."

"I thought you might know something relevant to the case."

"Like I said, I know as much about the case as my contact at MPD told me."

"Who's your contact?"

Maddox grinned. "Garrett."

"He called you?"

"Yeah, this morning. I didn't want to intrude, but I really hoped you'd call."

"Why? I mean, why did Garrett call you?"

"He thought you might need a friend."

"Really?" I softened. Garrett had always been a sweet and kind man.

"That, and he wanted some more background on Solomon."

"I've been looking into his background too. You worked together. I thought you might be able to offer a suggestion as to who might have wanted him dead."

"None that I know of but we only worked the one case together; and you know how that turned out."

"I do. But maybe there's something else? Something that you heard that's unconnected to the case?"

"You know, I wasn't the only one who worked with Solomon on that case. Do you remember Special Agent Matthew Miller?"

"Yes. He was your boss when you were undercover at Green Hand Insurance."

"I was still with MPD then but Miller was my supervisor; and yes, it was his operation. I think he worked with Solomon on other cases. I could reach out, you know, and see if he'll speak to us."

"Please do."

"What else would you like me to do?"

"Can you tell me anything regarding Solomon's background? I'm trying to put all the pieces of his life together and I'm finding out all kinds of things I never knew. Stuff about where he worked, and cases he worked on."

"Good."

I frowned. "Good?"

"I asked you a long time ago what you really knew about Solomon. Lexi, listen to me. I wasn't trying to be mean then, and I'm not trying to be mean now, but you were owed answers about his life a long time ago. Get the answers about who he is and go from there."

"That's what I'm trying to do. Did you know the agency team came up with ninety-seven names of people who might bear a grudge against him in only twelve minutes? Twelve minutes!"

Maddox let out a bark of laughter. "That does not surprise me."

"We're trying to whittle the list down but I'm worried that the more I find out, the longer that list grows. If we don't locate the motorcyclist, we might never solve this."

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