Page 26 of In the Line of Ire

"I amnow but I didn't feel so great at the time."

"Whatmade you think the victim might have been in on it?"

"Someonerammed a purse over her head. That kind of drew myattention."

"Someonecould have set her up?"

"Andrisk blowing the whole counterfeit operation? I doubt it. So far asthey know, no one is onto them yet. Garrett’s on the case and it'sall being kept very quiet although I'm sure everyone in the mallprobably knows she was killed, or they will soon. It might haveonly been a couple of days but news travels fast." I paused asMaddox absorbed that information.

"How doyou know fake purses came out of this store?" he asked.

"Serenabought one. She's steaming mad about it too."

"I'llbet!"

"Yourturn, Maddox."

"Shh!It's Adam here."

"Fine,Adam.What are you doing here? What's the FBI's interest in thiscase?"

"Same asyours, it seems. We're after a counterfeiting ring and our intelled us to believe part of the operation is being run out of thisstore.”

"We'reafter the same people?" I asked, frowning.

Maddoxshook his head. "I don't think so. That is, we're after the peopleat the top. This ring is connected to several other criminalenterprises but this is where the products are being sold. We'retrying to get into the circle before going up the chain to nab thebig enchiladas."

"Youthink this is more than just a few people selling fakepurses?"

"Sure.Don't you?"

"Umm...what do you think, Solomon?"

"What?"Maddox narrowed his eyes and glared at me. "Shit. Are you wearing awire?"

"Just alittle one," I said as I narrowed my thumb andforefinger.

"Whereis it?"

I raisedmy eyebrows and Maddox's eyes crossed slightly.

"So Ijust shared federal business with an outside agency? Great. Justgreat." Maddox ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

My cellphone buzzed in my pocket. I reached for it and readthe message on the screen. "Solomon saysdon't sweat it." Another messageflashed onto the screen. "He also says he agrees withyou."

"Youdon't have an earbud?" asked Maddox.

"No."

Maddoxpointed to his ear. "I do."

"Wait!You're wired too? Why didn't you say so?"

"I justdid!"

"So yourguys already know you blabbed your business to my guys?"

Maddoxgrinned. "Yeah. I didn't say anything I wasn't pretty sure youhadn't already worked out. Got you going there for aminute."

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