Page 86 of My One and Only

Jo had swiveled to watch their interaction, pretending to be reading some papers. Don’s jaw twitched, but he said, “No problem, buddy. I’ll catch you tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,” Cam said. He pulled his calendar toward him. “Want to schedule a meeting?”

“Nah.” Don shook his head. “You’ll be here tomorrow, right?”

“All day,” Cam said with a smile.

“Then I’ll just drop in.” He glanced at Jo. “If that works for you.”

“Sounds good,” Cam said, and Don nodded. Walked to the door and exited the room without saying anything more to her or Cam.

As soon as Don closed the door, Jo said in a low voice, “You know you can’t go to his office alone.”

Cam sighed. “Believe me, Jo. I know. We’ll meet in here. You can pretend to be busy.”

“Iwillbe busy, Cam. Watching Don,” Jo shot back.

Cam began to respond, but turned away. He was probably as tired of fighting over Don as she was. Cam might trust Don completely, but Jo didn’t trust anyone.

She and Cam didn’t say much for the rest of the day, and she was fine with that. She didn’t want to spend time justifying her methods. And if Cam were thinking clearly, he wouldn’t, either. But he was worried about Fiona’s safety, as well as his own and hers. And like a lot of people, the idea of prying into someone’s personal business and financial affairs horrified him. She got it.

But she wasn’t going to change her tactics. Financial information was often the best tool to nail down a suspect. She was trying to prevent Cam and Fiona from being killed, and she’d do everything in her power to succeed. Including asking Mel to use the dark web to find some answers.

No one had approached the car, and when Jo glanced at the clock in Cam’s office, she saw that it was almost time to leave for his meeting with the principal. So she gathered up the papers she’d been studying, slid them and her computer into her bag, and reached for her jacket.

“You about ready to go?”she asked. “I’m assuming you want to get to school around the time when it lets out.”

“Yeah, I do,” he said without looking at her. “You all set?”

“I am,” she said, shrugging on her jacket.

As Cam donned his own jacket, he studied her. “Jo, I wasn’t criticizing Mel’s methods of winnowing through suspects. I just… I just had no idea that you could find people’s financial information on the dark web. It was… unsettling.”

“I don’t put the information out there, Cam,” she said. “And I don’t do the digging. Mel wades into the muck of the dark web. I especially wouldn’t do that with someone I’m… involved with. And if everything is on the up and up, that’s all the information I get. It’s only when there are issues with the financial information that Mel tells me any details. And only the details that are relevant.”

She studied Cam for a long moment. “But I really don’t care whether you like it or not. You promised to play by my rules, and my job is to keep you safe. Knowing if someone has a motive for hurting you or eliminating you is information I need.”

“Does Mel get a warrant before she dives into the dark web?”he asked.

“Hell, no,” she said, scowling at him. “You don’t need a warrant to go through a trash can on the curb, and no one who’s on the dark web gives a shit about a warrant anyway. And if they did? They’d be laughed at.

“I’m fine with Mel’s use of the dark web. If bad guys want to use it, it’s open season for other people looking.” She sighed. “If Mel doesn’t find anything incriminating about any of our suspects?” She shrugged. “I’d be surprised as hell. The dark web is the darling of people who aren’t stand-up citizens. So I suspect that she’ll find some information that will suggest who the guilty party is.”

She glanced at the clock. “It’s time to leave,” she said, irritation that she’d had to defend her methods to Cam still spiking. “Let’s go.”

They didn’t speak on the way to Fiona’s school. Every once in a while, she felt Cam glance over at her. Was she going to apologize if Mel didn’t find any irregularities in any of the information she found?

Hell, no. She’d delete the information and go on to the next avenue to explore.

When they reached the school, the long line of cars had already formed. Instead of joining it, Cam parked in the visitor’s lot again. They walked together to the school, but neither of them spoke. She felt like there was an enormous space between her and Cam. Not only did she have no idea how to close it, but right now, she didn’t want to.

When they reached the front door, she said, “I’ll wait out here for Fiona, then take her to the playground. You can meet us there when you’re done.”

“I’ll do that,” he said, pulling one hand out of his jacket pocket to ring the doorbell.

When the security guard appeared, Cam smiled, but Jo could see it was forced. “Hey, Howie. Got another meeting with Ms.Morrison.”

“Come on in,” the security guard said. He nodded at Jo. “She gonna be at the meeting, too?”

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