Page 37 of Cyn
“Tomorrow morning we’ll get the plans,” Waters said. “You have all the goods now, right?”
Harrow grunted a yes.
“Good, let’s get out of here. I have a class in thirty minutes. History of fucking modern popular music,” Waters said. “Like I want to study any music let alone music by dudes from the ghettos.”
The sounds of chairs being jostled filtered through her earbuds as the boys rose. A few seconds later, they all filed out.
Cyn smiled and waved, then pointed to her phone and raised a finger, asking them to give her a minute, but indicating she wanted to speak to them. Reluctantly, Harrow and Persons nodded.
Cyn told her empty line that she’d speak to them later and thanked them for calling. Then ending the “call,” she slipped her phone into her pocket and pulled her earbuds out of her ears.
“Thanks for waiting,” she said. Harrow and Persons nodded, but Waters looked annoyed. “I’m Professor Steele,” she said, introducing herself to the third student. He lifted his chin in greeting.
“Look,” she said, infusing her voice with a hint of unease. “I know this is weird and maybe I shouldn’t say anything, but I talked to the newspaper and learned that you three were interviewed about James McElroy’s death.”
Thatgot their attention. All three straightened their spines and while Harrow and Persons looked curious, Waters’ eyes narrowed on her.
“Yeah, he was our roommate,” Harrow said.
“Well, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for your loss. And for what came after. You see, well, you heard about what happened, right? After he was transported home?” She had their attention now and all three nodded. “Well, it wasmydrive where they found him. I was on my way home from the airport, and I pulled onto my driveway, and there he was. I don’t know why it was my place, but it was. And well, again, I wanted to say I’m sorry for your loss.”
The three young men shared a look, then Waters spoke. “Do the police know why?”
Cyn shrugged. “They don’t keep me informed of their investigation, but the best I can tell is that my driveway is kind of private. It’s a bit out of the way, though, so it’s weird that whoever did it even found it.”
The police weren’t investigating at all, but she doubted the men would know that. They also didn’t appear to know what to make of her news. But throwing them a little off balance was exactly what she’d intended.
“Anyway, it was a bizarre connection to you two,” she said, gesturing to Harrow and Persons. “Also, I don’t know if you want to know this, but he wasn’t disturbed in any way. Whoever brought him to my home covered him and, well, treated him with at least a little respect,” she finished, letting her voice trail off. She glanced at the boys again, then gave a little shake of her head as if coming out of a dream. “Look, I probably shouldn’t have said anything and I’m sorry if I’ve upset you. It was such a shock and then to find you two in my class… Well, I probably wasn’t thinking. I’ll let you all go now to wherever you’re going and Travis and Mike? If you need anything as we get started this semester, my door is always open.”
The three men gazed at her for a beat, then Waters thanked her for her condolences and they shuffled out of the library. Cyn glanced around and, finding herself alone, smiled. She’d definitely set them off balance and while she didn’t typically like to play the bumbling female role, she’d wanted them to see her as a clueless academic.
Hearing the door to the archeology area open then close with their departure, her smile faded. Grabbing her phone from her pocket, she texted Devil, Nora, Six, and Joe.
“Dinner tonight at Kearney’s at seven. Overheard an interesting conversation we need to discuss.”
Hitching her bag strap higher onto her shoulder, she started toward the exit. She hadn’t taken more than ten steps before the first reply came, Six confirming she’d be there. By the time she hit the stairwell, Nora, Devil, and Joe had confirmed as well. Cos Cob was a little over an hour from the university, and glancing at her watch as she jogged down the stairs, she calculated that she had enough time to wrap up her notes from today and get the emails out that she needed to before heading home and meeting the club.
And Joe.
She couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips at the thought of Joe. Maybe, if she was a lucky woman, he’d spend the dark hours of the night helping her forget about the three young men who had a penchant fordirtywork.
Chapter Thirteen
Joe tooka sip of his beer and eyed his companions. It was safe to say that when he’d left Florida a little over a month ago, he never pictured himself sitting in a pub with four whip smart foreign intelligence agents—all of whom were beautiful to boot—discussing the resurgence of white supremacy in the United States.
Cyn had recounted what she’d overheard and the sick dread she’d felt at realizing those young men—boys, really—might be planning something in Boston had settled over the group. Everyone picked at their food and voiced random thoughts and ideas about how they could stop it. Whatever “it” was.
“What do you think they meant when Waters reminded them what McElroy had talked to them about?” Six asked.
That was the piece that Joe had been fixated on. As Nora had pointed out the night before, McElroy’s personality and actions were disjointed. The plot, if there was one, was a puzzle, but on his own, so was McElroy. As Joe took a bite of his shepherd’s pie, he considered everything he knew about both McElroy and Al-Shabaab. Something teased at his mind. He set his beer down and let his thoughts follow the thread.
“Holy shit,” he said, looking at the women at the table.
“What?” Nora asked.
“Other than their extremist views and terrorist attacks, what is Al-Shabaab known for?” he asked, directing his question at Cyn.
Her brow furrowed and he could practically hear her sorting through the information in her brain. When it clicked, her gaze shot to his. “They started out as a movement of young people,” she said. “And they excel at recruitment.”
