Page 61 of Stone
“Yes,” he said, pushing himself up to lean against the headboard. Juliana’s eyes opened, and she rolled onto her back to watch him.
“Anna Palmer gave me your name and suggested I speak with you and Dr. Juliana Morganstern.”
“About?” he asked, not willing to give anything away.
She sighed again. “Aaron Lowery, Dean Polinsky, and Brian Gregor. I’m with one of the white-collar crime units. Gregor—along with the other two—has come to our attention. Anna is a longtime friend of mine. As I said, she suggested I speak with you.”
He believed her, but he didn’t trust people he didn’t know. “Call me back in ten minutes,” he said, then hung up before she could object.
“Who was that?” Juliana asked, rising. The sheet fell to her waist, and he was grateful he could type without looking at the tiny keyboard—now he could both send a message to Leo asking him to verify Callie Parks’s identityandadmire the view.
Juliana rolled her eyes at his overt distraction and pulled the sheet up.
“That was someone claiming to be from the FBI. Says she got our name from Anna. I texted Leo to ask if he can confirm her identity, and now I’m calling Anna.”
Eight minutes later, he had confirmation from Leo that Agent Parks was who she said, and confirmation from Anna that she’d given her friend their names and contact information. When the phone rang two minutes later—on the dot—he was ready.
“Are you satisfied I am who I say I am?” she asked without preamble.
“You can never be too careful,” he countered.
“I’m not judging. I applaud your caution,” she replied. “Are you willing to talk with me?”
He glanced at Juliana who, tucked against him, could hear the conversation. She nodded.
“We are,” he replied.
“I’ll meet you tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll come to you.”
He frowned. “My contact said you’re based out of DC.”
“Your contact is right. I just testified in a case being heard in the federal court in Sacramento. I’m in your backyard.”
“You’re going to drive down here?”
“It’s less than three hours, Mr. McLean, it’s hardly a trip to Antarctica.”
The way she said it made him wonder if she’d been to Antarctica. After a sum total of three minutes of conversation, she struck him as someone who’d go there for vacation. The type of person who ran ultramarathons for fun and thought hiking Mount Whitney relaxing.
“Fine,” he replied. “I’ll text you an address. What time?”
“Will ten work?”
Juliana nodded against his shoulder.
“Yes, ten will work,” he answered
“Great. I’ll see you both then,” she said, then hung up without a goodbye.
“Well, that was interesting,” he said, setting his phone back on the bedside table.
“I wonder why Anna didn’t tell us she was going to talk to her,” Juliana mused as she slid back down, resting her head on the pillow.
“Who knows,” he replied, sinking down far enough to gather her to his side. “Anna strikes me as a woman who likes to do her own thing. Maybe she figured this was an easy way to help us without having to pull herself away from her own story.”
Juliana didn’t answer, and he glanced down. Her eyes were already closed and although she wasn’t asleep, she was headed there.
“Mmm,” she said with a slow nod. Her soft skin brushed across his chest, and her hair fell onto his arm with the movement.
