Page 18 of Philly
He turned and looked out the large picture window, the Washington Monument in the distance. Thinking? Or hiding his reaction?
Callie studied him as he took his time. Then abruptly, with a shake of his head, he met her eyes. “No, sorry.”
“What about businesses that might be sympathetic to their cause?”
His brows went up again. “Neo nazis? Not something anyone is likely to bring up in my presence,” he said.
He could be a poster child for the cause, but his genetics weren’t his responsibility. “Why not?”
He drew back, eyes narrowed. “Because that’s not how I operate. Never have, and I’m not shy about my political leanings.”
He did have a history of donating to causes opposed to nationalist movements of all sorts and a history of supporting progressive political candidates. But again, looks could be deceiving.
“What about your father or brother?”
“What’s this really about, Agent Parks?” he countered.
She kept her expression neutral but liked his curiosity. Curiosity led to questions, and a lot could be learned from the questions he chose to ask.
“As I said, I’m looking into the possibility of American dollars being laundered to support the organization.” A little more information than she’d given him before. Maybe enough to tease another question from him.
“A rumor?”
She nodded.
“That’s all?”
“At this point.”
Was that relief in his eyes? Or something else?
“It’s not much.”
She inclined her head. “We all start somewhere.”
His eyes searched hers. She stilled and waited for him to make the next move. Finally, he pushed off his desk and circled back to his chair. “I’m sorry, I can’t help you. I haven’t heard anything.”
“But you have thoughts,” she said, taking a blind shot.
He turned and crossed his arms, facing her. Once again studying her. Then, with a shrug, he said, “Not anything original, I assure you. If I were looking for who might fund that kind of group, I’d look to see who benefits from their actions.” Hepaused, then added, “Although, I’m sure you’ve already thought of that.”
She held his gaze, then nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Nolan. I appreciate your time.”
He acknowledged the comment with a tip of his head, and she turned and walked out. As she rode the elevator down, then turned in her visitor badge and walked to her car, she considered his parting words.
Had they been a taunt or a clue?
10
It hadn’t sunk in yet. That was the only reason Callie figured she wasn’t completely flipping out about quitting four days ago. Flipping out about walking into HR, handing in her gun and her badge, and walking out. It hadn’t been quite that easy, of course. She’d had mounds of paperwork to fill out, calls from colleagues and prior supervisors to field, and she’d had to wait until they officially cleared her. But now, as she left DC behind in her rearview mirror, it all felt so…anticlimactic.
Well, part of it did. The one hitch in her giddy-up was Stella Zatoro, the owner of HICC. She’d readily agreed to bring Callie on, only she’d insisted that Callie work out of the West Coast office. She’d claimed they were undergoing renovations in the DC office, and they didn’t have the space. But Callie had to wonder if Chad and Sabina played a part in that decision. If they had, Callie decided to believe that they’d done so because they didn’t have anyone with her skill set in their office. Not because Sabina was meddling. Something Leo once mentioned she liked to do.
Stella assured her, though, that the situation was only temporary. And truth be told, Callie needed to speak withGabriel again anyway. She needed to ask him, once more, about Laura Nolan. And now that she no longer carried the constraints that came with being an FBI agent, she could share Liza’s findings and suspicions. Maybe then, he’d understand the situation better and be more willing to talk.
Grateful for her comfortable Audi SUV, she navigated out of DC—easily done at five in the morning—then set her cruise control once she hit Interstate 81. Four hours into her drive, she was already antsy. Needing a distraction from the endless stretch of road in front of her, she considered her options. Glancing at the time, she decided to save the audiobook for later and brought up her sister’s number, connecting the call through Bluetooth.
It rang enough times that Callie almost disconnected, but Daphne answered as she reached for the button.
