Page 104 of Love Undercover
“Someone took her home after she gave her statement,” Kesterson said, moving away from the group to put his hand on Chase’s shoulder. “I knew you might be upset about that, but it’s better if she goes home, and you work with us here on the lastdetails of this situation. Then you can go to her, or whatever the hell you want to do.”
His voice had started mild, but it ended on a tense note, like censure was veiled behind his words.
Chase stiffened, gritting his teeth, but he nodded, knowing that he was on some thin ice after going off the rails, even if doing so had brought them to the conclusion of everything he’d been working toward for the last two years.
If he’d known it would be so many hours—hours of aching muscles, stinging pain in his side once the numbing stuff wore off, and the absolute exhaustion that came with the waning adrenaline rush from earlier—he would have told everyone to fuck off.
But because of his connection to the case, he had to give his statement, answer questions, and have his story probed to depths he was borderline uncomfortable with when it got to the topic of Sadie—“Yes, I did sleep with her.“ “Yes, I understand this is a breach of protocol.”
By the end of that session, he was in a foul enough mood that everyone gave him a wide berth as they all focused on the aftermath that bringing Gibson and Zimmerman incited.
The two agents who’d been on the list had outed themselves, scrambling when one of their own rank had been taken in, almost negating the need for the other information Greg Calloway had. More than likely, it would be financial records proving they were either complicit or had been blackmailed into Zimmerman’s pocket.
Gibson rolled over easily, admitting to willingly jumping into bed with Zimmerman’s operation. It wasn’t clear if Hank Jeppesen and Larry Fink had been as eager to join ranks or if they’d been coerced, though there was evidence that they had a hand in keeping Zim from getting nailed by the Bureau for a while.
Chase couldn’t find the energy to be shocked or angry, though the uncomfortable murmuring of the other agents was indicative of the general feeling about the news.
When they finally got to interviewing Zimmerman, Chase had little capacity to follow what was happening. Shrouded by dim light in the hidden office inside the interview room, Chase sat in one of those god-awful chairs in the corner, his hand pressed over the agony in his side, fighting to stay alert enough to catch what was going on in the other room.
“Tell us, Mr. Zimmerman, what role did Greg Calloway have in the organization?”
Chase sat up at the question. They’d dug in on so many other topics, things he’d provided information on, evidence for, that they probably had Zim for many years to come. But Greg had been the connection point with Sadie, and even though he was some peon in the organization, anything connected to Sadie would pull Chase’s focus.
He grunted as he stood, and the other agents in the room shifted uncertainly as he joined them, casting wary looks in his direction.
Zim waited a beat. His attorney nodded his go-ahead.
“He was a finance guy,” Zimmerman said, eyes dancing away for a split-second. His clasped hands tightened on top of the table.
Chase’s skin tingled. Something was off. There was more to it than that. It hadn’t seemed like it went deeper when Chase started investigating him, but now, something in his gut was firing off warnings about those small tics in Zimmerman’s body language.
“Was he aware of your other dealings?”
The attorney shook his head, and Zimmerman remained silent.
But a tension pulsed in the room, and it was obvious to Chase, even from the other side of the glass. If Greg was just a low-level pawn, there wouldn’t be any reason for Zimmerman to clam up about him. If anything, he would throw the guy under the bus.
“Do you know where Calloway is now?”
Zimmerman smirked, leaning back ever so slightly. Then his eyes shifted slowly to the two-way mirror like he knew Chase was standing there. That was a message if he ever saw one.
Chase stiffened.
“Not sure,” Zimmerman finally answered, slowly bringing his attention back to the agent interrogating him. But he was smug now. “Calloway is a little unpredictable, but I think there are some people he might attempt to visit again.”
All the oxygen in the room was sucked right out, taking the breath straight from Chase’s lungs.
“Son of a bitch,“ he whispered, pushing away from the window to sprint from the room, ignoring the other agents as he ran toward the elevators, mentally calculating how long he’d been there and how long Sadie had been alone.
He stabbed the down button over and over until he muttered a curse and booked it down the stairs. Injuries be damned.
53
Fizz You, Greg
Sadie’s apartment was still a mess when she arrived home, and the disappointment that caused after the week she’d had was heavy.
She blamed her heaving sobs on that and not the fact that she’d been at the FBI headquarters for two hours and didn’t get to see Chase after he was treated at the hospital.
