certain situations, emotional involvement can affect your judgment. You could shoot and miss—”
“Like you?”
Nick scowled, his lips compressed in a thin line.
“Yeah,” he said finally. “Like me. Which is a good point, because we can’t forget that … thing that attacked you is probably still at large on my mountain.”
“You keep calling it a thing, but I can tell you know what it is. Are you going to tell me?”
She didn’t miss a trick. Never had. “You tell me only what you think is relevant and I’ll do the same,” Nick answered. “That’s the way you want to play it, isn’t it?”
“Maybe I can connect the dots myself.”
He blew out a frustrated breath, ignoring the jab.
She winced, seeming to regret her sarcasm. “Sorry. But I would like to know.”
“If you need to know, you will. One thing at a time, Barrett.”
“I just wish there was a way to—” She broke off, thoughtful again. “Never mind. Maybe I am too close to the case.”
No kidding. Emotionally, she was all over the place. “While we’re on that subject, do you mind telling me who at Belladonna decides what’s a case and what’s not?”
“Carly. Sight unseen. She talks to us through an intercom.”
“Huh. So she doesn’t want to look anyone in the eye. Ever wonder why?”
“Sometimes. I don’t know why she does things that way. From what I’ve been able to piece together, I think she lost someone important to her. Someone named Ben Porter. Maybe she just has to hide her grief. Who knows. But can we stay on track, Nick? We seem to be having two different conversations.”
She wasn’t wrong about that. She desperately wanted only one thing: a guarantee of his help finding Jane, whereas Nick wanted to know more about Belladonna. Something about the operation didn’t seem to add up and he wasn’t sure how to ask Barrett for more information.
“Sure. You do the talking, I’ll do the listening.” He had an uneasy feeling that a trap had been set somewhere, somehow. Not necessarily for him. Maybe not even for Barrett. Fools rush in, he reminded himself silently. And fools fucked up.
“For starters, Peter was no help. They can’t pinpoint the website.”
Nick absorbed that information. “I might not be able to, either, not right away. URLs for sites like that sometimes change several times a day. They gotta keep ahead of the law.”
“When and if the law is looking.” She crumpled her napkin and threw it onto the table. “Doesn’t sound to me like you really want to take this on.”
“I want to help you,” Nick insisted in an irritated tone. “But, Barrett, you have to slow down. In a case like this, you have to consider every step you make. Jane could vanish forever if seeing you on the other end of that transmission scared them off. The only way we can narrow this down is by finding out where she is. So you talk to the last people who saw her. And they would be?”
“Her aunt and uncle. The Prescotts. Ginny and Malcolm.” Barrett pressed her lips together tightly, her eyes suspiciously wet. “Ginny tracked me down when Jane went missing. She gave me the information about Dante. When and where she last saw Jane. She gave me a current picture of her, which we distributed to law enforcement agencies all across the nation. Nothing so far.”
“Well you don’t have nothing anymore. You saw who has her. You know it’s related to SexFlash. Go back and interview Jane’s aunt and uncle. You know him well?”
“Not at all. I’ve always talked to Ginny when I called.”
He nodded, but she didn’t need him to tell her what was on his mind. Often young females were sexually abused by those closest to them. She needed to check into the uncle. She’d known it before, she just hadn’t had the chance to do it yet given her involvement with Powell.
“I need to talk to them. Both of them. Face to face,” she confirmed.
“Lucky for them you have such a beautiful one,” he said, with no
“Like you?”
Nick scowled, his lips compressed in a thin line.
“Yeah,” he said finally. “Like me. Which is a good point, because we can’t forget that … thing that attacked you is probably still at large on my mountain.”
“You keep calling it a thing, but I can tell you know what it is. Are you going to tell me?”
She didn’t miss a trick. Never had. “You tell me only what you think is relevant and I’ll do the same,” Nick answered. “That’s the way you want to play it, isn’t it?”
“Maybe I can connect the dots myself.”
He blew out a frustrated breath, ignoring the jab.
She winced, seeming to regret her sarcasm. “Sorry. But I would like to know.”
“If you need to know, you will. One thing at a time, Barrett.”
“I just wish there was a way to—” She broke off, thoughtful again. “Never mind. Maybe I am too close to the case.”
No kidding. Emotionally, she was all over the place. “While we’re on that subject, do you mind telling me who at Belladonna decides what’s a case and what’s not?”
“Carly. Sight unseen. She talks to us through an intercom.”
“Huh. So she doesn’t want to look anyone in the eye. Ever wonder why?”
“Sometimes. I don’t know why she does things that way. From what I’ve been able to piece together, I think she lost someone important to her. Someone named Ben Porter. Maybe she just has to hide her grief. Who knows. But can we stay on track, Nick? We seem to be having two different conversations.”
She wasn’t wrong about that. She desperately wanted only one thing: a guarantee of his help finding Jane, whereas Nick wanted to know more about Belladonna. Something about the operation didn’t seem to add up and he wasn’t sure how to ask Barrett for more information.
“Sure. You do the talking, I’ll do the listening.” He had an uneasy feeling that a trap had been set somewhere, somehow. Not necessarily for him. Maybe not even for Barrett. Fools rush in, he reminded himself silently. And fools fucked up.
“For starters, Peter was no help. They can’t pinpoint the website.”
Nick absorbed that information. “I might not be able to, either, not right away. URLs for sites like that sometimes change several times a day. They gotta keep ahead of the law.”
“When and if the law is looking.” She crumpled her napkin and threw it onto the table. “Doesn’t sound to me like you really want to take this on.”
“I want to help you,” Nick insisted in an irritated tone. “But, Barrett, you have to slow down. In a case like this, you have to consider every step you make. Jane could vanish forever if seeing you on the other end of that transmission scared them off. The only way we can narrow this down is by finding out where she is. So you talk to the last people who saw her. And they would be?”
“Her aunt and uncle. The Prescotts. Ginny and Malcolm.” Barrett pressed her lips together tightly, her eyes suspiciously wet. “Ginny tracked me down when Jane went missing. She gave me the information about Dante. When and where she last saw Jane. She gave me a current picture of her, which we distributed to law enforcement agencies all across the nation. Nothing so far.”
“Well you don’t have nothing anymore. You saw who has her. You know it’s related to SexFlash. Go back and interview Jane’s aunt and uncle. You know him well?”
“Not at all. I’ve always talked to Ginny when I called.”
He nodded, but she didn’t need him to tell her what was on his mind. Often young females were sexually abused by those closest to them. She needed to check into the uncle. She’d known it before, she just hadn’t had the chance to do it yet given her involvement with Powell.
“I need to talk to them. Both of them. Face to face,” she confirmed.
“Lucky for them you have such a beautiful one,” he said, with no
Similar Books
