Mia couldn’t blame her. “Thank you, sir, for all you did to try to keep ussafe.”
“I wish I hadsucceeded.”
Their last two weeks of leave seemed to fly by, the precious time slipping through Mia’sfingers.
“I’m selling my condo,” Joaquin said over breakfast onemorning.
“What?” Mia hadn’t been expectingthis.
“Every time we come up the elevator, I see what it does to you. I don’t want you to live someplace that reminds you of Meyer. I think it’s time to start over, pool our money, and find a place that we own together, a place with no badmemories.”
“But this place is soyou.”
“It’s who I was before I met you. Let’s find a place that isus.”
The following Monday, they both went back to work, Joaquin at the newspaper and Mia at the Botanic Gardens, where she was placed on light duty, her arm still in a sling and her chest not yet fully healed. The staff welcomed her back with cake and a beautiful arrangement of living orchids to takehome.
“Thanks, everyone. I’m so happy to beback.”
“You’re a valued member of the staff, and we’re so glad you’re here with us again,” Kevin said, speaking for thegroup.
Michael, the head of security, pulled her aside to tell her they had changed their security protocols in light of what had happened and now checked any large bags or backpacks that guests wanted to bring into the gardens. “If we had done that, maybe we would have caught that bastard long before he had the chance to aim a weapon atyou.”
“Thanks, Michael. That means a lot tome.”
Then all the men’s heads turned, their jaws dropping, evenMichael’s.
Holly crossed the room, wearing a black leather biker jacket with a gray beaded skirt and crazy leather boots. “Hey, Mia, do you have asecond?”
“Sure.” Mia stepped outside with her. “What’sup?”
“Cobra International Solutions—that’s where I work—has close ties to the Pentagon going all the way up the flagpole. I told my boss what you shared with me, and our organization went to work on it. We had a few conversations with key people in the Department of Defense. Frank lied to you. Army brass buried what happened at Tell al-Sharruken, but the documents were never classified. Frank just wanted to silence you. There’s some talk of congressional hearings, so it’s going to come out sooner orlater.”
Mia stared at her, stunned. “Notclassified?”
She handed Mia a heavy manila envelope. “I want you to have these. The story should beyourstotell.”
23
Joaquin sat with Mia and Cate in the conference room, Mia’s folder of documents in herhands.
“You two are living together now?” Cate asked the question with a smile, but there was an undertone of acid to hersweetness.
“We’re house hunting,” Joaquinanswered.
“Nice.” Cate gave him a fakesmile.
Tom stepped into the conference room and closed the door, notepad and pencil in hand, another pencil behind his ear. He shook Mia’s hand. “Ms. Starr. I’m glad to see you’verecovered.
He sat, glanced around at them. “What’s thisabout?”
Mia pushed the folder, which held copies of the originals, across the table to Tom. “Everything I’m going to tell you is included in these documents, which are files dating to 2013. I was told they were classified, but that was a lie. Now that I know the truth, I can share them withyou.”
Tom opened the folder, glanced through the pages, then looked up at Mia again, a hint of surprise on his face. “I’mlistening.”
Mia told Tom what had happened, starting with Powell’s sexual harassment and verbal abuse and continuing through events at Tell al-Sharruken and the subsequent cover-up. “Andrew Meyer blamed me for the fact that he couldn’t get disability benefits, even though I had nothing to do with that decision. He wanted to kill everyone he thought had played a role in his discharge and lack of benefits, and then he planned to killhimself.”
“Did the cops know all ofthis?”