“Vaguely, but I lived in Philadelphia at the time,” Faith said, “and I try not to watch the news.”
“Ah, right.Well, you might want to start.”
Faith gave a half smile.“That’s what Michael says.”
Jessica tensed, and Faith’s smile vanished as she remembered that both Michael and Jessica were involved in David’s investigation into the CIA.Both were already in danger just to help Faith’s husband.If Jessica lost her job with the FBI, she would lose what little protection the job provided.Faith was certain the CIA wasn’t aware of Jessica’s involvement yet, but… well,yetwas a big word.Michael had friends in the NSA, and if he got into trouble, he might be able to work his way out of it, but Jessica didn’t have the same connections.
She shouldn’t have let Jessica help.She should have said no, and when Jessica fought her, she should have stood her ground.
But she didn’t.And now Jessica was in danger of her careerandher life.
“Anyway,” Jessica said.“The TSA’s EOD tech who responded to the incident, Kylie Wilton, went on record blaming the supervisors involved for how the incident was handled.This was a sensation for a little while because the TSA’s official position was that the K9 handler was at fault.Wilton claimed they scapegoated the handler, but it was the supervisors who mismanaged things.”Faith’s ears perked up, and Jessica said, “Not Daniels.Someone named Sandra Yeun.She took her own life about six weeks after the incident.”
“Jesus.”
“You know, I wonder sometimes why we call His name whenever we hear about the Devil’s work?”Before Faith could figure out how to respond to that, Jessica continued.“Anyway, Wilton was, of course, terminated, ostensibly for an unrelated cause, but obviously because she threw the TSA under the bus.”
“Interesting,” Faith said.“We should go talk to Miss Wilton.Maybe that handler is our guy.If not, then she might have information about that incident that can lead us to the killer.”
“We should talk to her.Indoors.Somewhere not public.”Jessica sighed and ran her hands glumly through her hair.“Well, now that we know it’s not Craig Daniels, we know we’re on the hook for that defamation suit.”
Faith lowered her eyes.Turk whined again, and Jessica shrugged.“Well, we don’t know for sure, and that’s for later, anyway.Let’s go talk to Kylie and see what she has to say.”
The three agents left the hotel.Still no news vans in the parking lot, but Faith could feel them lurking, Bridgette’s plastic smile like the grin of the Cheshire Cat hovering in the air.
We’re all mad here,the cat had told Alice when she expressed reluctance at meeting the other inhabitants of Wonderland.Then he’d watched, leering, as Alice fell ever deeper into the hole.
Rather than take Faith’s now-recognizable Crown Victoria, they walked a mile to a rental agency and rented a Nissan Rogue in plain white.It looked and drove like a generic crossover of the sort legions of commuters drove all across the nation.It wouldn’t provide much protection from prying eyes, but at least it wouldn’t scream “Hey everyone!Faith Bold is here!”
Kylie Wilton didn’t have a place of business listed, but she did have a website titledThe Care and Feeding of a Careless Lifethat appeared to be a sort of low-budget travel blog highlighting inexpensive spots to live and play around the United States.They tried her address instead, hoping to catch her at her apartment.She lived in the ritzy neighborhood of Fells Point, so she couldn’t be living on that low of a budget.Her building was a nine-story steel and glass structure with its own private dock that sported dozens of sport boats and a few thirty-foot mini-yachts resplendent in white paint with gold and blue livery.
“Yeah, she’s definitely not hurting for cash,” Jessica said.
“Doesn’t mean she’s not hurting in other ways,” Faith reminded her.
Turk trotted lightly on the boardwalk leading to the door as though afraid it would collapse underneath him and dump him into the ocean.There were a few residents at the pool—not many because of the overcast—but they didn’t seem too interested in the agents.Hopefully it would stay that way.Faith really didn’t want to deal with any more publicity, even cell phones and social media.
The concierge, a sharply dressed young man with thin features and a permanent sneer to his lips, increased the angle of that sneer when he saw Turk.“Oh, I’m sorry.We don’t allow pets here.”
“Good to know,” Faith replied.“I’ll make sure to leave my goldfish at home.”
The concierge’s sneer deepened, but he saw the FBI K9 Unit Do Not Approach labeled on Turk’s vest and decided he wasn’t going to win this argument.
They took the elevator to the fifth floor.Kylie’s unit was 525, a one-bedroom suite that faced the ocean.Faith could hear music playing when they reached the door, so Kylie was home.That was confirmed when she answered quickly after the first knock, unusual for a suspect.
“What?”she snapped when she saw the three of them.
She was on the shorter side, five-two or -three, with short, straight black hair and brown eyes conveying a fierce expression behind thin-lensed glasses.She was in her late thirties and dressed like she was fifteen years younger than that.She wore a cargo shirt above a t-shirt that said BITE ME SWEETLY and a pair of cutoff jean shorts that ended well above the knee.She was barefoot, and judging by the callouses peeking out from under her toes, she was barefoot a lot.
“Good afternoon, Miss Wilton,” Faith said.“I’m Special Agent Faith Bold, and—”
“And you’ve come to harass me like you harassed that poor dockworker?”
“He wasn’t a dockworker, and we didn’t harass him,” Jessica replied.“I’m Special Agent Jessica Torres.This is our K9 unit, Turk.”
Turk barked professionally.Kylie looked at him, and her expression softened somewhat.“Hey, boy.They treating you right?”
Turk barked again and leaned briefly against Faith.