you I wasn’t thinking straight. He was almost surely a U.S. citizen who grew up in the South, probably the Tennessee Valley. It was the other guy on the roof who had the British accent. If I had to guess, I’d say there’s reason to think our Southern gentleman might have possibly even been recruited in the U.K. last summer. Metcalf will have to check on it.”
“And I’m sure he’ll jump on addressing all your notes first thing in the morning.”
Kendra grimaced. “For whatever they’re worth.”
Jessie smiled and said softly, “Yeah, for whatever they’re worth.” She reached into the first aid kit and picked up a roll of gauze. “But right now I think you need to forget about it and try to relax. Metcalf said to tell you to just rest and he’ll have everything ready for you when you show up in the morning. He was worried about you.”
“You probably intimidated him. You shouldn’t have done it.” She looked at her inquiringly. “Those cuts are no big deal, right?”
Jessie nodded. “Painful but superficial. No stitches. I’d judge it won’t even scar. And I don’t see any sign of glass. Of course, we could take you in for X-rays and be—”
“No, I probably washed any glass out in that damn shower. If anything shows up later, I’ll go in and let them take a look at it. Just put on a temporary bandage.” She waved her hand impatiently. “You know what to do. I trust you.”
“Do you?” Jessie murmured as she bent over Kendra’s hand and started to wrap it with the gauze. After a few moments, she added, “Then why did I see a hint of wariness when you came out of that bathroom? I should have known when you had time to think that it would all come together. When did gratitude fly away and suspicion knock on that shower door?”
“About halfway through the shower,” she said coolly. “I was having to concentrate on thinking about other things to forget about the pain.” She paused. “And gratitude didn’t fly away. I’m still grateful, but I might be a little pissed off, too. I have a few questions to ask.”
“I figured that would be a possibility.” She was quickly bandaging the other hand. “Though I think you’ve got most of it figured out. Go ahead.”
“Why did you come back from Kabul so quickly? And why did you go directly to the FBI office after you arrived here from Afghanistan instead of going to the condo? I’m sure you started asking them questions in your own inimitable super-sleuth way. They both know we’re friends and that you worked with me and Lynch, which would give you access to see them.” Her lips tightened. “Tell me. Did they fill you in on the entire case?”
She chuckled. “Be for real. They’d never tell me anything if it meant pissing off Lynch or you. I’m very low on the totem pole when it comes to Metcalf or Griffin. No, they just politely told me I should go to your condo and talk to you. But Metcalf likes me and did mention you might be a little late since you were going to interview Kit Randolph at his apartment.”
“How nice for you.”
“And for you,” Jessie added quietly. “But yes, I’m glad that I decided to go hunting for you instead of waiting for you at the condo. I don’t have so many really good friends that I can afford to lose one.” She shrugged as she got to her feet and got them both a cup of coffee. She set Kendra’s cup down on the table beside her and then wandered over to the couch with her own. “Even if you’re royally pissed off at me at the moment. Okay, have at me and we’ll get this over.”
“What are you doing here?” Kendra asked bluntly. “Lynch sent you, didn’t he?”
“Of course he did. You closed down on him. He was going to send me back home anyway in another week or two. But you made him edgy and he gave me a call.”
“And he told you to butt into my business?”
“He knows better than that. He left it up to me. He just said that he thought I might want to make sure everything was all right with you. He would have done it himself, but he’s involved with a few things that are a little…touchy.”
“Touchy?” Kendra stiffened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What I said. Something about the Taliban. You know Lynch doesn’t