Fatal Secrets - Desiree Holt Page 0,44

“I am not a little girl, so let’s be done with that.”

“Perhaps we’d be better off going through your notes,” Sean pointed out, “to see if there are any little nuggets of information hidden in there that might help us.”

“Meanwhile,” Alex put in, “just to keep things close at hand, I’ve got one of my deputies keeping an eye on McRae. He’s in civvies and a beat-up truck. And I’ve got a newbie still checking out the situation who’s alternating with him so we have eyes on him at all times.” He grinned. “And since they are both former SEALs, I have unqualified trust in them.”

Sean cleared his throat. “Hank tells me you’re rebuilding the staff at the sheriff’s office here, hiring all former SEALs. That right?”

“It is.”

“And why is that?”

Alex took a moment to chew on a fry while he gathered his thoughts together. “I was a SEAL myself. Fourteen years. I left only because I had a desire to get back into civilian life and the opportunity here presented itself. Cleaning house offered a challenge that really interested me.”

“So you didn’t leave because of injuries?” Sean asked.

“No.” Alex shook his head. “I was lucky that way. The couple of injuries I did have were not debilitating in any way. But other members of my team weren’t so lucky. They hated having to leave the Teams, and they had problems reintegrating into civilian life. They also suffered injuries that brought about medical discharges but don’t prevent them from doing this job. They still, however, had skills that could be utilized, just not on the battlefield. I decided I had a place for them here, but I’ve been trying to choose wisely. So far, it’s working.”

“Sounds really good. I wish more people appreciated what we do and what happens when injuries limit our performance.” He looked at Hank then back to Sean. “Hank, if it wouldn’t piss you off, I’d really like it if Sean would come talk to me before you swallow him into Brotherhood Protectors. I know he’s your cousin and all, but—”

Zoe watched as Hank held up his hands.

“I want him where he’s happiest. I’d love to have him here, but he might think he’s a better fit with you. Sean, you should explore all your options before you make a decision.”

“Before we even get to that,” Sean told them, “we need to get this mess cleaned up so Zoe is safe. To do that, we need to figure out where to get hard evidence against Montoya and, sadly, Elliott Craig.”

”We need to talk to people,” Zoe told them.

Sean scowled. “What people?”

“Some of the ones I interviewed for my articles. Now that I know where to look, I do believe one of them will give us the direct connection to Montoya for Justine’s murder. Although it was probably Randall Vicks who actually ordered the hit.”

“And how are we going to do that without putting you in the line of fire?” Sean demanded.

“I can contact some of them. I still have all their information. I know they’d meet with me.”

“I don’t suppose we could get them to come out here,” he suggested.

Zoe laughed. “You’re kidding, right? These people are trying to keep a lower profile than we are. Believe me, they’ll want to meet someplace far out of the way where no one would think to look. Let me pull up a few cell numbers, see if they’re still good and who I can get in touch with. A couple of them ended up in prison, but they’re out now.”

“Okay.” Sean nodded. “You want to work from here?”

“Yes. That’s fine, unless Hank and Sadie want us to set up someplace else.”

“This is good,” Sadie told them. “Let’s get it done. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

Sean dipped his head once. “Me, either. Okay, let’s get to it.”

Chapter 9

They had spent a long time going over Zoe’s notes, the four of them. Alex had gotten a call and had to leave, but the rest of them concentrated on sorting out the information to find a source. Finally Zoe had identified someone she was pretty sure would talk to her. A logical source she dug out from her ten years’ worth of notes who she thought might be able to help them. After going over the list several times, she had focused on one man, the only one she thought would be willing to talk to her about this.

Zoe had called the last number she had for the