messages.”
“Got it, boss.” Brody backed out of the room, his gaze already on Ink’s phone.
“Want me to look into the dad?” Jason asked, speaking up for the first time. “In case he has something to do with this?”
Ink nodded. “Can’t hurt.”
“I still think that the fact she warned you means that she didn’t want to do this,” Sunny said stubbornly.
He loved the fact that she tried to see the good in people, but he had his doubts.
As they waited for Brody to find her, they tossed around theories about who could be setting Ink up. Brody burst back into the room without knocking. He looked worried.
“Can’t pinpoint her location.”
Shit.
“Getting to the girl is key,” Spike said. “She has the answers and she’s already proven to be a weak link.”
“Don’t see how we can find her if she’s basically a ghost,” Brody told them, pushing his glasses up his nose as he thought.
“What about Fringe? Surely, they have an address on file. Maybe another number,” Razor pointed out.
Ink frowned. “They should. Whether I can get it is another story. Angus is protective over his members. Although, he’s been acting weird about Betsy. I think he knows more than he’s letting on.”
“Want me to pay him a visit?” Spike rumbled.
“Yeah. Good idea.” Spike was as big as Angus and in better shape. Plus, he was intimidating as hell.
Spike just nodded, always a man of few words.
“What about just texting her and asking her to meet you?” Sunny asked.
“She’s not going to say yes,” Ink told her gently.
“Why not?”
“Because I know that this was all a set-up.” And because she was saying goodbye. He’d heard it in her voice. Why would she meet with him?
“But she doesn’t know that you saw the note. Not yet. So if you contact her, she might assume you didn’t see it.”
That was a good point. He could contact her, pretend to be worried about her and not let on he’d seen the note. Set up another date.
“What does your gut say about Betsy, Ink?” Duke asked.
“My gut has been wrong before.” And others had paid the price.
“No, your gut was right,” Duke countered. “Others didn’t listen to you.”
He closed his eyes. Thought about her. Had he been so wrong about her? Had it all been an act?
Tonight, she’d been…she’d been scared and the look on her face as she’d stared at the mirror had been one of loathing. She hated herself? Because of what she’d done? Or was going to do?
Asking her to meet up wasn’t something that she would expect.
He opened his eyes and looked around at them all. “I’m going to text her. Pretend I didn’t see the note. See if she’ll meet with me.”
“You need to be careful,” Reyes warned. “You don’t know her motivation for warning you. It could be some twist we can’t see.”
He knew that.
“Like she gets you to meet her at a certain place and you walk in on a murder scene just as the cops arrive and arrest you for murder,” Brody said.
Everyone gaped at him.
“He loves Criminal Minds,” Ink said dryly.
“And if she doesn’t answer?” Razor asked.
“Then we’ll have to hope that Angus comes through. Either way, she’s got answers we need.”
“The fact that she slipped a note into your pocket rather than just telling you might mean she’s being watched or even listened to,” Jason pointed out. “If you start questioning her, you could tip off whoever is working with her.”
Ink frowned, thinking that over. “I’ll ask her to meet at a different restaurant. One by a hotel. Need someone to rent a few connected rooms. Make it a hotel where people can only access the rooms on the floor they’re staying on so if anyone is following her, they can’t get up on our floor.”
“On it,” Brody said, tapping on his tablet.
“Have her leave all her stuff in one room and then move to another to talk,” Reyes said. “You can check to make sure she’s not wired.”
“But if anyone is listening and she goes radio silent that’s an issue,” Duke pointed out.
“Play some porn,” Brody suggested. “They’ll just think you’re getting it on. Just choose a part where no one speaks, I can find something. Maybe record your voice talking to mix in on it.”
Everyone stared at him again.
Ink sighed. “It’s not a bad idea.”
“We’ll situate ourselves in other rooms to be on the ready,” Reyes said. “We need someone inconspicuous keeping an eye out in the lobby of the hotel.”
“A couple of my guys