Hidden - Laura Griffin Page 0,40
who was trying to help me run down a social media account or even an email or any kind of digital footprint whatsoever, and Nico said, ‘It’s like she doesn’t exist.’ And I realized he’s right.”
Jacob didn’t say anything. He just stood there, watching her with a guarded expression.
“I think she was on the run from something,” Bailey said. “Or someone. Maybe an abusive husband or boyfriend or—who knows?—but I think she may have come here trying to start over and she was purposely keeping a low profile.”
Jacob just looked at her. “This is what you wanted to talk about?”
“Yeah. I mean, if she was running from something and that’s why she was killed, don’t you think that’s relevant to your investigation?”
“Possibly.”
She watched him, trying to gauge his reaction. Or nonreaction.
“I heard the FBI is taking over the case,” she said. “Is that true?”
Surprise flickered in his eyes. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Is it true?”
“I need to know where you’re getting your information.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” She stepped closer and watched his eyes. “Why are the feds involved?”
“I didn’t say they were.”
She stepped closer again until she was standing right in front of him, close enough to see every little tick of his reaction. “Was she a protected witness?”
His jaw hardened.
Bailey stepped back. “Oh my God, she was, wasn’t she?”
“I didn’t say that.”
This was why she’d wanted him here. She’d wanted to read every nuance of his expression, and she saw that she was right. And this was why he’d been acting weird last night when he’d met her at Eli’s and tried to pump her for information without giving her a damn thing. And why he’d been evasive at the police station this afternoon.
“I’m right,” she said. “I can see it in your face. You just confirmed it.”
“Bailey.” His voice had an edge now. “I’m not confirming anything. And you can’t run that.”
She leaned against the counter as the implications swirled through her head. “So that name is an alias. And her murder—it wasn’t some mugging or some random sex crime. It was a hit.”
“You have no proof of any of that, and you can’t run that in your paper.”
“If I get corroboration, I can.”
His gaze sharpened. “That would be reckless as hell.”
“But would it be accurate? Was she a protected witness? Is that why the FBI took over?”
“Who the hell are you talking to?” he asked.
“That doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.”
“I’m not going to tell you my sources, so you can forget about that,” she said. “And before you get mad, just know that also means I wouldn’t betray you if someone asked me. You can trust me.”
He laughed, and she felt a twinge of hurt.
“You can.”
She watched him, waiting for him to calm down. He took a deep breath and rubbed his hand over his chin. Clearly, he was conflicted about this, and he probably regretted coming here.
She stepped close to him, and his gaze dropped to her mouth. And it was there again—that hot flare of attraction.
“Let’s make a deal,” she said.
“What kind of deal?”
“I’ll hold off on running anything about this, if you’ll answer some of my questions.”
“No.”
She took a deep breath. “Come on. You have to know you can’t control this story, Jacob. It involves a lot of people not connected to you. The information is bound to get out.”
His jaw tightened again, and she could see him weighing his options. She was being pushy. Yes. But she’d made a career out of being pushy. If she weren’t pushy with people, she’d be out of a job.
“One question, off the record,” he said.
“Was Dana Smith a protected witness?”
“Yes.”
Holy hell.
“So, someone found her here?”
“That’s two questions.”
“But that’s what happened, right?” She felt a surge of adrenaline. She’d been right. Up until now it had seemed like a slightly crazy conspiracy theory that had sprung from her vivid imagination. But Jacob was standing here confirming it. Off the record, but still.
“We don’t know what happened for sure,” he said, “but we’re investigating. It’s possible her murder is connected to a federal case she testified in. And if that is what happened, and you let it leak that the FBI is involved, whoever killed her will know we’re onto him, and it will make it much tougher for us to apprehend him.” He stepped closer. “Do you understand? Leaking this publicly could blow the whole case.”
She watched him, heart thrumming. She didn’t want to blow the case. But she couldn’t sit on this forever, either.
Jacob stared