asked.
“He was respecting the chain of command. I’m in charge of civilian operations. The weapons belong to the military. Unfortunately, your father decided not to immediately report the theft.”
Jessie straightened in her chair. “Because he wanted to be sure it wasn’t just another computer glitch.”
“So he said. However, Charles Frazier believed it was critical to public safety to make the theft of the weapons known.”
“What about the driver?” Bran asked. “Where is he now? He must have been arrested.”
“Rollie Owens. He quit before the theft was discovered, said he had a better job offer. Someone was hired to take his place and that was the end of it. The police interviewed a number of individuals and put out a warrant for Owens’s arrest, but so far there’s been no sign of him. And the fact is, this is primarily a matter for the military.”
Bran clamped down on his irritation. “It’s obvious the theft was well planned and that some of the people involved work right here at the plant.”
“Perhaps. But someone manipulated our computer systems, which could have been done from anywhere.”
“You mean it was hacked,” Jessie said. “If that’s the case, what’s to stop these people from doing it again?”
De La Garza’s shoulders tightened, a sign he was tired of answering questions. “After the theft, we installed new security software that prevents any sort of tampering. We’re confident the munitions are safe until they’re all destroyed and the plant is closed.” He rose, signaling the interview was over.
Bran and Jessie stood. “Thanks for your help,” she said, though he was beginning to know her well enough to catch the hint of sarcasm in her voice.
He followed her out of the office, where Carol waited in the hall to lead them back to visitor parking. They were supposed to speak to Charles Frazier next, but Carol told them something had come up and Frazier had to cancel. His assistant, Andrew Horton, was also unavailable.
Conveniently. It was Jessie’s word, but Bran was beginning to see a pattern. It was starting to look like there was a giant cover-up going on that might reach the highest levels.
Maybe it was just a matter of CYA—cover your ass. In this case, everyone covering his own. Or maybe the theft involved a shit ton of money and everyone wanted a cut.
“What do we do about Charles Frazier?” Jessie asked, breaking into his thoughts as he drove back to the Holiday Inn. “We really need to speak to him.”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. Actually, not being able to talk to him right now might work in our favor. If we talk to Frazier at home, he may be more cooperative.”
Jessie flicked him a sideways glance. “By cooperative, you mean we can press him harder to tell us what we want to know.”
Press him. That was a polite way to put it. Bran’s jaw hardened as he thought of the man who had brought all-hell down on Colonel Kegan, ultimately leading to his death—or murder.
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s exactly what I mean.”
* * *
Jessie swam laps again that night. Since the pool was crowded with kids and their parents well into the evening, she waited until close to ten, just before the area closed.
After leaving the chemical depot, she had worked on her laptop the rest of the day, writing up notes, putting them into some kind of order.
She made lists of questions, some for Charles Frazier, some for his assistant. Both of whom had conveniently not been available that day. The implications were beginning to drive her crazy.
They ordered in Chinese food and Bran turned the TV on in the living room, but neither of them were in the mood to watch. Jessie knew exactly what she was in the mood for. She hadn’t thought about sex this much in the last three years. Now, every time she looked at Bran, having sex with him was all she could think of.
Everything about him turned her on. The cadence of his voice, the way he laughed, the way he moved. Just watching him amble across the living room sent a curl of heat into the pit of her stomach.
What would it be like to kiss him? Run her hands over all the lean, hard muscles she had seen and couldn’t get out of her head? What would it be like if he made love to her?
Would she ruin it the way she had when she had tried before? Start thinking about Ray Cummings and the intimate