Unsolved (Invisible #2) - James Patterson Page 0,59
skirts. She is covered neck to toe, hiding all of Graham’s damage. She even has bangs covering the scar at her hairline where the serial killer had tried to perform surgery on her scalp.
She doesn’t want your pity or your help, he reminds himself. She doesn’t want you. “How are you?” he asks.
She looks at him, holds his gaze. Not answering. Not because she has nothing to say, Books assumes, but because there’s so much to say.
“Look, Emmy—”
“I take it, from our last conversation,” she begins—The one where you walked out on me? You mean that one? he thinks—“that you’re assisting the Bureau on the leak investigation. I mean, how else would you know I was the target of the investigation?”
Books nods.
“Director Moriarty pulled you back in?”
He nods again.
“And you figured—what—you could use our relationship against me?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Record our conversations? Memorize my incriminating statements?”
“It wasn’t like—I didn’t do that.”
“No? Then what was it like, Books? What did you do?”
“You were already a target,” Books tells her. “Moriarty presented it to me that way. I thought if I could be a part of it, I could at least make sure that things were done fairly. Make sure you weren’t railroaded.”
She raises her chin, but her eyes narrow. “So you were protecting me.”
“In a sense, yes, absolutely.”
“I should be thanking you, then. Thanking you for working undercover to spy on me while I shared a bed with you, while I wore your engagement ring on my finger.”
“Well, that’s not an obstacle anymore, is it?” says Books. “You took care of that problem.”
“Did I take care of that, or did you? You’re the one who made me make a choice—a choice that a man would never have to make.”
“Well, this man made it.” Books jams his thumb into his chest harder than he intended. “I would drop everything for you. I’d walk away from anything if it meant I’d have you. Can you say the same thing?”
Emmy looks away, tears welling in her eyes.
“You think I don’t miss the Bureau every single day?” Books goes on. “But I scaled down my life, my eighteen-hour days, so I could have more of a life to share with you. Not you, though—no compromise on your part. No, sir. Never.” He waves his arms and bangs his knuckles against the metal shelving behind him. “Damn it,” he mumbles, rubbing his hand.
When he looks back at Emmy, she has fixed her stare on him again. “Why am I here, Books? To relitigate this?”
Maybe. Maybe also because I was looking for any excuse to lay eyes on you again. Hell, maybe a small part of me was hoping that you’d reconsidered, that you were going to tell me that you were leaving the job with the Bureau and would fly off with me to some island or something.
Who am I kidding? Every single part of me was hoping that.
Instead, Books says, “No. Emmy, I just spoke with Moriarty. I think we’ve been looking at this leak the wrong way. The things that have been leaked have been tactical, right? Things like where we expect David to go next, the profile we’ve drawn up. The leaked information helps Citizen David, doesn’t it?”
She nods her head. “That sounds right.”
“I don’t think this person is just a leaker. I think he, or she, is an accomplice.”
Emmy’s expression tells him that she hadn’t considered the possibility. “You think he’s working with David?”
“I do. And no matter how much you may admire David from afar, I know you’d never actually help him blow things up.”
She lets out a mock laugh. “Thank you for that. So I’m crossed off the list?”
“I’m being serious, Em. Yes, you’re off my list. But that means someone in the Bureau is Citizen David’s accomplice. And maybe you can help me find out who.”
She closes her eyes, shakes her head. “Well, the list of people is fairly long. Carlton and his agents from National Security, Sloan from CID—”
“Cobbs from Science and Tech, and Mayfield. And their agents. I have the list.”
“And the analysts are me, Bonita Sexton, and Eric Pullman.”
“And don’t forget Elizabeth Ashland and Dwight Ross.”
“And you’re going to do—what?” she asks.
Books shrugs. “We assume Citizen David is a man with resources, right? To understand bombing techniques and move about the country and escape detection all the while, he’d have to know a lot and have a lot. He’s wealthy.”
Emmy nods. “Follow the money,” she says.
“Follow the money. Whoever’s helping him isn’t doing it out of