Chapter 36

Dix pausedat the door to the meeting room. "You're sure you want me to take the lead on this?"

Michael nodded. Then he smiled. "You need to take them off before you go in there, though."

"Take off what?"

Michael's eyes sparkled. "The kid gloves."

He huffed. "She should be so lucky." Dix glanced at Chalmers. "Feel free to butt in if you have any questions for her."

Chalmers chuckled. "I was going to ask about that. Thanks." He gestured to the door. "Let's see what's rattled Ms. Robertson's cage enough to bring her to you guys."

Dix led the way into the room, the others behind him. Kathy Robertson sat at the table, her hands in her lap. She wore jeans and a T-shirt, with very little makeup. She snapped her head up as Chalmers closed the door behind him.

Dix placed a box on the table, then turned to the woman. "Ms. Robertson, my name is Dixon Meeks. I'm?—"

"Please, call me Kathy."

He smiled. "Okay. I'm the Operations Manager for CrossBow. I apologize for the delay, but we had to set up quite a few things in order for this meeting to take place."

He removed the drone from the box and went through the startup sequence that Doc had showed him. Fortunately, it was pretty easy. As soon as he finished, he placed the drone on the table, where a moment later it rose into the air and moved into the corner, where it hovered unobtrusively, the blades making the barest of sounds. He had to hand it to Doc. The man was a literal genius.

"What's that for?" Kathy's voice quavered.

"Dr. Malone and Mr. Cross are sitting in on the meeting remotely." He turned to the hovering machine. "Can you both hear and see us?"

Doc's snort from the drone's speakers was unmistakable. "Of course. I didn't make these things for looks, you know. They're very functional."

Dix reined in the urge to chuckle. "In that case, we can continue with the meeting."

"You don't trust me," Kathy blurted.

Dix tilted his head. "Why should we? Let's be honest here. We know who you work for, and we know what he's been doing. The two men we have sequestered can attest to that from firsthand knowledge."

She widened her hazel eyes. "I'm the victim here. I came to you for help."

"And yet there were many other places you could have gone," Chalmers threw back. "You could have—should have—gone to the FBI."

She snorted. "Do you have any idea how many people Spencer has in his pocket? I don't know how many agents the FBI has, but he probably has more than half of them on the payroll. That includes top-level operatives or whatever you call them. And he has Congresspeople too, many of whom owe him their careers. He even has the ear of the president, because Spencer donated generously to his campaign. It was Spencer's contributions that allowed the president to crush his opponent." Her eyes flashed. "So sure, I'll walk into FBI headquarters—and five minutes later, I'd be found dead in a corner of it, a gunshot wound to the back of my head."

Michael leaned forward. "So you're afraid? Is that what you're telling us?"

She gaped at him. "Of course I'm afraid! He can do anything, and right now, I'm in his crosshairs."

"Explain how you come to be in such a precarious position," Michael asked in a tone that exhibited far more patience than Dix possessed at that moment. "How long have you worked for Aaron Spencer?"

"Eight years, give or take." She sniffled, and Dix pushed a box of tissues toward her. She took one and blew her nose. "After the attack on that town, I found some papers. I didn't understand most of them, but they talked about potential morbidity, long-term health impact, and other things." She retrieved her bag from the floor, but Chalmers reacted, drawing his service weapon.

"If I were you, I'd move very carefully," he snarled.

"Your people already searched my belongings," she said, giving a bored look.

"And I would still not make any sudden movements."

She sighed as she reached into it and withdrew a laptop that she placed on the table. "This is my work laptop. I don't know if Spencer can track it."

Chalmers arched his eyebrows. "And you brought it—and him—right to their door. Brilliant."

She narrowed her gaze. "Yes, how stupid of me to not stop and ask him if it was safe for me to steal his information."

Dix pushed out a growl of pure frustration. "Shut it, both of you." He turned his attention to the drone. "Doc, can we check it out?"

"Yeah, no problem."

Dix held his hand out. "Fine. Give us the laptop."

She barked a laugh. "You think I'm dumb enough to hand you my only bargaining chip? This is just a sample so you know I'm telling the truth. Once I get some assurances—in writing—then we can talk about the rest." Kathy looked him in the eye. "And there's a lot of it." She swallowed. "I had no idea he was doing something so… heinous," she muttered.

Dix raised his eyebrows. "And yet you've worked for him at least eight years. Are you telling us that in all that time, you never had an inkling of what he was doing?"

She pressed her lips together for a second or two before replying. "He kept all that stuff separate. I was his assistant for his business enterprises, not for anything unrelated."

Dix leaned back. "And what makes you think he's after you?"

She dabbed at her puffy eyes with another tissue. "There's a group that worked for him. He called them his board. He had me set up meetings with them. It wasn't anything outside of my duties, so I had no issue doing it."

Chalmers picked up a pen and pulled a notepad toward him. "How many people are on the board? What are their names?"

"There are—were—five of them."

Dix stilled. "Were?"

She nodded. "Nicole Lawrence, Rami Vitra, Ernest Macklin, Tod Nowak, and Dexter Lewis. Spencer said he had some decisions to make, and I offered to contact the board, but he said they were no longer part of the company. That made no sense whatsoever. A few of them were with him before I started."

Dix peered at the drone. "Dr. Malone? Mr. Cross? Are you getting all this?"

Doc growled. "Please tell me you're not buying this crap."

"Nope," Michael said.

"Not a chance," Chalmers echoed.

"Oh, hell no," Dix said with a laugh.

Kathy froze. "What? What do you mean?"

Yeah, the kid gloves were definitely off.

Dix slammed a hand on the table. "You're fucking lying, that's what I mean. Not one person sitting at this table, listening in from another room, or employed here would be stupid enough to buy this… this bullshit you're peddling."

She stared at him. "I had no idea, I swear it. When I found out he was involved in these monstrous attacks, I got so upset, I threw up." Kathy swallowed. "I'm afraid he's going to come after me too."

Dix wasn't buying it for a second.

"No one could be that fucking clueless. You just happened to find out he was involved after all the years of working for him?" He held his hands up. "Now, we won't say it's not possible, but from my perspective, the tale you're telling has holes big enough to drive through." Dix cleared his throat. "So, unless you want to tell us why you're here, our business is concluded. The men at the door will see you out." He got up and headed for the door.

"Wait!" she yelled.

Dix schooled his satisfied grin and turned back.

Kathy counted off on her fingers. "He killed the men he sent after Malone. He killed the board, who supported him this entire time. It's not too much of a stretch to think my neck would be on the block too, is it? And like I said, going to the FBI was out of the question." She glared at Dix. "So what if he killed a lot of people? I didn't have a problem with that." She grimaced. "People suck." Then she swallowed. "But all those kids who were in that school? That was a step too far."

Chalmers blinked. "So you're fine with him killing people, but not kids?"

"Kids at least have a chance not to suck, but he took that from them."

Michael folded his arms. "How do we know we can trust anything you have to say?"

She gave a bitter chuckle. "You don't know." Her expression was tainted with smugness. "I won't lie. You shouldn't trust a single thing that comes out of my mouth."

Okay, Dix hadn't been expecting that.

Kathy leaned forward, her eyes bright. "But if you want to keep Malone away from a boomshot to the back of the head, I'd tread very carefully."

Gary's voice came out of the speakers. "You know what? I've heard enough."

"We need her." Doc's voice sounded strained. "If she disappears, we're down one witness with a lot of credible information. As much as I hate it to admit it, we do need her."

"This is bullshit," Gary groused. "Total fucking bullshit."

Dix couldn't agree more.

"So you're not here because you've suddenly decided you have a conscience?"

Kathy rolled her eyes. "I don't care that people died. I wouldn't have cared if Malone had died. But those kids? I care about that. And after that talk show aired…. Spencer is going to be more dangerous than ever."

"Which talk show?" As if Dix didn't know.

"Someone called in and asked awkward questions about the video footage. Knowing Spencer? When he heard that, he would have gone ballistic. He'll want to know who this guy is. And when he finds him, he'll have him eliminated too." She pointed to the drone. "He's right. You need me. And whatever you may think of my motives, Spencer will come after me."

"Why do you think he'll kill you?" Dix asked. "You've been with him for years. Do you really believe he'd toss you aside?"

She was quiet for a few moments, then met his stare. "Yes, because that's what he does. He uses people until he doesn't need them and then he gets rid of them. I didn't care, because I was sure I'd be the exception."

Chalmers let out a derisive snort. "‘I didn't think they'd eat my face,' said the woman who voted for the leopards-eating-people's-faces party."

She sneered, but her expression morphed into a look of sadness. "I did everything for him. You want to know why? Because I thought I was indispensable." She gave a sardonic laugh. "What an idiot I was. But as his plan grew, it took on a life of its own. After he killed the board, I realized the truth. He doesn't want anyone else's input or help, because he thinks only he can get the job done."

"What job?" Dix asked.

She shook her head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Dix went out on a limb, trusting Doc's instincts. "Spencer wants to be president."

Her mouth fell open. "How did you—" Kathy's eyes grew wide again. "You people are more on the ball than I'd anticipated." She nodded. "He thinks he's the only one who can steer the country properly. If you want to know what I think, he won't stop there. Spencer believes he's smarter than anyone else, richer than most, so to his way of thinking, it only stands to reason he should be in charge."

"You're saying Spencer killed the people he sent after Dr. Malone?" Michael asked.

Another nod. "Spencer has his elite crew, the people who will do anything for him without question. They were both part of that group, but they knew the price of failure."

Dix's skin crawled. "You're a cold-hearted bitch, you know that?"

She shrugged. "I gave up empathy and compassion years ago. It got me nowhere."

"And now it's going to put you in the ground, if we can't stop Spencer."

Gary spoke again. "You still haven't told us what you want from us, Ms. Robertson."

"Protection. In return, I'll go on record with everything you want to know."

Shit, she was clueless.

Dix snorted. "Do you know what you're asking?"

Kathy frowned. "Huh?"

"Do you have any idea how drastically your life is gonna change? You know how far Spencer's reach is. If we protect you, you're gonna be stuck in the deepest, darkest hole we can find."

She gaped at him. "Why should I live like that?"

Chalmers sneered. "You're complicit in the murders of God knows how many people. You fucking knew about the deaths, but did nothing to stop them. How long do you think you're going to last in prison, without any kind of protection? Personally, I don't give a good goddamn if Spencer kills you. At least it'll save the taxpayers the expense of a trial."

Her cheeks drained of color. "You can't do that."

Behind Dix, the door opened.

"The hell I can't," Chalmers retorted.

"She's right, you know" came a male voice.

What the hell is Grady doing here?

Chalmers twisted in his chair. "Fuck! I didn't need you here right now."

Grady approached the table. "Ms. Robertson, my name is Sam Grady, and I'm a US District Attorney." He glared daggers at Chalmers. "And I need to see you outside. Now." Without waiting for an answer, he turned and stormed into the hall.

"Both of you go," Michael suggested.

Dix and Chalmers followed Grady. As soon as the door closed behind them, Grady rounded on Chalmers.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? Are you officially on this case?" Before Chalmers could get a word out, Grady held up his hand. "Wait, let me answer that for you. No, Sam, I am not." His gaze grew flinty. "As of this moment, your involvement in this is done."

"But I?—"

"Done. Do you hear me?" He turned to Dix. "I'm sorry, but this idiot can't be involved in any way from here on out. Shit, none of you should be either. I've been listening in with Mr. Cross. This woman should be hauled in for questioning."

Dix had a feeling there was a but coming. "Out with it. Whatever it is that you have to tell us."

Grady trailed his fingers through his hair as he expelled a long, slow breath. "After I heard Dr. Malone's ideas about Spencer, I went to my boss."

Chalmers paled. "You did what? Didn't you hear us? We can't trust anyone."

"Well, I trust him, okay? And he wants to launch an official investigation, but I asked him to let me check this out first." He inclined his head toward the door. "If what she says is true, then anyone involved could inform Spencer and he'd be in the wind."

"So what are you saying?" Dix was going to keep asking until he got an answer.

Grady closed his eyes for a moment. "If Spencer has as many people in his pocket as you suspect, there can't be an open investigation, because his people will stonewall and block it at every turn. So… this investigation is off the books. No one, other than myself and those involved here, will know about it. If—when—it bears fruit, I'll take the heat for it."

"Fuck that!" Chalmers snapped. "I'll be the one taking the heat. I started this well before you were involved, so I outrank you."

Grady blinked a few times. "You know there's no rank here, right?"

Chalmers pulled Grady into an embrace, taking Dix—and Grady, too, judging by his expression—by surprise. "You've worked too hard, sacrificed too much, to throw it all away. Me? I've been skating on thin ice for way too long. Let me do this for you, Sam."

Grady struggled free of his hold, and Dixon could see the pain in Chalmers's expression. No matter what he told anyone, Dix knew Chalmers wasn't over Grady.

"Can't," Grady retorted. "It's my job, and I'll see it done to the best of my ability, regardless of the outcome."

Chalmers took Grady's hand. "Then how about if we face it together? Just like old times."

Dix shook his head. These two should just jump back in bed and fuck it out. "Can I interrupt this touching scene to suggest we get our asses back into that interview and decide what we're gonna do with Ms. Robertson?"

Grady chuckled. "There's no decision to be made. We're going to get every last bit of information from her, then dump her in a hole she'll never get out of. Even if we offer her immunity from the charges of this current poisoning, chances are good?—"

Dix's phone pinged, and he glanced at the screen to see a message from Gary.

Turn on abc news now!

He went back into the room, grabbed the remote, and aimed it at the TV on the wall. Aaron Spencer's smug face filled the screen.

"Now what?" Dix muttered.

Spencer spoke into the row of mics. "Today Spencer Corporation enters into an historic joint venture with the federal government to combat these attacks on our friends, neighbors, and family. While this is a cooperative task force, Spencer Corp will be taking the lead, as we have a group of hackers whose only job is to listen to net chatter and provide risk assessment. They've told us of a very credible threat and have revealed to us the person behind it." He held his hands up. "Now, please keep in mind, this person is wanted for questioning and is considered a suspect at this time. He could be armed and dangerous, so if you see him, call the local police or use the number at the bottom of your screen to contact us. Do not approach him on your own. A reward of one million dollars will be paid to the person who helps us apprehend this man and bring him to justice."

"Who's the suspect?" a chorus of voices chimed.

"As I said, these are very credible sources, and they confirm that the person suspected of being the mastermind behind the most recent poisonings, as well as being linked to several others in the past, is Dr. Joshua Malone."

"What the fuck?" Chalmers gasped. Behind him, Grady gaped at the screen, open-mouthed.

The report switched back into the studio, with Doc's face staring back at them.

Dix wanted to throw up.

"The authorities have informed us that a taskforce has been assembled to bring Dr. Malone in for questioning." The anchorman looked directly into the camera. "These proceedings are highly irregular, but when questioned, Mr. Spencer said, ‘We've spoken to the President and presented him with the evidence. He agrees with the relevant authorities that bringing Malone in for questioning has to be priority one.'" The anchorman's expression was grave. "There have been calls for an inquiry into the Stutton tragedy. Maybe now the American people will finally get the answers they've been demanding."

Dix snapped the TV off, feeling hollow. Doc had said they were going to blame him.

Goddamn him for being right. Again.

From the drone's speakers came Doc's voice.

"You have got to be fucking kidding."