Page 35 of Girl, Bound

She pulled upPatrick's file, her eyes widening as she took in the details. A stellar record,commendations galore.

But there, buried deepin the fine print, was a red flag that stopped her cold.

Ella's eyes locked onthe screen. The words blurred together, but the truth was clear as day.

Patrick Barber.Veteran cop. Squeaky clean record. But his son Jason was one of Seraphic'svictims.

And that wasn't all.

‘Of course,’ she saidwith a clenched fist. ‘Goddammit, of course.’

Buried deep in thefiles, a connection. Threads tying Barber to Eric Saunders. To Kara Murphy.

She shot out of herchair. Peered through the glass into the bullpen. Cops milling about, unawareof the viper in their midst.

Barber, whoever hewas, had access. Means and motive. Ella snatched up her phone and hit Ripley'snumber with shaking fingers.

It rang once. Twice.

‘Dark, what’s up?How’d it go at Seraphic?’

'Never mind that.Where are you?'

‘Grabbing coffee withHolbrook. Got you one too. Latte with…’

‘No time for coffee.’Ella glanced over her shoulder and lowered her voice to a hiss.

‘Make an excuse. Getback here now. And don't bring Holbrook.’

Silence on the otherend. Then, ‘Dark, what the hell is going on?’

‘I can't explain overthe phone. Just trust me on this.’

A pause. A sigh.

‘Alright. I'll bethere in ten.’

Ella ended the call asa million scenarios played out in her mind in rapid fire.

Barber was one oftheir own. A sworn protector, possibly turned predator. And if anyone in thisplace caught wind of her suspicions, things might not go down as intended.

***

Ripley slipped intothe office. Ella shut the door behind her, the latch clicking like a gunshot.

‘Alright, I'm here.Now you want to tell me what's got you acting like a conspiracy nut?’

Ella ushered herpartner towards her laptop, then glanced back over her shoulder.

‘Patrick Barber. Cophere at the Millhaven precinct. And he's got ties to both our victims.’

Ripley's mouth droppedan inch as she scanned the screen. ‘What the hell? How did we miss this?’

‘We've been looking atit wrong.’ Ella tapped the laptop, her finger jabbing like a dagger. ‘Thevictims weren't the bad guys. They were the targets.’ She pointed to a line oftext. ‘Look. Kara Murphy, pulled over by a cop. Bastard said he'd let her off ifshe serviced him.’

Ripley's lip curled indisgust. ‘Gross. But what's that got to do with Barber?’

‘Keep reading.’