Page 70 of Shades of Mercy

“You shouldn’t be because I’m telling you. I’ve had contact with Howie and McKinley.”

“Of course you have. When was that?”

Over the past few days.

He narrowed his gaze. “How? By using the computer?”

“No, I had a burner phone that I bought at a gas station that Mateo had stopped at. I knew I couldn’t use my phone, and I needed to have something just in case.”

“Why am I not the least bit shocked?”

She waved the question away. “McKinley sent me the photos of the night of Cross’s party. Unfortunately, my phone met with a premature death.”

“Are you thinking there’s something in the photos?”

“I have a question that I need answered, and the only way I’m going to find out if my instincts are accurate is by doing some investigating.”

*****

Mercy sat behind the computer in the security office, with Jag over her shoulder as they viewed the photos the drone had taken.

She looked up at him. “I knew it.”

“Knew what?”

“Howie said that he came looking for me at the billionaire party, and during that time, the mobile unit had been ransacked. He’s in none of these photos, and he would have been.”

“Maybe the drone didn’t catch everyone.”

“McKinley had the drone going over the warehouse. It’s heat-sensored, which means it detects people within a hundred-foot radius and takes a photo. Howie would be in one of these shots. He lied.”

“What are you thinking then?”

She rubbed the ache from her temples. “If he didn’t come in search of me, that meant he knew what was happening because he tipped Cross off. And if he didn’t leave the mobile unit, then he was the one who had ransacked the place, probably to destroy any data saved to my computer and to swipe the chip.”

“That’s a huge pill to swallow, but it makes sense. That’s how Cross was one step ahead of you.”

She jumped up from the chair, pacing the office floor. “It does make sense. Someone tipped Cross off that I would be at the party. He targeted me. The only people who knew outside of me were McKinley and Howie. The only one who had access to the mobile unit in that period was Howie.”

Jag dropped down into the chair. “What would he gain?”

“I don’t know, but I’m following my instincts and they’re telling me Howie knows something more.”

“Then what do you want to do?”

“Do you want to know?” She held Jag’s gaze.

“I do.”

“I’m going back,” she said. “I think it’s time I switched who the target is in this.”

Jag chuckled. “Mateo won’t agree.”

“You said yourself that it was time I stopped listening to Mateo.”

“That’s not what I said,” he stated firmly.

She crossed her arms defiantly. “I am going back. I’d like you to go with me, but even if you choose not to, I’m still going. Howie is my responsibility. I plan to get the information that will help put Cross away for good. Are you in?”