Page 15 of Shattered Truth (Off The Grid: FBI #15)

"It's about the car that followed you. I sent the license plate to my team.

The vehicle is registered to Steven Holliday, a seventy-three-year-old man who resides in Torrance.

One of my team members called him, and he said he doesn't use the car anymore.

He gave it to one of his grandkids on their sixteenth birthday last month. "

"The guy following me was not seventy-three or sixteen."

"I would agree. One of my team members will follow up with the teenager and see if he lent his car to anyone."

"We should warn Alanna that things might be heating up. AJ was smart enough to take off as soon as he spoke to us. I'm afraid for her now."

"I'll give her a call." He punched in her number, but after a moment, he left a message, saying, "Alanna, this is Agent Lawson. Give me a call back. I'd like to talk to you about ways to increase your security." He left his number, then ended the call.

"Can't you get her protection?" she asked Matt.

"Unfortunately, our resources for protecting people who are not in immediate danger are limited."

"But she could be in immediate danger."

"I'm more worried about you at the moment."

"Well, I'm worried about both of us. She didn't answer her phone. Something could have already happened to her."

"I'll send someone over to do a welfare check."

As he made another call, she settled back on the couch, feeling better that they were doing something to ensure Alanna was all right. The fact that someone had followed her from AJ's made her wonder if that person hadn't been following her all day.

Matt ended the call and said, "Someone from my team will check on Alanna."

"Thanks for doing that."

He took a sip of wine, then said, "Tell me more about you and your brother. Let's start before he went to college. What was your family life like?"

"Why does that matter?" she challenged.

"Because it will help me understand who Landon was."

"You don't need to know who he was to find his murderer."

"His past could be relevant. When AJ talked about Landon's pet project, you got an odd look on your face. You said you didn't know about it, but there was something that resonated with you. What was it?"

"I don't like to talk about my past."

"We're talking about Landon's past."

"His past is my past, and it's painful."

He leaned forward. "I wouldn't be pressing if it wasn't important. You need to talk to me, Haley. The more I know, the more I can be effective in getting you the answers you want."

He was right, but she hated going back in time.

"I'm not going to judge you," he added. "And you can trust me."

"I trust the barista to make my coffee right, but trusting someone with big things…I don't do that."

"Because someone broke your trust," he said, making it a statement and not a question.

"Among other things. My brother and I didn't have a happy childhood."

"Tell me about it."

She hesitated, then gave in. He could find out about her past whether she told him or not, so she might as well save the time.

"My father worked as a stockbroker and made some very bad bets for himself and some of his clients.

They all lost a lot of money. My dad was embarrassed, ashamed, and devastated.

He couldn't see a way out. It was too much for him to cope with, so he killed himself when I was twelve years old and Landon was seven. "

"Damn," Matt muttered, his gaze filling with compassion. "I'm sorry, Haley. I had no idea."

She averted her gaze, not wanting to see the pity in his eyes, as she continued her story.

"My mother fell apart after my dad's death.

To be honest, she was fragile even when he was alive.

But after he was gone, she spiraled, turning to alcohol and drugs to medicate herself.

She couldn't keep a job. She had trouble getting us to school.

She disappeared for days at a time. We got kicked out of apartments.

We lived in a car for a while. And when I was sixteen, she disappeared for a month.

A neighbor turned us in to social services.

They put Landon and me in separate foster homes, and it was the worst few weeks of my life.

I couldn't stand losing my brother, too. I knew how scared he must be."

"What did you do?"

"I went looking for a blood relative, and I found my mother's aunt.

She hadn't been close to us in years, but she lived in Los Angeles in a nice enough house.

She was divorced and had a good job. I told her I would take care of Landon.

I would clean the house. I would do whatever she needed to have done.

All she had to do was become our guardian.

She finally agreed. But it almost didn't happen because my mother showed up again.

She had some fantasy of us all being together.

I begged her to let us live with her aunt so that Landon and I could stay together while she got better.

In a moment of sanity, she agreed. I think, in some ways, it was a relief. "

"What was it like living with your great-aunt?" he asked, making no comment on what she'd just told him.

"She was nice, somewhat indifferent. She'd always been up front about never wanting kids, and she liked to travel, so she was gone a lot, but she gave us a roof over our heads and money for food. It all worked out."

"And you raised your brother. That was a huge burden to take on, Haley. I can't begin to imagine how you felt, having to raise yourself and your brother. Your parents really let you down."

"They did. But raising Landon was easy. He was a good kid and so smart.

He got straight A's all through high school.

He was just brilliant. I went to the community college and worked so I could pay for extras for us.

Sometimes, Landon would help me with my homework because he was so far ahead for his age, it was crazy.

He got into a gifted program and won a full scholarship to Westbridge.

It was the dream school for him—for both of us, really.

We knew that they really helped their graduates get into good jobs, so it felt like we could finally see the future.

" She paused as a wave of sadness swept through her.

"He was so close to graduation when he died.

" She shook her head. "I still can't believe what happened to him.

He was such a sweet guy. Who would want to kill him? "

"Maybe someone who saw a possible fortune in his project, a project he might not have wanted to share with the one for all, all for one group."

"But why kill him? What would that get them? He had the brains, the knowledge for what he was doing."

"If they wanted what he refused to give, then he had to go," Matt said. "I'd like to talk to Landon's girlfriend. What was her name?"

"Brooke Mercer. I have no idea where she is."

"I'll find her," he said confidently.

"I might be able to find her, too," she returned.

He smiled. "From what I've seen so far, I don't doubt that. Why did you get into journalism?"

"I always loved to write, and I liked the idea of standing up for people who didn't have a voice, revealing truths that someone might have tried to bury."

"I looked you up. You've done some excellent work, Haley."

"Thanks. I looked you up, too. I found your name on corporate fraud cases. Why are you on a murder investigation now?"

"Because Sabrina had a piece of paper with my name and number on it in her bag, courtesy of Anthony Devray."

"Did you find him yet?"

"No, but I will."

"Why did your fraud case get shut down?"

"We got a new director three months ago. She wanted to reorganize, cut cases that were taking too much time and didn't have enough evidence to go the distance—her words, not mine."

"Do you think there was more than just efficiency behind her decision?"

"Yes. I think she might be a director who caves to political pressure, and that won't work in the white-collar crime division."

"So you left. And your new team?"

"Very impressive. And they operate without a lot of oversight, which will be refreshing. At least, that's my hope. Time will tell." He paused as his phone buzzed. "Our pizza is ten minutes away. Why don't we go down to the garage and get those boxes before our food arrives?"

She was more than happy to do something other than talk about her past, although bringing Landon's boxes back into her apartment would probably be worse.