Page 23 of Shattered Truth (Off The Grid: FBI #15)

The door slid open, and Matt joined her by the rail. She gave him a questioning look. "Anything new?"

"No. Just filling my team in on what happened. They'll check security cameras in the area to see if we can find your burglar."

"Your team works weekends?"

"There's always a support staff on duty."

"The man in my apartment didn't sound like a Westbridge grad, more like someone who was hired."

"I agree. I doubt any of the Westbridge boys do their own dirty work, but there could be a money trail."

"The files they stole aren't worth anything to them. They'll soon see I don't know that much. Maybe that will make me less of a target."

"Maybe," he said in an unconvincing tone.

"I really wish I knew how Sabrina got new evidence. If she found something, why can't we?" she asked in frustration.

"We're not done, Haley."

"It feels like we are."

"It's just a setback."

"Someone destroyed my apartment. It was a vicious attack. It felt like they weren't just trying to steal my stuff; they were sending me a message."

"I know. I understand why you're upset," he said, meeting her gaze. "But try to look at this another way."

"There's another way?" she asked doubtfully.

"Every action they take gives them more exposure. We have another lead to follow."

"Well, happy I could help."

He smiled at her sarcasm. "You should scream."

"What? Why?"

"Because you need to let the stress out."

"I'm not going to do that."

"It might help."

"Screaming into the wind has never helped, but I am going to sit down." She let out a sigh as she took a seat. "Sorry to be a downer. I just need a minute. I'll bounce back."

"I know you will," he said, taking the seat across from her.

"This is a nice view," she said, as the ocean view calmed her anger. "It's peaceful out here. It feels like we're above it all."

"This balcony is what sold me on the place. When I come home, I usually need peace."

"Is your job dangerous? Are you always doing things like this? Bringing people here to protect them?"

"I've never brought anyone here. There's some danger, but it's just part of the job."

"I think you're downplaying it."

He gave her a faint smile. "You've had enough danger talk for the time being."

"You're right. So, did you hire a decorator, because there aren't a lot of personal touches in your place?"

"I hired a very lovely woman named Pam, who picked out everything."

"She did a nice job, although I would have gone for a warmer look. How long have you lived here?"

"Two years."

"Seriously?" she asked in surprise. "That long? Don't you want to make it a little more your own?"

"I don't spend that much time here. I work a lot. Sometimes I'm gone for days or weeks at a time on a case."

"Doesn't sound like you have much time for a social life."

"I don't. My job is not great for long-term relationships."

"Mine is the same way, or maybe it's that way because burying myself in work is better than going home alone," she said candidly. "I feel good when I'm being productive. Too much time alone usually makes me think too much. My imagination can get too active."

"Was Landon the same way?"

"No. He was more pragmatic than I was. I tried to shield him from the worst stuff; I didn't always succeed."

"I'm sure you gave it your all."

"Sometimes that wasn't good enough."

"Growing up the way you did, I can understand why you and Landon were so tight." He took a breath. "There is something Brooke said that made me curious."

"What was that?"

"She said Landon hadn't told you about their relationship because you'd recently broken up with someone, and he didn't want to rub their happiness in your face. Was that true?"

She frowned at the question. "I had broken up with someone probably three or four months before Landon died.

It wasn't recent, and it wasn't like I was devastated.

It was just one of those relationships that ran its course.

We were together about six months before we both realized we didn't have much more in common than the fact that we were both reporters.

Jared worked as a sports reporter for a local news station, and he lived and breathed sports on his personal time, too.

He bet on games, played all the fantasy teams, hung out at sports bars, and painted his face and chest for playoff games.

" She shook her head. "It was too much for me.

It's not that I don't like sports, but not at that level, and he couldn't talk about anything else.

So, we ended it. I really didn't have a broken heart.

I don't know why Landon would have thought that. "

"Maybe Brooke was just making excuses for why you hadn't heard about her. Perhaps there wasn't that much to hear."

"She had a key to his apartment, so there was something going on between them."

"When you got to the apartment that day, what was she doing? Was she cleaning? Packing up her things? Did she help you go through Landon's belongings?"

She thought back to that horrible day. "I got to the apartment around five.

Brooke was packing some stuff in a duffel bag.

I wasn't really paying attention to what she was taking.

She said she couldn't bear to stay there after what had happened.

We talked a little, but we both kept breaking down.

She finally left, and I spent the night on Landon's couch, thinking it was all a horrible nightmare. "

He frowned. "Okay. That's enough. We don't have to keep talking about this now."

"If it helps you to understand, then I'll talk about whatever you want. As for Brooke, I don't know that I trust or believe anything she said, including her description of their relationship. She and Landon seem so different. I don't even see how they got together."

"She's a beautiful woman. I can't imagine any young man not being flattered by her attention.

Maybe she was part of the frat's plan to loosen Landon up, distract him, get him to let down his guard.

Love or lust can be blinding, especially when you're twenty.

If the frat wanted something from Landon, maybe Brooke was their way in. "

"That makes sense, but how can we prove it? Do we talk to Brooke again?"

"At some point. I want to keep moving around the circle. We don't want any one person to think they're the sole target of the investigation. Better to make everyone a little nervous."

"Out of the fraternity group, we haven't talked to Drew Sanderson yet. Or Josh Lorrie or Brian Covington."

"We also haven't talked to the professor that Landon worked for."

"That was Justin Harrington." She paused.

"There's also the dean, who shut down the investigation.

His name is Robert Haas. He was of absolutely no help to me.

In fact, I thought he was rather rude. And then there's the former deputy police chief turned senator, Alan Matson.

Can you talk to your former partner about him? She seems to know him."

"I will if that makes sense."

"What about Sabrina's contact referral—Anthony Devray?" she asked. "You said his phone was disconnected. Is there any other way to find him?"

"Maybe."

"There's a lot to do. And what we've done up to now hasn't gotten us very far."

"We've gotten far enough to make people nervous. And nervous people make mistakes."

"I hope that mistake happens soon. We need a break."

Matt's phone buzzed. "This is my team. Hopefully, we just got one."