Page 41 of Shattered Truth (Off The Grid: FBI #15)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Matt gave her a questioning look. "What's the idea?"

"If we're going to divide and conquer, our next target should be Henry. He blackmailed Brooke and probably Professor Harrington. We need to use the same strategy. Get some dirt on him and use it against him."

"We'd have to find the dirt first."

"Unless we manufacture it. Like you did with the fake evidence connecting Trent to my brother's murder."

"We're going to need more concrete evidence to go directly at Henry. The Trent evidence was a ruse to see which side Shari was on. It won't stand up legally."

"It doesn't have to. It's still going to disrupt the Adler family, if not all their friends." She thought for a moment. "We should talk to Brooke about Henry. If he has a weakness, she probably knows what it is."

He gave her an approving nod. "Good idea. I wanted to check in at the hospital this morning anyway."

As they drove to the hospital, her mind raced with possibilities.

If Henry had any kind of addiction: gambling, drugs, or women, that could be a potential goldmine.

Or maybe Brooke would know who Henry was sleeping with, and they could create havoc in his personal life.

It would also be interesting to see if they could pit Henry against his father, Graham, not just the other people his age.

There was a good chance Henry was either the mastermind behind everything or very high up in the chain.

"Have you come up with a plan yet?" Matt asked with a knowing smile as he turned into the hospital lot.

"Working on several," she said, grinning back at him. "You're not the only one with a devious mind. We might have that in common."

"Just remember, we can only go so far. I'm still an FBI agent. There are some lines I can't cross."

Despite his clever mind, he had a strong moral compass, and she liked that about him.

But then, she was starting to like everything about him.

It was more difficult to find things she didn't like.

The closer she got to him, the closer she wanted to be.

She just had no idea what was going to happen when all this was over, when they weren't living in each other's pocket, but that was a worry for another day.

After Matt showed his badge to the guard outside of Brooke's room, they were allowed inside. Brooke was sitting up in bed, her phone in her hand, looking pale and weary, but better than the last time she'd seen her.

Her gaze grew wary as they approached. "Do you know who attacked me?" she asked.

Matt shook his head. "Not yet, but we're working on it."

"I'm afraid of what's going to happen when I get discharged. How can I go home? How can I be safe anywhere?"

"You won't be safe until we find out why someone wanted you dead," Matt said. "And we need your help to do that, Brooke."

"I told the other guy everything I knew.

I'm not as much on the inside of things as you might believe.

And since I almost died, I've had a lot of time to consider the fact that this attack was probably directed by someone I know, maybe someone I think is a friend. I don't know who to trust anymore."

"We believe the same thing," she said. "You told us that Henry blackmailed you into stealing Landon's notebooks. That's right, isn't it?"

Brooke gave her a guilty look. "Yes. Henry was behind my entire relationship with Landon. I couldn't get kicked out of school. I had to do what he asked. But I never imagined Landon would end up dead."

While she still held enormous anger toward Brooke, she pushed those feelings aside so she could get her help. "Let's not talk about Landon right now. Let's talk about Henry."

"Henry is not a nice guy. He uses people."

"Which is why you're going to help us use him," she said.

Brooke’s gaze flickered with curiosity. "How so?"

"We need you to tell us anything about Henry that shows his darker side. Is he into gambling, drugs, porn? Does he sleep with married women or hookers? Does he cheat at golf, steal from his friends, or his company?"

"I want to help, but I'm afraid."

"Brooke," Matt said. "When you're discharged, we're going to set you up in a safehouse with two guards watching over you.

No one will be able to hurt you again. But the faster we shut down whatever they're doing, the faster your life returns to normal.

Until then, you won't be able to go home, go to work, see your fiancé… nothing."

"Okay," she said. "Let's see. Henry likes strippers. But he doesn't go to ordinary strip clubs. He goes to a private club for rich guys where discretion is everything. It's called Sterling's. It's in downtown LA. He also likes cocaine and uses it regularly. Does that help?"

"Yes. Now, are you aware of anyone else Henry blackmailed besides you and Professor Harrington?" Matt asked.

Her eyes widened with surprise. "He blackmailed Professor Harrington? I did not know that. As for others, I don't know, but Henry has never wanted to put in real work. He's always looking for a shortcut."

"Okay," Matt said. "Talk to us about Kyle."

"What do you want to know?" she asked, her expression turning wary again.

"He works for Drew Sanderson, right? What does he do there?"

"He's a financial analyst."

"What's his relationship to Viktor Danilovich?"

"I'm not sure," Brooke said. "Kyle met Viktor through Drew. Viktor is the older brother of

someone we went to school with, Alexei Danilovich. I liked Alexei, but his brother seems shady, and he gives me the creeps. Kyle told me that Viktor is doing some work with Drew's company but didn't say what."

"So, Viktor could be involved in this money-making scheme as well."

"Kyle had dinner with Henry, Viktor, Drew, and Jill last week," Brooke replied.

"Why weren't you there?"

"I wasn't invited. Kyle said it was business."

"But Jill was there," she said. "Where does she fit in with everyone?"

"Jill and Drew have been dating. They were friends for a long time, but she told me they had a drunken hookup a few months back, and she'd started looking at him differently.

I didn't want to ask too many questions about it, because we're all in this group, and it's kind of strange that they're suddenly together.

Trent isn't happy about it, either. According to Jill, Trent and Drew are barely speaking. "

Brooke paused, then added, "But everyone seems to be acting differently the past few days.

Ever since that woman got shot, and you two showed up at the charity event, Jill has been bitchy, Kyle is secretive, and Henry is even more disgustingly smug than usual.

I don't know what to think about anyone, not even my fiancé.

I feel like they're all suddenly strangers, people I don't recognize anymore. "

She exchanged a glance with Matt, thinking it was ironic that Brooke, who had deceived Landon, was now discovering that others, including her fiancé, might be lying to her. "You must know something about their get-rich-quick plan."

"All I know is that they have a plan to make money on the stock market and it's going to happen before the election.

Jill convinced me to give her some money to invest, so I did.

But I don't know the details. If I could help you more, I would.

I want this all to be over. I want to feel safe again and be able to trust people. "

"You can't trust any of your friends," Matt told her, not a trace of doubt in his voice. "Not Jill, not Kyle, not Henry, not anyone."

"What am I going to tell Kyle? He's been texting me nonstop that he wants to see me, and that I need to get the guard to let him in.

I told him I don't have any say over it, but he keeps grilling me about what the FBI is asking me.

Jill has texted, too. She's concerned and wants to bring me comfort food. What am I going to say?"

"You're going to tell them you won't be discharged for a few more days, probably not until Saturday," Matt said.

"You'll also tell them that you've asked us to put them on the visitor list, and you're waiting to hear back on when that can happen.

Tell them you miss them, and you can't wait to see them again. "

"Am I really going to be here until Saturday?"

"We'll try to move you before that, but it will be unexpected. You won't know when, and they won't know when. We are the only people you can trust, Brooke. We want you to be alive. I can't say that for anyone else," Matt said.

She paled as his words sank in. "It's hard to believe any of my friends would want to kill me."

"When a lot of money is at stake, people change," Matt said.

"Before we go, I'm going to ask you to text whoever is concerned about you, your boyfriend, your friends, your parents, and tell them what I just said.

You'll also add that the FBI is taking away your phone, so they shouldn't worry if they don't hear from you, but that you were told you'd get it back tomorrow. Do that now."

"You're really going to take my phone?"

"Yes," he said, giving Brooke a hard look. "I can't trust you not to share what we've just discussed. Start texting."

Brooke did as he asked. Then she handed over her phone.

"What's your code?" Matt asked.

She rattled off six numbers. Matt put them into the phone and unlocked it. "Good," he said. "I know you're feeling like you're trading one enemy for another, but we are going to make sure you're safe."

"My parents want me to come and stay with them in Connecticut. I was thinking of going there."

"When this is over," he said.

"I'm not going to get charged with anything, am I?"

"As long as you're telling us the truth about your involvement and you keep helping us, you'll be fine."

Brooke nodded, then said, "I hope you find out who killed Landon and make them pay, Haley."

"Even if that's one of your friends?"