Page 7 of Shattered Truth (Off The Grid: FBI #15)

Chapter Five

When they got in the elevator, Alanna looked at Haley and said, "Are you an agent, too?"

"No. My name is Haley Kenton."

Alanna's face turned pale. "Kenton?"

"Yes. My brother was Landon Kenton."

"Oh, God!" Alanna put a hand to her mouth. "I was afraid that's why you came to see me. I told Sabrina to stay out of it. What did she tell you?"

"She didn't tell me anything," Haley said as the elevator stopped at the lobby, and they got off.

"Well, you need to talk to Sabrina, not me," Alanna said, pushing the elevator button to call it back. "I have nothing to say. I'm going back to work."

"We can't talk to Sabrina," he interjected.

"Why not? This is her deal, not mine. I don't want anything to do with it."

As the elevator doors opened, he grabbed her arm. "Wait, Ms. Morris."

"Let go of me," she said, tugging her arm free.

"Sabrina was killed last night." He hadn't meant to deliver the message in such a cold, harsh way, but he needed to stop her from trying to run away from them.

She froze as the elevator doors closed.

"What did you say?" she asked. "That's impossible. I talked to her yesterday when I got off work."

"What time was that?"

"Around five. She said she was going to meet…" Her voice trailed away as her gaze turned to Haley. "She was going to meet you. What happened to her?"

"She was shot," Haley said. "She died instantly."

Alanna shook her head in disbelief. "No. I can't believe this. She's really dead?"

"Yes. And we're hoping you can help us figure out who killed her," he replied. "You sent her a warning text last night, telling her to stop digging into something, that she could lose her job. What were you referring to?"

"Sabrina was trying to do the right thing." Alanna bit down on her lip, visibly struggling to compose herself. "But I was afraid she was getting into something dangerous."

"What was she investigating?" he asked.

She didn't answer as two women came into the lobby. "I can't talk here. Let's get that coffee," she said, heading toward the door, giving the women a quick greeting on the way.

They followed Alanna to a café down the street. There were tables in front of the restaurant, and they sat down together, ordering three coffees from the server.

"Did Sabrina find out something about my brother's death?" Haley asked as soon as they were alone.

Alanna gave them a nervous look. "I really don't want to get involved in this."

"You don't have a choice," Haley said. "And if you don't want Sabrina's death to go unpunished, you need to help us get her justice."

He had to admit that Haley knew which buttons to push, because Alanna straightened at her words. "You're right. She can't have died in vain. Sabrina thought your brother, Landon, had been murdered. She believed there was a cover-up."

"Why would she think that?" Haley asked.

"She didn't give me specifics. She said she'd come across some new information."

"I don't understand," Haley said, impatience in her voice. "How did Sabrina even know about my brother? He died six years ago. Why would information come up about him now? And why would Sabrina have it?"

"It goes back to law school at Westbridge," Alanna said.

"In our final year, Sabrina and I interned at the university legal aid center, helping students with basic legal questions and concerns.

One day, a student came in and told us that a friend of his had died a few weeks earlier, and he didn't think it was an accident.

He'd gone to the police, but they wouldn't talk to him.

He wanted to know what else he could do. "

"What was his name?"

Before Alanna could answer, the server returned with their coffees, and he could see Haley's impatience grow until the woman finally walked away.

"His name was Arjun Patel," Alanna answered. "And he was talking about Landon's death. He said that Landon told him some guys in his fraternity were pressuring him, and he was upset about it. A few days later, he was dead after a fraternity party, and Arjun didn't believe that was a coincidence."

"What did you tell him?" Haley asked.

"Sabrina said she'd pass the information on to the head of the legal aid center, and they'd follow up with him, campus security, and the police.

After he left, Sabrina spoke to our supervisor.

Less than ten minutes later, we were both told that the university and the police had already done a thorough investigation.

She suggested Sabrina contact Arjun and encourage him to get counseling, because he was clearly upset about his friend's death. "

Haley shook her head in disgust. "How could they not even talk to him? That investigation was a sham."

"Did you know Arjun Patel?" he asked Haley.

"No. I've never heard that name. Landon didn't talk much about his friends.

When we spoke, it was mostly about his work or his grades or…

me," she said, guilt running through her eyes.

"It wasn't until after he died that I realized how little I knew about his life. I should have asked more questions."

"Let's get back to Arjun," he said, turning to Alanna. "Did Sabrina ever speak to Arjun again? Is he the reason she started digging into this after so many years?"

"No. She tried to talk to him after she met with our supervisor, but Arjun had dropped out of school and turned off his phone. He basically disappeared."

"Wait—he dropped out of school?" Haley asked. "So close to graduation?"

Alanna nodded, a grim look in her gaze. "Yes. We both wondered why, but that was the end until a few weeks ago."

"What happened?" he asked. "What was the trigger for all this coming back up?"

"Sabrina asked me to get a drink late one night.

That, on its own, was unusual because she worked a million hours at Adler and Briggs and barely had time to breathe.

They were slowly sucking the life out of her, but that day she was all lit up.

She asked me if I remembered your brother, and, of course, I said I did," she said, looking at Haley.

"What did she tell you?"

"She'd heard something that made her believe Landon's death was not an accident, and she was looking into it," Alanna said. "I asked her for more details, but she said she didn't want to say more until she knew more. But she thought it was all about money."

"Money?" Haley echoed, her expression confused. "My brother had no money. He worked a side job to pay for what his scholarship didn't cover."

"I don't know what she meant; I'm just telling you what she said."

"Did she say anything else?" he asked. "You texted her that she could lose her job. Why would you say that?"

"Because Graham Adler went to Westbridge, and so did his son, Henry. Half the attorneys at that firm are Westbridge grads. If Sabrina had discovered that Westbridge had covered up a murder, her firm would not be happy with her. They are huge donors to the school."

"Did Sabrina consider going to the police?"

"She tried to talk to someone at the FBI, but he wasn't there, and whoever she spoke to said she should talk to the police, that it wasn't in their jurisdiction to look into a death at a private university. They blew her off."

"Who did she talk to?" he asked, disturbed by that answer.

"I don't know, but the person she wanted to talk to was recommended by Anthony Devray. He apparently worked with this guy and said he could be trusted."

"Anthony Devray," he murmured. That was how Sabrina had his number. But Shari had told him that Sabrina hadn't spoken to anyone in his office. And that she'd offered to help, but Sabrina hadn't wanted to talk to anyone but him. Something was off about the sequence of events.

"Do you know Anthony Devray?" Haley asked.

"Yes, but I'm more interested in who Sabrina spoke to at the Bureau. She never gave you a name?" he asked Alanna.

"No, but she was disappointed by their response, which is when she decided to reach out to you, Haley. She knew you were a reporter, and she thought maybe you could get the information she needed."

"Why didn't she come to me right away?" Haley asked.

"She didn't want to raise your hopes in case she was wrong. But when the FBI shut her down, she felt like you had to know."

"I was so close to talking to her," Haley muttered, her expression filled with frustration and anger.

"I can't believe she's dead," Alanna said, her eyes growing moist. "Sabrina was a really good person and a great lawyer. Her firm didn't appreciate her. I told her to leave, but she needed the money to take care of her mom, who has health issues. Oh, God, her mom! She must be devastated."

Both Alanna and Haley were caught up in their pain, and while he sympathized, he needed to keep pushing. "Would Sabrina have confided in anyone at her firm? Did she have a friend there?"

"I don't think so. The firm is cutthroat. All the second-year associates were competing for scraps."

"There's nothing else she told you? Maybe a small detail you didn't think was important," he suggested.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to know, and she didn't want to put me in danger." She paused, her gaze anxious. "Am I in danger? You two found me. Does anyone else know about me?"

"There's a chance they do," he said honestly. "You should be careful, Alanna. Don't go anywhere alone. Don't take any meetings with people you don't know."

"I can't believe this is happening." Alanna shook her head in bemusement once more.

"We're going to find out who killed Sabrina and who killed my brother," Haley said forcefully. "I promise you that."

"I hope so," Alanna said. "I should get back to work." She got up and gave Haley one last look. "I'm really sorry about your brother."

"Thank you."

When Alanna left, Haley turned to him. "We need to find Arjun and talk to him."

"I'm not against that, but if he'd had more than a hunch, he would have turned it over back then."

"Maybe he did, and someone covered it up. The kid dropped out of school very close to graduation. He was afraid."