Page 79 of Stone Coast

I flipped him off.

Xzavier laughed. “You’re gonna fit in just fine around here.” He looked around the group. “Let’s get down to business.” He grabbed his satchel and pulled out enough manila folders for all of us. He dealt them out.

I opened the folder to see a picture of a beautiful young girl in her early 20s. She had chocolate hair, brown eyes, and aslender figure. She was smiling in the photo. The dossier was several pages thick. The top page contained all of her vital information—name, last known address, height, weight, and various other personal details.

“Her name is Lauren Ashley Jamison,” Xzavier said. “She was shot twice and dumped in the water at Sunset Harbor. She was 23 years old at the time of her death. Majored in marine biology. She worked as a dive instructor and took tourists out to the reefs and shipwrecks. Her father is deceased, but her mother lives here on the island with her younger brother. The Pineapple Bay Police Department has been sitting on this case for over a year, and no progress has been made. It’s safe to say that no progress will ever be made. If Lauren’s killer is to be brought to justice, we’re going to be the ones to do it.”

“What exactly do you mean bybringing her killer to justice? I just wanna clarify. Does that mean murder?”

Xzavier smiled. “Like I said before. It means we gather relevant evidence. We build a case. Sometimes, we catch the perpetrator, wrap him up in a nice neat bow, and deliver him to law enforcement.”

“And what happens when that fails to yield the desired result? What if somebody drops the ball, and he gets off on a technicality?”

Xzavier shared a glance with the rest of his colleagues. “It’s a case-by-case basis. We don’t take action without certainty. But I will not let a known killer take another victim if I can help it.”

We stared at each other for a long moment.

“Did you kill Carter Wallace?” I asked.

His face crinkled with confusion. “You saw us drop him off.”

“He was murdered shortly thereafter with my gun.”

“Somebody set you up. That was obvious. You need to ask who?”

“How can I trust anyone?”

“You can’t. And you shouldn’t. Does it seem plausible that I had one of the team steal your gun, then kill Carter after we dropped you off? Only to bail you out today?”

“Makes you look like my savior. Perhaps you think it will tip the scales in my decision to join your organization.”

Xzavier smiled. “This is exactly why I want you on my team. I like the way you think.”

I looked deep into his eyes.

“You need to ask yourself who has the resources to frame you and track your every move.”

I knew the answer to that question. “Why would they set me up?”

“Because it diminishes your credibility. You are a liability. I don’t know what you know. But someone is terrified you are going to start talking to the wrong people. I suspect if you would have stayed in jail for any length of time, you wouldn’t have made it out. Inmates kill each other all the time. What better way to close the book on a security risk?”

I couldn’t disagree with anything he said.

“You need to ask yourself who the target really was. Did Carter and Isaiah come for Grayson? Or did they come for you?” He paused for a moment. “I know you’ve considered this. And the incident that put you in the hospital… you don’t really think you were mugged, do you? You don’t give off victim energy. There are much softer targets.”

“If what you suggest is true, they’re not going to stop until the objective has been accomplished.”

“I think you’re beginning to realize the full magnitude of your situation.”

40

“How much do you know about my background?” I asked.

“We vet all potential collaborators thoroughly. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out your connection to a certain three letter agency. But I can’t tell you what your role was in the Company.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“I don’t know what you did, but it was something so secretive, even Piper can’t figure it out. Your cover ID is about as solid as anything I’ve ever seen. Your former group is completely off the books. Everyone associated with it is a ghost. But I do know that you work for Ross Jenkins at Synovectis Solutions. And that is a Company front if I’ve ever seen one.”