floor space in front of his desk in an attempt to wear off some of the adrenaline. It didn’t help. He stopped at the window and stared out at the November afternoon. Life went on even when things were damned wrong. Not that Shane still had any feelings for his ex—he didn’t. Not in the least. But the kid… well that was a different story. He couldn’t just pretend he didn’t love the boy. Shane couldn’t imagine never seeing Matt again.
A quick, short burst of sound echoed from the phone on his desk, alerting him to an internal call. Until the official hearing, there was nothing he could do. He might as well focus on work. He crossed to his desk and picked up the receiver. “Allen.”
“Mr. Allen, this is Darla.”
The new receptionist. She still addressed everyone at the Colby Agency as mister or missus. He’d done that, too, for the first couple of months.
“Have I missed an appointment?” He didn’t remember anything on his calendar this afternoon. Still, he double-checked even as he asked the question.
“No, sir. There’s a visitor in with Mrs. Colby-Camp, and she would like you to join them in her office if you’re available.”
Sounded like he had a new assignment. Whenever he was called to Victoria’s office, it usually involved an incoming case. He could definitely use the distraction. Working a case would keep his mind off Matt…and the hearing…and his ex.
“I’m on my way.” He thanked Darla and settled the receiver back into its cradle. Taking a moment, he cleared his head of personal issues, then grabbed his notebook and headed for the boss’s office.
The long stretch of corridor outside Shane’s office went in both directions and was flanked by doors on both sides. At the end, near the stairwell, was Victoria’s office. The layout was similar to the one in the old building, according to his colleagues. The décor was cutting-edge contemporary with a definite elegant flair. Very different from the monochromatic beige of his last workspace as a U.S. Marshal.
Shane had hired on with the Colby Agency right after New Year’s. His former career had ended as abruptly as his marriage eventually had. A gunshot wound had shattered his hip, catapulting him into multiple surgeries and months of physical therapy. Despite his insistence that he could handle the physical requirements of his job, he’d been forced into retirement. Sharon had dumped him once he was out of the woods physically, and he’d spent several weeks feeling sorry for himself.
All that had changed come New Year’s. He’d made one of those resolutions people never kept—only he had been determined to keep his. He was looking forward, not looking back. No wallowing in what might have been.
He gifted Mildred, Victoria’s assistant, with a smile and entered the private domain of the woman who had turned the Colby Agency into one of the nation’s most prestigious private investigation agencies. A woman who accepted him as he was, denim and leather included. That was another New Year’s resolution he’d made: to be himself—not some spit-polished stuffed shirt like he’d pretended to be for six years. Nope. Just himself.
This was what he did now. This was his future. This was who he was.
“Shane,” Victoria said as he strode across her office, “thank you for joining us.”
As the boss made the formal introductions, he shifted his attention to the woman seated in front of Victoria’s desk.
“This is Mary Jane Brooks.” Victoria gestured to her guest. “Ms. Brooks, this is Shane Allen, the investigator I was telling you about.”
Medium height, too thin. Mary Jane Brooks looked to be mid- to late-twenties with long red hair that spilled down her shoulders in sassy curls. Her pale, pale skin offered a stark contrast to her vibrant blue eyes.
“Mr. Allen.” Mary Jane thrust out her hand as he approached the chair next to hers.
“Ms. Brooks.” He closed his hand around hers, didn’t miss her tremble as their palms made contact. That she drew her hand away quickly signaled that he, or men in general, made her nervous. He felt certain he wasn’t what she had expected.
“Ms. Brooks has come to us regarding her sister’s death,” Victoria said as Shane took his seat. “Her sister’s remains were among the ones found in the rubble after the explosion at our former building.”
Now there was some interesting and unexpected news. From the corner of his eyes, Shane considered the woman next to him. He’d noticed the detective from Chicago PD in the lobby earlier today, but hadn’t heard any news regarding the visit. If Ms. Brooks had been made aware of the news around the same time Victoria had been, she had certainly wasted no time in looking into the matter.
“Really?” He allowed the word to reflect his surprise. “Was she a client?” he asked Victoria.
“There’s reason to believe she may have attempted to contact this agency,” Victoria explained, “but we have no record indicating she ever followed through. I’ve spoken with the entire staff employed at the time, and no one remembers the name or the face.” To Mary Jane Brooks she added, “Detective Bailen of Chicago PD’s homicide division was here earlier today, and he provided photo ID for that purpose.”
“Rebecca was going into Witness Security,” Ms. Brooks put in, her tone stilted. “She was supposed to testify against her former boss, but she disappeared right before the trial was set to begin.”
Interesting. Shane still had contacts in his former career. He would see what he could find out about the case. “Can you give us a few more details about your sister’s employer?”
“She was the administrative assistant to the CEO of Horizon Software.” Ms. Brooks cleared her throat. “She discovered he had been selling the same software his company designed for the Pentagon to one of the country’s enemies. She reported him to the FBI in late October of last year. The day before Christmas Eve she disappeared. I never heard from her again.”
Shane recalled hearing something about Horizon Software and suspected charges of treason. The whole ordeal had been kept hush-hush until the key witness had disappeared and the case eventually had to be dropped. By then, he had already been employed by the Colby Agency and had only gotten the scoop provided to the media.
“I don’t know any specifics about the case,” he said to Ms. Brooks before turning his attention to Victoria. “But I can try and reach out to some of my former colleagues. Depending on whether there is any hope of reopening the investigation, I may or may not be able to negotiate any useful information.”
To Shane, Victoria showed her approval of his proposed strategy with a nod, while to the woman seated next to him she said, “Detective Bailen offered a possible connection between Rebecca and our agency. Evidently the cell phone of one of her close personal associates had been used to call our agency a couple of times. His name was Jason Mackey. Mackey was scheduled to perform at our annual Christmas party last year. But then he was one of three men who lost their lives to the perpetrators involved in the bombing of the building. Does his name sound familiar to you?”
“Jason Mackey was Rebecca’s boyfriend,” Ms. Brooks said without hesitation. “They’d been seeing each other for a couple of months when she went missing.”
“So they became an item,” Shane suggested, “after she turned Horizon Software in to the federal government for possible treason?”
Ms.
