where Erin is. My unit has speculated she might know.”
“Maybe Selena is someone you should get to know better.” Dan winked.
“Yeah, sure, because Selena will take me to see the cousin she’s hiding. If she does know where Erin Eagleton is, do you think she’d let it slip? Selena is sharp. Anyone who can coordinate this event and retain her sanity has to be.”
“Personally, I wish they’d drop the tradition. It would make my life as a Secret Service agent tasked with keeping the president safe much easier. I get nervous with so many strangers around here.”
Nicholas slapped Dan on the back. “Your life is easy. You usually stand around watching people go by. Not too strenuous, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t,” Dan grumbled as they walked back over to the exam room. He rapped on the door before they entered.
The nurse left as Dan introduced Nicholas to Ms. Wilkins. “I know you can’t remember much, but he has a few questions concerning what happened to you.”
“I could use your help, Ms. Wilkins. The person who drugged you and took the Miss Chick costume deliberately bumped into the White House tour director to steal her keys, so anything you can tell me will help me find the perpetrator. Please describe what happened and where you were.”
The young woman scrunched her forehead and stared down at her hands. “Everything is hazy. I remember leaving the Situation Room and going to the restroom. I was the only one inside. I was surprised because so many people were attending the event, but while I was in the stall, I heard the door opening and someone coming in.” Closing her eyes, she lowered her head for a few seconds. “The last thing I recollect is leaving the stall, a sound behind me, then a prick at my neck. Nothing after that until I was found.”
“Anything about the person who drugged you. A glimpse? A scent?”
She massaged her temples then shook her head. “My mind is foggy. I...”
“How tall are you?”
“Five feet ten inches. Why?”
“It gives me an idea how tall the fake Miss Chick is.” Nicholas removed his business card and handed it to her. “If you remember anything, even if you think it won’t help, call me and let me know.”
“I will, but I didn’t see who it was.”
Nicholas rose from the chair. “Thank you, Miss Wilkins. Miss Barrow is outside and wants to make sure you’re all right.”
“I feel so bad. This was a big gig for me.”
“She’s only concerned about your welfare.” Nicholas left with Dan, and in the reception room motioned to Selena that she could talk with Tara Wilkins.
Selena passed him, giving him a small smile, but it didn’t wipe the weariness from her expression. While Selena disappeared into the exam room, he waited out in the empty reception area with Max. Nicholas stared at the closed door.
“I told you Ms. Wilkins didn’t know anything,” Dan said, breaking the silence.
“I saw Miss Chick approach Selena, and from a distance it appeared the costume fit her well, so the assailant is about the same height. Selena thinks it was a female.”
“Is she sure?”
“No, but that will be easy to find out. A male going into a woman’s restroom will probably stand out on the security tapes.”
“That area of the hallway won’t be on tape. It’s a dead end, but the hallways leading to it are on camera. So any male seen turning the corner could be going to the men’s restroom. It’s taken me years to learn every area that’s covered and the ones not.” Dan grinned. “And then the powers that be change things around.”
Nicholas paced the room. “Oh, joy. You and I get to watch hours of tape, and we might come up with nothing.”
Dan shrugged. “You know how investigations go. Most take a lot of legwork.”
“I’ve contacted Security about changing the lock on Selena’s office and storeroom. Did you check it to see if it was searched?”
“Yes, on the way here, but it didn’t appear to have been.”
“What did the doc say about Selena’s injury?”
“The doctor checked her again and gave her instructions about what to watch for, but he thinks the concussion is a mild one.”
“When this is over with, I’m escorting Selena home.” Nicholas stopped in front of Dan. “I want to make sure everything is all right. With her head injury and the fact someone has her keys, I won’t rest well if I don’t see for myself that she’ll be okay and safe at her house.”
“And that’s a great opportunity for you to get closer to her. I can see why you’ve been with her today. I still think she could lead you to her cousin. They’re about the same age. They’re related and friends. The things we do for an investi...” Dan’s voice trailed off into silence, his eyes growing round as he stared behind Nicholas.
He swung around and found Selena glowering at them, her face pale, her hands trembling.
She charged across the office. “I need to get back to work.”
“Wait up.” Nicholas gripped Max’s leash and hurried after her, the sound of Dan’s chuckles irking him.
Selena kept going, her free hand fisted at her side.
Outside the ground-floor entrance, Nicholas caught up with her. “I’m sorry about what Dan said.”
She whirled toward him, fire shooting out of her eyes, her jaw set in a fierce line. “Is it true? You’ve talked to me more in the past couple of months than the whole year before. You can tell your team I don’t know where my cousin is, but Erin is innocent. She could be dead or kidnapped and all you think is she murdered her boyfriend. She cared for Michael and wouldn’t have hurt him. She wouldn’t have hurt anyone.”
He let her storm away because what she’d said had a ring of truth to it. He had started talking to her more because of the case. Although there was no evidence to support that she was helping her cousin, he and other members had to follow all leads. He’d learned in this profession to be distrusting and question everything. At this moment, as Selena vanished in the crowd near the Easter Egg Roll, he regretted that aspect of his job.
* * *
By the end of the event in the early evening, anger still roiled in Selena’s stomach whenever she glimpsed Nicholas in the crowd or thought about him. She liked him—a lot—but overhearing him and Dan talking about her concerning Erin’s disappearance, all the feelings she’d been fighting since her cousin went missing had surged to the foreground.
She’d caught a couple of Dan’s earlier remarks—his voice a little louder than Nicholas’s—before they’d gone in to see Tara Wilkins and then again later. She hated being the topic of conversation and especially the fact that the Capitol K-9 Unit had suspected her of assisting a fugitive—still did. Not that she wasn’t trying to help Erin. She was. But by
