that’s worth people’s lives.” She got out of the SUV and strode to where Preston was standing, waiting for them.
Kyle hung back and watched Erin for a moment longer. She was the picture of courage, but little telltale signs, like the stiff way she was walking and the expressionless look in her eyes told him a different story. Overwhelmed on every level, the human body often adapted and became ultracalm—almost numb—in order to survive.
If Erin was truly an innocent caught in circumstances she didn’t understand, she had his sympathy. This was just the beginning.
* * *
ERIN FELT SICK to her stomach. She wanted to curl up into a ball and hide where no one would see her fall apart. Yet the look on Detective Bowman’s face told her she had to hold it together for a little bit longer. “You have questions for me, so why don’t we go into my office and talk there?” she asked.
“My people are still processing the building so we’ll have to talk out here,” he said.
“It’s okay. I have another smaller office in the warehouse,” she said, desperately needing a place to sit down before her knees buckled. “How about we talk in there?”
“Lead the way,” Preston said.
She walked to her second office, a cubbyhole on the lower level of the warehouse, near the entrance doors. Detective Bowman and Kyle Goodluck were half a step behind her.
“Detective, Agent Goodluck, please sit down,” she said, dropping down into her seat unceremoniously. “Ask me whatever you want, and I’ll do my best to answer you, or track down the answers you need.”
“How did this whole thing start? Did the three men just burst into the office?” Preston asked.
“I wasn’t there when they arrived, I was in here checking out our newest model safe room. We display them with simple furnishings, emergency gear, and supplies to show prospective clients,” she said. “After I finished, I went back and saw three men talking to Hank in his office. It all looked like business as usual, so it never occurred to me to ask Joe to stick around a while longer.”
“Joe?” Preston asked. “The same guy at the work site? The one I sent a deputy to cover?”
“Yes, Joe Pacheco is our senior construction foreman. You may know him. He’s a former police officer.”
Preston nodded. “I know Joe. When, exactly, did he and the crew leave?”
“Joe was behind the wheel of one of our big pickups, and pulled out onto the street a few minutes after I sat down at my desk in the main office.”
“Who else was on site here at the time?” Preston asked. “Anyone in the warehouse or working in the yard?”
“No, after Joe and the crew left, it was just Hank and me.”
“When did you first realize there was trouble?” Kyle asked her.
“After a few minutes, I heard Hank yell at one of the men. I’m better with difficult prospective clients, which is what I figured they were, so I went in to see if I could help calm the situation. That’s when I realized all three men were armed.”
She took a breath and tried to hold it together. Both men were watching her, but it was Kyle’s intense, hooded gaze that got to her. There was something hard and dangerous there. Yet he’d saved her life.... Maybe he was only dangerous to the wrong people.
“What were they arguing about?” Kyle asked.
“They claimed that Hank had double-crossed them. Then one of them pointed his gun at Hank and told him to keep his end of the deal or get ready to die.” She shuddered. “I heard that last part just as I walked into the room.”
“Describe the men you saw,” Preston said.
“The tallest one standing next to Hank was tanned and had a beard. I’d say he stood about six foot one, and was rail thin. The other faces were a blur. I was so scared all I could see were their guns.”
“The man who shot himself in the street, was he one of them?” Kyle asked.
“No, I’m pretty sure of that,” she answered. “His face was distinctive, even before the...bullet.”
“Okay, so there are—were at least four of them. Getting back to earlier now. What happened next?” Preston asked.
“They told us to leave our cell phones, and ordered us outside. They held on to us with one hand, their pistols jammed against our backs,” Erin said. “I was sure they intended to kill us, so when I saw you drive into the yard, I elbowed the one behind me in the gut and yelled for help, but he pulled me back again before I could get away. Once we went around the corner of the building, he shoved me out into the open. You know the rest.”
She studied their expressions, trying to read them, but their faces were flat, impenetrable.
Preston glanced out the window. “Let’s go back to the main office. It looks like my team’s finished their preliminary sweep.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of latex gloves. “I’d like you to avoid touching anything, Erin, but wear these in case you forget.”
* * *
AS THEY RETURNED to the main building, Erin could feel her heart hammering. When Preston went to speak to one of the officers standing outside, she focused on Kyle. “This is their case, yet you’re taking an active role in the investigation. Is that because he’s your brother?”
“No, it’s because I’m a federal agent with an interest in what happens here,” he answered.
She stared at the floor for a moment, trying not to fall apart. “Hank had been so tense lately. I should have paid more attention.”
“Had anything unusual happened lately?”
“Hank never confided in me, but I believe something had been bothering him. It started about a week before he left for Spain. He was tense and short-tempered with everyone, but when he came back, that still hadn’t changed.”
“Did you ever ask him about it?”
She nodded. “I tried, but he told me that it was family business. That was his way of telling me it was personal and I needed to back off, so I did.”
“Family? He wasn’t married, right?” Kyle asked.
“I think he meant his brother, Bruce, who works on and off for him.”
“Were they close?”
“No. They had nothing in common and could barely stand being around each other. Hank is all about working hard, but Bruce has never been able to hold on to a job for long.”
Preston joined them and tossed Kyle a pair of latex gloves. “Okay, we’re ready. Let’s go inside the main office. I want you to look around carefully, Erin, and tell me if there’s anything missing,” he said, putting on a set of gloves, too.
“Look for anything that’s new, too,” Kyle added.
“New,
