Face Off (19 page)

CHAPTER
33

THROUGHOUT THE FOLLOWING
day, dozens of Inverni staff had paraded through the Guildhouse conference room, their faces stoic or apprehensive or annoyed. Laura had forgotten how large entourages could be. At the start of the interviews, she had been cordial and conversational, but that soon fell away in the monotony of reciting the same questions over and over.

Terryn surprised her by walking in with the last person on the list, a male brownie attached to the Inverni administrative staff. She had tried to coordinate a meeting with him throughout the previous day, but he had remained behind closed doors with Draigen and her staff.

The brownie sat with poise, unflustered by the presence of Terryn, whom he had to recognize. Laura picked up the one-sheet survey she had had all the visiting Inverni fill out. “You’re Davvi Norrin?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re on Draigen’s staff?”

The man did not move at all. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You wrote down ‘assistant.’ What do you do?”

Davvi tilted his head. “I assist, ma’am.”

Laura didn’t sense any sarcasm or guile. “In what respect?”

He lowered his gaze as if trying to read what was in front of Laura. “Schedules, ma’am.”

She glanced at him. “For?”

He leaned away, resuming his stiff posture. “The Lady Regent, ma’am.”

“Can you be more specific?” she asked.

“No, ma’am,” he said.

Caught off guard, Laura chuckled. “Why not?”

He frowned, his thin, pale eyebrows pulling together in sincere puzzlement. “I work for the Lady Regent, ma’am.”

Laura pursed her lips. “We’ve covered that already.”

Davvi nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Laura stared at him, trying not to let her frustration build. He didn’t seem to be paying any attention. “What do you schedule for the Lady Regent?”

“Her business, ma’am.”

“Can you be more specific on that?”

“No, ma’am.”

Laura closed her eyes. She had been at it for hours and had no idea what was going on with the man. She didn’t need to continue with the interview anyway. He was a brownie, and the signature she was looking for was fairy. His silence intrigued and annoyed her, as if he had something to hide. “You seem reluctant to answer my questions, Davvi.”

He looked surprised. “No, ma’am.”

“This agent has my trust, Davvi. You may answer her as you would me,” Terryn said.

“Yes, sir,” he said.

Laura shot a curious glance at Terryn. “Where were you when the Lady Regent was fired upon?”

“Here, ma’am,” he said.

“The Guildhouse?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said.

His abrupt responses baffled her. “Where in the Guildhouse?”

“Here, ma’am,” he said.

“Here?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The urge to snap at the brownie welled up within her. He didn’t seem to be uninformative on purpose. She reminded herself that she had been asking fruitless questions all day, and he hadn’t. She reviewed his answers in her head when realization struck her. “You mean you were in this room at the time of the sniper attack, Davvi?”

“Yes, ma’am. As I said, ma’am.” The look on his face seemed puzzled that he needed to clarify.

Truth permeated his words. Davvi Norrin worked in an exacting environment and had learned to be careful, if too precise. She gave up. “I think we’re fine, sir. Thank you for your time.”

He hesitated, confused perhaps or unsure. He stood and bowed. “Thank you, Agent Tate.”

Surprised yet again, she cocked her head. “How do you know my name?”

A subtle shift in his shoulders passed as a shrug. “I schedule the Lady Regent’s business, ma’am.”

She smiled, sincerely. “Thank you. The Lady Regent is lucky to have you.”

He bowed again. “Thank you, ma’am.”

Laura swiveled her chair toward Terryn. “I think I was just trumped in an interrogation.”

Terryn stared out the window, focusing at something across the way on the Mall. “Davvi’s been with my family for as long as I can remember. He wouldn’t tell you the time of day if he thought you would use it against a macCullen. We called him the Stone when we were children.”

“That’s loyalty,” she said.

Terryn didn’t move from the window. His pointed wings stood straight up from his back, their pale blue translucence flickering with shots of white and indigo. Tension wrapped around him like a veil. “And hard to come by these days.”

She pushed her notes aside and joined him by the window. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. I had Jono stationed in the park as a hidden backup. No one knows that. He noticed the protection barrier weaken before Draigen came out. It was subtle and happened twice. That means the shield wasn’t interfered with by natural means.”

“What are you suggesting?” Terryn asked.

Laura gave him a significant look. “Someone among the Inverni Guardians might be a traitor. The weakness happened on Aran’s end of the barrier. Someone who knows Aran would also know how he builds his spells and be able to interfere with them.”

Terryn pursed his lips. “We’ve already established that Sean Carr was the perpetrator.”

Laura crossed her arms. “I’ve established he wasn’t working alone. I have a body signature tag on a possible accomplice.”

He narrowed his eyes. “That’s why you wanted to do these interviews in person.”

She gazed into the distance across the Washington Mall. “It was a bit of a bluff. Davvi was the last on the list. I’ve eliminated seventy-nine people. We had two no-shows, both Inverni Guardians. Rory Dawson is attached to Draigen’s house staff, and Uma macGrath is with Aran. Everyone was told this was mandatory. I’d like to put out a warrant on them if you’re okay with that.”

A muscle pulsed along his jawline. “Do whatever is necessary, Laura. You don’t need my permission.”

It struck her that she didn’t. Besides the fact that he was on leave, Genda would likely rubber-stamp her request. Terryn’s emotions rubbed against her sensitivities. He managed to remain hard for her to read, but she was sensing pain and anger beyond what she would expect from the attempt on Draigen’s life. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Cress’s car was set on fire last night,” he said.

Laura’s chest tightened. “Was she . . .”

“She’s safe,” he interrupted. “Her house-confinement agreement doesn’t allow her to travel. The car was on the street. The location had been leaked. People have been gathering outside the building, throwing things and yelling.”

She placed a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, Terryn.”

Essence flickered in his wings as his anger built. “Someone set her car on fire not thirty feet from my front door in full view of the Guild security agents, and they did nothing.”

Anger heated her chest. “Terryn, you have to let me say something to Rhys. This has got to stop before someone gets hurt.”

He shook his head. “Your position is too valuable, Laura. I don’t want to see us all destroyed because of Rhys’s obsession with my clan. I will have Draigen dispatch Inverni Guardians to protect the building.”

She moved in front of him, so he wouldn’t miss her serious expression. “Don’t do that, Terryn. Rhys will exploit it. The last thing you need right now is having the Inverni court seen as protecting Cress.”

She regretted saying it as soon as she heard herself. The pained look on Terryn’s face struck her in the stomach. She touched his arm again. “Don’t misunderstand me. Cress is my friend. I’ve been arguing her case with Rhys for days.”

He closed his eyes. “I know. It’s still hard to hear. No one has any idea what she means to me. No one can.”

She crossed her arms and stared out the window. “Of course not. That’s the nature of any relationship, isn’t it?”

“I need to protect her.”

“Leave that to me. I’ll talk to Genda. InterSec is the most neutral party we have right now,” she said.

He managed, if not to smile, at least not to look as upset. “Thank you. I think if we get through the next few days until Draigen leaves, Rhys will move on to something else.”

She rubbed his shoulder. “We will. In the meantime, let’s not tell anyone I have this body-signature tag.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “By which you mean my family?”

She lowered her gaze to lessen the sting of what she had to say. “You have a traitor among your people, Terryn. It’s not that I don’t trust your family, but they trust someone they shouldn’t. We’re working a long shot, and the wrong word to the wrong person could ruin the whole thing.”

“I know,” he said. “It’s difficult advising you and my family at the same time.”

She murmured a laugh. “Welcome to my world.”

His face clouded over as he stared out the window again. “You have my sympathy.”

CHAPTER
34

TERRYN’S WORDS DIDN’T
change Laura’s stress at juggling multiple jobs. She appreciated his sympathy, of course, but she didn’t have a choice of skimping on any of her responsibilities. As she worked through the mountain of paper on her public-relations desk, sympathy didn’t make things any easier when she was falling behind.

Saffin carried a small lamp into the office and set it on a low filing cabinet. She threaded the cord down, struggled to plug it in between the cabinet and the wall, then switched on the blue-white light to illuminate the new plants. “That should help.”

Guilt-stricken, Laura ducked her head. “I’m not very good with plants, am I?”

Saffin made a disappointed face. “It’s a crime, really.”

“Gee, thanks. On a more sincere note, thanks for taking care of those files the other day.”

Saffin’s gaze darted to the door as she kneaded her fingers together. She looked at Laura, then nudged the door closed with her foot. “Promise you won’t get mad?”

Laura pursed her lips. “I’ll promise to listen.”

Saffin eased into the guest chair. “When I put away those files, I, um, didn’t do it immediately. I read them.”

A hot spot formed in Laura’s chest, not anger, but disappointment. “Saf, you shouldn’t have done that.”

She twisted her fingers together. “I know. But you were so stressed for time and have so much going on, I thought I could help.”

Laura shook her head. “I’m not mad. It’s as much my fault for letting it happen. But I’m serious, Saf; you can’t do something like that again.”

Crestfallen, she looked down. “I know. I won’t.” Peering from beneath her brow, she smiled slightly. “I think I found the video you were looking for.”

Laura dropped her head in her hands. “Show me. Just . . . show me.”

Saffin hustled around to Laura’s side of the desk. Opening a drawer, she retrieved a memory stick and plugged it into the computer. When the directory appeared, she scrolled through and opened a file. A black-and-white video started playing. From the movement and angle, Laura guessed it was from a helmet camera worn by a Danann agent in flight.

Saffin was right—the video showed a clear view up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol. An Inverni Guardian hovered in the background up the street, directly across from where Sean Carr had fired. “Is that what you were looking for?” Saffin asked.

The footage riveted Laura. The Guildhouse was out of view to the left of the frame. The advance guards appeared on the sidewalk on either end of the block. Aran and Brinen entered the scene next, followed by Laura in her Mariel glamour, with Draigen beside her. There was no sound, but the action of the next frames indicated the shots had been fired, with Laura shoving Draigen back and Aran and Brinen reacting. The image became chaotic as the Danann wearing the camera swooped down on the sidewalk and took up a new position. When the view returned to the front of the Guildhouse, Draigen’s limo had departed.

The interesting point for Laura was the movement of the unidentified Inverni in the background. As soon as the shots were fired, whoever it was dashed into the building where Sean Carr was found dead. Except she hadn’t found anyone mentioning that in any of the reports.

She played the scene back again. “Is that a man or a woman in the background?” she said.

Saffin peered at the screen. “Can’t tell. The resolution’s not good enough.”

Laura made a note to check the security plan in order to see who had been stationed there. “This is exactly what I was looking for, Saf.”

Saffin preened as she returned to the front of the desk. “Good. And it won’t happen again.”

As Laura chuckled at the irony of the statement, her phone lit up. From the caller ID, she saw it was from Rhys’s assistant. “He needs to see you immediately,” she said, when Laura answered. Then she hung up. Without waiting for a response. Irritated, Laura stared at the phone. She gathered up a pad and pen. “I have to go upstairs. Good work, Saf.”

Saffin spun on her heel. “Thank you, and you’re very welcome.”

When she arrived at Rhys’s office, she marched by the assistant without waiting to be announced. Rhys held a phone to his ear as he waved Laura toward a chair. Above the long credenza, a wide-screen television tuned to the local news station played on mute. Curious, Laura took a seat and watched Jenna Dahl, the station’s star anchor, while the president’s face appeared in an inset. Rhys didn’t speak. After several minutes, he set the phone in its cradle and picked up the television remote. “You’ll want to hear this.”

Dahl’s voice filled the room. “ . . . an investigation into the hiring of an allegedly dangerous fey staff member by the International Global Security Agency is receiving additional scrutiny today. Our sources indicate that the Washington Guild and the White House pressured InterSec to suspend the personnel involved. Now records are showing that a significant sum of money from an unnamed party was paid to Guildmaster Orrin ap Rhys prior to his contact with the White House, raising questions regarding the motivation for the suspension of Cress Leanansidhe as well as other staff at InterSec. We go now for a live report . . .”

Rhys muted the audio again as the screen changed to a local reporter in front of the Guildhouse. “I’ll need a press release within the hour, Laura, denying any bribery took place. I returned the money as soon as I realized it was in my accounts. We can offer to show records, pending approval of legal counsel, of course.”

“Returned to whom?” she asked.

“What?”

“To whom did you return the money?”

He smiled with satisfaction. “Let’s let that unfold elsewhere.”

She felt anger rising. “That’s not good enough, Orrin.”

Rhys glared. “What is the matter with you lately? This
leanansidhe
business seems to have you unusually upset.”

Frustrated, she shook her head. “You know what has me upset? These mind games you keep playing, then dumping in my lap. I can’t do my job if you don’t give me more warning than thirty seconds before airtime—excuse me,
after
airtime.”

He grunted as he pushed out of his chair and went to the credenza. “Ah, so it’s procedural, is that it? For a moment, I thought you were going to defend that thing again.”

She couldn’t help raising her voice. “Cress saved lives at the Archives attack. She saved your life and mine, Orrin.”

He poured himself a short glass of brandy. “Twenty-nine people died.”

“Not because of Cress,” Laura said.

Rhys gestured at her with the glass as he resumed his seat. “Ah, there we have it, don’t we? The Inverni were responsible for that. It’s all related.”

She jabbed her finger on his desk. “
An
Inverni, Orrin. Singular. Simon Alfrey planned and executed the plot and is in custody. You’re playing with people’s lives.”

He infuriated her more by laughing. “Me? I don’t think I’m the one at whom to cast blame, Laura. There are others who are less than pleased with that creature’s existence. I cannot be blamed for taking advantage of the situation.”

She inhaled deeply to calm down. “Who, Orrin? Who are we talking about?”

He leaned back again. “As I said, that will play out elsewhere. Right now, your primary concern is deflecting any negative perceptions of me and this organization. Start taking notes.”

They stared at each other. She wanted to slap the smug look off his face. Whatever happened to Cress, he was making it worse. She knew it, as she knew he didn’t care. He raised a single eyebrow. “Shall we begin?”

She wasn’t Mariel Tate, not when she was working for the Guild. Laura Blackstone had a job to do. Terryn had told her not to expose herself, not to let Rhys know who she was. She broke eye contact and uncapped her pen. “So, you had no idea the money was in your account.”

He smiled. “None.”

Lie, she thought.

Liar.