Mindhunters 4 - Deadly Intent (25 page)

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Macy stopped in the doorway, nonplussed. “I thought I’d find Stephen in here.”

The room was the office Mulder had transformed for his use when his had been commandeered by Whitman. But neither of the men inside the room were Stephen Mulder.

“Ms. Reid, isn’t it?” She recognized Mark Alden, Mulder’s lawyer from the first day they’d arrived. “He’s supposed to meet us in a few minutes. You’re free to hang out in here with us and wait.”

“In fact, I think I’ll have to insist on it.” The second man rose from his chair lazily, aimed a smile in her direction. “I’m Lance Spencer. I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure.”

Ah. The accountant. Macy gave them both a quick smile. “I think I will wait, if you don’t mind. I just need a minute of Stephen’s time.”

And she wasn’t averse to learning a bit more about two of the people who had been in the house hours before Ellie had been kidnapped.

Lance Spencer had Greek god looks and a slick charm that was the polar opposite of any accountant she’d ever met. He appeared similarly taken aback with her. “So.” His bright blue eyes sparkled wickedly at her. “If you don’t mind me saying, you don’t look much like a cop.”

“She’s not a cop, Spence.” Alden got up and went to a container in the center of the table filled with beverages on ice. “Can I get you something to drink, Ms. Reid?”

“Macy, please. And I’ll take a water.” He fished one out from the container, and she walked over to take it from his outstretched hand. “Thank you.”

“Well, if you’re not a cop, Macy Reid, what are you?”

She twisted off the cap of the water, returned Spencer’s bland stare. “I’m a consultant with Raiker Forensics.”

The accountant shook his head. “Nope. You don’t look like a consultant either.” He turned away then to address Alden. “I’ll take one of those waters, Mark.” He reached up a hand and caught the bottle the other man tossed to him, his attention back on her. “If I’d had to guess, I’d peg you as an elementary school teacher.” He opened the bottle and took a long swallow. “You have kind eyes and a faintly exasperated air.”

“And I’d peg you as a used car salesman.” She smiled blandly as both men laughed.

“Maybe that’s why I can’t get a woman,” Spencer joked.

“No, I think that’s because you’re not looking for
a
woman, you’re looking for
every
woman,” Alden put in dryly.

“True.” The man’s eyes were amused and invited Macy to share the joke. “But we can’t all meet our true loves in college like Stephen and Mark did.” He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Mark used to pay Dianna to write his papers for him. That’s how they met. She never minded that the man has an indecipherable scrawl that would put a doctor’s to shame.”

If his friend was embarrassing him, there was no sign of it. “Well, I redeemed myself by moving her out here two years ago.” To Macy, he said, “My wife is a ski bunny. On the slopes more than she’s at home.”

Lance slowly twisted the top of the cap on his bottle. “I hope you’ve got good news to share with Stephen. They’re due for some after the last few days.”

“The investigation is progressing.” And more than that she wouldn’t say to anyone outside the case. “Both of you were here that night.”

The men nodded in unison. Alden sat down in one of the chairs at the conference table. “We were working on a new project for the philanthropic side of Mulder Stores.”

Lance took up the telling. “A mentoring program for troubled teens.” His smile was wry. “Mark’s making sure I join him as a mentor. Not really my thing, but I’ll give it a shot.”

“Do you good,” Alden told him. “Keep you out of the strip clubs.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” the man shot back.

“Did any of you ride together that night?” she asked before tipping the bottle to her lips.

Spencer looked at the lawyer. “You and Tessa came together, didn’t you? Because of the weather?”

Alden nodded. “Yeah, she didn’t want to drive because it was supposed to turn bad.” He looked at her then, his pleasant face serious. “We’d like to help here, Ms. Reid. Stephen is our closest friend. If there’s any way we can assist the investigation, please let us know.”

“Reid.”

Turning, she recognized the chief of Mulder’s security, Ben Cramer, standing in the doorway. His glower was all too familiar. “You’re supposed to run any company you’re expecting through Mr. Mulder, who would let me know.”

Rising, she headed toward him. “That’s why I came to find him.”

“Well, it’s too late now. We’ve got an RV and a car outside the front gate. They say they’re with you.”

Adrenaline spiked. The mobile lab that Raiker had promised had arrived. She could only hope that the CBI was as quick about sending the lab specimens to be tested. “Do you need me to come down and identify them?”

“Well, I’m sure as hell not letting them in if you don’t.”

Charming as ever. Rising, she told the two men, “I guess I don’t need to see Stephen after all.”

“Nice meeting you,” Spencer called after her.

She smiled sweetly at Cramer as she brushed by him. “And you can join me in the next room in thirty minutes. I have a few questions for you.”

“Zach.” Momentarily nonplussed to see the driver of the lab, Macy’s steps faltered. “Since when have you been filling in as a driver?”

“Since the satellite lab crew got hit by a flu bug. Both drivers are down, and Cait was looking a bit green herself. The only way I could convince her to go to bed was to promise to deliver it myself.” His expression went dour. “I don’t plan to make a regular thing of it.”

Laughing, she teased, “Sounds like true love to me.” Zach Sharper had met Raiker investigator Caitlin Fleming on a case in Oregon last summer, and it had been sparks at first sight.

A rare grin split his expression. “Don’t kid yourself. I’m in it for the cookies. She’s going to owe me big time for this one.” He jerked his head toward the compact car idling behind him. “I set up a meet with your lab scientist outside Denver. Tell me where to park this beast, and I’ll return his car to the airport. I’ve got a flight back to Eugene tonight.”

Macy turned to check the progress of Cramer and the security guard manning the gate. They were still checking the undercarriage of the vehicle. “They’ll do a thorough check inside, too. Maybe you should switch vehicles now. This could take a while.”

Needing no further encouragement, Zach leaned over to grab a parka on the seat beside him and opened the driver’s door to jump lightly to the ground. “Thanks. I don’t want to miss my flight. I’ve never seen Cait under the weather before.” There was an anxious light in his whiskey-colored eyes.

“And you’re worried?”

He shoved a hand through his shaggy sun-streaked brown hair. “Someone has to make sure the woman stays in bed. She seems to think the office will fall apart without her there to keep the thing running.”

Smiling, she said nothing further. She’d only met him once, at Ramsey and Dev’s wedding last month. But if ever there was a man in the process of falling hard and fast, it was Zach Sharper. “Give her my best and tell her I said to make you wait on her hand and foot.”

He grunted as they strode back through the gate toward the car. “Like she’d allow it. Don’t let her cover model looks fool you. She’s got a mean streak when she’s not feeling well.” He stopped in his tracks as the man in the car got out.

Alfred Jones, more commonly known as Jonesy in the Raiker labs, was as brilliant as he was unconventional, and Macy couldn’t help but wonder what Assistant Director Whitman would make of him. His stiff black Mohawk made a hat impossible, and she shivered just thinking about how the cold felt on the shaved sides of his head. Not to mention the multiple piercings that dotted his face and ears. As usual he was clad in complete black, with a hooded sweatshirt that proclaimed LAB RAT in bold white letters, baggy black pants, and . . . her eyes dropped to his feet. Thongs.

“Uh, Jonesy, you’ve seen snow before, right?”

“Hey, Macy.” He swept by her like a man on a mission.

“What the hell are they doing? They absolutely are not allowed inside the lab. Hey. Hey!”

She and Zach turned to look at him running to accost Cramer and the other guard, who were yanking at the door of the secured lab. Macy gave a little sigh. Just the thought of the upcoming battle depleted her strength for a moment.

“Buck up.” Zach patted her on the shoulder. “If it comes down to a fight, I’d put money on the little weird guy. He looks unpredictable.”

“Yeah.” She gave a sigh and started toward the men. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Tell the truth.” Cramer folded his arms over his impressive chest and scowled at her. “You guys still don’t have dick.”

Their earlier altercation hadn’t improved the man’s mood, Macy noted. He especially hadn’t liked the fact that she’d had to call Stephen Mulder to resolve the argument. The man’s agreement to allow the lab on the property without an interior search had clearly infuriated his chief security officer. Even though he’d been allowed access to it once Jonesy had it parked inside the employee garage and had handed the guards sterile gowns and shoe covers to put on before entering.

“We have several leads we’re pursuing.”

He made a rude noise. “The only thing you’ve got is your suspicion of Nick Hubbard. And if that were going anywhere, you wouldn’t still be questioning me.”

“Do you know his girlfriend?”

Cramer’s gaze narrowed. “What do you know about Denise?”

“Enough to ask you about her,” Macy snapped. And she’d thought Kell was irritating. Although the men were clearly annoying in different ways. “Had you ever met her?”

He shook his head slowly. “No. And I only know her first name. I got the feeling she had some backstory, some reason to keep things quiet. Nick didn’t offer the details, and I didn’t ask.”

“So you never met her?”

“No.” His look sharpened. “Why, does she have something to do with this? Maybe she can shed some light on where Nick is. Because I can guarantee you he isn’t holed up somewhere with that kid.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell the man that Denise Temple hadn’t seemed so certain, but she swallowed the impulse. “So where do you think the kidnapper is holed up with Ellie? He couldn’t have gone too far that first night in that blizzard. After the AMBER Alert, law enforcement was checking cars mere hours after she went missing.”

He gave a hard laugh. “Are you kidding? There are enough remote areas in this state to hide out indefinitely. And I can guarantee you there are people in the mountains doing exactly that.” But he seemed to give it some thought. “I’ve done my share of personal protection gigs in the past. Same thought behind it, really. Stash the client out of sight for an indefinite amount of time. You want remote but accessible. Around here, you get too remote, and you might not be getting out until the spring thaw. There are some passes I don’t know if I’m going to get through until July or August. I can guarantee the kidnapper doesn’t want to chance that. But maybe he’s not relying on cars either.” He squinted hard, one index finger tapping against his biceps. “Right off, most of the spots I’m thinking of would be in one of the national forests. Especially the Uncompahgre around Ouray or Ridgway.”