Flashback (Kendra Michaels #11)

“The Dayton Group? That’s the name of the outfit that rented the Baum house.”

“Can you go back fifteen seconds?”

Lynch tapped his touchscreen remote again and moved his finger across it. The last few seconds of the video replayed.

Kendra nodded. “The Dayton Group. I’m sure that’s what she said. Anyway, Williams says he heard rumors back in the day, but he wanted to tell her and Sloane…”

“Tell them what?”

Kendra didn’t respond, instead focusing on Williams’ lips. His hand moved in front of his mouth for a moment, but she managed to get most of what he was saying. “He says he wasn’t sure if the rumors were true, and if they were, it could be dangerous for the sisters if they started asking around about it.”

Chloe leaned forward, and she spoke with such force that it became very easy to read her words. “She’s asking him what the plan is. She says she’s not stopping now. And Williams says she couldn’t stop if she wanted to. That ship has sailed. He needs her to trust him, let him do the asking around. He says he should have done it years ago. He says he has a plan. It’s going to be okay. He wants her and Sloane to wait for his call and be ready to go at a moment’s notice.”

Sloane nodded, and Williams stood and left the shop. She left a few moments later.

Kendra turned toward Lynch. “That’s it. Williams was investigating something, and he wanted to protect the sisters.”

“It appears he may have planned to hide them someplace.” Lynch thought for a moment. “But it’s hard to say if he did that before somebody else got to them first. We need to find him.”

Kendra nodded. “And find out what in the hell the Dayton Group is. I suggest that we go to see Breen and tell him about what we saw at the coffee shop. Maybe he can help track down Williams and ask him the questions he wouldn’t answer for us. I’m tired of everyone being so careful and tactful with Williams.”

“I can see you are,” Lynch said. “And if it will keep you from butting heads with Breen or Williams, I’ll be glad to take you to visit Breen right now. By all means let’s go and see if Breen or Perry will pull a few strings with Williams’ cell phone carrier. It might be faster than waiting on my contact.”

She made a face. “As long as I don’t insist on breaking into Williams’ home and scouting around a bit?”

“That goes without saying. I refuse to break you out of jail unless absolutely necessary. And then I get to choose the country to offer you sanctuary. Be content with what you’ve got, Kendra.”

“I’m content… most of the time. That was just a wild thought that occurred to me. I was very frustrated at the time.” She grinned. “Besides, you amused me. I couldn’t resist.”

“A very wild thought. Try to contain them when you’re talking to Breen. I haven’t noticed that he has a great sense of humor. And perhaps we don’t mention the Dayton Group until I’ve had a chance to make some inquiries of my own.”

By the time they got through talking to Breen an hour later Kendra was so exasperated she wanted to kick him. Always before he’d treated her with at least a modicum of courtesy. Today he wasn’t even listening to them when they began to talk about Williams and suggest Breen should try to find him.

She was barely able to contain herself as they left the station.

“Did you hear him?” she asked Lynch as she got into the car and slammed the door. “He practically accused me of being an amateur. I’d wager that I’ve closed more murder cases than he has.”

“I’d bet on it.”

“He thought I may have misunderstood what Williams was trying to tell me. I expected him to pat me on the head and send me to my room any minute.”

“I heard him,” Lynch said. “I was waiting for the explosion. I tried to intercede but I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. You get very pissed off when someone tries to protect you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I promised you I wouldn’t let him irritate me,” she said through bared teeth. “And the jackass wasn’t attacking your credibility. You were obviously golden as far as he was concerned.”

“Should I go back and challenge him to a duel?” Lynch asked. “I’ll find a way of punishing him.” His voice was lazy but Kendra could detect the subtle underlying menace she had heard many times before. “It would be a pleasure. I promise you.”

“No, I’ll fight my own battles,” Kendra said.

“That’s what I thought.” Lynch started the car. “You’re no fun at all, Kendra.”

“Evidently Breen didn’t think so, either. I’ll have to find a way of convincing him. Or maybe I’ll just stick with Perry from now on.”

“I’m always at your service,” Lynch said. “Are you ready to go back to the condo now?”

“It might be a good idea.” She was mentally going over options. “I believe we should do some checking of our own since we’ve come up with zeros as far as Breen and his cohorts are concerned. I put in a call to Metcalf to see if he has an update for me. Maybe he can help us track Williams down.”

“By all means.” Lynch was grinning. “Hunt the poor man down. I almost feel sorry for him.”