Colby Rebuilt. Debra Webb
no apparent reason for him to have made those calls. On the other hand, Rebecca Brooks was in a prime position to be in search of exactly the sort of assistance your agency provides. Perhaps someone here spoke with her,” he suggested, “maybe even met with her that day.”
Speculation, sheer speculation. Or, as she had already considered, coincidence. Still, Victoria had never been one to believe in coincidences. The only question that remained was, What did the woman’s death have to do with the Colby Agency?
Victoria needed an idea of where this was going. “Will you be heading an investigation, or is the Bureau going to handle this?” She was relatively certain the Bureau would have priority.
“I’ll be coordinating with the Justice Department,” Bailen confirmed her conclusion. “Both the Bureau and the Marshals have a vested interest in this case, though the Bureau will certainly be lead. I wanted to give you a heads-up. You could have information that would help us solve this mystery. If there is any record of her speaking with or coming to see one of your investigators, anything she might have said could be useful to our investigation. Ascertaining what might have been going on in her life that she may have kept hidden from her Bureau contact could prove pivotal.”
“The name isn’t familiar,” Victoria told him, even as she turned the name over in her mind a second time, “but we’ll double-check our records just to be sure. Under the circumstances, she may have used an alias to protect her identity.”
“I’ll e-mail a photo and a few other pertinent details for your use in discussing Ms. Brooks with your staff.” Bailen stood. “Thank you, Victoria. I knew we could count on your agency for cooperation.”
Victoria rose and offered her hand once more. “Of course, Detective. We’re always pleased to assist Chicago PD any way we can. Please pass that sentiment along to your Bureau counterpart.”
“Will do.” Bailen gave her hand a final shake and made his exit.
Victoria felt certain Chicago PD and the Bureau would get to the bottom of this mystery, but the one thing she never did was leave anything to chance, especially if it involved her agency on any level. The Colby Agency would launch its own investigation.
And she knew just the man for the job, considering Witness Security had been involved.
Former U.S. Marshal Shane Allen.
Whoever Rebecca Brooks had been and whatever her reasons for becoming a homicide victim, the Colby Agency would find the truth.
Chapter Two
Shane Allen stared at the blinking light on the telephone for five seconds, which lapsed into ten, then twenty before he decided to pick up the receiver. He didn’t want to take this call, now or ever, but he had little choice in the matter.
He pressed the blinking button and said, “Shane Allen.”
“Mr. Allen, this is Harry Rosen, attorney for—”
“I know who you are,” Shane interrupted. He didn’t want to hear the man explain how he represented Shane’s ex-wife. He also didn’t want to hear how his petition for visitation rights was totally unfounded. It seemed impossible that the woman he had once loved could do this, but she had. Matt wasn’t his son, but Shane had loved him for three years as if he were. It just wasn’t fair that because the marriage had ended he was now supposed to stop loving the little boy and never see him again.
Nor was it fair that his former partner was the reason his life had gone to hell in such a hurry.
“Your attachment to Matthew is understandable,” Rosen began. “But you have no legal recourse when it comes to Sharon’s son. You surely know this.”
Yeah, Shane knew. But that didn’t mean he had to like it. He leaned back in his chair and forced himself to take a breath before he said something he would be sorry for later. “I suppose I was hoping Sharon would do the right thing since her son is the one who’s going to be hurt by this battle.” The kid’s own father had already abandoned him without a backward glance. How was a five-year-old supposed to cope with losing the second person he’d trusted with his little heart?
The question infuriated Shane all the more.
“Mr. Allen, it would be in your best interest, as well as the boy’s, if we moved past this issue. Sharon is relocating to Denver with her new husband, and there won’t be any easy way for you to have access to Matt. Quite honestly, children of this age are rather resilient. Matt will forget all about you in a far shorter time than you realize…if you allow him to. I’m certain you have his best interests at heart. Do you really want him to feel unsettled any longer than necessary?”
Fury unfurled in Shane’s gut. He wanted to reach through the phone and strangle this guy. Shane’s relationship with Matt wasn’t like last season’s baseball statistics or an old toy to be set aside and forgotten. Didn’t anyone see this besides him?
“I’ll see you in court, Rosen,” Shane warned. “Have a nice day.” He hung up the phone and pushed to his feet. How the hell could the law allow this kind of thing to happen?
He paced the narrow expanse of floor space in front of his desk in an attempt to wear off some of the adrenaline. It didn’t help. He stopped at the window and stared out at the November afternoon. Life went on even when things were damned wrong. Not that Shane still had any feelings for his ex—he didn’t. Not in the least. But the kid… well that was a different story. He couldn’t just pretend he didn’t love the boy. Shane couldn’t imagine never seeing Matt again.
A quick, short burst of sound echoed from the phone on his desk, alerting him to an internal call. Until the official hearing, there was nothing he could do. He might as well focus on work. He crossed to his desk and picked up the receiver. “Allen.”
“Mr. Allen, this is Darla.”
The new receptionist. She still addressed everyone at the Colby Agency as mister or missus. He’d done that, too, for the first couple of months.
“Have I missed an appointment?” He didn’t remember anything on his calendar this afternoon. Still, he double-checked even as he asked the question.
“No, sir. There’s a visitor in with Mrs. Colby-Camp, and she would like you to join them in her office if you’re available.”
Sounded like he had a new assignment. Whenever he was called to Victoria’s office, it usually involved an incoming case. He could definitely use the distraction. Working a case would keep his mind off Matt…and the hearing…and his ex.
“I’m on my way.” He thanked Darla and settled the receiver back into its cradle. Taking a moment, he cleared his head of personal issues, then grabbed his notebook and headed for the boss’s office.
The long stretch of corridor outside Shane’s office went in both directions and was flanked by doors on both sides. At the end, near the stairwell, was Victoria’s office. The layout was similar to the one in the old building, according to his colleagues. The décor was cutting-edge contemporary with a definite elegant flair. Very different from the monochromatic beige of his last workspace as a U.S. Marshal.
Shane had hired on with the Colby Agency right after New Year’s. His former career had ended as abruptly as his marriage eventually had. A gunshot wound had shattered his hip, catapulting him into multiple surgeries and months of physical therapy. Despite his insistence that he could handle the physical requirements of his job, he’d been forced into retirement. Sharon had dumped him once he was out of the woods physically, and he’d spent several weeks feeling sorry for himself.
All that had changed come New Year’s. He’d made one of those resolutions people never kept—only he had been determined to keep his. He was looking forward, not looking back. No wallowing in what might have been.
He gifted Mildred, Victoria’s assistant, with a smile and entered the private domain of the woman who had turned the Colby Agency into one of the nation’s most prestigious private investigation agencies. A woman who accepted