Girls Like Us(66)

“I have a guess,” I say. I move forward and press in my mother’s birthday, the same combination of numbers that opened his file cabinet. There is a second of silence, followed by a whirring sound. I reach for the handle and pull the safe open.

“Holy shit,” we both say at the same time.

Stacked inside the safe are a laptop, a notebook, files, photographs, and a recording device.

“Let’s call Sarah now,” Lee says. “We need to get a team on this. Tonight.”





24.



I have to hand it to you, Flynn. You somehow managed to stumble into one of the largest raids in Bureau history despite being out on administrative leave.”

Lightman is on speakerphone from midair. He and a team of agents from BAU are en route from DC, aboard a private jet that is scheduled to touch down within the hour. We’ve been up all night, sorting through the photographs, audiotapes, and other evidence my father had accumulated against Dorsey, DaSilva, Anastas, and various other members of the SCPD, as well as Giovanni Calabrese and a handful of associates who kept his prostitution business up and running. There are flash drives filled with pictures of Meachem’s parties, which will end the careers and marriages of men around the globe. Sarah is combing through evidence down in Miami, too. We have stacks of financial documents to examine. Even with a team assembled, this may take days, even weeks. But for now, it’s enough to arrest half of the detectives in Suffolk County and lock Giovanni Calabrese behind bars for good. I’ve also negotiated a protective custody arrangement for Luz and her brother, Miguel. After Lee and I oversee the raids this morning, I will take her statement and then get them on a private plane at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton. I will, in all likelihood, never see her again. The thought is a bittersweet one. In the short time I’ve known her, I’ve come to care about her. I want to care for her. No one else ever has.

“I told you I’m not going to lie on a couch and talk about my childhood,” I say to Lightman. He chuckles. He’s still mad at me, I can tell. But for now, he’s going to let it slide. This case is too big for him to carp at me about protocols.

“Don’t think you get to bypass Maloney,” he says. “Your leave is still in effect.”

“Come on,” Lee interjects. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but Nell’s managed to pull together a case against one of the most corrupt police forces in history. She’s done in a week what I couldn’t do in two years.”

“Son, that says more about you than it does about her,” Lightman says.

Lee turns crimson. I can’t help it: I burst out laughing.

“Oh, shut up,” Lee mutters, but he’s grinning, too.

“How long do we have to wait?” I ask. I stand up and walk over to the window. It’s morning, technically, but it’s still dark outside. I haven’t slept or eaten, but I feel shot through with nervous energy. “We’ve started our descent. We’ll be on the ground soon. By eight a.m., we will be at both locations.”

I want to move now. Every car that passes on Dune Road sends a charge down my spine; every sound from the marsh outside sends my hand straight to my firearm. We have three hours to go: an eternity. Still, I know we’re lucky to have such a large team mobilizing so quickly. And for the moment, anyway, Lightman is treating me like I’m back on the team. If everything goes smoothly today, he’ll have no choice but to reinstate me. Hell, he should probably give me a fucking promotion.

Sarah dials in. “You guys hanging in there?” she asks. I can hear the fatigue in her voice.

“Hell, yeah.” Lee rubs his hands together. “I’ve been waiting for this for two years.”

“You just needed Nell to come in and get the job done.”

Lee laughs. “Sam, if you don’t need her at the BAU, we sure could use an extra set of hands over at DEA.”

“Or down here,” Sarah adds. “Human Trafficking Task Force could be your calling, Nell.”

“After today, I think I’m going to put in for vacation.”

“Okay. We’re starting our descent into Gabreski,” Lightman announces. “I gotta turn this off. One of you want to drive over here and get us up to speed?”

“I’ll go,” Lee says. He turns to me. His hand finds its way to my arm. He gives me a soft smile and his fingers tighten around me. I feel my heart contract just a little bit. “You going to be all right?”

“I’ll be fine. You go. Call me when we’re ready to roll.”

“Hey, Nell?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry I ever called you kid.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I’ll come up with something better. Deal?”

“Deal.”

He winks. I turn away, unwilling to let him see me blush.



* * *



—

LEE WALKS OUT of the office. A few seconds later, the front door opens and shuts. The house falls silent. I’ve just started to move again when a deafening boom knocks me flat on my back.

The window of the office shatters. A rush of cold air fills the room, along with the acrid smell of smoke. A piece of paper floats by.

It takes me a few seconds to stand up. My head is whirring with sound and light. My knees give as I do, nearly folding beneath me. I look down at my hands. A shard of glass has embedded itself in my palm. Wincing, I pull it out and wipe the blood down the front of my pants.