Velocity (Karen Vail #3)(64)

“Sebastian recommended Robby because he knew him and he figured they’d work well together. For Robby, it was an ‘audition’ of sorts—if all went well, he could turn it into a permanent position with DEA. We’ve done this before, but it’s usually with task force members who are federalized as DEA task force officers. There wasn’t any task force in place, but Sebastian was both desperate and insistent. And his ASAC, though reluctant initially, gave in because Robby fit the bill and they needed him.”

“But—”

Gifford held up a hand to silence Vail. “That’s not all. Behind the scenes, Robby mentioned this job to me. He and I had talked a few days earlier about applying to the Bureau. But there are problems with that. With the budget deficit, we’re on a hiring freeze and shifting personnel around toward antiterrorism efforts, and . . . the biggest problem, and which I didn’t know until I happened to ask, Robby never got his B.A. He stopped a few credits short, so he has to finish that out and get his degree before he can apply.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“He didn’t realize it was an issue until he got the app. It’s not something he talks about.” Gifford leaned the chair upright. “Robby doesn’t know, but I reached out to Sebastian’s ASAC, Peter Yardley, with the understanding that he didn’t tell Sebastian, because I didn’t want Robby to know it came from me. Yardley wasn’t going to do it, because he was being a prick and if it went south he didn’t want his ass getting whipped. But when I called, I told him Robby was a good fit because of his background growing up in LA, in gang areas. He grew up around the drug trade and spoke Spanish fluently. Yardley was still noncommittal, but I asked him to do me a favor. I vouched for Robby, and Yardley said he’d review the file again. Next thing I know, Robby tells me Yardley’s giving it a ‘go’ based on Sebastian’s recommendation.”

“So this undercover op was in Napa?” Vail asked.

“Your trip to Napa was a setup from the start. When I ordered you to take a vacation, I’d already planned to tell you to get out of town, based on all you went through with Dead Eyes. But when the shootout happened in front of the White House with Danny Michael Yates, it was an added bonus because it gave me an obvious and immediate reason to tell you to take time off.”

“Going to Napa was Robby’s idea,” Vail said, half to herself. “And Sebastian arranged those wine cave tickets . . . ”

“Certain details of his op, what he was doing, who he was meeting with, were classified,” Gifford said. He stopped, looked down at the desk.

“You knew all along and you didn’t say anything,” Vail said. She rose from her seat and leaned both palms on the desk. “Do you know what I’ve been through? And this—this bullshit about coming home for the Rayshawn Shines case—”

“That was true. Sort of. We do need you working the Shines case, and we are shorthanded. But I also didn’t want you poking around anymore. You’re too damn good, Karen. I was afraid the longer you were there, the greater the chance you’d figure out what was going on.”

“Son of a bitch.” Vail held his gaze, refusing to blink.

“Karen,” DeSantos said. “Take a breath.”

“Sit down,” Gifford said, one word at a time. “And get yourself under control.”

Vail ground her molars but didn’t move. DeSantos placed a hand on Vail’s forearm, but she shook it aside, then took her time returning to her chair.

“You could have trusted me,” she said. “You could’ve told me what was going on.”

“All I know is that it was dangerous. I didn’t want to take any chances. It’s undercover, for Christ’s sake. I shouldn’t have to explain this to you.”

Vail sighed deeply. “But if we hadn’t found that vic in the wine cave, if the Crush Killer hadn’t—”

“Robby said he had it all worked out. There were times when you’d be busy. He told me he booked a massage and some spa time for you. During those hours, he was off with Sebastian meeting their contact. According to Yardley, he also got called out during the night—he left, met with Sebastian and the contact, and was back before you woke up.”

Vail shook her head. “If only you’d told me you knew where he was and that everything was okay . . . ”

“Would you really have been satisfied with that?”

Vail took a moment to answer. “No. But at least I would’ve known.”

DeSantos shifted himself in his chair. “If all he had were those two meets, where was he when Karen was trying to reach him the day they caught John Mayfield?”

“According to Yardley, the meet with their contact went extremely well,” Gifford said. “The guy took to him. So Yardley let him continue. And since you were busy with the Crush Killer, he knew you weren’t going to be a problem.”

“So that’s what I was, a problem?”

“For an undercover op,” DeSantos said, “yeah, you’d be a problem.”

Vail shook her head. “I can’t believe this. He lied to me. Robby lied to me.”

Gifford leaned both elbows on his desk. “Karen, be realistic about this. Robby was prepped to make one appearance, to meet with this one contact. He hoped it could lead to something permanent with DEA so he could build his resume. But he did a great job and it worked. Yardley was impressed. All I know is that he was granted emergency TFO—task force officer—status. My guess is that circumstances dictated that he go deep. And when you go deep undercover—”