Anarchy Found (SuperAlpha, #1)(23)

“Another what?” I say, annoyed.

“Suicide. At Blue Corp. They found him this morning, same as the last one. Alastair Montgomery is waiting for you.”

“Fuck,” I say under my breath.

“He’s pissed, Masters. This is not good for business and he says his tech department detects interference in the security cameras.”

“What? But they didn’t say anything when I was there on Tuesday.”

“Well, they’re saying it now. So get your ass down there and make that old man happy. He’s a major contributor to this city’s social programs—”

And the mayor’s reelection campaign, I don’t say.

“—and he deserves answers.”

I get the hang-up beeps and look down at the blank screen as I process this. Murders. I suspected it and I’ve looked for more clues, but there were no signs in the deceased’s home. And the first suspected suicide was contaminated weeks ago after the case was closed. The second wife didn’t have anything useful to say when I questioned her. Dead end.

But something bad is definitely happening here in Cathedral City. Someone is killing people connected to Blue Corp. And someone wants us to know that.

It feels like a game. The kind of game a serial killer might play with a detective.

The kind of game that can quickly become personal.





Atticus is waiting for me in the lobby this time. In fact, he’s pacing. The place is filled with cops and an ambulance is waiting outside, doors open, like all it needs is a body to be complete.

“I have something to show you—”

“Detective Masters?” A voice bellows from across the lobby, and when I turn, old man Montgomery walks briskly towards me. “I need answers and I need them now. That’s three dead employees, Detective. And all of them occurred on these premises.”

I have an urge to point out it’s a private campus and while the outcome is certainly my problem, the fact that the deaths happened here is not.

But Atticus shoots me a look and I take that as a warning. So I rein it in. “I’ve already assigned a team of computer forensic specialists to look at your security footage, Mr. Montgomery. We don’t have an answer yet, but this is the department’s top priority. We will have beat cops on campus until we figure out what’s happening, all we need is clearance from you.”

I really don’t know if that’s true or not, but after Chief’s call, I’m betting this is the direction he wants to go. I might as well make the promises.

Montgomery senior stops mid-tirade and stares me down. “You have it,” he says. “But I expect results. This case should not be difficult for you, Detective.” He practically sneers my title. “You should be making better progress. In fact, you’re quite disappointing professionally. So if another incident happens on Blue Corp campus, you’ll be out of a job.”

I rein in my sigh as well. As if any of this is my fault. But thankfully Montgomery senior walks off, leaving me standing there with Atticus. I look up at him and he nods.

“Right,” he says. “You need to see this.”

I follow him to the elevators and we go up to the twenty-first floor. It’s the same one the last employee was found on, so I’m betting they did very similar things in their top-secret research and development duties. When the elevator doors open Atticus leads me over to the secure door to the inner labs. The corridor is small and narrow, and there are about fifteen people crammed up here, including the first responders.

“We’ve kept them all out until you arrived,” Atticus explains. That’s hush-hush speak for, We have a clue that might need to stay secret. He palms his hand over the biosecurity, waits for the lock to release, and then opens the door with a whoosh that says this lab has an internal air circulation system. I follow him in and the door slams closed behind me.

The body is immediately visible. He’s at the very back of the lab, slumped over a small desk. His right cheek is pressed flat against a black soapstone tabletop, and his eyes are open. A gun lies on the floor, directly below his drooping arm.

I squat down to inspect his hand, but Atticus’s fingertips lightly touch my shoulder. “Never mind looking for powder burns, Molly. This is what I need you to look at.”

I stand back up so I can look at what he’s pointing to and then my head goes fuzzy.

“Molly?” Atticus’ voice is far away. “Molly?”

The last thing I see is the red anarchy symbol carved into the man’s forehead before I collapse.

“Molly!” Atticus catches me before I hit the tiled floor. “Hell, are you OK?”

“I don’t know,” I breathe. “I don’t know what happened. I just felt dizzy all of a sudden.”

He leads me out of the lab and down a corridor where there is a dark break room. The lights flip on as we enter and he helps me sit in a chair.

I let out a long breath. “Thanks. I don’t know why that happened. I’ve seen worse, believe me.”

Atticus takes a seat across the table and lifts up one eyebrow. “It’s a clue, Molly.”

“Obviously, Atticus,” I sneer. He opens his mouth to say something more, but then closes it and remains silent. “We’re going to need to keep this quiet. Does your father know?”