I’d totally forgotten about it until that moment, but it was then I remembered the tense phone call I partially overheard Bierman having. It was before Gartner died. But it could have been anyone in this drama he was threatening.

“Miranda and Peter are working that,” Tandy informed me, and I focused back on her.

“Working what?”

“She’s in production now and Dr. Gartner’s computer, files, and assistant are in production. They’re looking to see if he left anything behind or if they cleaned up after him. ”

Jeez, they totally had it going on. The Miranda move was a ploy to get her into production.

I was impressed.

But I still didn’t get it.

I looked away from her and asked, mostly to myself, “Why would Barrow be behind this?”

“Because we need a winner,” Tandy answered.

I looked back at Tandy. “What?”

“They headhunted you, the best of the best to jumpstart our sales program which, the numbers were okay, but it wasn’t buying anyone yachts. Before you, they headhunted Heath. He was a big hotshot rep from another company. We’ve had two big products that have had competing products launched in the last five years that have cut into our profit margins. And we had one major earner that went generic and now is sold over-the-counter. It’s not like the company is dying, but they need a winner and none of the other products are even close to launch. Tenrix is supposed to be that winner. Most of the data is awesome. The problem is, in those few cases, it’s devastating and, if not caught, could be lethal.”

She and her crew had done their homework.

“Tandy,” I started gently, “with all that, can you please tell me why you didn’t give this to Lloyd or Berger?”

Her shoulders straightened, and when she spoke, her voice was stronger. “Because I need this job, Frankie. I have a roommate. We live in a nice place, but only because we go in on it together. Without her, it’d be tough to find somewhere to rent that’s that nice, safe, and in a good part of town. I want to be able to afford to keep my part of that place and it isn’t like people headhunt for assistants. I don’t have the reserves to make it if I get fired. I need to work. And with things this big, you never know who’s in on it. So, if we don’t have everything we have to have to prove what we know is true, if they fire us, we have nothing to give to the newspapers to expose them.”

She and her crew hadn’t just done their homework, they’d thought it all through.

But my mind was whirling with what to do next.

Then I hit on it.

“I need the name and phone number of the investigator in Denver. I also need Peter to make copies of absolutely everything he has. Call him and tell him to do that, then I’ll go down to IT on my way back from the gym at lunch to get it myself. You make the rounds and be cool about it, telling everyone to stand down for now. I’ll let you know what we’re doing next.”

Her expression went suspicious as she said, “No offense, Frankie, but we’ve been at this a lot longer than you and you’re kind of management. So I know you’re cool, but with this kind of stuff, I have to know you’re cool. I don’t think it’s a good idea to hand everything over to you.”

I got that.

I also had to get past it.

“All right, honey, take a deep breath and keep your cool when I tell you something that’s gonna blow your mind, freak you out, and put the fear of God in you.”

Her eyes widened, but I went on.

“The reason I’m sticking my nose in is because someone close to me is keeping Peter Furlock safe. And that’s because he’s had a hit put out on him. Now, I’m taking this over because I have the resources to do it, I have more weight in this company than any of you, and because I want you, Sandy, Miranda, Kathleen, Peter, and whoever else to stay alive.”

“Oh my God, that’s why you wanted me to call him,” she breathed.

“That’s why,” I confirmed.

“Should I tell him?” she asked.

“If you want, I will. But I think he should know. He has someone shadowing him to protect him, but it doesn’t hurt to stay vigilant.”

“I should tell him,” she whispered. “He knows me.”

I nodded. “I understand that,” I assured her, then I leaned toward her. “But please warn him that he does not go off the beaten path. We can’t let the people who are doing this know how on to them you are or what the people who are working with me are doing.”

She looked so freaked, I wanted to reach out and grab her hand, but I didn’t want anyone to see me doing it.

So I didn’t and just kept talking.

“Now, you gotta trust me. This is huge and what you’ve been doing is making someone antsy. Let’s get this product safely off our catalog and do it without any more good, brave people getting harmed. Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“You need a minute to get yourself together?” I asked, and she nodded. “Take it, then, babe. But do it scribbling on your notepad, right?”

“Right, notepad, good idea. Just a normal meeting with new scenery between Frankie and Tandy,” she said in a near chant.

I smiled at her. “Just that, honey.”

She nodded again, snatched up her notepad, and started scribbling.

I took a sip of my latte and decided on what was next.

Benny first, obviously.

Then Sal.

I looked to Tandy, who was rabidly scribbling like I was a taskmaster about to pull out my whip.

“Babe,” I called, and she looked to me.

I made my voice low when I spoke again, and even if my words were clear, my tone made them clearer.

“You did good. You did right. You took initiative, even when I told you to back down. You were brave. And you’re gonna save a lot of people a lot of heartache. Literally. I admire you, Tandy.” Her lip started trembling so I finished gently, “Just a normal meeting, honey.”

She forced a weak smile and replied, “Just another meeting, Frankie.”

I grinned at her and took another sip of my latte.

***

That evening at 5:05, I sauntered to my car just like any other day I’d saunter to my car, except way earlier.

This was because Benny was at my place and I wanted to be with Benny.

This was also because I wanted to get the fuck out of there.

The last was partly because I’d picked up all the evidence Tandy’s crew had amassed from a visibly terrified Peter Furlock. Although not nice to say, he was a man who was squat, dumpy, had thinning light brown hair, and wore thick glasses either due to weak eyes or squinting at a computer screen or a TV while playing a game all the time.

Even so, he was also building up to being a hero because he was smart and brave and doing the right thing, all this I told him in order to get him to calm down, stick with the program, and assure him my “people” had his back.

When he went back to wherever IT people holed up, he looked less terrified but still jittery.

The stuff he gave me was in my computer bag.

So I also wanted to get out of there because the place was giving me the heebie-jeebies. It felt like the walls had eyes and it didn’t help that Heath disappeared at lunch and didn’t come back.

This sent Sandy into a tailspin for reasons that were probably not good. She was visibly nervous. She dropped several things, including a full mug of coffee. She avoided Tandy (and, thus, me) like the plague. And twice, I saw her rushing to the bathroom.

She maybe didn’t feel well.

But she probably went in there to freak out and/or burst into tears.

Something was up with that and it was either what I’d said to Heath or what Bierman had said.

I’d called Benny with the news, giving him the detail on Nightingale Investigations, the firm Tandy’s sister’s friend from Brownsburg (of all freaking places) had connections with. Ben told me he’d relay everything to Sal so I didn’t have to.

This was not because he didn’t want me to talk with Sal. It was because he didn’t want to chance me being overheard by anyone.

Since all the evidence was on three thumb drives, no paper, I was going to hand them over to someone Sal was sending to keep them safe.

That was my plan for the night.

I was also going to cuddle with my man, play with my puppy, look forward to the time when that was my life but in Chicago, and try to forget about all this crap.

Until tomorrow.

I was at my car when my phone in my purse binged with a text. I got in the car, settled, dug out my phone, and looked at the display.

When I saw what was on it, I forced myself to act normally, seeing as they had cameras in the parking garage. And when the text faded to a dark screen, I went to my texts to read it again.

McCaffrey’s. Now. Come by yourself.

It was from Heath.

One thing I knew, I was going to McCaffrey’s.

The other thing I knew, I was not going alone.

I put my Bluetooth in, made the call, and pulled out of my spot as it rang.

“You headed home?” was Benny’s greeting.

“No, I’m meeting you at a place called McCaffrey’s where I’m giving a command performance for Heath, my colleague who disappeared at lunch after a first-thing-in-the-morning meeting with me followed immediately by one with Bierman.”

“Fuck,” he muttered. “Where is it?”

I gave him directions and he sounded like he was walking when he said, “Got it. Be there in a few. But do not go in without me. Do not even park in the parking lot without me. I had shit to do with Sal’s boys today, so one of them took your ass on the way to work and was gonna trail you home. He can clock out when I get there, but you’re not goin’ in without someone at your back. Take a drive. Circle it. I’ll text you when I’m there.”