Testing The Boss(39)

“Shit,” said Evelyn under her breath. She’d suspected but really hoped she’d been wrong. “Does she know you’re suspicious?”

“Not that I can tell, but recently turned agents tend to think everyone suspects them. I’m trying really hard not to spook her until we have something concrete.”

Evelyn thought back to Gail’s apartment. The tiny space where she’d raised three boys. The pictures on the walls of the loving family, all smiling for the camera. What would they do if their mother was arrested? “Why now? Do you think she’s been taking bribes for longer?”

“We don’t know anything for sure. But her youngest just went off to college. Those bills aren’t cheap these days.”

“Have you ever had this happen before?” Evelyn didn’t remember hearing any reports of dirty agents in the New York white-collar division, but it wasn’t something the agency liked to brag about.

“Not under me, personally. I’ve known Gail for a long time and this is...hard. But we’ll figure it out. But we can’t assume she’s the only one. Are you being careful out there? If anything happens to Luke, his brother will not take it lightly.”

Screw Michael. If anything happened to Luke, she wouldn’t take it lightly. “An agent I used to work with in Texas set me up with an IP address. If anyone tries to track our locations based off of emails or Skype conversations, they’ll think we’re in the middle of nowhere Montana. You’re the only one I’ve called using a phone.”

“And Luke hasn’t told anyone where he is?” asked Hotchins.

Evelyn tried not to be offended. Sure, Hotchins hadn’t worked with her long, but she still wished he gave her a bit more credit. “I’ve been making sure he’s been discreet. Cali might know where we are, but she’s the only one, and we thoroughly vetted her back when we first started working with the Devereauxs. So we should be safe here for the time being. But this won’t last long. Michael and Luke need to be back in the city eventually. Do you think we can bring in Longineu any time soon? I feel like I should be doing something, but I’m limited out here.”

There was a silence on the other end, and Evelyn didn’t take that as a good sign. “We’re working on it,” said Hotchins finally. “All we need to do is get him to talk, but we need to have something on him first. We have plenty of proof of affairs, but I have a feeling his wife already knows, so that’s not good enough. We know Joslyn Devereaux was able to convince him she had sensitive information that had him scared, but she refuses to talk to us without a lawyer, and even with the lawyer trying to convince her to cut a deal, she’s keeping quiet.”

And considering how self-serving Joslyn Devereaux was, that probably meant she was scared. “Grayson was their banker and he had something that spooked them. The answer has to be in the financials. Just keep digging. Follow all the trails. If we run into something that looks like a dead end, keep digging. We’ll find it. No one can commit this type of financial fraud and not leave any digital footprint in this day and age. Get every CPA we can to dig through bank statements, tax returns, everything. We need to catch Longineu and we need to catch him yesterday.”

“You do know I give the orders, right?” asked Hotchins, a bit of amusement in his voice.

“You do know I’m alone in a cottage with an annoyed Luke Devereaux, right? He’s not happy.” Well, that was slightly an exaggeration. But if name-dropping would motivate Hotchins to throw all available money and resources into this, then she was going to name-drop.

“Consider it done,” said Hotchins. “Are you two okay up there? I’d send more agents so you can get some relief, but...”

“The fewer people who know our location, the better. Keep me updated on what you find. Let me know if I can help on my end. I’m limited, but not useless.”

“Trust me. If I can use you, I will.”

“Thanks for your help, Hotchins,” she said honestly. It was nice to know she wasn’t alone on the case.

“Take care of yourself,” he said. “And, for the love of God, take care of Devereaux. I don’t want a lawsuit after this.”

“I’m taking care of him the best I can,” she assured him. If only he knew exactly how well she was taking care of him.

He said one more good-bye before he hung up. Evelyn wrapped her sweater more tightly around her as a gust of wind whipped through the porch, tangling her hair and chilling her more than the sunshine and beach suggested.

Luke stepped out onto the porch next to her. “Are things progressing in New York?”