With a Pull of a Trigger

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

Murder Mayhem

“Good morning, my name is Greggory Van Kamp, and I would like to speak to the forensic scientists who investigated the death of my friend, a woman named Eena Acker.”

Greg put his legs on top of his desk, his ankles crossed, and listened to the Singaporean speaking to him on the phone. His suit jacket was draped rather haphazardly on the back of his chair, and once again, he was alone at the office, what with it being late. Vaguely, he felt guilty because it was the second night in a row when he had to stay at the office, but he knew Joshua would understand. Eena was one of his greatest friends, and he would be damned if he didn’t get to the bottom of the mystery.

Greg took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose with gentle fingers. “Yes, I’m sure she was killed there. She should be in your records.”

The position Greg was in wrinkled his suit, but that was okay. He needed to feel as relaxed as possible, and he really didn’t fancy suddenly letting out the anger he was trying to keep from just appearing. He wanted the receptionist or whoever the hell he was speaking with to answer him calmly, not fearfully.

Greg clenched his fist tight as he listened to the woman tell him that no, there wasn’t a woman named Eena Acker in their records. It wasn’t the woman’s fault, really, but Greg couldn’t help the way his fingers tightened around the phone, the way his temper just elevated at a fast rate.

“Could you check again, please?”

Greg sighed. He didn’t really mean to sound like he was barely restraining himself from pouring out his anger and frustration at the poor woman, but he couldn’t control it. Sighing, he looked at the copy of the case folder on his laptop, and skimmed over the details. What exactly had he done wrong? Was there something he was missing?

“I’m sorry, sir, but there just isn’t an Eena Acker in our records.”

Greg closed his eyes, sighed deeply in resignation, and was about to thank the woman and say goodbye when his screen caught his eye.

Of course.

It was a mission; Eena wouldn’t say her real name. She knew better than that. She was the daughter of two CIA legends, and she was a CIA legend herself; of course she knew better than to go to a mission without an alibi, assigned or otherwise.

Greg quickly skimmed through the file on his computer until he found what he was looking for, a pleased smile showing on his face once he found what he was looking for. “How about a Miss Allison Daise?”

A few seconds passed and Greg waited with bated breath, afraid that a single breath would somehow affect the process, like breathing would affect the results.

Finally, after what seemed like years, the woman replied. “Yes, we have a Miss Allison Daise.”

Greg smiled. He might have worked late for two days in a row, and yes, he was guilty, but he was making headway with this. Joshua wouldn’t mind.

Really. He was sure of that.

The flight back to Virginia had been, to be honest, quite wearing. Despite the comfortable couches and the smooth flight, Reini couldn’t sleep a wink, no matter how hard she tried. Hours were spent looking outside the tightly sealed windows of the jet, at the dark sky outside and the horizon in the distance. She spent most of her time with her head on the window, her eyes closed, trying her best to just shut away all the disturbing thoughts and just get some rest, but she found that she couldn’t. No matter how hard she tried, her brain refused to shut off, and she found herself thinking over everything. Finally, after hours spent in silence, the cabin lights turned on once more, and Reini found herself still wide awake, looking at the airplane runway.