DRAKE’S WORDS REVERBERATED throughout the room as each of them considered how far they were willing to go to protect their own. Their thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.
“I have no problem with that,” said Ramsey, ignoring the bell. “Get me close enough to him and I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Me, too,” said Declan. “I’m with John.”
“I’m in, too,” said Leroy.
“It’s okay if you’re not, Leroy,” said Ramsey. “You have Olivia to think about.”
“Olivia is not the only important person in my life, Sherlock,” said Leroy. “I won’t be able to live with myself if you and Declan are taking all the risks. That’s not the kind of man I am. Olivia will be fine. I’ll ask her to go stay with her sister for a while.”
“I’m in, too,” said Hannah.
“Hannah,” said Declan, “you don’t have to do this. Of all of us, you’re the least likely to be targeted by him. It’s better you get out before this gets ugly.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, Declan,” she replied. “I’m a big girl. And like Leroy says, I’m not going to sit around and watch you all take the risk. I’ve been in this since the beginning, and I’ll see it through to the end. Like it or not.” She held his gaze until he nodded, unable to do much else.
Ronald appeared at the doorway.
“Yes, Ronald?” asked Morgana. “Who was at the door?”
“The police are here, madam. They’d like to speak with you.”
Everyone went quiet. After a second of silence, Morgana stood. “No one leaves this room.” She’d moved back into her authoritative role. “Who drove here?” she asked.
“Me,” said Leroy.
“That’s your car out front?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’ll be right back.” She turned and left the office, closing the door behind her.
“Oh hell,” said Drake. “This can’t be good.”
“The police?” asked Ramsey. “Why would they be here?”
Declan met Leroy’s gaze. “Sherlock,” said Leroy, “in the alley last night…”
“What?” asked Ramsey.
Declan huffed out a sigh. “We found Marco’s body,” he said. “Not far from where we found you.”
Ramsey froze. “Marco’s body? He’s dead?”
“Yes. It appeared he’d been stabbed multiple times.”
Ramsey thought back. “My God. The knife. My hands.” He looked at this palms. “What did I do?”
Drake rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t say that to the police.”
“You didn’t do anything,” answered Leroy. “Yates just wants to make it look like you did.” He addressed Declan. “Why would the police be here? Did we miss something?”
Declan groaned, his weariness affecting him. “I don’t know. I guess we need to hear what Morgana says.”
“You think they’re looking for me?” asked Ramsey.
Nobody answered at first. “Let’s not jump to conclusions,” said Leroy. “Let’s wait and see what happens.”
“This is all I need,” said Ramsey, dropping his head back into his hand. “A murder rap.” He snorted. “It’s almost funny.”
“You are not going to be charged with murder,” said Declan. “They have no body and no weapon. They probably just have a few questions. That’s it.”
The office door opened, and Morgana returned, sitting back down in her seat.
“Well?” said Drake. “What is it now?”
She eyed Ramsey. “They’re looking for you.”
“What?” asked Declan. “Why?”
“Figures,” said Ramsey.
“What do they want?” asked Leroy. “Sherlock didn’t do anything.”
“Relax, all of you,” said Morgana. “They’re looking for Marco, too. He’s been reported missing.”
“It’s Yates,” said Declan. “That bastard is pulling the strings.”
“Why do they want to speak to me?” asked Ramsey.
“And how did they end up at your door?” asked Leroy.
“Because he’s listed as an employee of mine. He’s done security for us in the past.”
“What did they say about John?” asked Declan.
Morgana spoke to Ramsey. “They want to ask you some questions. They didn’t go into specifics. They just said they think you might have some information about his whereabouts.”
“It’s more than that, I’m sure,” said Ramsey.
“Maybe, maybe not,” said Morgana.
“So what do I do now? How am I supposed to help Sarah and hide from the police at the same time?”
“You are not going to hide from anyone.”
“And what happens when they drag me down to the station?”
“They can’t do that without a warrant, but should you be taken anywhere, you keep your mouth shut and call me.”
“And if they just question me like they did you?”
“You simply answer their questions, just as I did.”
“Questions?”
“Yes,” she said. “When’s the last time you saw Marco?”
Ramsey thought about it. “Uh…the day Sarah disappeared. He had her security detail.”
“That’s what you say. Just don’t elaborate.”
“But how does he explain Sarah, or her need for security?” asked Hannah.
“Sarah was a girlfriend. You’ve since broken up. Marco was initially your security. You’d been stabbed recently. But Marco followed her that day, not you. Keep it simple.”
“But then they’ll want to talk to Sarah.”
“So let them talk to her. That could play to our advantage.”
“And how is it that his girlfriend is now married to someone else?” asked Declan. “Doesn’t that seem suspicious?”
“So let Yates deal with that one. Ramsey has no knowledge of what Sarah’s done since she left.”
“I don’t want any suspicion to fall on her,” said Ramsey. “They do enough digging and they’ll find that Marco followed Sarah to Sullivan’s.”
“And she left with a man who carried her out, unconscious.”
“That leads them to Yates,” said Declan. “Assuming they can find him.”
“Exactly,” said Morgana. “The man, in his zeal to get to you, Ramsey, may be digging his own grave.”
“I doubt it,” answered Ramsey. “I suspect Yates can get himself out of a hole when he needs to.”
“Which brings us back to our original topic,” said Leroy. “How do we get rid of him?”
“It won’t be simple,” said Morgana. “Keep in mind he’s a prominent businessman.”
“Prominent?” said Declan. “We couldn’t even find his name on the internet.”
“The Council has done some digging since you learned his last name,” said Morgana. “Despite his ability to keep a low profile, he’s the founder of XYZ Laboratories, one of the biggest medical technology companies in the nation, and he’s a very rich man. Killing him is not the issue. It’s killing him without suspicion. Therein lies the rub.”
“Great. Now we’re in some sort of Shakespearean drama,” said Drake.
“Shakespeare should be so lucky to write this story,” said Ramsey.
“Let’s just hope the bad guy dies in the end,” said Leroy.
“He will,” said Morgana.
“And that he doesn’t take any of the good guys with him when he does,” said Hannah.
None of them disagreed.