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Val glanced at Kaj before turning her full attention on Elijah. “Okay,” she said with a single nod. “I’ll do the research and you can help me plan our meals. What impact did the adrenaline from your scare yesterday have on your blood sugar?”
That she asked the question made Kaj relax a little. Despite being thrown off her game at the mention of Dewey Talley, this woman was a thinker and appeared to be a planner, which was exactly what they needed right now.
Elijah shrugged sullenly. “It spiked. I have a pump, and it did its thing. After a few hours it went back down. I’m not stupid.”
A simplistic explanation, because the spike had been frighteningly severe, made only worse by Elijah’s worry over Genie. The doctor had wanted to keep Elijah overnight to observe him, relenting when that made Elijah even more upset. But Kaj wouldn’t bruise his son’s ego in front of Val by pointing it out right now.
“I can see that you’re not stupid, so you don’t need to keep saying that.” She tilted her head, studying Elijah. “Who prepares your meals?”
“My aunt does.” Elijah flinched. “Did.”
“She’s been your caregiver while your dad’s at work?” Val asked carefully.
Kaj thought that she wanted to ask about Elijah’s mother but seemed hesitant. The woman could read a room. Another point in her favor.
“Yes,” Elijah said. “Since I was small.” He lifted his chin defiantly, as if daring her to say that he was still small.
He was, of course. His mother had been petite as well, barely five feet tall in her socks.
I’m sorry, Heather. I’m sorry that I’ve put him in danger. I’m so sorry.
His wife couldn’t hear him, of course. But it helped to talk to her, even if it was only in his mind. It helped him feel not so alone.
He was so damned tired of feeling alone.
Val smiled down at Elijah. “Then, if Aunt Genie’s up to it, we’ll Skype with her to get some tips.” She slid her arm around Elijah protectively. “We will keep him safe, Mr.Cardozo.”
Kaj exhaled, relieved when Elijah rested his head on the woman’s shoulder. They’d made a connection, and from everything Burke had told him, she’d protect Elijah with her life.
“Burke, I’d like to see your contract for both investigative and bodyguard services.”
Val’s brows rose. “We’re investigating, too? The whole team?”
“You are,” Kaj answered. “I’ve asked Burke to put as many people as he can on this case. While I trust the NOPD to fully investigate, I’m taking no chances with Elijah’s safety.”
Which was a diplomatic way of saying that, after six months in his role, he still wasn’t sure who he could trust within the NOPD. He’d taken the job with the Orleans Parish DA’s office to help identify internal corruption, and he’d been successful so far. Unfortunately, he’d made a few enemies within the NOPD along the way.
He was not going to apologize for hiring a private firm to find out exactly who was behind the plot to abduct his son. He wasn’t worried about being able to afford Burke’s services. He didn’t earn a lot as a prosecutor, but he had the funds from Heather’s life insurance. He hadn’t touched a dime, planning to give it to Elijah someday for college. But Heather would approve of him using the money to protect their son. If it wasn’t enough to cover Burke’s bill, Kaj would sell everything he owned if it meant keeping Elijah safe.
So first, he’d review the contracts. But before he signed anything, he’d find out what the hell Val Sorensen knew about Dewey Talley and Sixth Day and why she knew it.
2
Downtown, New Orleans, Louisiana
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 9:15 A.M.
ARE YOU READY?” Ed asked, looking worried. “Do you need to go over it again?”
Corey gave himself a final look in his foyer mirror, smoothing his tie with a hand that did not tremble. He’d survived enemy sniper fire in Iraq. A dozen reporters were no threat.
“I’m ready,” he said. He’d spent most of the night on the phone with Ed and their other business partner, Bobby. Their heads had been far cooler than Corey’s after Jace had called him with the story of the failed abduction. Of a prosecutor’s son, no less.
Of the one prosecutor whose attention Corey sought most to avoid. This week was critical for him and Bobby and Ed. The success of their business depended on the job they were about to close. They couldn’t afford to be sucked into whatever hell Rick’s stupidity had brought down on their heads.
Corey had been convinced that Rick’s fuckup was a disaster for him as well, but Bobby was a former cop and knew how police investigations worked. Plus, Bobby still had eyes and ears in the department who slipped him information every now and then. Last night, one of his sources had come through for them, giving them the single piece of intelligence that would turn this debacle into the perfect smoke screen.
They were going to spin this story, reimagining it in their own favor. They’d already laid the foundation with the cops, painting Rick as a troubled teenager with a serious drug problem when they’d come to question him the night before. Now they were going to use the media to seal the deal.
