“Unknown at this point,” Kane says, despite the fact that he knows exactly who came at him, and I know why. It would be weak to suggest one of his own tried to kill him. “But it certainly can’t be ruled out,” Kane adds.
“Are you familiar with any company pitching a weapon that the victim would unwittingly ingest?”
“You mean poison?”
“No,” I say, “not poison.” I offer nothing more.
“Whatever that means, it doesn’t involve me. I’m aware of no such thing and for good reason. I don’t invest in military or defense assets. Those things are highly controversial and counterintuitive to my support of my chosen political candidates, such as our future governor, Mayor Love.” He shifts back to the prior topic. “Can you elaborate on the weapon?”
“Since I don’t trust you not to use this for some kind of press gimmick,” I say, “no. But for the time being, I’d make sure you know exactly where everything comes from that goes into your mouth. And anything that has not been in your presence since preparation, do not eat.”
“I’m well protected.”
“So are we,” Kane says. “And this person got a little too close for comfort.”
He gives a nod. “Point taken.”
My cellphone rings and I punch the silencer button. “You’ve been warned,” I say. “I did my job.”
“Ah yes,” Pocher says. “The FBI agent who spreads a little too much love in all the wrong places. Speaking of, how about spreading it in the right places?” He looks between the two of us. “Can I count on you both to be at the weekend fundraiser?”
“We’ll attend,” Kane replies. “And do so with the intent of us reaffirming and nurturing our mutually aligned interests as we have in the past.”
“Does that mean you’ll write a check to support her father?”
“No,” Kane says. “I don’t like the man.”
“And neither do I,” I reply. “And as much as I’d like to blame you for that, he’s his own man.”
“Indeed,” Pocher states. “And the future governor of our great state.”
“You mean you’re the future governor of our great state, and he’s your puppet,” I say.
“I’m but a mere admirer supplying support to a man with a well-decorated and respected career in law enforcement.”
In that moment, my mother is on my mind. And I want answers. I want them right now. “Too bad my mother couldn’t be here to see this all unfold, don’t you think?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
“Lilah,” Kane warns softly.
At the same moment, my cellphone rings again and I decide it’s best I don’t ignore it right now. Just the act of pulling it from my bag to kill the ringer, brings me down a notch, and the text message across my screen from Tic Tac that reads: Pick up! Urgent! is yet another needed distraction.
“I have to take this,” I say, stepping behind Kane and placing my back to his while the doorman stands inside the doorframe, blocking my exit.
He’d move if I shot him, and I just might before this is over, but right now my phone is ringing again, and Tic Tac is once again on caller ID. “Speak,” I order softly.
“Ann, the fake sous chef, did side catering gigs. She was scheduled for your father’s fundraiser. What do you want to do?”
Well, there’s a bombshell, I think, and as a bonus a way to get out of this damn charity event. “I want you to discreetly get the names of the catering company’s management and ownership, as well as everyone scheduled to work that night. I’ll call you back.” I disconnect and stick my phone back inside my bag before returning to Kane’s side and our little meeting with Pocher. “We have a problem,” I announce.
“We?” Pocher mocks. “Are the three of us a ‘we’ now?”
“Depends on how you feel about your guests at the fundraiser dropping dead.”
He leans forward. “What does that mean?”
“It means one of the accomplices in these murders was scheduled to work your event. She’s out of the picture, dead actually, but we feel strongly there are at least two other people involved in this. You need to postpone.”
“Not happening,” he says dismissively. “There’s no time.”
“Make time,” I bite out.
“No,” he bites back.
“I know you like sympathy press, but people dying at this event is not good for my father’s campaign.”
“Now you care about your father’s campaign? How sweet.”
“If my father can’t take care of the guests of a party, why would anyone think he could take care of an entire state? And you know his competition will state as much. He’ll look careless, incompetent, and reckless. Perhaps you will as well.”
He studies me, his green eyes cutting. “I’ll postpone. For when?”
“After the New Year.”
“And if you don’t have the killer by then?”
“I will,” I say.
“You’re confident.”
“I understand killers extremely well, Pocher. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”
Something flickers in his eyes before he says, “You’re a worthy queen to the king of the Mendez line. You are nothing like your mother.”
“That’s true. She died. I survived. And now, I’m done here.”
“We’re definitely done here,” Kane agrees.
We start to turn away from Pocher, but I pause before facing him again. “The man who the world believes was the Umbrella Man was only his minion. But the real Umbrella Man is dead.”
Pocher’s jaw clenches. “And you know this how?”
“You know how I know.”
He studies me, one second, then two. He must decide I killed the Umbrella Man because he says, “Who was he?”
He knows who he is. He hired Roger. He used Roger to kill my mother. He just doesn’t know I know that Roger was the Umbrella Man, and not the man the rest of the world thinks was the Umbrella Man. “Roger Griffin, my ex-mentor. He was obsessed with me. He thought I was just like him.” In other words, I’m coming for you Pocher, I think.
With that, I turn and join Kane at the door. The doorman moves to allow our exit. And side by side, without a word, Kane and I exit the apartment and then the building.
Once we’re in the SUV with Kit behind the wheel, only then does Kane say, “You were brilliant, beautiful. You managed to give him the gift of murder and promise him his own. And you made sure he knows you are Queen Mendez.”
I blink and turn to Kane. “He called me queen. Kane, you do that. You just started doing that. How did he know?”
“After your encounter with Miguel, the men started calling you that.”
“Well, someone amongst them is talking to Pocher. That’s what he was telling us. That he’s got control.”