Expectation (Ghost Targets, #2) Read Online Free

that her headset had whispered in her ear as soon as he first approached. "Steve Fredrik, Government Accountability Office." Syllable for syllable, the same as the computerized voice. "And this is Stephen Penn, Senate Oversight. He's observing."
    Katie smiled. "Watching the watcher." There was no humor in Fredrik's answering smile. "What's the focus of your investigation?"
    Steve's eyes flicked to Katie, but he didn't answer her. Instead he took a long step ahead of her and led the rest of the way across the bullpen. When the door was securely shut behind him, he turned to Katie and raised an eyebrow.
    "With regard to Executive Authority, this department is one of the most disorganized, haphazard, and entirely unaccountable entities in all of law enforcement. Do you understand that, Miss Pratt? Mr. Reed has been remarkably stubborn in his refusal to accept it." Reed nodded, like a dignitary graciously accepting a compliment. "But you're new here. You may not be quite so enchanted by the late Mr. Goodall's charm—"
    "Charm?" Katie snapped, searching the investigator's eyes for some hint of humor. "The man tried to kill me. He was a nutcase!" Reed stiffened, and Katie rounded on him in astonishment. "Really?" she thundered. "You object to that? Are you serious?"
    "Enough, Miss Pratt." Steve silenced her with a dispassionate tone. "While your objection to the late Mr. Goodall seems genuine, that in no way exonerates you from your involvement in that...fiasco in South America."
    She jabbed a finger under his nose. "Watch your tone," she said. "You said you had some questions for me, and I can understand that. But I'm not going to stand here and let you accuse me. If you don't know what happened—"
    The other agent, Stephen Penn, interjected smoothly, placating. "Miss Pratt," he said, "we're quite familiar with the record. Err...what there is of it."
    She shook her head. "I've watched it," she said. "You have everything. He left himself out of it, but you have every shred of my involvement—"
    "You'll forgive us for wanting more than your word on that." She felt fury rise up in her chest before she recognized the words. The condescending tone was clear enough. It was the same thing she'd said to Martin, accusing him of murdering his niece. Reed caught her elbow before she could hit the smug investigator, and she only struggled with him for a moment.
    Reed spoke up in her defense. "I've been over this with you," he said, "and I'm not going to let you bully her. I'm acting department head here, and that makes her one of mine. You understand that?" He held Fredrik's eyes for a long moment, then nodded. "You've got your authority and we're doing everything we can to cooperate, but you're not putting one of my agents through the ringer. Especially  after what this one's already been through."
    Fredrik regarded Reed for a moment with one eyebrow raised, then spread his hands in a sign of surrender and took a long step back, ceding the floor to Stephen Penn. Penn smirked at him, then turned a smile to Katie.
    "Please forgive him," he said. "He's better at audits than interviews."
    His voice was smooth and his smile likable. Katie leaned back against the window with her arms crossed over her chest, chin raised. "That's an interesting game of Good Cop, Bad Cop. You boys been doing this long?"
    Penn shrugged. "As my associate mentioned, this office is in a unique position with regard to oversight. It requires special effort." He handed Katie his handheld, which bore a report on her personal details. The open tab was a list of her voice communications, spanning the last month. She glanced over it and concealed a curse at what the list showed, but she figured Penn knew he had her. She scrolled idly through the list to buy a moment's time, then passed him back his handheld.
    He smiled. "Anything seem odd about that to you?"
    "I'm no stranger to the one-sided conversation," she said. "I like the sound of my own voice."
    Fredrik spoke up from