Withholding Evidence Read Online Free Page B

call Trina to arrange the tour and moved on. As soon as he was out of earshot, Trina said, “Walt just demoted me to museum docent.”
    “At least docenting is fun. Wait, can docent be a verb?”
    “It will be when I do it. I will verb the hell out of that job.”
    Cressida laughed. Walt and Erica approached from across the lawn. From the look on Erica’s face, she wasn’t enjoying Walt’s company much either.
    “Trina!” he said as if they were long lost friends. “I’ve been hoping to talk to you. I think one of my sources for a study of the UN coalition post-Desert Storm would respond better to a girl. I’d like you to interview him.”
    She bit her tongue to keep from pointing out she wasn’t a girl any more than he was a boy . “I’m sort of swamped right now, Walt, what with all the other projects you shifted to me in the last weeks.”
    He waved a hand. “Those are all small. A quick report for the department, a few paragraphs for the Pull Together newsletter, and you’re done. Hell, I’m surprised you haven’t finished them already.”
    She narrowed her gaze. Ninety percent of the time, she thought Walt was clueless, but the other ten she was certain he was a calculating bastard who knew exactly what he was doing and saying. “Not all the sources are being cooperative.”
    “I scheduled the interview for Tuesday morning. I’ll e-mail you with the details.” He walked away before she could protest.
    “I can’t wait until he retires,” Erica said.
    “Be glad you aren’t in the cubicle next to his.”
    “I say a word of thanks every time I visit you.” Erica shot a glare toward Walt over her shoulder. “Tell Mara he was heavy-handed and skip the interview. It’s his job, not yours.”
    Trina shrugged, unsure of how she’d handle it. If her schedule was free Tuesday morning, she didn’t really have a reason to say no. Her hire at NHHC was conditional. Until she reached the three-year mark, she had to toe a certain line, and Walt knew it. He was a technical GS-14, a higher pay grade and seniority level than everyone in the department, including Mara.
    Most likely, Trina would do the interview, and she’d smile as she did it to hide her gritting teeth.
    She took another sip of her wine. Over Cressida’s shoulder, she noted Perry was with Dr. Hill and Alec Ravissant. As soon as he broke away, she’d make her move.
    She caught sight of Keith approaching out of the corner of her eye and felt a tingling sensation at the back of her neck. She wanted to flirt with Perry, but Keith was giving her goose bumps? What was wrong with her? He reached her side, and she glanced at him askance. “Well, Hatcher. You do clean up pretty.”
    He laughed.
    She turned to him, giving him her full attention. A scan from head to toe had her wishing her words weren’t true. He looked good. Really good. And she’d had no complaints about his appearance this morning when he was sleep rumpled and half-naked.
    Well, she might even prefer him sleep rumpled and half-naked. Just the thought made her body heat.
    Dammit.
    He wore a simple button-down shirt and tan slacks, his broad shoulders and fine physique readily apparent even when covered. His short, dark hair no longer jutted up on one side; it was brushed back and revealed just a hint of curl. He smelled good too—a musky cologne that made her want to bite him.
    He’s military. Not your type. He doesn’t respect you. He probably thinks you’re a twit simply because you are a woman.
    She’d met enough men like that to last her.
    “Trina, you left my house so fast this morning, I worried I’d never see you again.”
    Erica looked at her sharply. The man made it sound like she’d snuck out after a one-night stand. Cressida merely looked confused, but then, as her roommate, she knew Trina had woken up in her own bed this morning.
    She glared at him and pointed to a private corner of the garden. “Over there. Now.”
    Hatcher grinned. “I love a woman who