You mean the task force?

No, no. This was during the original investigation. Chief Marx personally ensured that a thorough investigation was conducted, and had our full cooperation. He even interviewed some of the clients himself.

I stared at her so hard she frowned.

Mr. Cole?

Chief Marx oversaw the investigation?

That's right. The chief is one of our clients.

I tried to smile. I tried to look as if this was the best news the family could hear.

Well. That changes things.

Casey Stokes looked relieved.

I'm so sorry for this confusion.

Of course. The family will be glad to hear it.

Please. Tell the Repkos to call me. If they have any questions at all, they can call me.

I nodded. I smiled.

So. The chief is going into politics?

He's considering it. We believe he can be positioned to fill Councilman Wilts's seat when the councilman retires next year. The councilman is quite a fan of Chief Marx.

I smiled even wider.

How could he be anything else?

So please assure Mr. and Mrs. Repko the police had our full cooperation. We simply worked at a level where discretion could be guaranteed.

Her PDA buzzed again. She glanced at the message, then stood.

I really do have to go now, Mr. Cole. It's been awful for all of us, but I know it's been worse for the Repkos. Please tell them we would never have done anything to hamper the investigation, and we didn't.

I'll tell them, Ms. Stokes. Thank you.

Her PDA buzzed once more, and now she touched a button to make it stop. Everyone at Leverage seemed to have them.

Does everyone here carry one of those things?

It's how we stay in touch. One of the perks, but also one of the pains. We carry them twenty-four/seven.

Did Debra have one?

Across the hall, the meeting in the conference room was breaking up. The young guy who had shown his PDA to the older guy was still texting.

Ms. Stokes said, She did. All of our associates and principals have them. Leverage provides them.

You saw her with it that night?

She gave a halfhearted shrug.

Of course. We used them to coordinate the interviews.

Her PDA buzzed again, but this time she didn't look at it. She touched my arm to herd me toward the door.

One more thing about this rumor, and I hope her family will find some solace in this. I can't definitively say Debra wasn't involved with someone, but she never hinted at such a thing, or acted the way young women act when they're infatuated. She never mentioned anything like that to me or the other first-years. I know because I asked them, and so did Chief Marx.

Casey Stokes walked me out, but did not say good-bye. I didn't say good-bye, either. I was too busy thinking about Marx.

Chapter 22