Ramona sat on the edge of the treadmill. ‘The fact is, I’ve long suspected that Common Way has engaged in illegal activity behind the scenes. Espionage. Blackmail. Maybe worse. What I’ve never been able to do is prove it. However, a few months ago, an employee in what I call the black ops area of Common Way approached my office.’

‘An employee?’ Cab asked. Then he said: ‘Justin Kiel.’

Ramona nodded. ‘Justin didn’t like what was going on there. He had the same suspicions that I did. He believed that Common Way was illegally influencing legislative policy, candidate selection, elections, whatever. They were using money – and probably other criminal tactics – to get their way. Justin offered to be a double agent for me. To dig into the foundation’s secrets. It all had to be handled with absolute confidentiality. I couldn’t be directly involved. If Diane Fairmont discovered that I was using someone inside her organization to spy on her, the blowback would have thrown me out of the campaign and probably out of office altogether. So I recruited someone to serve as a go-between with Justin. I needed someone I could trust implicitly. And we began to gather information.’

‘What did you find?’ Cab asked.

‘Plenty to be suspicious about, but no proof that would lead to indictments. We couldn’t proceed without rock-solid evidence, and we didn’t have it. And then a few weeks ago, Justin contacted his go-between to say that he had urgent new information. He didn’t explain what it was – and he was murdered before he had a chance to share it.’

‘His new information could have been about Frank Macy,’ Cab said. ‘Justin may have come across Macy’s plans regarding Deacon and Diane.’

‘Maybe, but I don’t think so. I know you’ve been listening to this girl Peach Piper, but she was emotionally involved with Justin. It clouds her judgment. I’m sympathetic, but I think she’s on the wrong track about Frank.’

Cab’s eyes narrowed. ‘How do you know so much about Peach and her investigation into Justin’s death?’

‘Because Justin was my own agent,’ Ramona replied calmly. ‘Do you think I would sit here and do nothing? He worked for me, and I want to know who killed him. I arranged to get another mole inside Common Way to investigate his death. I used Justin’s go-between to work undercover. She was highly motivated, because she knew him. They were friends. She wanted to catch his killer as much as I did.’

‘A mole,’ Cab said. ‘Undercover.’

‘That’s right.’

There was only one person Ramona would have used for a mission like that.

I needed someone I could trust implicitly.

Ramona said nothing more, but she didn’t need to say a word. Cab knew exactly who it was. When you can’t trust your friends, you turn to your family.