“Your plan?” I said.

“I’ll lift my sister’s purse while she’s sleeping, take her phone, which has all her dealings and contacts, and get Aria out of there.”

My blood pressure rose. “How do you plan to walk past Marissa and the bodyguards?”

“I’m not finished.” She punched each word. “Every night, Marissa, Eli, and the two bodyguards have a drink before she goes to bed. If I have a few strong sleeping pills, I can make sure they’re drugged.”

“That’s crazy. You’ll never get away with it.”

She stared at me, those blue-gray eyes resembling thunderclouds. “Do you have a better idea? Marissa and Liu set me up to take the fall for Rudder. Why else use cyanide when it’s easily detected? In the car, she told me not to drink at the restaurant. There Rudder was already drunk. He wanted more wine, and Liu told him he’d had enough, and Marissa offers my full glass.”

I ground my teeth. Shelby couldn’t go back there. “What are the chances the FBI will hand you a controlled substance?”

“None. But they know the people on the street who could get them for me.”

“I have a prescription,” Mike said.

I shot Mike a glare. “What? Aren’t you the agent who follows protocol like an addict chases heroin? You can’t give Shelby sleeping pills.”

“I have a prescription. But I didn’t say what kind. Neither did I say I’d give her anything.”

Van Dyke ran interference. “Agents. Back to business. We haven’t been successful in hacking into Stover’s or Liu’s devices. Rudder’s missing phone must contain incriminating evidence.”

“When I went for help at the restaurant, Marissa and Feng stayed behind. If my sister has the phone, I’ll find it.” She leaned into the table. “You need evidence to make arrests. I want the murders solved, and my niece free to live without fear.”

“Shelby, this is—”

“And I never requested your help. One more bit of information. Rudder liked to talk about himself. He claimed to be Liu’s largest heroin buyer. He mentioned loving what was inside those boxes of spark plugs and washer blades. Or he could have been speaking figuratively.”

“Rudder must have gotten greedy and demanded more money,” I said. “Look, we have enough with his murder to request a search warrant into his business. No reason for you to go back.”

She shook her head. “No point arguing with me. My mind is made up.”

78

SHELBY

The look on Marissa’s face when I entered the condo the following morning hit the top of the startled list. Priceless, but I kept the smug satisfaction to myself. For certain I looked a mess after spending a night in jail.

I was thankful Denton arranged for me to receive an inhaler. He always seemed to have my best interests at heart, even if he did border on overprotective.

“Shelby, you’re a wreck.”

“I spent a night behind bars.”

“Was it déjà vu?”

Fury raged through me, and the impulsiveness I’d given to God vanished. Ten feet between us slipped to one. I jabbed my finger into her chest. “You’ve messed me over for the last time.”