Brent waved everyone toward seats.
Jake demurred, saying he had only escorted Jason upstairs and he had things to do.
Jason settled on the leather love seat, and Dex sank into a comfortable armchair nearby.
Brent flashed them both a smug smile before he followed Jake to the elevator. “I’ll leave you two to catch up. I promised my wife some undivided attention.” The elevator doors softly closed, leaving Dex and Jason the office to themselves.
Jason smiled. “You made good time. I’m glad you’re here. Last night was a rough one.”
Dex ran a hand over his stubbled jaw. He had come straight here, as requested, but he would have preferred a shower and a shave first, although he didn’t mind keeping Kate’s scent on him for as long as possible.
“After our phone call I figured you wanted me here as soon as I could manage it, so I made it here as fast as I could without breaking the sound barrier.”
Jason leaned back against the soft leather love seat and rested his interlaced fingers over his trim stomach. A man in his forties, he was still fit. “All right. The reason I yanked you back here so quickly is that after all hell broke loose last night, we had an informant call in a tip in exchange for immunity.” He took a deep breath and then let it out in a slow sigh. “She insists she had nothing to do with the larger plot other than to pass on some information that she overheard. When we pulled her in for an interview, all we got out of her before she shut down tight was that she overheard Ed Ralston sharing the fact that you were FBI with Senator Balkins and two other individuals that she couldn’t see. She also didn’t recognize their voices.
“The Fibbees in L.A. ham-handed her interrogation, and she finally said she wouldn’t talk to anyone but you, other than to say the men she overheard said they would have to move up their timetable. That, coupled with the massive action across the nation last night, made me rethink our deployment in L.A.”
Dex blew out a long breath. All of the planning and work they had done on his cover, and Ralston had been the one to talk. “I’m not surprised about Ralston. Like you said, he was always very interested in making sure he did everything he could to prove to us he should be ruled out as having any involvement. You mentioned something about information getting around that I had only told Kate?”
Jason nodded. “Apparently, in the VIP lounge Kate asked you if you were a PI for your night job?”
Dex frowned. “Wait, how does anyone besides Kate know that was said?”
Tanner tipped his head. “The informant overheard it, and mistakenly thought you were a private investigator.”
“Opal.”
Jason nodded. “But she says she didn’t tell anyone that part. She swears she found out you were FBI before she could tell anyone about what she had overheard in the VIP lounge.”
“All right. So why isn’t that the end of it?”
“After Stanton’s body was found, the investigative team went through his computer searching for clues. An email was found referencing your arrival at The Dungeon, and the fact that you were a PI.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Before you ask, we’ve already checked the booth and surrounding area in the VIP lounge for bugs. It looks like the only possible way for that to get out was through Kate Fretwell.”
Icy shock sliced deep into Dex’s chest, and he shook his head as he tried to think of some other explanation. “Let me talk to Opal. She may be lying.”
“I figured you would want to check it out for yourself. She’s on her way to Phoenix. Two agents are bringing her. They should be here in about an hour. They were getting her set up in a secure location first.” Jason rested his forearms on the desk and pinned Dex with an intense gaze. “Have you spoken to Kathryne Fretwell since you left her place this morning?”
Dex shook his head, his chest tight at the necessity of keeping Kate in the dark about leaving town. “You asked me to wait until I made it back here. I just got back, and wanted to touch base before I contacted her.”
Even though it nearly killed me to keep her in the dark like this.
Jason gave a single nod. “You should contact her to at least let her know you were called away suddenly, and that you aren’t sure when or if you’ll be back in L.A. From all the nudges we planted, she might come to Phoenix to check out Club Desire, where we’ll have several people in a position to gain her confidence and see what she knows.”
Jason held up his hand before Dex could object.
“Not that I think you weren’t able to do that, but we obviously aren’t able to contain the situation in L.A., and since Brent and Sandra, as well as some of the others here, have worked with us successfully in the past, I think everyone here can both protect and befriend Miss Fretwell. That will allow us to get to the bottom of any information she may or may not have.”