The Target by L.J. Sellers Page A

two men in suits were near the inner door, as if finishing up a conversation. She recognized the older man as Rick Kimball, who’d been mayor when she left San Diego to train at Quantico. What was he doing here? Both men turned, Kimball’s voice cutting off mid-sentence.
    She held out her badge toward the other man, who had an overweight linebacker’s body, topped by an aging model’s face. “Sorry to interrupt, but you’re hard to reach, Mr. Brickman.”
    The ex-mayor gave his companion a sideways glance. “I’ll be in touch.” Kimball left without acknowledging her.
    “Your timing couldn’t be worse.” Brickman crossed his arms. “I’m trying to garner political support for my candidacy. Now he’s wondering what the hell this is about.”
    He was running for mayor?
“I’m sure you’ll be able to explain. Can we sit down?”
    “I really don’t have time right now. Please make an appointment.” He gestured toward his assistant, an older woman who pretended not to be there.
    “You’re not curious about why I’m here?”
    He sighed and gestured for her to enter his office. “It’s about the fire again, right? I talked to the fire marshal at the time, and I talked to an FBI agent about three weeks ago. There’s nothing left to say. It was just a fire.” He sounded surprisingly defensive.
    “What was the cause?”
    “Faulty wiring in an exhaust fan.” He plopped down and unbuttoned his jacket, letting his belly hang out.
    “Did you ever suspect one of your competitors?”
    A pause.
    The words
Of course
cut through the space between them, and River heard them, even though they hadn’t been spoken. Sometimes when people were distressed and about to lie, she could hear strong, simple thoughts. She’d never told anyone. Other agents wouldn’t understand, and it rarely affected how she did her job.
    “No,” Brickman lied. “The medical device business is very ethical, very regulated.” He straightened the cuffs on his sleeves and didn’t look at her.
    Why wouldn’t he admit he thought his company had been sabotaged? Was he protecting someone? Or plotting revenge? “When did you talk to Agent Palmer?”
    “As I said, about three weeks ago. We met at the warehouse, and it was a waste of time.”
    The time and location matched Joe’s notes, so he was telling the truth about that.
    “Have you had any unexpected bacterial outbreaks in your labs or processing plants?”
    His dark eyes narrowed. “No, but your question concerns me. Why do you ask?”
    “DigiPro had to recall its skin-tattoo product because of infections. Did you know about it?”
    “Yes, I pay attention to our subsidiaries. But it wasn’t an outbreak, and they did everything right to correct the problem.”
    “What do you think of your competitor, TecLife?”
    “They’re very secretive about their pipeline.”
    “Do you know the executives?”
    He made a funny sound in his throat. “One of its founders used to work for me. She’s brilliant, but paranoid, and far too focused on her research to engage in corporate sabotage. I don’t know much about her new partner.”
    Interesting phrase. “Was Cheryl Decker once your partner?” River gave the word an intimate emphasis.
    “Long ago.” He pushed to his feet. “I have another meeting to attend, and you have to stop bothering me.” Brickman walked out, so eager to get away from her that he was willing to leave her sitting in his office, free to look around.
    But not for long. His assistant rushed into the room. “I’m sorry, but he said to call security if you don’t leave.”
    River had wasted enough time. She left the office and called Jana Palmer on the way out. Joe’s widow was probably eager for an update, and River wished she had something more to report.
    Her best hope was that the real answers would be uncovered at TecLife by Dallas—‌who would employ more creative methods.

Chapter 11
    Friday, July 11, 5:35 p.m.
    Grissom was late, but Dallas knew he