Masters, page 1
Books in This Series:
Jasper, Book 1
Masters, Book 2
Gideon, Book 3
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
About This Book
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Sneak Peek from Gideon
Author’s Note
About the Author
Copyright Page
About This Book
There is no greater motive than bloodlust, DNA, and revenge mixed up in a cocktail of hatred …
Masters has joined Jasper’s investigation team, when they realize another investigator went missing four months ago, yet his case is on hold. Part of the issue is that Masters needs to figure out who on the existing team is trustworthy. He reaches out to the missing investigator’s sister, looking for answers.
Elizabeth has been seeking answers over her brother’s disappearance ever since the last time she spoke to him. With no leads, no tips, and no sign of him, the case ran cold. To her, it seemed no one cared. Having Masters show up at her door, asking questions all over again, sparks anger and hope in her.
Maybe this time they can find out what happened to the only family Elizabeth has left …
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Prologue
‡
Masters Woodrow entered the building where the investigators worked, which was dark. Turning on the lights, he headed to the small area that Jasper had used as an office. Sitting down and using his log-in credentials, Masters started the research he needed to do. When he heard a noise, he looked up to see Sam glaring at him. Masters stared back at him. “You got a problem? You take it up with Jasper.” Then he returned to his research.
“It’s Jasper who I’ve got a problem with,” he barked.
Masters shrugged, refusing to face Sam. “Then take it up with the brass. Not my problem.”
“Seriously, you’re on this team now too?”
“I am,” he declared.
“What about Jasper?”
“Jasper is too. He’s getting some much-needed rest right now. In case you didn’t hear about the mess happening today, he’s been busy.”
Sam shrugged. “It wasn’t all that bad.”
“If that’s what you think, you don’t have all the details.” Masters stopped, looked up at him, and intensely studied the man for the first time. Sam looked to be about late forties, a hothead by the sound of it, and a little bit gone to pot. He had a good-size middle rim of flab all the way around his belly, just above his belt loops. His coloring was pale, a little bit blotchy, and his hair was thinning on top already. “What’s your problem with Jasper anyway?”
“He walked in here like he was the boss and took over. He already knew Morgan’s the boss.”
“Morgan was an acting boss,” Masters clarified, narrowing his gaze at Sam. “How come you didn’t tell your bosses how you felt?”
Sam shifted uneasily and scoffed. “You’re just like him, aren’t you? You’re probably friends. Is that how you got the job?”
“I don’t have to do things like that,” he replied. “My reputation precedes me, as does Jasper’s, as does Mason’s. This is what I do. I was coming in to take a job on this base as it was, yet in a slightly different position. However, after seeing Mason shot down right in front of me, you can bet I wanted in on it.”
“Oh, yeah, shot in front of you, but you didn’t do anything to stop it, did you?”
“It would be a little hard to stop a sniper plan set up days, if not months in advance,” he stated. He noted Sam stood unsteadily in front of him. “Are you drunk?”
“No, I’m not drunk,” he snapped. “What are you doing here at this hour of the night?”
“What are you doing here at this hour of the night, drunk or not?” Not liking anything about him, Masters added, “Either you need to get the hell out of here or sit down and do some work. I am working myself. So you choose what you’re doing, but make a decision now.”
“And if I don’t?” Sam asked, his hands in his pockets, but, sure enough, he remained unsteady on his feet.
Masters got up, walked closer, and smelled the alcohol. “You get your drunk ass out of here,” he ordered. “Leave your key card behind, and do not come in until you contact me and I’ve met you outside of work somewhere long enough to confirm that you’re sober.”
“What are you gonna—”
“And, if I find out that you’re not sober and that you can’t stay sober for forty-eight hours straight, you’ll be under drug testing and suspended from work,” Masters declared calmly, as he turned Sam around and gave him a shove toward the exit door.
Protesting the whole way, Sam started to slur his words to the point that Masters was worried he would have to pick him up to toss him out.
When he got him outside the building, a couple other guys were hanging around, loudly laughing and talking and drinking. “Are you with them?”
“So what if I am?”
“That’s fine, but, in the meantime, you are not allowed to drive tonight either.”
“You can’t stop me,” Sam bellowed.
But Masters braced him, quickly shoving him against the wall, taking his car keys and his office key card. “Now get yourself home.”
“How the hell am I supposed to do that? You just took my wheels.”
“I did, and I’ll take even more the longer you stand here. Now get lost,” he snapped. Then he watched as Sam stumbled away.
Shaking his head, Masters returned to the office and quickly sent Jasper a text. Masters wasn’t sure what the hell was going on, but how the hell did that guy Sam keep his job here? Maybe they did need a couple new people on this investigation team. He sent a quick text to Morgan, asking him about Sam’s condition as well.
When the phone rang, Morgan was on the other end. “What the hell are you doing there?”
“I’m here because Jasper is at home after an incident tonight,” he explained. “I’m working on Mason’s case. Found Sam in the office, stumbling drunk.”
Silence came on the other end. “Oh, damn.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, he fell off the stupid wagon again.”
“And how much of a problem is that?”
“It shouldn’t be a problem at all.”
“I just took his car keys off him and his access card.” He picked up the card and frowned. “Except for one thing.”
“What’s that?” Morgan asked.
“The key card that I took off Sam doesn’t have his name on it.”
“What do you mean?”
“The key I have in my hand, which I just took off Sam, has a different name on it. … Nicholas.”
“Nicholas, Nicholas Woodrow?” Morgan asked.
Masters frowned at the last name. He had no relative that he knew of by the name of Nicholas. Yet easier to remember the guy’s name, for sure. Masters twisted the key card in the light to see it better, noting the tone change in Morgan’s reply. “Yes, Nicholas Woodrow. Why? You know him?”
“Yeah, he disappeared from our department and the base about four months ago,” he shared. “He was involved in another case on Coronado base.”
“What do you mean, another case?”
“Nicholas was working another shooting.”
Chapter 1
‡
Not too many hours later, Masters returned to the department and headed straight back to Jasper’s office. As soon as he got inside, he shut the door, then sat down and sent Jasper a text. Good morning. I’m at your desk and need permission to access your system again. His phone rang almost immediately.
“You’re in there now, huh?”
“Yes, I signed off when I left late last night—well early this morning actually—so I’ll need you to get me logged in again, as well as permission to be here.”
“Done and done,” Jasper stated. “What are you after so bright and early after working late?”
“I’m after any information that we can find on this Nicholas guy.”
“What’s that about?” he asked curiously.
Masters half smiled and replied, “I wondered if you knew anything about it.”
“No. I don’t. Fill me in.”
Masters quickly shared the little bit he knew. “That’s what I got from Morgan, though it seems as if there ought to be more than that.”
“Maybe he just didn’t choose to share,” Jasper replied.
“That’s what I was wondering,” he noted, “so I wanted to cut the circuitous route in half and get the information myself.” He listened as Jasper gave him the log-in information for the day, and Masters quickly had access to the computer system again. He added, “And you need to clear it with whomever because I’m pretty sure we’ve got an all-out fight coming up.”
“Probably,” Jasper agreed. “Yet, with any luck, not so much. I’ll be there soon.”
“You sure you’re ready to come back in?” Masters asked, a note of humor in his tone.
“Just because I might want to stay out doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”
“No, of course not. I’l l see you when you get here.” Then Masters quickly hung up.
He didn’t know how long it would take before the rest of the team realized he was in here. He’d walked in fairly easily, and nobody had questioned his presence, but he knew that wouldn’t last. He’d hoped that he would make it until Jasper arrived, but, when the door opened about thirty minutes later, he looked up to see Sam glaring at him, Morgan at his side.
“You have no right to be here,” Sam declared. “You were way out of line last night.”
A man behind them spoke up and said, “Hold up a minute. Don’t start without me.”
Masters looked up with relief to see Jasper striding toward them.
“I okayed it.”
“You have no right to okay anything,” Sam snapped.
Something was just so wrong with Sam’s attitude that Masters couldn’t believe they kept such a liability around. He had no reason to even think that way, but something was just wrong about a guy so smug and so difficult to deal with.
As it was, Morgan stared at Jasper. “You got clearance for all this?” he asked.
Jasper looked at both and announced, “This is Masters. I’ve worked with him before. He’ll be our secret weapon.”
“Like he’s some secret weapon or that we even need one.” Sam snorted.
Oddly enough, Morgan, who had temporarily been leading this department, nodded. “Might not be a bad idea at that,” he murmured. He turned and looked at Masters and held out a hand. “Nice to meet you. Sorry for the trouble you had last night.”
Masters shook his hand and nodded. “Likewise.”
Sam didn’t say anything but turned and stormed out.
Masters looked over at Jasper. “We had quite the chat last night. Not a fan of yours, it seems.”
“No, he sure isn’t,” Jasper confirmed, with a wry look, “but that’s okay. He doesn’t have to like me, but we do need to clear him.”
“It’s okay,” Morgan noted. “He’s been good for the department, and he does good work. He’s got an alcohol problem that had been pretty well in hand, after he went through rehab a few years ago. However, it appears he’s been struggling recently and fell off the wagon hard last night. He doesn’t do well with change, especially when he has no say in it.”
“Yet this department is full of changes,” Jasper declared.
“It is, indeed, which is another reason why Sam has struggles now,” Morgan noted, with a small smile. Looking at Masters, he said, “I don’t know what you told him last night, but you scared him sober. If you need anything, let me know.” At the doorway, he stopped, looked over at Masters, and added, “I’ll put in a request to get your own log-in set up, so you’re not coming in under Jasper’s.”
“Thanks,” Masters replied cheerfully, as he watched Morgan leave. Then Masters faced Jasper. “Good timing. That could have gone differently without you here.”
“You would have handled it,” he said, with a shrug. “Sounds like you handled Sam last night. We’ll have to keep a close eye on him, although it explains the reservations I’ve had about the guy.”
“Yeah, drunks lie so much, and the deceit comes off them in waves. Also I highly doubt I’m any secret weapon, by the way.”
“You would be surprised. Something is going on here that none of us are getting very clear answers on.”
“That’s why I want to find out everything there is to know about one Nicholas Woodrow.”
“Are you sure it’s not just because his last name is the same as yours?” he asked.
Masters shrugged, “Ah, no. Turns out I’m a little deeper than that.”
“If you say so,” Jasper quipped.
“I do say so,” Masters stated in a cool tone. “No relation either, by the way.”
“That’s good because that’s a complication we wouldn’t need.”
He laughed. “Yeah, that would certainly add another element to the mix, wouldn’t it?”
“It would. And not in a good way. So, what have you found out so far?”
“Only that one Nicholas Woodrow was working on an investigation here in this department. I just find it odd that nobody mentioned anything about it, especially considering he just disappeared about four months ago on his way to work one morning. His car was found abandoned on a side road, where the team supposedly found his key card.”
Jasper sat down in the chair across from him. “On his way to work?” he asked cautiously.
“He didn’t show up, and nobody has seen him since.”
“That’s not to say that his disappearance was definitely related to an investigation on this base.”
Masters nodded. “Right. Last night Morgan told me that the team had been working on another base shooting. Digging in further, I found it was some bar fight gone wrong. So not the connection I expected to link that incident to Mason’s shooting. I’m still searching other cases the team dealt with recently. Would be nice if we had access to all their files on the database.” Masters raised one eyebrow.
“Yeah. We should have full clearance today. Still, we can’t go down that line of thinking without further evidence, but it’s a concern that Nicholas never showed up again.” Jasper pondered that and added, “Let me bring Morgan back in again.” And, with that, he stepped to the door and called out for Morgan.
Morgan appeared a few minutes later, obviously busy, as he was talking on the phone to somebody. He stepped in, ended the phone call, frowned at them, and asked, “What’s up?”
“Nicholas Woodrow,” Jasper stated.
“Ah.” Morgan frowned and nodded. “I was wondering if that was something that needed to be brought up.”
“I’m stunned that you didn’t think it was something worthy of mention right from the get-go,” Jasper declared.
“That’s because we haven’t had anything to go on. If we thought it was connected somehow, that’s a different story.”
“Why would you think it couldn’t be connected?” Jasper asked, frowning at him.
“All kinds of shit goes on around the base here, and we have a lot of investigations. So absolutely no reason to think that Woodrow’s disappearance would have anything to do with the sniper shooting of Mason,” Morgan replied. “As far as we know, Nicholas had nothing to do with Mason, and the cases are not connected.” He hesitated. “Yet I can see from the look on your face that you don’t necessarily agree.”
“We don’t know that for certain because we didn’t know anything about Nicholas’s disappearance,” Jasper remarked in exasperation. “And it seems foolish to decide that they aren’t connected just because you haven’t found anything connecting them.”
Morgan frowned. “And what other criteria would you use to make that decision?”
“A full investigation of Nicholas gone missing is a start,” Jasper pointed out. “Until we do that investigation and clear this up, then we won’t know.”
“You’re free to do that. I’ve got all the files. It’s not in the files I gave you access too already because it involves one of our own, so it was kept in an area with less access, just in case.”
“Unlock it now so we can have a look,” Jasper said, “and let’s see if we can’t solve two of these at the same time.”
After Morgan did something on his phone, he shared, “Okay, I’ve given you both access to those files. The thing is, our CO asked us to keep this one under wraps,” he added, “so there could be backlash when he finds out I’ve given you access.”
“That’s fine,” Jasper stated, eyeing him. “If you get called out on it, I’ll take the heat.”
The look of relief on his face gave Masters some insight into what working here must be like for some of the investigators.
When Morgan left, Masters looked over at Jasper. “We’re already checking into the team members, and now we should check out the CO too? Not a good omen.”
“Nope, it sure isn’t.” Jasper groaned. “I sure as hell hope this doesn’t involve some BS move up the chain. That’s all we need.”
“When you say, BS move, what do you mean?”
He shrugged. “The usual. I just don’t want to find out that somebody up the chain of command is involved in this or, worse yet, is involved in the attempted murder of Mason.”
Masters stared at him in shock. “Oh, hell no,” he replied. “Those cases are the worst.”
