Hidden Agenda by Lisa Harris

Tampered with the fingerprints on file . . .
    â€œWhere did you find his prints?” she asked.
    â€œOn the fifty-dollar bill he handed the cashier.”
    She drew in a slow breath, feeling as if she’d just stepped into a nightmare. But for now, all she could do was keep asking questions. The more she knew, the faster she could find a way to untangle this mess.
    â€œWhere did this footage come from?”
    â€œA local gas station and convenience store about thirty minutes from here.”
    â€œPlay it again.”
    Avery watched as the video played a second time. Moments after Michael—or whoever the man was—appeared on the screen, the other man shot at him. Michael shot back, and the man dropped to the ground. Michael put a bill on the counter, then grabbed the girl. A second later he was gone.
    â€œWhat about the man he shot?”
    â€œHe’s a local drug dealer. He should make it, but he’s not talking yet.”
    Avery stopped the footage and sat down in her chair, refusing to believe what she’d just seen. Michael was not alive. He hadn’t just shot someone. Hadn’t just grabbed some girl in the middle of the robbery and dragged her out of the store. It couldn’t be Michael. Because Michael would never betray his family and cause them such heartache.
    â€œThis is crazy. It can’t possibly be Michael.”
    She’d worked for months to clear her brother’s name and ensure that the rumors of him betraying the department were laid to rest. Michael had been working undercover beforehis death, assigned to infiltrate a group of suspected drug and arms dealers. He’d been killed in a bomb explosion, but instead of hailing him as a hero, the department had criminalized him, accusing him of selling sensitive information to the dealers.
    Not once had she believed the unsubstantiated reports to be true. And with Charlie’s death, the true identity of the informant had been revealed, which only cemented in her mind that her brother was innocent. She wasn’t going to let them drag his reputation through the mud again.
    â€œAvery?”
    She glanced up at Mason and caught the concern in his voice. Mason and Michael might have been best friends for years, but even he couldn’t fully understand what her family had gone through because of the accusations marring her brother’s name.
    Mason sat down on the edge of the desk. “The higher-ups believe he’s been working for the cartel, and that he shot and killed a rival. I don’t believe any of it, but—”
    â€œYou can’t be serious.” Avery shoved her chair back and stood up, ready for a fight. “Before Michael died, he was trying to take down the cartel, not work with them. And he certainly wasn’t a dirty cop.”
    â€œI’m doing everything I can to keep this quiet,” the captain said, “but there’s a reporter barking up this tree, which means the video is eventually going to hit the news.”
    Avery’s temples pulsed as her mind scrambled for an explanation that would counter the accusations against her brother. “Who’s the woman in the video?”
    â€œWe’ve identified her as Olivia Hamilton. Her father’s name is Antonio Valez. He’s a real estate broker with rumored ties to the cartel Michael was investigating. There are even rumors that his role goes beyond possible money laundering and that he actually is the notorious La Sombra. But even with half adozen federal agencies breathing down his neck, he’s managed so far to avoid any kind of conviction.”
    â€œSo, back up. You’re actually telling me that my brother somehow faked his own death and has spent the last eight months working for Antonio Valez, aka La Sombra?”
    â€œUntil we speak to Michael,” the captain said, “we can try to interpret the video however we want, but that’s what it looks like to me, and