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being killed. And we’re in a tough situation because I’m not in a position to offer him any sort of immunity deal. I’ll take a run at him and then decide who else we can involve.”
    “I’m sorry, Annie,” Mac said. “It makes me sick to think the FBI could be compromised, but I’d be taking too much of a risk to assume otherwise. I haven’t told anyone at the Bureau about you.”
    “And what about Phil? What if he goes to law enforcement and tells them I was at the house the night his father was killed?”
    “He won’t risk it,” Caleb responded. “He needs to stay as far away from this thing as he can. If he tells them that you were there, that would lead to too many questions. But it is possible once the local PD gets into the investigation, that they will want to interview all the staff. Nothing we can do about that now though.”
    “I’ll try to work my sources on the ground and see if there’s any way I can run interference for you,” Mac said. “But in the meantime for your own safety, you need to stay here with Caleb.”
    She nodded. “Believe me, guys, I get how dangerous this is. I’m not going to try to act like I can handle this all by myself. I’m a chef, not a police officer.”
    “Good.” Mac stood up from the table. “I’ve got to get back to work. And once again, Annie, I’m sorry you’re in this position.”
    “It’s not your fault.”
    “I’ll see you out,” Caleb said.
    Mac and Caleb spoke in hushed tones from the foyer. It was obvious to her that there was probably more to the complex web than they were telling her. But she had enough to handle with what she did know.
    Caleb walked back into the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”
    “Honestly, I don’t think I could eat anything right now. I’m still a bit on edge from everything.”
    “That’s totally understandable.” He sat down across from her at the table.
    Her mind was spinning, trying to determine how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together. “You said earlier that the deputy chief here was on board. Who is he? Will I meet him?”
    “His name is Mike Ramsey. He’s actually been doing this a lot longer than I have. He’s got about twenty years on me.”
    “Wow. You’ll have to excuse me for asking, but isn’t that strange that you’re the chief then?”
    He nodded. “It was a source of a bit of tension when I moved back home after I left the military. But when the former chief passed away of a heart attack, I was put in charge. Mike and I had a bit of a rough patch, but we’re working together really well now. And between the two of us and my other officers, we’re going to be on top of this.”
    “This Silva guy seems like a really dangerous and powerful man.”
    “Very. He isn’t your run of the mill criminal. This is a highly complex organized crime syndicate. Silva has a wide network of people in a variety of different businesses working for him.”
    “Based on what I’ve told you, do you have any ideas about how Doc could’ve been involved?”
    “The natural answer would be some type of drug trafficking. That’s one of Silva’s most lucrative businesses. Silva could’ve been using Doc’s company to aid in his distribution. And beyond drugs, there could be other things too. Arms trafficking is a nasty business that Silva has a hand in too. And there are still quite a few more possibilities like money laundering. Maybe Doc realized that he could do some of the work on his own and cut out Silva. But that brings up the big question. He would need a source. Doc could have a masterful distribution plan and customers, but he has to have product to push.”
    “Seems like finding his source could be important to all of this. And there’s something else that’s bothering me too.”
    “What’s that?”
    “I didn’t think Phil actively worked with Doc’s company. It was actually a source of tension in the family. Phil was the only one in the family who did his own thing. He went out on