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He walked toward her, forcing her to take a step back or hold still and shoot him She stepped back He turned and closed the door, clicked the dead bolt He saw her eyes were shadowed, as if she hadn’t slept well, and she was pale It made him madder, and his voice came out stone cold "If I hadn’t realized it had to be soht believe you, Anna, but I do know You’re an undercover DEA agent, like the e expression, didn’t say a word

"Anna--excuse ent Castle--ht, no thanks to you and your operation Your own agent died at her place It’s past time you leveled with me"

She met his eyes directly, didn’t falter "I’m a music student at Stanislaus and a part-time waitress payin’ my oay What do you want froht up to her face "This isI need to in order to protect her I thought Delsey was your friend, that you cared for her But you don’t have any friends, do you? You’re only an operative trying to get information

"Whatever you’re after is the DEA’s business, I accept that But Delsey is , weren’t you, and that’s why your partner was killed What was it? What happened? What was your partner doing in Delsey’s apart question--what does Delsey have to do with any of this?"

She was shaking her head back and forth, but now he saw her eyes were sheened with tears Or e over what had happened to Delsey Still, she repeated, her mouth hard, "I don’t knohat you’re talkin’ about, and I want you to leave, Agent Hammersmith Now"

He took her shoulders in his hands and shook her He let her see his own anger now "Tell ent, but think of what could still happen to Delsey Your partner’s killers no she identified hiht have seen the, would they? Talk to me Don’t you owe Delsey that ent Haht to questionat soed Here I have the gall to interfere with a federal investigation So why not take that up with your DEA boss? We could work together, help each other if you’d level with ht blow your whole investigation without even s now, Agent Castle?"

She cursed him, nice full-bodied curses, then whirled around, and said over her shoulder, "Stay here, I mean it I need to ed feet down the hallway and into another rooh he couldn’t make out the words Five minutes passed; he tiht up to hined "You win I spoke toMr Maitland, bringing the FBI in with us You’re right, I’ent Lilyanna Remie Parrish You’ve embarrassed me, made me look incompetent to my boss How did you know?"

She was so close he could feel her warm breath on his face And her mouth was too close He stepped back "You obviously didn’t realize you were sending out clues"

"I sent out clues? I’ood I never send out clues What clues?"

He sers "You knew quite a bit about guns, you knew about fingerprints, and the biggie--you disappeared all day Saturday It takes a cop to know a cop, don’t you agree?"

"That’s not uess"

Griffin shook his head, pointed to her Glock "S Where did you go?"

"How’d you know that?"

"I’m psychic" At her startled look, he said, "Would you believe I saw the double footsteps to and from your front door to your car?"

She said, "I went to Bridy’s Market for soels and crea rooe, old and faded and a bit saggy, neither place updated since the day the front doors opened circa 1950 There was an ancient chintz sofa across fros over a banged-up oak floor, and an old fireplace belching a bit of smoke and little heat