She got up from behind her desk and scurried down the hall. A moment later, she returned with a petite brunette in her early thirties, who gave him a wary look. "I'm Alanna Morris. Can I help you?"
"Is there somewhere we can speak in private?" he asked.
Alanna hesitated, her gaze moving from him to the very curious receptionist, to Haley, and then back to him. "I was just going to grab a coffee across the street," she said finally. "We can talk on the way."
ChapterFive
When they got in the elevator, Alanna looked at Haley and said, "Are you an agent, too?"
"No. My name is Haley Kenton."
Alanna's face turned pale. "Kenton?"
"Yes. My brother was Landon Kenton."
"Oh, God!" Alanna put a hand to her mouth. "I was afraid that's why you came to see me. I told Sabrina to stay out of it. What did she tell you?"
"She didn't tell me anything," Haley said as the elevator stopped at the lobby, and they got off.
"Well, you need to talk to Sabrina, not me," Alanna said, pushing the elevator button to call it back. "I have nothing to say. I'm going back to work."
"We can't talk to Sabrina," he interjected.
"Why not? This is her deal, not mine. I don't want anything to do with it."
As the elevator doors opened, he grabbed her arm. "Wait, Ms. Morris."
"Let go of me," she said, tugging her arm free.
"Sabrina was killed last night." He hadn't meant to deliver the message in such a cold, harsh way, but he needed to stop her from trying to run away from them.
She froze as the elevator doors closed.
"What did you say?" she asked. "That's impossible. I talked to her yesterday when I got off work."
"What time was that?"
"Around five. She said she was going to meet…" Her voice trailed away as her gaze turned to Haley. "She was going to meet you. What happened to her?"
"She was shot," Haley said. "She died instantly."
Alanna shook her head in disbelief. "No. I can't believe this. She's really dead?"
"Yes. And we're hoping you can help us figure out who killed her," he replied. "You sent her a warning text last night, telling her to stop digging into something, that she could lose her job. What were you referring to?"
"Sabrina was trying to do the right thing." Alanna bit down on her lip, visibly struggling to compose herself. "But I was afraid she was getting into something dangerous."
"What was she investigating?" he asked.
She didn't answer as two women came into the lobby. "I can't talk here. Let's get that coffee," she said, heading toward the door, giving the women a quick greeting on the way.
They followed Alanna to a café down the street. There were tables in front of the restaurant, and they sat down together, ordering three coffees from the server.
"Did Sabrina find out something about my brother's death?" Haley asked as soon as they were alone.
Alanna gave them a nervous look. "I really don't want to get involved in this."
"You don't have a choice," Haley said. "And if you don't want Sabrina's death to go unpunished, you need to help us get her justice."
