By the Book

Chapter 17

"It does feel I've been typecast as Shawn," Henry acknowledged. "But as much as I'd like to drop the act, I can't retire him yet."

"Thanks to Shawn's temper tantrum when I left for New York a couple of years ago, a lot of the people who have heard of Neal Legend think he's dead."

"I might need to revive him if I start to make progress on my plan for Masterson. I'll need your help to bring him down."

"Another reason you let Robert blackmail you into joining the company?" Neal asked.

"Yeah, but no luck yet on getting the information I need. I've got the same challenge that you do; I don't want anyone I work with to guess about Shawn, and extensive research into Masterson would clue Robert in to how I stayed off the radar all those years. He's smart enough to put it all together if I'm not careful. I'm hoping your FBI resources can help."

"Now it's making sense. You want Peter to get used to seeing you around, as the first step toward using the FBI in your personal vendetta."

"I'll make it worth their while," Henry promised. "And I think vendetta is overstating it. Are you going to tell me you want Masterson to get away with what he's doing?"

"Of course not. It's just... You can get a little carried away as Shawn sometimes. Be careful."

###

On the drive to the office, away from the distraction of Neal and Henry, Peter considered Henry's claims that he had access to significant sources of data through the "family business." A business located in Baltimore. He thought he'd figured out what that business was.

Peter rushed through the morning traffic in the hopes of confirming his suspicions before Henry and Neal arrived. Knowing Neal, they'd stop someplace for fancy coffee, which gave him a few more minutes.

Fortunately, Jones was already in the office. Peter strode to the agent's desk and asked, "When you did that basic background check on Henry Winslow, was his employer Winston-Winslow?"

"Yeah." Jones opened a drawer and pulled out a file. He opened it to a list of basic facts about Henry. "Name like that sticks with you."

"I need to borrow this." Peter grabbed the file and practically ran up the stairs to Hughes' office. Seeing the boss was alone, he stepped inside, closed the door behind him and asked, "You got a minute?"

"Have a seat. What's got you in such a rush, Peter?"

"Last night I met a Henry Winslow from Baltimore." Peter laid the file on Hughes' desk, open to the photo and basic info about Henry. "When I was a probie in D.C., I heard rumors about an outfit called Winston-Winslow in Baltimore. The stories were so outrageous I doubted if the company was even real, but obviously I was wrong about that. What can you tell me about them?"

"This Winslow must have made quite an impression." Hughes leaned forward to scan the basic background info and then looked up at Peter again. "Is he causing trouble?"

Putting aside the Winslow-induced nightmare that he still believed was caused with good intentions, Peter shook his head. "Not yet. Caffrey says he's mostly harmless."

"That seems unlikely if he's one of those Winslows. They've been a thorn in the side of the FBI since Win-Win opened their doors in the 1960s. And yes, a lot of the rumors are true." Hughes leaned back in his chair. "You met him last night and already have a file on him?"

"I'd heard the name a few times before. He's Caffrey's cousin."

"Caffrey has a Win-Win connection and it didn't raise any flags on his background check?"