Chapter 180
"No problem," Brooklynn said.
Kate didn't say a word. She just kept her eyes on the road, a road that could only lead to more pain and suffering. Being with Jack and the kids reminded her of what it was like to be part of a family. She closed her eyes, tried to focus on her father, the reason she was here. For the first time in years she had a hard time summoning a clear picture of him in her mind. She had to concentrate to remember his square jaw, dark silver-tipped hair and warm brown eyes. Memories of her loving father had kept her alive all these years, especially in the beginning when she was lost and scared and so very alone. Last night though, when she'd shut her eyes before drifting off to sleep, she'd seen a jaw not nearly as square as her father's, and thick hair that framed mesmerizing blue eyes...Jack's eyes.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
A.J. looked up from the desk in his cubicle, surprised to see Patrick Monahan leaning against the metal frame. "What do you want?"
"Harvey and some of the guys are looking for you," Patrick said.
"Why is that?"
"An InfraGard meeting...you know, to join with local communities and work together to better protect America."
"Hmmm." A.J. went back to his paperwork. He wanted to get through it fast. It was Monday. He planned to leave early. He and Becky were going to run a few errands before having dinner at Canes, where they could listen to a few band possibilities for their reception.
"Did you hear about Conrad?"
A.J. played it cool. "No, what about him?"
"He was found dead in a phone booth near the Greyhound bus station."
"No s.h.i.+t?"
"No s.h.i.+t."
A.J. waited for Monahan to get bored and walk away, but he didn't, so A.J. set his pen down next to the pile of papers and said, "What do you want, Monahan? Why are you standing here telling me this?"
"I don't know." Monahan flicked a piece of lint from his slacks. "I guess I just wanted to see how you would react to another agent's demise."
"How did I do?"
"As expected. You never fail to disappoint."
"You're a strange one, Monahan. I will tell you this. I would have reacted the same way had it been you dead in the phone booth and Conrad asking me these f.u.c.ked up questions."
Monahan made a tsking noise and said, "I'd watch my back if I were you, Hanson. We know what you've been up to."
"Well, that's good, Monahan, because guess what?"
Monahan lifted a curious brow.
"The reason I was late this morning is because I had to make an appointment with the director. He's going to be in Los Angeles at the end of the week." A.J. picked up a pile of papers from the corner of his desk and waved them at Monahan. "He's going to be very interested to see these expense reports of yours. It looks to me like you've been getting around lately." He set the papers down and picked up another pile. "And phone records, too. These are really interesting." He flipped through the pages and stopped on a certain date. "This particular page shows all the calls you made from your Blackberry, which interestingly enough puts you real close to Dr. Forstin's office on the evening of his murder. Coincidence?"
Monahan paled.
"Yeah, chew on that tonight, my friend. I know what you've been up to and it won't be long before the director will know, too."
A.J. stayed for another two hours. He left the office without bothering to finish the rest of his paperwork. He was tired and with all the s.h.i.+t hitting the fan lately he felt the need to wrap his arms around Becky and hold her tight. Maybe he'd be able to convince her to stay in tonight and check out bands for the reception another day.
He climbed into his Jeep and sat there for a moment while he put on his Bluetooth ear device so he could listen to messages while he drove. As he merged into traffic and made his way to the far left lane, he noticed traffic pulling over to make way for a fire engine. He pulled over behind everyone else and pushed the b.u.t.ton to get his messages. Becky had called earlier. As he merged back into traffic, he listened to her voice message.
"Sweetheart, I know you're busy, so I thought I'd go ahead and return your tuxedo to the rental store, but I can't find your c.u.mmerbund. Remember, the c.u.mmerbund you didn't want to wear? I'm pretty sure you left it at your place so I'm going to swing by the condo and pick it up. I found the cufflinks we were looking for the other day, but they might charge us extra anyhow since you have lipstick smudges on the s.h.i.+rt collar. You bad boy, you."
Her laughter floated through the phone line and made him smile. At least until he remembered that he hadn't been to his condo since he'd stopped by and saw somebody snooping around. He certainly didn't want Becky running into anyone over there. He dialed Becky's number and listened to her new ringtone while he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "Come on, Becky. Pick up the phone."
The Wedding Song played. He shook his head at the thought of Becky figuring out how to set her phone to play that song, let alone any song. She was technologically challenged to say the least. She must have paid her brother a visit.
After the beep, he left a message: "Hi babe, it's me. I like the song. Cute. But I really wish you would pick up your phone. Don't go to my place. Okay? I had a few unexpected visitors and I need to check things out before anyone goes in there. Call me back."
More sirens sounded as another fire engine and an ambulance sped by. He looked to the sky for signs of smoke. There tended to be a lot of fires this time of
Both emergency vehicles turned off at the next exit, which happened to be the exit he would take to get to his condo. The beat of his heart turned up a notch. Until that moment he'd planned to head straight for Becky's apartment, another five miles off the freeway, but something told him to follow the ambulance. He didn't like where his thoughts were headed. He couldn't fathom the idea of anything happening to Becky, so he called her number and listened to the song all over again.
Where was she?
A.J. couldn't remember a single time when she didn't answer her phone when he called her. He took the same exit the fire engine had and sped up, taking a right on Fifth and a left on Olive. He was about to leave another message for Becky when he saw a team of police cars and emergency units lining the walkway in front of his condo.
He drove his Jeep up onto the curb at the corner and hopped out. His eyes darted from car to car lining the street. And then he saw it...Becky's black Jetta. Same license plate. Same ridiculous crystal pendant hanging from the rearview mirror.
Where the h.e.l.l was she?
The air was foggy with ash, just like his mind, he thought as he headed for his condo. Smoke everywhere...but the thing that stood out the most was the debris scattered across the street. Garbage and pieces of what? Wood, gla.s.s, clothing, jagged strips of metal? What the h.e.l.l was going on? He stepped over a broken alarm clock. It was his alarm clock. What was his f.u.c.king alarm clock doing in the middle of the street?
Where was Becky?
Paramedics carried a stretcher toward the ambulance. A.J. rushed forward, jumping over broken mortar and debris. He pulled the sheet from the body and saw that it was his neighbor, Mr. Pitzer. He looked from poor dead Mr. Pitzer to the paramedic. "What happened?"
"A bomb went off. Judging by the damage done to the building it looks like they attached the bomb to the gas stove."
"Did you see a young woman, about five foot five, dark hair?"
The paramedics continued with their work, both shaking their heads as they pushed the wheels upward and slid Mr. Pitzer into the ambulance. A.J. took the stairs two at a time, dodging past the cops who tried to stop him from heading toward his front entry. The door to his condo was gone, blown to smithereens. Nothing was the same. His living room was unrecognizable...nothing but rubble. There were no longer stairs leading to his bedroom. Where the kitchen used to be, two firefighters were moving plaster and broken stones, digging for something while a lone paramedic holding an oxygen tank watched and waited.
A.J. stepped closer, tripping on broken masonry as he went. There she was. Becky. One pale hand emerged from the rubble. Her engagement ring glittered like a beacon amidst all the broken stone and ash.
"Becky," he said as he headed toward her. "Becky."
One of the firefighters looked at him and shook his head.
"That's my fiancee," A.J. told him. "We're getting married next month." He got down on his knees and crawled to her side while the firefighters continued to remove rubble, trying to dig her out. He held her fingers to his cheek. "Don't leave me, Becky." He kissed every finger, felt for a pulse. Nothing.
"I'm sorry, sir, but you're going to have to step outside and let us work."
Hardly able to breathe, A.J. started moving pieces of brick and stone. His chest felt heavy, his mind numb. "I'm not going anywhere, not without Becky."
CHAPTER NINETEEN.
A knock at the door of his hotel room brought Harrison to his feet. To avoid leaving a paper trail, he'd paid cash for the room. He needed privacy, and he could no longer risk talking to Monahan over the phone.
Roger Cott sat in a cus.h.i.+oned chair in the corner of the hotel room. Lou had sent Roger to Los Angeles to help take care of Coffey once and for all. Although Roger was one of four partners running CFAF, Harrison had only met the man on one other occasion. Roger Cott had shaved his beard since he'd seen him last. Without the whiskers, his face was all creases and broken blood vessels. The poor man's face looked like it had taken a trip to h.e.l.l and back.
Harrison opened the door and let Patrick Monahan inside. Harrison glanced down the empty hallway, shut the door, then turned to face Monahan. "What the h.e.l.l happened at the lab last night?"
"I don't know," Monahan said. "I brought Jesse to the lab with me to check things out."
Blood rushed to Harrison's face. "I told you not to get anyone else involved."
"He's my cousin. He's been in and out of jail so many times it would make your head spin. He's not a threat. Anyhow, a few minutes after we broke into the lab, I noticed that somebody had been tampering with Forstin's computer only moments before we arrived. Then I saw a surveillance camera. A tiny thing. I've never seen such a small camera."
"So where is it?"
"My car alarm went off. After I took care of the alarm, I heard sirens."
"So what? You're a f.u.c.king agent with the FBI, the primary investigative arm of the United States! And you're running from the police?"
"I couldn't take any chances with Jesse there. They would have taken him in. He's already wanted for eight counts of burglary and-"
"Oh, for G.o.d's sake, shut up."
"Who's that?" Monahan gestured at the man sitting quietly in the corner of the room.
"Call me Roger," the man said.
"Hand over the camera," Harrison told Monahan, ignoring the other man.
"I don't have it. After I went back, it was too late. The camera was there, but it was empty."
Harrison cursed under his breath. Reining in his anger, he said calmly, "Do you think anything was in the camera to start with?"
Monahan nodded. "I thought I saw a red light flas.h.i.+ng the first time I noticed the camera. It wasn't flas.h.i.+ng when I returned."
"Who do you think has the disc?"
Monahan swallowed. "My guess would be Jack Coffey. My other guess would have been his friend, A.J. Hanson, but I took care of A.J. by planting a bomb in his condo. He should be singing with the angels about now."
Harrison's fingers curled into fists. Agents were dropping like flies around him. And yet the only agent still standing, the only agent he wanted out of his way, was Coffey. This all needed to stop. Today. Now.
"A.J. had to go," Monahan said, no doubt sensing Harrison's agitation. "He had an appointment to meet with the director."
And to think Harrison thought it couldn't get any worse. "Any ideas where Coffey might be?" Harrison asked.
Monahan nodded again. "A.J. has a sister who lives in Spring Valley. One of the guys recalled A.J. talking about spending time at her lake house. I figured I'd drive over there today and have a look around, see if Jack's hiding out at the house."
Harrison gestured toward the man sitting in the corner. "I want the two of you in Spring Valley now. Take care of Jack Coffey and the woman he's so f.u.c.king determined to protect...and find that disc. I expect all loose ends to be taken care of by the end of day."
It was nearly noon and they were still in bed. Jack watched Kate stretch and yawn. With a tired sigh, she opened her eyes and smiled when she noticed Jack watching her. "What are you thinking about?" she asked sleepily.
"That you're beautiful." He pushed wayward strands of hair out of her eyes.
"You're beautiful, too."
He smiled.
"Are you just going to stare at me all morning or are you finally going to make love to me?"
"You're a pushy broad, aren't you?"
"Sticks and stones..."
He sniffed the air. "I smell fire."
"Don't even think about-" Kate smelled it too, and jerked upward. "You're right." Smoke seeped through the s.p.a.ce beneath the door.
A fire alarm went off. They had pa.s.sed out on the bed after getting home late last night. Jack was still dressed, but he threw Kate one of his T-s.h.i.+rts from across the room and rushed to the kitchen.
Brooklynn was getting ready to throw a pan of water over the flames covering the pot on the stove.
"Stop!" Jack shouted.
Brooklynn froze.
"Flour," Jack said. "Grab the flour from the pantry."
Adam jumped into action. The kid was in and out of the pantry with a bag of flour in hand by the time Jack was at his side. Jack ripped the bag open and shook flour onto the pan, dousing the flames. The fire was out in an instant, but the smoke was thick and the ceiling was blackened. A few utensils appeared to be melted onto the stovetop. A.J.'s sister was not going to be pleased. Jack ushered Adam away from the smoke. He opened the sliding gla.s.s door to air out the place, and then shut off the alarm.
Kate hovered over Brooklynn. At first Jack thought Brooklynn had been burnt, since the girl was crying, but it turned out only her pride was hurt. Kate rocked the girl in her arms, a.s.suring her it was only a small fire. No damage done.
Something stirred within Jack. Anyone else would have admonished the teenager for not being careful, but Kate knew as well as he did that Brooklynn had probably been scolded more times than not. Brooklynn needed understanding and love and that's exactly what Kate was giving her. Something powerful rumbled through his chest.
A knock sounded at the front door.
Adam took a look through the peephole. Despite the eyebrow ring, the kid was no dummy. "It's only Mom."