Watch Your Back (49 page)

Maggie was pointing back at the road and the pizza guy took a step backward, then another.

‘He doesn’t look like an assassin,’ Emma whispered.

‘No, he doesn’t, does he? But Bundy didn’t look like a serial killer either.’

Paige had a point, Emma thought, then blinked. Ethan had come out of nowhere and was now on the outside of the fence, creeping up behind the pizza guy. Ethan grabbed the boy’s hands, pulling them behind his back. And unless the kid was the best actor around, he’d just been scared nearly to death. Had there been audio, Emma was certain they’d have heard a piercing scream.

‘How did Ethan get out of the fence?’ Emma asked, stunned.

‘Bolt hole. A portion of fence that’s separately controlled. He could turn off the voltage just there and climb over.’

‘What about the barbed wire?’

‘He knows how to avoid it. At least I hope so if he and his wife want more kids someday.’

Another car pulled up to the gate, parking diagonally behind the pizza delivery car, blocking his escape. Two men in suits got out, weapons drawn as they approached the gate.

In the same moment, Ethan tensed on the screen and Paige tensed beside Emma.

‘What the hell?’ Paige checked her cell. ‘One of the motion detectors just got tripped.’

‘The alarms go to your phone?’ Emma asked.

‘Yeah, along with the location. This one is on camera six.’ Paige typed furiously, splitting the screen so that both the camera at the gate and one that pointed into the woods were shown. A figure dressed in black was partially visible, keeping behind the trees, advancing toward the gate.

‘We need to tell Ethan,’ Emma hissed.

‘He knows. The alarm went to his phone, too. He’s telling the Feds now.’

Ethan was saying something to one of the agents when the man in the suit dropped like a rock. ‘Oh my God,’ Emma whispered. ‘What just—’

But she didn’t get a chance to finish the question because seconds later the other agent followed. Ethan threw himself forward, taking the pizza delivery boy with him.

In shock Emma watched blood pool on the driveway. It belonged to the Federal agents.

It flowed from what was left of their heads.

Emma was grateful there was no audio. She glanced over at Cordelia. The child’s eyes were open wide once more, her little face pale. But she hadn’t moved.

‘Cordelia, put on your helmet and your vest and get under the bed,’ Paige ordered. The child soundlessly, instantly obeyed.

Paige dialed her cell phone, cursed. ‘Joseph’s goes right to voicemail. I’ll try Novak.’ This call went through and the conversation was brief. ‘Novak says they heard the whole thing. The agents were miked. Reinforcements are on the way.’

‘Paige,
look
.’ Emma pointed to the camera in the woods. Alec was coming up behind the intruder, his rifle aimed. He’d followed Ethan over the fence.

The man in black was running toward the gate, toward Ethan and the pizza guy, when Alec fired, a bright flame bursting from the barrel of his rifle. The man did a half-spin mid-stride and slammed his back into a tree trunk, his weapon tumbling from his hands. He gripped his left arm with his right hand, then started to run again, this time toward the main road.

‘Alec got him!’ Emma cried.

Paige typed again, adding the camera at the end of the driveway to the first two on her screen. ‘What the hell?’

Emma frowned. It was a Jeep, not a Tahoe or a Sequoia or a red Chevy or a white Camry. ‘Either the guys who broke into Clay’s house ditched their vehicles or we have a new shooter.’

Ethan had jumped to his feet and gun drawn, took off after the shooter, firing as he ran. But the man in black jumped into the Jeep and raced away.

Ethan stopped running, aimed at the Jeep, and took a final shot. The Jeep was out of camera range by this point, but by the disgusted set of Ethan’s shoulders, it was clear he’d missed.

‘Goddammit,’ Paige whispered. ‘He got away. Again.’

Ethan turned back, running toward Alec, who was looking pretty disgusted himself.

There were footsteps on the steps and Daphne appeared in the doorway. She was pale, her hands trembling. ‘I called Joseph. He’s put out a BOLO on the Jeep. Alec’s not hurt.’

Emma stared at the delivery guy, still on the ground, now shaking wildly. ‘And him?’

‘He appears to be legit. His manager confirmed they got a call for delivery to this address. He’ll allow Joseph’s team access to his phone records. Backup’s on the way.’

‘Aunt Emma? What’s happening?’

Emma jolted at Cordelia’s tearful voice from under the bed. She slid to her knees and opened her arms to Stevie’s little girl, helping her take off the helmet and vest. ‘You’re okay. I’m here and I’m not leaving you.’

‘I want my mom.’ Cordelia was shaking, crying. ‘I want my mama, please.’

‘I know. I think it’s best, though, if your mom stays where she is until we get this sorted out. We’re all safe where we are, your mom included. But I don’t know if it’s safe to move between places yet and if we call your mom, she’ll try to get to you.’

A small breath shuddered out of the child. ‘Then don’t tell her I said I wanted her to come.’

‘We won’t tell her,’ Paige promised. ‘Not just yet.’

‘I’ll ask Joseph not to tell her yet, either,’ Daphne added. ‘We’ll keep both of you safe.’

Baltimore, Maryland, Tuesday, March 18, 1.45
A.M.

‘Stevie,’ Clay whispered. ‘Wake up.’

Stevie blinked her eyes open, but the room was dark except for the glow of a computer screen.
This is the Peabody Hotel
, she thought, orienting herself. The events of the past few hours flew through her mind. Clay and sex. Cuddling, sharing secrets, mourning their children. Tears. Lots of tears. She took stock of her body. Aches in unusual places.

And I’m still naked
. Whereas Clay was fully clothed. She sat up, tucking the sheet under her arms. ‘What?’ she whispered back.

‘Look.’ He pointed at the screen of the laptop on the nightstand. ‘Hotel security system.’

A man had stepped out of the elevator, dressed in the tux-like uniform worn by room service personnel. His head stayed down so there was no view of his face.

Stevie slipped out of bed and pulled on the sweatpants and T-shirt that Clay had draped over a chair while she slept. He arranged the pillows to make it look like a body slept in the bed, then took position next to the bedroom door.

She shoved her feet into her shoes, flicked the safety off her gun, then joined Clay at the door. He’d taken the left side, so she took the right, setting her cane against the wall.

‘Which do you think? Drive-by, Mr Backpack, or Mr Cocksucker?’ she whispered.

‘Doesn’t matter. I have bones to pick with all three.’

‘The adjoining door?’

‘Closed, not locked. Joseph’s waiting for our signal.’

‘Which will be?’

‘Yelling his name,’ Clay whispered dryly, then pressed his finger to his lips.

The front door opened almost inaudibly, then closed with a quiet snick. If the man was coming, he had a very light tread. Stevie could hear nothing. But then the bedroom door opened and he slipped in, gun raised.

Clay moved, throwing the man on the floor in a movement so quick that Stevie almost missed it. The gun flew out of the man’s hand and slid across the carpet, out of his reach.

Clay shoved his knee into the intruder’s back, holding his wrists together, but the man continued to kick, so Stevie dropped to her knees, digging her kneecaps into his calves. She shoved her gun into the intruder’s back with one hand and with the other grabbed her cane and whacked the bastard’s head with the curved end, hard. ‘Stop struggling.’

But the man’s struggles increased, so Stevie hit his head again with her cane, harder this time. ‘Joseph! Now would be good!’

‘I’m here,’ Joseph said from two feet behind her. He’d been there watching, Stevie realized.
Letting me get a few licks in
. Crouching opposite Clay, Joseph cuffed the man’s wrists, giving them a far harder yank than necessary to test their security, then from his coat pocket he pulled a set of shackles and handed them to Stevie.

Stevie applied the shackles with even less care. The man grunted in pain, which was far more satisfying than Stevie had expected. ‘Let’s see his face.’

Clay rolled him over, and there was a second of total silence as she, Clay, and Joseph stared, shocked.

‘No fucking way,’ Stevie breathed. ‘He’s a she.’

Their intruder was a woman in her mid to late thirties. She was slender but broad-shouldered. Built like a man. Her dark hair appeared to be a wig and her slouched walk had hidden the existence of her breasts from the camera.

Stevie leaned in close. ‘Who the hell are you?’

The woman made a show of pursing her lips tight.

Joseph tossed Clay and Stevie latex gloves before pulling on his own. ‘Let’s have a look at your hardware.’ Joseph picked up the Sig the woman had been carrying and frowned. ‘No serial number.’

The woman rolled her eyes, saying nothing.

‘Joseph?’ Agent Novak entered the room. ‘Coppola’s still on watch in case any of her friends decide to join the party. Everybody okay?’

‘We’re fine,’ Stevie told Novak. ‘
She’s
not having the best day, though.’

Novak blinked. ‘Who is she?’

‘So far she hasn’t introduced herself,’ Joseph said.

‘I’d like to know which killer she is,’ Stevie said coldly. ‘We can simplify things quickly. Drive-by has a bullet wound right
here
.’ She jabbed the end of her cane into the woman’s left shoulder, watching her flinch, agony rolling over her face.

‘Fucking bitch,’ the woman moaned between clenched teeth. ‘You fucking
bitch
.’

‘Nikita has a boo-boo,’ Stevie said even more coldly. ‘I am
so
sorry. I’m sometimes clumsy with my cane, especially around people who try to kill my child in my own front yard.’

‘And you,’ Clay added calmly, but his eyes snapped with fury. ‘She shot at you, too.’

‘Oh, yeah.’ Stevie pushed herself to her feet, allowing the cane to slip on the carpet, driving it into Drive-by’s shoulder again.

The woman moaned. ‘I’ll sue you for police brutality.’

Stevie laughed bitterly. ‘I’m not a cop anymore. I’m on disability. You broke into the hotel room of an ordinary citizen. You’re lucky I didn’t shoot your ass.’

‘Stevie, we do want her conscious to talk,’ Joseph reminded her mildly. ‘Evidence bags, please, Agent Novak.’

Novak produced them. ‘Ready when you are, boss.’

Joseph dropped the woman’s Sig into the first bag, then recited her Miranda rights and removed her wig, revealing a short cap of blonde hair. ‘Nothing in the wig’s lining.’ He began patting down her pockets. ‘Silencer for the Sig. A switchblade. A set of car keys.’ They went into evidence bags. ‘And a syringe. Looks like she planned to drug someone.’

‘Why?’ Stevie asked. ‘She tried to kill us on Saturday. Why not just shoot us all now?’

‘She’ll tell us sooner or later,’ Clay said quietly. ‘She’s got booze on her breath. My bet is she had to take a drink to calm her nerves. Shaky hands are an occupational hazard for an assassin. Given time, she’ll sell her soul for a drink.’

The woman looked at him with eyes filled with hate, but said nothing.

Joseph nodded. ‘Looks like you’re right. That’s it for her pockets.’ He unhooked the small waist pack that had been hidden by her uniform jacket. ‘A second clip filled with hollow-point bullets.’ He pulled out a small, unlabeled amber bottle, twisted off the top and took a whiff and blinked rapidly. ‘Whoa. Ether. I guess this is Plan B if the syringe didn’t work.’

‘Or to keep whoever she’d drugged sedated,’ Clay said.

‘Possibly.’ Joseph removed a silver flask. ‘It’s probably booze, but I’m not gonna sniff it. Let the lab test it.’

Stevie caught a glimpse of writing on the back of the flask. ‘Can I see that?’ Ignoring the woman’s glare, Stevie aimed her phone’s flashlight at the words engraved in the silver. ‘“To JH from the team. Happy Five. Many more.” Isn’t that special? She’s part of a team.’ She started to put the flask in the bag Novak held, then stopped. ‘There’s something stamped in the base.’

The woman went still, her eyes becoming abruptly calm.

‘It’s probably the hallmark of the flask’s manufacturer,’ Novak said.

Stevie upended the flask. ‘Maybe, but I think Miss Drive-by here just got really scared. Anybody got a magnifying glass?’

Novak produced a loupe from the pocket of his black leather trenchcoat. ‘Use mine.’

Stevie squinted at the little mark next to the depression in the base. ‘There are two marks. One is a letter “B” in a diamond. The second is a picture, a tree with an acorn in front of it. The text below it is “FPL” with one of those R-in-circle marks.’

‘Registered trademark.’ Clay got his laptop from the night table, tapped the keys. ‘I searched “FPL logo acorn silver”. No silver makers show up.’

Stevie stared at the magnified image, something about it tugging at her memory. ‘I’m going to take a picture of it, if that’s okay with you, Joseph.’

‘Fine,’ he said, watching their captive, who lay statue-still with her eyes closed. ‘You’re right, Stevie. She doesn’t like that we saw that mark. I’ll get the lab working on it, ASAP.’

He patted down her legs and arms for additional weapons, pressing harder than necessary on her left shoulder. She shrank back, sweat beading on her upper lip.

‘I wonder who treated her?’ Stevie said.

‘Whoever it was will be charged with harboring a fugitive when we find him. Agent Novak, let’s get her out of here, then I want you to find the vehicle that goes with those keys.’

‘What about us?’ Clay asked quietly.

‘Stay here and get some sleep,’ Joseph said. ‘Room’s paid for all night. I’ll send one of my agents to occupy the adjoining room, just in case JH’s “team” decides to mount a second offensive. We’ll put Miss JH in an interview room and let time be our friend. If she’s got a flask in her pack, it shouldn’t be too long before she gets very cooperative.’

‘Don’t count on it,’ the woman spat as Joseph and Novak hauled her to her feet.