The Outsider (James Bishop 4) (2 page)

Bishop rotated the eyepiece to its maximum zoom setting. Amelia’s nose filled the lens and he gripped the tripod lever and panned it slowly across her face. She was wearing even more make-up than when he’d first met her, but it wasn’t helping much. This time the facial bruises were dark enough to show through.

There were a lot of them. Much more than last time. The boyfriend had probably found out about her unauthorized trip to New York and decided to punish her for her mistake.

Bishop followed her with the scope as they both turned left and walked down the street. Once they were gone, he leaned back on the crate and stared at a large discoloured water stain on the ceiling. This was only a preliminary recon, but it looked like the woman could genuinely use some help. In addition, the guy would need to be persuaded how unhealthy it could be to try seeking her out once she was gone.

He was thinking of how to do this when he heard a knock at the apartment door.

Which was puzzling, especially as nobody other than the landlord knew he was there. And with the landlord more than happy with the cash arrangements for the week-long rental, it was unlikely to be him.

Bishop ignored it and continued thinking on the problem at hand until the person knocked again. This time it was accompanied by a muffled female voice, saying, ‘I know you’re in there, Bishop. Come on, open up.’

Frowning, Bishop slowly got to his feet. That voice, muffled though it was, had sounded familiar. He was still trying to place it when he unlatched the lock and pulled open the door.

And came face to face with the one woman he’d never expected to see again.

Supervisory Deputy US Marshal Angela Delaney stared back at him with a faint smile on her lips. ‘Hello, Bishop,’ she said, glancing at the bare apartment behind him. ‘It’s been a while. So are you planning on inviting me in or what?’

‘Sure, come in.’ Bishop took a step back to let her enter, then watched her walk over to his place by the window. It had been a couple of years so she had to be in her mid-forties now, but as before she looked a decade younger. She was still attractive and her face still had that stern quality he remembered so well, with those pronounced cheekbones and the large, dark brown eyes that missed nothing. Her shoulder-length blond hair was also tied back in the usual ponytail. Today she was wearing a smart navy-blue pantsuit that emphasized her trim, athletic figure. He also noticed the discreet bulge under her right armpit.

She bent down and took a quick peek through the scope, then turned to him. ‘If I asked what you were doing here, would you tell me?’

‘I’m working. And I notice you’re packing. Does that mean this is an official visit?’

‘No. Far from it.’

‘In that case, take a seat.’

Delaney smiled and lowered herself onto the crate and crossed her legs. She looked around the bare apartment again. ‘Real nice place you got here, Bishop. Spacious.’

‘I’ve stayed in worse.’ Bishop grabbed one of the other crates from against the wall and set it down opposite her. Sitting, he said, ‘I wasn’t expecting visitors, but I’ve got a flask of cool coffee if you want, or there’s tap water.’

‘I’ll pass, thanks. You look about the same, Bishop. Still in shape, I see, and still cutting your hair to within an inch of its life.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘Hey, do I see a couple of grey ones in there?’

Bishop brushed a palm over his buzz cut and said, ‘Trick of the light, probably. So, you mind telling me how you found me?’

‘Finding people is a big part of what I do, remember? And blame it on your cell phone. It’s amazing what you can find out these days, given the right equipment.’

‘It’s a brave new world, that’s for sure.’ He really needed to start using only pay-as-you-go cell phones from now on. Nothing was untraceable these days, but they came pretty close. ‘So suppose you tell me why you’re here.’

‘Okay, I came to ask for your help.’

Bishop stared at her. ‘
You
want
my
help.’

‘In a way.’

‘They got you chasing another fugitive, Delaney? Maybe a guilty one this time?’

She smiled, clearly remembering their past associations. The first time had been three years before when Bishop, having been framed for murder and handed a life sentence, made a solo prison escape and hit the streets of New York in an attempt to uncover the guilty party, while Delaney used every available resource to try and track Bishop down and put him safely back behind bars again. And though the situation had ultimately ended satisfactorily in his favour, he had to admit she’d gotten very close a number of times. Very,
very
close.

A year later, Bishop was a free man with all that behind him when he suddenly got a call from Delaney, completely out of the blue. She was on leave and wondered if she could buy him a coffee and pick his brains regarding the methods he’d used to remain on the loose for so long. For future reference, she said. He’d accepted and they’d met at a Starbucks and talked over coffee. Once Delaney had gotten the information she wanted, the conversation gradually moved onto other subjects and they soon discovered they not only respected each other, but actually liked each other too. Things had progressed very quickly from there, and the following fortnight had been a pretty physical one for the both of them. Not to mention just plain fun, which was something that had been lacking in Bishop’s life at that point. And while he still occasionally looked back on that period with fondness, he’d never really expected to ever see Delaney again.

Yet here she was, sitting right across from him.

‘Chasing fugitives isn’t
all
we do, you know,’ she said. ‘We have other duties.’

‘So I gather that means you’re currently on a protective detail for an important somebody or other, right? Either a federal witness or a member of the judiciary, probably. And since I couldn’t care less if a judge gets offed or not, I’m guessing the first one.’

‘That’s correct.’

‘So who’s the principal?’

‘I can’t say at this point.’

‘Okay. Male or female?’

‘Male. Although we’re looking after his son too.’

‘And who’s this guy testifying against?’

‘Again, I can’t say.’

Bishop smiled. ‘So what
can
you tell me?’

Delaney went over to the window and looked out. ‘Okay, this is what it is,’ she said, turning to him. ‘I’m currently the replacement team leader for a special protection detail responsible for a witness who’s due to testify in a murder trial on … well, very soon. His real name’s being kept a secret until the day of the trial, while the man he’s testifying against is … let’s just say he’s a very bad man who’s not short of influence or money. If he wants something or somebody bad enough, he can usually get it.’

‘Okay.’

Delaney sighed. ‘So a short while ago this guy somehow found out my witness’s identity and location and sent in a professional to kill him. And even though the assassin ultimately failed in her task, she ended up killing the witness’s wife instead.’

That got Bishop’s attention. ‘I’m assuming this wasn’t on your watch?’

‘God, no. I was called in to take over the moment my predecessor screwed up.’

‘When and where was this?’

‘Two weeks ago, in Apple Valley, California.’

‘All right, I admit it. I’m intrigued now. So how did it all go down?’

Delaney sat back down on the crate. ‘The way I understand it, the only outside party my predecessor – let’s call him Connors – allowed into the safe house was this cleaning woman who came once a week. Connors got her from this company we’ve used before and vetted her completely, and she never saw the witness or his family at any time, either. So everything’s fine and dandy until she has to fly back to Mexico for a sudden family emergency. Another cleaning girl shows up at the appointed time, a Desdemona Alvarado, and before Connors lets her in he gets the office to do an immediate check on her, which comes out fine. Connors also gets the owner of the cleaning company on the line to describe her in detail. He does and she checks out, so Connors lets her in.’

‘He didn’t search her?’

‘He couldn’t without blowing their cover.’

‘Which was?’

‘They were supposed to be a low-budget movie production company scouting locations for a future project. But they had a metal detector disguised as a movie prop just inside the front door and that gave her an all-clear, so Connors let her get to work.

‘The way Connors explained it, Alvarado must have hidden some electrical wire in her hair that she was planning to use as a garrotte. Somehow, don’t ask me how since we’re still not clear on this, Alvarado got into the witness’s bedroom and saw him dozing on the bed. She was creeping up on the guy, ready to do the deed, when the wife came in and saw her and shrieked. Alvarado got her right in the throat with one of those lethal karate kicks and broke the poor woman’s neck, and she was just turning her attention to the witness himself when Connors burst in and put her down with a head shot. Naturally, all hell broke loose after that and as soon as the director heard what happened, he ordered me to go in and take control of the situation, including getting the witness and his boy out of there and somewhere safe. Which is what I did.’

‘FUBAR,’ Bishop said.

‘That’s one way of putting it. Then once we got resettled I had to use some pull to arrange a very private cremation service for the wife, which was a logistical nightmare, but the witness insisted on it and I couldn’t really blame him. And now we’re all just holding our breath and staying away from the neon lights until the day our guy’s set to testify, which he’s
still
prepared to do, believe it or not. If all goes to plan, once the trial’s over we’ll bury him and his boy in WitSec and nobody will hear of them again, at least not under their present names.’ She puffed out her cheeks. ‘
If
all goes to plan.’

‘Things rarely do.’

‘Agreed.’

‘You said California before. Is that where the trial’s being held?’

Delaney gave a faint smile. ‘Not even close, Bishop. With secret witnesses we often go the low-key route by taking them completely off the grid and sticking them in the boondocks far away from prying eyes, and flying them in and out when necessary.’

Bishop rubbed a palm over his scalp again. ‘So the owner of the cleaning company who endorsed this Alvarado woman. What did he have to say for himself?’

‘Not a whole lot. The sheriff’s department found him in his office with his throat slit from ear to ear. Alvarado must have had a backup stay with him and make sure he said all the right things when Connors called him. Then he gets quickly disposed of and there are no more loose ends.’

‘Professional.’

‘Definitely.’

Bishop thought it all over for a few moments. The story had a familiar ring to it, based on his own past experiences. ‘You know it’s a leak from inside, don’t you? Possibly somebody on your own team.’

‘To be honest, I don’t know anything for sure at this stage, but I’m leaning heavily towards that conclusion, yeah. That’s why I’m here. Now I’ve made thorough checks on all the team members since the attack, and from there all the way up the chain of command, but nothing’s flagged up as even remotely suspicious. And I can’t simply request a whole new team without
some
kind of evidence to back me up, since that would only put a black mark against all our names for years to come. I’ve cut out all unnecessary links in the communication chain, though, just to be on the safe side, and currently I’m reporting directly to Director Christiansen and nobody else. So outside of my team, he’s the only one who knows our current location.’

Bishop smiled. ‘Plus whoever else he decides to tell. His deputy, possibly. His secretary, almost certainly.’

Delaney smiled too. ‘A cynic.’

‘No, a realist. I know how government agencies operate. So back to this witness. What is he, a disgruntled relative, an ex-employee, a John Q Public, what?’

Delaney paused, then said, ‘He’s just a normal guy off the street, Bishop. Nothing more than that, really. Just a normal guy with a really nice wife and a great kid. Except the wife’s now gone, and it’s just him and his boy.’

‘And he’s still willing to testify? That’s pretty impressive.’

‘Yeah, I know. And the worst thing is this could have all been avoided if he hadn’t gotten cold feet the day he was originally set to testify.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah, a case of nerves or something. The DA did some fast talking, though, and convinced the judge to postpone the trial date that time. Then after the murder of the witness’s wife the judge
had
to authorize a second continuance, but he’s made it clear to the DA that he won’t postpone again under any circumstances. This time my guy either gets on the witness stand on … on the day he’s supposed to, or the case gets dismissed and the accused gets to walk out a free man. Which, believe me, would be very bad all round.’

‘So if your guy wants to get on the stand now, what’s the problem?’

‘The problem is, my gut’s telling me there’s going to be another attempt on his life before the trial date. I can feel it in my bones.’

Bishop nodded. He could understand that. He’d learned long ago that you ignored your instincts at your own peril, especially in the close-protection business. ‘Okay.’

‘But now I find myself in a position where I can no longer trust my own team, and that’s not a good place to be. I’m in a Catch-22 situation here, Bishop. One of them could well be the leak, but I can’t have them all replaced at this late stage without more proof than I’ve got. Which is zilch.’

‘And somehow this all leads you to my door.’

‘Right. Now what I want is to bring in an extra person, an experienced professional from the outside with no connection to the Marshals Service or any other law enforcement agency, and therefore no hidden agendas. See, I need somebody I can trust, Bishop. I’d want them to point out anything I might have missed, and I’d also want them to watch the other team members very carefully and tell me anytime they spot any suspicious behaviour.’