Justice Reborn (Cowboy Justice Association Book 8) (28 page)

“Good afternoon, Miss Carlton.” The older agent with salt and pepper hair spoke first while the younger man sorted through a stack of files. “My name is Agent Stokes and this is Agent Harrison. We’re from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

Finally the questioning would begin and Evan would find out that this little girl wasn’t nearly as innocent and naive as she appeared to be. Where there was smoke, there was fire. She was involved in all of this somehow, someway. Marisa would relish telling Evan all the details.

“We’re relieved to see that you’re safe,” Agent Stokes continued. “The people after you can be very dangerous. It looks like you know how to handle yourself in a crisis.”

Wait. Something wasn’t right. They were praising Josie? Was this more interrogation bullshit?

The younger woman also seemed shocked by the turn of events. She’d stopped shaking in her chair but tears had welled up in her eyes as she leaned across the table as far as the handcuffs would allow.

“I didn’t kill Amy. She was my friend and like a sister to me. I would never hurt her.”

Right. Sure. You’re completely innocent.

Agent Harrison finally looked up and nodded. “We know. The ballistics came back days ago and matched a gun used in another murder from three years ago. We already had a suspect for that crime although we haven’t been able to make the case. We’re hoping you can help.”

Marisa couldn’t believe her ears. She must have misunderstood.

Josie, on the other hand, burst into tears, sobs wracking her body as what was probably pure relief coursed through her. Apparently she thought she was home free.

But she was still in cuffs.

Stokes stood and rounded the table, patting Josie on the shoulder while Harrison rushed out of the room bellowing to someone in the hall. When he came back in, he had a box of tissues and he pulled up several, pressing them into Josie’s hands. When she tried to blow her nose, they realized she was cuffed to the table.

“Please get these cuffs off of Miss Carlton’s wrists,” Stokes barked impatiently, stepping aside as another FBI agent brought in a can of soda and some snacks. “Miss Carlton? Why don’t you take a moment to gather yourself and then have a drink or a bite to eat.”

Unlocking the cuffs, Marisa stepped back to survey the scene in front of her that had taken such a one hundred and eighty degree turn. “Why is the FBI involved? And why did the D.C. police have a warrant out for her if they didn’t think she was guilty?”

Josie dabbed at her cheeks and sniffled loudly.

Disgusting
.

“I’d like to know that too. I thought you wanted to put me behind bars and throw away the key.”

Both agents sat back down but Harrison answered the question. “And we’re sorry about that. Very sorry. We couldn’t tip our hand to the real people we wanted that we were on to them. We were also concerned about your safety. If they killed your friend, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill you, Miss Carlton.”

“That’s what I figured. That’s why I ran.”

“Very effectively,” replied Stokes with a smile. “But we really do need to talk to you. You may have information that can help us put some bad men behind bars.”

Marisa had had about all she could stand. She hated being completely ignored and these men had barely glanced at her. “You didn’t answer my question. Why is the FBI involved?”

Before the agents could reply, the door swung open – again – and Harker Prentiss stood in the doorway. One of the preeminent attorneys in the area, he exuded money and confidence and both were on display today from his Armani suit to his Christian Louboutin black leather loafers. Despite the trappings of wealth and success, he resembled a surfer with his blond hair, blue eyes, and golden tan. She’d heard he owned a yacht out of Clearwater Marina.

“Sorry I’m late. Hi Josie, I’m your attorney.” He shook Josie’s hand, and then the agents’ hands and then finally Marisa’s, although his brow had quirked slightly when he saw her sitting in what would normally be his chair. He probably wanted her to move. Fuck him. “Traffic. I have the paperwork and I looked it over on the way. Seems straightforward.”

“Paperwork?” Josie asked faintly, her fingers wringing together. “Do I have to sign something?”

“No, no, no,” Prentiss said with a smile. “They just sent over the case file for me to review. They’d like to talk to you today to see what you know about your friend Amy and her business and personal dealings and then you can go. I’ll be right by your side the entire time. How does that sound?”

Like crap. This entire day had gone to shit. Evan would be cuddling with his little princess by nightfall.

Josie buried her face in her hands and a few more sobs escaped before she wiped her nose again and smiled.

“That sounds amazingly wonderful. Does Evan know?”

Jesus, she’s crying. Again.

“My assistant will be giving him a call. Now I’m sure you want to get this over with so you can leave. So let’s get started, shall we?” Prentiss turned his attention to Marisa who was sitting there, her temper almost at a boil. “Do you mind? I think you’re in my chair.”

Swallowing down the bile that had gathered in her throat, Marisa stood on shaky legs and moved toward the door, not giving Josie even a glance. The little redhead led a charmed life, apparently. She was free and she’d managed to get the guy too.

Isn’t she special?

“If you need me–” Marisa began but Stokes cut her off immediately.

“We won’t. We’ve got this handled. If you see Mr. Davis just let him know that he can take Miss Carlton home when we’re done here. We’ll be sending along a few agents for her protection as well until this is over.”

Thoroughly and humiliatingly dismissed, Marisa rounded on her heel and stalked off to her desk where she dug through a drawer looking for the cigarettes she only allowed herself to smoke every now and then. If today wasn’t a candidate for at least two, she didn’t know what was.

Getting Evan back into her career, life, and bed was further away than ever and Josie stood firmly in the way.

Chapter Thirty-One

J
osie was almost sick with relief and she sagged in the chair, her hands wrapped around the soda can so she had something – anything – to hold onto. This meeting had taken on a surreal quality that she still didn’t quite believe but the men were so friendly and nice it didn’t appear that they were trying to trap her into confessing or incriminating herself in any way. Plus she had her attorney right next to her and he seemed completely at ease.

She had questions. A bunch of them.

“So you knew that I didn’t shoot Amy,” she began, wanting to hear more. She’d watched enough true crime shows on cable to know what ballistics meant but how did they know she didn’t kill that other person three years ago? “Because of the bullet.”

Stokes nodded and pulled a file from the pile near his partner before sliding it in front of her. “I think we should start at the beginning. The FBI has had an active investigation open on former Senator Lydell for quite some time. William Connaught worked for us.”

That name took Josie aback. “Billy? He’s a freelance reporter for an online political magazine.”

He was also Amy’s boyfriend.

“That was his cover but he was actually investigating the senator. That’s how he came into possession of the recording.”

She was being slapped around by one surprise after another. “You know about the recording?”

It was Harrison who answered. “We do, although we haven’t seen it yet. Billy sent us a message about it. Do you still have it?”

Josie shook her head, hoping she wasn’t in trouble. “We gave it to a reporter hoping that its release would make them stop chasing me. Does that mess everything up?”

“It changes our strategy but we can deal with it. We thought you might release it to the press and honestly were surprised we hadn’t seen it yet.”

“She said she had to authenticate it,” Josie said, her head still reeling as she took in the details. Billy was a Fed, not a reporter. “So Billy gave Amy the recording. Why? Was his life in danger too? Is he okay?”

Harrison rubbed at his temples, his naturally pale skin taking on a ruddy pallor. She instantly knew Billy wasn’t fine. “Agent Connaught’s body was found about a week ago in an alley in Washington D.C. He died from a close-range gunshot wound to the head. The same gun that killed your friend Amy, by the way. Another item that cleared your name. You weren’t in D.C. at the time so you couldn’t have done it. We think Connaught was meeting with his inside man and was made. He was extremely upset about his girlfriend and about you. He was trying to bring the case to a conclusion. He felt guilty that he’d stashed the jump drive with her thinking they’d never know, but he was being watched. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

That sounded like the Billy she knew. A good hardworking guy who adored Amy with everything in him. But tragic that he was gone as well. He and Amy had had plans about the future – marriage, kids, a house. They weren’t going to get to do anything like that. Tears pricked at her eyes again and she blinked to hold them back. She was damn sick and tired of crying and feeling like the world was falling in. She was tired of feeling like a victim.

“Although I have an idea as to why you were investigating the senator after seeing the recording, that doesn’t seem like a case the FBI would be interested in. Is there something more?”

Harrison turned to a page in the file and pointed to a photograph of Lydell with several other men. “Actually, the recording has very little to do with our investigation. It just shows that he’s not a nice, honest man. What we’ve been investigating him for is complex but to simplify it I’ll say that Lydell is a suspect in several white collar crimes such as money laundering, which the FBI is always interested in. He has friends in Afghanistan who broker the poppy crops and he helps hook them up with people who can make the profits from the international drug trade clean, so to speak. The investigation became a much bigger deal when rumors began that he might be appointed to a cabinet position.”

Josie took a calming sip of the soda before formulating her next question. Delicately. “So what happens now? The recording is going to be out there soon so I’m guessing his hopes for an appointment will be over, but then what? Are you going to arrest him? It sounds like you have evidence.”

Harrison fiddled with the folder, closing it and added it back on the stack of files. “We can’t comment on that either. What we can do is keep you safe until the recording is made public. We believe at that point they won’t have any reason to come after you.”

“You believe?” Josie echoed. “That sounds kind of wishy-washy. Do they know that I’ve given the recording to the press? Are you going to make some sort of announcement?”

“We don’t announce the news before it is news,” Stokes remarked with a shake of his head. “And as far as we know, they don’t know anyone else has it. The chatter we’ve intercepted is focused solely on you.”

Oh goody
.

“And that chatter says they want to kill me?”

She might as well just state the obvious. They’d carefully skirted the subject but she knew how screwed she was.

Harrison exhaled slowly, scratching at his chin like he had a bug bite. She’d made him nervous. He must not like to talk about future assassinations. “We’re not going to let that happen. You’re already protected by a former US Marshal according to Mr. Prentiss. We’ll add to that security detail a few agents of our own.”

These men should have gone into politics themselves. The non-answer answer.

The questioning continued for what felt like forever but was probably only an hour or so. Stokes and Harrison were very interested in what Amy might have told her about Billy and his job but in the end Josie wasn’t sure she’d helped the agents at all.

“How much longer do I need to hide? I’ve already been on the run almost two weeks and I bet my plants are dying in my apartment back home.”

“Not long,” Stokes said, rising from his chair. Apparently, they were done talking and answering her questions. “A few days at most. We just need to confirm that they’ve moved on from you once the video is released.”