Monroe, Melody S. - Verdict (Siren Publishing Classic) (8 page)

Richard stepped past his secretary into his office, closed his door and lowered the shades. He could smell his own sweat. Despite the room’s good insulation, he lowered his voice. “They were in Florida, but someone burned down their town house.”

“I know. I ordered the place to be torched. When my men came to check on her charred body, she wasn’t there. Where did she go?”

Sweat pooled under his arms, and he loosened his tie. “I called Watson a few hours ago, but he didn’t answer.” Could the guy hear the way his voice wobbled?

“That the FBI guy with her?”

“Yes.” Shit. He shouldn’t have mentioned Stone’s name. He liked the guy, but not so much as to jeopardize his own wife’s well-being.

Loud music blasted the background. The man must have covered the mouthpiece and yelled something in some foreign language. The annoying music stopped.

“Sorry about that. This attorney woman, she’s a slippery one.”

“What do you want from me? I told you where to find all the other jurors. As promised.” His guilty conscience ate away at him. If he held on, his family would be safe.

“I want you to find the bitch and tell me where she is.”

“I’ve done enough for you.”

The man laughed. “Then I guess you won’t mind when your two pretty little girls and wife disappear for good.”

His chin trembled as rage filled his gut. “If you lay a hand on my family—”

“You’ll what? Come after me yourself? Ha. I know you can’t bring your FBI buddies with you because that would mean you’d have to tell them you were the one who got six of the jurors killed. And I’m not finished. Find the woman.” He hung up.

Richard reached for his chair and slid down onto his seat. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He’d put his wife and children in jeopardy. He’d borrowed so much money to give Kathleen a second chance at life, and now he might lose the one woman he loved. How could he have known the man who loaned him money was connected to this loan shark?

* * * *

The smell of heat and grease from the fast food place didn’t help calm Stone’s stomach, but at this early hour, his options for a hamburger were limited. He placed his order, then checked back with the hospital to make sure Susan was okay. He didn’t trust anyone any more. Not the hospital, not the FBI. Hell, he barely trusted himself to keep her safe.

Once they assured him no one had entered her room, he stepped away from the counter and dialed T-Squared. His gut churned knowing he’d have to break the news to Susan about Travis Simmons’ death. She’d be devastated on more than one level.

“Joe’s Bar and Grill.” His friend used the code they’d established.

“Thank God I got a hold of you.”

“I wouldn’t have answered if hadn’t been you. You do realize this is when I sleep?”

Stone stepped closer to the restaurant door, not wanting anyone to overhear the conversation. “Sorry.”

“No problem. What’s up?”

Stone told him about the fire.

“She okay?”

“She will be. Listen, I need you to do me a favor.”

“Anything.”

The door opened and three kids rushed passed him, skateboards tucked under their arms. “I need the names of the remaining jurors on the east coast.”

T-Squared whistled. “You know that’s illegal.”

“So is killing people. Think about it. Even after we put those people into our secure houses, someone was able to get to too many of them. You tell me how.”

Other than the sound of some construction noise in the background, silence filled the air.

“You suspect a mole in the Bureau?” Tom said a moment later.

A thin girl behind the counter placed an order next to the cash register. “Number twenty-three?”

He held up a finger, then pulled out cash to pay for his meal. “Yes.”

“You got a name of who you think might be leaking the information?”

He maneuvered around two tables and stood at the register. “If I did, I’d be back in DC in a heartbeat ready to kill the guy.” The cashier’s eyes widened. He gave her his best smile, and her stance softened. “Look, I need to warn the remaining jurors their location might be compromised.”

“That’s Thomason’s job.”

He turned to the side in an attempt to keep the conversation more private. “That might be, but I need to do this on my own. No telling who he’s blabbed to, intentionally or otherwise.”

“You think Richard is—”

“I don’t know who to point the finger at.”

Stone handed the cashier a twenty and she gave him back his change. After filling up the drink cups, he headed outside.

“You think it’s wise to drag Susan around with you on this quest?”

“I debated asking the Tampa office to supply her with another bodyguard, but how can I be sure they can protect her? She’ll be safer with me than in another safe house.”

“You like her!”

Best friend or not, he wasn’t ready to discuss his feelings. “It’s my job, and I’m good at it, now can you get me those addresses?”

Tom groaned. “I’ll have to hack into the system to get the information. It’s not like they post the addresses on the bulletin board.”

A wave of relief hit him. “I owe you one.”

“I’d say you owe me about a hundred.”

Stone laughed. “And the three times I saved your life doesn’t count for anything?”

T-Squared cleared his throat. “You know it does. Back at you in a few.”

Stone looked around the parking lot, jumped in the car and started the engine. The rich aroma of burgers and fries filled the car. As he drove out the entrance, two men in a white sedan glanced his way before looking away.

He and Susan had to get out of Dodge. Now.

Chapter Six

Susan shifted in the car seat. She couldn’t wait to shower and get into the new clothes they’d purchased at the mall. Stone adjusted the side-view mirror, moved the air slider right, then left, and wiped the dash with his palm.

She held out her hand. “Stop it. Please.”

“What?”

“Your obsessive behavior is driving me crazy.” She twisted around to face him. “What’s wrong?”

His mouth screwed to one side. “Richard Thomason called last night.” He clutched the wheel so hard the beds of his nails turned white.

“Don’t tell me he knew about the fire?” Her pulse rose.

“No. He called because Travis Simmons, another juror, was shot in the head. He’s dead.”

She leaned her head back to let the horrific turn of events settle in her brain. “Dear God. That makes what, six dead?” Her too-long nails ground into her palms, nearly cutting her.

“Yes.”

She squeezed her eyes shut to visualize Travis’ face. Only the memory of his stats surfaced. “He was a prominent doctor. That’s so unfair.” She sat up straighter. “Wait a minute. He called you
last
night? Why didn’t you tell me right away?” Susan couldn’t get a handle on his agenda. So much for being a team and not having any secrets. And here she’d mentally placed a white hat on his head.

“I didn’t want to upset you.”

“Telling me now upsets me just as much.” Her lips firmed. “I need to be in the loop and you know it.” If he hadn’t been driving, she would have twisted him around to face her so she could get a read on his expression.

“Fine. Next time when you’re struggling to survive, I’ll be sure to dump more bad news on you.” His lips pressed together.

His consideration dumped a bucket of water on her fire, and suddenly the boring, scraggly pine trees whizzing by became interesting. “Maybe I came across a little harsh. I’m sorry, but not telling me the killer was one step closer wasn’t right.”

He glanced at her. “You’re smart. I thought you’d figure something was up when I didn’t argue much about you leaving the hospital before the doctor was ready to release you.”

That’s why he’d given in so easily. She developed a cough over night and the doctor thought another day of observation was in order. No way was she going to be a sitting duck for a killer. Two more jurors under protection had been killed. This madman would stop only when all of them were dead. He’d kill her, and maybe even the judge.

Sweat slicked her skin from the late afternoon sun pouring through the car window. Or at least she wanted to believe it was the sun’s fault and not fear choking her. She couldn’t breathe for a moment and pressed the button to lower the window half way. The cool breeze poured in, and she inhaled deeply. The tinge of exhaust mixed with fresh green trees perked her up. She wouldn’t allow the bastard to cripple her with anxiety.

“I can turn on the AC if you’d like.” His tone came out so sweet she wondered if he was feeling guilty for withholding information.

Okay, so he had a good reason for not telling her right away. She let herself be pissed, which was a whole lot better than being scared. “I’m fine.” She faced forward, not wanting to think about poor Travis and his family. “Did you believe the fire marshal when he said the town house blaze was a result of an overloaded circuit?”

“No reason for him to lie.” He tapped the steering wheel. “What I don’t buy is the fact an electrician failed to install all of the fuses properly, especially in an upscale community like the one we stayed in.”

Susan kept one eye on the side-view mirror, convinced someone was following them. A gray sedan had appeared and disappeared more than once, but Stone said her imagination was playing tricks on her.

She replayed what the fire marshal had told them. “Could a lack of fuses actually cause a fire?” Her ex-husband had been the handyman in the family. She didn’t know squat about how circuits worked.

“No, but a fire will erupt if some worker plugs in a space heater in a socket that isn’t rated for that appliance. It got cold last night. Turns out the heater the carpenter brought in clicked on. Without a fuse to stop the overload, the place caught on fire.”

She took a sip of water from the thermos Stone has purchased for her. He’d harped often enough about keeping hydrated.

“Could overloading the circuit have been done on purpose?” Like a bullet-to-the-head kind of purpose.

He glanced up at the rearview mirror. His jaw tensed. She didn’t like it. Maybe the gray sedan was following them.

“That would by my guess. It’s why I want to head north. But first, I need to shower at a motel.” He sniffed the air and scrunched up his nose. “I stink.”

The way he skewed up his face made her smile. “Like I don’t?”

“I can’t lie. It won’t hurt us to stay in Florida a little while longer, if only to get clean.”

Susan quickly sobered. “How do you explain the lack of batteries in the smoke detector in our place?”

“I can’t, and that worries me. I don’t believe in coincidences. Someone has a way of finding us, and I plan to put a stop to that.”

“How?”

“Stay where
I
decide. Tell the Bureau one thing, do another.”

She cocked a brow. “I thought you were a big rule follower.”

“Not when you could get hurt.”

The determination in his tone made her question her initial assumption that he wanted to do her harm. “Thank you.”

“Just doing my job.”

Oh, so his actions had nothing to do with liking her? Not that she wanted him to like her, per se, but she didn’t want him to want to see her dead either.

“This place looks good,” she said, pointing to a brick hotel, one story tall. At least the room doors opened out to a large parking lot.

“Fine by me.”

He turned in and drove around the parking lot before stopping. Her mood plummeted. “You do think someone followed us?”

“I thought I noticed someone pull out of the mall right behind us. They kept only a few car lengths behind until I turned in here.”

“The gray sedan?”

“Actually, it was a black van.”

She hadn’t seen that vehicle. Why couldn’t they get away from this person? “What should we do?”

He pulled in front of the office. “Wait here while I book us a room.” He jumped out before she had a chance to suggest she go with him.

When he used the remote to lock the door and didn’t chain her to the steering wheel, she leaned her head back against the seat and exhaled, pleased he finally trusted her.

The three minute wait seemed to take forever. She half expected someone to pound on the window or come racing at her with a gun. No vehicle entered the lot, and her nerves relaxed.

The door creaked open. “All taken care of.” Stone drove to their room. “Get inside before anyone sees you. Here’s the key. I’ll be in in a sec.”

She was about to argue, but the tight lines around his eyes and mouth told her not to put up a fight. She grabbed her purchases and dashed inside.

The small room had one bed. Thank goodness they only planned to shower and not spend the night.

She’d just spread out her purchases to organize them when Stone strode in. He dumped his stuff on the small table in the corner. “I didn’t find anyone who looked suspicious.”