Fear Familiar Bundle (141 page)

Daniel knew instantly what Cindy meant. She was a smart cookie. She'd heard enough conversations and typed enough letters. Sarah Covington was a hot topic at the Bureau. She was being discussed from the top officers down, and anyone caught defending her was suspicious.

"Tell Gottard I quit. Tell him to take his job and his badge and his gun and— "

Sarah's hand fell across his arm and the gentle pressure of her fingers stopped him. "Let's go," she whispered. "Now."

His gaze met hers and he saw her anger, and her pain for him. "Right. Before I do something I might really regret." He turned back to Cindy one last time. "I know you're only doing your job, and I'm leaving, if you'll tell me one thing. Who's in that room with him? Tell me or I'm going to break down the door, whether it causes trouble for me or not."

"You'll leave? Quietly?"

"You have my word."

Cindy looked at the door, then up at Daniel. "I think you're getting the shaft, Dubonet. It's none of my affair, but you're being railroaded. Joshua Jenkins is in there."

"Jenkins." Sarah said the word like a curse. She felt a surge of anger, and the swelling of tears in her eyes. Damn! She wasn't going to cry. She might break the door down herself and wring the truth out of that old man. How was it possible that he continued to live and thrive and prosper while her father was dead? And he was still besmirching the name of Cal Covington, and her own. She knew that as surely as she drew breath.

"Sarah." It was Daniel's turn to draw her back from the brink of fury. He bent to her ear and whispered, "Let's go. I have another bright idea."

"What is it?"

"Private lab. We can get the same tests run. It's expensive, but it's all we've got."

"I'm sorry," Cindy said. "I really am. Now get out of here before I get fired." She glanced anxiously at Gottard's office door. "Hurry up and get out of here."

"Thanks," Daniel said as he and Sarah started for the door.

To their surprise, Cindy got up from behind her desk and walked to the door. Stepping into the hallway, she signaled them to follow her.

"What is it?" Daniel asked.

She shook her head and hurried them toward the front entrance. When they were out in the dusk she looked around again. "Listen to me, and listen good. Don't trust anyone. Not anyone at all. Don't tell anyone your plans, and if I were you, I'd consider moving out of the Washington area for a while. Maybe forever."

"What is it?" Daniel asked. He could see the tension in the woman. She was risking a lot to talk to him.

"Stay off the phones. The ones at the catering shop are bugged, that much I know for sure."

"We found that," he assured her. "Why are you telling me this?"

Her face drew together in consternation. "I'm not really sure. Except that Cody and I were friends. Good friends. And he spoke a lot about you. He thought you were really great. And I know you didn't kill him."

"They honestly think I killed Cody?" Daniel found it hard to believe.

"Whether they believe it or not, it sounds to me like they're getting ready to stick the blame on you. And Ms. Covington, too. The worst thing that ever happened to you was getting involved with her. Cody might be alive…" She shook her head. "No, that's not right. Just get out of town and disappear. You know how to do it. Now, I've got to go. Don't call me and don't come back here again." She entered the building and slammed the door behind her.

"I never thought I'd be traveling back to Mississippi with a cat hidden in my carryon." Sarah leaned over the crowded airplane seat and stroked Familiar's head. The black cat gently nibbled at her fingers. "Lucky you knew the security guard at the gate or we'd never have gotten him through."

"We couldn't leave him. Lucinda is a woman with a good deal of power and a lot of anger toward you and Familiar. She isn't above having someone break into your place and take him."

"And if she got her clutches on him, nothing good would happen to my fine furry friend."

Familiar clamped a little harder on her hand, indicating that since he couldn't speak, he'd participate in the conversation the best way he could.

"Ouch!" Sarah shook her hand free of his mouth. "Even when he's silent he's an uppity critter."

"Wait until the tests come back on that meat before you totally condemn him."

"I'm waiting, and I'm certain he's right." She wanted to lift him into her lap, but she didn't want to alert the airline to his presence. He was a stowaway. Sarah couldn't stand the idea of putting him in the luggage compartment, and they also didn't want a record of the cat traveling, even though they themselves were using assumed names. The less trails they left, the more certain they were that they weren't being followed.

"I wish we'd been able to call Mom." Sarah was still concerned. With the turn everything had taken, Mora might be in danger.

"It'll be better if we contact her once we're there. And after we've talked with Estis."

"You're right." Sarah knew it, but the facts were still difficult to accept. She cast a sideways glance at Daniel. Since the aborted meeting with Paul Gottard, he'd been as hard as steel. She knew he felt betrayed, and used. Those were probably the two worst feelings a person could deal with. Except guilt. And judging by Daniel's expression every time Cody Pruett's name was mentioned, he had a plentiful helping of that emotion, too. The toughest part was that there was nothing she could do to comfort him.

Reaching over, she captured his hand and squeezed it. "We're going to figure all of this out."

"Knowing the answers won't change things."

How many times had she thought that very same thing? How many years had passed with her trying to believe that? "It won't change things, not for either of us. But it will put things to rest. At least for me. And I think for you, too. Someone was responsible for what happened to Cody, and for what happened to my dad."

"Do you think revenge will make either of us feel better?"

She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it softly. "No, I don't believe anything could make the pain and loss go away. Nothing can bring Cody back. Knowing the truth may or may not affect what you're feeling toward the FBI now. It could certainly change my feelings. And it will positively put an end to the tragic things that are happening all around us. That's what we have to think about. If we don't find out what's going on, more innocent people will suffer and possibly die."

Daniel strained against his seat belt as he turned to envelop her in his arms. "You sure know how to drain the self-pity out of a guy." He squeezed her tight. "Thanks. I was almost six feet under with feeling sorry for myself."

"I've been there." She kissed his cheek. "Now, how are we going to convince Graham to talk with us?"

"Do you remember him?"

"Brief moments. I haven't thought of him in years. He was always at the house with Dad. You know, he'd stop by for breakfast and a late supper. He wasn't married then. I guess he was really just a kid. But Dad thought he was very sharp."

"FBI trained, according to Jenkins."

"You say that as if you don't really believe it."

Daniel made a derisive sound. "I don't believe anything I've been told by them. And Jenkins is one of them. That's what I'm trying to figure out, if he was using me the entire time. How big an idiot was I?"

"You were only trying to do your job the best way you knew how. By the book. That doesn't make you stupid or dumb, Daniel. You know that." She nudged his shoulder. "Now, back to Graham. I was eleven, so he was at least twenty. Maybe twenty-two."

"He still has a long career ahead of him."

"Retirement for a sheriff's deputy isn't exactly plush." Sarah was trying to imagine the young, shy officer as a mature man. He had been smart. Cal's right hand, as it seemed. And he had known a lot about fingerprints and chemical analysis. It was very possible he'd been trained by the FBI. "I wish there was some way we could check out his past."

"So do I, but under the current circumstances, I don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell. Even the people at the agency who would like to help me will be afraid of any contact. Their careers could be ruined."

"I know."

The captain's voice alerting that landing was in ten minutes came over the air, and Sarah bent to check on Familiar. She could tell the cat was growing weary of his confinement in the carryon, but there was nothing she could do. "Another fifteen minutes," she whispered to him. "Then we'll spring you."

Less than half an hour later, with Familiar asleep on the seat between them, they were crossing the five-mile bridge across Lake Ponchatrain and on the way to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The lights of New Orleans glittered behind them as they rose higher and higher on the bridge. Ahead, the distant shoreline was only a faint sprinkling of lights.

"We'll get a room in Biloxi," Daniel said. "Then tomorrow, bright and early, we'll have a talk with Estis."

"And contact Mom." Sarah tried not to worry. Surely Mora would be fine. No one in their right mind would think she knew anything.

"I know you're worried." Daniel brushed her cheek with his right hand as he drove.

"Meow." Familiar stretched and moved to curl up in Sarah's lap. She stroked his head and scratched under his chin, eliciting a purr. "When will those tests be back?"

"Possibly tomorrow. I didn't leave a number. I just said I'd call and check."

"What if there's nothing there?"

"I don't know." Daniel glanced at Familiar. "He seems fine now, and I don't believe he took such a dislike to Lucinda that he'd destroy her Washington future on a mere whim." He grinned. "Though it was a spectacular scene."

Sarah, tired to the bone, couldn't help grinning, too. "I've had nightmares about something like that happening. But she was so damn mean to me, I don't even care. My career is probably ruined, and I can't get awfully shaken up about it. Mom's right. If push comes to shove, I can move back to the coast and work at one of the new casinos."

"And what about me?" Daniel's question was put in half jest, but there was an undertone of sincerity in it.

"Last time I heard, you were unemployed, too." She was teasing, but she wanted him to know she sympathized. "It would seem we're both in the same boat, and neither of us did anything to deserve it. We can both try our luck at the casinos. You'd make a distinguished blackjack dealer."

"I'm trying to learn to savor the feel of being unemployed." His grin was rueful. "But it does give a certain amount of freedom. I suppose I could work as a valet at one of the casinos. Maybe even practice up my singing act. I used to be pretty fair at ballads."

Sarah laughed out loud. "What a pair we'd make."

"Maybe if we practiced, we could become the new Fred and Ginger of the gambling world. You were pretty good on your feet."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I know my talents are in cooking, not dancing, but I'll support you in your efforts."

His hand caught hers and held it tightly. "Thanks for that, Sarah. And thanks for making me laugh. It's the best medicine now."

"Except for sleep. Let's hit the strip and park this chariot. I'm about to fade away."

"Tell me where we should stay and how to get there, and then you go to sleep," Daniel offered.

"I think the Cabana Royale in Biloxi would be a good choice. Stay on I-10 until I-110, then take a right on the beach. It's about two miles. That'll put us close to Jackson County, and close to Mom."

Daniel nodded. Lights in the rearview mirror caught his attention. For the past twenty miles, the same vehicle had been behind them. He really didn't believe they were being followed, but, the way things had gone, anything was possible. Instead of telling Sarah, he kept it to himself. She had enough to worry about with her mother.

"I'll drive us there while you rest," he said.

"Meow." Familiar stretched up, looking over the center console into the rear window.

"Go for it," Daniel told him as the cat made a dash for the rear window. "Just bob your head like one of those little dogs folks put up in the window." He drew a sigh of relief as the car behind him put on a burst of speed and passed in a long streak of black paint and darkened windows.

Still staring at the road disappearing behind them, Familiar perched in the window and seemed to sleep.

T
HE
M
ISSISSIPPI
S
OUND
glittered in the bright sunlight and Daniel slipped out of his jacket. "They're wearing shorts. It's November!" He pointed to the tourists romping on the white sand beaches. It was too cold to swim, but not too cold to enjoy the day.

"There were plenty of Christmases I wore shorts." Sarah made a face. "I hated that. Christmas is best when it's cold."

They drove along Highway 90 and Sarah pointed out the sights, many of them connected to personal memories. "This place has changed," she said with a note of wistfulness in her voice. "The casinos have really sprung from the sand. It's so…different."

"Growth and progress." Daniel's tone was tinged with a bitter acceptance of economics. "More jobs, more money. Growth."

"But why does everything from the past have to be swept away in the tide?"

"It's cheaper and easier to build new." They passed several of the homes that made the stretch of beach from Bay St. Louis to Pascagoula famous. "Now that's what I imagine when I think of the Old South."

Sarah sighed. There was still plenty of the past left, at least for a while. Besides, it did no good to bemoan change. "Graham is working the night shift, so he should be home now."

"And probably asleep."

"We could wait until after lunch." Sarah didn't want to wait. She didn't think she could stand to wait.

"What about it, Familiar?" Daniel noticed that the cat was watching the cars as if he expected to see someone he knew.

"Meow."

"Familiar says do it now," Sarah said. In fact, there
had
been a sense of urgency in the cat's tone. She wasn't imagining it.

They crossed Biloxi Bay and entered the small town of Ocean Springs. Daniel had obtained Estis's home address by calling the Jackson County sheriff's office in the guise of a floral delivery man looking for Graham Estis. He'd also learned that the deputy worked nights, had recently separated from his wife and was living alone in the family home at 211 Jefferson Street.