Hotshot (29 page)

Hands fisted at her sides, she said, “You don’t scare me.”

“Yeah? I’m going to.”

“What?”

“I know you’ve been helping your buddies, Albertson and Parsons. If I find those guns in your car or your house or anywhere near you, do you know how many years you’ll get? You’re transporting weapons—”

“I’m not. No, I’m not.”

“We will find them, and when we do, you’ll take the fall.” His voice had gotten meaner, and he was getting closer to her. “I’m going to search your car. Do you want me to do it now or wait until the warrant arrives? I don’t really care how long it takes. I’ve got all day and all night and you’re not going anywhere.”

“I don’t have my keys with me,” she stammered.

“How about this set?” he asked and held up the keys from Albertson’s desk.

Bridget’s face turned chalky white. “Those aren’t my keys.”

Finn pushed the alarm button, and Bridget flinched. He pushed it again to stop it. “You wanted in his office to get these keys.”

“I left them there.”

“If you don’t start cooperating, I promise you won’t be going home tonight. Do you hear me? The longer I have to wait, the less likely I’m going to be lenient. In fact, maybe I should just cart you off to a holding cell right now.”

“Wait, please,” Bridget begged. “I want to cooperate. You can search my car, but please understand I was just helping out some friends.”

Finn unlocked the SUV and opened the cargo space, and there they were, both rifles with scopes. He didn’t touch either one. “Where’s the handgun?”

Bridget tried to back away from his anger. “I don’t know—”

“Yes, you do. Where is it?” He didn’t raise his voice, but the venom in his tone frightened her.

“Some friends have it. I promised to keep quiet,” she said.

“Let me tell you what your so-called friends have done to you. You’re the one with stolen weapons in your vehicle, weapons that were used in an attempted murder. It’s all on you, Bridget. You’re the one going down for this. Do you think your friends will step up? Maybe they’ll come see you in prison, though I doubt it.”

“I was only . . .”

Finn took a step back. “Agent Hutton, read her her rights and cuff her.”

As impossible as it was for Peyton to accept, she was actually beginning to feel sorry for Bridget. The woman had started crying and was trying to understand why this was happening to her. “I didn’t think I had done anything wrong,” she wailed.

“Yes, you knew what you were doing, and you knew it was wrong. Cut the b-s. The only way you might get out of a thirty-year sentence,” he said, coming up with a number of years to freak her out even more, “is to give up Albertson and Parsons. You tell us everything you know, and it will go a lot easier for you.”

“It was all Rick Parsons’s and Eileen’s idea. Drew is innocent,” she blurted.

“Stop lying for him.”

“He would never hurt anyone.”

“Not even you?”

“Of course not. He loves me.”

“Will he love you when you’re in prison?” Finn asked. “No, he’ll get on with his life, and you’ll be an old lady when you get out.”

“But he told me he loves me. He wants to marry me just as soon as he owns the company.” Her crying turned into sobs. “I can’t go to prison. Please . . . ,” she begged. “I can’t.”

“Then tell us the truth.”

“You would talk to the judge?” she asked with desperation in her voice.

“Sure,” he said.

“Could I get immunity?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Peyton was surprised Bridget hadn’t asked for an attorney. She thought she would after she’d been given her rights, but she was too rattled by Finn’s threats to think straight.

Bridget sniffled. “I can help you.”

Before Finn could ask her if she would be willing to testify against her friends, she said, “I’m supposed to meet them tonight at nine.”

“Meet who?”

“Drew and Parsons. They’re going to take the rifles and hide them.”

“What made them decide to do that now?” Hutton asked.

“The keys in the desk. Drew thought you would figure out they weren’t his, and then you’d wonder why he had keys to my car. He was being cautious.”

“Where are you meeting them?” Finn asked.

“At Benton State Park, the second shelter. The park’s closed at night, but Drew knows a back way to get in.”

“You knew they were going after Peyton.” It wasn’t a question.

Bridget glanced at Peyton before answering. “Yes, I heard them talking, but I was afraid to let them know I heard. Drew has a temper,” she added.

“You could have gone to the police,” he said. “The fact that you didn’t makes it worse for you.”

“I’ll testify against them, but I want a deal,” she stammered. “And I want a lawyer, a good one.”

Did she think he should get her one?

Finn had gotten enough information from her to know he would be able to nail the bastards. Now he wanted to have a talk with Cosgrove, and once he was finished with him, he was certain he’d testify against his friends, too. That would be another nail in the coffin.

Lane announced they were getting their warrant to search Bridget’s house. He was extremely happy to see the rifles, and after carefully removing them, he put them in the trunk of his car to transport to the lab. Finn and Hutton had already taken copious photos with their phones.

“You’re going to meet Parsons and Albertson tonight, aren’t you?” Peyton asked.

Finn nodded. “We’ll be there waiting for them.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Having fun?” he asked. “I am.”

“What are we going to do now?”

“We’ll keep Bridget out of sight, take her down to Minneapolis. In a small town like this, news travels fast, and we don’t want Albertson tipped off. Hutton will keep his eye on Cosgrove. After we have Albertson and Parsons, we’ll pick him up. I’ll get him to talk.”

“You’re awfully sure of yourself, Agent MacBain.”

“Damn right.”

“You’re going to be busy the rest of the day. What would you like me to do? I want to help.”

“I want you to go to Minneapolis with Lane and wait there. As soon as this is over, you can come back to Dalton. Okay?”

“No, I want—”

“That actually wasn’t a question, sweetheart. I’m telling you what I want you to do. I have to know you’re safe.”

“I could be safe here, out of sight.”

“No,” he said.

She didn’t want him thinking about anything but the job at hand. “Okay. Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

F
inn and Hutton drove to the park early in the afternoon to find the best places to hide and wait for Albertson. Hopefully Parsons would be with him. Bridget had told them she was to pull up to shelter number two at nine o’clock and wait for Drew, no matter how long it took. She admitted that, if he told her to wait until morning, she would.

The first shelter they drove past was placed in the middle of a patch of ground big enough to hold a baseball field. The area was flat and barren without a tree or shrub in sight. Shelter number two was more secluded. One side was open to the road, and there was a grassy space for campers, but on the other three sides of the shelter were thick trees and shrubs. There were plenty of spots where they could hunker down and wait, but also where Albertson and Parsons could hide.

After they had walked the area and had returned to their car, Hutton said, “We could park over behind that bluff,” pointing to an incline several hundred yards away. They won’t see the car unless they do some recon. What do you think, Finn? Will they be cautious or cocky? I think they’ll drive right up to Bridget’s vehicle. I don’t think they’ll sneak around. They’re pretty sure of themselves.”

Finn agreed. “We’ll be prepared for anything. Albertson won’t like being cornered.”

“Parsons knows he’ll go back to prison. I’m betting he’ll put up a fight unless we can pin him down before he has time to react.”

“This is a tight community and word spreads fast. If Albertson knows Peyton is here, he may want those weapons to go after her again.”

“Do you think he knows the meeting with the attorneys was canceled?”

“Not canceled, rescheduled. Peyton told Erik she had an attorney coming and he can’t get here until tomorrow. A last-minute flight cancellation.”

“I’ve got two more agents driving up. They’ll come directly here. One of them can drive Bridget’s SUV in.”

“We can use the help.”

“Want to walk the grounds again?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

The rest of the day was spent coordinating the operation, and Finn and Hutton were back in the park by seven. They met the two new agents and went over the plan with them.

______

It was cold and damp. Finn hunkered down on the south side of the shelter, well hidden from the road by the thick underbrush. He didn’t move or make a sound while he waited. Time dragged. He thought about Peyton and how she had changed his life. She had such a beautiful heart. And her body was also damned perfect, he thought, smiling. He loved her sense of humor and her determination to do the right thing. He loved everything about her, even when she was aggravating him and making him want to tear his hair out. Yeah, he loved her then, too. Man, he had it bad.

Logistics needed to be figured out. He was going to be doing a lot of traveling for the Bureau with Ronan. Dallas was off the table for his home base, and he would probably be assigned to the D.C. office for a while, but his home could be with Peyton in Bishop’s Cove, at least for a year, hopefully longer. It was an easy in and out at the airport. Thinking about her kept him warm and relaxed.

The park had been closed since sundown, but Finn had found the back road without a gate. It was close to nine when Bridget’s SUV drove in. Because of the tinted windows and the late hour the driver wasn’t visible, but he knew the agent was slumped down in the seat with his gun at the ready. He parked the SUV and kept the motor and the lights on. All of the agents had earpieces so they could talk to one another. Hutton was the first to spot the car careening into the park.

“Showtime,” he whispered.

Finn flexed his fingers and got ready. The SUV rounded the corner and came into view. Same make, same color as Bridget’s. There wasn’t room to pull up next to Bridget’s car because of the way the agent had deliberately parked it. They could either cut over to the side, which would put them closer to Hutton, or park behind.

Albertson was at the wheel. He left the motor running, honked once, and then got out. The agent in Bridget’s car figured that was a signal and pushed the button to open the tailgate.

Christmas came early, Finn thought, because not only was Parsons with him but Eileen had also ridden along. All of them got out of the vehicle, and Eileen yelled to the person she thought was Bridget as she walked toward the driver’s side.

“Is it true, Bridget? Is that bitch Peyton Lockhart going to sue Drew and me? I heard that this morning, and I couldn’t believe it.” She stopped at the tailgate.

Drew opened the cargo lid. “Where the hell are my rifles? Did you move . . .”

Parsons saw Hutton coming and ran. Instantly realizing what was happening, he reached for the gun in the waistband of his jeans, but Hutton tackled him before he could shoot.

The Albertsons were immediately surrounded. Eileen was screaming profanities while she was being handcuffed, and Drew stood perfectly still. He was enraged, but he didn’t try to run. The second Finn walked up to him to cuff him, he attacked. Finn couldn’t have been happier because he finally got to punch the son of a bitch. It felt good, too. He wanted to hit him again and then go after Parsons, but instead he read them their rights.

“Went off without a wrinkle,” Hutton said.

“That gun isn’t mine,” Parsons blustered when he saw Hutton pick it up off the ground. “I’m innocent.”

Incredulous, Finn asked, “It just happened to drop into your pants?”

Hutton shook his head as he pushed Parsons toward the car.

The blow from Finn’s fist left Drew bent over and gasping for air. “You can’t get away with this. I know my rights,” he panted. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Oh yeah?” Finn said. “Tell that to the women you molested. Better yet, tell it to the new buddies you’re gonna make in prison. They’ll get a kick out of it while they’re showing you what it feels like to be helpless and trapped.”

Eileen was crying now. “This is all because of her, that Peyton woman. She ruined everything. It’s all her fault. You should have killed her, Drew.”

Yes, Peyton had ruined their lives.

Yet another reason to be proud of her, Finn thought.

______

The following morning Peyton and Finn walked into Randolph Swift’s office. He stood when they entered and rushed around his desk to shake their hands. Erik was with him.

“I’m so glad to finally meet you,” Randolph told Peyton. “It’s been quite a week. We heard all about the arrests. I don’t think we need worry about Drew filing a lawsuit anytime soon.”

The door opened, and two young women came in. They were smiling but hesitant. Randolph motioned them forward. “These are two new employees,” he began. “Actually, they worked here a short time under Drew’s supervision and left, but now they’re back.”

Peyton knew what that meant.

“It was a terrible time for them,” he continued. “I’m going to try to make it up to them if that’s possible, and they’re going to help write new guidelines for the company. April will be working in HR, replacing an employee who had been taking orders from my daughter, and Maria will be a coordinator in production.”

“This is going to be a good company again,” Erik promised. “I’ll begin working here in June.”

“Graduate school?” Finn asked.

“One more paper and I’m finished.”

Peyton was humbled and a bit embarrassed when the two women thanked her for all she had done for them.

“I didn’t really do all that much,” she protested.

“Oh, but you did,” April said. “You exposed Drew Albertson for what he was. If you hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t be here now.”

Erik stepped forward. “If you’ll excuse us, I’d like to show these two young ladies their offices.”

After they were gone, Randolph asked Finn and Peyton to take a seat.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to you about my daughter and her husband.” A look of profound sadness came into his eyes as he continued. “I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am for the misery they’ve caused. And I know I have to accept some of the blame.” He saw that Peyton was about to protest, and he raised his hand to stop her. “No, no, it’s true. If I weren’t so distracted after the death of my dear Miriam, I could have seen what was going on. I knew that Eileen could be selfish, but I had no idea her ambition or her obsession with Drew Albertson would take her to such extremes.” He turned to Finn. “What will become of them?”

“I’m certain Drew is going to be doing some prison time, and so is Parsons. The lab has found their fingerprints on the weapons and it’s just a matter of time before the ballistics report shows at least one of them was used in an attempted murder. We’re already getting cooperation from Bridget Dawson and Don Cosgrove. Their testimony will help get a conviction.”

“Cosgrove?” Randolph asked. “What did he have to do with this?”

“He was Drew’s and Parsons’s alibi. When the three of them were supposed to be on a fishing trip, he went alone and left a trail to prove that they were with him when, in fact, they had secretly made their way to Florida.”

“And what will happen to my daughter?” he asked with a hint of worry.

“I can’t say,” Finn answered. “She might serve time for her part in all of it, or the court might go easy on her if she agrees to cooperate.”

“I’m afraid Eileen has never been a very agreeable person,” he admitted. “Maybe this will make her change.”

The image of Eileen in the park, screaming that Drew should have killed Peyton, flashed through Finn’s mind. He knew there was little chance of her becoming the person Randolph wanted her to be, but he couldn’t bring himself to dash a father’s hopes.

“It could happen,” he said.