Page 20 of Two Favors Repaid

“Rob! I’m so glad you’re back? Are you okay?” Susan asked, rushing towards him.

“Why wouldn’t I be—”

The words died on his lips as he caught sight of the figure standing behind Susan. Special Agent James Ramsay took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Rob hadn’t even noticed the man wore glasses until now.

“What are you doing here?” Rob asked, looking around. Special Agent Vasquez appeared with a steaming mug in her hand. “Lorraine? What’s going on?”

Lorraine’s lips formed a thin pale line. “We have bad news, Rob. Stephen Ford’s been getting letters from somebody. We think he’s got a partner.”

Rob’s heart stopped for a moment, remembering the headlights in the distance on the trip back from the prison.

“Who?”

“We don’t know, Rob. That’s why we’re here.”

“Have you warned Emma? I need to go find her.”

“Hold on, Rob, we need to talk,” Lorraine said.

Rob was already on his way to the door. “We can talk on the way to her place.” He was sitting in the patrol car, his hand on the ignition, by the time Lorraine opened the passenger door. Rob waited until Lorraine got in.

“Is your partner coming?” he asked, turning on the ignition.

She shook her head. “He’ll stay with your officer and brief her on what we know. What the hell, Rob! Try not to crash, will you?”

“Sorry if I offend your delicate sensibilities, Lorraine. How the hell did you only just find out about this? You weren’t reading his mail?”

“Not mail between him and his lawyer,” Lorraine explained patiently. “We think that’s how Ford’s been getting the letters. One of the guards found a note inside one of the library books. They traced it back to Ford.”

“And you have no idea who he is?”

“He signs the letters Robin.”

Rob swallowed at hearing a name so similar to his own.

“Robin?” he finally asked, feeling his brain cells engage. “As in Batman and Robin?”

“Yeah,” Lorraine said through clenched teeth. “He’s just messing with us.”

“What do the letters say?”

“In the one we read, he talks about the recent murders in enough detail to make us think this person might … might have been there as well.”

“Fuck. Call Emma,” he said, unlocking his phone and handing it to the FBI agent.

“I’m sure there’s nothing to—”

“Call her now, Lorraine,” he shouted. He breathed in and out deeply. “I’m sorry. Please call her. Tell her to lock the door, that we’re on our way.”

Lorraine looked at him, nodding in understanding. Rob heard it ring, each ringtone seemingly longer than the one before.

Pick up, Emma. Pick up.

“She’s not picking up,” Lorraine said, unnecessarily.

“Jesus. I might have led him straight to Emma.”

“I’ll keep trying,” Lorraine said.