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“Find our way how?” Jack was bristling again. “Suzanne’s car isn’t here, and we couldn’t risk hiding out in the back of it, anyway. I still think I could lift some plates and we could get home in the Ford. We’ll dump it afterward.”
The look in Glen’s eyes was chilling. “Shut up. This isn’t a democracy. I give the orders. You follow them. The next time you challenge me, I’m going to break your scrawny neck. Now get out of here. Dump the car in East New York. Rent a motel room. Get yourself back here in the morning.”
“Then what?” Jack was visibly controlling himself. His hands had balled into fists at his sides.
“Suzanne will go out now and buy me hair dye and a change of clothes. Tomorrow she’ll go back to Manhattan the same way she came. You and I will take the bus.” A cutting pause. “Anything else?”
“Yeah. Where did you plan on us staying in the city—at my apartment? The cops will eventually track down where I live and start swarming the place.”
The anger building inside Glen was a palpable entity—one that made Suzanne tremble all the more. “We’ll get a room in Brooklyn. I have the name of a place. It’s a couple of miles from where you’re dumping the car. It’s off the beaten path, and it’ll keep us off the grid. We’ll take care of that when you get back. Now shut your punk mouth and do what you’re told.”
Jack didn’t answer. He walked over and stuffed two more cheeseburgers in his pockets. “I’m on my way—boss.”
He made no move to temper the sarcasm in his voice.
Without looking back, he left the motel room, slamming the door behind him.
Suzanne watched the pulse throbbing at Glen’s throat, and the terrifying gleam that came into his eyes. Then she stared at the closed door.
Dear God, now there were two of them.
* * *
It took less than an hour after Captain Sharp’s call to round up the entire FI team and assemble them around the main conference table so they could create an immediate action plan.
Before one word was said, Hutch strode into the room, a grim expression on his face. He went right over to Casey, who was seated at the head of the table.
“I just got out of a task force meeting. Are you all right?” he asked, squeezing her shoulder.
“I’m hanging in there,” she replied. “I’ve had better days, but I’ll survive.”
“Yeah, you will.” Hutch’s jaw was working. He was clearly furious about Fisher’s escape. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Casey glanced up at him in surprise. “I assumed the Bureau had you on the move—that they’d asked you to drive up to Auburn to dig around.”
“They tried. I told them Brian could handle it alone. I’m staying here with you.”
“Not happening.” Casey gave a shake of her head. “You’re the best there is. I want you grilling the Auburn prison staff and inmates with Brian. Not staying in Tribeca babysitting me.”
“Casey will be fine, Hutch,” Marc interceded. “I’ll be staying at the brownstone around-the-clock. Fisher would have to get through me to get to Casey. And he already knows what I’m capable of.” Marc’s gaze shifted to Casey. “You’re my assignment, by the way.”
“So I gathered.” Casey’s tone was dry. “Okay, fine. If it’ll get Hutch to do his job, I’m game.”
Hutch and Marc exchanged a glance. Knowing Marc as well as he did, Hutch conceded. “I’ll leave tonight. It’s obvious that someone—probably a prison guard—helped Fisher escape. I’ll find out who, and what, he supplied Fisher with. I’ll interview every damned prisoner Fisher interacted with if I have to. I’ll get the information we need. I’ll also check out any motels near the crash site, just in case. Fisher is staying somewhere. And I doubt it’s with Jack. That’s way too risky.”
“Yes, and he sure as hell isn’t going to his apartment,” Marc added. “Although he might get in touch with Suzanne through a burn phone.”
“Let Suzanne Fisher be my project.” Claire spoke up with quiet assurance. “She felt a connection to me when we visited last time. I’m not law enforcement. I’m not aggressive. I’m a safe person for her to turn to. If I play my cards right, I might be able to get something out of her. If nothing else, I might pick up on some new energy—something Suzanne is feeling now that her husband is a free man.”
“That’s definitely a good match.” Casey gave an emphatic okay to Claire’s suggestion. “Drop in to make sure she’s okay. I saw the way she acted around you. She’ll let you in. You’ll make her feel as if you’re an ally.”
“Exactly.”
“Let me do some legwork,” Patrick suggested. “I’ll backtrack through all of Fisher’s previous crimes. That might give us some insight into his future behavior. He wants Casey, yes. But he has to have a plan to get her. He knows we’ll be keeping her under lock and key. So let’s see what methods he’s used to draw people out in the past.”
“That’s a good idea,” Casey said, nodding. “Anything we can do to get inside Glen Fisher’s head is significant.” She glanced at Ryan. “Are you still digging up data on Jack Fisher? Because he’s the obvious suspect as Glen’s co-conspirator. We need to draw him out.”
“Yeah.” Ryan was th
