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“So, exactly why do I need to be guarded?” I asked, settling back in the seat and wishing I could feel as relaxed as that pose.
“I’ll explain everything after the guys bring you in.”
“Bring me in?” I asked. “Where?”
“The safe house.”
Although the words “safe house” made me feel anything but, I tried to relax during our ride out of town. As we drove, I asked Cotter, “Well, if you’re my bodyguards, where the hell have you been all this time?”
“Your sister called a meeting with us yesterday. Shortly after you arrived at the Navy Memorial. I told her we were watching you, but she seemed to feel you’d be safe there. She was anxious to meet with us out of your view and discuss the latest developments with us. She’s the client, so we had our meeting.”
“What about him? Couldn’t you have left him to watch me?” I gestured toward Billy, who looked back at me with an open expression and slightly goofy grin that seemed to answer my own question.
Cotter shook his head. “Too green.” Based on appearances, I had to agree.
“So, you had nothing to do with either Fred or Selby’s death?”
“Of course not. We went back to the memorial after our meeting. We couldn’t find you there, so we returned to our surveillance post down the street from your sister’s building. You must have slipped out while our backs were turned.”
“Then how the heck did you find my hotel?”
Cotter glanced up at me in the rear view. His eyes were cagey, but kindness lurked beneath the steeliness.
“Your sister came home after work. She flipped out when she saw that you and your things were gone. She’s been worried sick and feeling guilty for calling us off the guard detail.”
I nearly admitted that I’d freaked out and caused my own problems after seeing the two of them with my sister, but held my tongue.
“Anyhow, after that, we were authorized to do an all-out search for you. One of our strategies was to call cab companies. It took a lot of phoning and a bit of cash.” Here, Cotter held up a hand and rubbed his fingers together. “But we were able to find out from the right cab company’s records when and where you went. Took us all night, but by God, we did it.” Cotter sounded proud and even a little emotional about this achievement.
We drove out to a brick rancher on a tree-lined rollercoaster of a street called Dale Drive in the Maryland suburbs. As I emerged from the car, Liz came running out to meet me.
We hugged so hard, I thought she’d squeeze the tears right out of me.
“I’m so sorry,” Liz said. “I didn’t want to tell you for fear of worrying you.”
Tell me what? my mind shrieked. But I was too tired for hysterics.
“Liz, please tell me what this is about.” I sounded pathetic.
Liz insisted we go inside to discuss it. Once inside, Liz put some coffee on and produced some deli sandwiches. I nearly pounced on them, since I hadn’t eaten a thing in almost 24 hours.
I unwrapped and tore into a turkey sandwich. “This is delicious,” I said, around a mouthful of sandwich.
“Got ’em at Ertter’s, right down the road,” Liz said.
I chewed and swallowed, holding off on the next bite out of sheer force of will. “It’s been too long since we last saw each other, Liz. But this is one fucked up reunion.”
Liz’s lips compressed into a wry smile. “You’re telling me.”
“So, just what is going on?”
Liz sighed. “Homeland Security contacted me. They knew about the extremist group, because of a mole.”
“Selby?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. They don’t tell me everything. They’re very good at telling me just enough, without telling it all.”
She poured two cups of coffee and brought them to the table, along with some milk and sugar, then sat across from me.
