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"Yes."
Dance had been pretty sure but she was glad to hear the confirmation. And glad to hear too that Morgan didn't continue to chat about his weapon or how proficient he was, much less whether he'd ever used it.
Professional ...
"It could be that Edwin's stolen a Glock."
"I know. I talked to Chief Madigan."
The big man retired to the front door, sat down in a chair challenged by his weight.
Dance sipped the iced tea that Kayleigh had brought her. She looked around the room at the many awards and gold and platinum records hanging on the walls. There was a framed picture from the cover of Country Times and Dance had to laugh. It was a picture of Kayleigh holding the Country Music Association's Singer of the Year award. As she'd been accepting it, a young man, a country singer with a self-polished reputation for being a bad boy had leapt onto the stage and taken the microphone away, berating her for being too young to win and not true to traditional country roots. He railed that another singer should have won.
Kayleigh had let him finish and then pulled the microphone out of his hand and said if he was such a supporter of traditional country, then name the top-five lifetime hits of George Jones, Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline. "Or name any five of them," Kayleigh had challenged.
He did a deer in the headlights thing for a long ten seconds, in front of a live TV audience of millions, and then slunk off the stage, his arm raised, for some reason, like a heavy metal rocker's. Kayleigh finished her acceptance speech and, to a standing ovation, concluded by naming all the hits she'd asked him to recite.
Kayleigh now joined them, wearing blue jeans and a thick dark gray blouse, untucked and concealing as if Edwin were observing her from the distance through high-powered binoculars.
And who's to say he wasn't?
The singer sighed and sat on a floral sofa in the middle of the spacious room.
Dance said, "I just talked to the deputy at the convention center. All of the crew are accounted for except Tye and Alicia."
"Oh, she called ten minutes ago. I told her about the second verse and made sure she was looking out for herself." Kayleigh smiled. "She almost sounded like she was hoping Edwin'd try something with her. She's pretty tough. And's got a temper." She called Tye Slocum and left a message. "I don't know why he left."
And all the while Darthur Morgan said nothing and didn't even seem to hear the conversation. He simply scanned the house, the windows. He took a phone call and put the mobile away. Then stiffened.
The big man was on his feet, looking out the front window. "Visitors." He paused. "Hm. Whole entourage. And it looks official."
Chapter 25
"ENTOURAGE" DESCRIBED IT pretty well, Kayleigh Towne decided.
Two SUVs--one dusty white Lexus, Bishop's, and a big black Lincoln Navigator.
Bishop and Sheri climbed out and turned to the other vehicle.
Four passengers. First was security, it was easy to tell. A solid, sunglassed man, well over six feet, a pale complexion. He looked around and then leaned into the SUV and whispered something. The next to climb out was a slim, thoughtful-looking man with thinning hair. The third, also in a dark suit, white shirt and tie, was much taller and had a politician's head of hair.
Which made sense, because, Kayleigh realized, that's exactly who he was: one of California's star congressmen, William Davis, a two-term Democrat.
Kayleigh glanced at Dance, who observed this all with a careful gaze.
A woman was the last to climb out of the Navigator, dressed also in a conservative matching navy jacket and skirt, flesh-colored stockings.
The guard stayed with the SUV and the others followed Bishop and his wife into the house.
Inside, Bishop hugged his daughter and as if in an afterthought asked how she was holding up. Kayleigh thought it was the way he'd ask a gaffer whose name he didn't know how he was weathering the loss of an elderly parent. He also didn't seem to remember that he'd been here just a few hours ago.
What on earth were they doing here, anyway?
Bishop examined Dance as if he'd never met her and he ignored Darthur Morgan completely.
He said to his daughter, "This here's Congressman Davis. And his aides, Peter Simesky. And ..."
"Myra Babbage." The slim, unsmiling woman, with square-cut, brunette hair, nodded formally. She seemed a bit star-struck to be in Kayleigh's presence.
