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“But they did. And now they’re being questioned by police.” She resumed pacing. “If this airfield man survives, can he identify you?”
“No. We came in behind him.”
She wanted to ask why they hadn’t just killed him. That would have left her with one less thing to worry about. She said, “I sent you up there on a simple errand. Keep your eye on Dr. O’Neal and make certain she delivers that box to us. All you’ve succeeded in doing so far is to invite the sheriff’s office to our party.”
Goliad was wise enough not to contradict her.
“Do you even know where the box is now?”
“One of the deputies was carrying it when they went into the sheriff’s department.”
“Christ.” Delores lit another cigarette. “You’re there now?”
“Right across the street, with a view of the door where they went in.”
“Two men in a car surveilling the sheriff’s office? Won’t that arouse suspicion?”
“I don’t think there’s any danger of that. Looks like only a few officers are on duty. The streets are deserted.”
“All right. Keep your eyes glued to that building. They can’t detain Dr. O’Neal forever. She didn’t assault anyone.”
“I doubt they’ll suspect it of her. They might the pilot, though. If he thought the guy at the airfield was the one with the laser, he’d have a motive for attacking him.”
“All the better for us,” she said. “If the police think he’s the culprit, they’ll hold him. If they release him, he’ll have a plane crash to deal with. Either way, he’s not our problem. Dr. O’Neal is. Stay on her tail, Goliad. If it looks like she’s— Oh, Nate is calling in. Failure is not an option, Goliad.”
Giving him no time to respond, she clicked off, then took several deep breaths before switching over to the incoming call. “Nate! I’ve been trying to reach you for hours. Where the hell is Dr. O’Neal? She should have been back well before now. Richard is frantic.”
“Calm down, Delores. I just got off the phone with Brynn, who explained why she’s been delayed. She was met with some difficulties.”
“What kind of difficulties?”
She feigned ignorance about the happenings in Howardville. Nate Lambert was a brilliant physician. He was not a trusted confidant. Their inner circle consisted only of Richard and herself. They hadn’t told Nate that Goliad had been sent to ensure Dr. O’Neal’s timely return.
She listened as he naïvely described the hazards his colleague had encountered, beginning with the plane crash.
“You told us this company was reliable.”
“I told you the company was the most reliable I could find that would agree to fly last night.”
When Nate finished with his tale, Delores said, “I had a bad feeling that something untoward would happen if Dr. O’Neal went alone. Someone should have gone with her. Better yet, she shouldn’t have been going at all. You should have. I’m on record as having told you so.”
“Noted,” Nate said. “But I didn’t want to spoil my dinner plans and trek to the wilderness. You don’t know Brynn as well as I do. She’s capable and levelheaded. She’s handled a mercurial situation with aplomb. She was remarkably unflustered when I spoke to her. Of course she was reluctant to open the box, but—”
“What?” This time Delores’s astonishment was genuine. “She opened the box?”
“We really
weren’t given a choice. Those backwoods detectives were stiff-necked about it. Compliance was the only way to get Brynn out of there sooner rather than later.”
“But—”
“It’s fine, Delores. I had given explicit packing instructions, and it was done to my specifications.”
“Richard’s name—?”
“Brynn safeguarded it.”
“Thank God.”
