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Once a Marine, always a Marine, she’d said to him last night, and it was another bond between them. So many bonds. They were inextricably linked. She belonged to him, and he...he belonged to her. Semper Fidelis—Always Faithful. It was more than just the Marine Corps motto now. It was a personal pledge between them.
He smiled back at her in the darkness.
* * *
Callahan pulled up in front of his house and parked, but before anyone got out, he turned around and said, “Hang on a sec. Let me check first. You never know, and I don’t want to take any chances.”
“I’m coming with you,” Cody said, opening his door before Callahan could protest. They hadn’t taken more than three steps toward the house before floodlights hit them from all directions. “Freeze!” barked a voice from the darkness. “FBI.”
“Damn!” Cody glanced across at Callahan, realizing they’d both said the same word at the same time. They both raised their hands and froze, neither wanting to give any trigger-happy FBI agent an excuse to open fire. But Cody called out, “Hold your fire! I’m Special Agent Cody Walker, and this is Sheriff Ryan Callahan. Special Agents Keira Jones and Trace McKinnon are with us.”
FBI agents swarmed around them, and at first it seemed as if the Fibbies didn’t care who they were. But then the man in charge let Cody—very slowly and carefully—show his identification and his badge. When Callahan was allowed to do the same, the order was given to the other FBI agents to lower their weapons.
“Sorry,” the man in charge said as he holstered his gun. “The agency, huh?” And Cody could tell by his tone that the FBI’s agent in charge wasn’t impressed. Only natural, I suppose, he thought. They don’t like us any more than we like them.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw FBI agents opening the doors of Callahan’s four-by-four, and ordering Keira and McKinnon out. He suppressed the instinct to go to Keira’s side, knowing she could take care of herself in this situation, and instead pocketed his credentials.
“What are you doing here?” Callahan asked as he put his wallet away. He didn’t add, “on my property,” but he might as well have since his tone indicated that’s what was in his mind.
“Sorry,” the FBI agent said, but this time his apology was sincere, and Cody smiled to himself as he thought, The FBI doesn’t want to tick off the local sheriff. “I’m Agent Jeff Holmes, from the FBI’s resident agency in Casper. We were notified by his agency,” he said, jerking a thumb in Cody’s direction, “that there could be a link between an attempt on your life and the murders of two federal prosecutors on the East Coast last night.”
“Yeah.” Callahan glanced over at Cody. “I take it you found one?”
Agent Holmes nodded. “The SUV that was in your driveway, we took it apart and found what we think are the same explosives and wiring device. The lab has them now, and they’re being analyzed to see if we can tie them together forensically, but in the meantime, our working assumption is that there is a connection. So, what can you tell me?”
Cody shot Callahan a sharp look and got a confirming look in return. Callahan wasn’t about to reveal anything more than he had to. Not to the FBI.
“Not much, other than the fact I knew both men,” Callahan said laconically. “I was a witness in a trial they prosecuted eight years ago, but I haven’t seen or talked to them since then. His agency—” Callahan hooked a thumb toward Cody, just as Agent Holmes had done “—seems to think there’s a connection, but that’s about all they told me. And they dragged me all the way to Denver to tell me that much.”
Cody had to admire the way Callahan told the truth...but concealed almost everything of importance. He’d revealed only what he wanted to reveal, and made it sound as if the agency was overreacting. Throwing the Fibbies off the scent, he acknowledged. Nice job, Callahan.
“So, did you search my house?” Callahan asked.
“Uh, we got a search warrant for the car, but we couldn’t get one for the house,” Agent Holmes said.
Doesn’t mean they didn’t search, Cody thought, knowing Callahan was thinking the same thing.
