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Loren figured they actually had about seven minutes before the agents from Santa Maria arrived. But it could be five. Or nine, depending on traffic, lights, and a number of other unrelated issues. She had to work fast without appearing rushed or stressed.
She was both.
Loren put the light cube back on the roof, then headed for the SLO police officer who was taking Amy into custody. The other was talking with Melissa. With Keller behind her, looking official enough in his dress shirt and disheveled sport coat, she held up her creds, her fingers partially covering the name—the badge glinting in the late afternoon sun.
Keller had reasoned that with a federal warrant, the local cops did not want the jurisdiction. Their role was simply to assist the Bureau with taking her into custody. Arresting her would entail paperwork and court appearances on a case to which SLOPD had little connection. They had no need to mirandize or question Amy.
There was, however, one potential flaw in Keller’s plan: depending on the timing of how things unfolded, the Santa Maria agents would contact SLOPD. If Hill or Minh had relayed their suspicions of what Loren was doing, along with her physical description—and if dispatch had time to relay that information to the officers—despite the disguise, the cops might suspect this was Loren. And that would not end well for her.
The only good thing is that they would know immediately if the officers had already been briefed.
“Maura Rader, FBI. This is my partner, Michael Collins. Thanks for covering for us. Got here from Santa Maria as soon as we could.”
She avoided eye contact with Amy but felt her sister-in-law’s gaze boring into her.
“Ray Richards,” the officer said with a nod. “Not a problem.”
“Appreciate you having our backs,” Loren said. “Tough one to find. Thank goodness for facial rec technology.” She forged ahead, relieved—for the moment—that Richards and his partner had not been alerted. Of course, a crackle of the radio could change that.
She quickly handed Amy off to Keller so that she would be the one to deal with Melissa. Since Melissa had seen Keller in a very stressful situation, it was hard to judge how she would react—freak out, not remember him, or register fear but not know why. For that matter, Amy probably had the same initial response—but she might recall that Loren told her she used to work with him.
The officer brought Melissa around the back of the taxi and Loren met her there, doing her best to use her body to block the girl’s view of Keller.
“Hey,” Loren said, “thanks again.”
“You got it.” Richards turned and headed back with his partner to their cruiser.
“Let’s get the heck out of here,” Loren said.
They led Amy and Melissa to Loren’s Ford, now a dozen feet away.
“What’s going on?” Amy asked.
Loren opened the rear door. “Everything’s fine, but we don’t have much time.”
Amy and Melissa got in. Amy found Melissa’s buckle and shoved it home with a click.
“Where are we going?” Melissa asked. “Why did the policemen leave?”
“Good questions,” Amy said. “These are policemen, too.”
Loren started the engine and turned to give Melissa a wink and then pulled out and hung a right onto Garfield Street.
“We’re going back to where you left your car,” Loren said. “It’s only a half-mile or so away.”
Amy leaned forward in the seat. “Something tells me you’re not here as an agent.”
“If I was, you’d be on your way to the county jail.”
As Loren approached Keller’s Lincoln, she elbowed him. “Get in and be ready to go. I’m gonna wipe this thing down.”
“The adventure continues,” Keller said. “Follow me, ladies.”
“C’mon,” Amy said, unbuckling Melissa. She gave Keller a wary look as they got out of the Ford.
Loren found a rag on the floor and dragged it across the steering wheel, the door, the dash, the mirror … anything they might have touched. She then got into the Lincoln’s front passenger seat.
Keller hung a U-turn and glanced at Loren. “Now what?”
“Nice and slow,” she said. “Obey all traffic laws. We’ve got another hour before it’s dark. If we can make it to nightfall, we stand a better chance of not being identified.”
“And then what?”
“We’re headed to Soledad. I’ve got my Bureau car there. I’ll check in and then head back to the office.”
“And me?” Amy asked.
Yes. What about you?
“And Melissa?”
“One thing at a time,” Loren said. “I’ll figure it out on the way to Soledad.”
THEY ARRIVED IN Soledad as a dusky steel blue sky faded to black like a movie that had come to an end.
Loren had done a lot of thinking along the way. Melissa fell asleep in Amy’s lap. Amy stared out the window at the inky landscape, not knowing what the future would hold.
Keller occasionally checked in with Loren to see if he could be of some help. “Run some ideas off me,” he said as they approached the exit.
“There’s no perfect solution,” Loren said.
Keller laughed. “There never is. But how do you define perfect?”
Loren held out her hand and raised a finger with each point. “Amy is not prosecuted. Melissa doesn’t end up in an abusive environment—” she glanced over the seatback to make sure the girl was still asleep—“and her parents do time for all the crimes they committed, including arson, insurance fraud, and theft of personal property. I remain an agent in good standing. And you get your money.”
Keller shook his head. “Nope. No one solution that’ll accomplish all that.”
“And I have to somehow get that car I left in SLO to Señor Gomez,” Loren said.
“You’ve got more important things to deal with,” Keller said. “The police will find it—if they haven’t already—and will be returning it to Gomez once they’re done processing it.”
Loren pointed toward the freeway. “Get off here.”
As Keller looped around and followed her directions to the disabled BuCar, Loren turned on her Samsung.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to salvage my career.” She called Hill and waited while it rang.
“Jesus Christ, Loren. That you?”
“Yeah. Been a hell of a day. Got a flat when I pulled off the freeway for lunch, then fell in a ditch and, I dunno, I think I hit my head and lost consciousness. Just came to, it’s dark out.”
There was a pause of hesitation. Then, Tran’s voice: “Your phones were off all day, Loren.”
“Left my iPhone at home. Samsung battery must’ve died. Not sure. I got back in the car and plugged the thing in. It booted up and I called you.”
An awkward silence ensued.
“You guys still there?”
“Yeah,” Minh said. “Here. You, uh, you okay?”
“I’m—probably could use some food and water. Got a splitting headache. And I’ve still gotta change the flat. Or call road service.”
“Where are you?”
“Soledad.”
“We’re only about forty-five minutes off your twenty. Get in the car and rest. We’ll change the tire.”
Forty-five minutes? Holy crap. “Thanks guys.”
She hung up and let her head fall back against the headrest. “That did not go the way I planned.”
Keller chuckled. “What has?”
“My colleagues will be here in forty-five minutes. Maybe less.”
“Then we’ll be long gone by then.” He pulled in front of her Ford and Loren and Keller got out.
She sighed deeply and looked out into the darkness. Fields were out there somewhere, but at this time of night the topography was formless.
She swung her gaze to Keller and saw that he was holding a handgun. And it was pointed in her direction.
Loren looked over at Amy, whose view was blocked by the BuCar.
“Mickey, what the fuck?”
“Loren. I’m real sorry. I respect you a lot, despite our differences over the years. Everything I said earlier was sincere. But I have to take the kid. It’s my job.”
Loren snorted. “Seriously? You’d bring the girl back to an abusive mother?”
“Not the way I want this to go down, but there are other considerations. Personally, I don’t think the parents are gonna be around. Like you said, both will be going to prison.”
“And then what?”
“Amy could petition the court, or however it’s gotta happen, to adopt her.”
“Amy. Adopt a child? Given her history of mental illness? There’s no way a judge would go along with that. They don’t know her like I know her. She’s a fantastic mother. Melissa—Melissa saved her life. If there was one thing that could heal the pain she’s experienced, it was another little girl that she and Dan created.”
“Look,” Keller said. “I’m not a judge, I’m not a jury. Hell, I’m not even an officer of the court anymore. I’ve got a private client. And my job isn’t to hold a trial out here in the middle of freakin’ nowhere.”
“Don’t forget who I am,” Loren said. “I’m a federal agent and you’re holding a gun on me.”
“Yeah, well, I’d never forget that. But don’t you forget how this goes. It cuts both ways. Anything happens to me, there’s always Tarzana.”
Loren ground her molars. “So I let you ruin my sister-in-law’s life. Or I arrest you—and we both lose our jobs.”
“You’d do time. A lot of it. Me?” He shrugged. “Who knows. My boss has a lot of money and even more contacts in the federal government.”
“Mickey, you’re still under arrest. And my partners will be here very soon.”
She held up her right hand and exposed her Glock. “Looks like we’ve gotta make a deal. Let Amy and the kid go and I’ll let you go, look the other way.”
“You don’t know how to do that. Pardon the expression, but it’s not in your DNA.”
“It’s my idea. As hard as it is for me to do this, I made the offer. Take it or leave it.”
Keller’s gaze roamed her face.
“Please. Mickey, I’m asking you as a sister-in-law. As a mother. As a former colleague. I’m asking you for a favor.”
“A favor?” He laughed. “That’s a five-million-dollar ask.”
They locked eyes. Loren swallowed hard. “A what?”
“A lot more, if it costs me my job.”
“No one will ever know you had her and let her go.”
Keller bit his bottom lip so hard he drew blood.
Loren reholstered her Glock. “I trust you.”
“Then you’re crazy.”
“I know who you are at your core. And I know you’re going to do the right thing here.”
Keller closed his eyes. “Dammit.”
“Obviously I can’t ever replace the money you’ll be out. And my god, is it really five million?”
“My cut’s fifty percent, but yeah. That’s what they paid.” Keller took a deep breath. “Actually, it started at five. Christine Ellis upped it to fifty.”
“Million?”
“Provided I bring Melissa back safely and kill your sister-
in-law.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“When I said I ended up working for the bad guys, I wasn’t kidding.”
Loren studied his face. “Do this for me and I’ll forever be indebted to you.”
Keller scoffed.
“C’mon, Mickey. Assuming I keep my job, that’s worth a lot.”
He holstered his sidearm. “Even if I fail here, my boss won’t give up. They’ll send in someone else. They will get the girl back. And take out Amy in the process. Christine put the hit out on Amy.” He waited a beat. “She paid. It’s not rescindable.”
“Then I need your help.”
Keller laughed. “That’s—that can’t happen. If I have any hope of keeping my job, I can get away—maybe—with walking away. But aid and abet you? Today was … inexcusable. I let my emotions and feelings get in the way of doing my job. Whether it’s you or me, cop or agent, that can’t happen.”
“She’ll have to disappear.”
“Amy? With a young girl?” Keller shook his head. “Even the Marshals Service has difficulty with witness protection when children are involved. How’s Amy gonna do it by herself?”
“She’ll have to make it work.”
He snapped his fingers. “Unless … Butch Thurston. WITSEC.”
“WITSEC? No way would—”
“He retired from the Service. He owes me. Might be willing to get Amy and Melissa new identities, place them in a small town somewhere under assumed names. Faux WITSEC. Maybe even better than real witness protection. No paperwork. But no monthly stipend, either.”
“Zach and I can take care of that. We’ll hire Butch, pay him a salary to look after them. A few years, who knows?”
“It’d have to be untraceable. Cash, small amounts.”
“Of course.”
He thought a moment. “The Bureau will never let this go.”
“No,” Loren said. “Probably not. What about your boss?”
“Once the IPO goes through—or falls through because they’re arrested and convicted—Tait may let the whole thing drop.”
Loren glanced at her watch. “We need to reach some kind of deal here.”
Keller lifted his brow. “If you’re willing to foot the bill and if Butch is willing and able to do it, it could work.”
“Call him. Ask.”
“And the rest?”
“We’ll figure it out. But we’re running out of time. Call Butch. If he’s not on board we’re screwed. No way around it.”
Keller pulled out his phone and dialed.