Lejeune showed up at Georgia’s apartment late that afternoon. “I just flew back from Kalamazoo, and I want to fill you in.”
“I have news for you too.”
“Make us some coffee?”
She went into the kitchen and gestured for him to follow. They sat at her tiny table while it brewed. “So when we searched Ryan Brown’s apartment and computer in Arlington Heights, we discovered he has a sister in Kalamazoo. Works in a tavern near Jefferson Medical.”
“Is her name Ginny?”
“How did you know?”
“She was the bitch who threw me out when I was up there.”
“Why?”
Georgia thought about it. “Now, it makes sense. She kicked me out when I was nosing around for intel. Two minutes later, as I was going to my car, Brown came out to tell me Ginny was really a nice person. ‘She’d give you the shirt off her back,’ he said.” Georgia filled two mugs and brought them to the table. “I thought he was coming on to me. I was wrong.”
“Well, she doesn’t have a shirt left to give you now. She is on her way to the MCC right here in warm, sunny Chicago.”
LeJeune’s sense of humor was always dark. The chilling rain from this morning had intensified into a downpour.
“She’s going to be locked up here?”
“This is where the crimes were committed.”
“As an accessory?”
“Co-conspirator. Turns out their mother died from an adverse reaction to the vaccine. It happens.”
“Yep.”
“No one reported it. The mother’s name didn’t end up on any list. The bureaucracy did nothing. So the sister was pissed, and her brother freaked out. She convinced him to get even. We found reading materials—”
“Anti-vax stuff?”
“And more. Articles, books, pamphlets on medical freedom. We also found a small supply of succinylcholine and a box of syringes. For practice, most likely. And his emails were filled with messages about their plans. They were rank amateurs,” LeJeune sniffed. “They didn’t even have the sense to encrypt them. You figured in a few of them, cher. At one point they were worried about you. Ginny wanted him to take you out.”
“Thank god he screwed that up.” She took a sip of coffee. “What about the other bartender? I think his name was Holt.”
“Zero. She claims he knows nothing.” He took a sip. “Good shit.”
“Thanks. It’s my special dark roast. So why was Ryan Brown in Kalamazoo the same day I was?”
“Don’t know yet. Maybe he was transporting a small supply of vaccine back to Chicagoland.”
“Another coincidence?”
“You’ll have the chance to question Ginny yourself. You’re on the list, Davis. We need to talk about scheduling.”
Georgia fisted her hands. While she was flattered that the Bureau might want her to interrogate Ginny Brown, this was not the right time. Still, she didn’t want to shut any doors. “That would be great. But we got a huge break on my mother’s kidnapping, and I’m running with that.”
She explained how she’d studied video surveillance from the exterior of JoBeth’s apartment building. How she’d spotted Eden’s husband and his pickup. “He was with someone who looked a lot like the guy who tried to run me down. They rolled JoBeth up in a carpet and dropped her in Christiansen’s truck.”
LeJeune made the sign of the cross.
Even though she was a lapsed Catholic, Georgia glared at him. “Crossing the line, LeJeune. Even though you are a lapsed Catholic.”
“I didn’t know you cared.”
She ignored the crack. “But the bad news is that Eden is gone again. She ran away yesterday morning. We’re think she took another train.”
Lejeune blew out a breath. “Well, that sucks.”
Georgia was taken aback. It was rare for LeJeune to express a spontaneous, unguarded emotion.
“Tell you what,” he said. “I’ll round up surveillance video from Union, Ogilvie, and, just to be safe, Greyhound.”
“Really?” LeJeune wasn’t normally that generous. “That’s really nice of you.”
“Cher, after what you did for us, there’s not a lot I wouldn’t do.” His neck turned red, and he cleared his throat right away as if to cover up his embarrassment. “I’ll have our guys go through it. We’re looking for a woman who looks like you, right? But with brown hair.”
“That’s right.”
LeJeune dug out his cell and took a few pictures of Georgia. “That’ll help.”
Georgia smiled.
“Have you thought about what you’ll do when we find her?”
Georgia’s smile faded, although she noted he used the word “we.” She shook her head.
He slurped most of his coffee, then got up. “Then I think you, me, and your boyfriend need a powwow ASAP, don’t you?”
Was he in? She inclined her head. “Does that mean—"
He cut her off. “Don’t go to bed. I’ll be baaaack…”