How in the world had I been thrust into the middle of a Lifetime espionage movie?
“Now what do we do?” I asked my husband. We were sitting in IHOP, supposedly to eat and discuss our next move. But neither of us had touched our pancakes. I was shocked that we hadn’t crashed from exhaustion but the adrenaline from trying to stay alive must’ve been fueling us.
“Now we go see Bradley,” Jay said bluntly.
I leaned into the table and lowered my voice. “Oh, yeah, right. We’re just going to waltz up into his congressional office and tell him all the dirt we have on him.” I threw up my hands. “Hello, do you hear yourself? First of all, we’re not going to even make it past the lobby area. Secondly, like he’s just going to admit to something this huge.”
Jay held up the jump drive. “We have the evidence.”
I shook my head. No way would this be that easy. Obviously, my husband never watched Lifetime. “Why don’t we just take that to the cops?” I asked.
“Okay, we do that and we’re able to prove that the senator is into some shady, Watergate-type stuff. But there’s nothing to tie him to Vonda’s death, and that’s what we need to be concerned with. If what’s on here is true, Bradley Bell will make sure he discredits us and that we go down for Vonda’s murder. And there’s no telling who a man that powerful has in his pocket. No, our best bet is to just give him the drive, let him know we don’t want to be involved, and get him to clear our names.”
“It’s just that simple, huh?”
Jay exhaled his frustration. “I don’t know if it’ll work or not, but right now, it’s all we got.”
“How do we even know he’s tied to those thugs in the Virgin Islands?” I asked. “I mean, are we really to believe Vonda had seduced the senator to the point that he’d share his illegal activities with her?”
“Vonda was crafty. I doubt he shared anything. She might have stumbled on it.”
I shook my head, unconvinced.
“Nothing else makes sense,” Jay said. “After what we saw on this drive, the senator is the only one behind this.”
I knew the senator was the only one with the money and power to chase Vonda all over the place.
“So we just need to get in touch with the senator and play let’s-make-a-deal, and when he clears our names, we give him the jump drive,” Jay continued.
“I don’t like this. We’re just supposed to let the man create another natural disaster so he can build a freakin’ casino? Do we want that on our consciences?” I asked. “Remember how many people died in Hurricane Katrina? Could you live with that happening again and knowing we could’ve done something?”
Jay slammed his hand on the table. “I just want to live our lives, Shannon.” He lowered his voice when the waitress looked our way. “We turn this info over to the police and we’ll never see it again, and lose all hope of clearing our names.”
My resolve weakened. I knew Jay was right. “So the question remains, how are we going to get in to see the senator?”
Jay paused like he was thinking. “Quincy will help get us in,” he finally said. “We need to call him.”
Before I could reply, Jay quickly leaned in and kissed me across the table.
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked, trying to pull away.
“Shhh,” he said, motioning toward the door with his eyes. I turned around and glanced at the two police officers who had just walked in. I quickly turned back around. Nicole had said the cops in D.C. were looking for us as well. We couldn’t take a chance on getting spotted.
“Let’s just ease out as soon as they take their seats,” Jay whispered.
I had never felt so nervous. What if we were caught? The very real possibility that I could go to jail for a crime I hadn’t committed filled my head. And even if we were eventually exonerated, I’d have to go through a living nightmare first.
Luckily, one officer went to the bathroom in the rear of the restaurant and the other slid into a booth with his back to us. Jay stood, threw some money on the table, then grabbed my hand and led me out.
We didn’t say anything until we were several blocks away, parked in the lot at a Target store.
“I can’t take this, Jay,” I finally mumbled.
“That’s why we’ve got to handle this,” he said as he pulled out his phone. He punched in a number, then put the phone on speaker. “I’m calling Quincy.”
The phone rang twice, then Quincy’s voice filled the SUV.
“Jay, man,” he said, his voice filled with relief. “Where are you guys? I’ve been worried sick. What the hell is going on? Why haven’t you been answering your phone? You just disappeared from Saint Thomas and the next thing I know, you’re wanted for murder. What happened?”
“We’re fine, Quincy. Shannon is here with me. I have you on speakerphone.”
“The police in the Virgin Islands and D.C. are about to issue a warrant for your arrest. So can you tell me what in the world is going on?”
“Man, you know I didn’t kill anybody,” Jay said, repeating what had become our tagline. “Vonda was caught up in some real crooked stuff, and now I’m right in the middle of it.”
“What kind of crooked stuff? And why didn’t you bring this to me and we could just take this to the cops?”
“You said it yourself—I’m wanted for murder. I’m sure my fingerprints are in her room. And the people I think are responsible don’t play around. If they want me to go down for murder, I go down for murder. Thanks, but no thanks.”
Quincy was silent as Jay’s words registered in his head. “What people, Jay? Tell me what in the world is going on.”
Jay paused. “I can’t say just yet.”
Quincy exhaled an exasperated sigh. “So what, do you plan to stay on the run?”
“No, we’re going to find the real killers,” Jay replied.
“Okay, Perry Mason. You’re no private eye, so don’t go trying to dig for answers. Let the police do their job.”
I could picture Quincy, his brow furrowed, his mind racing as he tried to figure out how he could fix this.
“Quincy, you remember when Joe got arrested for assaulting that woman in his building?” Jay said, referring to their old high school buddy.
“Yeah, what does that have to do with anything? He was exonerated.”
“Yeah, but after spending six months in jail. I’m not trying to go out like that.” Jay blew a frustrated breath. “You know what, just save it. My time is limited. I just need to know what you know about Bradley Bell.”
“Who?”
“Bradley Bell, the senator from Louisiana.”
“What does he have to do with anything?” Quincy asked.
I was tired of playing twenty questions, so I spoke up. “Do you know how to get in touch with him?”
“Why would I know that?”
“You’re a high-profile attorney. You ought to know someone who knows him. What the hell are we paying you all this money for if you can’t help us,” I snapped.
“Look,” Jay said, placing a hand on my arm in an effort to calm me, “Shannon didn’t mean to get smart with you, but as you can imagine, we’re freaking out over here. We’re exhausted and running on pure adrenaline.”
Quincy hesitated. “I understand, but I just don’t… Wait, there’s this one guy I went to law school with. He used to work in Senator Bell’s office. I could see if he’s still there.”
“I need you to get in touch with him and set up a meeting ASAP.”
I could hear his doubt as he said, “Bradley Bell is a well-known politician and the word is that he’s going to be on the next presidential ticket. So the last thing he wants to be doing is having clandestine meetings with a wanted fugitive.”
“Oh, I assure you, he’ll want to meet with us,” Jay said.
Silence, then, “Okay, Jay, you need to tell me what’s going on.”
“Just tell the senator that Vonda Howard passed his information on to me.”
“Vonda, the dead woman? What does she have to do with anything?” Quincy asked. “What information did she have? Is that why she’s dead?”
“Again, I’ll explain everything later. For now, just do this for me. I’ll call you back first thing in the morning.”
“But, Jay—”
“No buts, Quincy. Just work this out for me.”
Quincy let out a heavy sigh. “Okay, man, but I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I don’t have much choice. We’ll be in touch.” Jay pressed the end button to disconnect the call.
“So now what?” I asked.
“Now we wait,” Jay replied, as he leaned back his seat to get comfortable.