We sat in front of Agent Griswold’s desk like kids called into the Principal’s office. At that moment I knew in my heart Kate and Cami would have gone ahead with their stupid plan if I hadn’t called him.
Griswold was a big man, not heavy but tall and somewhat stout. The overall effect was imposing. All business. As he stared us down, he scrunched his bushy brown eyebrows, which were practically the same shade as the suit jacket stretched across his broad shoulders. His deep voice held no smile or warmth. “This is treacherous stuff you’re playing with. For chrissakes, you’re two marketing reps and a controller. I can’t make this any clearer. Butt out!”
I nodded, sort of relieved that he was lecturing them. Cami glared and Kate appeared uninterested, as though his admonitions were overkill. At last Cami gave him one of her flirty smiles and he reacted with a sub-zero stare.
Cami said through clenched teeth, “Enough with the warnings, Agent Griswold, I get the message. You want us to get lost. So what exactly are we supposed to do now?”
“Miss Holiday, what you do now is to fill me in on anything that has happened since you turned your information over to Mr. Hartman right through being stupid enough to send a threatening email. Then, to put it simply, the three of you are to cool it. Am I making myself clear? Any interference from you could put you in jeopardy, not to mention derailing our operation. We will let you know what happens. That’s it.”
Cami pursed her lips and lowered her lids. “But, we’re the ones who found everything. Surely you can see we’re capable. We can take care of ourselves and—“
“—and you will do that by staying out of my operation. Period! You’ve set the stage for the meeting tomorrow. That’s enough. Just consider you’ve done your civic duty.”
He was right and I was more than ready to beat a hasty retreat. When Cami got up from the chair and brushed her skirt smooth, Kate got up, too, and extended her hand. I was surprised they had given up so easily. But, I was also relieved. Both of my friends thanked him for his concern for their safety and said they knew justice would be done.
We weren’t 50 yards from his office door when I realized Cami’s balled fists and Kate’s angry strides told a different story. My friends hadn’t given up at all.
Nothing was said until we were back in the car.
Finally Kate said, “If he thinks we’re just going to stand by and not even be there when it happens, he’s nuts. We deserve to see them lead Julia and Matt out in cuffs, or whatever they do in situations like this. Besides, I want to see who Ghost is, then watch the expression on his or her face.
Cami punched her fist in the air. “Well, Kimberly, are you with us?”
I warbled a weak, “I don’t think so,” but Cami said enthusiastically, “Look, we know when and where the meeting is. After all we’re the ones who set it up. We can park the car down by the post office again, and get there a little early. The gate will be open, so we can slip in and hide behind that clump of huge rhododendron bushes right inside the gate. That’s far enough from the house that we won’t be seen, and Griswold and his boys won’t be able to see us when they drive in either, but we’ll be able to watch the—what do they call it? Oh yeah, takedown, through openings in the bushes.”
I shouted, “That’s crazy, you guys. We could get into real trouble if anything goes wrong.”
Kate’s eyes narrowed. “Go wrong? What could possibly go wrong with the FBI there? Don’t be ridiculous.” She glanced over at Cami and Cami nodded. “We’re going with or without you. Besides, it’s not like you’re breaking your promise to Nate. Technically we won’t be involved. We’ll just watch.”
Oh, God. I knew right then there was absolutely no way of stopping those two. At least what they were planning wouldn’t be as dangerous as pretending to be Avarice-2 and actually going inside the house. I did go along with the plan because a little imaginary devil sat on my shoulder whispering, “Maybe Cami’s right and you’ll miss all the fun.” Meanwhile, my inner voice of reason insisted I shouldn’t go along with this and urged me to talk them out of it. Reason lost. We deserved to see them caught like rats.
I knew Nathan would go ballistic if he ever found out and the whole escapade would probably spell the end of my having any chance with him at all. I convinced myself I was only tagging along to keep my friends under control.
During an early dinner we speculated who Ghost would turn out to be.
“I think it’s someone we don’t know. After all, who is left? Maybe it’s someone in D.C.” Cami took a bite of her Moroccan lamb with curried rice. “Mmmm. You were right, this is great. Yeah, that’s probably it. Someone they knew way before us.”
I didn’t agree. “Maybe it’s someone who doesn’t even work for the government. It could even be one of the Superior Moving people, you know.”
Kate interjected, “Or one of the contracting agents.”
The ideas swirled, but by the time dinner was done we didn’t have any idea of who might call themselves Ghost.