Hawk finished his lunch, trying not to show how thoroughly confused he was by the stunt Deputy Duncan had pulled pretending to be Kirby Stanfield, an old friend from Foggy Ridge. Something was up. Hawk knew it. But he couldn’t even ask about it as long as he was being listened to at the command center.
“You okay?” Special Agent Ziegler said.
“Sure. Why?”
“You’re awfully quiet.”
Hawk smiled. “Don’t want to talk with my mouth full while I’m live at command central.”
“Seriously, you okay?”
Hawk shrugged. “I guess so. I’m still uneasy about the guy trying to break in at the house.”
“Your mom is safe with Sloan and Ortega,” Ziegler said. “And if it was the bounty hunter, he never knew our agents were there, so we’re still good to go.”
“Yeah, I know. I suppose I am a little edgy.” I wish someone would explain Deputy Duncan’s behavior.
Ziegler patted his knee. “You’re doing great. Hang in there. This will all be over soon.”
Hawk nodded. “I’m ready for that.”
“Hawk, this is Special Agent Romo. How are you holding up?”
“All right, sir. I’d feel better if I could talk with my mother. Make sure she’s okay.”
“I can arrange that. Hold on …”
Hawk looked out across the back lawn at Angel View. Guests were laughing and joking around, having so much fun, completely oblivious to the FBI’s presence or the operation in progress. He spotted Deputy Duncan sitting at an umbrella table on the back deck, having a soft drink and reading what appeared to be a novel.
“Hawk, can you hear me? It’s your mother.”
“Hey, Mama. I hear you had a bit of a scare.”
“It’s never dull,” Kate said. “Elliot and Dad had gone into Foggy Ridge to get groceries, and I was enjoying some quiet time. All of a sudden, Clarissa came into the room, her gun drawn, and locked the sliding glass door. I could hear footsteps outside, and then I saw the silhouette of a man on the deck. I froze. Then Natalie came in with a Taser gun and told me to lock myself in the bathroom. Which I gladly did. Honestly, it was all over in ten minutes. Whoever was out there ran away. He never saw the agents, so their cover wasn’t blown. Goodness, Elliot and Dad are back now. I feel a lot better. I’ll say one thing, Natalie and Clarissa had things under control. I was never really afraid.”
“That’s so good to hear,” Hawk said. “I was worried.”
“Don’t be. How are things going there?”
“Okay, I guess. It’s slow. Would you believe I ran into an old friend who used to live here? He came right up to me in the middle of a covert operation and started a conversation. I had to talk with him and not let on, but I stayed cool and he had no idea anything was going on.” Hawk laughed. “Crazy, huh? Would you call Virgil and tell him I ran into Kirby Stanfield and kept my cool? He’ll get a big kick out of that.”
“I don’t recall the name,” Kate said. “Does Virgil know him?”
“Definitely. I’d better go. It was nice of Special Agent Romo to let me talk to you. I feel better now, knowing you’re okay.”
“You take care of you,” Kate said. “We’ll wait to have dinner until you’re home.”
“Okay. Don’t forget to call Virgil. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Kate took the phone off speaker and disconnected the call. She looked over at Elliot, who was lying next to her on the bed, resting his eyes. “Did you find that odd?”
“What?”
“Hawk asking me to call Virgil. He actually called him by name twice during the conversation. He’s never done that. Never. He always calls him Sheriff Granger or the sheriff.”
“Maybe they have a more personal relationship now. They’ve been through a great deal together in the past couple days.”
“Well, I wonder what’s so important about this Kirby Stanfield that Hawk would ask me to call Virgil and mention he ran into him.”
“I don’t know. Are you sure you’re not reading into it?”
Kate sighed. “No, I’m not sure. But my maternal instinct is telling me that Hawk is saying more than the obvious, and I should do what he asked and call Virgil.”
Elliot turned on his side. “Trust your instinct. Call Virgil. If you’re wrong, you’re just passing on an interesting tidbit from your son. But if you’re right, there’s a reason Hawk wants Virgil to know.”
Kate kissed his cheek. “Thanks.” She keyed in Virgil’s cell phone number. “I hope I’m not reading into it. Virgil is so busy that I hate to—”
“Hello, Kate. I’m sorry about what happened. You okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Elliot’s here and I’ve got you on speaker. I wouldn’t bother you right now, but Romo let me talk with Hawk a few minutes ago. Hawk wanted me to call and tell you that he ran into Kirby Stanfield today in the middle of a covert operation and managed to keep his cool. He thought you would get a kick out of it. Does that make sense?”
“Yes, I happened to be at the command center when it happened and watched it myself. Hawk carried on a conversation with him and never missed a beat. It was great. I’m sure Romo was impressed. I know I was.”
“Hmm … I was so sure Hawk was saying more than the obvious.”
“I don’t know about that. Since Hawk and I can’t communicate right now, he probably just wanted to be sure I knew about his Oscar-worthy performance.”
“So much for maternal instinct. How are things going there?”
“I’ve been watching everything from the command center,” Virgil said. “It’s been intense at times, especially the incident at your place, but they’re still waiting for the bounty hunter to make himself obvious enough to pick out of a crowd. I know the time must grate on you. But we have to wait it out.”
“How’s Deputy Duncan’s vacation going?” Elliot said.
“Fine. His eyes and ears are wide open. I’m very glad he was able to take off.”
“I’m glad he’s at Angel View where he can help you keep an eye on things. Virgil, you be careful,” Kate said. “And make sure Romo and his people are watching out for Hawk.”
“I will.”
Kate disconnected the call and laid her head back on the pillow. “Virgil’s not telling us everything.”
“Sweetheart”—Elliot took her hand—“he tells us what we need to know, when we need to know it.”
Kate smiled. “You’re right. We’ve been doing this so long, you’d think I’d know that by now.”
Billy Gene continued to follow the man he suspected had his eye on Hawk. Without being too obvious, he tried to get a facial shot of the guy. He finally managed to get one decent shot and sent it to the sheriff.
If the man was on vacation, he sure didn’t know how to have fun. All he’d done all day was stroll around the grounds and talk on the phone. And change his clothes—twice. Because he was hot and sweaty? Maybe. Or was it because he didn’t want to stand out if the area was under surveillance?
Billy Gene was uncomfortable that the FBI had him on video as Kirby Stanfield. If his true identity were ever found out, it would point back to Sheriff Granger. If Romo wanted to be nasty about it, he could charge them both with interfering with an FBI operation and make sure neither of them ever worked in law enforcement again.
Although Billy Gene did what he had to do under the circumstances, he was anything but under the radar now. And if they questioned Hawk about this fictitious friend, would he be able to do as good a job of covering it up as he’d done earlier?
“Billy Gene, can you hear me?” Virgil said.
“Loud and clear, Sheriff.”
“Kate just called. She said Hawk insisted that she call and tell me he ran into his old friend Kirby Stanfield in the middle of today’s covert operation—and kept his cool. Hawk thought I’d get a kick out of it. Kate thought it was odd, but I told her I watched it live, and he did great. And then we dropped it. I think it’s a nonissue.”
“Well, that’s good. It’s all I could think to do at the time. I just hope it doesn’t come back to bite us both.”
“I don’t think it will,” Virgil said. “Romo lost interest once Hawk acted like he knew you. Everyone at the command center turned their attention to the incident at Kate’s. To me, it still seems just a little too coincidental that the man showed up at Kate’s just as you thought the guy you’re tailing was closing in on Hawk. Then again, what was your guy going to do with Hawk while he was surrounded by the landscapers and grounds crew? It doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
“I can’t figure that one either, Sheriff. Maybe it was a bad call. Did you take a look at the picture I sent you?”
“I did,” Virgil said. “That is the guy whose face has shown up on the surveillance cameras off and on all day, and no one here flinched.”
“So he’s obviously not the guy. You want me to stop following him?”
“You were sure when you called me,” Virgil said, “that this guy was going to move on Hawk.”
“Yes, sir, I was. Guess I was wrong.”
“Billy Gene, I’ve known you a long time. I’d be a fool to blow off your hunches. I think there’s more going on here. I just can’t put my finger on it yet. Stay on this guy until Hawk goes home, and then see what he does. I’d sure like to know his room number.”
“Oh, I already know he’s in 215. I followed him there earlier when he went back to his room to change clothes. For the second time.”
Virgil chuckled. “Did you? And …?”
“I got his license number when he went out to his car to get his briefcase. He’s driving a rental car—a red Nissan Sentra. Arkansas plate: XTL0926.”
“Excellent work,” Virgil said. “Once Hawk goes home for the day, treat yourself to a nice steak dinner on me. Then get a good night’s sleep before we start this all over again tomorrow. Meanwhile, I’m going to do a little detective work of my own.”