JACK RETURNED FROM THE STORE TO FIND BEAU SITTING ON the front porch. “Hey, buddy. What are you doing out here?” He opened the door and held it for the dog, but he just looked at Jack, not budging. “Hmm. You guarding the place?” Beau gave him a look that seemed to convey an affirmative.
Jeremy was reading Evan a story, and Taylor was sitting at the kitchen table working on the computer. “What’s with Beau?”
She looked up and shook her head. “He won’t come in. I even tried tempting him with cheese.”
“He’s a wonder dog,” Jack said. “Listen, I hope we’re going to have an answer to the ad soon, and we need to figure out where to meet Crosse and who’s going. I thought about asking Scotty to back us up, but it’s too risky for him. Plus, we can’t risk someone in his office tipping off Crosse, since he’s got tentacles everywhere.”
“So, what, we’re going to grab Crosse and take him to the cops?” Taylor asked. “If Scotty doesn’t come, it’s just you and me.” She looked at Jeremy, who was about to protest. “We’re the only ones who know how to handle a gun. But we’re going to need someone he doesn’t recognize to pose as Father Basil. And who knows if he’s going to come alone?”
The last thing Jack wanted was to put Taylor in the line of fire, but she was right. She’d spent the past two years at the gun range with him every week and was almost as good a shot as he was. It wasn’t wise for him to go alone. “We tell Crosse he has to come alone.” He paused. “Maybe I should ask Scotty after all. I’ll give him an out.”
“Where is he now?”
“On his way back from Florida, or maybe even already back in New York, just gathering all the information he can. He’s heading up a task force on this meth outbreak.”
Taylor suggested, “Maybe he can get away for a few hours if he tells them you’ve got info on the story and you insist on seeing him in person.”
“Yeah. Maybe. I’ll try him now.”
He dialed Scotty. “Voice mail,” he told Taylor. He hung up and typed a quick text. Need to talk. Call me.
“We’re going to get him this time,” Taylor said. Jack knew she meant Crosse.
Even though Jack was feeling less than confident, he gave her a brave smile. “No doubt. He’s going down.” But in his bones, he knew that something bad was going to happen. It wasn’t just because he knew how evil Damon was. It was something else, something intangible, but nonetheless real. He’d felt it before his father died. He’d felt it when he lost a buddy in Colombia. It was some sort of premonition.
You don’t believe in premonitions, he told himself. But the thought made him feel no better.