| |
Philadelphia International Airport
Stephanie Walker glanced at her watch and looked up at the arrivals board. Angela’s flight had landed thirty minutes ago, but there was still no sign of her coming from baggage claim. She sighed and turned to walk back to her waiting spot near the doors. The past forty-eight hours had been non-stop and stressful. Stephanie just wanted to pick up her old friend, take her home, and then go home herself. The couch was calling to her, and she had every intention of answering.
She shook her head, her eyes on the doors. After narrowly averting a coordinated bombing attempt, Stephanie had been sucked into the debriefing at FBI headquarters with her boss, Rob Thornton. When she was finally finished, she left exhausted and disheartened. Far from being grateful for her assistance, her boss was angry with her for ignoring her leave of absence to get involved. If it weren’t for Special Agent Blake Hanover, she wasn’t even sure she would still have a job. In fact, Stephanie wasn’t all that sure of anything anymore.
Blake Hanover.
Despite her grim mood, Stephanie smiled. He had stayed by her side the whole time, asserting that he was the one who pulled her into the investigation for an extra pair of hands. He calmly pointed out to Rob that when he had placed Stephanie on LOA, Rob didn’t take her badge or weapon. Therefore, Blake argued, he was well-within his rights to ask for her assistance in his investigation. Rob had finally backed down. As far as her boss was concerned, the whole operation had been Blake’s brainchild, and Stephanie was content to let that stand.
By the time Blake headed back home to Washington, DC for some much needed rest, Stephanie was sad to see him go. Somehow he’d become a rock for her in the harrowing events of the past week. Her only consolation was that he had promised to return.
Passengers began to exit through the doors in front of her, carting carry-ons and rolling bags behind them, pulling Stephanie from her thoughts. Towards the tail-end of the first wave, she spotted her friend.
Angela Bolan pulled a trolley loaded with bags and Stephanie’s eyebrows soared into her forehead. The amount of luggage on the trolley made it look as if she had been away for months when, in fact, it was only two weeks.
“Steph!”
Angela caught sight of her and waved, heading in her direction. Stephanie couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face. Angela’s honey-colored hair was perfect and she was dressed in designer jeans with Jimmy Choo’s on her feet. How she was managing the laden cart in the four-inch stilettos was beyond Stephanie’s comprehension, but she was doing it, and she looked like a model at the same time.
“You’re insane,” Stephanie informed her as Angela came to a stop in front of her. “What are all those bags? You were only gone for two weeks!”
“I went shopping in Miami.” Angela threw her arms around Stephanie and hugged her tight. “How are you? You look like hell.”
Stephanie hugged her back, fighting back tears that suddenly flooded her eyes at the embrace of one of her oldest friends.
“I feel like hell,” she admitted.
Angela pulled away and looked at her searchingly before linking one arm through hers and grabbing the trolley again with her other hand.
“You should have told me as soon as it happened,” she said, starting forward with Stephanie. “I would have come straight back. Why did you wait until yesterday to tell me John died?”
“Honestly, I didn’t think to,” Stephanie answered, guiding Angela through the busy terminal toward the exit. “There were so many other things going on, and it just didn’t occur to me. I’m sorry.”
Angela glanced at her.
“Well, you know I was never John’s biggest fan, but it’s shocking just the same. What happened?”
“I’ll tell you in the car. It’s a long story.”
“At least Alina was here,” Angela said as they stepped outside. “That’s something. How’s she taking it?”
“I have no idea.”
Angela stared at her.
“What do you mean you have no idea?” she demanded. “Haven’t you seen her?”
Stephanie sighed and pulled away from Angela as they came up to the pedestrian cross-walk leading across the street to the short-term parking where she had left her car.
“Yes, but you know how she can get these days. After the accident, it was almost as if she’d already decided John was going to die,” Stephanie said, starting across the road as the crossing lights turned white and the traffic paused. “I don’t think she ever expected him to pull through. When he...passed...she didn’t show any emotion at all, at first.”
“At first?”
“I saw a little of the old Lina for a second, but then it was gone.” She shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t think she’s facing it yet. She’s been busy...working.”
Stephanie's voice trailed off. Angela had no idea what their friend did for living. As far as she was concerned, Alina was a security consultant who traveled a lot and was rarely home. While Stephanie believed it was mistake to keep Angela in the dark as to Alina’s true identity, that was a fight she hadn’t been able to win.
“Well that’ll change now I’m back,” Angela muttered. “She can’t work at a time like this. I’m sure her company has bereavement leave and I’ll make sure she takes it. For God’s sake, she and John were engaged once upon a time. She’s got to be feeling some kind of way about it!”
“I think she’s more angry than anything,” Stephanie said slowly as they reached the other side of the road. “I don’t know why I think that, but I do.”
“Anger is one of the steps of grief, so maybe she’s transitioning.” Angela stopped on the sidewalk and wiped her hand across her sweating forehead. “Is the car very far? I’m dying here.”
Stephanie laughed despite herself.
“You’re the one who went shopping in Miami, and then wore heels onto the plane. Seriously, what were you thinking?”
“I didn’t think you were going to park a mile away from the terminal!”
“It’s not a mile. It’s in this lot, a couple of rows from here.”
Angela grunted and began walking again, lugging the trolley behind her.
“What about Mr. Hunk O’ Mysterious?” she asked. “Has he been around lately?”
Stephanie grinned. Mr. Hunk O’ Mysterious was what they called Alina’s reticent military friend, Damon Miles, behind his back. Angela was convinced that the two had unresolved sexual tension between them, and Stephanie was inclined to agree.
“Actually, yes,” she said. “He’s been in and out all week, from what I can understand.”
“Really?” Angela drawled, her eyes dancing. “Where did he stay? Did he stay with her?”
“I have no idea.”
“Ugh!” Angela rolled her eyes in exasperation. “You’re supposed to find this stuff out for me!”
“I can’t find something out if they’re not sharing,” Stephanie protested, laughing. “Short of showing up at her house in the middle of night, how am I supposed to know if he’s staying there?”
“I can see I’ll have to take over. You’re hopeless. I’ll figure it out.”
“Good luck,” Stephanie said. “I don’t even know if he’s still here. In fact, I’m not even sure she’s still here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been trying to reach her, but she won’t answer.” She pulled out her keys as they started down the row toward her maroon Mustang. “I haven’t heard from her since Sunday. I think she might have been called out for work.”
“Did you stop by the house?” asked Angela. “Maybe they’re holed up having sex like rabbits.”
“Angie!”
“What?” she grinned. “It’s what I’d do if I could get someone like him to look twice at me.”
Stephanie shook her head, laughing reluctantly.
“I’ll give you that one.” She pressed a button on her key fob and beeped her alarm off, then opened the trunk. “I haven’t had time to go by the house. If I don’t hear anything by tomorrow, I’ll swing by.”
Angela nodded and grabbed one of the bags from the trolley, lifting it into the trunk. Stephanie grabbed another bag and they had the trolley empty in no time. Looking around, Angela shrugged and pulled the empty trolley off to the side.
“You’re not going to leave it there, are you?” Stephanie demanded.
“I’m certainly not carting it all the way back to the terminal. Someone will come get it.”
She went around to the passenger side door and got in, leaving Stephanie to shake her head.
“So tell me what happened,” Angela said as Stephanie slid behind the wheel and started the car. “Don’t leave anything out.”
“John had an accident street racing the Firebird,” Stephanie said slowly. “The front tire blew. He flipped and slammed into a tree.”
“Why was he street racing?”
Stephanie glanced at Angela as she pulled out of the parking spot. She had to be careful what she said. Angela could never know much of what happened. Not only was it classified, but it would also reveal that Alina most definitely was not a security consultant.
“One of his friends was killed a week before and John didn’t believe it was an accident. He started poking around, looking for answers. His main suspect was a street racer and he was following a lead; or so we think.”
Angela was silent for a moment.
“Do we think John’s accident was just an accident?” she asked quietly.
Stephanie’s lips curved. Angela was a lot smarter than she looked.
“No. The blow-out was caused by a bomb in his wheel well.”
“What?!”
Angela stared at her, shocked. Stephanie nodded grimly, pulling into traffic heading for the airport exit.
“Turns out he was right about his friend. He was murdered, and when John started asking questions, they went after him as well.”
“Did you catch the bastards?”
“No.” Stephanie scowled. “They both disappeared.”
“Son of a...what’s being done to find them?”
“That’s what I want to know,” Stephanie muttered.
Two days ago, Alina had assured her Dominic DiBarcoli and Tito Morales, the two responsible for John’s crash, would not get away. Yet Stephanie had heard nothing since. While she suspected both men had been detained, or worse, by her old friend, she didn’t have confirmation. As far as she knew, they were both still at large.
Angela shot a searching glance at her.
“Why don’t you know?” she asked. “In fact, why aren’t you at work? It’s the middle of the day on a Tuesday.”
Stephanie sighed and took the exit ramp onto I-95 north.
“I’ve been placed on leave of absence,” she said reluctantly. “It happened just after John’s accident.”
Angela stared at her.
“What? Why?”
“The Bureau is running an internal investigation on John. I was guilty by association. My cases were reassigned and I was advised to take some time off.”
“On what grounds? You’re not the one who was street racing!”
“I know. Rob wouldn’t say anything except it wasn’t disciplinary.” Stephanie switched lanes as she merged onto the highway and pressed the gas pedal down. “Then John died and now he says I need the time off to rest and cope. Something’s going on, but I haven’t been able to figure out what yet.”
“What the hell, Steph!” Angela exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. “I go away on business and all hell breaks loose. What else happened? And don’t tell me nothing because I’m not stupid. I watch the news. I know there were bombs found in DC, Philly, New York and Boston.”
Stephanie looked at her, amused.
“Yes, there were, and yes, I was there in Philly. And no, I can’t tell you anymore than you already heard on the news.”
“Was that what John was poking around in when he got himself killed?” Angela asked bluntly.
Stephanie was startled.
“What?”
“Please don’t treat me like an idiot,” Angela said. “You know me better than that. It really doesn’t take much to realize street racers don’t go around putting bombs into other racers’ wheel wells.”
“Fair enough,” Stephanie said grudgingly. “Yes, that’s why John was targeted. Some of the street racers were smuggling products up and down the East Coast, and some of those products were bomb parts.”
Angela nodded and looked out the window, absorbing all the information.
“Does Lina know John was targeted by someone?” she asked after a long silence.
Stephanie glanced at her, hesitating for a second.
“Yes.”
“She’s not angry, then,” Angela said decidedly. “She’s furious.”
Stephanie nodded.
“Yes.”
Angela sighed and stretched, rolling her head a few times.
“What’s going on with the funeral?” she asked.
“His body was just released this morning. Our ME did an autopsy. He was waiting on a tox screen to come back.”
“Have you spoken to his parents?”
“Yes. They’re flying in Thursday. They were waiting for his body.” Stephanie’s voice broke and Angela looked at her sharply. “Now we can work on funeral arrangements. I don’t know if they’ll have the funeral here or take him back to California.”
“I would think they would have it here,” said Angela. “He lived and worked here. Just because they retired to California doesn’t mean he should be buried there.”
“That’s not our call,” Stephanie said quietly. “Absent a will, they’re the ones who get to make the decision.”
“He had a will,” Angela said unexpectedly.
Stephanie looked at her sharply.
“What?”
“He drew it up a few years ago,” Angela said. “I have the name of the attorney at home. He gave me the name in case...”
“What?”
“Well, in case something like this happened.”
Stephanie stared at the highway in front of her, stunned. It had never occurred to her John would have a will, or that he would tell Angela about it. She knew for a fact his parents were unaware of it.
“You could have told me that sooner,” she muttered.
“You could have told me he was dead sooner.”
Stephanie choked back a short laugh.
“You’re really not going to let me slide on that one, are you?”
“Nope.”
Stephanie looked at her.
“God I’m glad you’re back,” she said suddenly.
Angela glanced at her and reached out to squeeze her arm.
“Me too,” she agreed. “You said on the phone Blake was staying with you. Is he still here?”
“He went back to DC last night. He’ll be back for the funeral, if not before.”
“Why don’t you come stay with me?” Angela suggested. “So you’re not alone.”
Stephanie shook her head.
“Thank you, but I have to face it on my own,” she said slowly. “Blake helped a lot and I’ll miss him, but the worst of the shock is over.”
Angela studied her profile for a minute, then shrugged.
“Well, you know where I live if you change your mind.” She leaned her head back on the headrest. “In the meantime, I have some Ativan if you need it.”
“Already got it covered, but thanks.”