CHAPTER NINETEEN

 

"Hey kiddo," Dad said quietly, and I looked at his shoes. "What's up?"

Riley and I scrambled to our feet. "We've got to go, Senator," Riley said as he took my father's arm.

"Well, well, well." Agent Savage appeared in front of us with a sneer on his face. "I guess someone owes me an apology."

The man looked like he'd won the lottery on his birthday while drinking from the fountain of youth. He was going to enjoy this. In his little amoeba brain, I'd fall all over myself apologizing in front of the Senator who oversaw his agency.

"Sorry," I said as I took Dad's other arm and we started hurrying him away.

"Sorry?" Savage roared. He ran up and cut us off. "Sorry? You question my ability to do my job, somehow trick the Senator into bringing you here, get us all worked up over nothing, and all you have to say is 'sorry'?"

I shoved him aside and shouted over my shoulder as I rushed past him, "Yup."

We kept moving, but once again, Savage blocked us.

"No!" He shouted. "You owe me one hell of an apology! The CIA owes me one hell of an apology! And the Senator should investigate your Agency because of your profound incompetence!"

Savage's face was an alarming shade of red. Riley got all up in his grille (I learned that phrase from my troop), and the two men began a testosterone-ish pheromonal exchange without words.

I stepped up between them. "Like I said, sorry. You did your job. Yay. Good for you."

"Hey!" Savage said as Riley and I started to lead Dad away. "Senator! Are you going to say something?"

We kept moving. Savage yanked on my arm. "Honey—you're going to be out of a job!"

Honey?

He continued, "I'm going to make sure the Senator truly understands what's happening here, and when I'm done, you won't even be allowed to apply for a school crossing guard job."

"Good luck," I said as I brought my fist down on his forearm hitting the sweet spot—a little trick I knew. His grip released instantly, and rather involuntarily too. "Because, Honey, Senator Czrygy is my father."

We left a huffing secret service agent in our wake as we continued to Riley's SUV.

"I thought you didn't want anyone to know about our connection," Dad said with amusement as he buckled his seat belt.

"Yeah, well, incognito is overrated," I responded as Riley fired up the engine and we raced, hell bent for leather, for Who's There and our possible destruction…for the second time today.

I filled Dad in on the way, and he finally looked concerned.

Rex was waiting for us at the door of the station when we arrived. He led us to a conference room and sent Kevin to fetch us some coffee as I smoothed out the map on the table and told him what I thought was really happening.

He didn't look happy.

"You think this town was the original target," he said finally.

I nodded. "I got so carried away with the fact that the president was going to be here, I didn't double-check. I should've double-checked. It was just stupidity that I didn't."

Riley opened his mouth. It looked like he was about to give me crap about the recalled atlas, but then he changed his mind.

"Don't feel too bad. With the president next-door, I would've thought the same," Rex said. "There's no real big target here. No major events, nothing."

"I know. It sounds insane," I agreed. "But G 11 points to Who's There. Evelyn showed up in Who's There and inconveniently dropped dead here. And Red and Blue didn't leave town when they should have. They took up residence in the old Philips' place."

"That old house outside of town?" Dad asked. "I always liked that place."

"Which made me think, why stick around if they were really just here to get Evelyn? There isn't any reason to do this. They would've been free and clear to leave," I said, pausing to accept a cup of coffee from Kevin. I drank it before remembering that I don't drink coffee. I took another gulp.

"And then there was Seamus Bailey. Why come back and kill him? They could've hit the road, never to be seen again. It was unlikely Seamus could describe them with any accuracy. Why come back to silence him?"

Rex nodded. "Because they weren't leaving."

"Because," Riley added. "They were afraid of him seeing them again. Because they were sticking around."

"Exactly."

We stood there, staring at each other.

"This is the target, for some reason," I repeated. "And our two terrorists are still out there."

"They're not at the Philips' place," Rex frowned. "I've had it under surveillance since that night."

"So where are they?" Dad asked as Kevin handed him a donut. Where did Kevin get donuts? Is Kevin capable of sharing?

I shook my head. "I don't know. They could be anywhere."

"Well at least Evelyn's body is back in the morgue," Rex said. "Ted has beefed up security, so they'd have a fight on their hands if they show up."

Riley stared off into space. "I still don't understand why they wanted her body. It's not like she'd have the puzzle box on her."

"Puzzle box?" Dad asked as he wiped the powdered sugar from the donut off his chin. It's a good thing Mom wasn't here. She never let him eat crap like this.

Riley filled Dad in on Evelyn giving Lauren the puzzle box and how we found the photo there.

"So Evelyn had proof, and they wanted to silence her?" Dad asked.

"Yes," Rex said. "But they'd have to know the body would've been stripped."

I shook my head. "It's a photo. She could've hidden it anywhere."

"Like inside of her?" Kevin squeaked.

We all turned to face him. It was like a plant or two-by-four talking for the first time.

"Cuz that would be gross!" Kevin added.

"Officer Dooley," Rex said with the patience of Job. "Please go and get us some bottles of water."

Kevin fled. Maybe speaking out loud even freaked him out. I hadn't heard him say anything even remotely helpful since the sixth grade.

"The coroner would've found the photo if it had been anywhere on or in the body," Rex said.

"So, why did they need the corpse?" Riley asked. "We already knew who she was. We didn't need her remains for that."

"There's a reason we aren't thinking of," I said. "Which could mean they'll be back for it."

The room cleared out before Kevin could return. As we drove to the hospital, me with Rex and Dad with Riley, I pictured him walking in with water bottles, seeing us gone, and hanging his head.

"You think there are explosives in the body?" Rex said as we raced across town.

"It's a possibility. The autopsy was done. There'd be no need to examine it again."

"That's pretty horrible." Rex's jaw was tight.

"Terrorists do it in the Persian Gulf," I said.

"Wouldn't Soo Jin notice any new scars?" Rex asked.

I shrugged. "Not if they used the ones she made during the autopsy."

"How much can you insert into a human body?"

I shook my head. "It depends on what types of explosives are used. This isn't my area of expertise at all. Too bad we don't have a bomb squad in town."

"So what's the next step?" Rex asked. "Do we cut her open in an attempt to disarm her—or do we just take her out into the middle of a cornfield and set her off?"

"I don't know." My mind was reeling. I wondered if Evelyn had ever thought it would come to this.

"So, who are they?" Rex asked. "Who's the couple, and what do they want?"

I didn't want to say I don't know again. It was a crappy option for someone in my field. But I didn't have a clue. Whoever Red and Blue really were didn't matter as much as disarming the bomb.

Rex didn't wait for me to answer. "So the hospital was the target?"

I shrugged again. "It just might be."

"Why the hospital? Why not the fertilizer plant where they'd kill more people?"

"It's most likely a sleeper cell. They don't like to change plans. And they usually end contact with their handlers once the orders are given. My best guess—the thing with the president was a very recent addition. Red and Blue decided to stick with the original plan."

"They must be very stupid," Rex said. "Thank God for that."

I nodded as we pulled up to the hospital. "Terrorists, domestic or foreign, usually have a very narrow view of things. They think they are soldiers to their cause and are one hundred percent focused on the job. They have blinders on that block out any peripheral vision. All they know is that they are doing this for a reason, and that they have to succeed. Intelligence is nice but not mandatory."

Rex parked alongside Riley and we all piled out and started running for the door. Ted Dooley met us, and we all headed to the morgue.

"I evacuated as many as I could," Ted said. "I sent for ambulances from Des Moines, but they won't be here for twenty minutes."

He looked worried. His white hair was plastered to his head, and he was sweating. Poor guy. He probably thought nothing like this would ever happen here. I still couldn't figure out how this guy was Kevin's father. Maybe the good genes skip a generation in that family.

Dr. Body was waiting and led us into a cold room with Evelyn's body on a table. The doctor had covered up what she could out of modesty, but her abdomen was on full display, with a zipper-like scar right down the middle.

"These stitches—" she pointed to a section in the center, about ten inches long "—are new. They aren't mine. My guess is that's where the explosives would be."

I studied Soo Jin. She was calm and collected. If she was terrified about blowing up, she didn't show it. I liked that. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all. Maybe she'd be a good owner of Moneypenny and Bond. I cringed a little—thinking of losing those two kitties still bothered me.

Riley stepped forward. "Clear out. I'll do it." He picked up a scalpel and waited for us to leave.

We didn't.

"You don't have a lot of experience in defusing bombs, Riley," I said evenly.

He looked at me. "And you do? I've defused two bombs, which I'd guess is two more than anyone else in here."

I looked around. Nobody argued with him.

"I'm not leaving," I said, folding my arms over my chest. "We're in this together. Might as well blow ourselves up together."

Rex's cell rang, and we all jumped. He took the call out to the hallway.

"You," Riley pointed the scalpel at me, "and everyone else are leaving. I'm not making one cut until you go."

Rex burst through the door. "Des Moines can't send anyone to help. They've got their own problems."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Red and Blue were found at the airport."

"So they have them?" Dad asked.

Rex shook his head. "Not really. They've taken hostages and shut down the airport."

"Can't SWAT take them out?" Ted asked. "I might be wrong, but can't they just shoot them?"

"No. They're both wearing suicide vests. One shot and Des Moines will need to build a new airport."

"We're on our own," I said. Dammit.