The knots in Caitlyn’s stomach tightened as Eddie followed US 290 toward Cypress—an unincorporated community northwest of Houston. They were heading to the address Josh had given her after she called him. Eddie drove just below the speed limit, knowing, as did she, that they were taking a big risk being out in the open. All it would take was a routine traffic stop for the authorities to find her. Or one wrong move on their part, allowing whoever was behind all this to track them down. But it was the possible consequences of Josh escaping prison that truly terrified her. She had a dozen questions she wanted to ask him, but for right now, all she really wanted was to see with her own eyes that he was all right.
The uneasiness she’d felt all day continued to grow as she glanced in the side-view mirror, looking for anyone who might be following them. Whoever had killed Olivia, Quinton, and the others wouldn’t stop until they’d dealt with all their loose ends. And she and Josh were definitely loose ends.
“What if this is some kind of trap?” She spoke out loud the question that had been niggling at her since Eddie had first received Josh’s text. “That’s what happened with Quinton. We showed up to meet him, but it turned out to be part of a plan to frame us for his death.”
Eddie’s jaw tensed. “When you talked with Josh on the phone, did he sound like he was being coerced? Like he was in distress?”
“I didn’t think so at the time. But now . . .” She drummed her fingers on the console, feeling like an animal confined in a cage as Eddie took their exit. “All I noticed was the understandable stress of a fugitive who’d just escaped from jail.”
“You can hardly blame him for that.” Eddie took a left and drove into a neighborhood filled with brick houses and a scattering of tall trees. “This is the street he gave us, but we don’t have to stop. We could do some surveillance . . . make sure he’s alone . . .”
A crazy idea popped into her head. “Give me a second.”
She sent Josh another text.
Is it safe to visit the state fair this year?
He answered right away.
Pull into the garage. I’ve got watermelon for you.
She smiled at his reply. “It’s okay. He wants us to pull into the garage.”
“Should I ask what he said?” Eddie asked.
She shook her head. “It’s a long story.”
Eddie pulled into the driveway of a brick house with a large covered front porch as the garage door opened. Once inside, he turned off the motor and waited for the door to close behind them before exiting the car.
Josh met them at the door leading into the house. She tried to hide the shock over his appearance but couldn’t stop the sharp gasp that escaped her. His lip had been busted, he had a black eye, and his left cheek was swollen.
She pressed her fingers against her mouth. “What did they do to you?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m safe . . . at least for the moment.”
But if he got caught, if he were arrested again, then what? He’d never make it out alive a second time.
He bridged the gap between them, pulled her against his chest, and wrapped his arms around her. “They told me you’d been arrested. Until you answered my text, I had no idea if they were telling the truth or not.”
“I’m okay.” She looked up at him and took a step back. “Shaken from all of this, but okay.”
“And Eddie . . .” Josh reached out and shook his friend’s hand. “Thank you for bringing her and keeping her safe. We both know how much you’re risking being here with me.”
Eddie brushed off the comment. “We were meeting when your text came through. Thought it would be safest if I brought her myself, and that you might need some help coming up with a plan to get you out of this mess.”
“That’s what I’m hoping. Come inside where we can talk.”
She walked in behind Josh, whose uneven gait made it obvious that all his injuries weren’t visible.
“I’ve been so worried about you,” he said, turning around. “How’s your arm?”
“It’s fine. Forget about me. You’re the one who’s hurt.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing? That’s debatable. Do you know if there’s a first-aid kit in here?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t looked.”
Caitlyn started opening up cupboards until she found a small first-aid kit under the sink. “At least let me clean up your face and put on some antibiotic cream.”
“Really, it’s just a few scrapes.”
She walked up to him and pulled up his shirt to reveal a nasty bruise across his rib cage that was already turning a bluish purple. “A few scrapes? This is way more than that. You’ve been in a fight.”
“She’s right,” Eddie said. “You really should be in the emergency room finding out if anything’s cracked or broken. What happened?”
“Apparently, I was right that I wouldn’t last long in prison. There was a hit out on me after someone decided to spread a few rumors and offer a bit of cash.”
Eddie frowned. “I’d hate to see what the other guys look like, because I’m pretty sure they didn’t know about your ninja skills.”
Josh chuckled, but Caitlyn wasn’t laughing. Instead, relief mixed with anger flooded through her as she blinked back tears. She pressed her lips together, wishing she didn’t fall apart so easily.
“I just don’t know how to deal with this,” she said. “Don’t know how we’re supposed to get out of this. But for now, sit down and let me clean you up while you tell us what happened.”
She motioned for him to sit on the bar stool while she got out what she needed to clean his face.
He grimaced as she started washing his cuts. “Turns out I had a friend who’s a guard on the inside.”
“A friend on the inside isn’t exactly what I would have expected for a cop in general population to encounter,” Eddie said.
“Agreed. But long story short, a few years back my partner and I saved his life when he was on his beat and got ambushed.”
“And his escape plan?”
“Let’s just say it was the only way I was going to get out of there alive. I realize I’ll have to deal with breaking the law, but if I hadn’t gotten out when I did . . . I have no doubt I’d be dead right now.”
She avoided his gaze as she dabbed antibiotic cream across the cut on his cheek. She didn’t want to think what might have happened if he was still in there, though she wasn’t convinced that the worst wasn’t yet to come.
Eddie leaned against the kitchen counter. “There’s got to be someone in your precinct we could go to.”
“I’m sure there is, but who? Someone there is calling all the shots, and if we were to go to the wrong person . . .”
“I’m done,” she said, gathering up the trash and putting the first-aid kit back together. “But I still wish we could get you in to see a doctor.”
“Seems like I said that to someone not too long ago.” Josh squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”
She smiled at him, wishing he didn’t stir up her emotions the way he did. All she needed to focus on right now was finding a way out of this current mess they were in.
“Why don’t we take this to the living room,” Josh said.
She glanced around the kitchen to make sure everything was put away, then followed the men into the other room.
“Whose house is this?” Eddie asked, sitting down in one of the recliners while Caitlyn and Josh took the couch.
“Belongs to a second cousin of my mom and her husband, who I also have to thank for the plaid shirt and jeans I’m wearing, by the way. I check in on them every once in a while and have a spare key. They’re out of town for the weekend visiting her sister, so we should be safe for now, though I know I can’t stay long without involving them.”
“What are you planning to do?” Eddie asked.
“The only thing that will put an end to this. Find the evidence I need to clear myself, then turn myself in.”
Caitlyn glanced at Eddie before turning back to Josh. “We have an idea.”
“I’m listening.”
“We believe we now know at least some of the key players involved in Olivia’s death. And now we need to prove it.”
They spent the next few minutes bringing him up to date with the connection between Shawn Stover and ADA Hayward, his mistress, and Ben Northridge, the journalist.
“I’ve also been going through the rest of Helen’s notes and was able to decipher most of them,” Caitlyn said. “I’m convinced she wasn’t planning to kill herself. She was planning to go to the police with her own concerns. She figured out what was happening, just like Dr. Abbott did. But there’s something more. The last entry she wrote was the day she died. She found out about an imminent attack and confronted someone.”
“Then they killed her.”
Caitlyn nodded.
“Where was the attack supposed to take place?”
“I don’t know where, but the date in her notes mentions an event taking place tonight. Which means we’re out of time.”
“And Olivia?” Josh asked. “What was her part in all of it?”
“I believe she was a part of the original team that discovered the virulent vaccine strain. According to Helen’s notes, Olivia discovered that Carmichael was working on a strain of the virus that had the potential to wipe out the immune system in a human being.”
“And like Helen, they killed her for it.”
Caitlyn nodded.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Eddie stood up. “But do you mind if I use the restroom?”
“Of course not,” Josh said. “It’s the first door on the left down the hallway.”
“Can I get you some tea? Or painkillers?” she asked, once Eddie had left the room. “You’ve got to be in a lot of pain.”
“I took some when I got here, and will take more as soon as I can, but it’s still too early. What about your arm?”
She glanced down at the bandaged spot beneath her jacket. “I almost forgot about it. I cleaned it this morning. It’s a little red, but I think it’s okay.”
“Good.” He let out a low laugh. “We make quite a pair, don’t we, between all our scrapes and bruises and gunshot wounds.”
“Yeah, we do.”
He reached for her hand. “I thought I lost you, Caitlyn. And I realized that scared me more than going to prison.”
A surge of emotions she didn’t know how to handle erupted inside her at his confession. But what she felt toward Josh Solomon wasn’t something she could examine right now. Maybe not ever.
“I know my timing is crazy,” he rushed on, “and I know you’re scared, but I have no guarantee that I’m going to get another chance to talk to you.”
“I’m sorry. I just can’t, Josh. Not now.”
She knew she was going to have to work through her feelings, but not now. Not when everything could come crashing down around them again at any moment.
“That’s fine.” He squeezed her fingers. “We’ll figure out this part of the equation—where we are—later.”
She nodded. When their lives weren’t hanging in the balance.
“Then let me ask you this. Do you think Olivia was ever a part of Carmichael’s plan?”
“No. I think she just didn’t get time to tell you before she was killed. I don’t think she realized the gravity of what she was dealing with until it was too late. But Eddie and I have a plan that might work to finally catch her killer.”
Eddie walked back into the room and sat down across from them. “We found out that ADA Hayward meets his mistress at a hotel every Sunday afternoon,” he began. “His wife thinks he’s playing squash with one of the guys.”
“Today’s Sunday, isn’t it?” Josh asked.
Eddie nodded. “I hired a buddy of mine to do a bit of surveillance on Hayward. He’s going to let me know when he arrives at the hotel.”
“So, what are you thinking?”
“We have photos of the two of them together—Hayward and his mistress,” Caitlyn said. “You’ve seen those, but there’s nothing compromising about them. Nothing that couldn’t be explained away as a casual meeting.”
Josh shook his head. “So what are you proposing?”
Caitlyn leaned forward. “We’re going to get the photos we need and force Hayward to confess.”