by Lisa Harris
Earl remembered Donovan, the brother of Byron Moss, one of the pastors at Midtown Chapel in Atlanta that Earl attended whenever he was in town. Midtown Chapel was a sister church to Riverside Chapel in Savannah, Earl’s home church. And Byron had married one of the former members of Riverside.
“Does he know what is going on next week?” Earl asked.
“I’m sure the FBI has briefed him on it,” Helen said. “Has Cora said anything to you?”
“No.” Earl wouldn’t have missed her call.
Corazon Garcia-Moss used to moonlight for Hu Knows until she met and married Donovan. She moved to Nassau to become his chief of security at all the Moss hotels worldwide, including their newest acquisition, an oceanfront resort on Tybee Island which they had named Moss Tybee.
“You might want to check in with her once you land at Freeport,” Helen suggested.
Earl nodded. “And I’ll stay close to Sienna.”
“Don’t worry. It’s just for one week.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling myself. It’ll all be over in a week—if Sienna doesn’t get herself killed.” Earl expelled a breath. “She came within seconds of death this afternoon.”
“Yeah, you told me. I wish she were more forthcoming about where she’s going or what she’s doing instead of winging it.”
“Does she wing things a lot?” Earl asked.
“You tell me. She seems to plan things on the fly. That’s how I see it.” Helen tried to pour more coffee out of a carafe but it was empty. She shrugged. “Speaking of flying, when do you fly out?”
“Eight, but we have to be at the airport by six for security. We change planes in Fort Lauderdale before heading out to Freeport,” Earl said. “I wish we could put her on a private jet, but that would surely arouse suspicions.”
“Right. You don’t want her boss to think something fishy is going on.” Helen yawned. “Keep me posted, and keep tabs on your expenses.”
Earl nodded. “I don’t know why you’re doing her this favor, Helen. It’s very expensive. I mean, sure, you knew each other from way back when.”
“It’s not a favor. Her uncle, Tabbebo Jennings, is footing the bill.”
“Oh.” That, Earl didn’t know. He leaned back.
“He doesn’t want his favorite niece killed.”
“It would cost him a fortune to keep her alive.”
“Yeah. The Sienna I knew all my life is super independent, so when she asked for help, it meant she was either way in over her head or second-guessing herself.”
“Or both.” Earl sighed. “I wish she would talk to me, tell me what she’s going to do before she does it.”
“Obviously something is very wrong at GOOP,” Helen said. “When her boyfriend was shot in the back and killed in the parking lot, but his wallet and laptop were not stolen, that raised a red flag—especially when the local police ruled it as a robbery homicide before the investigation was complete.”
There were multiple red flags. When Earl took up the assignment, FBI Special Agent Mariana Kimball told him that the deceased had once been an FBI informant. They went after his girlfriend. Sienna knew some things, but not enough hard evidence against her CEO. So they made a deal with her. If she could be their eyes and ears at GOOP, then her boyfriend’s death would not have been in vain.
Considering how little Sienna revealed about what she knew, Earl suspected that she knew more than she let on. Either that, or she really had no idea.
“The fact that her boyfriend was murdered scared her,” Helen said. “Sienna believes she was getting careless and that someone was going after her. That’s the real reason she called.”
“After this afternoon, I might agree with her.” Earl laughed.
Helen pointed a finger at the camera. “That was your fault. You should never have left her side.”
Like right now.
“Her friend wouldn’t talk,” Earl defended himself. “I agreed to wait outside for five minutes—though it went longer. When I saw the active shooter, he had killed the FBI agent waiting in his vehicle, and was heading toward the kitchen window.”
“You told me you were hiding in the bushes. No need to rehash it all.”
“I barely made it inside the house. One more second, and you’d be attending your friend’s funeral.”
Helen nodded. “What did Agent Kimball say?”
“She doesn’t like Sienna, doesn’t trust her, doesn’t want to have anything to do with her.”
“Funny she’d tell you that.”
“I read between the lines.”
“I sent you to Atlanta because you’ve worked with the FBI field office there.”
“I get around.”
“I bet. Your Rolodex runneth over.”
Earl shrugged. “Might never know when I need a favor.”
“Do you trust Kimball?” Helen asked.
“Yeah, I trust her.”
“Friends?”
“Acquaintances.”
“You tried to ask her out.”
“She turned me down every time.”
“I need someone professional, and I know I can count on you not to fall in love with Agent Kimball… or Sienna, for that matter.”
“What are you talking about?” Earl sat up straight.
“I’m just warning you. God is watching.”
“You’re going spiritual on me, Helen.”
“The God factor makes all the difference in the world,” Helen said. “Speaking of Whom, please pray for Sienna. She’s in a dark place right now. How’s her colleague Dana doing?”
“I’ll check after we’re done here.” Earl wondered too.
“When do you get your debriefing?”
“Done,” Earl said. “Perez talked to me while Sienna was in the shower.”
“You locked her in?” Helen laughed.
“You know I can’t. She’s not a caged animal.”
“Of course not, but you might want to check sooner than later.”
“You know something I don’t?” Earl was going to get out of his chair this instant.
“You know my mom.”
Earl nodded. “With all due respect, Mama Hu is a very colorful character.”
“With a criminal past—for which she is serving time. How do you think my mom knows Sienna’s mom?”
“Never crossed my mind.”
“Sienna’s mother is a master thief and escape artist.”
“No.” Earl reached for his phone in a corner, where it was being charged up. He logged in and checked his app. The GPS tracker said that Sienna’s purse was still in her room.
That might not be good enough.
“I need to run, Helen.” Earl was on his feet, looking for his flip-flops. “I better go check on Sienna.”
“Take care and have fun at the conference.”
“Yeah, sure.” Earl logged out of his laptop. Debated whether to pack up now.
Yes, I better.
But first, he had to see if the interview was over. He padded downstairs.
All was quiet.
He peeked into the home office. No one there. The interview must have been over, unless Perez took Sienna to another part of the house.
He checked the living room. No one was there.
The kitchen was empty. All the lights were on.
He heard a groan that seemed to come from the other side of the counter. He rushed around the peninsula, and there on the floor was Agent Perez, holding her head—right next to a frying pan.
“What the…” Earl was on his knees. “Perez, are you hurt?”
“Is that a stupid question?” She groaned. Touched the back of her head again. “Man, she gave me a goose egg.”
“She? Sienna? How did you know it was her?”
“Either it was her or you. Do you see anyone else here?”
“I was in my room, talking to my boss.” Earl helped her up.
She wobbled on her feet. “She was going upstairs, so she asked for your SUV key to gi
ve to you on her way to her bedroom.”
“How nice of her.”
Perez moaned. “I turned away for a second—and bam!”
Earl rushed to the kitchen door leading to the garage. He suspected what he would find when he opened that door. Sure enough, one spot was empty in the two-car garage.
He had one more tracker. He swiped his phone. Sure enough, his SUV was at least five miles away.
He turned around. “May I borrow your vehicle?”
“No. I’m coming with you.” Perez staggered.
“You might not be in a condition to drive.”
Perez threw the SUV key to Earl. “Who says I’m driving?”
“All right. I’ll drive and you call Kim.” Realizing he was wearing flip-flops on his feet, he cringed. “Gimme a minute to change my shoes.”
The agent barely nodded, and then collapsed on the floor. Uh-oh. Earl checked her pulse. Still alive. She might have a concussion, but he wasn’t a doctor, so it was a wild guess.
Earl called 911, and gave the location of the safe house. He called Agent Kimball to send someone over there as he ran upstairs two steps at a time.
On the way to his bedroom, he knocked on Sienna’s bedroom door. “Sienna?”
No answer.
He had guessed that she wouldn’t be there, but he had to check. He turned the knob. It was unlocked. “Sienna?”
There, on the bed, was her dirty purse. It was empty except for the tracking device he had put in the zipped side pocket. Sienna had taken her phone with her.
He checked his own phone. If Sienna was driving his SUV…
There on his tracking app, a moving red dot told Earl that Sienna was driving toward Conyers, which was about thirty minutes from the safe house—if there was no road construction or evening traffic. He had to hurry.
After he pulled on his socks and boots, he grabbed his loaded Glock and ran downstairs. He could hear sirens in the distance. Paramedics were on their way.
He ran past Perez, still on the floor. He opened the garage door and climbed into the unmarked SUV. As he tapped his phone to turn on the navigation app for his tracker, he prayed that Sienna wouldn’t do what he wouldn’t.
He placed his phone vertically in a cupholder, and backed the SUV out of the garage. He couldn’t see any paramedics or fire truck anywhere.
“What are you up to, Sienna?” Earl asked aloud as he drove the vehicle down the road to a nearby intersection.
Just then, a fire truck turned into the road he was leaving.
“Lord, please let Perez be okay.” In his rearview mirror, he saw the fire truck stop at the safe house.
Chapter Four
“Leave me out of this.” Sienna’s colleague and computer expert handed the whistle back to her. “I shouldn’t have let you in. Please leave now.”
“Arun, please.” Sienna clasped the whistle in her hands. She stood her ground in the foyer of Arun Dhillon’s house. She hadn’t driven here in a stolen vehicle for nothing.
“It’s enough for me to show you that the whistle is a USB drive,” Arun said. “Why did Dana give it to you?”
“I don’t know. Help me.”
Upstairs, a baby cried.
Arun tensed up. “I can’t. I have a family now.”
“Rocco and I will never have a family together. In his memory, please help me.” Even though Sienna had dated Rocco for only a couple of months before he died, she felt that they had something special. Now they would never know.
Upstairs, the baby’s cry grew louder.
“Do you need to check on her?” Sienna asked.
“My wife is, I’m sure. You need to leave now. Go.” Arun didn’t touch her but he motioned her toward the door.
“Please help me,” Sienna pleaded. “I know you can read this USB—”
“No. I don’t want the FBI at my door.”
“Please.”
“If you don’t leave, I’ll call 911.”
Sienna stepped back. “You told me you were going to help.”
“Before I found out you talked to the FBI.”
“No…” Sienna wondered how to lie without lying. She couldn’t do it. Yes, she had talked to the FBI. Yes, she had gone from a whistleblower to an informant.
“If you see Dana, tell her I say hello, okay?” Arun’s eyes had that faraway look, as if to say that if things had been different…
“Dana has been shot and she’s at the hospital.” Sienna put the necklace back around her neck.
“Wh-what did you say?”
“Hours ago. They came for her. They’re coming for me… and you too.”
Arun’s face turned angry. “You’re leading them to my house, my family!”
He shoved Sienna out of the front door.
Right into someone’s warm torso.
Sienna started to scream, but a large hand cupped over her mouth.
“Shhh. It’s me, your knight.” He almost chuckled. “Earl. Knight. Get it?”
Sienna sighed. She pushed Earl’s hand away. “What are you doing here?”
Before Earl could answer, Arun stepped outside and closed his front door. “Who are you?”
Sienna mumbled something that sounded like boyfriend. She still could not wrap her head around the idea of a fake boyfriend. However, her life depended on it—and yet she had run away from him.
The whistle USB must contain important information. It had to. Why else would Dana give it to her? However, Sienna’s desire to know what was in there had caused her to make haphazard decisions on the fly that would have been out of character for her at work.
Truth be told, she had never been this disorganized in her life. In the past—before Rocco was gunned down—she had been meticulous about her schedule. Nothing was done unless it was on her calendar of events. Lunch was an event. Snack was an event. Calling her dentist to make an appointment was an event. Drinking water all day long was an event.
After she buried Rocco, Sienna’s life had fallen apart. She lost sleep, misplaced things, forgot appointments. Her boss had been forgiving of her. It helped that Mr. Ford had been out of town a lot, giving her an excuse and room to fix her mistakes and cover up her incompetence.
“Boyfriend?” Arun shook his head. “It’s not even six months since Rocco died. Whassup, woman?”
“He’s dead, I’m alive,” Earl explained. “You can’t date a dead dude. Now, if you don’t want to be dead, you need to help us.”
Sienna glanced at Earl. Did he have any idea what she was trying to ask Arun to do for her?
“I’m not doing anything for this woman.” Arun stepped inside his house. “I’m going to pack up my family and we’re going someplace safe. Don’t try to contact us. Please move your vehicle out of my driveway.”
He slammed the door in their face.
The porch light went out.
Standing there at the front door in the dark, Sienna wasn’t sure what to do.
“Why didn’t you wait for me?” Earl asked gently, leading her to his SUV parked in front of the one-car garage, behind Arun’s minivan.
“I suppose you want your key back.” Sienna reached for her pocket. She could not find the key fob.
Earl dangled it in front of her eyes. “You left it on the driveway outside the driver’s side door.”
“I did?” Sienna was shocked. The key fob must have fallen out of her hand in her hurry. She remembered being more worried about the whistle.
On the driveway, though?
“Yes, you did,” Earl said.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” Sienna couldn’t believe it. “Someone could have driven off with your vehicle.”
“Like you did?” Earl opened the passenger side door. “Get in.”
“How did you get here?” Sienna asked.
Earl pointed to a dark-colored SUV parked at the curb near the mailbox. It looked like the other vehicle in the safe house garage.
“How did you find me?” Sienna asked.
Earl d
idn’t answer. He went around his SUV and got in, then started the engine. He backed out of the short driveway. As Earl reversed the vehicle onto the dark road, Sienna heard the garage door open.
Arun ran out, carrying a diaper bag and rolling a suitcase. He unlocked his minivan and put the suitcase in the back.
“How did he pack so quickly?” Earl asked.
“Maybe he has already packed.”
Earl nodded. “That means he knows something’s going on at GOOP.”
“Should I try to talk to him again?” Sienna asked.
“No.” Earl put his SUV in gear.
Sienna watched her colleague close the back door of the van, go to the driver’s seat, climb in, and—
The explosion was deafening. The van lifted in the air, and slammed down on the concrete driveway again. Sienna screamed as she watched flames engulf the charred van.
Earl hit the gas pedal.
“Stop!” Sienna slapped the dashboard. “We have to help him!”
“I don’t think we can help him.” Earl tossed her his phone. “Call 911. They can get help here. Whoever tried to kill him might also be after you.”
“He can’t be dead.”
“He was inside a vehicle that exploded. Trust me, he’s dead.” Earl floored the gas pedal out of the subdivision.
Sienna’s hand shook so much she could not hold the phone.
“Calm down and call 911. I can’t because Georgia Law says I can’t drive and talk on the phone.”
“Where’s your hands-free dock?” Sienna asked.
“It’s broken. I meant to get it fixed but here we are.”
Sienna drew a deep breath. She tapped the emergency button on Earl’s phone and talked to the dispatcher. After she gave the address, she hung up.
“You know they’re going to track down your phone,” Sienna said.
“Are they?” Earl merged into traffic. “Why did you leave the safe house?”
“I had no choice.”
“You assaulted a federal agent,” Earl said as they went down the road.
“Is she okay?”
“She was passed out when I left her. I had to call 911.”