“It’s just temporary, Noah,” Tyson reasoned, swiveling in the conference room-style chair to face him. “Think about it. If we turn her over to the Marshals Service, we’ll know that she’s safe and we can put our full focus on the investigation.”
Noah ground his teeth, aware that Garber and Durand, who had also been called into the room, were watching him. “This isn’t what I promised her. Or her family.”
“What’s your problem, Detective Ford?” Bell’s bushy, gray brows clamped down over his eyes. “You’ll still get credit for your work. We’re spread thin here and WITSEC has resources we don’t. I’ve let you handle things your way until now, but that’s over. This isn’t my decision, anyway. I’m just the messenger.”
Durand repeatedly clicked the top of a ballpoint pen he held. “The way I see it, we’ve got a lot on our plates already. Let the Marshals have her.”
“I agree,” Garber chimed in.
Noah focused on a line of Rotary Club commendation plaques on the wall, trying to bring himself under control. The matter apparently closed, Bell picked up his uniform cap from the table and began gathering papers spread over its top. Some part of Noah knew WITSEC made sense, but he saw it as another, larger betrayal to Mercer that he was making, even if it wasn’t his choice. He felt a heaviness at the thought of sending her off into the unknown.
“I understand that you’ve developed a rapport with Ms. Leighton, so you and Detective Beaufain will be the ones to make the hand-off on Thursday,” Bell said to Noah. “The marshals she’s being assigned to are coming down from Columbia and will rendezvous with you at a halfway point. I’ve given the Marshals Service your contact information. They’ll be in touch with you directly with the time and location.”
Bell’s attention turned to Garber and Durand. “While they’re escorting the witness, you two will act as interim leads on the investigation should anything break here.”
Bell departed the room. Garber and Durand rose from their chairs next.
“I guess that settles that.” Durand gave Noah a victorious look as he followed his partner from the room.
Noah cursed under his breath, his face hot. Tyson got up from his seat and walked to where Noah stood in front of the windows.
“I know you’ve become friends with Ms. Leighton,” Tyson pointed out carefully. “You think that maybe it’s coloring your judgment?”
Noah conceded to himself again that this might be the best thing for Mercer’s safety. Still, the news he would have to break to her sat in his stomach like a stone.
“I’ll talk to her tonight.”
Seated on the sofa, Mercer looked up from her iPad, her stomach doing a little flip at the unexpected sound of Noah’s voice coming from down the hall. He was speaking with Remy, who had gone to answer the knock on the rear door, which she had assumed was the change of guard for the overnight shift. But Detective Garber was the one who was supposed to be here tonight. Remy called out a good-night to her from the hallway and she heard the back door open and close again. Mercer put the iPad aside and stood, her heart beating harder as, a moment later, her eyes met Noah’s from across the room. Looking at him now, she felt a hurt as well as a lingering yearning.
“What’re you doing here?” she asked. “I thought it was Detective Garber’s turn.”
“I asked him to come a little later. I’ll be here with you for the next hour or so.”
Mercer glanced at her wristwatch. It was nearing eight p.m. As Noah moved closer, some of the anger she’d been holding on to evaporated. But there was a somberness about him—even more so than usual—that fanned a wariness inside her.
“I’m sorry about last night, Mercer.”
Her chin lifted faintly. “Is that why you’re here?”
He indicated the sofa. “Sit down.”
She hesitated, then sat stiffly. Noah sat beside her. He was dressed in dark trousers and a white dress shirt, his tie hanging loosely around his neck. With the exception of his shield and the holstered gun at his hip, he looked more like a businessman who had come from a stressful meeting, not a cop who had been working a case. He released a heavy breath that sounded like dread.
“You’re being transferred to the Federal Witness Protection Program.”
Surprise and confusion made her skin prickle. “I don’t understand. What does that mean?”
Leaning closer, he lightly touched her knee as if to brace her. “It means the U.S. Marshals Service will be taking over from here, at least as far as your protection is concerned.”
She wavered in disbelief, trying to comprehend what she was hearing. On the verge of panic, she stood from the sofa, her arms wrapped around herself. Mercer took a few steps, then turned back to him.
“Are you doing this because of what happened between us?” she asked, an ache in her chest.
His eyes were pained. “I’m not doing this, Mercer. I don’t have a choice. This isn’t the Charleston PD’s call. The Department of Justice is getting involved and my captain has given me my orders, which is to close down things here.” He paused as if trying to figure out the right thing to say. “The Marshals Service has extensive resources. Now that we’ve had time to fully evaluate the situation, WITSEC just makes more sense. I don’t like it, either, but I can understand it.”
Mercer felt as though the floor had opened up underneath her. She didn’t know a lot about the Federal Witness Protection Program other than what she had seen in television dramatizations. People were relocated, given new names, and forced to drop contact with everyone in their lives.
“No. That’s not what I agreed to.” She shook her head, vehement. “I-I won’t do it! It’s been bad enough being cooped up here in this house, but at least I was close to home. My mother lives just a few miles from here, Noah. That gives me some comfort. And what about Mark? This isn’t what he agreed to, either.”
Noah stood and closed the space between them. “I’ll make sure that you get to see your family before you go. I’m sorry, Mercer, but this is out of my hands. You have to hang on to the fact that it’s only temporary, until we can find Draper and put him on trial. After that, you’ll be free to return home.”
“You aren’t listening. I’m not going.”
His features were tense as he took her hands in his. “Yes, you are. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you. Participation in WITSEC is voluntary, but you have to do this. I…can’t protect you anymore.”
She shrugged out of his grasp. “This is insane! They’re expecting me to go live in some strange town, completely alone and under a new name?”
“It’s necessary to keep you safe.”
“I’m safe right here, with you and Remy and the others,” she argued, her throat thick.
He appeared defeated. “You’ll be safer in WITSEC.”
“And all this could go on for how long? Months? Years? What if Draper is never apprehended?”
“He will be,” Noah said firmly.
“What if you’re wrong?” Her heart squeezed. “I could be permanently separated from my family. I…might never see you again, either.”
Noah swallowed. “I’ll see you when they bring you back to testify. I’ll be right there in the courtroom. You’ll be out of this house, Mercer,” he reasoned in a low voice, as if trying to find some silver lining for her, no matter how thin and tarnished it was. “You’ll be able to move about freely again instead of being sequestered here. You can even get a job and work under your new identity, if that’s how you choose to spend the time. The program offers a stipend for living expenses until you’re established, but I’m pretty sure money isn’t a concern for you.”
“I won’t be able to move about freely. I-I can’t come back home.”
“This isn’t forever,” he reminded gently. “It’s just until there’s a trial.”
She felt sick. Her future looked vague and lonely. Closing her eyes, Mercer bowed her head, and she felt Noah touch her arm. She stiffened at first, still hurt a
nd angry, but then realized all the fight had gone out of her. She leaned limply into him, her pride gone along with her courage.
It’s not that I don’t want you, Mercer. God, believe me, I do. But I can’t let things go any further between us…
His words from last night echoed. She wanted to believe him, but didn’t know what to think, who to trust, anymore. It was almost unfathomable that last night they had been laughing and shag-dancing together. That they had made out like two teenagers until Noah had stopped things.
“How long do I have?” she asked finally.
“Detective Beaufain and I will take you on Thursday to the marshals who will be handling your case. The time and location for the meet-up hasn’t been disclosed yet.”
He was talking about the day after tomorrow. Another shockwave passed through her. “Where are they sending me? Is that still undisclosed, too?”
“I don’t know where you’re going. I probably won’t.” There was a helplessness on his face. “I’ll talk to your brother tomorrow morning, explain everything and make arrangements for you to see your family before you leave.” Noah’s voice hoarsened. “But you have to go, Mercer. After all you’ve been through the last thing I want to do is hand you off to more strangers, but I’m outranked here. Deveau was a federal judge and the U.S. Marshals Service is stepping in.”
Chapter Fifteen
“You’re not talking, man. This WITSEC thing is still eating at you, isn’t it?”
Driving, Noah didn’t look at Tyson, who sat beside him in the SUV’s passenger seat. It was late afternoon and they were headed to Moncks Corner, a small town about thirty miles outside of Charleston, to follow up on a lead. A civilian there claimed to have passed Draper leaving a convenience store a day earlier and had alerted the local police.
“I’ve just got a lot on my mind,” Noah said. He hadn’t wanted to leave Mercer last night, but he had needed to get some sleep. When Tony Garber arrived for his shift, Noah had remained, ending up sleeping downstairs on the cot in the parlor.
“I offered to talk to the family instead of you,” Tyson reminded, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. “You’ve taken enough heat. Seems like it should’ve been my turn.”
Noah had gone to see Mark St. Clair in person early that morning to break the news about Mercer being transferred to WITSEC.
“I made promises to them I couldn’t keep,” Noah said quietly. “I needed to be the one.”
They rode in silence until Tyson used the radio in Noah’s vehicle to converse with the Moncks Corner Police, who were in the process of setting up a roadblock in the area where Draper had supposedly been spotted. The civilian who believed he had seen him was elderly, and it had taken him a full day to report the alleged sighting since he hadn’t realized who the man was until seeing a follow-up report on the news with Draper’s photo. Noah hoped the civilian still had his mental faculties and wasn’t mistaken. The arrestee who had claimed to have information on Draper had gotten what he wanted: a reduction in the charges against him. In exchange, he had connected Draper to another murder two years earlier, a local civil rights leader who had been supposedly shot in a robbery attempt, although it was now looking more like an assassination. That case was being reopened, but it did little to advance the current investigation.
Noah tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The sooner they caught Draper, the faster Mercer’s nightmare would end. He stared through the windshield at the flat asphalt stretched out in front of him.
This isn’t forever. I’ll see you when they bring you back to testify. I’ll be right there in the courtroom…
He had seen the upset in her eyes when she had pointed out that she might never see him again. The thought hurt him, too. He wondered if whatever flame that had kindled so quickly between them would be extinguished by the time the trial was over and she was no longer his witness. But he also knew that they came from vastly different worlds. The two of them…it just didn’t make sense. Even more, Mercer might never forgive him for this newest hardship that had been heaved onto her.
“Did you catch any of that, Noah?” His exchange with the local police finished, Tyson placed the speaker back on the radio’s cradle. “You look like you’re about a thousand miles away.”
“I was listening.” Despite his thoughts, Noah had been keeping an ear to the conversation, which had been mostly about the roadblock’s logistics.
“It’s true what they say—WITSEC’s never lost a witness who follows the rules. That ought to give you some peace of mind,” Tyson said. When he received no response, he added, “All right, I’m just going to lay it out there. You’ve got a thing for Mercer Leighton. And from what I can see, she’s into you, too.”
Noah shot him a hard look.
“How long have we been partners, Noah? I know you, man. You’re all business, all the time. You’re typically Cool Hand Luke, but not with this case. She’s gotten to you.”
“I’ve barely known her for two weeks.” Noah’s tone was dismissive.
“But something’s there. It’s like that for some people. You’re just minding your own business and wham. I knew in the first fifteen minutes after meeting Lanny that she was going to be my wife.” Tyson chuckled softly. “Of course, she didn’t know it for another six months. Thought I was a damn fool at first. Took her six weeks just to agree to go out with me—”
“That’s because she’s smart.”
“Go ahead and diss me. I don’t care. You know I’m right.”
“You’re out of your mind,” Noah grumbled, not wanting Tyson to know just how close he had hit to home. Changing the subject, he pointed out the intersection up ahead. “That’s highway twelve. The convenience store should be on our left about three miles down.”
Mercer was uncertain of how long she had been standing in the unlit bedroom, just staring out into darkness, but the headlights of Noah’s SUV as they swept over the backyard pulled her from her trance. He had kept his promise and returned tonight. Despite everything, a mix of emotions surged through her.
Going down the stairs, she reached the main floor in time to hear him closing and locking the door behind Remy, who had been here all day again.
Noah appeared from the hall. He had a small duffel bag and a suit bag slung over one shoulder.
“Have you eaten?” she asked, searching for something to say other than what was on her mind. She was determined to be braver this time, to not break down. “Remy and I had pizza. There’s still some of it left in the fridge.”
“Thanks, but I’ve already had something.”
He went to place his things on the narrow cot in the adjacent parlor, his intent no doubt to sleep there again while his other former military friend, Tom, took the last overnight watch.
A long, emotional day lay ahead of her tomorrow, including saying goodbye to her family and then whatever the Marshals Service had in store for her once she was placed in their custody. Her thoughts were dull and disquieting. She looked around the house’s bare rooms, recalling that just a few days ago she had complained about being held captive here, unaware of just how worse things could get.
“Lex Draper wasn’t in Moncks Corner, was he?” she asked as Noah walked to her.
“How’d you know about that?”
“Remy said that you and Detective Beaufain went up there today, so I took a guess.”
He sighed softly. “The convenience store camera footage is grainy and the man was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, but he does bear a resemblance.”
His dress shirt already unbuttoned at the throat, sleeves rolled up, Noah pulled the already undone tie from his collar and tossed it over the couch’s arm. “My gut tells me it isn’t him, though. The guy was alone and we have reason to believe that Draper has a small group of men with him. Considering that Draper’s face has been all over the news, I think he’d send someone else out to buy his cigarettes and beer. The local police are operating a roadside checkpoint and conducting door-to-door
visits on households, but there’s been nothing so far.” Frustration and fatigue were evident on Noah’s features.
“Did the man at the convenience store pay with a credit card?” Mercer inquired.
He shook his head. “He paid in cash. And since the man was actually in the store yesterday, the bills from the register were already deposited in the bank. Not to mention, it’s notoriously difficult to isolate and lift prints off paper, especially bills since they’ve had so many hands on them.”
Tiredly, he scrubbed a hand through his dark hair. “We’re monitoring his credit cards and bank account, but so far there’s been no activity that could help us to locate him. We’ve been working all the leads, talking to people who know him, but pretty much all of them are hostile to police. I even drove to the federal penitentiary in Estill to talk to Orion Scott, not that he gave up anything.”
Sinking onto the couch, Mercer asked what she had been dreading. “How’s Mark? I…know you saw him this morning.”
“He’s angry and upset. I’m pretty sure he wants to string me up, and I don’t blame him.”
Her voice fell nearly to a whisper. “It’s not your fault that I was at that gallery, Noah.”
“That doesn’t make any of this easier.” He sat down beside her, his shoulders slumped under his shirt. “Your brother’s having the rest of your things packed. He’ll bring them with him when we meet up tomorrow morning. Your mother will be with him. Your other brother is trying to make it in, but they’re not sure yet if it’ll be possible.”
At the thought of Carter flying back in the midst of filming, leaving the rest of the cast and crew in the lurch just to see her, Mercer’s heart hurt.
“This isn’t what I wanted for you, Mercer. I thought I could keep you here,” Noah said, his voice roughening. “I’d hoped that this didn’t have to go as far as a formal witness protection program, that maybe we’d apprehend Draper quickly and his interest in you would subside if we could find other evidence against him that wouldn’t make you the only threat.”
In Dark Water (Rarity Cove Book 3) Page 12