Oil & Vinegar

by Mairsile Leabhair

  “Did she find out anything?”

  “She wouldn’t tell me over the phone,” Hettie explained. “Probably wasn’t alone when she called.”

  “Well, then. I guess I’ll order another cup of coffee.”

  “And a cinnamon roll, too,” she inserted.

  “Where do you put it all?” I asked.

  “I’ve started working out again. Pushups, sit-ups, squats, stuff like that. Got to get back in shape.”

  “Is this a recent thing because you’re looking really… um… in shape.” I am a complete idiot.

  “Thanks. I’ve been running the last couple of months and when I took your case, I switched to indoor exercises.”

  “I used to jog at home. I miss it.”

  “Tell you what, if we’re still here in the morning, and I’ve got a feeling that we will be, let’s go jogging.”

  “Deal! I would love to get outside and stretch my legs.” And run off some frustrations.

  “Yeah, and run off some frustrations, too.”

  Did she just read my mind? “Wha… what frustrations?”

  “Just a few things that are frustrating me about your case.”

  “Like what?” I persisted.

  “Well, the bastard who sold us out for one. Not only you, but they sold out the U.S. Marshals as well. They took an oath to protect and serve and they broke that oath.”

  “You think you know who it is, don’t you?” I could see it in her eyes. Disappointment mixed in with underlying anger. Someone had betrayed her.

  She looked off into the distance, her eyes squinting with disappointment. “I have my suspicions. And I would be really happy to be wrong about them.”

  I could tell that she didn’t want to say their name by the way she wasn’t giving me a direct answer, but I was too inquisitive to let it go.

  “Who do you think it is, Hettie?”

  “My partner before I was pulled to WITSEC. But I’ve got more evidence to give to Angie. She should be able to trace it back to the spy.”

  “And if she can’t? What then?”

  “I’ve been giving that some thought. We can’t keep running the rest of our lives. I need to talk with the FBI and see what they have to say. Then, I think, we take our chances with Krauss.”

  Not liking the sound of that idea, I asked, “How will going into the belly of the beast keep us safe?”

  “Because she’s a Chief Deputy and has a lot more connections then I do and an army of deputies at her disposal. They can keep you safe.”

  My heart began to beat rapidly. “No, Hettie. I don’t think I could…” My breath caught in my throat. “I might lose my voice again.”

  “No. Listen, don’t worry,” she said, reaching across the table. “I won’t leave you alone with them. I’ll be there until we get this thing figured out and catch the bastards who killed your parents.”

  If a heart could smile, mine would be grinning ear to ear. She won’t leave me.

  She finished off her eggs and pushed her plate away. “Well, I guess I’d better swing by the front desk and pick up the key to my room, then get my stuff out of your room.”

  Oh, God. She’s leaving me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  U.S. Marshal Hettie Quinn

  I could see the uncertainty in her eyes, and I probably should have reconsidered moving out, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I couldn’t think straight if I was continually aroused by her proximity. And seeing her pale naked skin with her nipples erect and her hair glistening between her legs almost drove me over the edge. I was seconds from taking her right there on the floor. I almost wished she had slapped me again to bring me to my senses. I couldn’t afford to lose control like that. Not yet, anyway.

  My cell phone rang and I dug it out of my blue jeans, thinking it was Angie calling me back. I was wrong. It was Krauss. “Good morning, Chief.”

  “We caught a break on the internal investigation,” she said without preamble.

  “Who?” I demanded.

  “Your partner, Peter Bowers,” she answered.

  The skin crawled along the back of my head as I clenched my fist. I turned my head away and said, “Mother fucking son of a bitch.”

  “What is it, Hettie?” Connie asked sharply.

  I covered the phone with my hand and said to her, “They think they know who the mole is.” Then I put the phone to my ear again. “Are you absolutely sure?”

  “Yes, he left a digital fingerprint on Amanda’s file.”

  In other words he was looking at Connie’s file, which is strictly against protocol because he isn’t involved with the case. Damn it, Bowers.

  “I’m getting an arrest warrant this morning, and I’ll have his SD place him under arrest as soon as it’s issued,” Krauss stated.

  Something felt off. Was it because he was my partner? A partner who irritated the hell out of me most days, but protected my back doing it. I just had a prickly feeling in the back of my throat that said either cough or swallow, you can’t do both at the same time. It made no sense.

  “Hettie, did you hear me?” Krauss asked.

  I looked up and saw Angie walking in She was carrying my laptop and a manila folder. “Yes. Keep me posted,” I demanded, ending the call.

  “No one answered in your room so I thought I’d take a chance that you were eating,” Angie explained as she sat down beside me, setting my laptop on the table. Connie scooted her chair over to make room. “Mind if I join you? I’m starved.” She picked up my leftover pastry and practically swallowed it whole.

  “Uh, sure, help yourself,” I said contemptuously.

  “Thanks. Here, I brought you a gift,” she said, handing me the folder.

  “What did you find?” I asked, taking the folder from her.

  “That your laptop wasn’t the point of origin,” she replied, grabbing a biscuit from the basket. “Got any butter and honey?”

  “So you found nothing?” Connie asked, as she passed the butter to Angie.

  “Thanks, and I didn’t say that.”

  “Son of a bitch,” I exclaimed as I read over her report. “I knew it. Initially I thought Turn Me On was just a joke that my partner put on my reader. But then it was no coincidence that this app, Find Me, and the other app would be on both my reader and my laptop. I don’t mess with apps that much.”

  She held up a finger as she chewed and then swallowed. “You didn’t put those apps on there?”

  “No, I didn’t. They’re GPS apps, aren’t they? That’s how they’ve been finding us.”

  “One of them is a GPS app, the other is an app that turns your location on each time you start up your laptop. So when you connect to the Internet the GPS can be pinged.”

  “What kind of lag time are we talking about?” I asked.

  “It depends on how far away your server hub was. If it was a Wi-Fi connection, it could have taken longer. It really depends on how sophisticated their equipment is.”

  I began writing notes on the report, estimating the times that I used my laptop and for how long, against the time they caught up with us. It added up to a day at most and one time was just a few hours.

  “Shit! We’ve got to get out of here,” I exclaimed, jumping up.

  “Cool your jets, honey,” Angie said as she took another bite. “I sent them on a wild goose chase.”

  “You can do that?” Connie asked, staring at her intently.

  “Sure, piece of cake. But I’m pretty sure they do have this location, Hettie. Once they don’t find you at the decoy location, they’ll be coming this way.”

  I sat back down, exhaling. “Okay, we’ll be out of here within the hour. First, I need you to check my eReader. It’s in her room,” I said, nodding at Connie. “Also, I need to set up a meeting with the FBI. Can I count on you to back me up?”

  “Hold that thought, I’ll be right back.” She jumped up and walked over to the buffet and picked up a plate. A few moments later, she returned with a plate filled with panc
akes, eggs, bacon, and another pastry. Sitting down again, she asked, “So, you think the Feds are involved, too?”

  “I don’t know. At this point, the only person I really trust is you, and that’s because we slept together.”

  Connie blushed and looked down at her plate.

  “I’m flattered,” Angie chuckled between chews, “but don’t go to extremes.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked, irritated that she might not be trustworthy.

  “I work in computer forensics, remember? Our work is as secure as the men and women who work in that field.”

  “In other words, it could just as easily be someone in forensics or some other computer programming unit that has access to your files.”

  “Exactly. And, yes I’ll come with you to the meet and cover your butt.”

  “Thanks, Ang. I owe you.”

  “And I’ll be collecting on that later.”

  I had no doubt of what she will want in exchange, and it might actually be a good thing. As long as I don’t call out Connie’s name again, jeez.

  “For now, you both can stay at my condo,” Angie stated. “I just bought it and moved in over the weekend so I haven’t updated my W4 or emergency contact, etc., yet.”

  “Angie, you’re a lifesaver,” I exclaimed.

  Connie frowned but then quickly hid it. What is she thinking about all this? “I have a cat,” she pointed out. “You’re not allergic, are you?”

  Angie shook her head. “I love cats, bring him along.”

  “He’s a she,” Connie said, somewhat dejectedly.

  *

  Angie unlocked the door to her condo and showed us in. She lived in a nice neighborhood with lots of shrubs and trees, and a park for the kids to play in and the adults to walk their dogs. Or in Connie’s case, her cat. Angie’s condo was nice, too. She’d added a little more furniture to this one, but then this one had more square footage to fill. It still smelled of lavender, although the view was much better.

  “Nice place, Angie,” I complimented. “You’ve moved up in the world.”

  “I know, right. I wasn’t sure I could afford it at first, but my salary finally caught up with my rent.”

  “So, you didn’t buy it?” I asked.

  “No. I didn’t want the responsibility. When you rent, all you have to do is call the landlord and they’ll come fix stuff free of charge.”

  “That’s the same reason that I won’t buy one,” I agreed.

  “Who do you think I got the idea from?” she asked, winking at me. “The only difference is that you know how to fix the toilet and I don’t. Not that I’d ever want to learn.”

  I glanced at Connie, who was keeping a firm grip on Bubble’s leash. I knew she wasn’t comfortable with Angie yet, but something else was bothering her, I just wasn’t sure what, and I wasn’t going to ask in front of Angie.

  Angie showed us around, encouraging us to help ourselves to anything in the kitchen, pointing out where the only bathroom was, and assigning the sleeping arrangements.

  “Amanda, you take the guest bedroom and Hettie, you take my bedroom. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

  Connie exhaled quietly, and I understood then what was worrying her.

  “Let me take the couch, Angie,” I insisted. “I’m the one putting you out so it’s only fair.”

  “You take the guest bedroom, Hettie. Let me sleep on the couch,” Connie beseeched. “This is all my fault, and—”

  “It most certainly was not your fault,” I asserted. “It’s the bastards who think they can buy or kill their way to the top.”

  “Okay, here’s the deal. My house, my rules. Amanda will take the guest bedroom and Hettie will sleep on the couch,” Angie stipulated with a grin. “Now, I think it’s high time you read me in, Hettie?”

  *

  We sat around the kitchen table drinking sodas and munching on snacks, as I filled Angie in on the case. Connie was quiet, as usual, but seemed anxious at times.

  “So, do you think you can pull anything off my reader?” I asked.

  “Of course. I have a feeling it will be the point of origin,” Angie answered, peeling a banana.

  “And can you do a family check on my partner, Peter Bowers, in SOIB? He has a sister who is a popular author of lesbian romance. Bowers buys her books and puts them on my reader.”

  She shrugged. “Case closed then, right? You said your CD indicated he was the mole.”

  “Pretty convenient, don’t you think?” Connie asked quietly.

  “That was my thinking exactly,” I said. “My gut tells me that he’s being set up, and I’m hoping you can prove it, Angie.”

  “Well, if your gut says so, then who am I to argue?” she said snidely. If she was going for a laugh, she didn’t get one from me. “I’ll take a look at it in a minute. Did you call that Fed?”

  “Yes. He’ll meet us this evening at the tavern you suggested.”

  “Good. He won’t try anything in a busy place like that.”

  “I agree. It’s when we try to leave that I’m worried about,” I stated.

  “That’s why I’ll be outside in the car listening to every word you two say.”

  “You’ve got a setup?” I asked eagerly.

  “Of course. Doesn’t everyone?” she said with a chuckle.

  “Excellent. But at the first sign of trouble, I want you to get out of there, understand?”

  Connie jerked her head up, her eyes anxious and panicky.

  “Okay, you got that out of the way,” Angie jeered. “Feel better?”

  “I’m serious, Angie,” I insisted.

  “I know you are, and it’s appreciated. Now, if we’re done with all this bullshit,” she said as she stood up, “I’m going to take a look at your eReader.”

  Angie was letting me know she was still mad at me, but I knew she was really mad at herself. I was having second thoughts about getting her involved, although it was too late to change my mind now. Maybe tomorrow, after I’d met with the FBI, Angie and I could have a serious talk and I could help her to move on.

  “Connie, I want you to stay here while we’re gone. You’ll be safe here.”

  “Why can’t I go with you?” she asked.

  “Because they’re after you, not me. What kind of professional would I be if I delivered you right to them?”

  “If it’s that dangerous then don’t go, please.”

  “Ah, Connie. When are you going to trust me to know what I’m doing?” I asked, taking a drink of my soda.

  “I trust you implicitly,” she rebuffed. “It’s the people trying to kill us that I don’t trust.”

  “Well, I’m with you on that one. That’s why I’m taking Angie with me.”

  “Yeah, about that… you’re coming back, aren’t you?”

  I tilted my head as if that would help me understand what she was asking. “Of course, I’ll be back. Why did you think that I wouldn’t be?”

  “I think Angie has plans for you that could, um, keep you busy,” Connie said, blushing again.

  “I’ve only got one thing on my mind, Connie, and that’s you. I mean as my protectee. Besides, would it bother you if I did?”

  She got up and walked to the counter. “Yes, it would bother me.”

  Wow… I wasn’t expecting an honest response. I got up and walked over to her. I wanted to touch her, to put my hand on her shoulder, but I resisted. I didn’t have time to take another cold shower and I was dangerously close to needing one. I had a mission that I needed to stay focused on. “I will be back as soon as I can, I promise. Please keep the door locked, and—”

  She turned around and said, “Yes, I know the drill.”

  “Promise me,” I insisted.

  “Fine, I promise I will stay put and keep the door locked. Now, you promise me that you won’t be a hero today. I can’t take one more person leaving me.”

  “I’m not—”

  “Promise me,” she insisted.

  I smiled a
nd took her hand. “I promise. Remember, we’ve got a date to go running in the morning.”

  That made her smile.

  ***

  I ordered a beer and waited. Sitting at a round table in the crowded tavern, I had my jacket on that clearly identified me as a U.S. Marshal and my sidearm locked and loaded and within reach. I had a wireless microphone pinned to the inside of my long sleeve and a supposedly invisible earpiece embedded in my ear. I could feel it in there so I doubted it was really completely invisible. I just hoped I could dig it out afterward.

  “Marshal Quinn?”

  “That’s me,” I answered, looking up at a beautiful, brown-skinned, raven-haired, long-boned woman who stood in front of me, holding out her identification and badge.

  “Special Agent Sofia Alcabú,” I said, handing her badge back and showing her mine.

  “Most folks call me FiFi,” she stated as she sat down.

  And you’re okay with that? “You can call me Hettie. So, what’s on your mind, Agent?”

  She eyed me curiously for a moment. “Your supervisor is a real hard-ass.”

  I shrugged and asked, “Which supervisor? Never mind, they’re both hard asses.”

  “Aren’t most bosses?”

  “Okay, enough of the niceties. I need to be somewhere, so cut to the chase already.”

  “Deja de ser un idiota y lo haré,” she snapped.

  “I’m not being a jerk,” I rebutted. I probably was being a jerk because I was enjoying her uncomfortable embarrassment a little too much. “Así que deja de perder mi tiempo,” I said, telling her to stop wasting my time in almost perfect Spanish.

  “I guess your bosses aren’t the only hard asses in the Marshals’ office. As I told Chief Deputy Krauss, I want to interview your witness.”

  “Even if I knew who you were talking about, I would tell you that it wasn’t going to happen.”

  She leaned back and crossed her arms. “Yes, I’ve heard the speech before, every time I’ve had to deal with WITSEC.”

  I cocked my lip and sneered impatiently. “Then you should know better than to ask.”

  “Why do you think I agreed to meet with you instead? Besides, this involves you as much as it does her now.”