8. Hide and Seek

by Fern Michaels

  Jack Emery caught a glimpse of himself in the hallway mirror. He as well as Harry now looked like a spit-and-polished version of one of the Gold Shields he did battle with almost on a daily basis. They were ready to replace Director Riley’s six-to-midnight agents but only after they tracked Ted Robinson to make sure he didn’t become involved.

  Myra looked at the little group, her eyes sad. “We have ten minutes before it’s time to leave. That’s another way of saying it’s time to say good-bye.” She felt like crying when she saw Nikki’s and Yoko’s tear-filled eyes. She turned to Judge Easter to hug her. “We have to go now, Nellie. By tomorrow evening you and Lizzie will be vindicated. Stay here until we send you word that you can surface. I will miss you, old friend.” She turned to Lizzie Fox and said, “Take care of her.” Lizzie nodded.

  “Time to go,” Isabelle said briskly. “Jack, you and Harry go first.” She gave both men a fierce hug. “We’ll be back. Go now and don’t look back.”

  Jack bit down on his lower lip but he didn’t look back. Harry, however, did look back and waved halfheartedly. Yoko looked straight ahead and didn’t acknowledge the wave. Nikki turned to wipe the tears from her eyes.

  “I wish I was going with them,” Annie said.

  “They don’t need us, Annie.”

  “I know. Like Kathryn says, they have it going on. I like being in the loop instead of out of it. I guess being the second string isn’t all that bad. Get your gear, Myra, and let’s head for the airport.”

  At the door, Myra turned to the judge and said, “Be careful with your new recruit, Nellie. Lizzie, keep your eye on her and report in. Thanks for all your help. You’re home free now.”

  Lizzie, never at a loss for words and never teary-eyed, ran to Myra and Annie to hug them. “Thanks for all the help. I won’t let you down, Myra, so don’t worry about me. From here on in, I have the perfect cover. Once Riley’s story gets out there, the FBI will never give me or the judge a second look. Especially when we refuse to knock the Bureau. Go now, stick to the schedule. We’ll see each other again.”

  “Count on it,” Annie chirped as she headed for the garage.

  They were nuns or, as Annie said, penguins on the march, as they climbed into the minivan. One of Harry’s men turned the engine over as he rattled off a string of something, to which Annie replied, “If it works for you, it works for us.”

  Alarmed, Myra demanded to know what the man had said.

  “I don’t have a clue. That’s why I said what I said. Oh, I wish we were with the girls. We’re missing out on all the excitement.” Annie’s voice turned fretful. “It’s going to work, isn’t it, Myra?”

  “In theory, yes. Annie, any number of things can go wrong, as you well know. Let’s just think positive and hope for the best.”

  “I think I’m worried,” Annie confessed.

  Myra wished her heart wasn’t beating so fast. She tried for a calm voice but it came out jittery. “About what?”

  “Kathryn and the reporter Maggie Spritzer. She wanted us to take her on, and what happens? We start to trust her based on what Nikki said. Kathryn was livid over that and even though she came around to siding with Nikki, I’m not sure she’s—”

  “Don’t say it, Annie. If we start distrusting each other, this whole thing will fall apart. Kathryn’s okay with it. She’s the most verbal of all of us. If she wasn’t okay with it, we’d know it. She’d be the one going to meet Maggie and not playing the nurse. Kathryn is not a fool.”

  “If you say so, Myra. I’m still going to worry. Damn, this habit itches. I can’t wait to get out of it.”

  Myra agreed. “What time is it, Annie?”

  “Nuns don’t wear watches. We’ve only been gone ten minutes at the most.”

  “It seems like hours,” Myra said as she stared out the window. “I don’t think I could ever live in this city. I like the mountaintop. I really do.”

  “It won’t work forever, Myra. The girls are too young to live like hermits on top of some damn mountain. It doesn’t matter how wonderful, how serene it is. They all need to be in love, wanting to get married and making babies or adopting babies.”

  “I know. That’s my worry.”

  “We’re like two old mother hens, Myra. We need to stop stewing and fretting and let life take its own course. When we get back to Spain I am going to actively seek a partner of the opposite sex.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I need to get laid, that’s why.”

  Myra wasn’t stupid. She knew when to leave well enough alone. “Uh-huh,” was all she could think of to say.

  Chapter 30

  Maggie Spritzer stepped out of the steaming shower and struggled to towel-dry her hair and her body at the same time. Damn, how she hated this crappy shower with no fans or air vents in the confined space. She could barely make out the vanity with all the steam swirling about. She opened the door to let the steam escape, knowing Ted was sitting in the living room with his laptop. Not that she was shy about her naked body, but there was a time and a place for nakedness and this wasn’t the time or the place.

  Normally, she didn’t shower at four in the afternoon, but she’d gone for a late-afternoon run and she was sweaty. With little going on in the newsroom, she had more off hours than on hours these past few days.

  Maggie had just finished wrapping her flyaway hair in a towel turban-style when her cell phone rang. She quickly shut the door as she tried to find the little phone she’d left on the vanity. She’d brought the phone into the bathroom with her because sneaky Ted would answer it otherwise. She looked down to see the words WIRELESS CUSTOMER in the little window. Her heart skipped a beat and then another as she cautiously announced herself. “Maggie Spritzer.”

  “Maggie, this is Nikki Quinn. Can you talk?”

  Did Ted hear the phone ring or not? She wasn’t sure. “I’m not sure. I can listen.”

  Nikki’s voice was clipped and professional. Maggie likened it to her courtroom voice. No crap, just the facts. “Be in the hospital parking lot in an hour. Just sit and wait and we’ll find you. You know what I’m talking about, right?”

  Hospital. There were dozens of hospitals in the DC area. “No, I don’t. Oh, wait a minute, the one where the…”

  “That’s the one. Tell me I can trust you, Maggie.”

  Maggie took a deep breath. “You can.” She gulped when she realized she truly meant what she’d just said. Trust was a powerful thing.

  “I’m going to make your dream come true, Maggie. But if you screw us over we’ll hunt you down like a mad dog. Do you understand?”

  “I understand.” Maggie swallowed hard at the promise she’d just made. She could see the panic on her face in the mirror now that the steam in the bathroom was evaporating.

  “You play fair with us and the dream is yours. One hour. There is a dark green Honda parked in front of your building. The keys are under the floor mat. Once we hand over to you what you will need to make that dream come true, you are to go to the Willard Hotel where there is a prepaid reservation in the name of Nancy Anderson. The room key will be with the car keys under the floor mat. Your room number is 812. Do I need to repeat any of this?”

  “No, I understand.” A nanosecond later the connection was broken. Maggie stared at the small appliance in her hand. Just like that, the most famous women in the world were going to make her dream come true. How wild and wicked was that? Damn wild and wicked, she decided. She felt like dancing a jig but she was too nervous.

  How was she going to get out of the apartment without Ted getting suspicious? Hound dog that he was, he was going to sense something.

  The knock on the bathroom door startled Maggie. She jumped a foot as she clutched the towel to her person. “What?” she bellowed. “Why can’t I take a shower in peace? Do I bother you when you’re taking a shower? No, I do not,” Maggie babbled as she did her best to pull on her clothes over her damp body. “What?” she bellowed again.

  “I thought I
heard your phone ring. I was looking for it to answer it for you. You should never take a cell phone into a steamy room because it will rust the component parts.”

  Maggie jammed the cell phone into her jeans pocket as she threw open the door. “You are so full of it. You’re spying on me, admit it!”

  Ted guffawed as he peered into the steamy bathroom. “You always dress in the bedroom because the bathroom is too steamy and you say it’s hard to get dressed. What are you hiding?”

  “You know what, Ted? I think you think you know too much about me. I’m also thinking our sex life isn’t worth you invading my privacy.” She reached up to gather her long hair into a very wet ponytail. “I’m going to go out now and think about you and me. I might come back and I might not, so don’t leave the porch light on.”

  Ted sniffed. “We don’t have a porch light. We live in an apartment.”

  Maggie sniffed in return. “Whatever. I’m going out. Get a pizza or something. There’s some leftover Chinese if you don’t want pizza. See ya,” she said, gathering up her backpack.

  Maggie was pleading silently with Ted not to follow her. Her pleas went unanswered as Ted followed her out to the elevator. When she read his intentions, she opted for the steps. Don’t follow me. Don’t follow me. But Ted did follow her down two flights before he demanded to know where she was going.

  Maggie turned around. She tried to whip some disgust into her voice. “I’m going to meet all seven vigilantes. They want me to join their cause. I’m going out of the country with them so we can wreak havoc on the world. You are not invited. I’m sorry if that’s more than you need to know.”

  Ted’s eyes narrowed. He heard the words, saw the manufactured disgust and knew his reporter’s instincts were on target. Maggie was already a flight down ahead of him when he got his wits about him and galloped down the steps. He could tell Maggie was picking up speed as she tried to put distance between them.

  Maggie was already in the green Honda, the key turning in the ignition, when Ted exited the building. She pulled into traffic, narrowly missing a shiny black town car. She risked a glance in her rearview mirror. There wasn’t a taxi in sight. But…Who were those two guys approaching Ted? She had a bad moment, wondering if the two men carried gold shields. Oh, well, Ted was a big boy. Now she could relax and have a nervous breakdown.

  Ted Robinson sensed the air around him stir as he committed the license plate on the green Honda to memory. He whirled around to see Jack Emery and Harry Wong. What the hell?

  “Another tiff with your girlfriend, Ted?” Jack asked.

  “What the hell are you two doing here? Get out of my way, Jack.”

  “Why?” Jack asked.

  “Because I hate your guts, that’s why. You played me, you son of a bitch. I have a long memory, buddy.”

  “Yeah, I have the same kind of memory. Don’t think for one minute I’ve forgotten that little fiasco in California.”

  “Cut the crap, Emery. You’re one of them and you aided and abetted those women. You know it and I know it. I’m going to nail you sooner or later.”

  “Yeah, well, sooner is gone and later is here right now. Go back inside like a good little reporter.”

  “Screw you, Jack!”

  “See, now, you’re just showing off for my friend here. Just in case you didn’t hear me the first time, I told you to go inside. Inside and stay there!”

  “Like you’re going to make me!”

  A posse of motorcycles roared down the street. None of the men paid attention as motorists honked their disapproval. Ted turned to walk down the street. Harry Wong reached for his arm to jerk him backward. “Mr. Robinson, Mr. Emery asked you nicely to go back inside your apartment. You need to listen to Mr. Emery.”

  “Oooh, oooh, look how I’m shaking in my shoes. Mr. Emery issued an order and I’m expected to do what he says. I don’t think so. What are you going to do? Do one of those high-flying kicks and knock me senseless?”

  “Yeah.”

  Ted blinked. Then he turned around and walked back to his apartment building. He didn’t look back.

  “Okay, Harry, let’s go. Ted isn’t going to go anywhere. There’s no way he can track Maggie now. We’re in the clear.” He whistled sharply. Within seconds a black and white police car pulled to the curb. Both men piled in. The cruiser started to move before either man could close the doors. The siren started to wail immediately.

  “Gentlemen,” the driver said by way of greeting.

  “Agent Navarro, nice to see you again,” Jack said.

  Isabelle drove around the hospital parking lot three times as she waited for the GPS tracker in the green Honda to tell her where Maggie Spritzer would park the car.

  “She’s entering the lot now. She’s going to Zone 3,” Alexis said. “Let’s give her a few minutes to get her breath. She’s probably nervous as hell. I know I would be. I hope to God we can trust her.”

  “It’s too late now to change our plans. She’s all we have going for us. Nikki said…Nikki said she’s on our side so we have to believe what Nikki believes. Call Maggie now and tell her to find a spot with an empty space behind her so we can back in and unload from our trunk to hers,” Isabelle said, her eyes on the GPS screen on the dashboard. Alexis made the call. They both watched as the reporter maneuvered the Honda to a suitable spot.

  “This is a crazy place to be doing all this covert stuff,” Isabelle grumbled as she backed the car she was driving into the space behind the green Honda. “This damn place is crawling with FBI agents.”

  Alexis looked at her watch. “Look,” she whispered.

  Isabelle turned to look out the back window at the scene being played out near the private hospital entrance leading to Director Riley’s wing. She could see Jack and Harry being dropped off at the door by Special Agent Navarro. She continued to watch as he parked the police car to the left of the entrance and got out. Isabelle sighed. Three down.

  Maggie Spritzer sat in the green Honda watching the entrance and marveling at the choreography of this little caper. She took a few seconds to congratulate herself on being part of it all.

  “There goes Kathryn. She looks great! I bet the director’s eyes pop right out of his head when he gets a gander at his new nurse,” Alexis said and did her best not to giggle. She continued to watch as Nikki and Yoko, aka Alice Riley and daughter, stepped out of the same SUV they drove away from the Riley household.

  “Here comes the catering van.”

  The newly appointed FBI agents, Emery and Wong, stepped up to the van along with the two agents going off duty. Behind them the pseudo Alice and Sally Riley watched the proceedings. “Alice” was talking nonstop as she waved her arms about. The little girl at her side, head down, scuffed the ground with her sandals

  “So far, so good,” Isabelle said breathlessly. She looked at the little clock on the dashboard. “We’re on target.”

  Alexis had her own eyes glued to the sweeping hand on her watch. “It’s time to load up Maggie’s trunk.” She adjusted her wide-brimmed straw hat as she climbed out of the car, careful to keep her camera within eye range for anyone interested enough to care, one way or the other, what she was doing. Isabelle also climbed out of the car. Her straw hat was just as wide-brimmed but a different color than Alexis’s. She, too, held a camera as she let her gaze sweep around the parking lot. Both women started snapping pictures of cars, each other and the entrance to the hospital. They laughed, preened and postured before closing their cameras. Isabelle popped the trunk of the car and waited for Maggie Spritzer to do the same.

  “What…What are you giving me?” Maggie asked. “What’s in the boxes? Am I going to get arrested?”

  Isabelle stared at the reporter. “Your Pulitzer, Ms. Spritzer. I don’t know if you will get arrested or not. Be careful.”

  Maggie looked at the boxes sitting in her trunk. Was it possible the contents would really lead to a prize-winning story? She felt giddy at the mere thought. “Why me? I’ve given you
all so much grief. Why did you pick me? Or, is this a setup? Please, I need to know.”

  Alexis smiled. “You’re one of us even though you won’t admit it. Here, Nikki said to give you this. Read it when you get to the hotel. Then, shred or burn it. I want your promise as a journalist to follow the rules we set out for you.”

  Maggie nodded. “You have my promise.”

  “Your room at the Willard is yours for forty-eight hours. Do not leave the hotel until you have a concrete plan of action. The car is yours for a full week. Leave it in the parking lot at the Willard and it will be taken care of. There’s a spare license plate and a screwdriver on the backseat. Change it before you leave here. Take the old plate with you into the hotel. If you have any questions, ask them now.”

  “Just the same question. Why me?”

  “Nikki said you could have turned us in and you didn’t. The real reason,” Isabelle said, smiling, “is we need you. Right now, this minute, if you’ve been watching what’s going on at the entrance over there, you have our lives in your hands. All it will take is one phone call and we’re dead in the water. Is that going to happen, Ms. Spritzer?”

  “No, it’s not going to happen. I don’t know what to say. Can I ask where you’re going? Will you call me again? Should I leave now?”

  Both women laughed as they turned to get in the car, leaving Maggie standing outside her car, her eyes still full of questions.

  Her heart beating trip-hammer fast, Maggie watched as the car behind her kicked to life and sped out of the parking lot. One call was all it would take. One call and she would become, like the vigilantes, a household word. She could name her price. There would be a book deal, a movie deal. As she climbed into the green Honda she wondered why her finger wasn’t itching to make that one call that would make her a household name. Suddenly, even the thought of a Pulitzer was losing its allure.