Two men walked up to Blake and Chase, one of them was Hank Stubbins. Blake waved her over so Caitlin joined them.
“Caitlin Foster, you’ve met Hank Stubbins, this is George Carleton, Director of Operations at the Oregon Division of the U.S. Marshals. They have been coordinating this operation,” Blake explained.
“The same one you almost messed up,” Hank Stubbins scolded. “Weren’t you supposed to be in a panic room?”
Caitlin nodded. “Yes, but no one explained that a major operation was going down. I might have stayed there if I hadn’t thought these two guys were facing an insane nut on their own.”
“You weren’t supposed to know, although your intelligence gathering has been remarkable. We thank you for that, but we do like to keep civilians out of these operations when possible,” George Carleton explained.
“Caitlin, go on up to the house,” Chase suggested calmly but there was anger in his tone if not his words. It was an order.
She nodded and headed for the house. She needed an icepack for her head and jaw and a bottle of extra strength aspirin. She knew they were trying to downplay her involvement. Whatever they were doing, she hoped she’d get an explanation before Chase killed her.
Chapter 15
Hours later Hank Stubbins sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee. The sound of Chase hammering plywood across the broken window frame were broadcasting his anger.
Caitlin had already shown Blake and Chase where the escape hatch was in the panic room and explained how she’d gotten out. They’d already gone over the stash of weapons and equipment she’d found in the room but had not bothered to tell them about. All of it had been confiscated and they’d both been furious.
“So, this was planned from the beginning?” Caitlin asked, looking from Hank Stubbins to Blake Ford. She was holding an ice pack to her black eye and swollen jaw. Her entire jaw line was turning purple.
“We’ve had leaks before in the WITSEC program, but they are rare.” Hank Stubbins admitted. “We’ve never had three consecutive leaks on a single witness. It was in our interest to plug that leak. You may have opted out of the program, Caitlin, but higher-ups were keeping an eye on you and still trying to uncover the leak, but with you out of the system, there were no more leaks. Whoever had paid for information didn’t need to tap that source again.
You were lost in the shuffle of heavy workloads a couple of times. They lost track of your changed identities a couple of times as well. You’re very good at that, and we haven’t figured out your source for the documentation yet. Since you’re not offering to divulge it, I’m going to let it slide because your ability to change identify and to move fast has saved your life many times over. The documents are damn good. Regardless, when you popped up again in Nevada you were back on the agencies’ radar big time. When you skipped out on Bennett the second time you must have gone underground because we couldn’t find a trace on you anywhere.
When the AP-13 gangs went to war, against the Rigoltee syndicate, no one connected it to you and they still haven’t. For the most part, law enforcement sat back and watched. It only lasted a couple of weeks and whole bunch of bad guys killed each other off. Off the record, it didn’t hurt our feelings one bit that they went after each other. It took a lot of bad guys off our books. As long as they didn’t involve innocent bystanders, I say let them go for it. Again, that’s off the record since that’s my personal opinion and not the official line of the agency.
At that time, I didn’t know Bennett was running a personal investigation trying to find you. He was the one that figured out the connection to you and your computer skills. By then most of the drama had already played out, and all we had were supposition and theories.
A month later, when Clifford Stevens’ career imploded, it seemed too much of a coincidence to be unrelated. Again, we were guessing, we have no proof. The agency was interested in sniffing around, but we have limited manpower and budget problems. There’s not a lot of money floating around to go chasing after maybes. You were off the agency’s radar completely and Bennett was working on his own time. He kept me informed enough that I knew he’d found you, but he didn’t give up the information of where you were living. He also didn’t clue me in that there was a personal interest, but I’d already figured that out for myself. Then suddenly, all hell broke loose in Texas. You were involved with Marshal Bennett and his property was blown to kingdom come. Someone was trying to kill both of you.
Now it was our turn to get involved. Arson and attempted murder and we were ninety percent sure who was behind it. Our main players were already on the field, so a decision was made to work you three as a team and bring Clifford Stevens crime spree to a final conclusion.”
“I thought you were working with Chase off the record,” Caitlin said, giving Blake a hard look.
“U.S. Marshals don’t work ‘off-the-books’, Caitlin,” Blake said with a grin. “We have a code to live by and we do. We gave you that impression on purpose. You were the bait. I thought you might be of use to us, but your computer skills are off the charts. I didn’t ask questions about what you were doing because what we don’t know about, we can’t prosecute. My only advice is to get clean and stay clean. Shut down all of those system tampering tricks of yours.”
Caitlin nodded seriously. “It’s forgotten.” She turned her attention back to Hank Stubbins. “So, what’s my involvement in this case?”
“Stevens is dead and we have a full confession. That closes that portion of the case. His hired private investigators-turned-arsonists are talking, telling us anything we want to know in order to cut a better deal with the D.A. for their own trials. There will be further investigations into Stevens’ computer drives, particularly his offshore accounts and the videos where the participants looked to be underage. A search warrant has already found a great deal of evidence that will be permissible in court. Stevens is gone, but he had help and I want to find out who was supplying the help and the financing.
From your end, depositions will be enough. You can only be asked about what you know about, not what you suspect, or what you found out by illegal means. We don’t officially know anything about that.”
“Which means I can only give a deposition on the bombing of Chase’s place and what happened outside tonight,” Caitlin said carefully. “Oh, and that he stole my money.”
“The bombing in Texas, yes,” Hank said nodding his head. “The theft will be proven by our computer forensic teams. I suspect you’ll be able to sue his estate to reclaim your loss.
In the situation tonight, you were the bait. You were contained in a safe room. You’d gone nightie-night, and my guys thought you were safely out of the way. You woke up, were unaware of the operation going down and wandered into a critical zone unexpectedly. As a person under the protection of WITSEC, your identity will be protected fully.”
“I tried that before but I was compromised,” she reminded him.
“That leak has been plugged, and if I have any say about it the person responsible will serve a prison sentence. At the very least, they will never work in a government job again or gain another security clearance. I’m pushing for prison time. I take it personally when someone inside jeopardizes our organization.”
“So, I can go back to a normal life,” Caitlin said hopefully.
“A normal, boring life, I hope,” Hank said grinning. “If you wind up in Texas, send me an invitation to the wedding.”
“I may not live that long, but if we do, you’ll get one. Thank you,” Caitlin said as she leaned across the table and kissed him and grimaced because even that hurt.
“I think the last of the cleanup crews are gone,” Hank said getting to his feet and facing Blake. “I’ll expect your reports on my desk by tomorrow. Director Carleton is waiting for me. As soon as I can cut this connection with him, the sooner I can get back to my desk in Salt Lake, where I’m supposed to be. This went down clean and by the book. Good job. I’ll see you back at the office. You’ve b
een living the easy life for too long. I need you back on the job.”
“Yes sir,” Blake said standing up and shaking his boss’s hand.
Caitlin watched Hank Stubbins as he walked across the living room, stopped and said something to Chase, slapped him on the back and shook his hand before he left.
Chapter 16
Blake turned to her. “The weapons that you found, where do you figure they came from?”
Caitlin shrugged. “I found them in the panic room. I think they belonged to the previous owner. I told you he was paranoid and thought someone was after him. His name was Shelton Glossier.”
Blake nodded. “We can work with that as long as we all stay on the same page. You got scared and took what was available with you when you left the panic room. You accidently entered our target zone, and one of our guys took you out as a precaution. All around, Kid, it makes it easier to explain. I’ve got to go start on my reports, and I’ll be briefing both of you thoroughly in the morning.”
“Is it really over Blake?”
Blake stood up, walked over and kissed her on the top of her head. “It’s over Kid. I’m going back home. I’m going to talk Valerie into marrying me and do my best to talk her into popping out some babies real soon. You’ve got some business to settle with Chase. He’s beyond pissed. And honestly, if I didn’t think he was going to crack on your ass, I’d be doing it. You should have stayed where we put you. You endangered yourself, you endangered us, and everyone involved in the entire operation.”
“I didn’t know there was an operation going on,” Caitlin protested.
“You had one order and it was to stay! You disobeyed and there will be consequences,” Blake said solemnly.
Caitlin was worried about those consequences. Chase had barely spoken to her. He’d chosen to sleep on the couch, claiming he wasn’t satisfied with the security of the plywood repair of the window. All security systems were up and running, but he was ignoring her. She knew he was angry, but she didn’t know what to do about it. What was done, was done. She couldn’t change it. She apologized to both Blake and Chase. Blake seemed okay, but it didn’t relieve any of the tension with Chase.
Blake got up early, spent nearly three hours briefing them on his finished reports and going over the information to make sure all their stories matched. As they headed for Bellingham International Airport, Caitlin sat in the backseat feeling left out as the two men talked shop. It annoyed her that she was being excluded when she’d been as much a part of the plan to take down their pursuers as they had been, at least until the end. They walked inside the airport concourse as far as they were allowed.
“Chase,” Blake nodded over toward a newsstand. “Go grab me a couple magazines, maybe the latest Harry Hawthorne novel if they have it.”
“Sure,” Chase walked off, casting a look at Caitlin before he left.
Blake smiled down at her. “He’s cooling off. You’re not off the hook, but he’s out of the kill and maim zone.”
“Maybe you should stick around to protect me,” Caitlin said, half-serious.
“Wouldn’t work,” Blake said grinning and then grew serious. “I have a question for you? Look at me.”
She looked up at him.
“Are you behind the sweepstakes winning Valerie got in the mail?”
Caitlin never lost eye contact. “What sweepstakes winning?”
Blake nodded. “You’re a genius at your computers, Caitlin, but you’re a lousy liar. Every time you lie, you give a tell sign. We spotted it a while back so don’t try lying to your boyfriend. It will only get you in more trouble.”
“What is it?” Caitlin demanded.
He laughed easily, “I’m not giving that away. I have one more question. Can you afford to give that much cash away without feeling it?
Caitlin nodded slightly.
Blake gave a sigh. “Damn, it must be nice to be rich. All right, I’m going to let it pass this time and let you get away with it. I won’t rat you out to Chase but if he finds out, you’re on your own. Valerie is over the moon thinking her troubles are over, and I think you only did it as a kindness. A gesture of kindness shouldn’t be thrown back in someone’s face. It’s a hell of gesture, but it’s also interference, so don’t do it again.”
“Yes sir,” Caitlin said giving Blake a smile and a mock salute.
He shook his head. “I only wish I had your skills at doing what you do and manage to get away with it.”
“The trick is to follow the rules - up to a point. If you’re not caught breaking rules there’s never a reason to suspect or investigate,” she answered truthfully.
“I didn’t hear that,” Blake said but he was grinning. “Clean up your act. There’s no need for it anymore.”
“I hear you.”
Blake chuckled. “I don’t know how big a deal Val is going to make of our wedding, but I imagine she’ll want you to be a part of it. What happened here - Val can’t know about any of it.”
“I knew that,” Caitlin admitted. “No loose lips or girl talk about agency business.”
Chase walked back and handed his friend several magazines and a book. “You’d better get a move on. It’s time to check in.”
“Keep a low profile for a couple of months,” Blake said. “Although I think we’ve nailed all the players this time. Any politicians that were backing him will scatter and duck. They’re not going to want any part of this mess. Are you really quitting this time?”
“Yep. I told Hank and he’ll process the paperwork. Be careful,” Chase said slapping his partner on the back and they hung back as he cleared through security and headed off to his gate.
“You didn’t quit before?” Caitlin asked. “I thought you’d quit.”
“I knew you thought that and I didn’t correct it. I was about to quit, but Hank’s a smart guy. When I got word about how serious Mom was, he suggested that I take a leave of absence and use up all my accumulated vacation and sick leave and a hell of a lot of comp time. That way I could spend some time with Mom and my family and review my options before I gave up my badge. Although I was on leave of absence, I was still a U.S. Marshal. It allowed me to do some undercover work tracking you down and getting some more dirt on Stevens. We suspected at some point he might come after you. If he really believed that he was going to re-launch his political career, you had to be eliminated. He wouldn’t want to have any possible loose ends that could come undone. It still blows my mind that he thought he could resurrect his political ambitions. He must have had some pretty powerful backers.”
“He did, and his ego had been built up to the point where he thought nothing could take him down,” Caitlin said.
Chase gave her a long hard look. “If I hadn’t been still officially on the books as a Marshal, I would have been in that panic room with you. If I had been a civilian, at least you wouldn’t have gotten out of there.”
Caitlin was silent. She really didn’t have anything to say about that.
“Blake’s thinking of taking a promotion,” Chase said casually as they walked back to another rental vehicle. “He’s got five years until he can retire, and if he takes the promotion he’ll be in a training position and out of the line of fire.”
“He’s says he going to marry Valerie, and it sounds like he wants to do it soon.”
Chase nodded. “There’s a lot of that going around. We need to talk.”
“Is that a euphemism for sex or for killing me?” Caitlin asked.
“The sex part we’ve had figured out from the beginning. We do need to talk. After we talk, I’m going to fire up your ass for disobeying me, and there’s no way you’re talking your way out of that so don’t even try.”
“Why should I even let you come back with me if you’re going to hurt me?” Caitlin demanded.
“Don’t go there, or I’ll pull over and give you a sample right here,” he warned and suddenly he did pull off the road and parked in front of a pharmacy.
Caitlin tensed, but he
got out of the car and went inside. Her insides were jangling, but she knew once Chase made that decision, nothing was going to stop him. A knot formed in her throat, and tears pricked at her eyes. They weren’t from fear; they were from guilt.
Chase was back in the car only after a few minutes with a plastic bag that he tossed in the backseat. He took one look at her face and was instantly concerned. “What?”
Caitlin turned her face in his shoulder. “I put Blake and you and all those men’s lives at even more risk. I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t know! You should have told me! I thought I could help!”
Chase patted her on the back and kissed her. “I know that, but at some point Cait you’re going to have to learn that, sometimes it’s not up to you to make the decisions. Sometimes your job is only to do what you’re told.” He traced a finger lightly over her bruised jaw, and her black eye. “None of this was necessary. You putting your life in jeopardy wasn’t necessary.”
The drive back to the house was made quietly. There wasn’t any reason for fighting, or arguing. Both of them knew what was going to happen when they arrived.
Caitlin looked over the place as they drove into the driveway. If she hadn’t been there, she would have never believed what had happened the night before. There was not a shred of evidence left behind, and she doubted that her closest neighbors were even aware that anything unusual had taken place on the property. Her eyes went to where Clifford Stevens had been shot. The asphalt and the grass had been cleaned. There was no trace of blood or that a man had died on that spot.
Chase saw where she’d riveted her attention and he gave her a slight nudge. “Don’t think about it.”
“That’s a little hard to do, considering that I set him up,” Caitlin said with a shake of her head. “Well at least I partially set him up. You guys had another plan – a plan that you didn’t think I needed to know about.”
Chase let a little grin slip through. She was getting her fighting spirit back. He led her inside and nudged her to the bedroom.
Caitlin's Conspiracies Page 19