Teresa Watson

by Death Stalks the Law

  “I can’t tell you that.”

  “You’re starting to sound like a broken record, Owen. What can you tell me?”

  “That he really cares about you.”

  I stood up and grabbed the file off the desk. “Well, isn’t that special? I feel all warm and fuzzy now.”

  “How did you find out?”

  “It seems I asked the right question to the right person, and voila! Secrets revealed.”

  “What are you going to do with that information?” Owen asked me as I opened the door.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You can’t jeopardize his investigation. There is more at stake now that she tried to kill Hopkins.”

  “Just because he said it was a female voice he heard doesn’t mean it was her.”

  “What did you do, interrogate Hopkins? Even after I specifically told you to keep your nose out of my investigation?”

  “Hopkins isn’t the only one who was almost killed yesterday, Owen. Everyone seems to be forgetting that.”

  “You cannot write a story about this, Lizzie. You’ll blow T.J.’s cover and ruin everything.”

  “I’m part of that precious investigation you all are so bent on protecting. How do you think this makes me feel? He’s been using me!”

  “He didn’t have a choice, Lizzie. He was just doing his job.”

  “Yeah, well, his job really sucks,” I said, slamming the door behind me as I left.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jake was waiting for me when I walked out. “How did it go?” he asked as I got in the car.

  “He knew.”

  “I had a feeling he probably did. After I read the file, I realized I had seen T.J. two years ago in D.C. It was at a press conference to discuss the capture of someone on the FBI’s most wanted list. He was the agent in charge of the case.” He put his hand over my left hand and squeezed. “I’m so sorry, Lizzie.”

  “Owen wants to know what I’m going to do with the information.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t think it is going to matter what I do. Gladys overheard us talking, and I’m sure she’s spread it far and wide by now.”

  “Did you tell Owen that she knew?”

  “Damage control is not in my job description.”

  He shook his head as he backed the car up, put it in gear and drove off. “What now?”

  “We cut off the information highway, at least part of it.”

  We didn’t get far before red, white and blue lights came up behind us. “I think we have a small problem here. Seems your boyfriend is pulling us over,” Jake said as he pulled over and parked near the curb.

  T.J. opened my door and bent over. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  “Why, Deputy Reynolds, I didn’t know you cared,” Jake said.

  “Not you,” T.J. replied, “her.”

  “What do you want, T.J.?”

  “I went by the house to check on you, but obviously you weren’t there.”

  “Obviously.”

  “Can we go somewhere and talk?”

  “I’m not sure I have anything to say to you right now, T.J.”

  “Come with me anyway. It’s important.”

  “I’ll just bet,” I muttered.

  “Why don’t you go ahead and go, Lizzie?” Jake said. “I have some things to take care of right now.”

  “Are you serious?”

  He nodded. “Definitely.”

  “Whatever,” I said, totally disgusted with both of them at the moment. I knew why I was mad at T.J., and I was getting upset with Jake for bossing me around like he did when we were together in college. Maybe I was being overly sensitive right now. Maybe I should just hit both of them upside the head with my cast and walk home.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” T.J. said. “You’ll hurt your arm more than you’ll hurt me.”

  I got out of the car and stood in front of him. “Shut up, T.J.”

  Jake laughed and shook his head as I walked off. “Dude, you are so screwed.”

  “Don’t I know it?” T.J. said as he closed the car door.

  I sat silently in the passenger seat as he started driving toward my house. “I have it on good authority that my house is bugged. Oh wait, you probably already know that.”

  “I didn’t put any bugs in your house, Lizzie.”

  “No, it was probably one of your agent friends. Was it Hopkins? I should have left him tied to that tree.”

  “That’s not in your nature, and you know it. You’re just mad at me right now.”

  “How would you like it if the tables were turned and I was the one using you?”

  “I’d probably feel the same way.”

  “Don’t expect me to be understanding to your plight, T.J. No matter what you say, it all comes down to one simple truth: you used me.” He pulled into my driveway and parked. “Is it safe to park here? Are you sure they don’t have the driveway bugged, too?”

  “You’re right, I did use you.”

  Shocked, I looked at him. “Well, I didn’t expect you to bloody admit it so quickly!”

  “Owen called me after you left the office and told me you knew the truth. Denying it would make me look like an idiot.”

  “You already look like an idiot. Oh wait, I’m the idiot.”

  “You’re not an idiot, Lizzie,” he said, reaching over to stroke my hair. I jerked my head out of the way. “Debra Cosgrove is a cold-blooded killer. She killed her husband, her father, almost killed you and a federal agent yesterday. It isn’t just a hobby to her; she does this for a living. She’s a paid assassin.”

  “What proof do you have?”

  “For crying out loud, Lizzie, you know I can’t discuss ongoing investigations. They’re classified.”

  “You’re developing ethics and morals now? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Do you think I liked the fact that I had to use you?” T.J. said angrily. “It’s part of my job.”

  “Is it part of your job to make the subject feel like you love them?”

  “No, it isn’t. That is just an unexpected perk.”

  “Don’t you dare sit there and tell me you love me, T.J. I am feeling a lot of things for you right now, but love is not one of them.”

  “When this is all over, we will sit down and talk about this. But right now, I need your help to catch her.”

  “You expect me to help you?” I said incredulously. “Are you out of your mind?”

  “Do I need to remind you that she just tried to kill you…again?” he snapped.

  “I wasn’t her intended target. You and Owen were!” Whoops, I didn’t mean for that part to slip out.

  “How do you know that? Has she contacted you?”

  “Why don’t you ask the guys who are listening in on my conversations, T.J.? I’m sure they’ve already typed up a transcript.”

  “What did she say when she called?”

  “She didn’t call. Well, she did, but that isn’t when she told me.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  I hesitated. I didn’t really want to tell him anything, mostly out of spite. On the other hand, I didn’t want to go to Leavenworth for impeding a federal investigation, either. “She came by my hospital room yesterday afternoon.”

  “You saw her? How did she get in without anyone seeing her?”

  “I don’t know! You’ll have to ask her. For all I know, I was hallucinating, considering all the medication they gave me.”

  “What did she say?”

  “Like I said, I wasn’t the one she was aiming for. She said she didn’t mean for me to get hurt.”

  “That’s when she told you she was targeting me and Owen.” I nodded. “Did she say why?”

  I shook my head. “She told me not to trust either one of you. She was right about that, obviously.”

  T.J. sat back. “That means she probably knows who I am.”

  “I think she’s known for a while.”
>
  “Why do you say that?”

  “Remember that phone call a couple of months ago? She told me that I couldn’t trust those nearest and dearest to me. Obviously, she meant you and Owen.”

  “Owen isn’t the one to blame here, Lizzie.”

  “Yes, he is. He’s just as much to blame as you are. Both of you have been lying to me for months.”

  “Because we were trying to protect you.”

  I held up my cast covered arm. “Bull. That didn’t work out too well, did it? I don’t know how I ended up on the federal radar in the first place, and I don’t care. No more games, no more lies. I’ve had enough.” I awkwardly opened the door with my left hand and got out. “I hope you finally catch her. But you’re going to do it without me.”

  “Lizzie, wait…”

  “Go away, T.J. I’m done talking. Just go away and leave me alone. I don’t ever want to see you again. Is that clear?” I slammed the door and walked off.

  I went through the side gate into the backyard, where Babe was curled up in her usual spot under the tree. When I sat down next to her, she put her head in my lap and sighed. I stroked her head while the tears slid down my cheeks.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, it was almost five. Giving Babe a hug, I got up, walked around to the front of the house, and found an envelope stuck to the front door. “You’ll need this to get into the house. I’m sorry. We’ll talk again soon. Love, T.J.” Inside the envelope was the spare house key I had given him.

  I took out the key, ripped up the note, and unlocked the door just as Jake’s Porsche pulled into the driveway. Why couldn’t men just leave me alone for a while?

  “Where have you been?” he said as he walked up. “I’ve been calling your phone for the past two hours.”

  “I fell asleep in the backyard under the tree,” I said.

  “Really.”

  “Yes, really. What do you want?”

  “I have the equipment I told you about. Do you want me to do it now?”

  No, I thought to myself. What I wanted was for everyone to go away and leave me alone so I could soak in a bubble bath, eat chocolate, and wallow in my misery. “Sure, go ahead. I’ll fix us something to eat while you do it.” I dropped my purse on the table and opened the fridge. “Do you like egg salad?”

  “Never had it.”

  “Have you been living under a rock or something?”

  “Or something,” he laughed from the living room. “I’m used to bologna and cheese sandwiches. When you’re in the field reporting on a story, you eat whatever is handy. Bologna is usually pretty cheap, so I’ve had a lot of it. I’ll eat anything, except that.”

  “You’re in luck. I don’t have any,” I said, pulling out the egg carton and closing the fridge. I put seven eggs in the pot, filled it with water, and started cooking them on the stove. “Any luck yet?”

  He came around the corner, holding a small button in his hand. “Could I get a glass of water?”

  I did as he asked and handed it to him. He dropped the little button into the water. “This should short it out.”

  “Where did you find it?”

  “Phone,” he said, “the most obvious place, of course. I’m going to sweep the rest of the house now. I’m sure we’ll find one or two more.”

  Jake actually found three more, in various places around the house. We dropped them into the water with the other one. “Are you sure that’s all of them?” I said while we ate.

  “Pretty sure,” he nodded. “No guarantee, though.” We quietly ate for a few minutes. “What are you thinking about?”

  “I’m thinking how you’ve only been around for thirty-six hours, give or take a few hours, and my entire world has gone to heck in a hand basket.”

  “That’s not my doing.”

  “Not entirely, but I do find the timing somewhat suspect.”

  “Right guy in the right place at the right time, that’s all it is, Lizzie.”

  “How did you get the information on T.J. so quickly?”

  “A reporter never reveals his sources.”

  “Hm.”

  “What?”

  “I have a feeling you called your dad, who called in a favor someone owed him.”

  “Not true. I did it on my own.”

  “Sounds kind of shady to me, Jake.”

  “That’s because you have a very suspicious mind right now, Lizzie.”

  “Gee, I wonder why? It couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that my boyfriend has been lying to me for months, and an ex-boyfriend has arrived in town, acting like he is some knight in shining armor coming to rescue the damsel in distress? Nah, that can’t be it.”

  “You’ve gotten rather sarcastic over the years.”

  “No more than usual.”

  “I wouldn’t know about that. I haven’t been around, by your choice.”

  “We aren’t going there. Not now. I’m liable to say something I am going to regret, and ruin a perfectly good friendship.”

  “Wow, I didn’t even know we were friends.”

  “We’ll work on it.”

  The doorbell rang. “Oh my gosh, can’t people give me a break?” I groaned.

  “Stay there. I’ll get it.”

  He came back a minute later, with Owen right behind him. “Go away, Owen. Whenever you show up, it’s never anything good. I can’t handle any more bad news. I don’t even want to talk to you right now.”

  “Well, I’m sorry, but this can’t wait.”

  “What is it?”

  “T.J.’s missing.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “What do you mean he’s missing? I just saw him about three, four hours ago.”

  “Where?”

  “In my driveway. He wanted to talk.”

  “That must have been an interesting conversation.”

  I ignored the comment. “We talked for a few minutes, and he left.”

  “Did he say where he was going?”

  I shook my head. “I didn’t ask, and he didn’t volunteer any information. Have you tried contacting his superiors?”

  “They were the ones who called me,” Owen replied. “He had a meeting in Dallas at four, but he never showed up.”

  “Maybe he’s sulking,” I said. “We didn’t exactly part on the best of terms.”

  “I’ll bet,” Jake said.

  “He’s not at his house, and his car is nowhere to be found.”

  “Don’t they have a tracking device on his car?”

  “Apparently it’s been deactivated.”

  A sense of dread came over me. I had a feeling I knew what had happened to T.J., but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. “Just how close are they to catching my aunt?”

  Jake looked at me. “You mean crazy serial killer aunt?”

  “Half-aunt on my mother’s side.”

  “I don’t know for sure,” Owen said. “They know she’s in the area somewhere, but they haven’t been able to pinpoint her exact location.”

  “She knows T.J. is a federal agent,” I told him.

  “Are you sure?”

  I nodded. “Pretty sure. She mentioned it two months ago, and when I saw her yesterday…”

  “You saw her?”

  “Are you going to let me finish or not? When I saw her yesterday, she specifically told me not to trust either one of you. She didn’t tell me why.”

  “How does she know?”

  “How should I know? All this mysterious mumbo jumbo crap falls under your job description, not mine.”

  “This doesn’t make sense,” Jake said. “If she knew months ago who T.J. was, why didn’t she do something about it then?”

  “Two months ago, she said she was taking care of some business, but that she would be here as soon as she finished.”

  “I guess she’s done,” Owen said.

  “You should know that Hopkins and I weren’t her intended target of that explosion. She told me it was you
and T.J., but I have a feeling it was just him.”

  “Why?”

  I shrugged. “Again, asking those questions falls under your job description, not mine.”

  “Well, technically, Lizzie,” Jake said, “since you’re a reporter, you are supposed to ask her those kinds of questions.”

  “Not helping, Jake.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Look, I don’t know what her plans are, and I don’t care. I told T.J., I’m telling you. Keep me out of it. If you want to find her, find her on your own.”

  “If you ask me, you’re the common denominator in all this,” Jake said.

  “No one asked you,” I said, glaring at him.

  “Right, not helping.”

  “I think he’s right,” Owen replied.

  “I didn’t ask you, either, and I don’t care what you think at this point.”

  “I know you’re mad at me, Lizzie, and you have every right to be. But for now, can you put aside your hostilities and hurt feelings to help me find T.J.?”

  “What makes you think I know where he is?”

  “She’s your aunt!”

  “Everyone seems to forget I barely know the woman! I don’t know how she thinks, or what her motivation is in all this. Go ask Hopkins. Talk to the Feds. Finding him is their job, not mine.”

  “Well, that’s the other thing. He wants to talk to you.”

  “What for?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “This is crazy.”

  “Lizzie,” Jake said, “if you have any feelings for T.J., and I know you do, you owe it to him to help. It’s not going to hurt anything to go talk to Hopkins, is it? I’ll even go with you, if you want me to.”

  “I can’t allow you to interfere in this, Mr. Mathias,” Owen said.

  “Wait a minute. You’re asking her, a civilian, to help you find a federal agent, but you won’t let me go with her to talk to someone who can help us find him? And how is offering her some support interfering? It’s more than you and Deputy Dawg have done the last few months, from what I’ve heard. She at least deserves to have someone with her who won’t use her for some ulterior motive.”

  “You’re right, Jake,” I said. “I do deserve to have some moral support.” I went to the phone and dialed a number. “Hey, are you busy? No? Do you think you could meet me down at the hospital in fifteen minutes? Great, see you there.” I hung up and looked at them. “I don’t trust either one of you as far as I can throw you, which isn’t very far since I have one arm in a cast. So this is what is going to happen: Owen, go do whatever you’re supposed to be doing. Jake, you’re going to drive me to the hospital, and wait outside for me.”