Everything was on the line.
“Did my father recognize you? Is that why you killed him?” Jo walked past her, leaving the phone on the dresser, still recording the conversation...hopefully. “Where are you taking me? Who are you really?”
“I trust you can keep your mouth shut as we leave. You know the drill, right?” LuLu ignored her questions. “I’ll shoot you, but I have several other bullets and I’m a fairly good shot. A lot of innocent people will die. And you care about that, don’t you?”
Of course she didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. And her ultimate goal was to find her mother’s client. Not to escape...yet.
LuLu—or whoever she was—hid behind a scarf, large sunglasses and her coat. Once out the room door, she grabbed Jo’s elbow, curling sharp nails into the soft skin Levi had brought to life with his kisses just that morning. The gun was shoved into her ribs, hidden by Jo’s jacket.
The woman didn’t answer her questions. They walked silently, but at a steady pace to the elevators. It would be useless to talk anyway. She could only hope that the hotel manager remembered what she’d asked him to do.
* * *
LEVI SWUNG OPEN the door and jumped from the truck before Lanning threw the vehicle into Park behind the Plano squad car. He was through the hotel’s automatic doors and waved toward the counter. “Where is she?”
“The manager says she left less than fifteen minutes ago with this woman.” The cop handed him a picture.
“Sadie Colter. Now a brunette, but I recognize her under the glasses. Definitely the woman known as LuLu from Jo’s past.” How the heck was she connected to all this? One of Frasier’s clients? A plant in the house?
“How did you know to take a picture and call the police?” Lanning asked the manager.
“Ms. Atkins came to me and explained that you would need a picture of the person she’d be leaving with. I don’t like the idea of my hotel being used for a sting operation. This is very disruptive. I hope this is what you wanted. It was clearly a woman who came through the lobby with her. FBI or police, I swear—”
“Just tell us what Jolene said,” Levi interrupted the man. They were losing time.
“She told us to give the information regarding the vehicle and physical description to the police as soon as she’d gone. I was surprised when this officer showed up minutes after we called.”
“Is that it?”
“I still don’t think it’s right to put this type of responsibility...”
Levi walked away, pulling the agent behind him.
Lanning stopped him just outside the door. “I’m saying this again, Cooper, your girl’s pretty dang smart.”
“And if we don’t find her, she’ll be pretty dang dead when they discover she doesn’t know anything.”
“Give Russell some time. He’s digging through twenty years of information to find our likely candidates. We know more than they think we know.” He slapped Levi’s shoulder. “I’m going to check the room. You coming?”
They rode the elevator and verbalized the laundry list of standard operating procedures: cell phone trace, vehicle location, how to handle the exchange, not to be too cocky on the phone with the middle man.
Levi listened. For once, wanting someone to tell him exactly what to do. If something happened then he could blame someone else. Naw, no matter what, he would be solely responsible. Should he use Lanning or go at this alone?
Alone. Trust his gut. No rules.
Every other thought had him returning to why Jo had left him. She’d clearly made the decision while he’d been talking to Lanning that afternoon, giving whoever LuLu worked for enough time to find her at this hotel.
Knowing that he couldn’t keep her safe, wondering what was best had been making him question himself. He thought that arranging for the FBI to take over her protective custody would drive him crazy wondering if she was safe. He’d even toyed with the idea of taking off in that motor home and never looking back.
But this...the possibility that Jo was already dead ate away at his insides. If she were...Well, he understood what a better half meant now. His would be gone forever.
“They’re ready with the trace.” One of Lanning’s team informed them when the elevator doors opened. “Everything’s set in the room. No prints. No disturbance. No one heard a thing. Nothing in the room except Ms. Atkins’s cell.”
“Pull the records,” Lanning said, handing the phone off to a woman who entered after them. “Look through its history.”
Levi was good with faces. He’d seen this one before. He moved out of the way, trying to place her. “Who’s the blonde?” he asked one of the men who’d come up with them.
“Special Agent Barlow, just transferred from Austin or San Antonio.”
Levi knew he’d seen her. Somewhere here in Dallas. Recently. Then it hit him. New boots, dark jeans, tan shirt. She’d stood right next to the FBI agent while at the bar. Lanning.
They’d been set-up.
The jerk he’d trusted to help Jolene walked from the room into the hallway. Levi followed, spinning him around. He grabbed Lanning’s collar just as Lanning crunched his wrists in a death grip.
“Where is she?”
Chapter Seventeen
“Who brought you in?” Levi shouted, yanking on Lanning’s collar in spite of the agent’s bruising grasp.
“I don’t let many men get away with messing up my shirt.” Lanning warned a cop off with a look. “How did you know?”
“Blondie was at the bar with you last night, followed us outside.” As much as Levi wanted to knock Lanning flat on his butt, he released him with a push and took a step away. “You played me.”
“It wasn’t my call. Your guy talked to my guy. We were to apprise them if you contacted us. I followed orders.” He acted like it was no big deal and Levi would understand.
The old Levi—the go-to guy at the Denver office—he would have understood. The new man standing in a Plano hotel crazy to find the one woman he’d fallen in love with...That guy wanted to crash some heads together. Levi walked to the end of the hall, dialing a number he’d known for eight years.
“Good evening, Cooper.” Sherry Peachtree’s voice needed no identification.
“Did you want to talk to me?”
“Not particularly,” she stated bluntly. “How long did you think you could continue to run an operation while you’re suspended? You asked for favors, Levi. If you’ll remember, I’m the one that introduced you to those men who could have lost their jobs helping you.”
“I’m done.”
“Are you asking or telling? I can’t differentiate by your tone.”
This time it was easier to remain silent. The job wasn’t the most important thing in his life. Part of him would always be a marshal. The better part would be lost without Jo.
“Ah, so I have your attention. Your non-witness has unwittingly come up with a half-decent plan that might actually flush out the murderer of our men, resolving this mystery.”
A long pause. He didn’t like it, but he kept silent. He needed both agencies to find Jo. “What plan?”
“Lord have mercy, Cooper. I thought you were up to speed. Jolene Atkins purchased a GPS locater and sent the tracking information to her phone. The Bureau hasn’t found her yet. We’re assuming she hasn’t turned it on.”
She might already be dead?
His mouth went all sorts of dry, choked. He couldn’t get his teeth unhinged to speak. Whatever it was, he couldn’t listen any longer, either. Suddenly, Lanning was in front of him, taking the phone from his hand.
“Yes ma’am. Got it. Will do.” The agent clicked the end call button and tossed the phone to him.
“She’s dead.” That staggering pain throughout his body was back. “You know the only reason she wouldn’t have the tracker on is if she’s dead.”
“Or it’s not working. Or they destroyed it. Or she’s waiting. Pull yourself together, man. They’ll be calling and you need to be ready.
We got your back.”
They waited in the hotel room. He didn’t pay attention to the time. Men and women were busy around him and he was useless, ordered to stay put. He could only think about his mistakes and pray Jolene was alive. Then his cell buzzed. Lanning and his techs nodded.
“Cooper.”
“You know we have the woman,” a distorted mechanical-sounding voice said. “You have something else we want.”
“Where and when?” He rubbed the back of his neck, debating what he should do. They wouldn’t give Jo back. Not alive. And the FBI wouldn’t share the evidence if they found any. He had to do things his way or she was dead.
The tech gave the sign to stretch out the call.
“One hour. We’ll call—”
“You have a problem,” he interrupted. “I don’t deal with middle men.”
“Marshal, think about Ms. Frasier’s health.”
Lanning shook his head, mouthing “don’t.”
“Alone. Top dog or no meet.”
“What are you doing?” Lanning whispered through gritted teeth.
Levi set the phone away from him, praying to God he knew the answer. Concentrating on making his voice as flat and unemotional as possible, he answered, “Miller and Phillips. I have what you want and you have what’s mine.”
“One hour. Ditch the feds.”
The line disconnected. The tech shook his head.
“What did you just do?” Lanning looked like he would blow a gasket.
“I gave us time to form a workable plan and hopefully time for Jolene to turn on the GPS. Did you have something better?”
“We’re not turning over Frasier’s evidence.”
“What evidence? No one’s found a thing. Have you?” Was Lanning lying to him again? Even if he had, he wouldn’t give it to him. The DoJ had waited twenty years.
“You claimed—”
“Talk. It’s what they expected and gave us time. That’s all I need to save her.”
“We don’t have any information to share. I’ll need your phone.”
Levi handed the man his only connection to Jo. It was either that or be tackled to the ground making a run for it. “You’ve handed her a death sentence.”
Lanning patted his shoulder then drew him in close. “Levi, you know I like Jo. But orders are orders. Sorry, man. Officer, make sure he stays close.”
Orders were orders.
A set of pickup keys slipped into his jacket pocket was about as direct an order as he’d received. The police officer standing nearby stood a bit straighter, physically letting him know he’d accepted his own instructions.
Levi needed a hint, something to fake the information the murderers wanted. As soon as he knew what the paper inside the statue meant, he’d leave.
He’d have a head start. A chance.
* * *
TEXT MESSAGE: Blocked Sender 8:28 P.M.
You know what to do. No loose ends.
* * *
JO HAD HER bases covered. Or so she’d thought. Her hands were behind her back, handcuffed, crunched in the floorboard of the backseat. LuLu turned the radio on and sang with an off-pitch screech.
Simple enough. Let herself be captured and tracked to her mother’s client. Levi finds her at the last minute, rescues her and they capture the bad guy. She’d seen it a hundred times in the movies.
Right, and they climbed out windows of speeding trains, too! Levi’s voice echoed in her ear.
The hotel manager and desk clerk had agreed to help by giving the information to the police. She was surprised when LuLu hadn’t bothered to hide her face from hotel cameras. She’d even parked in the drop-off zone. It didn’t make sense. If she’d been attempting to kidnap her and shoot Levi all this time, then why wasn’t she more worried about hiding her identity?
Something was terribly wrong.
The murderer had been one step ahead of them until they’d purchased the motor home. What had made her think she could outsmart them with this pathetic plan? There was a reason she’d been letting Levi take charge. He was a U.S. Marshal with tons of experience. Even with a few hiccups, he knew what he was doing. Her plan was full of flaws and she’d deliberately placed herself in danger.
Two or three miles from the hotel, they switched cars. “Stolen?” she asked, awkwardly caught on the floor between the seats, with her feet going to sleep under her.
“What makes you say that? Don’t I look like the motherly type?” LuLu referred to the child booster in the backseat.
“The car was in an empty lot, unlocked, keys under the floor mat. You even had to adjust the seat.”
“You are smart. But not smart enough to realize who I am and why everyone wants you dead.”
“I hope to find out and put you in jail.”
“Sister, you’re barking up the wrong tree. These people aren’t going to tell you why they killed your mother. She’s not the only one they’ve taken out along the way.” She cleared her throat and drove. “You’re so naïve.”
“You could get out. You know witness protection works.”
“That would imply I actually want out.” She laughed, sounding a little hysterical and a lot scared. “I’m really sorry it came to this, Emmy. Why couldn’t you walk away?”
No. No. No. Ask her what she means.
“Did you...” Calmly. “Did you use to babysit me and call me Emmy?”
“Everyone called you Emmy. Emaline was so, well, pretentious. And yes, I watched you for your mom. And before you ask anything else, this isn’t a good conversation to have. You’re not going to like the answers.”
She wasn’t Emmy. That little girl no longer existed. Weird that in the midst of a terrifying car ride to who knew where, she’d make a breakthrough about her identity. She was Jolene Atkins and she knew who her father had been. She wished she’d trusted Levi just a little more.
“Of course I want to know the truth.”
“Girlie, I know you’re searching a list of clients that would have reason to kill your mother. I’m not stupid.”
“And you don’t think I want to know the real reason my parents died?”
“Will it make the hurt go away? No.”
No, the hurt won’t go away. “I still need to learn what happened. That’s why I’m here.”
“I know I shouldn’t. I’m not supposed to talk with you at all.”
Jo remained quiet. She didn’t know how to encourage this woman to put herself in danger. She didn’t know how much time remained before she’d be face-to-face with her parents’ murderer. She didn’t believe that the talkative LuLu had actually wielded the knife or pulled the trigger.
“Sorry to tell you this, hon. Your mother was neck-deep in the quicksand that would bring down some very influential people. Still could. She made some powerful enemies. You don’t ever walk away from people like that. You only get carried out in a body bag.”
“My mother couldn’t have known she was doing business with dangerous people. My father wouldn’t—There’s no way.”
“They didn’t know until it was too late. And it looks like Elaine never told him. Otherwise, the cops would be screaming down our necks instead of you digging into all this mess.”
“Why did you kill her?”
“Killed or be killed, honey. It’s a simple rule to live by. Now shut up. I’ve talked way too much.”
“Can you tell me what they were trying to hide?” Yes, she really wanted to know. She’d been in the dark much too long.
“Let’s just say they made lots of money and won’t go to jail. They’re the people everyone talks about getting away with whatever ‘it’ is and your mother helped them do it legally.”
It didn’t matter that LuLu wanted her to be quiet. Jo wouldn’t listen to her trash. “You’re wrong. I may not know much about my mother, but I know my father and he wouldn’t have been with the person you’re describing.”
LuLu may only know the version of the story the client wanted her to have. The enemy wasn
’t her mom. Anger mixed with the fright of the unknown around her. She had to discover the truth. And would live with whatever happened.
Maybe the quiet, sedate life was the way to go after all. No traveling in the motor home. All she needed was a quiet backyard where she could watch amazing sunsets with Levi.
Levi. Find the phone.
Jo had no clue where they were in Dallas. It didn’t matter as long as Levi could find her.
They stopped. The small car had bucket seats and if she stretched, she could see LuLu’s brown hair and arm as she unbuckled. A moment later, the door was opened and a shot split the silence. LuLu slumped across the emergency brake.
Oh, my God!
The door closest to her head opened, the evening breeze cooled her hot skin. Jo bit her bottom lip to keep from screaming. Shock kept her immobile, silent. And fear kept her eyes tightly shut waiting for the second shot.
“No.” She couldn’t believe LuLu was dead. But she was. Very dead. And if Levi or the FBI had trouble tracking where she was, she would be joining her former babysitter.
Jo didn’t even know her real name.
Without speaking, the shooter removed a small electronic device from under the seat. He must have listened to their conversation.
Continuing his silence, he taped her mouth shut, hauled her from the floorboards. Smiling all the while like Hannibal Lector—a lecherous, evil tilt to his lips proved he’d enjoyed the murder he’d just committed.
He’s not wearing a mask. Bad sign, right?
The guy was the same build as the man who had grabbed her at the hotel, old enough to have murdered her mother, somewhere in his late forties. He certainly had the actions of a cold-blooded murderer. The way he’d shot LuLu was definitely heartless. He wasn’t Japanese or had any resemblance to the anime character in her head. And he certainly didn’t have blue or green straw-like hair.
Jo caught the shadow of another person at the wheel. As dark and sinister as the person at her back. Without a word, he shoved her into a food-service panel van. They left LuLu’s body in the stolen car. No questions. No demands. Allowing her frightened feelings to run rampant.
Dangerous Memories Page 15