He searched the depth of her eyes. He knew they were treading in dangerous waters, and he had to be honest with her. “We might have come to the end of the line as far as keeping your identity a secret. Now that we know a notorious organized crime figure is involved in local payoffs to the police, we could be arrested for withholding information even though we aren’t aware of any specific investigation being conducted by the FBI.”
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to hide me from the FBI for long, regardless of what you said to Joe in the car.” She took a calming breath. “It’s time for Trixie to come clean and confess the truth.”
“I’ll call Joe again. I’m sure he’s anxiously waiting to hear from me. In fact, I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to call me with the results of the ballistics search.” He allowed the frown to spread across his forehead. “In fact, it’s odd that he hasn’t tried to call me about that. Damn—I hope I didn’t misread him. I figured the mention of Mitch Mantee would be enough to guarantee his cooperation.”
He brushed a tender kiss across her lips. “I don’t want to let Joe know where we’ve been hiding and who you are until he can guarantee that the FBI will give you protection, and he can’t do that until he has a violation of federal law. He can’t arbitrarily protect you against a local law enforcement officer based on nothing more than suspicion of wrongdoing without any proof.”
“But won’t the picture of Frank taking the payoff from a known organized crime boss be enough proof?”
“It’s strong circumstantial evidence but without other evidence it won’t be enough as there’s nothing in the photograph that confirms exactly what is in the envelope. It could be a birthday card. And if Frank comes back with some sort of proof that he was conducting an undercover operation…well, it’s a tricky, thin line.”
Reece released her from his embrace and dialed the number. Joe answered on the first ring. “I wasn’t sure this number would work. I guess this number doesn’t belong to the cell phone you left in my car.”
“And speaking of my cell phone, what did you do with it?”
“I removed the GPS chip and smashed it. Everything else is in the glove compartment of my car. Just because I didn’t want you tracking me doesn’t mean I was willing to let someone else get hold of your phone and its memory.”
“I appreciate that consideration. So, what can I do for you at this late hour? Surely you aren’t wanting to set up a midnight meeting somewhere, are you? I do happen to know the location of a twenty-four-hour grocery store.”
A knowing chuckle escaped Reece’s throat. “So do I.” His manner quickly turned to business. “Did you come up with anything on the ballistics check?”
“I sure did. Two unsolved murders, both matching the markings on the spent cartridge you gave me.”
“Who, when and where?”
“Coincidentally, both occurred in Rocky Shores but were about six months apart without any direct connection between the two victims other than the murder weapon. Both incidents were written up as probable gang activity, a straightforward robbery gone bad.”
“Do you think you could tie the victims together through association with some of Mitch Mantee’s dealings?”
“I have some people working on that angle right now.” Joe sucked in an audible breath, then expelled it. “I think we’ve come to the end of this little game of yours, Reece. You’ve now been apprised that the weapon in your possession was involved in two murders. If I don’t know everything you know by the end of this conversation, we’re talking an arrest warrant for withholding information.”
“But two local murders wouldn’t be federal jurisdiction.”
“It would be if we tie the victims to Mitch Mantee. I don’t know what kind of a mess you’re in or who this friend of yours is, although I suspect your friend is currently using the alias of Trixie. But I do know that if you’ve stumbled on some kind of a connection between Frank James and Mitch Mantee, then you’re in way over your head. You need my help and I need to know what you know. This might have started out for you as helping a friend with a stalking situation, but you and I both know that it’s escalated way beyond that and beyond your ability to handle it alone.”
There was a long pause while Reece gathered his thoughts. He knew Joe was serious in his threat to get an arrest warrant. He also knew that everything Joe said was true.
“You’re right. This has grown much bigger and more complex than either my friend or I ever thought it could. We never suspected that her being stalked was only the tip of the iceberg and would lead to Frank James and ultimately to Mitch Mantee.”
“Ah, so you admit that your friend is a her rather than a him. Then I was right in my assumption about Trixie? And what would Trixie’s real name be?”
“Well…it’s Brandi—”
“Knock it off, Reece.” Joe snapped out an irritated answer. “I want some real answers, not more games.”
“Oddly enough, that’s the truth.”
“Brandi what?”
Reece paused for a moment, then continued cautiously. “I don’t like talking about this on a cell phone that’s not equipped with security features. Anything that travels the airwaves rather than phone lines can be easily intercepted. Anyone can come across the right frequency by accident and be able to listen in on our conversation.”
“Okay. Where and when do you want to meet?”
“Tomorrow morning…seven o’clock in Seattle at the Pergola in Pioneer Square. Brandi will not be there, and if I don’t return to her location by a designated time, she’ll know what to do.”
Joe disconnected the call and returned his attention to his computer. He glanced at his colleague. “We’ve got to find a location on Reece Covington immediately. I want everyone and everything connected to his past run through the computer. Somehow we’ve missed something. Keep in mind that he was the best private investigator around and did a lot of work for various high-dollar defense attorneys and also for various local law enforcement agencies. Prosecutors were willing to work with him because he never provided his services to anyone defending known organized crime figures or even local big-name criminals. His defense attorney work was usually in civil cases rather than criminal ones. One of the services he provided was hiding the occasional surprise witness until the trial. There has to be someplace where he could take them without creating any suspicion or being concerned about someone leaking the information. We’ve got to find that place.”
“We’ve checked utilities, property tax, credit cards, banks…there’s nothing on him since his release from prison. It’s like he ceased to exist. If it weren’t for his phone calls, I’d say he had become a nonperson. I’m not finding anything on property ownership since he sold his house on Mercer Island. It’s almost like he’s living in a cave or a tree house—something without an address or utilities. Maybe he’s literally living out of his car, moving from one place to another each night.”
“You are running those car tags, aren’t you? I’m sure anything of his that is as visible as a vehicle will be hidden behind all manner of diversions. He might be living someplace that’s in someone else’s name. Dig back through his family. Go clear back to the day he was born if that’s what you need to do, but do it quickly.”
Joe glanced at his watch. Less than twelve hours to solve the complex riddle of Reece Covington and some woman named Brandi. “What about that other matter?”
“We have twenty-four-hour surveillance and have the court-ordered phone taps.”
Joe clenched his jaw in determination. Frank James worked for the Rocky Shores police. Reece used to have an office in Rocky Shores. Somehow some woman named Brandi had gotten on Frank’s bad side. And somehow this woman and Reece had a connection. Could the town of Rocky Shores be the common denominator between Frank, Reece and Brandi?
Joe started a computer search of utilities for someone with a first name of Brandi living in Rocky Shores. If she worked in Rocky Shores but lived elsewhere, he would be bac
k at square one again. Hopefully he would get lucky. If he came up with a name, then he could run it through the driver’s license pictures and see if he could find a match for the woman who was with Reece. He was due for a little good luck for a change.
And he was running out of time.
REECE LAY IN BED WITH BRANDI wrapped in his arms. They enjoyed the peaceful moments of blissful contentment following lovemaking, an oasis of calm in the midst of chaos.
She continued to draw from his strength. There was no doubt in her mind that she had fallen in love with him. One week ago she hadn’t even known he existed, and now he was the most important person in her life. But how real was it? Had she mistaken her gratitude to him for love? And how did he feel about her? He had risked his life to protect her, but that didn’t mean it was love. It could have been nothing more than his desire to redeem his own past.
His voice interrupted her thoughts. “I’ve gone through all our options, and I see only one viable choice. So, unless Joe says or does something tomorrow morning that changes my mind, I’m going to fill him in on everything we know and see what Joe can do about getting you some protection.”
He placed a loving kiss on her lips. “This has escalated to the point where I can’t guarantee your safety. My ownership of this cabin is well hidden, but the longer someone keeps at it the more likely they are to find it, even if only by accident.”
He drew in a steadying breath as he sat up in bed with his back against the headboard. “Take a look around. It’s like I’ve created our own little prison here—thermal imaging surveillance cameras for perimeter monitoring, checking my car for tracking devices, clandestine meetings, secrecy. It’s like we’re involved in some kind of a standoff that started out as us and them, with the them being Frank James. Then I involved the FBI by contacting a friend of mine, which seemed like a good idea at the time. But now that has become a second them. Then the original them became a whole lot larger and much more dangerous when we discovered a major organized crime figure was involved.”
He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. “When I was released from prison, all I wanted to do was hide away. But I’ve realized over the past few days that I don’t want that type of isolation. I want to put the past behind me and get on with my life. I don’t see any way that we can put an end to this predicament by ourselves, and continuing like this is certainly not fair to you. So, unless you have some valid objection, that’s what I think would be best. Are you going to be okay with that?”
“I’m not sure what to think. When you say federal protection, are you talking about the witness protection thing where they give me a new identity and I disappear from everything I’ve ever known?” Would it be a situation where she would never be allowed to see Reece again? She didn’t like that idea at all.
“There wouldn’t be any reason for me to be in protective custody. The only thing I know is what’s in those two photographs—and you’ve seen them, too. And so has my agent. And your P.I. friend has copies of them, although you didn’t tell him what was in them. All the FBI would need from me is a deposition saying that I took the photographs, where and when. Once they have that, there’s nothing else I can say or do that would be of any danger to anyone. I couldn’t even testify to what the people in the picture were doing beyond what it looked like. I have no firsthand knowledge. I didn’t even see them arrive at or depart from the location, and I don’t know how long they were there. Once the information has been passed on, I’m not a threat to anyone.”
“That doesn’t mean they won’t be out for revenge.” Reece had purposely stayed away from crystallizing his feelings about Brandi. He didn’t want the emotion to interfere with what needed to be done. But the possibility of never seeing her again…well, he may not have wanted to admit it to himself, but he knew it would break his heart. He would have to be content with knowing that she was safe. If anything happened to her because of his selfishness in wanting to bring down Frank James, he knew he wouldn’t be able to live with it.
“I’ll agree to you telling Joe everything if you think that’s best, but I won’t live my life cut off from everything and everyone I’ve ever known while stuck away in some safe little corner with a new name and identity.”
“When I mentioned Joe providing protection for you, I was only thinking about an interim period until they had everything under control.” He heard the sob she tried to suppress and saw the anguish that covered her like a blanket. It touched his heart as nothing else ever had.
“Oh, Brandi…hopefully I’m making this seem more dire than it really is rather than the other way around. I don’t want you to disappear from my—”
The sound of the alarm cut through the air. Brandi’s body stiffened to full alert. Her eyes went wide as she looked to Reece.
A hard jolt of adrenaline pumped through his veins. He jumped into immediate action, giving orders as he pulled on a pair of sweatpants and grabbed his pistol.
“Get some clothes on, then stay hidden between the bed and the wall. I’ll be right back.”
She responded immediately, doing as she had been instructed. Her pulse raced and her mouth went dry. Her heart pounded loudly enough that she thought she could hear it. Had all their fears and concerns finally caught up with them? Had Frank James located them? Was a professional hit man just outside the cabin?
And then the most abstract thought of all—she had never had the opportunity to tell Reece that she loved him. She watched as he jammed his feet into his boots while checking the monitors on the table. He seemed to be staring at something, but she couldn’t tell what it was.
Reece tried to decipher the exact meaning of the images showing up on the monitor. There was a vehicle parked on the fire road and two people standing about ten feet off the road toward the cabin. The two people weren’t going anywhere. From the stance of the images, it appeared that they were talking and occasionally pointing at something. He heard the rain as it started to hit against the roof, which coincided with the two images returning to the vehicle and slowly driving away.
It was at that moment that he realized he had been holding his breath. A professional hit man would not be deterred by rain. He would use it to his advantage to mask his trail and cover any sounds that would alert the occupants of the cabin to his presence.
Reece relaxed a little. Perhaps it was nothing more than coincidence. Maybe someone who was lost and trying to get his bearings. Possibly even someone in need of relieving himself who stopped by the edge of the road since there weren’t any public bathroom facilities in the area. Whoever had been there was gone.
At least for the time being.
Chapter Eleven
Reece huddled against the rain as he waited in the doorway of the closed shop across the street from the Pioneer Square Pergola. He checked his watch. Five minutes until seven—four minutes and fifty-nine seconds before Joe Hodges would miraculously appear from wherever he had stationed himself. He scanned the surrounding area. He could almost feel Joe’s eyes on him. The FBI agent had probably picked a spot in the parking garage down the block, binoculars in hand.
Reece normally wouldn’t have allowed himself to be so exposed, but he had told Joe that he had a backup plan in place if he was taken into custody. He stifled a yawn. He had gotten up at four-thirty that morning in order to be able to meet Joe at seven o’clock. The sounding of the alarm on the monitoring system had set the tone for the rest of the night. Even though nothing of consequence had happened, he had not gotten very much sleep. It seemed as if he had been awake most of the night, only occasionally dozing off until the clock had turned to four-thirty.
And now it had come down to his third face-to-face meeting with Joe Hodges in less than a week—and most likely the last one, at least under these conditions of secrecy.
“Right on time, I see.” Joe’s voice broke into his thoughts. He had been so absorbed that he hadn’t been aware of Joe approaching him. It was a bad sign, one that told him he had lost
his edge and perspective on what was going on. Definitely time to share the secrets with someone else. Hopefully he was placing his trust in the right person.
Hopefully Joe was that right person.
Reece acknowledged Joe’s presence with a nod. “We should have met someplace not quite so wet.”
“This location was your choice. How about the coffee shop down the street? We can get some breakfast, some hot coffee and try to dry out.”
Reece shot Joe a questioning look. “Someplace you’ve already staked out and covered?”
“Then pick a place more to your liking. I was only thinking of what would be close.”
Reece took a steadying breath in an attempt to settle his nerves and calm his uncertainties. He didn’t like the sensation of not having control, and there was no doubt in his mind that the situation had been spiraling out of control faster than he could keep up with it.
“The coffee shop is fine. It doesn’t matter whether or not you have it covered.”
“Well, that’s quite a change in attitude. You’ve decided to throw caution to the wind?”
“Not at all. What I have done is make the decision to fill you in on exactly what’s going on.”
Joe flashed a teasing grin. “That’s a pleasant surprise.”
The two men walked the half block to the coffee shop and sat in a back booth. Reece insisted on facing the door so he could see who was coming and going. They ordered breakfast and engaged in casual conversation about the weather and sports until the waitress brought them their food. As soon as she was out of earshot, Joe wasted no time in getting down to the business at hand.
“Where did you get that Beretta pistol, and where is it now? As I told you, I’ve tied it to a couple of murders so far.”
“As to where it is…I have it hidden in a secure location along with some other pertinent evidence. It’s safe and I can testify that its chain of custody is unbroken and uncompromised from the person who had it to where it is now.”
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? Page 16