Close Your Eyes

by Iris Johansen

  “He will be, and it will all be because of her. Just give us forty-five minutes alone with him.”

  “You’re asking? Not demanding? Not threatening to sic the Justice Department on me?”

  “I’m asking. You want answers. I’ll get you answers. It may not be according to the rule book, but it will be quick, and it might save lives.”

  Another silence. “The Residence Inn on El Miro Boulevard. Suite 42. You go in before we take official custody. I don’t want to know how you plan on handling the interrogation. I did not give you permission to barge in and take over my case. I may even complain to the Justice Department about your actions. Everyone knows that you have no discipline and would be completely out of control in a situation like this.”

  “A wild card?” he asked softly. “Wild cards can be useful, can’t they?”

  Griffin didn’t answer the question. “Forty-five minutes.” He hung up.

  Kendra let out the breath she’d been holding. “I didn’t think he’d do it.”

  “Griffin isn’t always predictable. I thought it was worth a shot.” He put the car in gear. “He wants this case wrapped up and is willing to sacrifice us to nudge it along. Why not? His ass won’t be on the line.”

  “It could be. He’s still taking a chance. Jeff was one of his agents. Maybe taking a chance is worth it to him.” Kendra looked back at the naval base and suddenly tensed. “Or maybe…”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, I guess. It’s just that … Jeff was here. His recording brought us to the base. And Jeff was out there in the desert with Sanders and Briggs. It’s getting to be all about Jeff, isn’t it?”

  “It always was about Jeff.”

  “No, I mean…” It was hard to explain. “Things are moving so fast. Everything seems to be closing in around us. It was remote before, a hunt, a puzzle, but it’s changing. It’s as if he’s showing us the way.”

  “Are you going mystic on me?”

  “No.” She met his gaze. “I’m telling you how I feel. Take it any way you want to take it. Imagination. Fate. Jeff.”

  “I’ll take it with a grain of salt.” He added gravely, “And gratitude that you’re willing to share your feelings with me. I value that privilege, Kendra.” He had driven onto Coronado Bridge. “Let’s hope you’re right and that Stedler or Fate or the powers that be show us the way to break Briggs and make him talk.”

  CHAPTER

  15

  THE RESIDENCE INN ON EL MIRO Boulevard was one of the older cedar structures that looked more like a two-story condo than a motel.

  Kendra couldn’t see any sign of a stakeout as they parked some distance down from Suite 42. But then she didn’t expect to see any obvious surveillance. As she’d told Griffin, she knew that the FBI knew what they were doing.

  “I’ll go around back and climb up to the window at the penthouse level,” Lynch said. “I’ll let you in the front door when I’ve secured the place.”

  “You’re going in by yourself?” Her lips tightened. “What’s my part in this, Lynch? I’m supposed to stand by and wonder if that bastard is going to kill you?”

  “Something like that.” He got out of the car. “Stop going ballistic. There are some things that you do well and there are some things that I’m qualified to do better. That’s why Griffin felt confident to leave Briggs in my hands when I told him I’d get answers. We only have forty-five minutes, and I don’t have time to set up an attack that would make you feel needed.” He got out of the car. “I’m going in to take Briggs down, and by the time I let you in that front door, Briggs will be intimidated and on the way to giving us what we want to know.” He moved toward the motel unit. “And you won’t get in my way.”

  “I wouldn’t get in your way. I’m not—” She was talking to air. Lynch had already disappeared behind the motel unit.

  Arrogant bastard.

  And that arrogant bastard was going to risk his stupid neck collaring a murderer who was more brutal than anyone she’d ever met.

  And she was scared to death.

  He had tied her hands. By moving so quickly, he had assured that she couldn’t follow him or run the risk of getting in his way as he’d told her she might.

  She got out of the car and moved close to the motel so that she couldn’t be seen from inside the unit.

  Wait.

  Hope.

  And curse the arrogant bastard who was making her stand outside twiddling her thumbs.

  Three minutes.

  Five minutes.

  Seven minutes.

  Surely, she should have heard something from the—

  The front door swung open.

  Briggs?

  “Kendra.”

  Not Briggs. Lynch stood in the doorway.

  She was there beside him in seconds. “What did—”

  Then she saw Briggs.

  He was lying on the second step leading to the bedroom penthouse. His face was a bloody mess, his lips and nose bleeding. His left arm was twisted at an odd angle.

  And his eyes were gazing warily at Lynch. No, not warily, fearfully.

  Lynch had promised her intimidation. He had delivered.

  “Come in. We need to get busy. I wasted a little extra time on him.” He pulled her inside the room and slammed the door. “That’s Briggs. Poor guy fell down the stairs.”

  “I see,” Kendra said. “On his face?”

  “I kind of remembered how Olivia’s face looked when we took her to the hospital. That’s why I spent a little extra time.” He strode over to Briggs and threaded his fingers through his hair and jerked his head back. “But I didn’t finish. I thought you’d like to be here to watch. Kendra Michaels, Tommy Briggs.”

  “I know who she is,” Briggs said sullenly. “They told me all about her. She’s the one who’s freaky. She’s caused the—” He screamed as Lynch’s fingers skillfully pressed on a nerve center on his neck. “Shit.”

  “Don’t be impolite to the lady,” Lynch said. “I’m already a bit pissed at you.”

  “Stop already. I didn’t touch her.”

  “No, but you tried. And ended up hurting another woman instead.” Lynch ran his knuckles down a reddish purple burn on Brigg’s face. “But she left you with this souvenir of your visit. Scalding-hot frying pan?”

  Briggs winced in pain. “She wasn’t supposed to be there. I was told that Michaels lived alone.”

  Lynch grabbed him by his jacket collar and knocked his head back against the stairs. “And who told you?” He punctuated his words with further head jabs against the stairs. “Who? Who? Who?”

  “Laird!” Briggs finally screamed out.

  Lynch stopped and loosened his grip on Briggs’s collar.

  “Good,” Kendra said. “Let’s discuss Laird, Briggs.”

  His expression was suddenly cautious. “I ain’t talking about him. I don’t care what you do to me. I’ve seen what he does to guys who don’t do what he wants.”

  “But this Laird wanted you to hurt me, and you failed,” Kendra said. “What do you think he’ll do to you for that?”

  “He’ll get me out of this, that’s what. He was giving me another chance.”

  “And you thought he was telling you the truth? My God, you’re dumb.”

  “I ain’t dumb,” he bristled. “Everyone thinks I’m dumb, even Laird thinks I’m stupid. But I watch, I listen, I know more than he thinks I do.”

  “Good, then you may come out of this alive,” Lynch said.

  “You’re the law, ain’t you? You’re not going to kill me.”

  “Don’t be too sure. Law officers don’t usually assist scum like you to ‘fall down the stairs’ either.” Lynch’s hands closed into fists. “I’d suggest you talk, Briggs.”

  His eyes darted to Kendra. “She’s a doctor. She won’t let you hurt me.”

  “Don’t count on it,” Kendra said. “If you’re counting on my Hippocratic oath to save you, I’m not that kind of doctor. Who is Laird to you?�
��

  Briggs was silent.

  Lynch took a step closer to him.

  “No,” Kendra said sharply.

  Briggs’s smile was almost a sneer. “I told you. She’s a doctor. A woman doctor. She’s soft.”

  “Am I?” She took a step closer, her eyes narrowed on his face. “Let’s see how soft, Briggs.” She reached out and touched the blood flowing from his cheek. “You’re bleeding. I want you to bleed, Briggs. You made a mistake when you hurt my friend. When I was sitting in that hospital, I was thinking of all the things that I wanted to do to you.” She wiped her fingers on his shirt. “I was angry when Lynch got to you first. But it’s not too late. I can do—”

  “You’re bluffing.”

  She ignored his interruption. “Look at my face, Briggs. What does it tell you? I love my friend, Olivia. Do I want to make you suffer?”

  He stared at her, then moistened his lips. “Maybe.”

  “But there’s only one thing I want more, and that’s to find out what you know about another friend.” She took out her phone and showed him a photo of Jeff. “Jeff Stedler. Have you seen him?”

  He looked away and shook his head.

  “I believe you’re lying. You don’t lie well. He was at Ocotillo Wells. You must have seen him.”

  “I didn’t see him in the desert.”

  “Okay, I’ll drop it for now. Let’s go back to the original question. Laird. Is he your boss?”

  “I ain’t got no boss. I run my own show.” He scowled. “And I told you, I won’t tell you anything. Go ahead, tell that Lynch to beat me up. I’ll take you to court. You’ll lose your license.”

  “Why don’t you go take a walk, Kendra?” Lynch suggested. “Five minutes should do it.”

  She was tempted. Briggs was ugly and weasel-like and proving more stubborn than she thought. It would take a long time to break him. There should be another way to—

  There was another way.

  “I’m tired of dealing with him, Lynch,” Kendra said tersely. “Let’s just let the poison rot him.” She turned away. “We’ll find Jeff on our own.” She looked back over her shoulder at Briggs. “The FBI will be taking you into custody as soon as we leave here. You’ll be held in jail, and you might last thirty days before your insides rot away. And I’ll enjoy every minute of it. Come on, Lynch.”

  “If you insist.” Lynch sighed. “But I was hoping for another trip down the stairs.”

  “He may not know enough to make it worth our time.” She had reached the door. “And being with him makes me want to throw up. We’re out of—”

  “Rot?” Briggs repeated. “What do you mean rot? What poison?”

  “You tell us,” Kendra said. “All we know is that Leon Sanders would probably have died of that substance in his body if you hadn’t blown his head off first. Whatever you were doing out in the desert was toxic.”

  He moistened his lips. “You’re lying. You’re trying to scare me.”

  “Am I?” She pulled out her phone and strode back to him. “Here are the victims murdered by Frank Rusin, you may know him. They all had the same toxic substance in their bodies as Leon.” She flipped the photos one by one in front of his face. “Leon was the last one to prove positive.”

  “That doesn’t mean I have that stuff inside me. Leon was the one burning that shit.”

  “I take it you’re not talking about meth,” Lynch said.

  “Don’t be an asshole,” Briggs said. “This wasn’t no penny-ante job.” His lips tightened. “And that’s all I’m saying.”

  “How do you know you don’t have it?” Kendra asked. “If Sanders was working on this substance, and he contracted the disease, then it’s probably airborne.” She paused. “And whoever hired you knew that the two of you might be dead men before the job was over. They didn’t give a damn whether you lived or died. They probably preferred that you die and get rid of any witnesses against them.”

  Briggs cursed viciously. “That son of a bitch.” He regained control. “Not that I believe you. It could just be contagious, and I ain’t been around any of those marks in those photos. You could be lying about Leon. You ain’t got no proof I’ve got that crud.”

  Kendra shrugged. “There’s a test to prove whether you have it or not.”

  “Then give it to me. You’re a doctor.”

  “I’m a psychologist. And I don’t give a damn if you have that poison in your system. I hope you do have it.”

  “Then somebody else can test me. Have them do it.”

  “Why? We don’t care, Briggs.”

  “You want to know stuff. I might tell you a little if you get me tested.” He added, “Only a little, understand?”

  “And when we confirm, you’ll spill your guts,” Kendra said. “Because the only way we’re going to be able to cure you is to find out exactly what you were cooking in that desert and find a remedy.”

  “But I don’t know that I have it.” He was sweating. “And I’m not going to let you bluff me.”

  “Then let’s verify.” She dialed Griffin. When he picked up, she said, “I need Agent Deevers here at the motel. Where is she? How quickly can she get here with her test kit?”

  “About ten minutes. Your time is running out, Kendra. Another twenty minutes, and you have to turn him over to us.”

  “I know. Tell her to get here as quickly as possible and bring her bag.” She hung up and turned back to Briggs. “Ten minutes. If you tell me enough in that ten minutes before she gets here, I’ll let her run the test. If you don’t, I’ll tell them to take you into custody.”

  “I ain’t telling you everything.”

  “You will,” Lynch said. “But we’ll start with names. Laird? Oscar Laird? Security head at Thatcher Pharmaceuticals?”

  Briggs eyes widened. “You know about Thatcher?”

  “What’s Laird’s connection to you?” Lynch repeated.

  Briggs didn’t answer at once. “I guess if you know about Thatcher, it won’t be telling you too much. Yeah, Oscar Laird is with Thatcher.”

  “That’s not telling us anything we don’t know. More. You answer to him?”

  “Sort of.”

  “What’s the stuff you were dealing with in the desert?” Kendra asked. “You said you knew more than Laird thought you did. What do you know about that substance?”

  Briggs eyes sidled away from hers. “I’ve said enough for now.”

  “You’ve not said anywhere near enough,” Lynch said with soft venom. “We haven’t been convinced that your miserable hide is worth saving. Talk. What do you know about that chemical?”

  Briggs finally shrugged. “Not much. They told us that there was a big hurry for us to do the final finish. It was set to be flown out of the country two days from now.”

  “Flown where?”

  “The Middle East. Iraq or Iran or somewhere else like that.”

  “Well, that’s precise.”

  “What do I care? Leon was set to do the finishing. He had to combine the final ingredients of the formula, then cook them like you do crystal meth. I was just supposed to guard him and the stuff.” His lips twisted. “It was working out fine until you stuck your nose into our business.”

  “What is this ‘stuff’?”

  He shrugged. “They called it Pegasus 2. They said that they had to do the final finishing procedure outdoors instead of the lab, and that’s why they set us up at Ocotillo Wells.” He made a face. “It stunk big-time.”

  “The formula was called Pegasus 2? What was it supposed to do?”

  “They didn’t tell me.” He smirked. “I told you, they tried to keep us from finding out anything. But I snooped around a little … just for my own protection. I saw sealed cans of some other formula at a warehouse when we made a delivery. It was marked Pegasus 1. It was in an old box labeled with some address in Panama City, Florida.”

  Kendra frowned. “It was the same substance?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Briggs said. “I said it looked like
the same kind of packaging. Only those cans and boxes looked old, and October 2004 was printed on the outside.” He frowned. “Look, I’ve told you enough. When do I get that test?”

  Lynch ignored the question. “So you and Leon were out there working on a formula called Pegasus 2. And you saw old crates labeled Pegasus 1, which might or might not be the same formula. You really expect us to believe you don’t know what the substance is capable of doing?”

  “Laird never told Leon or me nothing. We were just grunts to them.” He smiled slyly. “But that kind of changed after old man Rusin started fouling up on the hits. Rusin was real scared that it might be contagious. I heard Laird tell Rusin that the stuff was like a catalyst.”

  “A catalyst,” Kendra murmured. “An activator. But to activate what?”

  “How do I know?” Briggs said. “But it better not be activating anything inside me, or I’ll go after Laird and cut his nuts off.”

  “And you don’t know anything about Jeff Stedler. Is he dead? Did you or Rusin kill him?”

  “I ain’t talking no more. Now get me that—”

  There was a knock on the door.

  “Sienna.” Lynch strode across the room and threw open the door. “Come in. You must have been close.”

  “I was on my way here.” She smiled. “Santini was a little too smug about locating the bastard. I wanted to at least be in on the collar.” Her brows rose as she saw Briggs. “He’s a little worse for wear, isn’t he?”

  “He fell down the steps,” Lynch repeated.

  “And you brought me here to give first aid?”

  “Not exactly. You said you had a kit that could test for that foreign substance. Can you test Briggs for it?”

  “Sure.” She opened her black bag. “But couldn’t it wait until after he’s in custody?”

  “No,” Kendra said. “We made a bargain. How long will it take?”

  “A few minutes. I just need to swab his mouth and compare results to the other victims’.”

  “I ain’t got it.” Briggs was glaring balefully at her. “I feel strong as a horse.”

  “I’m sure you do,” Sienna said. “None of the victims had any symptoms even though some were advanced.” She glanced at Kendra. “Well, what am I supposed to do?”