Locked, Loaded and SEALed

by Carol Ericson

  “That framed picture of the two of you? The one with the broken glass?”

  “Yes, the officer allowed me to take it with me that night.”

  Tapping his chin, Austin rose to his feet and took a turn around the room. “You said he kept a gun in his drawer?”

  “Yes, but I don’t know if it was the one in his hand. Maybe he went for it and had just enough time to shoot himself. I know he wouldn’t have killed himself without a good reason—a noble reason.”

  “He ruined their plans. They expected to get information from him and he made sure they’d never get it.”

  “But they obviously didn’t find it if they came after me and then...Ginny.”

  “They killed Ginny. I don’t think the man in Cambridge went after you with the same intention.” He pointed at her. “They think you know something or that Dr. Fazal gave you something.”

  “I don’t and he didn’t.” She wrung her hands. “Can’t I just tell them...?”

  “No! That won’t work. Do you think they’ll believe you? They might believe you after a few hours or a few days of...” He ran a hand through his short hair.

  She didn’t want him to finish that sentence. She didn’t want to imagine what they’d do to her if they captured her. The thought of it had been enough to make Dr. Fazal put a gun to his head and pull the trigger.

  She rubbed the scar on the inside of her left forearm. She wouldn’t be able to endure it.

  Austin looked around the room and peppered her with more questions, but none of the questions or her answers brought them any closer to figuring out what Dr. Fazal had been hiding from his killers—if anything.

  “Okay, let’s follow Ginny’s probable path down to the street and see if we can discover anything.”

  “Do you think she’s still down there? It’s getting dark.” Sophia pressed her palm against the windowpane. The office faced a different direction from the front entrance.

  “Most likely. It can take hours for an accident investigation to wrap up in the case of a fatality.” She watched his reflection in the window as he approached her from behind.

  He looked almost unreal, like an apparition she’d conjured from her imagination. Then he touched her shoulder blade and she knew he was real...and he was the only thing standing between her and utter devastation and collapse.

  “Are you ready?”

  Her eyes met his in the glass and she nodded.

  They exited the office, and as she locked the door behind her, the elevator opened on the floor. A vacuum cleaner poked its nose out of the door followed by Norm.

  “Hey, Norm. Did you hear about what happened to Ginny?”

  “I did hear, Sophia.” He shook his head. “Crazy Boston drivers, and he didn’t even stop.”

  Austin pressed the elevator button with his knuckle to hold it open. “You didn’t happen to see anything, did you?”

  “No. I haven’t left the building since I came on duty a few hours ago. I just heard the sirens and a few people in the office were talking about it. Damn shame.” He shook his head. “She must’ve been still upset about her argument up here. She probably wasn’t paying any attention.”

  Sophia’s heart jumped. “Argument? On this floor?”

  “She was talking to a man in the hallway.” Norm rolled the vacuum a few feet forward. “Right here.”

  “What did he look like?” Austin had let the elevator go and was focused on Norm like a laser.

  Norm ducked his head. “Dark skin, dark hair, medium height. He had an accent, kind of like Dr. Fazal’s. I figured it was a friend of Dr. Fazal’s.”

  “Had you ever seen him here before?”

  Norm licked his lips and glanced at Sophia.

  “This is Detective French, Norm. He was looking into the accident.”

  “Oh, okay. I never seen him here before, but he sounded like the doctor. I thought maybe he was upset about, you know...the murder.”

  Sophia put her hand on Austin’s arm. His intensity was going to send Norm running for the stairwell. She asked, “Did you overhear any part of the argument?”

  “Naw, they were quiet. Just sort of whispering back and forth, but I could tell they were having a disagreement about something.”

  “You don’t think this man could’ve been the one driving the car that hit Ginny, do you?”

  Norm’s eyebrows jumped. “I thought that was an accident. Someone hit Ginny on purpose?”

  “We don’t know that for sure.” Austin crossed his arms. “So, how about it? Could the man talking to Ginny have had enough time to go down to the street, get in a car and drive around to the front before Ginny got to the corner?”

  “No. No way.” He leaned on the vacuum cleaner handle. “He got in the elevator with her. They went down together. So, unless she took some big detour when she got to the sidewalk, he probably left her right before she crossed the street and got hit. He could’ve even witnessed it.”

  “Okay, Norm. Thanks.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it.” Austin shook Norm’s hand.

  “Do you have a card or something? The detective who was here for Dr. Fazal gave me his card in case I remembered anything else.”

  Austin made a show of patting his front pocket. “Fresh out. Ms. Grant knows how to reach me.”

  Norm turned and trundled down the hallway, pushing his vacuum cleaner in front of him and muttering. “I sure hope the hit-and-run was just an accident. ’Cause if it wasn’t, there’s something hinky going on with this building and that office.”

  Austin called the elevator again, and when they stepped inside, they looked at each other.

  Wedging his shoulder against the mirrored wall, Austin said, “The man arguing with Ginny was Patel, but is he working with someone else who ran down Ginny? Of course, why run her down if she’d given Patel your info? Patel would’ve had to signal someone that he’d come up short. It all happened too fast.”

  “In which case, the guy in the car who hit Ginny is not working with Patel.” She held out her phone, tilting it back and forth. “And now I have Patel’s number.”

  “Are you ready to call him?”

  “What should I say?”

  “Tell him who you are, and ask him what he wants. Don’t let on that you already know about him. Play dumb.”

  “That’s not going to be very hard to do since I have no idea what he wants.” The elevator opened onto the lobby floor and she stepped out first, still clutching her phone. “Now?”

  “Let’s get back to the hotel so we can have some privacy. I’m going to be listening to every word on Speaker, and my phone has the ability to record the conversation, too.”

  Sophia pushed through the lobby door first and stepped onto the sidewalk, glancing to her left. The emergency vehicles were still there, although not as many, and the crowd had thinned. As dusk had settled, the accident investigators had lit up the area with bright white lights, giving the scene the quality of a movie set. She wished it were just a movie, not her reality...not Ginny’s.

  Hunching her shoulders, she huddled into her jacket. As they drew up beside the accident scene, Sophia noticed the coroner’s van, no longer blocked by the fire engine, and beside it a gurney draped with a white sheet.

  A gust of wind whipped down the street and lifted a corner of the sheet at the top of the gurney. For a moment, Ginny’s red hair streamed freely in the breeze.

  Sophia gulped back a scream and stumbled heavily against Austin’s body.

  He caught her around the waist and pulled her close, steadying her against his solid frame. “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”

  Was she? Or had her violent past caught up with her and wrapped its icy fingers around her throat again?

  Chapter Eight

  Throu
gh some miracle he made it back to the hotel without having to sweep up Sophia in his arms and carry her for five blocks—not that he would’ve minded.

  She must’ve gotten a glimpse of Ginny on the stretcher. He should’ve taken her out of the building a different way. She hadn’t said one word to him during their walk back. She’d allowed him to keep hold of her and guide her as they walked.

  He had to get her out of Boston, away from this investigation. If the men who’d killed Fazal thought she had something they wanted, they’d never let her escape.

  When they got to the room, Sophia collapsed into the chair by the window.

  “Do you want something? Water? I think there are some tea bags by the coffeemaker.”

  Without answering, she closed her eyes. When a few minutes passed, he thought she’d fallen asleep. Then she wriggled upright in the chair, and her eyelids flew open.

  “I have to call Patel now.”

  “Patel can wait. You need food.”

  “I’m not hungry.” She brushed her hair back from her face and gathered it in a ponytail in one hand. “I need to contact Patel and ask him what the hell he’s doing here and why he brought this misery down on Dr. Fazal. I need to ask him what he said to upset Ginny and if he got her killed. I need to demand answers, and I’m gonna get them.”

  “Hang on.” He held up one hand as he marveled at her quick turnaround. What resources had she just mustered to come out of her shock and fear over Ginny’s death? “You don’t have to do anything right now until you feel better.”

  “Oh, I’m fine.” Her glittering dark eyes kindled with sparks of anger. “Dr. Fazal and Ginny are dead. There’s nothing I can do for them now except get justice—and that justice starts with Patel.”

  He scratched his chin. He knew exactly how she felt. Hell, he’d lived it after his brother died.

  “Are you ready to do this? Ready to keep your temper?” He squared his shoulders and looked deep into her fathomless eyes. “Because if you’re not, you can blow the whole thing sky-high. You want answers from Patel, you’re going to have to come in with a measured approach. Can you do that?”

  She took a deep breath and released it slowly, rolling her shoulders. “I can do it.”

  He removed his phone from the charger and handed it to her. “Then do it.”

  “Do I have to do anything special to record the conversation?” She eyed the phone cupped in her hand.

  “It’s all set up to record and it’s already on Speaker. All you have to do is enter the number Ginny gave you.”

  She swept her thumb across her phone’s display and then tapped a number into his phone. The phone rang three times.

  “Hello?” a man answered in accented English.

  “Hello? Is this Mr. Patel?”

  “Who is this?”

  “This is Sophia Grant. My coworker Ginny Faraday gave me your number.”

  “Is she dead?”

  Sophia’s eyes flew to Austin’s face, and he nodded.

  “Sh-she is. It was a hit-and-run accident. How did you know that?”

  “It happened right after I spoke to her.” He cleared his throat. “Do you know who I am?”

  She raised her brows at him and he mouthed Dr. Fazal and patient.

  “I do recognize your name from Dr. Fazal’s patient files. Y-you know what happened to him, don’t you?”

  Patel let out a sigh. “That’s why I’m calling you, Ms. Grant. May I call you Sophia? I feel like I know you from Hamid’s letters.”

  “His letters? I thought you were his patient.”

  “Sophia, your life is in danger.”

  “Because of Dr. Fazal’s murder? Was Ginny’s death an accident?”

  “No. I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I should’ve never come here.”

  “Are you going to tell me why Dr. Fazal and Ginny were murdered? Why I’m in danger?”

  “Not over the telephone. Are you on a cell phone?”

  “Yes, but...” She put a hand over her mouth. “But I have complete privacy.”

  He choked out something between a laugh and a sob. “There is no privacy with these people.”

  “What people? Who are they?”

  “Meet me tonight.”

  “Tonight?”

  Austin nodded. He’d be with her every step of the way.

  “Ten o’clock. I’ll be wearing a baseball cap you Americans like so much, a Boston Red Sox cap and a red scarf.”

  Austin glanced at the clock. They had four hours to kill.

  “Ten o’clock. Where?”

  “Hamid’s favorite place in Boston...and come alone.”

  Patel ended the call, leaving her with her mouth hanging open.

  “Cryptic but not very practical.” He scratched the stubble on his chin, as his stomach growled.

  Sophia placed his phone on the table and traced its edges with the tip of her finger. “I know exactly where he means.”

  “Dr. Fazal’s favorite place in Boston? A restaurant? A park?” God, he hoped it was a restaurant.

  “The Old North Church.” She scooted forward in her seat, her eyes shining. “That was also Patel’s way of assuring me he was Dr. Fazal’s friend. A friend would know that about him.”

  “Wouldn’t the church be closed at ten o’clock at night?”

  “I don’t imagine he means inside the church.”

  “Which is a shame because it would be a lot easier to keep watch in an enclosed area.”

  “He told me to come alone.” She sucked in her bottom lip, her eyebrows forming a V over her nose.

  He swept his phone from the table and saved the recording of the conversation. “You can’t think I’m going to let you go meet him by yourself.”

  “If he sees you, he might take off.”

  “He’s not gonna see me.” He pocketed his phone. “Is there someplace outside the church where you think he’s going to be, or are you supposed to wander aimlessly around the perimeter looking for a Red Sox fan?”

  “Across from the church’s main entrance there’s a small square. There are also a few benches beneath some trees before you get to the square. He could be there. Unless there’s an event at the church tonight, there won’t be many tourists mingling around.”

  “We’re going to check it out before the meeting—on our way to get something to eat. I’m starving. I can sort out a plan to watch you to make sure nobody tries to disrupt your conversation with Patel. You might try to ask him his real name while you’re at it.”

  “Should I tell him about you?”

  “See how the conversation goes. If he has information, we need to know about it. He might be relieved to turn it over to us, and we can offer protection.”

  “Your protection didn’t help Dr. Fazal.”

  His jaw tightened as he turned away from her. He didn’t need any reminders of his failure. He could manage that on his own.

  * * *

  SOPHIA JUMPED OUT of the chair and it tipped over and hit the floor. She reached Austin’s stiff back in two steps and reached out for his shoulder. He flinched when she squeezed it.

  “I’m so sorry, Austin. I didn’t mean to imply that it was your failure. You did everything you could, and you almost reached Dr. Fazal in time. I-if your commanding officers had sent you in sooner, I know you would’ve saved him—because you saved me.”

  He did a half turn, and her hand was pressed just above his thudding heart. She had the strongest desire to cup his hard jaw in her palm and ease the pain that flashed from his eyes.

  He really had cared about Dr. Fazal, and he felt his loss almost as keenly as she did.

  His thick, stubby lashes fell over his eyes as if to protect his private thoughts from her. “Okay, yeah. I know you didn’t m
ean it that way.”

  She gave his chest a pat before stepping back. She usually liked keeping her distance from people, even men she was dating, but something about Austin Foley lured her in. It couldn’t be because they had anything in common, because it sounded like he’d come from a wholesome background of family, fresh air and farm animals, and she’d come from...dysfunction, grime and animals of a different kind.

  “Let’s eat. You said you were starving, and now that I have my meeting with Patel, I’ve recovered my appetite. We can walk to the church from here.”

  “Maybe to do our initial surveillance followed by dinner, but when we go back for the meeting we have to drive.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I’m not carrying a sniper rifle case along the Freedom Trail.”

  “Sniper rifle?”

  “I’m going to cover you, Sophia, the best way I know how. If anyone gets near you...they’re gone.”

  “What if they have the same idea and take me out before you even know they’re in the area?”

  “They’re not going to take you out. They need you. They want to question you. They didn’t need Ginny.”

  She puffed up her cheeks and blew out a breath. How could Austin get away with shooting someone on a Boston street corner? This would have to be covered up at a high level, but then it had taken high-level personnel to authorize a navy SEAL to operate stateside.

  She had a feeling she didn’t want to know any more.

  “We can eat at Faneuil Hall—lots of choices there. We can walk or take the T from the church.”

  “I’ll let you lead the way. Just as long as we’re back at the hotel by nine o’clock, so I can get ready. Right now I’m going to shave and brush my teeth, unless you want to freshen up first.” He stopped at the entrance to the bathroom.

  “You go ahead. I’m going to make some phone calls to Anna and Morgan. Someone has to tell them about Ginny.”

  As Austin closed the bathroom door, she grabbed the framed picture of her and Dr. Fazal that she’d taken from the floor of his office and traced the crack on the glass that ran through his body. “I know you didn’t want me to contact Patel, but Austin’s here now—and he’s going to make everything okay.”