Devoted Defender

by Rachel Dylan

“I’ve got some bad news.”

  “What now?”

  “Phil Perry’s body was just found. He was murdered.”

  Chapter Eight

  Caleb knew that Silva was determined to get rid of anyone and everyone who could tie him to Doc Perry’s murder. He sat in the living room of the safe house with Gabe and Annie. He was about to break the news to Annie and feared how she was going to handle it. She’d already been through so much. But he’d told her that he wasn’t going to keep her in the dark, and it was better for her to know all the facts.

  “Okay,” she said. “By the frowns on both of your faces, I’m assuming you have some bad news for me. So you might as well just rip the Band-Aid off.”

  “You want to tell her?” Gabe asked.

  Caleb nodded. Yes, this was his responsibility. He wasn’t going to push it off on his friend. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but Phil Perry’s body was discovered.”

  She sucked in a breath. “He was killed?”

  “Yes. The medical examiner hasn’t given official cause of death yet, but it was clearly a homicide.”

  “McCoy killed him,” she said in a matter of fact way.

  “That’s the most likely scenario,” Caleb said. “And there’s a manhunt for McCoy right now led by the Atlanta PD and assisted by the FBI. It’s not ideal given the fact that we believe someone on the inside is on Silva’s payroll.”

  Gabe leaned forward in his chair. “The possibility of a rogue FBI agent obviously presents a problem especially as it relates to Annie’s security. But one agent probably can’t sabotage a widespread manhunt. There are too many different people involved, and he wouldn’t want to blow his cover. Especially since Silva has probably already decided that McCoy is expendable—that’s just the way Silva thinks.”

  “It’s only a matter of time before McCoy is in police custody. Then the feds and local police will have to work out the details on the prosecution with the district attorney.”

  “I know that Phil tried to kill me, but he had a lot of issues. He was backed into a corner and acted out against me. But he didn’t deserve to die like this.” She closed her eyes for a second.

  It tore Caleb up that Annie was upset. And to think that she was feeling such sympathy for a man that had literally tried to murder her. But that was just the type of woman Annie was. Her heart was just that big.

  “I’m going to get out of here and back to work on the Silva piece of this investigation,” Gabe said. Then he looked at Annie. “Keep your head up, Annie. There will be an end to all of this.”

  “Thanks, Gabe,” she said.

  Caleb followed him out and locked the door behind him. When he returned to the living room, Annie’s teary eyes were open as she stared off.

  He walked over and took a seat beside her. Then he wrapped his arm around her.

  “Guess I’m next, huh?” she said.

  “Don’t talk like that.”

  “I have to be realistic. This is all coming to a head. He’s picking us off one by one. How can I possibly get out of this?”

  “We’re going to figure something out. But we know who our enemies are, Annie. And sometimes that’s half of the battle.” He felt her shiver at his words and tightened his grip around her. “I’ve got you, Annie. And I’m not going to let you go.”

  She looked up at him with those innocent hazel eyes, and fear shot through him. A fear about his own growing feelings for her, and a fear of what would happen to him if he lost her. It was unthinkable.

  “Do you have any idea how to get out of all of this?”

  “That’s what we’re working on. The Silva piece is really tied to Doc’s murder. So if we can capture McCoy and put him back into custody and get his criminal case moving along, then that would go a long way.”

  “I don’t think Silva is just going to walk away because McCoy is apprehended. That’s my fear, he’s going to keep coming after me until he gets me.”

  “One step at a time. We are better off with McCoy in custody and being charged for Doc’s murder than with McCoy out there still on his original mission to take you out. So if he is captured and the prosecution moves forward, that’s a net positive for us.”

  “If McCoy is put on trial for Doc’s murder, wouldn’t you need me to testify since I was an eyewitness?”

  Caleb had been dreading having this discussion. “Yes. And that’s the dicey part. We’d have to work out some serious security precautions before I’d be comfortable with that. Testifying in an open courtroom presents numerous security challenges. But in the short term, let’s not worry too much about that. We can only handle one obstacle at a time.”

  His phone rang which provided him an out of this conversation for now. He didn’t want Annie to become preoccupied with a trial that may never happen.

  “Yes,” he answered.

  He listened to what Mac had to say and then ended the call. His mind raced as he tried to take a moment to figure out how to present this to Annie. She wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Big news.”

  “What?”

  “McCoy has been apprehended by Atlanta PD.”

  “That’s good right?”

  “Yes.” He decided it best to just go with the direct approach. “Except that they’ve interrogated him. And it seems like he is trying to cut a deal, and they want to talk to you to corroborate his story.”

  “Say what?” Annie’s hazel eyes widened.

  “This is all very routine. I don’t know that I would’ve wanted to offer him a deal, but he’s just a mercenary—a hired gun. The goal is to get at the decision makers in the Silva network. Not a thug.”

  “So you think I should just walk into the Atlanta police station and give them a statement?” she asked in a raised voice.

  “Annie, I’ll be by your side every step of the way. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. And this is your chance to help get justice for what happened to Doc and Phil. Isn’t that what you want?”

  “I thought you knew me.” She paused. “That you got me. But hearing you say all of this, I can see I was dead wrong.”

  “Why do you say that? I’m on your side here, Annie. Talk to me.” He needed to get the train back on the tracks quickly. Annie was starting to look very pale.

  “Don’t you get it? I don’t trust the police. I don’t trust anyone except you. But now I’m rethinking whether that was even such a smart idea.”

  He took at step toward her but she took one back. “Annie, I’m going to be there with you. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. The criminal is in custody. The only reason they want to talk to you is so they can get more information. Like you said, you were the only eyewitness. How you lay out what happened that night will have a big impact on the terms of his plea deal. Including the fact that you watched McCoy kill Doc in cold blood.”

  She shook her head. “It’s so much more than that, though. This could open up a whole can of worms.”

  He had to find a way to reassure her. “I’ll be with you. Nothing bad will happen.”

  “You shouldn’t make promises that you can’t keep.” As her voice started to shake, he realized he was in trouble. He’d never seen Annie this rattled before. He longed to be able to take the fear out of her eyes.

  “Annie, I’m sure that after you talk to the police, then we can put this part of the nightmare behind us. Yes, McCoy will probably get a plea deal, but it’s better than you having to eventually testify in trial, right?”

  Her shoulders lowered a bit and she took a few deep breaths. “Maybe. But I still don’t want to face interrogation. I can’t go back to a situation like that. Especially not by voluntarily walking into it. Not with everything else that has happened.” She stood for a moment in silence before continuing. “Here’s the deal. I’ll talk to the District Attorney. But that’s it. Not the cops.”

  He wasn’t sure he’d be able to swing that. “I’ll do my
best to make that happen.”

  She shook her head. “No. Please. I can’t go through another interrogation. You can’t imagine what it is like to be the victim, then be accused of committing a crime. I need your assurance on this.”

  “So this is non-negotiable?” He asked already knowing her answer.

  “Exactly.”

  “Let me see what I can do.”

  “And what about the FBI mole?” she asked.

  “Atlanta PD is running point right now. The FBI won’t be involved in the questioning.”

  “And you think it’s safe for me to leave here and go to this meeting?”

  “We’re going to have to work out the security situation. I’m not just going to take you downtown by myself that’s for sure. But I feel confident that we can work something out that makes sense.”

  Her wounds ran even deeper than he had understood. And it floored him that, given the depth of her issues, she had allowed him into her life—and maybe into a little piece of her heart. That made him want to protect her all the more. So at that point, he decided to go out on a limb for her. “I promise you that I won’t take you to the police to be interrogated.”

  “Thank you.”

  “But if it’s okay with you, I would like to talk to Atlanta PD and make you coming in contingent on you speaking directly to the DA. That way, I’m the one dealing with the police, but you could still tell the prosecutor what happened that night. Would that work for you?”

  “Yes,” she said calmly.

  “Then let me make some calls.” He knew his police contacts weren’t going to be crazy about these terms. But he would see what he could do.

  **

  Annie felt nauseous as they walked into the Fulton County District Attorney’s office in downtown Atlanta. Caleb had been able to set up a meeting for her with the District Attorney—a woman named Sasha Derring.

  Caleb claimed that Sasha had a sterling reputation as a straight shooter, but that didn’t do anything to put Annie at ease. She wouldn’t be comfortable again until she was done with this meeting and back at the safe house.

  True to his word, Caleb had gotten Gabe and Kane to come with them. Between the three men, Annie felt fairly safe. She was much more afraid of coming face to face with this prosecutor. Logic told her that she shouldn’t be afraid of the prosecutor, but she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

  Flanked by the three men who were serving as her guards, they took the elevator up to the fifth floor. Caleb stayed beside her while Kane went to talk to the receptionist who sat behind the simple wooden desk.

  “It’s all going to be okay,” Caleb whispered in her ear.

  She appreciated his support but she still couldn’t believe how he could’ve thought she’d be perfectly fine being interrogated by the police. How could she have been so delusional to think that they’d ever be compatible? He came at everything in his life from the viewpoint of a police officer. She couldn’t fault him for who he was, but she couldn’t change who she was either.

  Kane walked back over to them. “The DA will be out here in a minute.”

  Annie steadied her breathing as she waited for what seemed like forever. When the door by the receptionist opened, a very petite woman walked out. She wore a perfectly tailored gray suit and her long dark hair was worn in a low sleek ponytail.

  “You must be Annie Thomas,” the woman said, offering her hand. “I’m the district attorney, Sasha Derring.”

  Annie shook Sasha’s hand. “Nice to meet you,” she said, more out of habit of being polite.

  Sasha smiled at her. “We’re all set up in one of our conference rooms.” Sasha looked over at Caleb who was standing watch close by her side. “I would like to be able to speak with you alone, Ms. Thomas.”

  And that was the first time that Annie’s chest tightened.

  “I need to check the security of the room first.” Caleb stepped forward.

  “Of course. Right this way.” Sasha opened up the door by the receptionist and started walking.

  Kane stayed in the lobby area while Caleb and Gabe went with her down a long hallway following Sasha.

  “This is just one of our regular conference rooms. Please check it out.” Sasha motioned for them to enter the room.

  The four of them walked into the room, and she watched closely as Caleb and Gabe had a hushed discussion. She couldn’t hear what they were saying but she could take some educated guesses based on everything she’d learned since this ordeal started.

  The conference room wasn’t anything special. In the center of the room there was a long brown table with multiple chairs surrounding it. A couple of pictures of the city of Atlanta hung on the walls. The room was on the interior, though, so she noticed there were no windows. That might actually be a plus because that meant there was only one way in and out.

  Caleb walked over to her. “This room is secure, Annie. We’ll both be standing guard right outside the door. Okay?”

  She was here, so she might as well just get this over with. “Yes, that’s fine.” There was no point in drawing this out. The sooner she started, the sooner she could get back to the safe house.

  Caleb leaned down and whispered in her ear. “You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be right out there by the door if you need anything.”

  She watched as the two men left her alone with Sasha. She noticed that there was a laptop and a notepad with a few pens on the table.

  “Please have a seat, Ms. Thomas.”

  “You should call me Annie.” There was no point in engaging in formalities.

  “All right.” Sasha smiled.

  Sasha had a disarming quality, but Annie knew that Sasha had a job to do. And it could be that Sasha thought the best way to get the information she wanted was with a kind word and a bright smile. So Annie wasn’t planning on letting down her guard. “I’m ready to get started when you are.”

  Sasha nodded and opened up her laptop. Annie couldn’t help but notice Sasha’s perfectly manicured pink nails that matched her pastel pink blouse. Not a single strand of her dark hair was out of place. Sasha seemed like everything that Annie wasn’t. Annie was the definition of low maintenance, especially in her hair and makeup routine. But she didn’t begrudge Sasha for taking a different approach.

  “I want to get to the events surrounding Doc Perry’s death. But first I have to ask you something that I was just curious about.”

  Annie didn’t like the sound of that. “All right. What would you like to know?”

  “I understand that you wanted to talk to me. That in fact, you insisted on only speaking to me. Why is it that you were so insistent about not talking to the police?”

  Uh oh. That was the first sign that she was in trouble. She knew she should’ve never come here. She clenched her fists under the table. “Does that matter?”

  “Only if you have something to hide, Annie.” Sasha raised an eyebrow.

  “I’m here to help. But if you don’t want my help, I’m happy to leave.” Annie pushed back a little from the table.

  “You’re free to go, but wouldn’t you rather talk to me than the police?”

  Sasha would have no way of knowing why she was hesitant. Annie had never been charged. She’d been a minor so there wasn’t even any record of exactly what had happened as far as she knew. And there was no way that she was going to tell her about the shooting. That would only make her look like she could be guilty. So it was better to try to deflect this entire line of questioning if she could.

  Sasha’s dark eyes softened and she leaned forward. “Look. I’ve been a prosecutor for over a decade. I’ve seen and heard things that you probably couldn’t even imagine. I can tell there’s something that’s bothering you. But I’m not the enemy here.”

  “It’s complicated.” And wasn’t that the truth.

  “If you’re afraid of someone, I can make sure that you have the requisite protection.”

  “I really only want to talk to you. Not the police. Is that all
right?”

  Sasha looked at her and for a moment Annie thought she wasn’t going to let her off the hook. But Sasha sighed and typed a sentence on her laptop before looking back up at her. “For the sake of moving things forward, why don’t we shift gears and talk about the night of Doc Perry’s murder.”

  “It was awful,” Annie said, before she could even stop herself. She wasn’t expecting to get emotional. She’d told the story multiple times, but now it somehow felt more real as she looked into Sasha’s dark and discerning eyes.

  “I can imagine it was. Why don’t we start at the beginning and you tell me what happened step by step. You can take as much time as you need. I’m not going anywhere. So just go at your own pace.”

  Annie recounted the story that she had now told multiple times to different people. She didn’t rush and tried to keep it as factual as possible, pushing back the wave of emotions that rolled throughout her.

  “So you got in your car and just started driving?” Sasha asked.

  “Yes. I feared for my life. I thought that the killer, who I now know is named McCoy, was coming after me. He was firing shots and yelling. So I thought it best to get out of there as quickly as I could.”

  “And didn’t you have that night off of work?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Why did you go there then? I’d think you wouldn’t want to go to the house on your free night.”

  “My work is my life.”

  “Could you elaborate?”

  How much of this did she want to reveal to her? She hated showing her vulnerability so openly but she also needed Sasha to understand. Most people probably wouldn’t want to go into work on their night off. She needed to make Sasha see why she was different. “Cooking is more than just my occupation. It’s a way of life for me. I don’t punch a time clock. I take pride in my work. In creating new dishes and perfecting old ones.”

  “Which brings me back to why you were at the Perry residence on the night of the murder.”

  “I’d forgotten some recipe notes at the house and I really wanted to try to make a special soufflé that night as a test run. For totally new dishes, I prefer not to have the first time I serve them be the first time I’ve ever made them. So I went back to get the recipe notes.”