Guarding the Witness

by Margaret Daley

  “What did you like the best about Denali? We’re going there tomorrow.” Laura stuck her hands in the deep pockets of her light jacket.

  Exhausted, Arianna searched her mind for what she read about the park. Bits and pieces of information about Denali materialized, but her attention strayed when a large man approached through the crowd and paused nearby, close enough to hear what she said.

  Brody tossed his head toward Charlie leaning against the car. “Our guide over there drove us to Savage River Trailhead. Got to see a great view of Mount McKinley. We took a bus tour from there because the rest of the roads aren’t accessible for private cars. We saw moose, lots of birds, caribou, fox and wolves.”

  “Don’t forget the grizzly we saw from the bus. Good thing we were inside and he was outside.” Arianna fanned herself. “Wow, that got my heart pumping.” She watched the muscular man in jeans, cowboy boots and plaid shirt move farther away and plant himself near another group of people talking. She released a breath slowly. “I’d just as soon see a grizzly in the zoo, not the wild. Huge. She had two cubs with her. I heard they are ferocious about protecting their young. Aren’t they, Bob?” She elbowed him in the rib.

  He’d been staring into the crowd with the man. “Uh-huh. Sorry, sweet pea. Looking around at this place. You reckon we’re gonna be here long? I could use a nap.”

  Terry nodded. “I could, too. I’m on vacation. A nap is a requirement.” He peered toward the wreck blocking the highway. “Looks like the state troopers are here and some kind of big tow truck to get the semis moved.”

  “Honeybun, I need to sit down. My knees are starting to hurt being on my feet for so long today. Nice to meet you two.” Arianna gave each one a smile then hobbled toward the Chevy with Brody trailing her.

  Even with her head down, she slanted a glance around. Another man halted next to the muscular one who had stopped near them and said something to him. Both men hurried away.

  Charlie opened the back door for her, and she eased onto the seat like she was seventy years old, putting the cane in front of her and holding its knob at the end while Brody and Charlie pretended to be in a deep conversation about where to go when they got to Anchorage—loud enough that people could easily hear.

  Another lone man strolled not far from them, checking something on his cell. A photo of one of them? Arianna grinned at him then purposely looked away as if she had not a care in the world. But she noticed that Brody kept track of him, a hard glint in his eyes.

  When a cheer went up a few hundred feet nearer the wreck, Arianna struggled to stand slowly although she had so much energy from the adrenaline in her body she could dance a jig for the crowd’s entertainment. The back end of one semi was being moved to the side of the road.

  “About time,” Charlie mumbled, his mouth pinched in a frown. “I’ve seen at least three or four suspicious persons inspecting the people in and out of their cars.”

  Everyone watched the second semi being towed away and clapped. Arianna sat again, and this time closed the car door. Tension vibrated through her. She should be used to this kind of stress. It was her job. But she cared too much for Brody, even Charlie. She didn’t want anything to happen to them because of her.

  Charlie slid into the front seat while Brody climbed in next to her. Charlie started the car. Brody exhaled and lounged back.

  A loud crack boomed.

  TEN

  Brody pushed Arianna down onto the backseat and covered her body with his. He pulled his gun from its holster at the same time she did.

  “False alarm. I think it was a car backfiring. No one behind us is reacting,” Charlie said and drove forward slowly as the traffic began to move.

  Brody eased up and looked around. “You stay down just in case.”

  “We’re all in danger. Not just me.”

  Brody focused on his mission to keep Arianna alive to give her testimony. He could not think of anything beyond that—certainly not how much he cared for her. “Don’t worry about me or Charlie.”

  “But I do.”

  He glanced down at her, caught the worry in her eyes and wanted to dismiss it. He couldn’t. Most likely his own expression mirrored hers. “I can take care of myself.”

  “I could say the same thing, but we both know this is bigger than the both of us. Rainwater is sparing no effort to get me.”

  “Then we’ll have to rely on someone even bigger.”

  Her gaze locked with his. “The Lord?”

  He nodded.

  “I’m trying.”

  He tore his attention away from her before he neglected his duties. She was so close and yet forbidden to him like the apple in the Garden of Eden. As they passed the wreck site, four Alaska state troopers were at the scene, the back of one truck still lying on its side off the highway now. “This was no accident.”

  Charlie snorted. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. A planned roadblock. It allows his men to check the people traveling to Anchorage up close and personal. I wonder what stunts they staged on the other highway into Anchorage.”

  “At least there’s more than one way into Anchorage.” Brody did another scan of his surroundings, noting the thinning of the traffic now that they were past the wreck, and clasped Arianna’s arm to help her up.

  “We’d be disappointed if they hadn’t tried something. We’d really be worried about what was going on.” Arianna settled back, straightening her gray wig.

  “Speak for yourself,” Brody said with a grin. “I would have been perfectly happy if they hadn’t tried anything. Ah, the wonderful feeling of serenity. I would have relished it.”

  “What’s that? In our line of work, we live with the tension.”

  Brody’s stomach churned with that tension she talked about. His vacation was coming up soon. He’d originally thought of taking it in Alaska, camping in the wilderness. Now he wanted to get as far away as he could from where he worked. Maybe Dan was right about a beach in Hawaii, listening to the waves crash against the shore. Calm. No conflict. No life-or-death stakes. A place where he might be able to put his priorities in order.

  “What are you thinking? You’re so quiet.”

  Arianna’s question drew him back to the reality of their situation as they raced toward Anchorage. “My next vacation.”

  “Where?”

  “A beach.”

  “I thought you liked Alaska and the wilderness.”

  “I’ve had my fill of this for the time being.”

  “No salmon fishing on a beach?”

  “There are other kinds of fishing on a beach.” He could almost feel the waves wash over his feet, his body start to relax totally. He released a slow breath. The only thing missing was Ari...

  Charlie began slowing down again. Brody pushed all thoughts of beaches and vacations to the background and sat forward. “What’s happening, Charlie?”

  “Two state troopers on the side of the road with a parked car. Traffic is slow. Rubbernecking.”

  As they passed the three cars on the side of the road, Brody surveyed the situation. Two troopers had a man between them, talking to him. The man was shouting, his hands balled.

  Arianna clasped Brody’s arm. “That man looks like one of Rainwater’s men I saw when I was researching his organization.”

  He remembered Arianna’s photographic memory and asked, “Who?”

  “Stefan Krasnov. It looks like he’s being detained and he isn’t too happy about it.”

  “I’ve heard that name.” Brody studied the man in question, trying to recall where and what.

  “He’s been in Russia for the past two years. I guess he’s back now.”

  “You really dug deep.”

  “I like to know everything about who wants me dead.”

  This was why he liked her. She
was professional and good at her job—one similar to his. She understood his work. If only they had met differently....

  He shoved that thought into a box, shut the lid and stored it deep in his heart. It wasn’t to be.

  “The sighting of Krasnov means there’ll be other people waiting all along the road. We can’t let down our guard even with only fifty miles to go.”

  Charlie’s thoughts reflected Brody’s. It wouldn’t be over until the trial was over and Arianna was safely relocated.

  * * *

  The outskirts of Anchorage came into view. Arianna’s heartbeat hammered a fast staccato through her body. She curled her hands in her lap. This was it. Tomorrow at this time it would be over and she would fly out of here shortly afterward.

  But a lot could happen in twenty-four hours. She uncurled her fists and wiped her sweaty palms together.

  Brody covered her hands. “Okay? We didn’t have any problem the last fifty miles. That’s a good thing.”

  “Did you notice that Seward Highway was littered with state troopers?”

  “I’m hoping that was Gus’s doing somehow. His way of protecting us the best way he could. No roadblocks but plenty of state troopers.”

  “I think it was Gus.” Arianna saw another car had been pulled over closer to the city but didn’t recognize the person being detained.

  “Go north on the Old Seward Highway. You can get off up there.” Brody indicated the turnoff. “We’re going across the city. At least it’s after the rush hour so we should be able to move quickly.”

  When Charlie drove onto the older road, he said, “I don’t know about you two, but I’m starved. I’d like to find a drive-through and pick up something for dinner. We can take the food to the safe house.”

  Arianna glanced at Brody. “I’m hungry, too. Will there be something to eat at the place?”

  “Probably not much. It’s Dan Mitchell’s house. He’s out of town in Hawaii.”

  “Why there and how are you going to get inside?” Arianna asked.

  “Dan is possibly the guy who gave you away. He was on one of your protection teams. They won’t look there because if it was him, they’d never suspect him of sheltering us. Plus I know he doesn’t have close neighbors. He’s got almost an acre of land right outside of town.”

  Both of her eyebrows hiked up. “Did the man give you a key to his place?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to break in. If he’s on the take, we’ll find evidence inside. If he isn’t, he won’t mind in the end.”

  “That’s stretching things a bit.”

  “I suppose we could go to my apartment, but I have a feeling Rainwater has someone watching that place and all of my friends’. Dan isn’t a friend, just a colleague. I know quite a bit about his house only because he loves to talk a lot. I’ve never been there.” When Charlie reached the intersection with Third Avenue, Brody said, “Turn right. He lives off Westover Avenue.”

  “It is convenient he was going to Hawaii and wouldn’t be in Alaska when everything went down,” Charlie said as he went into a drive-through of a fried chicken chain.

  Hunger tightened Arianna’s stomach. “I’ll take a whole chicken.”

  “I’ll second that order.” Sitting up, Brody scanned their surroundings the whole time Charlie ordered and didn’t relax until they’d pulled out of the parking lot and continued the trek toward Dan’s house.

  Charlie parked around back at the place. “We’ll move it when we get the garage open. I don’t like leaving the car for everyone to see.”

  “He would have left his at the airport so there should be room.”

  Charlie stepped up to the back door before Brody and slipped out a lock pick to begin working on opening it. The dim light of dusk painted the landscape in shadows.

  “We get more nighttime hours here in Anchorage. It’s not even eleven yet, and the sun is going down. That might help us.” Arianna scoured the wooded area around Dan’s house, taking the left side while Brody watched the right—like a team, not a word spoken. They just did it naturally as though they shared each other’s thoughts.

  “I’m in. His security system was easy to circumvent if you know what you’re doing. I do.” Charlie swung the door wide and stepped inside first.

  What was she going to do when she left tomorrow night or the next morning? She glanced at Brody’s strong profile and knew she would miss that everyday for the rest of her life. She couldn’t deny the feelings she had developed over the past few intense days. She tried to tell herself that with time, she would forget him. Certainly what they had been through wasn’t a good foundation for a normal life. So maybe her love for Brody wasn’t really real. It sure felt real, though.

  “After you, Arianna,” Brody whispered into her ear. She hadn’t even heard or seen him move closer.

  Charlie came back into the kitchen. “I’ve opened the garage. I’m moving the car in there.”

  “We’ll check the house, then we can eat.” Brody moved to the right while Arianna took the left side of the one story house.

  As Arianna passed through each room, she checked any space someone could hide, and she also noted places to examine more thoroughly after they ate. Maybe they could help Brody figure out if Dan was the marshal who had sold her out. When she went into a game room, she came to a stop a foot inside the entrance. Trophies of the man’s kills hung on the wall—stuffed and staring at her. She shivered and focused on searching the place rather than paying attention to the deer or bear over a shoulder watching her every move.

  Brody appeared in the doorway. “Did you find anything?”

  “Nope, but I see you have a laptop. I was beginning to think all Dan did in his spare time was kill animals and then mount them. Do you see the gun over the mantel? It could take care of a bear for sure.”

  “I can use it when we go to the courthouse tomorrow. If it stops a bear, it’ll stop a man, even the huge one we saw called Mankiller.”

  She flicked her hand toward a table. “The ammo is in there and plenty of it. Did the laptop have anything on it?”

  “I haven’t looked through it yet. We’ll eat then take a look at it.”

  “When are we going to leave for the courthouse tomorrow?”

  “Probably as soon as we can. We don’t know what roadblocks we’ll face. I know when we show up the D.A. will have you testify right away. I want to keep a tight schedule. Only let the necessary people know at the last minute. I don’t want to give them a chance to intercept us.”

  “Most likely there are some of Rainwater’s men around the courthouse as we speak,” Charlie said. “I’m sure they’ve been there from the very beginning.”

  “Yes, but if they knew when we were coming, there would be more.”

  “Come up with a plan yet?” Arianna strode toward the kitchen and the bucket of cold fried chicken.

  “Working on it. I want to sketch the floor plan of the courthouse the best I can from memory.”

  Charlie placed the bucket of chicken in the center of the kitchen table. “I zapped the baked beans. The coleslaw is fine as is. To tell you the truth, I could eat the containers they come in. I’m that hungry.”

  Arianna laughed. “I’m with you. All this running from the bad guys has increased my appetite.”

  After they sat, Brody bowed his head. “Lord, I know You’ll be with us tomorrow. Help us to deceive Rainwater’s men and allow Arianna to testify against Rainwater, and return safely. Bless this food. Amen.”

  “After we eat, I’ll get on the computer and see what I can find about the different marshals.” Charlie took several pieces of chicken and passed the container to Arianna. “I love doing computer searches.”

  “I’ll map out what I can of the courthouse. I wish I had your photographic memory, Arianna.”

  �
�I was there with Esther Perkins that first week I was protecting her. I didn’t see all of it, but I may be able to help you.”

  “Great. Also, I have a friend in the L.A. U.S. Marshals’ office who I worked with for several years. He may be able to help us delve into who might be the mole.”

  “Does he know Carla Matthews well?” Arianna tried to picture Brody and Carla together and the image wouldn’t materialize. They were so different, but when work was most of a person’s life, often people started relationships with coworkers. She had with Dirk and regretted it.

  “He isn’t a fan of hers.”

  Charlie reached into the bucket and drew out another piece of chicken. “You know this house is a nice one. Mitchell or his wife must have some money to afford this.”

  Arianna surveyed the kitchen, which looked like it had been recently remodeled with top-of-the-line marble countertops and ceramic tiles. All the stainless-steel appliances were new. “You’re right. Does Dan’s wife work?”

  “No, she quit her job a while back. They’re trying to have a family.” Brody finished the last of his baked beans, doing his own assessment of his surroundings. “It seems I remember Dan talking about buying a cabin recently on a piece of land near a lake. He loves to hunt and fish.”

  “No, you’re kidding,” Arianna said with a smile. “I’d never get that from the trophies on the wall in his game room. His pool table was a beauty, too. His banking information might be somewhere in the house. I’ll do a thorough search.”

  “You’ve worked with all these marshals. If you had to choose one right now, who do you think it is?” Charlie took a long sip of his coffee.

  “I’ve known Carla the longest. She’s a good marshal, very professional on the job. Off the job is totally different. It’s like she’s two separate people. That’s sends up a red flag to me. I think Kevin is still too fresh and new to be corrupted. He’s always thought he could change the world single-handedly.”

  Arianna rose and took her trash to throw away. “And he’s a great cook. I think I’m still hungry and only thinking about food.”