Guarding the Witness

by Margaret Daley

  “We’re all carrying our weapons,” Brody said to the man. “She’s under protection of the U.S. Marshals Service. Myself and state trooper Gus Calloway must be by her side.”

  Both guards looked at Mr. Jefferson. He nodded his agreement.

  Back at the house, Charlie had said he would like to stay in the hallway and keep an eye on the courtroom from out there.

  As the guard started to wave the wand down Arianna, she reached in and removed her gun. “I’d like it back when I leave.”

  The guard began to argue with her.

  “I’ll take her weapon when we leave.” Brody stepped forward with Arianna.

  The guard frowned. “Fine,” he said and moved out of their way into the courtroom.

  Everyone turned to look at her, dressed as a telephone repairman with two men at her side, one with a face of a fighter after a tough bout.

  Brody leaned close and whispered, “Go get him. I’ll be here when you’re finished.”

  * * *

  Brody listened to her testimony and his respect for her grew even more. Arianna’s integrity and straightforwardness were so refreshing. The sacrifices she’d made and would make increased his admiration many times over. He cared about her more than he ever thought possible.

  He love—

  No, he couldn’t go there. She would be gone tomorrow. He couldn’t walk away from his job. He made a difference. He—

  “Thank you for testifying, Ms. Jackson. You are free to go,” the judge said, signaling Brody and Gus next to him to stand.

  The next stop was to deliver her to the U.S. Marshals office. Charlie was to notify them and tell Brody’s boss what they suspected about a mole—they had ruled him out. At least they could work with him and hand Arianna over to the two marshals who were to escort her to her new home, wherever that was to be. Although he didn’t think it was Ted or Carla, he didn’t want them involved in case he was wrong. He suspected it had been Mark, with all his debts.

  As Arianna stepped down from testifying and walked toward the gate that separated the public gallery from the trial participants, she looked right at Rainwater. She didn’t back down when the man’s eyes narrowed. A tic twitched in his jaw.

  When Arianna saw Brody, she beamed, her eyes dancing as though she felt free for the first time in days. And yet, she would never totally be. His throat closed when he thought of her flying away to some unknown location. He swallowed several times.

  “Let’s go. I need some fresh air,” she said when she approached Brody.

  He took up her left side while Gus fell into step on her right. A guard opened the double doors, and they went into the corridor. The guard passed Arianna’s gun to Brody. As he suspected, his supervisor stood with Charlie and two other men wearing their Deputy U.S. Marshal badges. The rest of the hallway was empty.

  Arianna slanted a look toward Brody. “Who are the two with your boss?”

  “The marshals who will take over for me. They’ll process you and settle you in your new home.”

  “So all this is over.” Emotions flitted across her face—from relief to sadness to resignation.

  “Almost.” Brody continued toward the group.

  Nearby, a door opened. A police officer stepped into the hall. The ding of the elevator sounded at the other end. Brody glanced toward it to see who was getting off. Empty.

  In that second he swiveled toward the police officer as the man drew his gun and aimed it at Arianna. The blast of the weapon shook the air at the same time Brody threw himself in front of Arianna. The bullet ripped into his arm then another struck him. Blackness engulfed him.

  * * *

  With a third shot, Brody collapsed to the floor. Arianna went for her Glock in her pocket. It wasn’t there! Brody still had it.

  A barrage of gunfire went off around Arianna, all directed at the police officer by a door a few yards from her. He staggered back, collapsed against the wall and slid down to the floor. The gun he’d used to shoot at her dropped from his hand.

  While pandemonium broke out around her, Arianna fell to her knees next to Brody. He can’t be dead. He can’t be.

  Everything around her faded from her consciousness. All she cared about was Brody. With a trembling hand, she checked his pulse at his neck. Beneath her fingertips she felt one beat.

  She looked up and shouted, “Call 911.” His vest had stopped the second bullet.

  The two marshals along with Brody’s supervisor came to her side. “You’ve got to leave. Now,” the blond one said, grasping her arm to help her to her feet.

  She fought him. “I’m not leaving him. Get him some help.”

  The second marshal took Arianna’s other arm. “They’ll take care of him. You can’t stay. Too dangerous.”

  “I don’t care.” She tried to wrench herself from their hold.

  Their grip tightened about her. One thrust his face into hers, demanding her full attention. “But we do. It’s our job to get you out of here in one piece.”

  Tears burned her eyes. “I can’t leave him. He’s shot.” Because of me.

  The marshal in her personal space moved away enough for her to see Gus and Charlie with Brody. “He’ll get the help he needs. Now let’s go.”

  Charlie glanced up at her and tipped his head toward her.

  Her chest hurt so much it was as though she’d been shot, not Brody. She couldn’t take in enough oxygen. Her lungs were on fire. “Please, I need to stay. Make sure he’ll be all right.” His arm had been a bloody mess and that was all that occupied her mind.

  “Go now and I’ll see what we can do later,” the blond marshal said, a look in his eyes that told her he understood.

  She nodded. As she strode toward the elevator, she looked back again and saw Brody move. Her heart cracked. The farther away from him she went the more it ripped until it seemed to be in two pieces—one moved forward with her, and the other stayed behind with him.

  * * *

  “I won’t leave Anchorage until I see Brody. You all owe me that. He put himself in front of a bullet for me. I can’t walk away without thanking him, and making sure with my own eyes that he’s all right.” Arianna paced the conference room at the U.S. Marshals office.

  “I’ll get a message to him. You can write one, and I’ll make sure he gets it.” Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Walter Quinn sat at the table with the other two marshals now responsible for her.

  She stopped, balling her hands at her sides. “No. I won’t go until I see him. I’m losing everything. The least you all can do is give me this.”

  “Fine, I’ll arrange it tomorrow morning,” Marshal Quinn said in a tight voice.

  The stress knotting her insides unraveled some. She’d be able to thank him. To see him one last time. Say goodbye. She took the seat nearest her. “What’s being done about the leak in this office?”

  “We’re wading through the information you all gave us and we’re interrogating Boris Mankiller and Stefan Krasnov. We’ll give the first one a deal that’ll be hard to refuse if he gives up the person responsible for the leak.”

  “Have you identified all the people found at the cabin and the surrounding area?”

  “Yes, and one was Kevin Laird. The person not far from him worked for Rainwater. We’re not sure the fire was deliberate. There’s evidence it was started by a cigarette. Kevin smoked. We have theorized that he was smoking when he was killed by Rainwater’s man. It looks like his throat was cut. From the way the bodies were laid out, it seems that Rainwater’s guy was trying to put out the fire, but somehow the flames engulfed him.”

  “Probably not long after, Kevin notified Mark Baylor he was coming back to the cabin.” Arianna rose again, too restless to sit long.

  Marshal Quinn’s eyes grew round. “We thought it was Baylor, with the kind
of debt he had.”

  “The more I think about this the more I think it was Kevin, not Mark. When we were looking into each marshal’s background, I noticed Kevin’s brother was in the military here. He works in supplies at the base. I also read there have been some supplies missing over the past year—weapons. One of the things Rainwater deals in is arms. Kevin wanted this assignment. When he first came to the office in Anchorage, he told everyone he was there to be near his brother, but I think it was more than that. Because your agency staff is small, you work with all the law enforcement groups in the area. Not a bad person to have on your payroll if you’re a criminal like Rainwater.”

  “Then why would Rainwater have him killed?”

  Arianna gripped the back of the chair. “I don’t think Rainwater wanted Kevin found out. It would give him a chance to turn on him. Maybe Kevin’s usefulness had come to an end. I imagine it won’t take too long for the military police to find the person responsible for the missing weapons. Kevin’s brother may even be dead by now. Things are falling apart for Rainwater. He’s getting desperate, especially because he’s probably facing life in prison.”

  A frown slashed across Marshal Quinn’s mouth. “We need evidence. Even with the man dead, I can’t function if there’s any chance a mole is in my department.”

  “You can get it. Dig into his financial records. Kevin, in all his youthfulness, was smart. His major in college was finance. He hid his money well, but with time you have the resources to find where he buried the money Rainwater paid him. Also, if his brother isn’t dead, he’ll be an asset.” She began pacing again. “But the most telling thing was that Mark let the assailants into the cabin. He wouldn’t have if Kevin had given him the signal indicating he was being forced. Kevin never did. When I looked at the suspected marshals from all angles, that was what made me think it could be Kevin. It would have been hard to jump Kevin outside unless he was expecting someone. Shooting him yes, but not up close and personal with a knife.”

  Ted came into the conference room. “Brody is out of surgery and the jury is out on Rainwater.”

  A pounding behind her eyes intensified. “I should have been at the hospital,” she said more to herself. Then louder, she asked, “The defense didn’t have too many witnesses?”

  “No. Three, then each attorney gave their closing remarks.” Ted studied her. “Brody will be all right. The doc said the bullet that hit his vest cracked a rib, the one that grazed his head didn’t really hurt him except to leave a scar. And the doctors were able to repair his arm. They feel he’ll regain full use of it in time.”

  Arianna massaged her temples. “Thanks, Ted.” She swept her gaze from one marshal to the next. “I’m tired and would like to rest.”

  They all scrambled to their feet as if they were remiss for keeping her so long.

  “We have a place here for you. We don’t want to move you but once. That’ll be tomorrow morning.” Marshal Quinn waved for her to go ahead of him out of the conference room.

  All she wanted was peace and time by herself. She knew she wouldn’t sleep until she saw Brody alive. There would be plenty of time in her lonely future to sleep.

  In an office where they had set up a cot for her, she sat and stared at the floor. God, I’m Yours. Whatever You have in store for me in this new life, I’ll do it the best I can. Thank You for saving Brody. I don’t know what I would have done if he’d died because of me.

  * * *

  The next morning, the two marshals who were taking her to her new home escorted her to a car. The blond one opened the back door for her, and she started to climb inside when she saw Brody sitting in the backseat. She’d thought they would take her to the hospital.

  “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be laid up in bed.” She smiled and slid in beside him, wanting so badly to take him into her embrace, hold him and never let go. She stayed where she was, clasping her hands tightly together in her lap.

  “I broke out. At least temporarily, with Walter’s help.” Brody gestured toward the driver in the front seat.

  She drank in the wonderful sight of him, battered but alive. His left arm was in a sling, a white bandage on the side of his head. “You should be in the hospital.” The bruises from Mankiller the day before had swollen one eye and his lips, with a cut across the bottom one.

  “I heard you demanded to see me before you left.” His mouth curved into a smile for a few seconds, a gleam sparkling in his eyes. “It was too dangerous to take you to the hospital. I know how stubborn you can be, and even if they tried to take you away, I was afraid you would evade your protective team and come anyway to the hospital. So I told them I would come to you. Did you write a letter to your parents?”

  She fumbled for her purse, her hands shaking. “Yes, and one to each of my brothers. I appreciate you delivering them to my family. That means so much to me, but...” Her throat swelled, making it difficult to say what was in her heart.

  “I’m glad to do it. I’ll have some time to. It’ll be a while before I’m fully recuperated to work again. I’ll probably pester the doctor weekly until I can go back to my job.”

  “You enjoy your work like I did.”

  “It’s all I know really, and despite how I look, this last assignment turned out a success. On the way over here my boss got a call. The jury came back half an hour ago with a guilty verdict for Rainwater. Also, Walter told me they arrested Kevin’s brother in the late hours of the night. He was hiding from Rainwater’s men. He’ll testify to what he knows about the man’s weapons trafficking. He’d been working for him for several years, even recruited Kevin for Rainwater, but when he heard Kevin died at the cabin, he knew he was next. You were right. I was still thinking it was Mark.”

  “Praise God everything is wrapping up—except for Esther,” Arianna said. “Marshal Quinn told me they still haven’t found her or her body.” She didn’t want to talk about the case, but there was something about Brody, a restrained, aloof posture, that told her anything else would be met with silence.

  “No, and they may never. But Rainwater’s organization is beginning to unravel. Even Stefan Krasnov is making a deal with the prosecutor.”

  “Not Mankiller?”

  “I guess he’ll be loyal to the end.” Brody began telling her about the fake police officer that tried to kill her yesterday.

  She heard his words, but they barely registered in her mind. She wanted to tell him she loved him and beg him to come with her. But she wouldn’t. She couldn’t ask him to give up his life as she had to. It was too hard for a person. He deserved better.

  She glanced around and noticed they were pulling up to a private hangar. “I guess it’s time for me to go—wherever. I—I—” she cleared her throat “—want to thank you for saving me several times. You took a bullet for me. That—”

  He put his fingers over her mouth. “It’s my job. You know it. You’re a bodyguard.”

  His touch melted the defenses she was desperately trying to shore up. She wanted so much more. “No, you went beyond your job. You and I both know that. You’ll always have a special place in my heart.” That was the closest she would come to telling him how she felt in person. When her door opened, she peered over her shoulder at the blond marshal. “Just a minute.”

  “I’ll walk you to the plane,” Brody said in a thick voice. He swallowed hard.

  “No. It’s bad enough you escaped the hospital. This is goodbye. I’ve never worked with someone so professional and dedicated as you.” Arianna leaned forward and gently took his face in her hands, aware of his injuries. She whispered her mouth over his, again aware of his wounds. She found a place on his cheek that looked relatively safe to kiss and she did, then pulled away, clambered from the car and hurried toward the airplane. She wouldn’t cry until she was inside. She didn’t want him to see her tears.

  * * *
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br />   Brody watched her go and wanted to go after her. He wouldn’t. What they had experienced was surreal. She’d begin a new life; he’d go back to his old one. Life would continue.

  He settled his hand on the seat next to him. His fingers encountered the envelopes she’d given him. The top one had his name on it. He tore it open, not wanting to read it. But he knew he had to. It was her last communication with him.

  A short note greeted him. All it said was, “I love you, Brody. Have a great life. You’ll always be in my heart. Arianna.”

  He looked up to see the small plane with her on it rise into the air. She’d taken his heart with her.

  * * *

  The sound of a car coming toward her small ranch drew Arianna to the door of her barn in Wyoming. A green Jeep barreled down the gravel road toward her house. She didn’t recognize the car—none of her neighbors or friends in town had that color Jeep.

  She grabbed her rifle and waited in the barn entrance to see who got out of the vehicle. It could be a buyer for one of her horses, but she wouldn’t take any chances. She’d been in Wyoming for nine months, and she had started to do well with her stock of horses. Although the winter had been particularly tough and very lonely, she might be able to make a go at this after all. Getting involved with the playhouse this spring as a makeup artist for its productions had helped, but nothing would heal the deep loneliness she experienced when she allowed herself to think about Brody or her family she’d left behind.

  The Jeep came to a stop near the front of her one-story farmhouse. Its door opened. She lifted her rifle in case it was a stranger. She didn’t know if she would ever feel totally safe—not after all that had happened in Alaska.

  When the person stood, she saw him. Brody. Shock held her immobile for a few seconds before she lowered her rifle and ran toward him.

  Closer to him, she slowed. Why was he here after all this time? Maybe something was wrong. With her parents? Rainwater?

  “What brings you to these parts? And more importantly, how did you find me?” She stopped a few feet from him, the feeling of vulnerability swamping her.