No Place to Hide

by Lynette Eason

  Ian didn’t offer the arguments she saw running through his mind. He simply nodded.

  Jackie walked to the end table, picked up the handset of the phone, and dialed Ron’s number.

  “Can’t they trace that?” he asked.

  “No, they don’t know where we are and I’m calling his throwaway phone.”

  “Oh.”

  “Jackie, you guys all right?” Ron asked, his concern evident.

  “We’re safe for now.” She walked to the window and stayed to the side. She peered around the edge of the curtain and gazed out into the parking lot, taking note of the cars and the people. No one in dark clothes or masks as of yet. “I need the number for Elizabeth Miller.”

  “Hold on a sec, I’ll have to switch phones and make a call.”

  Jackie held, tapping a foot against the carpeted floor. Her thoughts spun.

  Gus rose from the floor and stepped to Ian’s side and nudged his hand. “I’ll have to feed him and let him out. I’ll keep first watch.”

  Jackie thought they might be all right, but she’d thought that at the previous hotel too. “Fine.”

  Ian clipped the leash on Gus and they left the room. Jackie watched the news play while she waited on Ron. She could hear him speaking in the background, but couldn’t make out the words. Five minutes passed and she started to wonder if Ron would be able to get the number after all. Fifteen minutes into her wait, Ian and Gus returned. The dog flopped onto the floor in front of the couch and stretched out.

  A blip about a local couple in their mid-forties caught her attention. They’d been reported missing by their college-aged children. The couple had disappeared from a local mortuary and their car had been found abandoned in a grocery store parking lot with blood on the passenger seat.

  “It’s a shame,” she said.

  “What?”

  “Life. The way it works out sometimes. Most of the time.”

  He lifted a brow. “Go on.”

  She nodded toward the television. “That couple is missing. They walked into a mortuary to finalize the plans to bury his father. And then … what? They disappeared. Why?”

  “I don’t know. Why?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know either, but it’s like you just never know when life is going to throw you a curve ball.”

  “I think our situation clearly demonstrates that point.”

  “Agreed.” She couldn’t help but think about Holly’s staggering news too. And Lucy. Dear, sweet Lucy who would have to face such a thing at her young age. “So …”

  “So?”

  “So how do you keep your faith?”

  “I make sure it doesn’t get lost.”

  She shot him a black look. “That doesn’t help.”

  “Sure it does. I stay focused on the One who really has control in this situation. He’s allowing this to happen for a reason. I don’t know what it is, but I trust that he’s got my back.”

  “Your back’s going to be in prison if we get caught.”

  “Exactly. Which is why I stay prayed up—and have my catcher’s mitt on so I can field all the curve balls.” His smile faded to a frown. “Look, I don’t mean to make light of the situation. I’m scared, but that doesn’t mean God has abandoned me. Life doesn’t always work out the way you want it to, but …”

  She frowned back at him. “Doesn’t that just prove my point?”

  “What point?”

  “Jackie? Are you there?” Ron asked.

  She jerked. She’d almost forgotten she was still connected to him. “I’m here.”

  “Here’s the number.”

  Jackie memorized it. “Thanks.”

  “Let me know what happens and if you need any more help.”

  “Will do.”

  She hung up, tapped the number into the phone, then stared at the device.

  “What point?” Ian asked.

  She blinked and looked up. “What?”

  “You said that just proves your point. What point exactly?”

  “Oh. Right.” She shrugged. “That God just gives up on some people.”

  “Gives up on them? Not at all.”

  She frowned. “How can you say that?”

  “God never promised us perfect. Trouble is going to come.” His brows dipped. “And unfortunately some people are going to seem to have more than their fair share. But he promised us he’d be with us in that trouble.” He cleared his throat. “‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.’”

  “I remember my grandfather quoting that just about every day,” she whispered. “From the Twenty-third Psalm.”

  “Yes.”

  She nodded, then sighed. “It doesn’t feel like he’s with me.”

  “You can’t rely on your feelings. Feelings can be deceptive and lead you down the wrong path. You have to rely on truth.”

  “And God is truth?”

  “Not just truth. Absolute truth. I don’t always understand him, but I do believe him. And I believe he’s truth. So when he says he’s with me in the midst of this mess, I believe him.”

  “But he still lets bad things happen,” she whispered. Her mind flashed to her dead husband, to Holly’s cancer, to her rotten childhood, to having to say goodbye to Ian, to his sister’s death. To her baby. To being on the run from people who wanted to either put them in prison or kill them.

  “Yes, he still allows bad things to happen. He gave us free will. And some people will choose evil. But …”

  “But what?”

  “He still lets good things happen too.”

  She snorted. “Like what?”

  He took her hands and squeezed them. “Like bringing people into our lives just when we need them most.”

  Jackie tilted her head. “You’re talking about me. You really think God put me in your life?”

  “I have no doubt about it.”

  NEW YORK CITY FBI FIELD OFFICE

  “Someone else is after them too.” Elizabeth took a sip of the strong hot coffee and gave a blissful sigh.

  “Yes.” Sam set his half-empty cup on the table between them. “We’ve chased them from South Carolina to Virginia to New York. And someone keeps beating us to them.”

  “How are they tracking them? The only reason we know they were here last night is because someone reported seeing them and the dog get in the vehicle.”

  “They haven’t changed their appearance yet.”

  “Which just means they haven’t had time.”

  “His cousin is with them now.”

  “Yeah, I saw her on the surveillance video.” He took another sip of the coffee and leaned forward. “Why would she go with them?”

  “They probably needed someone who wasn’t immediately recognizable. Her face isn’t on the news yet. According to the report, Ian and his cousin were close as children and still keep in touch in spite of the physical distance.”

  “So she probably wanted to help them. What did Holly’s father have to say?”

  “Just that he told his daughter to stay away from Ian, but she was bullheaded and would most likely ignore him.”

  “Sounds like some interesting family dynamics.”

  They had more leads than they could possibly chase down, but the report of the dog with the couple had sent them after this one. And it had paid off. Security video had captured them leaving out the back of the hotel shortly after several black-dressed individuals were seen entering. They hadn’t attracted any immediate attention with their entrance to the hotel. However another camera had caught the attack on Ian and Jackie.

  And Jackie and Ian defending themselves quite well. They had skills. Good skills. Which explained why they were still not in custody.

  Authorities now had the man Ian had knocked out in an interrogation room. Elizabeth couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say. She itched to question him. Her phone rang and she picked it up. It was her Special Agent in Charg
e in South Carolina. “Hello, Cole.”

  “Elizabeth, I’ve got some news.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Red Peters, the man who was captured after attacking Lockwood and Sellers, was killed while in custody about an hour ago.”

  “What?” She shot to her feet and began pacing. “How?” Sam lifted a brow and she put the phone on speaker. “Sam’s listening too.”

  “He was being taken to the magistrate’s office along with several other prisoners when a fight broke out among two of the other inmates. There was some confusion and when the smoke cleared, Red’s throat was cut and he was dead.”

  Elizabeth drew in a deep breath. “Someone got to another inmate. They didn’t want Red talking. Cole, he was in custody. If someone could get to him there—”

  “Yeah, we watched the video footage, but whoever it was knew the angles of the cameras, knew which area was slightly off camera, and that’s when he struck. The fighting inmates covered him too. It was a tangle of bodies and everyone had blood on them by the time they were separated. It’s impossible to see who actually did the murder. He was dressed in prison orange and blended in. The shank was on the floor and we’ll check it for prints, but don’t hold your breath. We’re still picking apart the video and hopefully will be able to have something soon, but even if we know who it was, he might not be able to tell us who hired him.”

  “These people have power, but they’re not perfect. They’re scrambling. They’re fighting to keep their plan from derailing completely, so they’re having to wing it.”

  “Possibly.”

  “No possibly about it.” The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. “They’re going to mess up.”

  “Well, if what you say is true, they already messed up when they went after Lockwood and Sellers.”

  “Exactly. But who?”

  “We’re working on figuring that out now. We’re also going to plaster Red Peters’ face all over the news networks and see if we can get some solid leads to chase down. He has a rap sheet a mile long. He also recently made it onto the terrorist watch list.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes burned and she pressed her fingers against them. Her phone beeped indicating another call. She glanced at the screen. “It’s Yosef.” Yosef Anschel with the ATF.

  “Take it,” Cole said. “I’ll be in touch later.”

  Sam nodded. “Yosef’s examining the explosives found at Lockwood’s apartment.”

  “Bye, Cole. Keep me updated.” She switched to the other call. “Hello?”

  “How’s my favorite Special Agent?” Yosef asked.

  Elizabeth smiled. She really liked this serious man who never got ruffled. Steady, intelligent, quiet. She’d never heard him raise his voice. “She’s wondering what you’ve managed to unearth.”

  “Your buddy didn’t buy this stuff they took out of his home.”

  Elizabeth leaned forward. “Okay. Why not? How do you know?”

  “Because it was stolen.”

  “By Lockwood? Stolen from where?”

  “Doesn’t look like it was Lockwood, but I’ll get to that in a minute. It was taken from an area the highway department was working on. They were clearing out part of I-40 where there had been a rockslide. The guy I talked to said an inspection crew came by to do a routine check. Had all of the right uniforms and ID. The supervisor showed them all of the properly stored TNT, blasting caps, et cetera, signed the paperwork, and they took off. Later that same day, another inspection crew showed up. The supervisor was naturally confused, but agreed to another inspection. It was at that point they found the missing TNT.”

  “So we have a fake inspection crew who managed to steal the TNT. But Lockwood wasn’t with them.”

  “Right.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “We showed pictures. Ones of him in disguise and ones of him before he started changing his appearance. Lockwood wasn’t identified as part of the crew.”

  “Then who was?”

  “That, my dear, is the million-dollar question. We are working on it.”

  “So maybe Lockwood hired someone?” Sam said.

  “Hmm,” Yosef said. “It’s possible, I suppose, but Lu doesn’t think so.”

  Lu Gans, the profiler. “What does Lu think?”

  “That someone’s setting him up.”

  “What’s her reasoning?”

  “Number one—why would he keep the explosives in his home? Let’s stretch it and say he was stupid and did so. The TNT wasn’t stolen until after he was on the run and, from all accounts, in New York.”

  Elizabeth shook her head and paced from one end of the room to the other. “What else?”

  “Number two—nothing in his past has even suggested he would sell out his country or consider mass murder. In fact, everything suggests the complete opposite. His sister served in Afghanistan. Ian was one of her biggest supporters. And before you ask, no, there’s nothing in his behavior to suggest that he’s bitter about his sister’s death and wants to get even for it.”

  “And number three?”

  “Number three—you have the video showing Ian at the convenience store around the time Daniel was killed. As skilled as he’s been at avoiding capture, even he can’t be in two places at once.”

  Her phone beeped in. “Hang on.” She switched lines. “Hello?”

  “Is this Elizabeth Miller?”

  “It is.”

  “This is Jackie Sellers and we need to talk.”

  23

  4:00 P.M.

  Jackie heard the woman’s indrawn breath. “How did you get this number?”

  “I have friends in high places too. I know you’re not the Special Agent in Charge, but I know you’re an agent from South Carolina and are part of the task force. I also know you’re in New York. My friend said you’re trustworthy and an outstanding agent, not prone to jump to conclusions and you think things out.”

  Silence. “Wow. I’m impressed. You do have friends in high places. Where do you want to meet?”

  “I don’t want to meet you anywhere. I’m going to send you a text. It’s a picture of an email Ian Lockwood received from Cedric Wainwright. It’s what started this whole thing. He saw something he wasn’t supposed to see and now someone wants him dead. I’m helping him, so that makes me a target too.”

  “I see.”

  “No, I don’t think you do, but you will. You’ll need a cryptologist to work on it most likely. It’s all in code.”

  “Why did you run to New York?”

  “Because something’s going to happen here and we need to stop it.”

  “How do you know?”

  Jackie sighed. “Actually, I don’t. It’s a guess. But trust me, as soon as we know, you’ll know.” She paused. “I hope you figure it out before we do.”

  “Mrs. Sellers—”

  “Jackie.”

  “Fine. Jackie. You and Ian need to come in and let’s talk this thing out. There are agents working the case in New York. Just call the field office. I’ll give you the number. Or if you don’t want to do that, just tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”

  “Not yet. I don’t think we have time for that.”

  “What’s the urgency?”

  Now Jackie was stuck. She nearly groaned her frustration. She didn’t know exactly what the urgency was, she just knew she had to get off the phone. The minute she’d called, they’d no doubt pinged her location. She shivered in the cold and pulled the coat Ron had provided tighter against her throat. God bless Ron. He’d thought of everything. She’d walked at least four miles in the light snow to get away from the hotel. They might get her current location, but they’d have no idea which hotel they were in. Unless, of course, they started calling around and asking about three people and a dog.

  Jackie pulled the phone from her ear, found the text she’d readied, and pressed send. “Did you get it?”

  “Hang on.”

  She started walking. Couldn’t s
tay in one place too long. She walked into the nearest bar and pressed the phone harder against her ear. “Well?”

  “I got it.” Elizabeth sounded distracted.

  “Good.”

  “Don’t hang up yet.”

  Jackie laughed. “Right.”

  “No. Wait. Please. Ian’s not guilty, is he?”

  “No.”

  “Then why run?”

  “I think that’s obvious. Because he can’t prove it. Yet. Cedric Wainwright is one powerful man and he’s trying to make Ian—and me now—the fall guy for seeing whatever is in that email. If he goes to prison and tries to wait on the feds to figure it all out, he’ll be dead before you can prove his innocence. Our innocence.” She sighed. “You know what I mean.”

  “I know you’re getting ready to hang up. How can I get in touch with you?”

  “You can’t,” Jackie said. “But … I have a feeling you’re the only one who believes Ian and I could possibly be innocent. Stand by. I think we’re going to need you.”

  “There are other agents—”

  “No, you.”

  Elizabeth paused. “Fine. I’m here and I want to get to the bottom of this as badly as you do.”

  “I seriously doubt that. I’ll call you soon.” She hung up, dropped the phone onto the nearest table, and headed for the back of the bar. She slipped out the side door and into the falling snow.

  Ian paced the floor of the hotel room, worry for Jackie eating at him. He should have gone with her, but she’d argued they were more recognizable as a couple. Gus whined from his spot on the floor. Ian sighed. “I know, buddy. She’ll be fine. Right?”

  Gus settled his nose between his paws and let his gaze follow Ian from one end of the small area to the other.

  Until Jackie finally darkened the door.

  Ian pounced. “Well?”

  “She got the text. They’ll have someone working on the code soon enough.”

  He sank onto the couch. “Thank God.”

  Jackie snorted. “Why do you have to bring him into this?”

  He rubbed his eyes. “Because if it weren’t for him I’d be falling apart.”

  She swallowed. “Oh.” Then picked at nonexistent lint on her sweatshirt while she processed that. “I did notice that even as a teenager and all of the rotten things were happening to you in school, you never turned your back on God.”