No Place to Hide

by Lynette Eason

  “Consider it done.”

  “We’re going to give her the tablet?” Ian murmured in her ear.

  “We are.” His lips brushed her ear and she shivered, pulling back and clearing her throat. “Thanks, Ron.” She hung up and shook her head. With another glance at the cabbie who didn’t seem to be paying them one bit of attention, she leaned even closer to Ian. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. She breathed in his unique scent, musky cologne, and hotel soap. “This is bigger than us. This has something to do with a smallpox virus being delivered, the rest of that code, you—us—being set up as terrorists. This is so huge.”

  “That guy who was killed, we saw him on the news.”

  “Who?”

  “You were pointing out the news scroll going across the bottom of the screen and I thought you wanted me to watch what was on the television. I don’t remember the guy’s name, but he and his family were killed. Remember?”

  Jackie frowned. “Yes, actually, I do remember that.”

  “So, he was killed, the government issues statements that the public needs to get a smallpox vaccine. And Holly decodes ‘Smallpox delivered.’”

  Jackie swallowed and rubbed her forehead. “Someone’s getting ready to release the smallpox virus somewhere.”

  “That’s what I’ve come up with.”

  “Then we’re on the same page.”

  “But where?” His frown deepened.

  “New York on standby,” she whispered. “Right here in New York obviously. Just like we suspected, but where in New York?”

  “And when?” They fell silent for a moment. “So how do we stay out of jail and stop them?” he asked.

  “We’re out of our league. We need to invite the big boys to the party.”

  “The FBI.”

  “And whoever else wants to get in on the action,” she murmured.

  James Walden paced while the fires burned at their hottest. Two thousand degrees Fahrenheit would take care of the wood coffin and the body. He glanced at the clock. About another hour and the cooling process would begin.

  His phone rang. He picked up the handset for the cordless phone and began his ascent that would take him up to the main level. “Walden’s Mortuary.”

  “They’re moving again.”

  “Where to?”

  “Looks like they’re headed back to Virginia. At least that’s what the dog’s GPS says.”

  “Follow them. The dog will lead the way.”

  “We’re on it. Oh, and one more thing.”

  “What?”

  “There was some commotion at Wainwright Labs.”

  James stiffened. “Commotion?”

  “There was a small fire. Or some kind of smoke bombs that were released. Wainwright said Lockwood and Sellers were in his office.”

  James swore. “How did that even happen?”

  “I’m not sure of the details, but they grabbed his tablet and he wants it back.”

  “What do I need to do?”

  “Be ready with the fire when we bring them to you.”

  James swallowed. “Fine.”

  “Also Red Peters. I had to take care of him yesterday.”

  “Take care of him?”

  “He’s dead. He got into an argument with two inmates at the prison. Poor guy came out on the losing end and had his throat slit. He won’t be talking anymore.”

  For a moment, James couldn’t breathe. Red had taken care of a lot of the details of the plan. If he’d talked before he’d been silenced—

  He struggled to keep his cool. “Look, if anything else goes wrong, I’m—”

  “You’re what? Bailing?” The voice on the other end let out a laugh. “Right. Try it and see how long you live.”

  Click.

  James lowered the handset onto his desk and leaned his head against the back of the leather chair. He could leave now. Leave the country and never look back.

  But the money. What if they actually pulled this off and he’d run to safety? He would be out millions. And if they got caught, he would know in time to escape anyway. He rubbed his chin and considered his options.

  The millions.

  And knew he’d stay.

  6:00 P.M.

  Jackie pulled in a deep breath and picked up the phone to punch in a number. After grabbing food they’d eaten on the run, she and Ian had managed to hide out in a small hotel off one of the side streets for the past six hours. Long enough for David and Adam to fly to New York. Ron was busy at the cabin in Virginia with Holly and she needed outside help.

  David answered. “I’m here.”

  “Good. You have Elizabeth’s number?”

  “I do. Ron gave it to me.”

  “Okay, you set up the meeting with her and call me back.”

  “I’m on it.”

  “Have you heard from Ron?”

  “He and Holly are tucked away. She’s still working on the code.”

  “The FBI is too. I wonder if they’re any closer to figuring it out.”

  “Haven’t heard.”

  “Yeah. Okay.”

  “Stand by,” David said. “Hope to have something for you soon.”

  She hung up and leaned back against the sofa of the common room in the hotel suite they’d managed to snag. She’d tried to rest, but sleep had eluded her and now she felt punchy with exhaustion.

  The door to the hotel room opened and Ian stepped into the living area. “I’ve got food,” he said.

  Jackie swung her legs over the side of the bed and walked to sit at the table. Ian held up a huge bag of fast food. Jackie’s stomach rumbled its anticipation and he smiled. A real smile. Not forced, not strained.

  “Glad I could do something right today.”

  She shot him an answering smile. Thank goodness, money wasn’t an issue and they could afford the large suites with two or three rooms. It made it so much easier to have each other’s back—and not worry about the awkwardness that sharing a hotel room would bring on.

  Ian distributed the food and took the chair opposite her. “Do you think this is going to work?”

  “It has to.”

  He took a bite of his hamburger and studied her. She sipped on her milkshake. “What?”

  “What?” he echoed.

  “You’re staring at me.”

  “I was just wondering about your husband.”

  She froze for a second before reaching for a French fry. Chewing slowly, she finally swallowed and managed to nod. “What do you want to know?”

  “He must have been special. He would have had to have been in order to capture your heart.”

  “He was special.” She sighed and closed her eyes for a brief moment.

  “You’re still in love with him.”

  She thought about that, then opened her eyes. “No. I’m not.”

  Ian stilled. “Really?”

  “Really.” She pursed her lips. “It’s been over six years. I think about him, I miss the way things were, and I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for him, maybe even a special love, but no, I’m not in love with him anymore.”

  “Then why does it look like you’re in agony when you talk about him?”

  “Agony?” She gave a sharp, humorless laugh. “No, that would be guilt, not agony.”

  “Oh.” He took a bite of his hamburger. “Guilt because he died and you didn’t?”

  “Yes. Among other things.”

  “Can you tell me about it?”

  Jackie’s mind spun. “He was a great guy. I already told you the story of how we married and how he was killed at a convenience store.”

  “Yes.”

  “What I didn’t tell you was that … I sent him there. I sent him to the convenience store in the middle of the night for an ice cream sandwich.” She cleared her throat at the sudden tightness. “I was pregnant,” she whispered. “And I wanted ice cream. And John wanted to give me anything I desired. To satisfy my every craving. And I was happy to let him do it.”
She drew in a shaky breath. “And he died because I made him go out in the middle of the night when he should have been home in bed next to me.”

  28

  6:15 P.M.

  Ian stared at Jackie. He understood a little more about why she blamed herself for her husband’s death. And shock zipped through him at the fact that she’d been pregnant. “You were pregnant?”

  “Yes.”

  “What happened to the baby?”

  Jackie let out a tearful laugh. “It doesn’t matter,” she whispered.

  “Of course it does. Did you … ?”

  She jumped to her feet. “It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past. Let’s leave it there.” She went to her room and slammed the door.

  Ian stared at the barrier as he worked through this new information. The past was painful for her, he understood that. There were parts of his past that he still avoided thinking about too.

  Jackie had unresolved issues that she needed to deal with. Issues he’d help her work through if she’d let him. But he had a feeling she’d closed a part of herself off from people for so long, she might not remember how to share. To let someone in and be a part of her healing process. Just like he’d like to let her be a part of his.

  He debated whether or not to press the issue. Should he go after her or leave her alone? Before he could make a decision, Jackie came out of the room, phone pressed to her ear. “Okay, I’ll fill him in.” She hung up.

  “What’s the plan?” he asked.

  “David has contacted Elizabeth Miller. He’s set up a meeting with her, telling her that he may know our location, but wants to meet with her before saying anything.”

  “And she bought that?”

  “David didn’t give her a choice. She’ll take a cab to the location he tells her, then she’ll get in the car with him and he’ll bring her to meet us. He wants to make sure she doesn’t bring anyone with her to surprise us. After the meeting, she can grab a taxi and head to wherever she needs to go to report in.”

  “What if she’s wired?”

  “She probably will be. But as soon as she gets into the car with David and Adam, they have a way of blocking any radio signals, including cell phones and body wires.” She paused. “But we’ll tell her to get rid of her phone just in case. There’s new technology out there that allows smartphones to stream live. All they need is a computer to track us. The app runs on the background of the phone even when the phone looks like it’s turned off.”

  He nodded.

  “Once he’s sure it’s safe, he’ll tell us where to meet them.”

  “How long do we have?”

  “Not long.”

  Less than a minute later, Jackie’s phone rang and Ian lifted a brow. “That was fast.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not David, it’s Holly.” She slid her finger across the screen.

  “Put her on speaker.”

  Jackie did. “Hello?”

  “I’m at the cabin with Ron.”

  Relief tugged at Jackie. “Good.”

  “I talked to Lucy. She sounded great.” Jackie could hear the tears in her friend’s voice.

  “She’ll be just fine.”

  “She’s excited. She gets to ride on a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Maria, another friend who also has a little boy in Lucy’s class, works for a float building company. Somehow Maria arranged for the whole class to ride.”

  “The whole class?”

  “Well, there are only twelve in the class, but they’re so excited.”

  “That’s awesome,” Jackie said, but frowned.

  “Lucy actually had to go stay with Maria. Carissa’s son, Micah, has strep throat. She couldn’t reach me so made the decision to send Lucy over to stay with Maria.”

  “Are you all right with that?”

  “Yes, Maria’s wonderful, she’s just really busy right now, so her mother’s going to have to take care of both kids. She says she’s fine with it. Lucy adores Lewis so she’s happy too. I guess it’s all right. I don’t like not being there for her.”

  Jackie heard the underlying meaning behind her friend’s words. “You’ll be there for her.”

  Holly changed the subject. “I worked on this code the whole way here and I think I’ve figured more of it out.”

  “Great. What?”

  “Okay, the first two lines I’m still pretty sure about: New York on Standby and smallpox delivered. The third, fourth, and fifth lines I just can’t figure out what they could be. I think if it’s underlined, it means what you think it means.”

  “So Cnt:T8R. That’s underlined. What does that mean? Contact Tater?”

  “Or someone named Tate R. And I think the symbols to the right are a phone number.”

  Jackie bit her lip. “What number?”

  “I’ve worked it several different ways, but when I do it one way, I get a number with a 212 area code.”

  “Which is New York.”

  “Exactly. I’m not a hundred percent sure, so I want to keep playing with it.”

  Finally, they were getting somewhere. “Good job, Holly. I’ll pass this on to Special Agent Miller.”

  “Be careful.”

  “We will.”

  “The FBI are watching me. Lockwood and Sellers must have delivered the tablet to them,” Wainwright told the person on the other end of the line.

  “You were stupid leaving it lying around like that. Is my name on there anywhere?”

  Wainwright drew in a deep breath and decided to ignore the insult. Besides, it had been stupid. “Of course not. Have you located them?”

  “In the mountains of Virginia.”

  “How soon can you take care of them?”

  “We’re on our way now.”

  Wainwright clicked a few keys on his keyboard. It was time for him to vacate the United States. Looked like his pilot was going to earn a bonus this flight. He’d schedule the flight, then have the pilot take him somewhere else off grid. Once the plan was carried out, the money would be wired to his offshore account that was in another name. He didn’t have to be in the United States to get the money.

  “If you fail, we’re done,” the voice hissed. “I chose you because you were the one person I thought I could count on.”

  “You chose me because I could be bought.”

  “Well, yes, but—”

  “Don’t worry. Failure isn’t an option. My whole future is riding on this deal.”

  “I’m glad we agree.”

  Ian and Jackie sat in the back of the cab for ten minutes while they watched the restaurant and those who entered and left.

  “You think it’s all right?” Ian asked.

  “David texted me and said to come on in. She’s here.”

  Jackie took one more look around. “If there are feds here waiting to pounce, I don’t see them.”

  “Isn’t that the point?”

  She gave a low laugh. “True, but I can usually pick them out when I know they’re around.”

  “Hopefully, David was able to keep them from getting directions.”

  Ian paid the driver and they slipped from the back of the cab. Jackie had the tablet in her bag. She wrapped the straps around her hand and followed Ian into the restaurant. Adam stood guard just inside the door and gave them a slight nod as they walked past.

  Immediately, her eyes landed on David and a woman with jet black hair. Her Asian heritage was evident with her almond eyes and olive complexion. She stood, her expression guarded. Wary. Jackie held out her hand. “Jackie Sellers.”

  “Special Agent Elizabeth Miller. Call me Elizabeth.” She dropped Jackie’s hand and let her gaze land on Ian.

  “I’m Ian Lockwood,” he said.

  He and Elizabeth shook hands. She glanced at David. “I’m feeling a bit outnumbered.”

  They all sat. “No need to worry,” David said. “No one here wants any trouble.”

  “On the contrary,” Jackie said, pulling the tablet from her bag and pushing it across
the table to the agent. “There’s proof of all kinds of trouble on here. You just need to find it.”

  “What kind of proof?” Elizabeth didn’t touch the device, instead she reached into her own bag and pulled out a pair of gloves and a large paper bag. She slipped on the gloves and powered the tablet up. “Password?”

  Jackie shook her head. “I have no idea.”

  Elizabeth turned the device off, slipped the tablet into the bag, and sealed it. She then proceeded to write the contents, the date, and time on the outside of the fold. “Then how do you know there’s evidence of anything on here?”

  “Because of whose office I took it from.”

  “And if there’s nothing on here, he’ll press charges of theft.”

  Jackie held her gaze. “That’s the least of my worries right now. The proof is there, you just have to find it. Of course, I can’t prove the tablet actually belongs to him and he will say it doesn’t if you ask him, but it does, and I’m sure there’s something on there that will prove it.”

  The woman nodded. “It’s probably as simple as it being registered in his name or his company’s. I’ll get this to someone who can find out what’s on here. In the meantime, I’m going to have to ask you to turn yourselves in. It really is in your best interests. Obviously you’ve made someone mad and they’re out to get you. We can protect you while you’re in custody.”

  Jackie sighed. “We can’t do that. That was the whole reason for meeting you here without any of your backup. Has your cryptologist figured out that coded email yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “We’ve got more.”

  Elizabeth held up a hand and looked around. “Hold on, where’s the dog?”

  Ian and Jackie exchanged a glance. Jackie lifted a brow and shrugged.

  “He’s with a friend,” Ian said. “We thought it would be less conspicuous if we didn’t have him with us. Why?”

  Elizabeth pinched the bridge of her nose. “So he is in Virginia.”

  Jackie stilled and looked at David. “How would she know that?”

  David shook his head and they stared at Elizabeth. “Dr. Jason Arnold was shot in the head yesterday,” she said.

  “What?” Ian yelled and surged to his feet. Jackie grabbed his arm and pulled him down beside her. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “I’m saying something now. He’s hanging on to his life by a thread at a hospital in South Carolina.”