Saving Faith By: David Baldacci

the slip, you’ve got me dead on. And I’m sure you can run much faster

than I can.” She stood. “And you know I can’t call in the FBI, now,

can I?”

She eyed him for a moment longer, apparently daring him to challenge

her logic.

“Okay.”

“What’s your new name? I’ll need it for your ticket.”

“Charles Wright.”

She winked at him. “And your friends call you Chuck?”

He gave her an uneasy smile and then Faith turned and disappeared into

the crowd.

As soon as she was gone, Lee regretted his decision. Sure she had left

her bag, but it only had a few clothes in it, the ones he had given

her! She had her purse with her, which meant she had what she really

needed: her fake ID and her money. Yes, he could see the security gate

from here, but what if she just walked out the front door? What if

that’s what she was doing right now? Without her, he had nothing.

Except some really dangerous people who now knew where he lived. People

who would take great pleasure in breaking his bones one by one until he

told them what he knew, which was nothing. They wouldn’t be thrilled

to hear that. Next stop: your standard landfill burial. That did it.

Lee jumped up, grabbed the bags and headed after her.

CHAPTER 20

THERE WAS A KNOCK ON REYNOLDS’S DOOR. Connie popped his head in.

Reynolds was on the phone but she waved him in.

Connie had two cups of coffee. He put one in front of Reynolds,

together with two cream packets, a sugar and a swizzle stick. She

thanked him with an appreciative smile. He sat down and sipped on his

coffee while she finished her call.

Reynolds put down the phone and started mixing her coffee. “I would

absolutely love some good news, Connie.” She noted that he also had

gone home, showered and changed. Rambling through the woods in the

dark had probably done a real number on his suit, she assumed. His

hair was still damp and the wetness made it seem more gray than usual.

Reynolds kept forgetting that he was in his fifties. Connie just never

seemed to change, always big, always craggy, the weatherbeaten rock

upon which she clung when the riptide gripped her. As it was right

now.

“Do you want lies or the truth?”

Reynolds took a sip of the coffee, sighed and leaned back in her chair.

“Right now, I’m not sure.”

He sat forward, perching his coffee on her desk. “I worked the scene

with the VCU boys. That’s where I started at the Bureau, you know.

Just like old times.” He put his palms flat on his knees and flexed

his thick neck to work out a kink. “Damn, my back feels like Reggie

White’s been doing jumping jacks on it. I’m getting too old for this

kind of work.”

“You can’t retire. I can’t function without you.”

Connie picked up his coffee cup. “The hell you say.” It was obvious,

though, that the remark had pleased him. He sat back, unbuttoned his

jacket and let his belly push through. He let a minute or so pass as

he presumably collected his thoughts.

Reynolds waited patiently. She knew Connie had not come down here to

shoot the breeze with her. He rarely did that with anyone. Reynolds

had learned that just about everything the man did had a specific

purpose. Connie was a true veteran of the ways of bureaucracy and,

consequently, he carried an agenda with him everywhere. While she

thoroughly relied on him for his field expertise and his instincts,

Reynolds never quite lost sight of the fact that she was younger, less

experienced, yet was still his boss; it had to be a sore point with the

man. And she was a woman, to boot, in a field that still didn’t have

many at her level of responsibility. She could not really blame Connie

if he felt resentment toward her. And yet he had never said a negative

word about her, nor had he ever dragged his feet on an assignment in

order to make her look bad. On the contrary, he was methodical to a

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