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