“Especially because she probably thinks you’re a small-town Barney Fife type. No offense,” Spencer added quickly.
“None taken. Iamsmall town,” Pops said. “But maybe we can use that to our advantage. That woman has to know more about what’s going on. She’s our best chance, and maybe if all the alphabet soups are waiting on her, we can get her to talk about what she knows.”
“What can we offer her, though?” Spencer asked. “Or use to get her talking.”
Pops sat back in his chair and stretched. To say this had turned into an exhausting week was an understatement.
Lucas leaned forward in his chair. “She seemed upset about the guy who was shot. Maybe he meant something to her. Maybe we can throw in that we’ll make sure justice happens, but it’ll help us if she’ll talk. We can’t get justice otherwise.”
“I guess it depends on how much she cared for him,” Pops said. “Like were they more than friends?”
“I noticed a diamond bracelet in her belongings when I booked her, and she doesn’t seem like the diamond type. Maybe this guy gave it to her? Or maybe it was meant as a payment for killing Josh, even though she didn’t succeed. What if she needs to get it back to the leader of the gang? Her life could be in jeopardy if she doesn’t do what she’s supposed to. There’s only one way we can find out. Let’s see if she’ll talk and go from there,” Lucas said.
“Agreed,” Pops said. “Let’s do it.”
He stared out the window, thinking about the big decision that weighed on him. The one he’d been waiting to say anything about until this mess was cleaned up.
If this mess was cleaned up.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Maya and Rory had moved their vehicles down the road to a location where it was harder to spot them. Not impossible, but harder. Juniper was circling in her compartment, ready to get out and go to work again.
“Don’t worry, girly, you’re going to get to do something soon,” Maya told her. Juniper gave a little whine and a short yip.
The wind had died down, but clouds had moved over and the temperature was dropping fast. The first flakes of snow started to fall.
“I guess this spring storm is moving in,” Rory said.
“Hopefully it holds off enough to keep the roads clear so that the FBI can get here,” Maya said, jumping up and down on her tippy-toes to stay warm. She could only hope that the timing went down right and the FBI would arrive by the time the senator or whoever showed up.
They were all in position and waiting. Maya and Rory were staying by their vehicles until more officers arrived. The area where they had parked would allow them to approach the building safely and, thanks to the trees along the way, as concealed as possible. Josh and Elena were in the classroom. Josh had prepped Elena on some tactics and where to take cover if things went bad. The anticipation of what would happen kept an electric feeling in the air. Would anyone show? There was always a chance that they were way off base and the senator had nothing to do with this, but Maya didn’t bet on it.
They all had radios and Josh had a gun, although they needed to assume that the senator’s security detail would search him and take it away. Elena had the knife that she had shown she was so adept at using. She had it tucked into her bra. They would feel it if someone patted her down, but they were all betting on Tony and Ian worrying more about Josh and less about Elena.
Just as Maya was about to go crazy with anticipation, an FBI vehicle pulled in next to her. Thank God. Agent Kessler stepped out and came over to her. They’d worked several cases together and she had the utmost respect for him. He was a solid agent.
“Anything yet?” he asked.
“No, nothing. Josh hasn’t radioed anything either.”
“I should go arrest him first,” Kessler said.
“I know, but I think we’ll be able to prove he’s innocent. I promise Josh will turn himself in when this is all over. He wants to be cleared of these crimes too.”
“I hope so. I’m also very curious about this senator. I looked into him, and he’s pretty clean for a politician.”
“He’s not that clean,” Maya said. “If the wrong person was serving time for murdering your daughter, wouldn’t you want to find out who really did it?”
“I would,” Kessler said. “That way I could kill the person.”
“Exactly—you have passion about the thought of it. The senator barely acknowledges anything. It’s like he doesn’t want to think about it.”
Kessler shrugged. “He may not.”
“Is the HRT coming soon? Hopefully they’re right behind you,” Maya said.
“They are running a little behind. They were held up and coming from Denver, so it’ll take them longer.”
