She returned to the ancient wooden rocking chair, humming an unknown tune as she closed her eyes, the Desert Eagle resting on her lap. I wasn’t fooled by her faking sleep.
I leaned against the pump and dozed myself, awakened by chatter as two people approached the house. Granny’s eyes opened, and she pointed the gun at Martin Dale, the keynote speaker, and a brunette woman with him.
“Mom, put the gun down. It’s not even loaded,” Dale said as he shook his head. The woman walked over and took the gun from the older woman, carrying it into the house.
She pointed to me. “He don’t know that. Look how Judy’s two idiots secured him to the pump. Why, if I didn’t have the gun, he’d-a just rolled over and took off. I’m guessin’ they brought him here for a reason.” The woman’s voice was harsh.
She finished her drink and went into the shitty cabin through the crooked screen door that gave a spine-tingling screech when she opened it, slamming loudly when it closed.
Martin Dale walked over to where I was resting against the rusty pump you couldn’t pay me to drink from. “Now, what do we have here? Aaron and Abner told me you’re a homosexual. Is that true?”
I laughed, trying not to sound hysterical. “Based on faulty assumptions.” I pulled up the sleeve of my sweatshirt to show him my tattoo. “I have an appointment on Monday to get it fixed.”
Dale’s right eyebrow lifted. “Don’t you need to get on the bus and head back to base with the rest of the guys?”
The panic was settling into my gut as I searched my brain for how Heath phrased it when he took vacation time while he was still in the Army. “I, uh, I’m on leave until the Fourth of July. I just got back from a shitty deployment in— Oh, I can’t tell ya that. Classified.”
I remembered Heath telling Granddad Chuck the same thing. Granddad always said, “Who the hell am I gonna tell?”
Martin Dale smirked. “Okay, Rambo, let’s go inside. Those two numb skulls couldn’t find their way out of a wet paper bag. Untwist your leg because I don’t have the key. I’ll make them find it later.”
I did as he asked and stood. “What are you gonna do with me?”
“I’m going to get the truth out of you and decide what to do with you after. I promise I’ll do whatever I gotta, and I’m not gonna lie... It’ll hurt you a lot more than it will me.”
Chapter Six
Jericho
Sunday evening, we ordered a damn good pizza. Once we finished eating, Sean went to the primary bedroom while I settled my clothes in the spare room, though I’d sleep on the couch so I could be the first line of defense if someone tried to get into the condo. I was lights-out at ten.
Monday morning, my eyes opened at five like usual. There were no sounds in the condo, so I dozed until six, grateful for the extra rack time. I made myself a cup of coffee, wishing the Wallis’s had a regular coffee pot like the one Mom and I had at the ranch. Making a whole pot was a lot more convenient than one cup at a time, though the coffee tasted better from the one-cup machine.
I scrolled through the news on my phone, not seeing a word about the explosion at the Eye Street Building on Friday. Someone was keeping a tight lid on it, and I was guessing it was the cops, not wanting to give the culprits any glory or indication that they were looking at anyone in particular as a person of interest.
I figured I’d better check in with Lawry Schatz since he—or his organization—paid my fee. I sent a text.
Hi, Lawry. I’m with Sean at the Wallis’s condo. The police came over to question him yesterday, informing him that there was a body burned beyond recognition in the trunk of Sean’s car. An unmarked van with no license plate blocked the view of Sean’s car from the security cameras for 15 minutes early Friday morning. The garage cameras caught 1 shot of the front windshield. 2 occupants, both covered with red ball caps, sunglasses, and flag-colored kerchiefs. That’s all we know at this point. Jericho
It was early to send the message, but I had information to report, so I did. What Schatz did with it wasn’t my call.
Shuffling in the hallway caught my attention, so I glanced at the clock on the microwave to see that it was just after seven. Where had the time gone?
Under ordinary circumstances, I’d be spreading manure by now. It was nice to be sitting in a fancy kitchen with a cup of coffee for a change.
“Good morning,” Sean said as he went to the coffee maker and grabbed a pod, picking up the mug I left for him.
“Good morning. What’s on your agenda for today?”
“I’ll work from here today, but beginning tomorrow, I have meetings on The Hill and lunch meetings as well. I’m not sure how we handle those. I’m going to guess you’ll want to be close but maybe we can keep you out of sight. I’m not trying to be a bastard, but I don’t want this bullshit to overshadow what I’m trying to accomplish before Congress takes the holiday break for Fourth of July.”
My phone buzzed on the table, so I picked it up to see a text from Lawry Schatz.
Thanks for the update. I need you to call me when you get a minute. We need you to do a few things to get an expedited security officer license in DC so you can accompany Sean to Capitol Hill tomorrow. It won’t take long. My boss was able to streamline the process. Schatz
I sent a thumbs-up and flipped my phone over so I wasn’t distracted. I wasn’t sure what Schatz had to say or how necessary it was for me to get a security officer license. I didn’t plan to take up being a bodyguard as a career path. I was already doing what I loved in Davidsonville.
“Okay. I’ve got an errand to run that will take me into DC. Do you need me to get you anything while I’m out?”
