His mood darkened. Apparently he wasn’t ready for that to happen.
“It’s getting late. We need to get going.” While he left to deal with the condom and get dressed, Jessie freshened up and rearranged her clothes. She was ready to leave when he returned. Only the flush in her cheeks gave away what they had been doing. It made him want her all over again.
Disgusted with himself, he scraped a hand through his hair. He needed to stop thinking about Jessie and focus on his upcoming meeting with the general.
Fortunately, life-and-death matters had a way of dulling his sex drive.
Jessie followed Lieutenant Dickerson down the hall to General Holloway’s office, Bran right beside her. She managed not to think about the amazing sex she’d just had by telling herself it would be okay if it happened again.
The general rose from behind his desk, spine straight, short, silver-touched brown hair perfectly groomed. He greeted Jessie, then turned to Bran.
“Captain Garrett. I gather you suffered a rather unpleasant night.”
“The deputies were just doing what they’re paid for, trying to keep all of us safe.”
Holloway nodded, seemed satisfied with his words. “I’ve got questions I need answered. Why don’t we sit down?”
They sat around the same table and chairs Jessie had been seated at earlier that morning.
Holloway focused on Bran. “Let’s start with you explaining what led to the conclusion that the man we now have in custody, Wayne Conrad Coffman, is linked to terrorism. You understand the risk I took in acting on the information Jessie gave me.”
“I do, sir. Completely.” Bran started from the beginning, describing the chain of events that had led to the murder of Jessie’s father, progressed to attempts on Jessie’s life, followed by the murder of Janos Petrov and the arrest of Wayne Coffman, a member of the Aryan Brotherhood. Bran made the case that if Coffman could be induced to implicate Weaver as the man who had hired him, they could pressure Weaver into giving them the name of whoever hired him, someone directly involved in the theft of the chemical weapons. It was the same case Jessie had made, but the general would want to hear from them both.
“Near as we can tell,” Bran said, “Weaver used his Aryan Brotherhood connections to arrange the colonel’s murder. That, combined with someone planting money in a forged offshore account, deflected the investigation away from the real thieves.”
“Weaver was moved from the penitentiary in Georgia to ADMAX because he found a way to continue giving orders to the Brotherhood,” Jessie said. “We believe that’s exactly what he’s still doing.”
“After I spoke to you this morning,” the general said, “I received a call from Special Agent Tripp, CID. Weaver’s first name is Edgar. He’s been convicted of three brutal murders and been implicated in half a dozen more.”
“Fits what we were told,” Bran said.
“CID investigators specifically asked Coffman about Weaver, but he insists he’s innocent of all charges and says he’s never heard of anyone by that name.”
“Apparently, he’s more afraid of the man who hired him than being held on terrorism charges,” Jessie said.
“Which gives you an idea of the kind of man we’re dealing with,” Bran stated.
The general sat up a little straighter. “Our people are good at what they do. They’ll be pressing Coffman hard, but from what they tell me, I’m not convinced anything short of waterboarding will get him to talk—and you know the odds of that happening.”
Jessie thought of the fifteen thousand pounds of missing chemical weapons and the hundreds of lives at stake and understood the moral dilemma.
The general rose from the table. “I’ll let you know if anything changes. I’d appreciate if you’d do the same for me. Should you run across information that might give us a break in the case, I want you to call me.” He handed Bran and Jessie each a card. “My direct number is listed at the bottom.”
“Thank you, sir,” Bran said.
“In the meantime, unless we can come up with a credible link between Coffman and the missing weapons, he’ll be released back into civilian custody to face multiple murder charges.”
Bran’s jaw clenched. “I’d appreciate if you’d hold him as long as you possibly can.”
The general nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
