They sat in caramel faux-leather armchairs, and Raquellegot right to the point of the visit. “Eddie’s gone missing…after his boat exploded—”
Penelope tucked her hair behind an ear and said, “I heard about that…and couldn’t believe it.”
“I was wondering if he might have come here as a safe haven.” Raquelle spoke straightforwardly, again scanning the place. “I know you two weren’t seeing each other, but—”
“Eddie’s not here,” the other woman said succinctly. “I wish he had come to me for help—not that I could’ve done much. Other than strongly suggest he go to the authorities.” She sucked in a deep breath. “But Eddie did call me about a week ago…”
“Really?” Raquelle regarded her. “What did he say?”
“That he had gotten into some trouble—without elaborating. When I asked him what kind of trouble, all Eddie would say was that it involved crooks in the art world and that he was trying to do the right thing by stopping them.” She paused. “I wasn’t sure exactly what he had in mind and never got the chance to ask, as we were disconnected. I’ve been unable to reach him since then.”
Raquelle told her, figuring she had a right to know and wouldn’t likely tell anyone else, “Eddie was working with the FBI.”
“Seriously?” Penelope uttered.
“Yes, he was supplying them—actually, my ex-husband, who’s a special agent for their Art Crime Team—with info regarding the theft and forgery of Native American art,” she revealed, sighing. “It may have cost Eddie his life. We don’t know, as he’s either gone underground…or they killed him and buried his body somewhere yet to be discovered.”
Penelope recoiled at the thought, sharing Raquelle’s distress at the prospect, and said in earnest, “I’m so sorry about all of this. Eddie and I may have been a bad fit—or not—but no one should have to go through what he’s gotten himself into. Let’s hope he’s somewhere safe from harm while he tries to figure things out.”
“Right,” she concurred. “Once we have solid answers, I’ll let you know.”
“Please do,” Penelope insisted.
Raquelle rose and said, “If, by chance, Eddie contacts you again—”
“I’ll pass that onto you,” she promised, walking her to the door.
Raquelle gave her a hug, knowing Penelope still cared for Eddie and wanted whatever was in his best interests—starting with surviving his current tribulation.
Back in her car, Raquelle pondered both Eddie’s disappearance and Landon’s efforts to locate him and complete the investigation—while wondering if it was possible that she and Landon could resolve their differences and find a way forward.
* * *
LANDON WASSTANDINGwith Katie in the conference room, studying the big-screen surveillance video from around Knotter Marina. It appeared to show Eddie making a hasty retreat from his Crest Savannah 250 SLSC shortly before it exploded. If nothing else, this told Landon that Eddie had successfully escaped the inferno. But to where? Another place to hide in plain sight, before being taken out?
Looking at the screen, Katie remarked, “The man wearing a hood over his head seemed to just miss Eddie—and presumably assumed he was still on the boat, when the unsub apparently used a remote-controlled bomb trigger to detonate the IED.”
“Yeah, lucky Eddie,” Landon spoke with deadpan humor at his brush with being blown to bits. Still, he knew full well that Raquelle’s brother had been anything but lucky. Eddie had lost his prized pontoon, for one. Had blown working undercover as an FBI CHS. Had upended the relative calm in Raquelle’s world as a theater professor. And now Eddie may well have been tracked down and the hit carried out on his life. “Maybe not so much,” Landon entertained ill at ease.
“I wouldn’t give up on him just yet,” Katie said as she used the stylus to switch to other surveillance videos not far from Eddie’s apartment complex in Gadwall Heights and elsewhere in Falona County that showed images of someone who fit Eddie’s general description, if not a positive match. “Your CI could well be on the move, while trying to dodge Ivan Pimentel and his goons.”
“True,” Landon allowed, while still feeling uneasy. “Or we could be on a wild goose chase—considering we’ve been unable to make contact with Eddie and his known cell phones continue to be inoperative. Does that sound like a man who is alive and wants to stay that way to you?”
Would Eddie keep Raquelle in the dark, not knowing if she should be greeting him with open arms or preparing for his funeral?he asked himself skeptically.
Katie fixed her eyes on his face. “Maybe Eddie wisely ditched his main cell phone and burner phone for fear that either one could lead his pursuers to him as easily as you. All I know is that as long as there’s no body, there’s novictim per se. But we do have a suspect—” she brought up surveillance footage of the unsub “—who may still be hunting Jernigan. Unless we can get to him first…”
“Points well taken,” Landon had to admit and thought about Raquelle. “We’ll keep looking for Eddie—and the unsub, who’s likely in Pimentel’s hip pocket and would still be expected to deliver on his assignment, if it’s still active.”
Katie smiled supportively. “Sounds good to me.”
He contemplated one of Eddie’s known hangouts—the Cridder Club—where he could have been hiding out. It was where they met as his CI to exchange intel and discuss the investigation.
I’ll check it out and invite Raquelle along to keep her in the loop, Landon thought as he left the conference room and got on his cell phone.
* * *
“HEY.”LANDON TRIEDto keep his tone measured as Raquelle answered via speaker phone. “Are you busy right now?”
