Tony invited them over to the table, having gotten to know the special agents in the course of their professional intersection on investigations. Katie had no problem with the company of her colleagues, whom she considered like family. Or at least was comfortable with them in pretty much any setting—including a restaurant.
Landon and Zach sat around the table as Tony joked, “Don’t you FBI agents have anything better to do than stalk my girlfriend?”
Landon, whose tray had a ham-and-cheese sandwich and coffee on it, chuckled and said, “Katie would never let us get away with it, even if we had no better way to spend our time.”
Zach, a club sandwich and glass of lemonade on his tray, quipped, “Well, we did pose as a couple recently—but don’t tell my wife, Celeste—so you’ll have to forgive me if I find myself wanting to stay close to Katie.”
“Enough already, you guys.” She laughed, embarrassed with the attention. “Keep me out of this, please!”
“Done!” Landon said. “You’ve been removed from the stalking files.”
She blushed. “Thanks.”
Tony kissed her cheek. “Now that that’s over and done with, let’s talk about your latest case and where things stand with the missing CHS…”
Landon bit into his sandwich and said thoughtfully, “He’s out there somewhere. Not sure if Eddie’s dead oralive—but my money’s on the latter at this point. Just a gut feeling. The key is to track him down before reputed art-crime boss Ivan Pimentel can take him out.”
Zach sipped lemonade and said frankly, “We’re definitely up against the clock here in both locating Jernigan to bolster our case against Pimentel and holding the art dealer accountable for a growing list of crimes. The two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, but obviously the CI’s testimony—and any evidence he may still have collected—would go a long way toward sealing the deal in a Pimentel conviction.”
Katie sipped tea and argued, “The case can be made with or without Eddie Jernigan’s input. Obviously, though, whoever blew up his boat believed that silencing him—through kidnapping or killing—could only help matters when it came to preventing Eddie from telling what he knew as a CI.”
“If and when you find him,” Tony said, wiping his mouth with a napkin, “you can always put Jernigan in the Witness Security Program to keep him out of harm’s way till he can deliver on his intel.”
“Yeah, that is an option.” Landon nodded. “We’ll see how it goes.”
Katie gazed at him. She also saw WITSEC as a possibility, should Eddie manage to have survived his ordeal. But how would Landon’s ex-wife feel about being out of touch with her brother—perhaps for a while?
“Eddie’s disappearance and the not knowing has to be hard on your ex.” Katie peered at Landon. She’d never met Raquelle Jernigan but had picked up through conversation how much he still cared for her.
“It has been,” Landon acknowledged, leaning back inhis chair, brooding. “Raquelle’s strong, though. Whatever happens, she’ll get through it.”
“Maybe with your help,” Katie said, “based on my women’s intuition.”
He grinned. “Maybe.”
“Something going on between you and your ex that we should know about, Briscoe?” Zach asked teasingly as he grabbed one of their ranch fries off the plate.
Landon squared his chin. “Yeah, something,” he confessed. “Just not quite sure what it is at this stage.”
“Well, when you find out, be sure to let us know.”
“I will,” he said thoughtfully.
Katie smiled at him, imagining what it would be like to marry for the first time as she eyed Tony. Much less go for a repeat—unlike with Zach, who preferred to try again with someone else. In Landon’s case, perhaps the one who got away was the woman he was truly meant to be with.
* * *
RAQUELLE SAT ONan ergonomic desk chair in her small but neatly organized office in Blakemoor Hall on Pattery Lane. Seated on the other side of the electric adjustable desk was Vera Mahaffey, her GTA, who was grading papers, while Raquelle was busy preparing an assignment for her class. As she did so, her thoughts slipped back to Saturday when she’d kissed Landon. It was hardly a planned action on her part, but it was one that Raquelle relished. Kissing her ex-husband somehow felt right. He seemed to be of the same mind. And body, given both their bodies seemed to tense up while reacquainting themselves with this rather intimate act.
“So, how was your weekend?” Vera asked, as if only to start a conversation.
“Good.” Once again, that sweet kiss entered Raquelle’s head. “How about yours?”
“Same.” Vera then spoke glowingly about her new girlfriend.
“Nice.” Raquelle smiled and looked at her laptop. Her mind went to Eddie. She wondered if he would ever reach out to her—if he was able to. Or if there was any way to communicate with him without compromising his safety. Or hers. “Have you seen anyone else—or the same person—hanging around my car?” she asked Vera.
The GTA shook her head. “Not that I can recall.”
