Donna’s heart clenched hearing that a child had been kidnapped on Christmas Eve. What kind of monster would do that? “I’m glad they got him home safely,” she said. “I can’t imagine what he went through or how worried his parents must have been.”
“I’ll shoot Rogers a text later and take him up on his offer. I’d like to have two drivers per vehicle, and the loading of the truck will go a lot faster with six of us,” Burke said.
Later that afternoon, Burke initiated a video call with his parents. Donna sat beside him, but out of the camera shot at first. Burke first told them about her and her children and that they planned to live together. He had not previously told themanything about her, and they were surprised to hear that they’d been close friends for over a year. His parents understood the long-distance nature of the relationship and why it had been kept casual for so long.
Donna was relieved that his parents didn’t ask him if he was sure about becoming a father to her three children or even question the sanity of becoming involved with a woman with three children. Had they, it would have set a sour tone. Then Burke invited her into the camera frame so she could ‘meet’ them. It was a comfortable meeting, and they seemed genuinely pleased to meet her.
“I wish you had told us, son; we would have come to Illinois for Christmas had we known,” his father said.
“We would have liked to meet you in person, Donna,” his mother said. “Another time, very soon,” she promised.
“Honestly, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen,” Burke replied. “I figured we’d either solidify our relationship or cool it considerably.”
Then her children were briefly introduced. It was a fast call, as most were between Burke and his parents.
***
On the twenty-sixth, Burke went into the bank branch. He’d set up a meeting with the branch manager, who was the senior loan officer, earlier that morning. He completed the loan applicationand was given a pre-authorization letter for the amount of the house on the spot. He emailed it to the realtor. He also arranged for the home inspection. It would be the following day.
Back at the DVR house, Burke booked the flight for them later in the afternoon on the twenty-seventh. They’d fly out after the home inspection. Laura Lee and Dupont booked an earlier flight for themselves and Dorthea. They’d get started at Dorthea’s house as soon as they arrived. Dorthea also contacted a real estate agent she knew, to whom she’d give the listing of her house. The realtor would meet her at her house first thing on the twenty-eighth.
Burke was surprised when later that day he received a meeting invitation from Shepherd for zero seven hundred the next morning. He prayed his leave wasn’t being canceled. He had to get Donna, and the kids moved, and he had to be there to help.
Arriving at HQ, Burke ran into Wilson and Rogers in the parking garage. They too had gotten meeting invites.
“Tessman didn’t get one,” Wilson said. “So this isn’t a Charlie Team meeting or mission.”
“Or not one that involves him. We’re three, it could be there are three from other teams coming in too,” Burke said, getting a bad feeling about this. “If I have to dump the home inspection and the move on Donna, her sister, and Dupont, I’m going to feel bad about it.”
“She needs to be able to handle everything without you,” Wilson said as they mounted the steps.
Burke knew that, but he wanted to be there for her move. She’d get shit thrown on her; he was sure. And she would handle it; he was also sure. But to set the tone for her new life with him, he didn’t want it to be now.
They found Saxton and Dupont in Shepherd’s office when they arrived. They all took seats at the conference table.
“Thank you for coming in during your vacation,” Shepherd said. “I was notified of your intended travel, and I need to ask: are you planning to do anything about the Richmond police detective while you’re in Virginia? Or more specifically, is that the reason for your trip?”
“No, sir,” Burke answered for all of them. “You sanctioned no missions regarding him. We’re not going off the books or rogue. We’re specifically going to move Donna and her kids, and her mom here.”
“I see,” Shepherd said. “He was harassing her.”
“And we’ll ensure he doesn’t continue to before we have her moved here,” Laura Lee said. “We know the case was turned over to the Richmond Police IAB.”
“We’re not looking to engage the detective, but if he pays a visit while we’re there, as Saxton said, we’ll ensure he leaves heralone,” Burke added. “It’ll be a moot point after we move them out of Richmond.”
Shepherd’s gaze went to Wilson and Rogers. “And your role?”
“Extra drivers for the U-Haul and two vehicles, and muscle to help load the truck and cars, same as Saxton and Dupont’s roles,” Wilson replied.
Shepherd let out a sigh. “Why is it that I suspect the situation could get out of hand?”
“That’s up to Detective Leo Davis,” Burke answered. “If all goes well, we’ll be in Richmond three days max. It’s approximately a twelve-hour drive from there to here. We’ll have two drivers per vehicle, not including Saxton’s mother. We plan to drive straight through.”
Shepherd’s gaze settled on Burke. “You must ensure that the situation does not spiral out of control. Do not insert yourselves into the local IAB investigation, no matter what.”
Those at the table with Shepherd exchanged glances. Shepherd was being uncharacteristically cagey. They all knew something more was going on than Shepherd was telling them, which was very much unlike Shepherd. He normally gave full disclosure to his team so that no one was caught off guard.
“Feels like I’m sitting at a CIA briefing,” Dupont, who’d previously been with the CIA, said, voicing what everyone at the table was thinking.
