“Tiredness is a common side effect. Allow yourself time to recover,” Wuornos says, while Agent Bender reaches down and breaks the chalk circle on the floor with her finger.
“It’s over?” Belinda asks in a whisper.
“Yes.” Wuornos pushes back his chair and stands.
“What now?” Belinda looks around the room.
“You are free to leave. I would not suggest driving yourself. If anything more is needed, which I doubt, we will be in contact.” He pauses, then really focuses on her. “It’s clear your only thought was to protect yourself.”
Belinda’s face falls as more tears drip from her eyes. “I wish he never found me,” she mutters.
Chapter 29
Beam me up, Scotty.
Dad drove Belinda home ages ago. He didn’t even attend LaPointe’s hearing, instead sending Scotty along, not that it mattered. The judge let him go with a return court date. It will be a waiting game to see if he actually shows up.
Ambrose and I get a briefing from Wuornos, while Bender packs away the equipment. “Officially, I will send my reports about the case directly to the prosecutors so they will know how to proceed. Unofficially, my findings and suggestions will be to drop it. This was purely accidental, only him not being there could have prevented it.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “Thank you for letting us know.”
“Lewis gave me a little background on this and how she’s planning to look into the husband. That needs to happen. He’s into some dark stuff, and I don’t think she even knew the half of it,” he continues, meaning Belinda being in the dark about William.
Abruptly, the assistant director reaches out, and I respond on instinct, grasping his palm in a firm but brief handshake. “It was a pleasure. I’m sure we’ll see each other again.” He turns and walks away with Agent Bender following in his wake.
“Was it just me or was that ominous?” Ambrose asks once the door closes after them.
“You mean it wasn’t just me?” I try for a chuckle, but it gets caught in my throat. I look over at the clock and note it’s nearly dinnertime. I’m torn if I should invite Ambrose to eat with me or just call the guys. I know what I want to do, but I have better manners than that.
As soon as I open my mouth to ask Ambrose if he would like to eat dinner with me and the guys, my phone rings. I answer it without looking, assuming it will be Remy or Felix.
“Hello?”
“Seems like you made an impression on Wuornos,” Lewis says in greeting. What could she know? The guy just left.
“Uh,” is my inarticulate response.
“I need a debrief. Program the slipkey to headquarters and meet me as soon as you’re finished up there,” she continues.
“We’re done here.” I look over at Ambrose.
“Perfect. See you in my office in twenty.” The line goes dead.
Crap. I wasn’t expecting to actually have to get Ambrose back to the city, though I should have. “We need to go to the field office,” I tell him.
“Damn, I was hoping to get another burger before leaving. Looks like I have a reason to come back and visit.” He grins at me. “Let me grab my bag.”
I give him a reassuring smile in return, but really, I’m just thinking about how I would much rather be heading home to the guys.
“Coordinates are set to the intake room.” Ambrose hands me a device that could be a fancy wristwatch. “I’m ready when you are.”
“Hey, Charlie, I’m heading out!” I holler down the hall after collecting my laptop bag. The sight reminds me of Percival. “Hey, mink, want to go for a ride?” He’s been snooping around the station all day. I’d catch glimpses of his tail as he snuck about.
Not really, but I fear it’s my duty to keep you out of trouble.
“I do not get into trouble,” I mumble, which makes Ambrose snort. “I don’t,” I argue. “Now hold on.” I extend the slipkey so Ambrose can grab onto the object after Percival is safely secured in my bag.
The jump is exhilarating. It’s like an artificial dose of adrenaline mainlined into your system. We materialize in the intake room. There’s only one person at the desk, who barely even looks in our direction. I pocket the slipkey when Ambrose releases it.
