Page 57 of Desperate Creed

Frankie closed her eyes, but there was no relaxing. Her brow creased, and it looked like she had clamped her jaw tight. The waitress appeared to fill Frankie’s coffee cup, and Frankie’s eyes flew open. It was obvious she looked a bit fluttered.

The waitress glanced at Frankie and said, “You okay, Hon?”

“We’re just talking about, you know, yoga and meditation,” Frankie explained returning to the southern accent she had used to order her lunch. “I’m not very good at it.” And she gave a forced laugh.

“You’re tired, Hon. All those hours in the car.” She topped off the mug and asked Maggie if she wanted a refill on her Coke. “Y’all, let me know if there’s anything else I can get you.” Then she moved on to the next table.

In that brief exchange with the waitress Maggie could see how exhausted Frankie was. She noticed Maggie studying her, and she pushed a lock of hair back away from her face, notching it behind her ear.

“When they were at my office,” Frankie said, “my assistant thought they looked or sounded official. I can’t remember exactly what she said. Is it possible they’re law enforcement? Tyler and Deacon did hack into a corporation’s computer system.”

“Only one problem with that,” Maggie paused and glanced to the nearest occupied table. The older women were laughing in between bites. “Law enforcement officers don’t normally execute a suspect on the streets.”

Maggie immediately regretted being so blunt. Frankie’s olive complexion paled and her eyes darted out the window. Maggie’s eyes followed. Both she and Frankie had been checking the parking lot. But in the last few minutes Maggie couldn’t help notice how dark the sky had become.

The corner light poles had turned on. Across the street, the lights above the gas pumps were on and most of the vehicles headlights, too. All of them triggered by the sudden change. But otherwise, it looked quiet. Even the trees were stock-still. There wasn’t a hint of a breeze.

Maggie’s cell phone buzzed on the table beside her. A new text message from Agent Alonzo. Frankie finally started eating her fish, pretending not to be interested. Maggie held the phone up, so no one could read it but her. She was hoping Alonzo had an owner for the black sedan, though she hadn’t seen the vehicle return. She’d been watching for it over at the gas station.

His message was only two words:

HE’S THERE.

She tried to keep her reaction from registering on her face. She could feel Frankie’s eyes on her. But Maggie didn’t look up. She continued to stare at the phone. Then she tapped back a message:

INSIDE?

Alonzo knew where she was. He said he was mapping out everywhere the tracking device had led him, getting as close as possible. But this morning when he told her about the killer being at Frankie’s hotel, Alonzo hadn’t been able to distinguish if he was exactly at Frankie’s hotel or the one next door.

His answer came back quickly:

DON’T KNOW. 100FT RADIUS.

Her eyes darted back out the window before she could stop herself.

“What is it?” Frankie wanted to know.

“Did you tell anyone you were coming here?”

“Just Hannah. What’s going on?”

“By text?”

“Yes and we talked.”

“Did you use your phone or the burner?” Maggie kept her voice calm, but she could see Frankie becoming visibly shaken. And every time Maggie scanned the parking lot, Frankie’s eyes shot out the window, too.

“I think I’ve been using the burner. I can check my emails with my watch.”

“Your watch?”

Frankie flexed her wrist. “It’s a smartwatch.”

“It keeps you connected to your email account?”

“Email and text messages.”

Maggie didn’t say anything. She kept quiet and watched as the realization swept across Frankie’s face.