Chapter Seventeen

Federal Law Enforcement Center Glynco, Georgia Six Hours Later

M arsha Christopher Gaines was finishing up his training for WITSEC when he got a call from his home office. "Chris, Frank here."

"Hey, Frank. I was just packing my stuff. Training went well. I'm excited about this new situation."

"Yes, I heard you did a bang-up job," Frank replied. "Listen, we have a situation. I figured it would be a good opportunity for you to get your feet wet."

"Sure. What's up?"

"The deputy director wants you to stop by his office."

"Everything alright?"

"We're not sure yet, but he has something he wants you to look into."

"Sure, boss. I'll head over right away."

Chris grabbed his gear and returned to the main office. He showed the security guard his identification.

The gate opened, and Chris drove to the visitor's parking area. It was the closest to the front of the building. By the sound of Frank's voice, it seemed to be an urgent matter.

Gaines walked down the hall to the deputy director's office. The director was standing outside, speaking to several other marshals.

"Gaines. Glad we caught you."

"Sir. What's going on?"

"We may have a breach with one of our witnesses. He was seen talking to a woman this morning, and an hour later, he was run off the road. Couple of cuts and bruises, but we have him in protective custody. His handler got word that there might have been a security breach, so he was tailing our witness to see if anyone was following him. Turns out there was another car on the premises besides the woman. He couldn't follow both of them, so he made a judgment call and shadowed the guy in a black sedan, who followed our witness. Good thing, because he was on scene when the accident happened, called it in to the local police, and the perp was apprehended." He paused to let the information sink in. "The news media is telling a slightly different story, and that's the way we want it to remain. No ID of the guy they apprehended. They're grilling him now to see how he discovered our guy.

"We don't know if they are in it together, but our agent has the person of interest in an interrogation room. We need to find this woman." He pushed a button on his laptop, and the photo of a woman's face appeared on the screen. It was a little grainy. Gaines blinked several times. He squinted and furrowed his brow. He stared at the face for several moments. Different hair. Different glasses , he thought to himself, but the resemblance was astounding. Without missing a beat, he asked, "Where did this take place?"

"Sedona, Arizona."

The words churned the bile in his stomach. He didn't want to believe it was her. She looks so different. And why? Why would she do something like that? He turned to the director, and without hesitating, asked, "You got a plane for me to catch?" Before he left the building, he downloaded face recognition software to his laptop. It was going to be a long flight.

Within the hour, Gaines was given instructions and who his contact person would be when he landed in Flagstaff. His mind was racing. It's just not possible . As soon as he got back in his Jeep, he called Luna. She answered right away.

"Hey there! What's doin'?" She sounded very chirpy.

He hadn't rehearsed what he was going to say to her. He couldn't come out and ask her if she'd been wearing a disguise earlier that day, or if she'd encountered someone in WITSEC.

"Hey, dollface. Just checking in on you." Gaines tried to sound casual.

"I'm behaving." Luna smiled. It was good to hear Chris's voice. Her encounter with Brendan had left her rattled. "Gail and I watched the sunrise yesterday at Bell Rock and then took a quick ride to Airport Mesa." She didn't dare tell him how she'd started her morning.

"Sounds energizing."

"Physically exhausting, but spiritually energizing."

Chris wasn't sure whether he should tell her he was about to board a military jet to Arizona. He decided he would wait until he got there and had more data. No sense in starting anything over the phone when he didn't have all the information. "What are you doing the rest of the day?" he asked.

"We're going to go back to the artist studios and finalize the plans for our holiday display. We found so many great things. I think the exhibit is going to be quite excellent."

"No doubt with you working on it." Chris thought her voice sounded normal. It couldn't be Luna in the photo, unless she was leading a double life. And wouldn't he have figured that out by now? "When are you planning on getting back?"

"Day after tomorrow. I thought I'd spend a couple more days here and enjoy more of the terrain, landscape, and the vibe. We may venture over to the Kachina Woman if we have time later. But it's a bit of a hike. What about you?"

He hesitated for a second. "I'm heading out in a little while." It wasn't a total lie. Just an omission of some very important information.

"How's Carter enjoying baseball camp?" Luna asked.

"He's loving it. I have to pick him up this weekend." Then he clenched his teeth. What if he wasn't back in time? That meant Lucinda would have to pick him up. And the hearing was just weeks away. Swell.

"You'll have a lot to catch up on," Luna said merrily.

"Yes, we will. You and I will, too." All sorts of things were running through his head. Would they be catching up in a jail cell? He shuddered. "Listen, I've gotta jump. Talk to you later tonight?"

"Sure thing. Safe travels. Love ya." With that, Luna signed off.

Chris stared at his phone. This couldn't be happening. The next chore was phoning Lucinda and putting her on notice that she might have to pick up Carter. Ever since she was served the papers for the custody hearing, she'd become a screaming banshee. He decided to send her a text instead. At least that way, he wouldn't have to hear her screeching voice. Not for a while, anyway. He decided to make it a group text and include Carter. She would behave much better if she knew her son was included in the communication. He texted:

Hey. I have to go out of town. Not sure if I'll be back in time. Lucinda, you might have to pick Carter up. Will keep you posted.

He could practically hear her phone exploding. Heaven forbid her schedule was tilted a bit. Not even for her son. Chris Gaines was not in a good mood.