Chapter Eighteen

Arizona Face to Face

C hris boarded the military jet and settled into his seat. He dreaded opening his laptop, but he knew he had to do it. His career and his relationship were hanging in the balance. He uploaded the photo of Luna he had saved in his phone and then had it cross-referenced with the photo of the woman in the car. It took less than a minute for all the markers to match. The blood drained from his face. Think, Chris, think. There has to be a logical explanation for this.

They were the longest four hours of his life. The only upside was that Lucinda couldn't reach him. Once they landed, he was surprised to see a single text from her saying Okay.

Okay? Nothing was ever okay with Lucinda. She had to be up to something. His nerves were on edge, something he was not accustomed to. Another text had come in from Carter: Okay Dad. Miss you.

That gave him a modicum of comfort.

As Chris deplaned, he recognized the agent who was waiting for him at the gate. They gave each other a nod as Chris approached him. "Marshal Gaines? Desmond Legend. Let me grab that for you." He took charge of Chris's duffel.

"Good to meet you, Desmond. Boy, it really is hot here."

Desmond chuckled. "But it's a dry heat."

"So I've been told." Gaines grinned.

"We've got a chopper waiting to take us down to Sedona. That should get us there in about thirty minutes." The agent escorted Gaines to a golf cart that brought them to the helicopter pad on the other side of the small terminal. As soon as they boarded, the chopper was up and over the sandstone canyons. "Too bad you didn't get here early to see the scenery."

Or to stop the woman I love from getting mixed up in who-knows-what , Chris thought to himself. "Maybe on the way back," Gaines shouted above the noise of the whirring blades.

Legend gave him a thumbs-up.

Before Chris knew it, the chopper was settling down on the tarmac at the minute Sedona airfield, too tiny to accommodate anything but a small private plane. A large black SUV was waiting for them at the equally small terminal building. The driver introduced himself as Buck from the Phoenix office. "Nothing like jumping in feet first, eh?"

More like headfirst , Chris thought to himself.

"Well, now that you're fresh out of training, maybe you can finish up this job, so we can all have the weekend off." Buck shoved Chris's duffel into the back.

"That would be great. My son is getting out of baseball camp this weekend." Chris decided to be as casual as possible. He wasn't sure if he was ready for what was ahead. In all his years of law enforcement, this was the most frightening situation he'd ever found himself in. "I don't want the ex to have to pick him up. She'll make a big stink." More idle patter.

"You too?" The driver looked up into the rearview mirror. "Must come with the job."

And a girlfriend who just might help me lose that job. Chris realized his palms were sweating. "So where are we staying?"

"Arroyo Pinion," the driver replied. "Not a spa-type resort, but not bad, either. You ever been here before?"

"Just Tucson and Phoenix. Never made it up this far."

"Wait until you see it in the daylight. It's pretty spectacular."

"So I've heard." From my girlfriend, whom I suspect of breaching a witness.

"You're probably hungry after your trip. I think the restaurant is still open at the hotel. We can grab somethin'," Buck suggested.

Chris's stomach was upside down. Food was the last thing he needed. "Sounds good." He had to play along. Maybe get some soup.

It was a quick drive from the airport to the hotel. The person at the front desk was an older gent with silver hair. "Welcome to Arroyo Pinion. How can I help you?"

All three men took out their fake identification. No one was to know who they really were, what they did for a living, or why they were there. Chris Gaines was now Charles Gannon, Desmond Legend was now David Lamont, and Buck was Bill Cunningham.

"I have all three of you on the same floor, as requested." The desk clerk handed them their key cards. "Enjoy your stay. If there is anything we can do to make your visit more pleasurable, please do not hesitate to ask."

Chris refrained from saying, "Can you make this nightmare go away?"

They dropped off their bags in their rooms and agreed to meet up in twenty minutes. Chris stripped off his clothes. He was in need of a shower. He smiled when he pulled out his Axe body wash and thought about taking Carter to the drugstore. He really hoped they could wrap this up in a couple of days. He missed his kid, the only stable thing in his life at the moment. And even that relationship was on shaky ground. He was in and out of the tub in less than ten minutes and then decided to give Luna another call.

"Hey! What are you doing up so late?" Luna asked, thinking he was on the East Coast, where it was midnight.

"Couldn't sleep." Gosh, how he hated to lie, but he probably wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.

"What's going on?" Luna sounded concerned.

He really didn't know what to say to her. "Just the whole custody thing," he said, which wasn't a lie.

"Is there a problem?" Luna asked.

"Not yet, but I might not be able to pick Carter up from camp, which will throw a monkey wrench into Lucinda's schedule, and she may use it against me. She'll tell the judge it illustrates what an unreliable father I am and how my job always comes first."

"I thought you were heading back today."

"I was, but something came up, and I have an assignment."

"That sounds exciting, no?"

If only. More like unnerving.

"Nah. Just some follow-up work, but it has to be done."

"Well, that's really too bad. Do you want me to get him if you can't?"

Not if you're in jail , Chris thought to himself. "Let's see how the rest of the week plays out."

"Okay, but if not you or me, than maybe Cullen," Luna said, offering up her brother's services.

"That would be good. Do you think he'd mind?"

"Cullen? Nah. He loves Carter. And they can talk about refurbishing classic cars."

"That could work." While I find bail money and polish my résumé. Chris was not feeling very optimistic. "Where are you now?"

"At Gail's Airbnb. I made some pasta and garlic bread."

Chris's stomach growled. Maybe he could actually eat something. "Sounds delicious."

"I've been into the lemon and herb thing lately. Gail was used to tomato sauce, but I turned her on to something a little lighter."

"You'll have to make it for me next time." If they let inmates in the kitchen.

"Absolutely. Not sure about the garlic bread, though. I almost burned it in the broiler. Poor Max went a little bonkers when the smoke detector started to go off."

"That bad, eh?" Chris could not fathom that this woman he was talking to could be a double agent of some sort.

"I told Gail that while it's a good idea to have a smoke detector in the kitchen, it shouldn't be that close to the stove. She blamed Robert." Luna chuckled. There was a rap on Chris's door. "What was that?" she asked.

"Nothing. I knocked something over." Another lie. He had to get off the phone before Legend and Buck knocked louder. Chris faked a yawn. "I better go. I just might be able to sleep. I don't want to miss this window of opportunity."

"Gotcha. Sleep well. Love you." Luna signed off.

"Love you, too." And he did. Now what? He opened the door, where the two men were waiting.

"Someone smells good," Buck announced.

"I had to get the grit off me." Chris chuckled as the three men went down to the main floor.

They sat at a table far away from the smattering of people in the restaurant. Legend was the first to speak. "We have another room on the same floor that we'll set up as our workstation, since WITSEC doesn't have an office here. It's adjacent to mine so I can make sure no one else has access."

"So what do we know so far?" Chris leaned in.

"A woman named Luna Bodman was seen at Canyon Farms early this morning."

Chris thought he was going to vomit. "You have her name?" he asked as calmly as possible.

"Rental car. Either she's not involved, or she is some kind of idiot to rent a car using her real name."

"Good point." Chris knew Luna wasn't an idiot. That was hopeful news. "Maybe she was just a friend," Chris offered. Was he supposed to tell them she was his girlfriend? If not now, when?

"It's possible. But the fact he was run off the road right after she left the farm is suspicious."

"Does anyone know her current location?" Chris asked.

"Not yet. We're checking security camera footage at the main intersections. Should have that by the a.m."

A chill went up Chris's spine. It wouldn't take long before they found out where she was. He had to get to her before anyone else did. But he still needed more information.

"What about our witness? How is he doing?" Chris queried.

"He got a little banged up. Bruised ribs. Nothing major. But he's definitely rattled."

"Do you think he'll renege?" Chris asked.

"Good question. We'll have to relocate him pronto," Legend said. "The guys in the Phoenix office are working on that now. They're going to transport him tomorrow."

"What about the guy you have in custody?" asked Chris.

"He ain't talkin'," Buck explained. "And he's here illegally, so we're trying to cut a deal with him."

"Where is he from?" Chris asked.

"Romania," Legend supplied.

"He's a tad far from home," Chris said.

"Yeah, but the Russian mob has tentacles everywhere now, between drugs, guns, and human trafficking."

"The witness. Why is he in the program to begin with?" Chris asked. There had been no time earlier for him to be briefed. All he knew was that someone had tried to kill one of their witnesses.

"He and his wife were in the Caribbean. They rented a skiff. Out for a leisurely ride around the island. They saw something going on with another boat. One guy leaned over, and bam ! Shot dead. The wife got a good look at the shooter. They skedaddled and notified the authorities, who were nonchalant. Evidently, this sort of thing goes on all the time. They went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who put them on a plane back to Miami, where they were picked up by the U.S. Marshal Services. The wife was able to identify one of the mob's lieutenants, who was apprehended off the coast of St. Lucia. He was turned over to the FBI, where he was arraigned and faced criminal charges. With her IDing him, they were able to put him away. We, the United States Government, promised the couple they would not be in harm's way."

"Where is the wife now?" Chris asked.

"She hated the heat here and asked to be relocated to someplace where she could go snowshoeing. So we sent her to Vermont."

The waitress came over and took their order. All three ordered BLT club sandwiches. When the food arrived, Chris thought he was going to gag. He picked at his food. "Guess I wasn't as hungry as I thought. Must be jet lag." He'd blame anything at this point. Anything but Luna. At least not yet.

Chris faked another yawn and stretched his neck. "I think I need some shut eye. What time do you want to meet in the morning?"

"Eight?" suggested Legend.

"Sounds good. Room next to yours?"

"Yep. I'll order breakfast to be sent to my room. We're going to have to dig in as soon as we get the camera footage. Until we can eliminate this mystery woman, she is a prime suspect."

Chris tried to stand, but his legs were like jelly. He leaned on the table. "Long day."

"I hear ya," Legend said. "See you in the morning."

Chris managed to pull himself together before he staggered out of the restaurant. When he got to his room, he leaned against the door and slid down to the floor. He had to do something right away. He phoned Luna again.

She was half asleep. "Chris? Everything okay?"

"No. Nothing is okay. Where are you?" His voice was stern.

"I'm at Gail's. Where else would I be?" She was confounded.

"Give me the address. Please." Still stern.

"Okay." She rattled off the address. "What is this all about?"

"I'll tell you when I see you."

"When you see me? What is going on?"

"I'm in Sedona."

Luna sprang up from the bed. "You're where?"

"Sedona. The same place where you are." This was not friendly banter.

"What are you doing here?" She could hear the tension in his voice.

"I'll tell you when I get there." He realized he didn't have a car at his disposal and couldn't ask Buck; otherwise, he would arouse suspicion. After getting off the phone with Luna, Chris called the front desk.

"Hello, Mr. Gannon. How can I help you?"

"Is there a car rental agency nearby?"

"Yes. There is one about three blocks away. Shall I phone them for you?"

"No. But if you could give me the address, I would appreciate it."

"Certainly." The desk clerk gave Chris the address and phone number.

Chris called and asked if they could provide a car and could they send someone to pick him up. "One moment, sir, let me check," a pleasant voice answered him.

He looked at his watch. It was going on eleven. The woman got back on the phone. "I'm sorry, we don't have anyone to pick you up, but we do have a car. Can you get here in a half hour? We're closing shortly."

"Yes. Thanks. I'm on my way." He was grateful he was in good shape, because he had to hotfoot it ASAP. He grabbed his laptop, stashed it in a carrying case, and slung it over his shoulder. He checked the hallway and then proceeded down the four flights of stairs. When he got to the lobby floor, he peeked through the window to see if any of his colleagues were in his line of sight. All clear. He made a mad dash for the door and hightailed it to the rental agency.

He was almost out of breath when he arrived at the car rental. He made it with six minutes to spare. He pulled out his phony identification and a credit card issued to Charles Gannon. He signed the paperwork and bolted out the door. He punched in the address and tore out of the parking lot.

* * *

Luna was shaking. She had no idea what was going on. She knew this wasn't Chris surprising her. Well, it was, but not in a good way. She went into Gail's room. Her friend was still awake, reading a book. Gail looked up in surprise. "What's going on, sugar?"

"Chris is in town."

"How nice!"

"No. I don't think so." Luna looked grim.

"What do you mean?"

"He sounded rather terse on the phone. Like he was really mad about something."

"What do you think it is?" Gail sat up and shoved her reading glasses on top of her head.

"I have no idea, but he is on his way over here."

"Now?"

"Yes, now."

"Geez."

"Geez is right." Luna was pacing. "I mean he sounded horn-mad."

"And he gave you no inclination as to why?"

"Nope." Luna shook her head. "This has been some kind of a train wreck day."

"You forgot ‘dumpster fire.' Come here, sweetcakes." Gail pulled open the covers and patted the bed.

"I can't. Sorry. I have to pull it together." She continued to pace.

Several minutes later, headlights flashed across the window, and they could hear the engine of a car come to a stop. Luna was trembling uncontrollably. Gail got up and put a robe around her friend. "It's going to be okay."

"I hope so. I can't deal with any more shocking news." The two padded to the front door, with Max following close behind.

Luna opened the door. Gaines did a double take. "So it is you."

"Of course it's me. Who else would it be?"

He kept staring. Then she realized he hadn't seen her with her new hairstyle. "My hair!"

"And the glasses." He scrutinized her.

Gail jumped in. "Come. Let's sit down."

"Marshal Christopher Gaines." He nodded at Gail.

"Yes, I figured."

"Apologies for the intrusion, Gail, but I need to speak to Luna in private. If you don't mind." Chris's voice was steady and very official.

"Of course." Gail showed them out to the patio. The air had cooled down a bit, and it was comfortable enough for a conversation, provided the conversation didn't turn heated.

"I'll get you some water." Gail could see Chris's face was red, but she wasn't sure if it was from the heat or anger.

Luna pulled out a chair and slowly lowered herself into it. She was in flight mode. All she wanted to do was run. Run away. Run anywhere.

Chris sat across from her. He hadn't kissed her or touched her since his arrival. He was all business. They sat in silence while Gail brought a pitcher of ice water and some glasses.

When Gail was no longer within earshot, Luna asked, "Chris, what is going on?" She was almost pleading.

"Why don't you tell me ?" he asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea what you are talking about. Really, Chris. Please tell me what is going on."

He pulled out the laptop and opened it. He made a few clicks and turned it to face her. "Is this you in the photo?"

Luna's jaw dropped. She pulled the laptop closer. "Yes. It's me. Where did you get this?"

"Never mind where I got it. What were you doing there?"

"I thought I recognized someone from college."

"How did you come upon Canyon Farms?" He was interrogating her now.

"Yesterday, we were at the market. Well, actually, I thought I spotted him a couple of times these past few days. Then when I was waiting in the car, I saw him again." She got up. "Wait here. I'll be right back."

She dashed into the bedroom, grabbed her phone, and returned to where they had been sitting. "Remember when you were over at my place and you saw the Kentucky Derby program?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"When I tried to reach out to my friend Brendan, he didn't respond, and none of his friends had heard from him, either. Then Anthony sent me a text with Brendan's postage stamp-sized obituary." She scrolled through her phone and showed him the announcement. "As you can see, there were no details." Then she scrolled to Eileen's obit and handed him her phone. "It was all very odd. We looked into their deaths further and found a short blurb in the St. Kitts-Nevis Observer about an American couple killed in a boating accident."

"You had to keep digging, didn't you?" Chris seemed more unnerved now. "Why do you always do this, Luna? Sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

Luna snapped at him. "He was my friend, Chris! I cared about him! Why shouldn't I try to find out what happened to him? Have you ever cared for anyone and lost them? And not known what happened? You're the detective. Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing!"

Gaines knew he'd struck a nerve. He also began to realize that Luna had no idea what she'd stumbled upon. "Alright. Let's start from the beginning. You were looking for information about a friend. You discovered he had been killed in an accident. Then what?"

"Then we were in Safeway three days ago, and I thought I recognized his voice, but he left before I could approach him."

"How did you end up at Canyon Farms?" He repeated the question.

Luna sighed. "When I was waiting in the car, I spotted the same guy, wearing the same shirt, and I took a photo. When I enlarged it, I knew it had to be Brendan. I saw the name of the farm on the side of the truck and took a ride out to see if it was really him."

"And that's it?" Gaines was staring her down.

"That's it. I swear. All I wanted was proof. Proof that I wasn't losing my mind." She handed him her phone. "See?"

He transferred her call log, then threw the phone on the ground and stomped on it.

Luna freaked out. "What are you doing!"

"Saving your hiney. And my job," he huffed.

Her eyes grew wide. It finally hit her. "Oh. My. Gosh."

At that point, his laptop pinged. Luna's call log came through. He looked it over several times. There were no calls out of the ordinary, in or out. He was beginning to believe her. "So what's with the hair?"

"I needed a change." She tilted her head and gave him a puppy-dog look.

"I like it." He finally smiled.

"So now what happens?" she asked.

"Now I have to corroborate your story." He picked up his phone and dialed the agent who was guarding Brendan. "Jack? Gaines here. Can you ask your person if he had any encounters with one Luna Bodman?" He paused. "I know it's late, but this is crucial to our investigation." He could hear the agent rallying his charge. Mumbled voices sounded in the background. The agent returned to the phone.

"He said they were in college together, and she stopped by the farm. He hadn't had any contact with her since before their incident. She just showed up out of nowhere, and he told her to leave."

A sense of relief flooded Gaines. "Thanks."

"Anything else I can do for you now that I'm awake?"

"No. Just get him situated to wherever he's going next."

"Will do." The agent ended the call.

"You are going to have to come to our makeshift office and explain to the other agents what happened. They're not going to take my word for it, but at least Brendan has corroborated your story, and I have your phone records. That is, provided you weren't using a burner phone." He squinted at her.

"Check the cell towers. I know you can do that." Her tone was just this side of sarcasm.

"We will do that, just as a matter of course."

"Do you believe me now?" She reached across the table to touch his hand. He pulled back.

"We have to make this a clean interview. Nothing personal."

"I get it." Luna realized she had inadvertently put someone's life in jeopardy, and she might have cost Chris his job. "I'm really sorry about all this. Truly."

His eyes softened. "I know you are." He pocketed her phone and shut his laptop. "Be at the Arroyo Pinion at nine tomorrow morning. Meet us in the lobby. Oh, and my name is Charles Gannon." He got up from his chair and went to the front door, where Max was standing guard. "It's okay, pal." Chris put his hand out, and Max gave him his paw. Luna took that as a good sign.

"See you in the morning." Chris smiled for the second time that night.

"And you owe me a new phone." Luna smirked.

As soon as the car was out of the driveway, Gail bolted out of her room. "What in Sam Hill was that all about?"

"I can't discuss it."

Gail furrowed her brow. "Is everything alright?"

"Not exactly, but it will be."

"So why is he here?"

"I can't discuss it." Luna hugged her friend. "Rule Number One."

"Ah. I get it. We don't talk about it." Gail nodded.

"Correct-o-mundo. Never. Ever." Luna clung to her friend. "Love you, pal."

"Love you more."

The two retreated to their bedrooms, but Luna knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep any time soon. It was going to be a repeat of the night before, with a whole lot of tossing and turning.