Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-four

Amelia took three bottles of sparkling water out of the refrigerator and carried them into the living room. She handed them out and then sat down beside Irene on the sofa.

Gideon had settled into the recliner. For a man who wasn’t interested in a long-term relationship, he was certainly making himself at home, she thought.

“One thing we can tell you about the man you call Falcon,” he said to Irene, “is that if he is an undercover agent, he did not stick around to introduce himself to local law enforcement in Lucent Springs.”

“How do you know he was the one who returned to the scene of the shootings to finish off those three men?” Irene asked. “Maybe it was another member of the gang.”

Amelia looked at Gideon. “I suppose there’s a possibility that someone else was involved, someone we never saw.”

“It’s possible.” Gideon did not bother to hide his skepticism. “But it doesn’t feel like it. Falcon was running the show. He came back to make sure none of his people survived.”

“That sounds so ruthless.” Irene shook her head. “I mean, I knew he was dangerous, but it’s so hard to believe he was conning me all along.”

Amelia kept quiet. There was no simple way to explain to Irene that the man who called himself Falcon had used her as a cover so that he could stalk his real target two doors down the hall. That would mean inviting Irene into the rabbit hole of a conspiracy theory involving people with dangerous psychic powers and bizarre experiments. As far as Irene was concerned, anything to do with the paranormal came under the heading of “entertainment.”

Irene looked at Gideon. “Do you think I might be in danger?”

“I doubt it,” he said. “If Falcon wanted you dead he would have murdered you last night when he stopped by to ask for cash and tell you that he was leaving town.”

Irene shuddered. Water splashed out of the green bottle. She grabbed a napkin and quickly blotted up the drops that had landed on her trousers.

Amelia glared at Gideon. “Really?”

He winced. “Sorry. I was thinking out loud.”

“He’s right,” Irene said. She swallowed hard. “I hadn’t thought of it that way. I’ve been thinking about calling the police all day, but what would I tell them? That I dated a drug dealer who claimed to be an undercover agent? They would probably conclude that I was involved in the drug trade, too. An arrest would ruin my career.”

“What do you know about Falcon?” Gideon asked.

“Just what he told me,” Irene said. “Now I don’t know how much of that was fiction.”

“Do you know his real name?” Gideon asked.

“No. He said it was safer if I knew him only as Falcon.”

“What about an address?” Gideon said.

“He’s renting a small house a few miles from here. I expect he’s gone now.”

“Have you ever been there?”

“Once or twice,” Irene said. “It’s very ordinary. Nothing special. Sort of run-down, to tell you the truth. We never spent the night there because he said it might draw the wrong attention. He preferred hotels. More anonymous, he said.”

“If you’ll give me the address I’ll drive by and check to make sure he really did leave town,” Gideon said.

“It’s on my phone.” Irene pulled up the address and read it to Gideon. When she was finished she looked up. “Are you going to notify the police?”

“Yes,” Gideon said.

Irene looked resigned. “They’ll want to talk to me, won’t they?”

“Not if he’s legit,” Gideon said. “If he really is undercover, there will be fail-safes in place in the system designed to protect him.”

Irene shivered and put down her mug. “I hope he was telling me the truth. Even if I never see him again, I prefer to think that he was one of the good guys. Or maybe I just don’t want to think I was dumb enough to believe his story.”

···

At the door Irene paused and looked at Amelia. “I almost forgot—your ex-therapist came by looking for you.”

“Yes, I know,” Amelia said. “He called while I was in Lucent Springs and told me he had come here to see if I was okay.”

Irene snorted. “I heard him on the stairs. He pounded on your door a few times and then gave up and left. I gotta tell you, I never knew a therapist who made house calls, especially not without an appointment. It’s almost like he’s stalking you.”

Amelia winced. “I don’t think that’s the situation, but I agree, it’s getting a little weird.”

“See you later. Maybe do drinks? I could use a few.”

“Sounds good,” Amelia said.

Irene went down the outdoor walkway and disappeared into her apartment. Amelia closed the door, locked the three locks, and went around the corner into the living room. She looked at Gideon.

“Are you really going to call the police?” she asked.

“Maybe,” Gideon said. “Depends on what I find at that address Irene gave me.”

“So that’s where we’re going next? Falcon’s rental?”

“It’s where I’m going next. You are staying here.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t know what I’ll find there and I don’t want to have to worry about keeping you safe while I’m finding it. If it turns out I need your night vision I’ll come back here and get you.”

“You’re going to break in to Falcon’s place, aren’t you?” she said.

“Depends on how things look, but, yes, I’d like to get inside if possible.”

“I could be your lookout.”

Gideon sighed. “Amelia—”

“I know where you’re coming from, but here’s your problem: you said I shouldn’t be left alone until we know for sure I’m no longer in need of a bodyguard.”

“I’m not going to leave you alone. I’ll get a babysitter to keep an eye on you.”

“Who?”

“Uncle Shelton.”

“You’re going to leave me in the care of the mad scientist in the family?”

“Uncle Shelton has had what most people would call a checkered career. The result is that he has a variety of skill sets.”