Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

F ORGOING HIS NORMAL MORNING WORKOUT, a weary and jet-lagged Devine slept in, rose, showered and dressed, and snagged a coffee and bagel from the little hotel market off the lobby.

At ten sharp he knocked on Saxby’s door. The FBI agent looked exhausted with dark rings under her eyes, and a cup of black coffee in hand.

“How was your evening?” he asked.

“You trying to be funny? How was yours?”

“Eventful.”

“Meaning?” she said sharply.

He explained about the late Perry Rollins but left out telling her about the two men who had said they had known the Odoms. He wasn’t in a real trusting mood right now and he wanted to see how all of this played out before fully looping in the Bureau, if he ever did.

She exclaimed, “A guy selling dirt on Glass goes down minutes after pitching you the business? You think Glass had him killed?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, she can’t go and meet with him now,” observed Saxby. “A man connected to Glass has been murdered .”

Devine shook his head. “Like you said before, innocent until proven guilty. And if you try to put the kibosh on the meeting, your supervisor will probably transplant you permanently to a one-person office in the wilds of Alaska. I doubt you want to earn the rest of your government pension counting down the seconds of your life.”

She took a gulp of coffee, ran a hand through her tangled hair, and plopped down on the couch. “I really don’t need this shit.”

“But for now, it’s tag and I’m it. I’ll take her and bring her back.”

She glanced up at him. “Okay, here’s the rundown. Glass has reservations at the Four Seasons hotel restaurant. They meet for two hours max. No going anywhere else. You can leave them together, but you are to maintain visual contact at all times, no matter what.”

“Okay. Is Betsy ready?”

“I heard her moving around close to six, so I’d say definitely yes.”

“She must be excited.”

“Or nervous,” Saxby shot back.

“Or both,” amended Devine. “How’d you sleep?”

“That damn couch is older than I am. And I’ve had insomnia for two years.”

“Army has a method for falling asleep. I can teach you.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. Army, huh? How long were you in for?” asked Saxby.

“Little over ten.”

“Then you were well on your way to a full ride and a nice pension.”

“You know about such things?”

“My ex was in the Marines.”

“Did he do the full ride?” asked Devine.

“Yeah, and then the asshole divorced me and married a twenty-something hair stylist, who I introduced him to, to work on his bald spot to make him feel better about himself, if you can believe the irony.”

Again, Devine was startled by the personal information dump and didn’t respond directly to it. “You have kids?”

She nodded, her mouth widening almost to a smile. “Two boys. Fourteen and sixteen.”

“Who do they stay with when you’re on the road?”

A frown swept the near smile away. “They split time with me and their father and his new bride. She comes from money but apparently sees herself as an artiste with clippers and a blow dryer. They have a place with a pool. I take it my boys just love to watch their stepmom prance around in her itty-bitty bikini. Makes me want to puke.”

This was getting so uncomfortable now that Devine nearly cried out in relief when the bedroom door opened and Odom appeared there. She had on black slacks, lace-up green boots, and a dark blue turtleneck sweater. Her hair was freshly washed and done up in a way that had clearly taken the girl some time and effort to accomplish.

“I’m ready,” she announced. “How do I look?”

“Fine,” pronounced Devine.

Saxby just sipped on her coffee, looking miserable.

“Let’s go,” said Devine.

Odom grabbed her coat and they started out. Before the door closed behind them, Saxby clenched his arm. “Watch her like a hawk,” she said in a furious whisper.

“I plan to,” replied Devine evenly. “Because it’s my job.”

Devine ordered an Uber. The Kia SUV pulled up three minutes later and Devine scrutinized the fresh-faced young woman at the wheel who greeted them with a warm smile and an offer of hard candy. Both declined.

As they drove away, Devine looked at Odom and said, “Good sleep?”

“It was okay.” She glanced furtively at him. “I had some butterflies.”

“Understandable.”

“I read some more online about my uncle last night. What’s this RICO stuff?”

“A bunch of criminal laws the government alleged he broke.”

“I knew he was kind of a bad guy.”

“From your parents? Or Google?” he quipped.

She didn’t answer him.

“Look, anything gets henky for you with him, just give me the high sign and I’ll end the meeting.”

“What kind of sign?” she said, casting him a curious glance.

Devine rubbed his hand along the seat and leaned his head to the right. “Do those two things together and I’ll swoop in and it’s over. Don’t worry, I’ll make up an excuse and take the blame,” he added when Odom looked ready to protest.

Devine continued, “Those guys who were following us last night? They said they were friends of your mom and dad. Went to high school with your father.” He described Big Hair and Baldy. “Sound familiar?”

She looked at him warily. It struck Devine that Odom did not trust anyone. And maybe that made perfect sense. And not just for her, but for me, too.

She said, “Maybe. What did they say?”

“That they agree with you that your parents were not drug users and so that could not have been the cause of their deaths.”

“See,” she said fiercely.

“Just because they said it does not make it true, especially when the police say otherwise.”

“Then the police are lying. And I said my parents weren’t drug users, too.”

Devine caught the young driver staring at them in the rearview, a startled expression on her features from what she had overheard.

He flashed his badge and said, “Eyes on the road, ma’am. Official government business back here. And can you turn up the radio, please?”

She blushed deeply, looked quickly away, and cranked up the volume.

Over Mick Jagger’s vocals coming from the radio, Devine glanced at Odom and said, “That’s quite an allegation about the police.”

“It’s the truth , Travis. And you need to prove it.”

“ I do?”

“Yeah, isn’t that your job? To find the truth? And you were asking all those questions yesterday.”

“To which you gave almost no answers.”

“That’s because I don’t know much. Now shut up and let me get ready for my audition .”

“You really think you need to work for this? He clearly wants you in his life.”

“In my world, you have to work for everything. And you still never get what you really want.”

She sat back and stared out the window while Devine watched her.