Chapter 47

CHAPTER 47

W HERE THE HELL DID SHE go?” exclaimed Saxby.

They all rushed over to the empty bench and looked around.

Devine eyed both ends of the hall. There were numerous people scurrying here and there, but Odom was not among them.

Devine looked at Saxby. “You go that way. Beth and I will head in the other direction. Text if you find her.”

They hurried off, leaving Nancy Fine alone and confused. She sat down on the bench, pulled out her phone, and started tapping away.

Devine and Walker moved down opposite sides of the hall, opening doors and peering inside.

Walker said, “Do you think she could have been taken? Or gone off with Glass?”

“Willingly or not?” he said.

“I don’t know.”

“I think it’s more likely she got fed up with all the crap and just wanted to get some fresh air.”

“I hope you’re right,” said Walker.

They finished on their side of the building and Devine texted Saxby. She called him.

“No sign of her, Devine. I’ve got some of the marshals on the hunt for her, too. Should we bring in the police?”

“No,” he said decisively.

“Why not?” demanded the FBI agent.

“Because she’s walking towards me right now.”

“Seriously?”

Devine told Saxby where they were and clicked off. He and Walker rushed over to Odom and Devine said, “Where did you go? We were worried.”

“I was tired of listenin’ to you guys bitchin’,” said Odom. “I went for a walk.”

“Okay, I’m sorry. It’s just that today threw everyone for a loop.”

Odom looked at Walker. “You’re really pretty.”

A surprised Walker said, “Thank you, Betsy.”

“For you.” She handed her a sheet from her sketchbook. On it was an excellent likeness of Walker.

“Wow, that is incredible,” said Walker, showing it to Devine, who also looked impressed.

“Damn, Betsy, you are one fine artist.”

Odom did not seem to be listening to him and her expression had darkened. “So you don’t want to be my guardian?” she said defiantly.

“What?”

“I heard you. So you don’t want to be my guardian?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Yes, you did,” she blurted out. “Don’t lie to me!”

Devine looked flustered and out of sorts. “Look, I just said it wouldn’t work out. I… I don’t know anything about… It wouldn’t be fair to you,” he added lamely.

“Right, sure, fair to me. You just don’t want the hassle, admit it.”

By this time Saxby had arrived on the scene. “Damn it, Betsy, you had us scared to death.”

She whirled around on the FBI agent. “Don’t start on me, okay? You all act like you had the shitty day. I had the shitty day! You all expected me to say I wanted my uncle to be my guardian. But I didn’t, did I? You think that was easy? You keep tellin’ me my uncle is this bad guy. You think it was easy not pickin’ him? He’s pissed. I saw it. You think that was easy?” She stared up at Devine. “So I went out on a limb and I picked you. I told that judge lady. I wanted you to be my guardian. And it didn’t mean shit to you , or any of you.”

“Betsy, that is not right,” countered Devine. “ I don’t think that. It meant a great deal to me.”

“The hell it does. Stop lyin’!”

Devine let out a long breath. “Okay, Betsy. You’re right.”

“About what? What am I right about?” Odom wanted to know.

Devine could tell she was poised for a prolonged fight, so he had to choose his words carefully.

“You went out on a limb, like you said. You bucked your uncle and that is a huge deal. And I think you picked me because you feel like we connected. And the truth is I felt the same about you, Betsy. But you just have to understand that I’ve never spent much time around people your age. I will screw up. I will say the wrong thing. I will annoy the hell out of you and you’ll annoy the hell out of me at times. But I will have your back, I promise you that. So I will be your guardian. I mean, if you really meant it. And if the court approves it. ”

Odom didn’t say anything for a few moments.

“Really? You’re not just sayin’ that?” she said in a calmer tone.

“Really. And I need your help to find out what happened to your parents. And us being together will make that easier.” He turned to Saxby. “How can we make that work?”

“Let me get her lawyer involved,” she said. “It might be as simple as transferring her care from one fed to another. But where will you stay? Your hotel?”

“No.” He looked at Odom. “How about we go back to your place? Nate and Korey are there. We can hang with them.”

“Yeah, that would be cool. I like them. A lot.”

Devine looked at Saxby. “Let’s do it.”

“You’re really sure about this?” she asked.

Devine looked at Walker, who appeared nervous but supportive. He then glanced at Odom, who had her eyes glued to him, before turning to Saxby. “I’m sure.”

“Judge Mehan adjourned the hearing today so she could consider Betsy’s wanting you to be her guardian. She’ll be doing a deeper dive into your background. But I may be able to pull some strings in the interim and speed up the process.” Saxby slipped out her phone and hurried off.

Odom said, “Hey, Travis, can I talk to you for a minute? In private?” she added, glancing at Walker.

She led him over to a corner, where she took a sealed envelope out of her pocket and handed it to him.

“What’s this?” asked Devine.

“Some old lady came up to me and asked me to give it to you.”

“What? What old lady?” he said sharply, looking all around.

“I don’t know her. Just some lady.”

“What did she look like?”

“Like a really old lady.”

“How old is that?” Devine asked.

“Really, really old. Like she must’ve been at least fifty or somethin’.”

“Okay, where did you see her?”

“When I was headin’ outside.”

“What did she say?”

“She knew who I was and asked me to give you this. Said it was really important,” Odom added.

“Where is she now?”

“I don’t know. She walked off right after she gave me the envelope.”

Devine unsealed the envelope and took out the folded paper inside.

He read the contents three times through.

Meet me tonight at the Gum Wall, eleven sharp. Come alone. I see everything, so you involve the police, I will never show and you will be really sorry. I know things about your case that you need to know too. Some of it might be mutually beneficial. A win-win if you don’t try to screw me. And you might get to live a little longer too. And the same goes for me.

The Girl on the Train

“ Is it important?” asked Odom.

Devine looked at her. “Yeah, it is.”