Cold Spite, page 31
part #1 of Cold Justice® - Most Wanted Series
Cas said nothing. Just stared out the window.
“Well?” Holtz questioned after a couple of minutes of silence.
“Well, what?” Cas raised a quizzical brow.
“Why the fuck are the FBI hauling me off for questioning?”
“I can’t say.”
“Why not?”
“Petty Officer Holtz, you had your chance to make a deal yesterday. It’s too late for any hope of leniency now.”
Holtz’s lip curled. “Bullshit.”
“That’s not what the evidence is telling us.”
Holtz shifted in his seat. With his hands cuffed behind his back and his seatbelt pinning him in place, it wasn’t impossible for the guy to try to do him some damage, but it was unlikely.
“Then the evidence is bullshit.”
Cas let the silence grow. Holding his tongue was his superpower.
“What evidence do you have?” asked Holtz after another mile of travel.
“I assume your lawyer will tell you all about it. You do have a lawyer?”
Holtz’s eyes widened, perhaps finally figuring out exactly how much trouble he was in.
“You hear about Admiral Sagal?”
“I had nothing to do with that.” He licked his lips. “Guys are all looking at me sideways even though they know I was on base when Sagal was shot.”
“And his wife, she was murdered too. Do you think it is a coincidence that whoever killed the admiral also took his Budweiser?”
Holtz rolled his shoulders. “Lot of people want the pin even if they don’t have a right to wear it.”
“That’s right.” Cas allowed a wide smile to stretch his lips.
“If you mean Joseph, then that’s garbage. He earned it.”
“So you said repeatedly yesterday. But Naval Command has the authority to take that right away. You think they’ll take yours?”
Holtz’s blue eyes flashed hot. “What do you mean?”
“You’re implicated in the bombing of the memorial service of a serving FBI Hostage Rescue Team operator. You are implicated in the attempted murder of a federal agent and use of a weapon of mass destruction on US soil.”
“Don’t bullshit a bullshitter. You got nothing.” Holtz looked away out of the window.
“Would you really be under armed escort to FBI Headquarters to be questioned if we had nothing? I’ll let you in on a secret. You know the real shame? We’ve got nothing on Scanlon. Oh, we know it was him, but he’s been very careful about setting this up. You’re the one who’s going to go down and from what I hear that’s a pity. You were a damned good warfighter.”
Holtz’s expression soured at Cas’s use of past tense.
“I haven’t done anything.”
“The only hope you’ve got is telling the whole truth and hoping the AG doesn’t decide to make an example out of you. But I wouldn’t hold your breath, even if you were a frogman.”
Holtz stared out of the window. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure,” Hopper jeered from the front seat.
Cas made himself sympathetic. It was one of the things he did best. Empathize with killers and psychopaths. “This isn’t some war game where you fail for cracking under interrogation. You already lost when you provided an ex-con with military explosives.”
Holtz nervously chewed the inside of his cheek.
“We know about the plane. We can place one Scanlon brother in Virginia on Wednesday morning, but that’s as close as we can get without access to the van he used to transport the bomb or some other evidence implicating him…”
Holtz shot him a look. “Again, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
This guy was trained not to give up details under interrogation. So was Scanlon. It wasn’t making this case any easier.
Cas’s cell buzzed and he checked the screen. Yael. Asking that he call her. He texted her back that he was unable to talk for the next three hours, making sure his screen wasn’t visible to the man beside him. He couldn’t risk the guy hearing or seeing anything about Delilah still being alive.
The text came back.
Call me when you can. It’s important.
It was just after noon when they arrived at HQ, having broken the speed limit most of the way. Cas hadn’t gotten anywhere with Kevin Holtz on the rest of the journey and had largely let the guy sweat.
If he’d thought beating it out of him would do any good, he might have had the boys pull over. But physical pain fed the resilience of men like Holtz, the same way it worked for the members of the Hostage Rescue Team. That kind of challenge was easily faced.
It was the vulnerable emotional shit that the majority of them struggled with.
Or the prospect of life imprisonment or losing the job that defined you.
Four of them escorted Holtz from the underground parking garage up to the fourth floor into an official interview room. They transferred the cuffs so he was chained to a table that was bolted to the floor.
Cas spoke to one of the task force agents outside the room. “You need to have at least two agents in the room with him at all times. Do not undo his cuffs, and do not assume he can’t get out of them.”
The man gave him a plastic smile. “We’ve got this.”
Cas hid his exasperation. He knew the training normal agents underwent, and he knew what SEALs were capable of.
“Don’t underestimate him.”
“We’ve got this, Agent Demarco.”
“Operator,” he corrected sharply. Because he needed to remind them he was part of the elite Hostage Rescue Team, and he still considered Holtz a threat. “Where’s the task force set up?”
The agent pointed him upstairs toward SIOC. Hopper, Hersh, and Sebastian Black all fell in beside him and followed him up in the elevator.
Hopper looked around and shuddered. “I have some bad memories of this place.”
Cas shot the guy a look. His girlfriend had been kidnapped off the street outside just a few weeks ago.
It gave Cas a bad feeling.
He found Yael in the main conference room. She began to pack up her things the moment she saw him.
“Sorry I couldn’t call you earlier. I was in the back seat with Holtz—”
“She’s gone.” Her voice was a whisper.
A sharp hit to the chest made it difficult to breathe. “Gone how?”
Yael looked around as if worried about being overheard. “She left here about three hours ago and I haven’t been able to reach her since.”
Trainer entered the room, and Cas narrowed his eyes at the guy.
“She was upset when she left?”
“Very.”
Trainer began heading toward them, but someone caught his attention. Cas’s fingers began to curl.
“He suggested she may be responsible for Val’s and David’s deaths. She gave as good as she got, but then he told everyone about the fact she couldn’t have kids. It was a low blow. He practically accused her of murdering Nicole Zimmerman because she was pregnant.”
Hurt spread through him. Hurt and fury. “What’s his beef?”
She lowered her voice further. “I dug a little. Apparently, Delilah’s father was his SAC during his first office assignment. There were a few disciplinary incidents.”
“Ah.”
“I think we need to leave.” Sebastian Black jostled him until he was headed to the door.
It was probably a good idea because Cas was feeling violent.
“Operator Demarco!” The salutation rang out over the bustle of the room, and everyone froze.
Cas looked over his shoulder. Raised a brow.
ASAC Trainer had his hands on his hips. “I need to question you.”
Question him?
“Regarding?”
“Your statement to me the other day at Quantico.”
Cas felt his heart slow down as if everything was happening in slow motion. He rarely lost his temper. He’d learned as a child that any show of negative emotion almost always backfired—so he’d channeled any anger into sport or the inherently violent nature of his work.
But he was about to lose his temper now, in front of all Trainer’s cronies.
His cell dinged, as did Hopper’s, Hersh’s, and Black’s. He checked the screen. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait. We have urgent orders to return to Quantico.”
Trainer looked as if he was rapidly losing his nerve. “Fine. Another time.”
Cas narrowed his gaze even further and only moved when Sebastian physically pushed him from the room.
“What the hell was that about?” he asked, although no one answered him.
Yael hustled down the corridor. “Come on. This way.”
They strode after her and piled into the elevator.
“Dammit. I’d hoped we were done for the day. Zoe’s visiting for the weekend.” Hopper sounded pissed.
“You met the parents yet?” Black asked.
“Not yet. Not gonna lie, I’m abso-fucking-lutely terrified.”
Seth Hopper was dating the daughter of the Vice President, and Cas did not envy the other man.
It reminded him of Delilah’s parents. Perhaps she’d gone to visit them?
Cas needed to figure out how to get out of whatever op they were supposed to go on next.
“You don’t have to cancel any plans,” Yael murmured.
Cas glanced at her sharply.
“I’m sure if you check, you’ll find there was a glitch in the system.”
“A glitch?” Black raised a brow.
“You hacked it.” Hopper grinned.
“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Yael looked pointedly at the security cameras. “Shane’s picking me up out front, but I wanted a quick word with you first. Outside.”
Cas was desperate to know what it was Yael didn’t want to say where there was a chance of being overheard. “Tell him to come around to the side and meet us at the parking garage.”
As soon as they got downstairs, Cas headed up the ramp into the frigid February wind. At least the rain had stopped. Yael followed him outside. Cas quickly tried Delilah, but she didn’t pick up.
“Any idea where she went?”
Yael shook her head. “No airline tickets in her name.”
“What about in the alias Killion gave her.”
Yael shook her head again. “Maybe she went to visit her parents?”
“Why turn her cell off?”
“Breathing space?”
That was a possibility and calmed the internal panic a little. “Presumably there are no plans for the FBI to move on Scanlon today?”
“Not that I was allowed to know about. I was speaking to one of their analysts about the flight data I uncovered. Joseph could have definitely committed the bombing and the murders in San Diego. But not the admiral and his wife, or his ex.”
“It’s what? A fifteen-hour drive to New Orleans from here?”
“You don’t seriously think she’d confront him alone?” Yael sounded shocked.
Cas pressed his lips together. “Knowing Delilah? Yeah, she’d definitely confront him alone if she thinks the kid is in danger.”
He watched the HRT vehicles stream out and idle next to the sidewalk as Shane Livingstone’s truck pulled up behind them. Shane got out and joined them.
“What’s up?”
“Delilah’s missing.”
“You think she’s gone after Scanlon?”
Cas nodded. “I can’t let her confront him alone.”
“And she might have just gone to the mall for some retail therapy,” Yael suggested.
“Delilah is not shopping. And if she is, why isn’t she answering her phone?” He put his hands on his head. “I can’t believe I left her alone or that Trainer ambushed her that way.”
“You could be fired if you take off again without permission,” Shane warned.
“She means more to me than anything else in the world. Including my job.”
“Don’t do anything rash.” Shane put his hand on his shoulder. “Even if she’s on her way down there we still have time to make a plan.”
Cas blew out a big breath. Shane was right. Then he remembered the truck came from Killion. He called the spook. “Do you have a tracking beacon on that vehicle you gave Delilah?”
“Hello to you too.”
“I need to find Delilah.”
“You sure she wants you to find her?”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“Well, she has a cell phone, and if she’s not answering it maybe there’s a reason.”
“Patrick,” he warned. “You are the last man in the world to take notice of ‘reasons.’”
“Fine. The truck is at her mom and dad’s home in Alexandria. What’s going on?”
A huge weight lifted off his shoulders. “You didn’t give her any identities I don’t know about, did you? Something she may use to book a flight without me knowing.”
“No. Should I be worried?”
Cas released a long breath. “No. No, I don’t think so.”
“Okay, good. Can I get back to my wife now? She’s in labor.”
Shit. “Yes, of course. God, I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not, but that’s okay. I care about Delilah too. Keep me in the loop.”
“I’m truly sorry.”
“That’s normally my line. Don’t worry. Childbirth is a piece of cake. Audrey has everything under control.”
Cas heard cussing in the background.
“Text me if you need anything.”
“Good luck. And keep me in the loop regarding Audrey and the baby when you get the chance.”
“Will do.”
Cas heard the worry and fear and excitement in Killion’s voice and was overcome with the knowledge that would never be a moment he experienced for himself—because if he couldn’t have that with Delilah, he didn’t want it with anyone.
Seth Hopper jumped out of one of the vehicles and hurried over.
“Hey, the media just linked these murders all together. I heard them speculating on the radio.”
Cas exchanged a look with Yael. Had Delilah leaked information? Stirred up a hornets’ nest? Or had a sharp reporter put together the recent attack and murders?
He checked his watch. “We should head back to Quantico. Let you guys get back to your weekend off.”
Shane looked pensive as he watched Yael. “Perhaps we should head back too. We can drive up here tomorrow morning for the ceremony.”
Yael nodded. “As much as I was looking forward to a weekend off, I can’t rest knowing there might be something I could be doing to help Delilah.”
A lump formed in his throat. “I appreciate that. See you back at Quantico.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
Delilah had gone to a mall she’d hung out at as a teenager and wandered around in a bit of a daze before she’d picked up a few more supplies, including a decent winter coat. She’d turned her cell off because that way she didn’t have to talk to anyone. Demarco was busy and, regardless, she refused to waste her life waiting for him to call her, especially if his job could take him away for months.
Months.
And, yet there was suddenly the possibility that they might have a chance of a future together. And being apart for a few months wasn’t as daunting as losing him from her life forever. Not that he’d talked about a future together…
He kept saying he loved her. Perhaps, soon, she could get over her bone-deep fear and truly believe it.
She stood shivering on the doorstep of her parents’ house in Alexandria. She wore her new beige wool coat, the long blonde wig, and dark glasses. She’d parked the truck on the next block over in case she needed to leave discreetly. Considering she’d sent an anonymous tip to newspapers in both San Diego and Lafayette suggesting Scanlon was linked to all the recent attacks across the country, it was prudent to give herself a little wiggle room. If a news van turned up to interview her parents, she could leave via the neighbor gate at the back of the garden and cut around. But they weren’t likely to arrive anytime soon. The newspapers she’d contacted would need to verify facts first and talk to secondary victims like her parents only after they’d chased their primary sources for more details. She hoped they camped out on Scanlon’s doorstep and made each move he took uncomfortable enough to not kill anyone else. Of course, there were still his co-conspirators to worry about. Someone else had definitely shot Nicole and killed the admiral and his wife.
She heard the latch, but the door opened to unexpectedly reveal a woman she’d never seen before. Her expression wasn’t very pleased.
“Who is it, Gennita?” Her mother’s familiar voice from the back of the house.
“Tell her it’s Valerie.” Her friend’s name scratched in her throat, the loss hitting her afresh.
“Someone called Valerie,” Gennita shouted back to her mom.
Delilah hadn’t thought about the fact there would be strangers in the house. She knew the caregivers had been an enormous help to her mom, but the reality of having them in their home hadn’t fully registered until now.
This was their reality now.
Her mother peeked through the door of the sitting room with wide eyes. “Oh. Oh. Valerie. Come in. Come in.”
Delilah stepped into her parents’ home feeling like a stranger.
“How lovely to see you again. Apologies. We’ve been getting a lot of reporters turning up on the doorstep, intruding on our grief. Gennita was guarding us. Come into the kitchen. Gennita, you head on home early. Stephen is sleeping. Get out while the getting’s good.”
“If you’re sure, Esme?”
“Absolutely, Valerie and I will catch up over a cup of tea while I put on dinner. She was a dear friend of our daughter’s, and we’ll want some peace and quiet to reminisce.” Her mother wiped a tear from beneath each eye.
They both watched Gennita head out the front door and down the driveway. Her mother closed the door, then Delilah found herself engulfed in a hug so tight it hurt.
“I’m so sorry, Mom.” She hung on. “I didn’t mean to make it difficult for you and Dad.”
“You haven’t.” She sniffed without letting go. “The fact you’re alive means you haven’t at all. Only you being dead would make things difficult.” Her mom laugh-sobbed. “Well, aside from Alzheimer’s having no cure.”
