“I mean it, Faith Ann. You lock up and if you need anything, call Sean.”
“Where are you going?”
“On a mission.”
“Important?”
“Life and death.”
Hank leaned over and kissed the girl’s cheek and she returned it.
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “Go get it done.”
Hank took the keys to his Jeep and went out the door. He was almost at the driver’s door when his leg went numb and he pitched into the side of the vehicle and tumbled into the ditch, striking his head. As he lay there on his back, cold rain filled his eyes.
It was immediately obvious to him that he wasn’t going to be getting up without help. He heard the back door fly open and Faith Ann’s feet on the gravel as she came at a run.
“Oh, Uncle Hank!” She knelt beside him, a look of horror in her eyes.
“I’m okay, Faith Ann. My stupid leg just went stiff on me. I’ll be able to get up in a minute.”
“I’ll help you.” She grabbed his wrist and began tugging at it. He couldn’t do more than sit up. He wondered if he might have broken his hip.
“Go get Sean,” he told the girl.
Faith Ann wriggled out of her raincoat and put it over Hank’s head to protect him from the rain. Then she turned and ran off toward the big house.
Hank was thankful she hadn’t hung around to see him crying.
57
Sean Massey answered the phone on the third ring. “Hello?”
“Sean, it’s Alexa Keen. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Hello, Alexa. Anything wrong?”
“No, everything’s fine,” Alexa assured her. “I was just wondering if you’d heard from Winter this evening.”
“He called earlier when I was putting Olivia down. Maybe two hours ago. Why?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute. What exactly did he say to you?”
“He told me he loved me and asked about Rush, Olivia, and Faith Ann. Said you guys had split up. Said it wasn’t dangerous, which I naturally assumed was a lie designed to make me feel better. That’s about it. Tell me why you’re asking. I can handle anything but not knowing.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing. He called me earlier to say he was going to make a couple of stops, then come back here to the Westin. It’s been over an hour, and I can’t get him on the cell phone I gave him. He has extra charged batteries, but the one in it may have run down and he might not know it’s time to replace it. I know he has a second cell phone, his own. I don’t have the number.”
“He forgets things,” Sean said. She gave Alexa Winter’s cell number. “Alexa, tell him to call me as soon as you talk to him?”
“Sean, don’t worry. Winter can take care of himself.”
“I know,” Sean said. “I’ve seen that firsthand.” She said good-bye, hung up, and looked across the room where Hank Trammel sat in an armchair, frowning. A wool blanket was over his shoulders.
“I haven’t seen that sour-ass Trammel look since the day I met you,” she told him. “God, you can be a scary fellow until a body gets to know what a pussycat you are.”
“Polecat, you mean.” Hank smiled. “I remember when I had you handcuffed. You looked like something out of
“Alexa says he didn’t show on schedule.”
Hank said, “I have a feeling she’ll see him soon enough. He has a way of turning up when you least expect him to. Reckon I’d best get moving.” He tried to stand.
“Hank,” Sean said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to stay here.”
“Bull,” he said. “Help me make it up. I’ll be fine once I get moving.”
“Let’s cut the crap,” she told him. “I’ll go see Judge Fondren.”
“No way. Winter would have my ass. He entrusted me with this errand.”
“Is it dangerous, knocking on a front door in Myers Park?”
“No, I don’t expect it is.”
“I walk up, ring the bell, deliver the message. Then I’ll get in my car and come back home.”
“I feel so dad-burned worthless.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“I can’t call Judge Fondren,” he said. “Winter said the wrong people are tapping phones. He said he couldn’t call anybody who could help because the bad guys could be monitoring anybody he might turn to. I’m the only person he was sure they wouldn’t think he’d turn to.” Saying that hurt.
“No, Hank. The only thing to do is what Winter said to do.”
“It’s not a good idea,” Hank insisted. “He didn’t call you for a reason. Winter’ll freak out if you go into a dangerous situation. I’ll go. I know Fondren.”
“Come on, Hank. We’ve discussed this. You know I can take care of myself.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“Faith Ann knows where Olivia’s bottles are. If the baby wakes and won’t go back to sleep, sing to her. She likes ‘Do you believe in life after love,’ that Cher tune.”
“She’ll have to settle for ‘Desperados Waiting for a Train.’ You be real careful. If you see anybody watching the judge’s house, keep going. Call me from a pay phone and I’ll call Shapiro. Agreed?”
Sean stood, slipped on a coat and a baseball cap, then kissed Hank. She knew Shapiro, the director of the U.S. Marshals, and he would do anything to help Hank or Winter.
“You be careful,” Hank called after her. “I’m about as experienced taking care of infants as I intend to be.”
58
The road Winter Massey had crashed his truck on wasn’t heavily traveled. It was Saturday night, and only a few people lived out that way, and it dead-ended into one of the few remaining farms that hadn’t been turned into a shopping center or a subdivision. The first driver down that road would spot his truck-rolled over like it was and lit up like a Christmas tree-and call the cops. Winter only hoped it wasn’t discovered until he was close enough to the Dockerys that it wouldn’t matter.
He was muddy and bruised from the dive he’d taken out of the truck’s cab when it left the road. He didn’t generally jump from moving vehicles, but he’d had little to lose by taking a chance that the ground would be soft enough to keep him from breaking his neck. Based on what the Tahoe’s driver said on his phone to Randall-if the wreck wasn’t found and broadcast over the police channels-Winter might have an hour before the men in black he’d killed didn’t show up wherever Max Randall expected them to meet him. Add maybe another half hour before Max got word to the bunch at the Westin. He might have additional time after that before anybody got word to the Smoots to tell them that Click
Clayton Able, who certainly knew Randall’s team was after Winter, would be monitoring local police radio channels for news of any incident. He would learn a wrecked truck had been found near the clinic, know it was Winter’s, and learn pretty quickly there were three bodies. That would set up the first alarm. Winter was counting on it taking some time for the bad guys to discover that none of the dead bodies was his. When they did, Clayton and company would know that Winter was responsible for the dead men, and they’d know it long before the cops
