.38 Caliber Cover-Up

“Are you making arrests tonight?”

“You understand that we can’t go into details at the moment.” Two men in black suits stepped into the light, showing their U.S. Marshal badges. “Marshals Thomas and Campbell will escort you to a safe house.”

“Not until I see my family.”

“That’s not advisable,” he said flatly as if he sincerely believed it was necessary. “They’ll be joining you as soon as we secure a location for Michael.”

“Listen, Brian, I understand you have to protect your witness from the boogie men. But I’m not going anywhere until I’m assured my family is safe and they know what’s going on.” She reached out and took hold of her bag. “I’ll carry it. The bastard took my gun, but I have stuff for my dad.”

He released his grip and she kept her second weapon.

So that was the key to getting away with a lie? Speaking with force? Or speaking like you believed it and in yourself.

“We should check through her purse,” said Thomas or Campbell—she hadn’t caught who was who.

“Not on your life, buddy.” She slung the strap over her shoulder. “I don’t let any guy wander through my tampons.”

Stay angry. Don’t laugh.

The marshal took a step back and gestured toward the hospital’s door.

“Keep the car running,” Brian instructed.

Thomas or Campbell led the way, the ADA walked next to her and the second marshal stayed outside with the car. Before she could duck into a bathroom and slip the second gun from her boot, they came to a room with an empty chair out front.

Brian knocked. The Medic pulled the door open to a normal-sized hospital room very much like where her brother had been that morning. Michael looked exactly the same. Had it only been fifteen hours since she’d seen him?

Sean stretched in the corner chair. “Hey, Dar.”

“How’s he doing?” she asked her father as he turned from the window to see her.

“John Doe here,” the Sergeant Major nodded toward the Medic, “nicknamed such for his refusal to give his name, says Michael’s fine. Everything checks out and his body just needs some uninterrupted rest.”

“I actually said the test results in his file were inconclusive and I wasn’t certain when or if he’d wake up.” The Medic directed his opinion to Brian, who obviously wanted an update as well. “Time for my adios.”

The Medic left the room. She hadn’t even thanked him.

“Say your goodbyes, Darby. The marshals would like to leave in ten minutes.” Brian was the perfect ADA, looking at his watch, addressing the room and not touching his glasses once.

“Everyone can wait outside.” Her voice was rigid instead of vibrating like her insides. She hooked her free hand around the strap to keep it from trembling. No one argued or spoke a word. Both men turned on a dime and left. Sean and her dad came closer from the window side of the room and she was finally allowed to see Michael. He looked as if he was in a peaceful sleep and she wanted to shake him, shout him awake like she had when it was her responsibility to make certain he got to school on time.

“What was that dude talking about?” Sean asked, sounding like Michael…but not Michael.

“We found the proof. He hid the information at my house.” She stroked Michael’s arm, but looked at her family. “He got kicked out of the academy to work undercover, gathering evidence that will put some dirty cops away for a long time.”

She wanted to cry and swallowed down the impulse. She was so proud of her little brother. She rubbed his arm again. He’d gotten a tattoo. A symbol they’d used to represent the O’Malley children. An O with four points of the compass. Each of them was a different direction, baby brother being west.

“Did you see this, Sean?”

“Cool idea to have a tat of the O’Malley O.”

“The guy with glasses said you were leaving with U.S. Marshals?” her father asked. “Are you in trouble for this morning?”

“Weird thing about that evidence, Dad, is I’m part of what Michael was protecting. I can corroborate the information and I need to testify.”

I’ve made two promises I won’t break—to keep you safe and to put the bastard who shot Pike away. Erren’s words pounded her brain.

“Are you going into witness protection?” Sean asked.

“Only for a while.”

“Are you sure? If they’ve already killed one police officer, shot Michael and tried to kill you… What’s to stop them from trying again?” Her brother’s voice began to rise. “Do you know who did this?”

Oh, my God!

“That mule-headed chameleon.” She waved Brian inside the door and poked him in the chest. “Where has he gone?”

“Excuse me?” Brian looked around the room for help, falling back another step as she poked his chest again.

Sean and her father stood with their arms crossed and lips firmly closed, silently backing her every move.

“Erren wouldn’t have driven away from unfinished business. Even with the evidence Michael collected, we don’t know who pulled the trigger. He didn’t leave town. He’s gone to confront those monsters on his own.” She would do whatever was necessary to save her partner from himself. “And you’re letting him.”

“It’s our best course of action.” Brian couldn’t retreat any farther with his back to the wall and Darby’s finger in his chest.

“I want to know where Erren is headed and what you two planned while I was out of the room at the cabin.”

“That’s on a need-to-know basis.”

“Oh, I definitely need to know and you sure as hell are about to tell me.”

“You can’t threaten me, Darby.”

“If there’s one thing I know about my daughter, son, it’s that she doesn’t make threats.” Her father widened his stance and placed his hands on his hips. “She keeps promises.”

Chapter Fifteen

“Brian, tell me where he’s going.” Darby stood nose-to-nose with the attorney. She hadn’t screamed and didn’t need to fake anything. She sounded and felt desperate.

Whatever Erren said he was doing, his real intention was to find Pike’s murderer. None of the evidence they had secured told them who had pulled the trigger. She knew firsthand that putting that slimeball on the fast track to state prison was the only thing that was important to Agent Rhodes.

Definitely more important than she was to him.

“We need to get you to a safe house as soon as possible.” Brian still stood next to the wall. The confidence in his tone was slipping. “It’s imperative that you receive protection.”

“I don’t think you recognize my daughter’s look. You may as well give in. She’s going to get her way.” The Sergeant Major’s stance may have seemed intimidating to an assistant district attorney, but to her he’d never appeared more caring.

“Erren said he was forwarding the pictures to you. Are they on your BlackBerry?” She held her hand out, expecting him to hand over the phone.

“We don’t have time for you to hunt for clues,” Brian said. He looked at her family. “This is highly inappropriate. We’ll go over everything at the safe house.”

“I don’t have time to waste,” she told him, motioning for the phone. She restrained her foot from tapping