Emma looked over her shoulder and winked, knowing that nothing in the world could compete with what she found in Cain’s eyes.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“Did anyone find them yet?” Shelby asked the dispatcher on the way back to the office.
“The group you lost this morning outside the cathedral just walked in and asked to speak to Agent Hicks,” the man answered with a laugh.
“Cain Casey is in the building?”
“Along with Emma and Muriel Casey. That’s what I’m telling you.”
More than one agent gathered around the monitor with Annabel Hicks and stared in amazement at the feed from the waiting room. Cain sat in one of the beige plastic chairs with her legs casually crossed, like she had just checked in for a massage appointment. Next to her, Emma ran her index finger along Cain’s hand, which lay open in her lap. Muriel was reading a file and ignoring the camera in the corner of the room. All of the watchers noticed one thing—the Caseys acted like they visited the enemy camp every day.
A young agent wearing a conservative gray suit walked into the area and verified, “Ms. Casey?”
“Yes?” Cain and Muriel answered together, looking at each other as if they were going to enjoy the upcoming meeting.
“My apologies. I meant Cain Casey.”
“What can I do for you?” Cain didn’t stand up, and she didn’t pull her hand away from Emma’s.
“If you’d come with me.” The agent pointed to the hallway behind her. “Agent Hicks will be with you as soon as possible. Your friends can wait for you here.”
“Cain—” Emma began, stopping when Cain squeezed her fingers.
Cain stared at the camera, ignoring the young agent who obviously still expected her to stand and do as she was asked. “Agent Hicks? I came here today voluntarily. If you don’t want to talk to me, fine, but I don’t have time to play games. The thirty minutes I’ve been sitting here is the extent of psychological bullshit I’m willing to put up with.”
After the tough talk, Cain got to her feet and offered Emma a hand up, and to the consternation of the observers, all three Caseys headed toward the exit. Before Cain touched the doorknob, Annabel Hicks took the agent’s place.
“Ms. Casey, I’d like it if we talked before you left.”
Cain knew it was as much of an apology as she was going to get.
“Mrs. Casey and Ms. Casey are more than welcome to join us.”
They followed her into one of the interrogation rooms, and Cain smiled when she glanced at the wall of mirrors. She wondered if just the sight of them intimidated people into confessing before they knew what they were doing.
“What can I do for you?” Agent Hicks asked.
“I thought I’d save you the trouble of having to find me.”
Annabel didn’t know what Cain was talking about, but she had no intention of revealing that. “Considering our situation and what we both do for a living, Ms. Casey, let’s not pretend the Bureau would have any trouble finding you if we needed to. The city has eyes and ears in the most unlikely places, wouldn’t you agree?”
“If you’re referring to the multitude of listening devices your people planted in my house this morning, then I’d have to agree. You really should inform your men that most moving guys don’t spit and polish their shoes, and I sincerely hope you had a warrant for all of those, especially the ones in the bedroom.”
Cain looked from Hicks to the mirror beyond her and the collection of people undoubtedly standing behind it watching like an audience at a high-stakes chess game. “While what my partner and I do behind closed doors isn’t to everyone’s taste, I’m positive it’s legal. What are you hoping to gather from anything you hear in there? Your agents hoping to learn some new moves to spice up their pathetic little lives?”
“I’m sure the agents have followed the letter of the law. You and I both know I can’t stop the surveillance unless you decide to take up another kind of business.”
“Then go ahead and arrest me, since according to Agent Curtis you have enough evidence in your possession to lock me away.”
“Agent Curtis?” It was too late. Annabel’s surprise not only showed, but it seeped into her voice. “What’s he got to do with this?”
Muriel took over the meeting and explained the visit earlier that morning and why Anthony had been there. The observers all wanted to bang their heads into the glass when they heard what the idiot had done and what it would mean to their team. Agent Hicks would never believe he was acting on his own.
“Ms. Casey runs a reputable business and is an active and contributing member of this city, Agent Hicks. If she wasn’t, I’m sure your digging would have uncovered something by now, so it’s rather insulting to her and to our family to have a member of the FBI come to our home and threaten her into becoming an informant.
“I’m sure my client would love to serve the government as an informant if you decide to open a pub. She could regale you with tons of information on how to pour beer, but otherwise, I want this constant harassment to stop.”
Muriel pulled out a file from her bag and slid it over. “This is our complaint citing that you’ve lost control of some of your agents, resulting in my client being shot. With Mr. Curtis’s actions this morning, we now see the kettle has been put on the fire to again build up steam. I don’t want to take a second chance with my client’s life, so don’t view this as something against you, Agent Hicks.”
