When Dustin stepped inside the dim tavern, he blinked at the change of light. He wondered instantly if the meeting had been planned so he’d have a few seconds of disorientation—a time during which he might be observed and not observe in return.
As his eyes adjusted, he saw General Bixby seated at the bar. The general nodded gravely at Dustin, indicating a group across the room.
Dustin nodded in return, then moved toward the others. He saw David Caswell stand; he’d been sitting at a corner booth. Caswell wasn’t alone. There were two other men with him. One was dark-haired with Native American ancestry apparent in a strong face. The other was light-skinned and light-haired. When they, too, stood to meet him, he saw that they were both tall and fit. And both were wearing casual suits. Not the usual feds—if that was what they were.
“Dustin!” David Caswell said. The pleasure of his greeting seemed sincere.
“Good to see you,” Dustin greeted David, shaking his hand. He glanced at the other two men and waited.
“I’d like you to meet Jackson Crow and Malachi Gordon,” David turned. “Jackson, Malachi, Special Agent Dustin Blake. When I first started with the police force in Savannah, Dustin and I were partners. He’s the best—and rare in his abilities.”
“Thank you for coming,” Jackson said.
The men took their seats again. They studied him, and he returned their stare.
So the dark-haired man was the famous—or infamous—Jackson Crow.
“How do you like being with the feds, Mr. Blake?” Crow asked him.
“How do I like it? Just fine,” Dustin said. And it
In all honesty—and he didn’t know if it was simply self-assurance or something less commendable—he’d expected to receive a good assignment when he’d graduated from the academy. Whatever that might be. And he’d gotten a good assignment. He worked with a group of four consultants sent on diverse cases when violent crime crossed state lines.
“You enjoy working with your team?” Crow asked. Was it just a polite question?
“Yeah, I do. My coworkers are good, savvy, personable and experienced. I work with one guy, Grant Shelby, who’s six foot seven, nearly three hundred pounds of lean, mean muscle, with almost computer-powered intelligence. He’s pretty good to have around in a hostile situation. And Cindy Greenstreet had the highest test scores in the past decade. I also work with Jerry Gunter—you might have heard the name. He used to be a mixed-martial-arts champ before entering the academy. He’s pretty good to have around in a pinch, as well. If you’ve called me here, I’m sure you’ve read up on me, so you know that when I joined the bureau, I didn’t start out as a kid but came in with a lot of experience, both in combat and law enforcement.”
Crow nodded and Dustin realized that he’d known all this. Dustin’s FBI unit was smart and tough—they’d been put together to get in and get the job done.
“Good assignment,” Crow said with a nod.
“Yeah.” As he’d told them, Dustin hadn’t come into the academy as a fresh-faced twenty-something grad. Before he’d gone to college, he’d participated as a witness in a case involving a duo of oddly matched serial killers. From there, he’d gone into the military, and after the marines he’d gone into police work. He hadn’t exactly entered the department immediately; there’d been a year when he’d been in total denial about himself and his “unusual” abilities—and about the heinous things men seemed willing to do to their fellows. He’d more or less walked into the wilderness. Actually, it hadn’t been that dramatic. He’d taken a job as a forest ranger in the Everglades—except that he’d been led to bodies in giant oilcans and he’d realized it was time to move his efforts in the best possible direction. There were certain things a man couldn’t escape—and his own nature was one of them.
So he’d decided to apply to the academy.
“You know all about me,” Dustin said. “Why are we meeting?”
David looked at Jackson Crow and shrugged.
“What do you know about the Krewes?” This time, it was Malachi Gordon who spoke. Dustin knew his name; he was a recent graduate of the academy. He’d come into the bureau after working a case in Savannah.
Dustin leaned back. “I’ve read about what happened in Savannah,” he told Malachi. “You know I worked with David so, of course, the beautiful city of Savannah is near and dear to my heart. In fact, I was somewhat surprised that my unit
He paused and grinned sheepishly at David. “It seems like you all did just fine without me.”
“I’m sure you would’ve been an asset,” Malachi murmured.
Dustin looked curiously at the other man. “Thanks, but as I said—seems like you had it covered.”
“That was then—and we did have it covered. However, although the Krewes are growing, there are never enough of us, and we’re always looking for the right people,” Crow told him. “Would you be interested in seeing how you work out with one of our units?”
Dustin smiled. That was straightforward. “I initially asked about applying to one of your units. They told me there was no application process. You formed your own units.”
“That’s true,” Crow said. “And I wish I’d known about you earlier. David was talking to Malachi about you, and then Malachi talked to me. So, yes, I looked you up and pulled strings to get all the information I could on you. Thus far, each recruit has worked out. We’re...careful in the people we approach. We have to be.”
“Because you all have special talents, I take it?” Dustin asked. “And, of course, because all the other agents like to call the units ghost hunters and rib you all about it. But really, they’re all envious of your record.”
“Detective Caswell has told us that working with you was like—”
“Like working with me,” Malachi Gordon cut in. “David and I were together in New Orleans,” he explained.
“I see,” Dustin said.
“Are you a candidate, Mr. Blake?” Crow asked him.
Dustin lowered his head, hiding a smile. He looked back at Crow. “Well, let me put it this way—if you haven’t met him yet, I’d be glad to introduce you to General Bixby. He’s sitting at the bar right now, next to the man in the jeans and Alice Cooper T-shirt.”
That brought a grin to Crow’s face. Dustin hadn’t been sure the man was really capable of a smile.
“We haven’t met formally, no, but we’ve been aware of his presence.”
“I wasn’t sure if I was being tested or not.” Dustin leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table as he looked at Jackson Crow, then Dustin and finally the third man, Malachi Gordon.
“Why now?” he asked.
It was Gordon who answered him. “You’re from Nashville,” he said.
Dustin thought quickly. He was privy to law-enforcement reports daily. He hadn’t heard anything about a kidnapping or murder in the city of Nashville.
“I am from Nashville,” he said, frowning. “But I’ve been gone for a long time.”
“You go back often enough, don’t you?”
He did, except that he hadn’t been there in a while. His academic parents were living in London. His little sister, Rayna, had grown up to be a country music singer. But she’d been on tour for the past year. He’d caught up with her—and his folks—for a few days in London earlier in the summer.
“Yes, but I haven’t been back in about a year,” he said.
“That’s not too long,” David said. “Have you ever heard of a man named Marcus Danby?” Malachi Gordon asked him.
“Marcus Danby.” Dustin repeated slowly. The name was familiar. “Of course. Yes,” he said. “He founded a therapy center. He brings in clients—patients—to work with horses. Or dogs, sometimes. He was the black sheep of a very elite family, wound up addicted to everything known to man. He did time, but he was the last living member of his family and inherited property. He also changed his ways. The Horse Farm is extremely well- respected.”
