“Excuse me,” Caitlin said and touched the young woman on the arm.
The woman turned and started as she realized who was talking. “You shouldn’t be back here, ma’am.”
Caitlin dropped her voice into a conspiratorial tone. “Look, my ex-boyfriend just came in the restaurant looking for me. We broke up a few weeks ago, and he’s been really pushy trying to get me to come back. I don’t want to have a public scene with him. You know how some men are–”
“Do I ever.”
As the waitress spoke, Caitlin fished a roll of bills from her purse. She peeled off a pair of fifties and held them out. “Do you think you could show me the back way out of here and then forget about me?”
The waitress stared at the money. She nodded. “But there’s no need to pay me. I’ll take fifty to pay for your food and drink, but I’ll be happy to help you duck the bum.”
“Please, consider it a tip,” Caitlin said, still extending both bills.
“All right then.” She took the bills, and they disappeared into a pocket in her blouse. “This way.”
Caitlin followed her through the kitchen to the rear door. The waitress held the door while Caitlin examined the loading dock. No one was in sight.
“Thanks,” she said.
“Anytime.”
Caitlin walked quickly past dumpsters that smelled strongly of fish and sour milk and then slowed as she approached the street. Hugging the wall, she peered around the corner. A light green Ford sat at the curb by the front entrance. Another woman, dressed much like the one inside, stood by the driver’s door.
Who in hell were these people?
Were they with Romax and Holdren?
Caitlin noticed the license plate. It was a federal government plate. She took a photo with her cell’s camera. Just as she turned to slip away, another car screeched to a halt next to the first.
The front doors opened. Romax and Holdren stepped out.
CHAPTER 8
Holdren climbed out before Romax could kill the engine and strode purposefully toward the agent stationed at the front of Alliotto’s. He took his identity card from a breast pocket and flashed it in the woman’s face.
“Agent Bailey?” he asked.
The muscular woman eyed his ID. She studied it as though memorizing its information. “Wesson, Special Agent Bailey’s inside.”
Wesson was average height for a female NCIX agent, about five feet eight and from the way her muscles stretched the sleeves of her jacket, she had to weigh over one-fifty.
“Inside? I thought I made myself clear that no one was to approach the suspect until I arrived.”
“Yeah, well Agent Bailey thought it made more sense to check the place out and see if the suspect had already left. There’s not much point in standing around waiting for someone who’s not going to show.”
Holdren felt a familiar pounding in his temples. He should have known better than expecting the local NCIX agents to take orders from outside their chain of command.
“She did, did she? If she’s spooked the suspect, there’ll be hell to pay when I talk to the director. I didn’t go through months of work to see someone else barge into my case and fuck it up.”
Wesson’s attitude chilled. “Cool down, Agent Holdren. We haven’t fucked anything up. I’ve been watching the outside since she went in and no one has come out. But come to think of it, we were told you had her and let her get away once tonight already.”
“Yeah? Well, don’t believe everything you hear.”
“What makes you think she’s coming here anyway? The assistance request didn’t specify.”
“She took a cab from the Pacific Rim and gave this destination.”
“Did you talk to the driver?”
“No, the driver hasn’t reported in, and they can’t raise him on the radio.”
“Then you don’t know she came here.”
“No, I don’t, but I suspect she may have been intending to meet someone here. If so, she’ll have to show up or call off the meeting. Either way, we’ve prevented her from handing over the material.”
He tossed the locator to Romax. “Is she in there or not?”
Romax flicked the tracker on and watched the display. A few seconds later, he pointed it toward the front door. “That way.”
“All right, she must be in there. Get a couple more units down here. I want to make sure she doesn’t get away. As soon as they’re here, we’ll take her.”
“How about her contact?” Wesson asked.
“If there’s anyone with her we’ll take them too. Otherwise, I’ll settle for getting her before she can pass anything on.”
***
Caitlin saw Romax raise his hand. He held something. Her stomach spasmed as he pointed it directly at her. She couldn’t take anymore. Ducking behind the side of the building, she ran.
A block later, Caitlin stared back over her shoulder as she crossed the street. She expected Holdren and his people to come around the side of Alliotto’s at any second. She made it to the next corner without any sign of them and headed west toward Victorian Park. The Powell-Hyde trolley turned around there. She didn’t know if they ran this late, but it was the quickest path away from Fisherman’s Wharf without calling a taxi. They would be watching for her to summon a taxi.
For the first time tonight, she was in luck. A trolley was turning around as she reached it. Caitlin climbed on with three couples, and the trolley began to move almost immediately. Caitlin held onto the brass rail by her seat and stared back down the hill. No one ran after her and gradually, her pulse subsided to near normal levels.
Were the government women working with Romax and Holdren or were they looking for her for some other reason? But
