“What’s the assignment? Do we have loose ends in Charity? Please don’t tell me you’re sending me to do Bingham’s paperwork.”
“No. We have it on good authority Jamie Moriarty escaped.”
Snookie sat up in her chair so fast she felt her short, blonde-streaked hair bounce on top of her head. The same hairspray that kept it in place also enabled it to sometimes move as a single unit.
“Escaped from prison? How is this not all over the bulletins?”
“Because she did it by swapping in a body double and threatening the warden’s kids if he told. We make a big thing about this and the warden’s whole family ends up dead before we find her.”
Snookie snorted her incredulity. “How could she stay hidden and kill off a whole family?”
“I don’t know. How did she stay hidden for thirty years in the first place?”
“Good point.”
“For now we have the upper hand. If she doesn’t think we know, she thinks she’s safe.”
“It’s the smart play.” Snookie chewed on her lip, thinking. “And you think she’d be dumb enough to go back to Charity? Isn’t that the last place she’d go?”
“It doesn’t seem like the smartest move, but on the other hand, her daughter set up shop as a lawyer there, and the people who caught her live there, so...I could see where it might be difficult for her to not clean up some of her own loose ends.”
“Gotcha.”
“You’re probably safe. But, her daughter called the prison to ask if her mother was still in jail. The warden intercepted the call.”
“Hm. Sounds like she knows something.”
“It does. But that doesn’t mean Jamie’s there. She probably called her.”
“But you want me to take a look-see.”
“If you would. We’ve got feelers out trying to get a more solid lead without alerting her we’re on to the swap, but she doesn’t know you. You can slide into Charity without vibrating antennae.”
Snookie rubbed her arm. “Feelers, antennae...that whole sentence makes me feel like I have bugs on me.”
“Do you mind doing me this favor?” Macha placed a hand on a folder and slid it toward her.
“Is that all the info?”
Macha slumped. “No. That’s my taxes.” She opened her drawer and pulled out a thumb drive. “All the info you need is on here. I just miss sliding folders at agents.”
“We are so old.” Snookie stood, took the drive and dropped it into the pocket of her jacket. Retrieving her gun, she secured it back into her holster. She turned to leave and then turned back.
“Do we have to hug again?”
Macha shook her head. “Nah.”
“Good. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
Snookie took two steps toward the door before Macha called to her.
“Don’t do anything stupid.”
She stopped. “What would make you think I’d do anything stupid?”
“The fact that you should have been Special Agent ten years ago, but you couldn’t go a year without some insubordination added to your permanent record.”
Snookie grinned.
“Oh. Right. That.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jamie stared across the street at the pawn shop, but she’d ceased to see it. The moment she spotted Declan walk inside, her mind had wandered to the many ways she wanted to kill him and his new girlfriend.
Mostly him. He’d broken her daughter’s heart. For some reason Stephanie didn’t want to leave him behind, so it was up to her being her mother to help.
Plus, the girlfriend had to go for sending her to prison and stealing Stephanie’s man.
Duh.
Jamie closed her eyes and stretched her neck from side to side. Her murderous feelings toward Declan felt muddled. Usually, her focus remained laser sharp. No empathy, no sympathy, just the giddy thrill of planning the kill.
But this time something else stirred. A quick check assured her it wasn’t sympathy for Declan. Maybe disappointment? She wouldn’t even get to plan his death. She’d promised Stephanie she wouldn’t kill him, so, thanks to a loophole she hadn’t pointed out to her daughter, the lawyer, she had to have someone else do it for her.
That really took all the fun out of it.
She wanted to kill Declan for Stephanie herself.
Jamie opened her eyes.
Is this what it feels like to be a mother? Wanting to kill anyone who hurt your child?
She pondered a moment and then chuckled to herself.
No.
If Declan’s death didn’t inspire Stephanie to become her protégé, she had every intention of killing her daughter.
They don’t hand out mother-of-the-year awards for filicide.
Stephanie was a loose end waving in the breeze for everyone to see—a way to track her. It had been fun, watching bits of herself develop and grow in the girl, but now would be a bad time to get soft.
Now, Stephanie had two options: join her or die.
No, now that she had a moment to think about it, her urge to kill Declan didn’t feel like love for Stephanie. It felt like anger. Someone had gotten over on a part of her.
It was embarrassing.
She wanted to remove him from the planet before someone saw how weak her child could be.
Jamie’s head bobbed up and down certain she’d traced the emotional oddity to its roots.
Whew.
She glanced across the street in time to catch Declan back outside, standing at his door, closing up his shop. She’d follow him a little longer and tip her killers. She imagined he and Charlotte would be together for the storm, so—
Is he looking at me?
Jamie tucked back her chin, slinking into the shadows of her car. Declan stared in her direction. He looked at his phone and then looked up again, directly at her, back and forth, twice.
Is someone telling him I’m here?
Jamie’s lip curled.
Stephanie.
