“A life is at stake.”
“Sean follows his own rules.” Noah stared at her. “Do you want to be an FBI agent?”
“I know what you’re saying, Noah, but Sean has proven himself. He thinks-”
“Sean has proven himself in
“You can’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same thing in his shoes-”
“You didn’t give me the chance.” Noah picked up his files and started toward the door. “Trust is a two-way street, Lucy. For all intents and purposes, you are my partner until you check in to Quantico. But I won’t work with a partner who doesn’t trust me.” He looked over his shoulder at her as he opened the door. “Or whom I can’t trust.”
Lucy felt sick to her stomach when Noah walked out of the conference room. He was right. If she kept information from her partner, she put them both at risk.
Years ago, when her sister-in-law Kate was a new agent, she had a partner who lied to her about something that seemed minor at the time, but spiraled into a deadly confrontation that got Kate’s boyfriend and her partner killed and sent Kate on the run. The tragedy had changed Kate’s life forever, and while she was now teaching at Quantico, it had taken her years to reclaim her life.
Lucy had enough tragedy and dark clouds hanging over her FBI career and it hadn’t even started yet.
Lucy followed Noah out. He was talking to Candela and Hart in the foyer. “As far as this office knows,” Hart was telling Noah, “there’s no ATF operation in St. Lawrence County at all. I put in a call to the Brooklyn office, which would have to approve any undercover op in the state. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“I appreciate it. Let’s keep in touch,” Noah said.
Candela said, “We’re putting together a team to search the mine for Agent Sheffield’s body and to gather further evidence, and Martinelli and Strong are packing to investigate her appearance and disappearance in Spruce Lake. But we need to confirm this new intel first. If we blow an ATF op, we’ll have major problems.”
“They should have told us,” Hart said, frustrated, “but we have to go in quietly. Agents Martinelli and Strong will be flying into Ogdensburg first thing in the morning, but I instructed them to contact Detective Dillard first. If you need them, here are their numbers.” She handed both Lucy and Noah business cards.
They shook hands and left. As soon as they got into the car, Lucy blurted out, “I’m so sorry, Noah. You’re right. I should have told you immediately.”
Noah let out a sigh and turned to face her. She couldn’t read his face-Noah was only three years out of the Air Force and still acted like the officer he’d been. “Sean is annoying, impulsive, and arrogant. He’s also intelligent, knowledgeable, and courageous. There’s no one else I would rather have on my team, but the fact remains, he’s
Lucy rarely cried, which made the tears that burned behind her eyes that much more frustrating. Noah had clearly articulated each fear in her relationship with Sean and what it could potentially mean to her career.
“I understand. I
“If anyone can, it’s you.” Noah tried to smile, but it didn’t quite work. He shifted in his seat and turned the ignition. “Love doesn’t always work the way we want.”
He wasn’t looking at her, and Lucy had the distinct impression that he was thinking about a lost love of his own. She realized that Noah knew everything about her-her life was, unfortunately, an open book-but she knew next to nothing about Noah. There was much more to him than she had thought.
THIRTY-TWO
On the way back to the Hendricksons’, Sean and Patrick stopped at the Callahan ranch. There was no answer at the door, which made Sean both worried and suspicious. Emily Callahan hadn’t looked fit for travel, and after his argument with Henry, Sean hoped he hadn’t pushed the old man into doing something rash.
Or maybe he did the smart thing and got out of town with his ailing wife.
At the lodge, Sean was torn over whether to tell Tim and Adam about Paul Swain’s accusation that their father had been murdered. It came down to what Sean would want if he were in their shoes: the truth.
The four of them sat around the kitchen table and Sean filled them in on Weddle’s murder and the highlights of his conversation with Swain. Then he said, “Swain believes that Bobbie had your father killed because he either went to the authorities or planned to go to the authorities about whatever operation Bobbie and her people have going on here.”
“Dad was killed?” Adam stared in disbelief.
“There’s no proof, but we think Jon Callahan knows who killed your father. I know this is difficult, but we don’t have a lot of time. Patrick and I are going to find Callahan and stick to him like glue. He’s up to his neck in this mess, but has his own agenda. I need you to help find Ricky Benson. He was manipulated somehow into setting that fire, and now I fear for his life.”
“I can’t believe Ricky’s involved,” Adam said. “He used to come fishing with Dad and me. Why would he do this to us?”
“I don’t think there’s anyone innocent in this town,” Tim said.
“We need to get Ricky into protective custody,” Sean said. “Detective Dillard is going to take him to his brother-in-law in Philadelphia-a cop he trusts-as soon as we find him. On our way into town, I checked at his house-he hasn’t been back since he left me there yesterday. It’s going to be dark in less than two hours. I’d like to get him out of the area before nightfall. Do you have any idea where he might be hiding?”
Adam paced. “None. I haven’t seen him since I was seventeen and he was like eleven or twelve.”
“I’m not going to lie. This is an extremely dangerous situation. Bobbie Swain has manipulated a lot of people. She’s ruthless and vindictive. If she really ordered the murder of your father and the FBI agent we found in the mine, then she has been controlling this town for years.”
“You’re trusting the word of a convicted killer?” Tim said.
“I read between the lines.”
“It sounds like you admire him,” Tim said with disgust.
Sean forced himself to rein in his temper. “When lives are at stake, I’m not picky about who I deal with. The one thing I’m confident about is that Swain doesn’t want his son dead or in the drug business. I promised I’d find and protect him. Ricky made some bad choices, but I’m not giving up on the kid, and neither should you. And, by the way, your father met with Swain in prison as well.”
Sean hadn’t wanted to get angry, but they were running out of time.
“Look,” he said, “I had to understand how Paul Swain operated and how Bobbie Swain thinks so that I can stop that bitch. Trust me on this-she is far deadlier than either of her brothers.”
“Adam,” Patrick said, “put aside what Ricky did for now. Think hard. Where do you think he might possibly go to hide out?”
Adam asked, “Does he have a car?”
“Yes. It’s not at his house and I didn’t see it in town.”
“There are two places he might go, if he stays in the area. The main entrance of the mine-there are two abandoned buildings, and lots of places to explore. The mine itself is dangerous, but we all knew how far we could push it. It was where we went to play as kids, or to make out as teenagers.”
“Good. I need directions.”
“The other place is across the lake-there’s a rock grouping that looks like a family of bears. And when you get
