“You know who. But, Em it’s — ”
“No, no. Hear me out. Maybe he is working for the FBI. Maybe they offered him some good money to take this job, infiltrate the full-timers and see what he could find out. Wasn’t that exactly what he was going to do tonight? He was going to ask questions and find out what was going on. Well? Wasn’t that the plan?”
“Yeah, but — ”
“No buts, Skip. Didn’t he figure out that you needed Daron? Daron, who knew the inner workings of this organization?”
“Yeah, but — ”
“Wouldn’t it make sense that somebody like the FBI was behind giving him the information on Daron’s history? The fact that Daron Styles had worked for Cashdollar?”
“I don’t think — ”
“That’s just it. You said when it comes to James, you gave up thinking. Isn’t that what you said? You said when it came to James, you gave up thinking a long time ago.”
“I may have said that, but — ”
“Damn it, Skip. They think you’re working for the FBI. The full-timers think you are. How do you know that — ”
“We’re not. It’s as simple as that. Anyway, think about it. James isn’t bright enough to pull that off without me knowing about it. He hates anything to do with law enforcement.”
“And then, then the FBI starts following my car as soon as I hook up with you. What’s that all about? Maybe they were outside the door when we — ”
“You are crazy. In the last three months, you must have lost your mind.”
Em stood up and took my hand. “I hope I’m crazy. Because this whole thing is very strange, and it sure has the feel of James pulling the strings.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
J ames was my best friend. He’d stood up for me when I had problems, and I’d stood up for him. I had learned that I would put myself in jeopardy to save James. And I was damned sure that I’d put my life on the line for Em. But Styles? I don’t think so. Although, as we walked back toward the truck, I realized he’d put himself on the line for us. Even though a lot of his motivation was to see if he was mentioned in the diary. There was some selfishness in his reasoning.
“What will they do to him?”
“Who? Styles? Or James?”
“You don’t really think they have James?”
I didn’t. I was sure by now he was back at the truck.
“If he asked all those questions, if they think he’s part of the FBI — '
“Oh, God. He doesn’t know that. James has no idea what Styles found on that computer.” He needed to know. Desperately needed to know.
“It’s not like we’ve seen him to tell him. Settle down. I’m sure he’ll be all right.”
She’d regained her composure and seemed to hold my hand even tighter.
There was a dim light on in the truck. We had a lamp that was powered by our generator and I could see it as we got closer. The giant tent stood black against the horizon, like a huge thundercloud in the nighttime sky. We walked a little faster.
“It looks like somebody’s home.”
A shadowy figure stepped out into the path and Em and I froze.
“A little late for a stroll, isn’t it?”
Bruce Crayer.
“Where are you two headed?”
I could see his arm hanging at his side, and I was certain he was holding a pistol.
Em spoke up. “To Skip’s truck. We were just going to get some things together and leave.”
Crayer didn’t move. Neither did we.
“You gonna take the truck? Are you pulling out for the rest of the show?”
I hadn’t thought about it. If we took the truck, we could get out of Dodge and never return. If Em took me home, either to my place, or her place, James and I would have to come back and get the truck. And James had visions of selling more lunches and dinners tomorrow. Sunday. The busiest day of the revival meeting. And where the heck was James?
“No.” I didn’t want him to think I was considering cut-and-run. And I didn’t want to introduce him to Em. We were in enough trouble already. I didn’t want to give him any ammunition.
“So, did you hear what happened tonight?” Still standing there with his arms by his side. I was tempted to brush right past him. Keep on walking.
“What happened?”
“You don’t know?”
Oh, I knew. “I wouldn’t be asking if I knew.”
He glared at me. “Somebody broke into the rev’s office.”
“Broke in? Like picked a lock? Broke the door?”
He hesitated. I couldn’t see his face that well in the dark, but he seemed to be staring intently at me. Finally he muttered, “Something like that.”
“Well, look. We’ve got to get our stuff and leave. The night’s not getting any younger.” I started to move.
“Did you hear what I said?”
“I did. I’m sorry.”
Crayer was swinging that arm now and I was positive it was a gun. “Where were you half an hour ago?”
Where were we? Oh yeah. Playing lookout for Styles while he rifled through Thomas LeRoy’s computer. “We just took a walk. That’s all.” I took another step.
“Hold it. I want to know where you were walking.”
“I, we, um…”
“Who is the girl?” It was as if he’d noticed her for the first time. Again, I didn’t want to give him any more ammunition.
“This is… my sister. She’s just in town, visiting and — ”
Em took two steps forward, letting go of my hand. Then she took a third step, now in Crayer’s face.
“What? You’re accusing us of breaking into someone’s office? I think Skip just told you that we took a walk. A simple walk. Down the path, up the path. We were looking for James, but apparently the poker game broke up.”
Crayer backed up two steps. I backed up two steps. All I could think of was Crayer raising that arm with the pistol. I was scared for Em, scared for myself.
“Have you seen James?”
He kept staring at Em, like he was trying to figure out her role in this caper.
“No. He played poker, lost a lot of money, and left.”
Em stared right back at him. “If you’ll kindly get out of the way, we’ll get our things and leave. Please, step aside.”
He seemed frozen in place.
“Now.” Her voice was firm. Very firm.
And you know what? He did. He stepped aside.
Be bold. A lesson from Em. He’d stepped out of her way as she barreled past him, heading for our truck. I took several steps, then turned and stared at him. “I don’t appreciate being accused of breaking and entering. And I want to know if you’ve got any idea where James is.”
He scowled. “I told you. No. Actually, I was back behind the tent, going through the office. They think
