Chapter 26 Roger
Chapter twenty-six
Roger
Elijah hands me a cup of black coffee as soon as I come out of the bedroom while Jessie is sipping from her mug, snake-eyeing the two agents standing at attention by the front door.
Her upper lip curls in disgust. “You should be out investigating the real threat, not one of your own,” she tells them.
The man on the left, with dark hair and a square jawline, ignores her and dips his chin once in my direction. “Agent Cavenaugh. I’m Agent Jones,” he says, then gestures to his partner with sandy-blonde hair and a narrow face. “This is Agent Smith.”
Jessie laughs bitterly. “Of course you are! How original.” She tilts her head and gives them a once-over.
“Why are the two of you on babysitting duty instead of questioning Thomas Hogan? He’s the owner of the resort and the reason why you almost lost a few agents last night.
He’s the one who was used to set the trap.
We would do it for you, but your boss has kindly asked us to step away. ”
I narrow my gaze at Jessie and give her a subtle shake of my head. I mouth, “Cut it out,” and wait for the inevitable eye roll that will come before she relents. She doesn’t disappoint.
Agent Jones glares at her. “We would if Thomas Hogan hadn’t been found dead in his suite a few hours ago. Might I ask where you were between one and three this morning?”
“We were right here and have our camera recordings to prove it,” I tell him before Jessie can get a word in edgewise. She doesn’t take kindly to being accused of murder, even if Agent Jones was simply trying to get a reaction out of her. “How was Thomas Hogan killed?”
Agent Smith steps forward. “That’s need-to-know information, and you no longer need to know. We’ll be taking those recordings along with any other evidence you’ve collected.”
I laugh outright. “Get a warrant. The moment we were no longer allowed to investigate, our cooperation with the FBI ended. We’ve already shared any relevant information. Anything else is just an invasion of privacy.”
Agent Jones puffs up his chest. “We could take you in for questioning and make your life very difficult. You are a person of interest, Agent Cavenaugh. It would be well within our rights.”
“You can drop the ‘Agent’ from my name as it no longer applies to me. Since I am technically a civilian now, you need a warrant for my arrest or my consent to questioning; neither of which you have. Before you say anything else that could be considered a threat, I should also caution you that everything is being recorded and sent to our headquarters.”
Both agents stiffen, but neither continue their diatribe.
Harper walks out of the room in a fresh change of clothes, and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Without being asked, she sets her gun and badge on the counter, which Agent Smith takes and places in a small handheld case. “Let’s get this over with,” she says.
I place my arm in front of her to block Harper from leaving. My eyes remain focused on the pair of agents. “Agent Finnegan will join you on the front porch in one minute.”
“Why, so you can get your stories straight?” Agent Smith asks. “I don’t think so.”
The agents can wait whether they want to or not.
I pull Harper back into the bedroom and close the door, giving her one last kiss without an audience.
I touch the tips of her ears with my fingertips and rub my thumb gently over the diamond studs.
Then I trace my finger down her collarbone and gently lift the necklace.
I murmur in her ear, “Remember that I’m always a tap away. ”
The door flies open, and Agent Jones barges in. “Time to go. No more stalling!”
Harper turns and throws her shoulders back, glaring at Jones as she breezes past him. “I’m not the enemy, so please stop treating me as one.”
Agent Jones sneers at Harper. “But you are the daughter of one.”
When Agent Smith slams the door closed behind them after they depart, a sinking feeling fills the pit of my stomach.
I send up a quick and silent prayer. “I trust that you have a plan, Lord. Please help me be at peace with it. The decision to leave may feel right to Harper, but it’s not sitting right with me. Amen.”
“When did federal agents become so rude?” Jessie asks, interrupting my thoughts.
“Ha!” Elijah barks. “Forever is the answer you’re looking for. Until I teamed up with Shining Knight, every federal agent I’ve had the pleasure of working with has been cool and aloof. It didn’t matter if they were CIA, FBI, DEA, ATF, ICE, DHS…”
“We get the point,” I say, fighting back a smile.
Elijah stands behind Jessie and wraps his arms around her.
“Honey, tensions are mounting with every day that passes where a nuclear threat still exists. It doesn’t excuse unnecessary rudeness, but we also don’t know what other stresses are being placed on those agents.
Maybe they have families they’re worried about, a sick loved one in the hospital, or unpaid taxes.
We just don’t know. You certainly didn’t help matters with your commentary. ”
Jessie’s shoulders slump in defeat. “I know. I just don’t like being sidelined, and I took it out on them. I should send them flowers or something to apologize.”
“How about we just pack up and get out of here?” I suggest. “We have our marching orders. With Thomas Hogan now dead, Jordan and the rest of his crew in the wind, and no more leads, there’s no reason left to stay.
If the FBI wants control, they can have it.
I pray they’re as good as we all hope they are. ”
Jessie and Elijah meet me in the lobby an hour later with all their bags in tow.
I spent most of that hour removing all the cameras I’d placed throughout the cabana, leaving only the ones outside.
Most of my belongings were already in my suitcase, as I never fully unpacked.
However, Harper had hung up a few items in the closet, including a beautiful blue dress.
I took a few extra minutes to neatly fold her clothes and blushed profusely when I came across a silky-white negligee.
My thoughts wander to the lacey piece of fabric while we wait for the valets to bring our vehicles.
Needing a distraction so my thoughts don’t go to inappropriate places, I glance around the lobby and focus my attention on the Christmas decorations.
“They really did a lovely job decorating the place. It’s too bad that we didn’t get a chance to partake in the festivities. ”
“You and Harper can still celebrate the holidays together. It’s not like you don’t go to her parents’ house every year,” Jessie says and then realizes her mistake. “Okay, that’s assuming her parents are innocent and not in prison when Christmas rolls around.”
“And that they approve of Roger and Harper tying the knot,” Elijah adds helpfully. “Are the two of you planning on staying married?”
I mock scowl. “My answer hasn’t changed, Elijah, and I’m not going to give you any inside information for your little side bet.”
He opens his mouth to retort but stops short when the valets pull up and help us load our bags.
I make my way to Elijah and tap on the window.
When he rolls it down, I rest my arms on the driver’s side door.
“Meet me in the self-parking lot. It’s the lower level and furthest away.
After discovering a tracker in my luggage, I want a thorough inspection of the vehicles before we leave. ”
“We’ll follow you,” he says as he rolls up the window.
Five minutes later, we have our scanners out and go over every inch of both vehicles, including the undercarriage and beneath the hood.
Elijah’s and Jessie’s Jeep Rubicon turn up clean, but I get a ping on the Chevy Tahoe when I run the device over the right rear tire.
I run my fingers along the inside of the rim and hit pay dirt.
While I hold the tracker up to inspect it, Jessie snags it out of my hand and walks away to throw it in a nearby dumpster. She wipes her hands together. “Let them track the garbage truck.”
It’s good enough for me.
After two hours and a stop for breakfast, we pull up to a beach house at the north end of Marathon. Jaxon comes out to greet us, and Jessie gives her brother a hug. “I see you’ve been living the high life,” she teases him.
Jaxon shrugs. “Ethan and Ben booked a big enough place in case you all had to make a hasty escape.”
“Where’s Carter?” I ask.
Jaxon points to the large house behind him. “He’s inside talking with Leanna. She wasn’t feeling very well when he brought her home. He’s being the doting husband and checking up on her.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet!” Jessie says, then turns around to face her husband. “Why don’t you dote on me?” she asks with a twinkle in her eye.
Elijah dotes on her all the time, but he doesn’t fall into her trap this time. He clears his throat and changes the subject. “Jaxon, do you have any updates on Robert or Eloise Finnegan?”
Jaxon hooks his thumbs inside the front pocket of his jeans. “Not since we lost her last night. Come on inside, and I’ll get you up to speed. I’m warning you now so that you won’t be disappointed later; I don’t have much to share.”
We leave our bags and follow Jaxon inside.
He gives us a verbal tour. “There are three bedrooms up the left set of stairs and three bedrooms up the right. You can have your pick. Carter and I have claimed the two bedrooms downstairs that are to the left and down the hallway. The kitchen is to your right, and there are five bathrooms throughout the house. Have fun exploring!”
“You’re what?” Carter shouts from the other room, drawing our attention. “Are you yanking my chain?”
There’s silence, and then Carter adds, “Woohoo! I love you so much, Baby! Wait! Can I still call you that?”
Carter paces around the dining room, and when he looks up, he sees us all staring at him. He grins a mile-wide and points to the phone. “I’m going to be a father!”
We all cheer, smile, and wave at him before leaving him alone to finish his conversation. Well wishes are in order, but they can wait a few minutes while he basks in the moment with his wife.
Jaxon sits down in front of the computer monitors he has set up.
He pulls up a map of Marathon and all the local coffee shops, which are highlighted with blue and yellow dots.
“There have been three logins since Robert and Eloise disappeared, which are highlighted in yellow. The first is at the north end of town, which is only a few blocks from here. Unfortunately for us, that was prior to my arrival. The second is a mile south. The last place is in between approximately two blocks from the gym, where we lost Eloise. The length of the main drag is around seven miles.”
“That’s quite a bit of area to cover,” I say, gesturing toward the screen.
“Yes, it is. I have cameras in all the sit-down coffee shops, but there’s no telling if Robert or Eloise will go to a restaurant, library, or other location that has internet service available.
If that happens, then it will be up to Jerry to figure out their location.
Eloise didn’t bother to use a VPN. If she had, it would have made tracking her IP address more difficult. ”
“She might want us to find her,” Jessie says.
Jaxon taps his fingers rhythmically on the table that he’s turned into a workstation.
“Could be, but I don’t think so. She was in and out of the last location in under three minutes and had a disguise tucked into her bag.
She took precautions even though she had no idea we were tracking her movements.
Patrick noted she kept looking over her shoulder, but he didn’t notice anyone else following her. ”
“Where’s the gym that Eloise entered?” I ask.
“It’s the red dot,” Jaxon says.
I rub my chin thoughtfully. “Hmm. It’s central to all three locations, and Eloise was on foot.
Either she’s driving to the gym and using it as a staging location, or she and Robert are staying nearby.
Can you get me a list of all new memberships within the last week?
I want to compare that to rentals within the vicinity that are currently booked. ”
Jaxon immediately sends an email to our team at HQ with the request. “Done. Now, all we can do is wait.”