Chapter 9
Dale wasn’t sure what he’d expected Heather to say, but the calm, matter-of-fact recitation of the attack surprised him. That ability to detach in the heat of the moment would be an asset if she ever chose to apply herself to a career in law enforcement.
Bingham listened intently, nodding once when she finished. “Anything to add, Nichols?”
“Only that I’d forgotten to set my security system when we left in a rush this morning. Might have prevented this whole mess.”
Bingham shrugged as if none of that mattered. “We both know a determined criminal usually succeeds.”
Dale’s instincts kicked into a higher gear. Was Bingham warning them? He didn’t want to believe his boss was involved, but someone with serious clout in the justice system was enabling Lester’s operation.
“Is anything missing?” Bingham’s gaze roamed over the room, landing lightly on Heather’s bag and then the gun on the floor. He frowned at the crowbar currently being tagged as evidence.
“Not in here,” Dale replied, willing Heather to stay quiet.
“Miss Morris?”
Damn it. He didn’t know if she would trust Bingham—as logic dictated—or hold back—as he hoped.
Heather shook her head. “Someone searched my bag, but everything is still there.”
“I see.”
Dale thought it likely that Bingham saw too much. Despite the inherent risks in both of his careers, Dale rarely felt pure fear on the job. There had been moments of uncertainty, when lives —including his—had been on the line, but this was different.
He’d caught the brief flash of recognition in Bingham’s eyes when the team had hauled the perp to his feet.
Of course Dale had purposely left the security system turned off. More than likely his boss suspected as much. Offering his home as a temptation had paid off, giving them another clue about how far this criminal ring would go to stay in the game. He’d expected an intrusion and a thorough examination of his property in an effort to derail the dogfighting investigation. He’d never anticipated a personal attack.
Fool me once, he thought, with no small amount of frustration. But Lester had fooled him twice. Twice in one day. Being so far behind in the score didn’t sit well.
“Let’s do a walk through and then I’ll let you get on with your lives.”
“That would be great, sir. We were looking forward to the weekend.”
“As you should be.” Bingham clapped him on the shoulder and grinned at Heather. “Life’s far too short. You should celebrate the milestones every chance you get.”
Dale caught Heather’s hand in his as they left the bedroom and headed for the space he had designated as his office. Had it been just last night that they’d argued about who would sleep where?
“Glad you’re not this messy at the office,” Bingham said, taking in the cluttered desktop.
“Damn it.” Dale scowled at the scattered paper and upturned trash can. “I assure you, I didn’t have anything sensitive here, sir.” He reached for the power button on his laptop, realizing it was in sleep mode, rather than powered off. Someone had taken full advantage of his open invitation. The violation would’ve pissed him off if it hadn’t been exactly what he’d wanted an intruder to do.
“That’s your personal computer.”
“Yes, sir. It stays right here. My resolution this year is to leave business at the office now that I have a personal life.” He rubbed Heather’s hand between his, more than a little impressed at how well she followed his lead.
“Smart,” Bingham said, frowning once more at the desk. “We’ll need this dusted for prints,” he muttered. “I’ll have the techs come through after you’re on your way.” He gestured at the chair. “Humor me and check for any kind of breach.”
“Yes, sir.” Dale released Heather and sank into the chair to evaluate which files—if any—had been compromised on his computer.
“Well?” Bingham leaned over his shoulder, pulling out a pair of reading glasses to get a better look. “What were they after?”
Dale interpreted every move the man made as a sign of guilt, suddenly impatient with the presumption of innocence. “This may not have anything to do with a case, sir. Looks like my personal email was compromised and they attempted to get into my bank account.”
“Well they chose the wrong target, didn’t they?”
“Yes, sir.” If the roles were reversed, Dale would have left the same breadcrumbs in order to distract or possibly fool his target. Clearly whoever had been picking apart his hard drive had been convinced they had plenty of time for the task. Getting them out of the house might be the real motivation behind the shelter attack, but it didn’t explain the murder.
Which meant Lester had identified Terry as a problem and thanks to Dale’s error, Lester’s crew knew Heather was the inside source. The intruder had fixated on her in a way that filled Dale with dread.
Christ, what a mess.
Behind him, he heard Heather’s breath catch when he opened his documents folder. Any reassurance he could give her would have to wait until they were alone and absolutely secure.
“Why don’t you just let me take it in and have the lab look it over,” Bingham offered, leaning back and removing his reading glasses.
Dale hesitated, not wanting to seem too eager or too trusting. “Surely that can wait until I’m back in the office on Monday?”
“But if we’re working on it, you can relax.” Bingham rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “After this mess, why not just take Monday off too?”
“I could—”
“You have plenty of vacation time built up.” Bingham winked at Heather. “He used to work twenty-four-seven. I suppose his best days are behind him now.”
“I’m not so sure.” On his screen, Dale saw the reflection of Heather’s polite smile. The one she reserved for people who annoyed her when she had to soldier through the moment. “He’s so dedicated when he’s on a case,” she glanced down, “or on a date.”
That earned a warm laugh from Bingham. “You’ve got a keeper this time around, Nichols.”
Dale winced. Of all the things to mention in front of Heather, that was the worst. She’d likely hang on to that bit of information like a terrier with a boot. Knowing his favorite ice cream would never be enough for her now.
“Did I say the wrong thing?”
Dale gave Bingham credit for being a first-rate ass. He opened his mouth, but Heather’s voice came out.
“Not at all, Agent Bingham,” she said, with a soft, feminine laugh. “We haven’t been together long, but we’ve covered all of the most important details.” Dale felt her hands on his shoulders, and if his boss wasn’t a suspect, he might have let himself savor the caress.
“Over an ice cream sundae,” he added, earning another soft laugh.
“That’s an indicator of a strong, healthy relationship,” Bingham observed.
Dale nodded. “I agree. Her strength is one of the many reasons I love her.” Might as well fire back a warning shot and make it clear further attempts on Heather would not be tolerated. “You know what?” Carefully, he pushed his chair back from the desk. “Take the computer.” He closed the laptop. “I’ll make a few calls and let the identity protection plan earn its keep. Let’s go find a place to celebrate, sweetheart.”
“Sounds good to me,” she replied, her smile lighting up her face and chasing away the dark circles under her eyes.
Dale handed the laptop to Bingham. “Tell the techs I appreciate any and all assistance with this.” He couldn’t wait to see what happened when Bingham discovered the files Heather had sent. Dale had modified them of course, but it wouldn’t take an expert long to figure that out.
“Here’s hoping it was just a fluke home invasion,” Bingham offered.
“As I said, there wasn’t anything work-related here anyway.” His off-the-record case was going to stay that way. Especially after this visit. Hard as it was to accept, it seemed increasingly likely his boss was involved in this mess.
He shouldn’t rush it, but he couldn’t stand to breathe the same air as Bingham for a moment longer. Leading Heather back to the bedroom, Dale grabbed his overnighter from the closet and packed within minutes. He resisted the urge to throw in some tactical gear, but he could get his hands on that later. Old habits died hard and Dale had learned backup protocols were required for more than just computers.
“We’re just leaving them in your house?” Heather asked when they were safely in the car again and halfway down the block.
“It’s the best option.”
Clearly, she wasn’t convinced. “What now?”
“Let’s get out of the city so we can check to see if we’re being tailed. This time of year there are loads of cheap hotel deals to be had in Myrtle Beach. And more than one deserted route in case they did put a tracker on the car.”
“Why would your boss have you followed?”
“Probably for the same reason he had someone break into my house?”
“Good grief. You think your boss is involved. That’s why there’s no cavalry.” She drummed her palms against her thighs. “And you just handed him your computer. I saw the files I sent you.”
“Thanks for not reacting to that. Believe me, there’s nothing on that laptop that reveals our real plans.”
“Don’t tell me the files I gave you are at your office?”
“No.” She’d reverted back to twisting the ring again. “Relax. The only thing at the office is my inquiry related to Lester’s involvement. He’s sort of a white whale at our office, always slipping through and surviving our attempts to bring him down.”
“Where were you when you made the mistake that implicated me?”
“At the office. I changed up the files you gave me. Things aren’t as bad as they look.” He hoped he sounded convincing.
“Of course not.” She pushed her hands through her hair. “Myrtle Beach is the opposite direction from tonight’s fights. If they don’t move them.”
“They won’t move the fights. Lester’s too cocky and if Bingham is working with him, they have every reason to believe they’ve outsmarted us.”
“I wish I believed they haven’t.”
“Trust me.” He wanted to reach out, to let her feel his conviction in his touch. The idea was ludicrous. He kept his eyes on the road, until her silence got under his skin. “Heather?”
“I trust you.”
It wasn’t the most emphatic of statements, but he accepted it. “You were terrific in there when we were attacked and later with Bingham.”
She nodded, her gaze on the scenery whipping by as the city gave way to the tree-lined state roads.
“I would have prepped you if I’d known it was going to play out that way.”
“No problem,” she replied, her voice flat. “We got through it.”
“We have your camera and my pistol.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll go in tonight and gather enough evidence to take to the prosecutor.”
“All right.”
Exasperated, he reached over, lacing his fingers with hers and resting their joined hands on her warm, firm thigh. “What’s wrong?”
She turned, gifting him with a soft smile. “Nothing really.” She squeezed his hand. “It’s just been a day.”
“We’ll get to a safe place and then talk through a plan for tonight.”
She nodded, dropping her head back against the head rest and closing her eyes.
He didn’t like it, but he accepted her silent request for a break. From him. From the horrors of the day.
He drove on toward the beach and when the road was clear in all directions, he pulled over and scanned the car for a GPS tag. Discovering the car was clear felt like a massive victory under the circumstances.
When the stop didn’t wake Heather, he realized the toll this was taking on her. Untrained, she was clearly in over her head, but they were out of options. And apparently time, with Bingham sniffing around.
Tonight was a risk, but it was one they had to take. They needed faces to match up with the code names. They needed photos to share with the prosecutor. A money trail would be nice, but so far, he hadn’t found one.
So far. He repeated it over and over, like a chant. A determined investigator stuck with it, ferreting out leads until something panned out and a case could be made. No criminal skated forever, with or without the help of corrupt officials.
Lester was overconfident, as he should be with the local head of the FBI in his back pocket. They needed hard evidence and based on Heather’s expert analysis, they would have it tonight.
Unless the crew moved the fight.
They weren’t going to move the fight. They couldn’t. They had fresh dogs. They had an expectant clientele. Reorganizing would be costly and Lester wouldn’t waste that kind of money unless someone held a gun to his head. Dale’s experience proved the law of profit ranked right up there with the law of power among organized criminals.
At his second stop, a self-storage facility closer to the coast, Heather woke up.
“Where are we?”
“Almost to the beach.”
“But the fight is scheduled at Midland Bay Park. Wasn’t the beach a ruse for your boss?”
“We’ll get there.” He tried to smile. “With Bingham watching, I couldn’t just pack up my field gear without tipping him off.”
“You don’t have to buy more. There’s gear at my family’s lodge and that’s closer to the park.”
He pointed toward the rows of storage units in front of them. “Not buying, just restocking. Besides, if they caught on and stationed someone to watch the hunting lodge, our celebratory weekend cover story is busted.”
She grinned. “I could convince anyone that a hunting weekend is plenty of celebration for me.”
It was an answer he would’ve considered ideal if the situation was different. “Come on,” he said, feeling his mouth tilt to mirror hers. “It won’t take me long.”
He opened the lock on the door and hit the light switch, urging her to go first. There wasn’t much cause for worry that anyone would find out about his stash. He rented this unit a year at a time under his mother’s maiden name. “Holy cow,” she murmured. “It’s an armory.”
“That was the idea.”
She reached up, admiring, but not letting herself touch the rifles on the wall. “Your boss doesn’t know anything about this?”
“Until today, no one besides me knew about this.”
“Can I have a gun?” She didn’t take her gaze away from the choices on the wall. “Please.” Turning, her eyes were bright as a five-year-old at Christmas. “I don’t mean forever, just for tonight.”
He shook his head. “You’ll have the camera.”
She sent him an overdone pout, then resumed her perusal while he gathered up pants, a jacket, gloves, and boots. She didn’t miss it when he added a small hand gun along with a silencer to the bag. Interesting. Plenty of ammunition for both his private and official weapons.
It would only be the two of them and he wanted to be sure he could protect her. “Take a knife,” he suggested. “In case something goes wrong.”
“That’s a sweet offer, but I have one packed in the camera bag.”
“Smart girl.”
“Woman,” she corrected.
She had a point. While he had several years and lots more hard miles than she did, she was still an intelligent adult. Without her skills and attention to detail, Lester might never have been connected to the dogfighting ring, but they needed more than a cracked email code to bring him to trial.
Hopefully their appearance at the shelter and their reactions to the intruder at his house would give Bingham something to worry about.
Less than ten minutes later he was loaded up and they were on the road again. He felt better about their plan, but Heather grew quiet once more. “What are you thinking about?”
“Tonight. Maybe you should take someone else with you to observe tonight’s atrocities.” Her brown eyes were cold, her jaw hard with pent up stress and anger.
“You’re thinking about the missing dogs.”
“It’s impossible not to,” she admitted. “You’ve said it yourself, I’m a civilian. What if I blow this and everyone walks away?”
“Then Lester and all his associates keep on fighting dogs.”
She folded her arms across her chest, but it didn’t stop the shiver rippling over her body.
“Nerves are normal,” he said, recalling what his mentors had told him on his first operations. He could take the camera and the gun and just get the evidence while she lounged around at the hotel. It wasn’t a bad plan, aside from the inherent problems of going into the unknown alone with a bum leg. But this woman knew the rural areas, she knew more about the dogfighting system than anyone outside of it, and she was the only person he wanted at his back tonight.
Christ, where had that thought come from? Must have sprouted from desperate rationalization. Maybe it was a residual from some wayward positive thinking exercise. Whether he wanted her there or not, he didn’t have any other choice tonight.
He didn’t know who to trust in his office and he didn’t want to put anyone else’s head on the proverbial chopping block. It was go out there with Heather and her camera or go out there alone and handicapped.
Braced for a negative reaction, telling himself pushing her would only make matters worse, he quietly suggested handling this alone.
“Absolutely not.” She let out a big sigh. “It’s the jitters and I’m sorry about that. Just because I don’t want to see people partying while dogs tear into each other doesn’t mean you should go out there alone. I’m sure my imagination is making the whole scene worse than it really is.”
He let her hang on to the fantasy. Hell, maybe she was right, despite the contrary evidence of violence at the shelter. He wanted to thank her, but he bit back the words. Doing his job shouldn’t mean taking her into danger. And yet, doing his job without the normal support gave him no other operational choice.
“Thanks,” she said.
The gratitude from her startled him. “For what?”
“For not being serious about leaving me behind.”
“Sure thing,” he said, trying to smile.
“I won’t crack on you.”
“I believe you.” He slowed down, making the turn onto the highway that ran parallel to the coastline. “When we get there, I’ll check in with my credit card—”
“Which lets whoever may care know where we are.”
“Exactly. We’ll order room service and then go for a long walk on the beach.”
“Circling back to the car and heading out to the fight,” she said.
“It’s like you’ve done this before.”
“No. But I’ve thought long and hard about how to make a clean getaway.”
“Hmm. Let me guess, this train of thought resulted from your plans to crash a dogfight alone.”
“Pretty much,” she said. “I figured I could get in and out with some pictures, lay low for a week or two, then turn them in to the authorities.”
His mouth went dry at the idea of Lester’s men finding her. “I—” he cleared his throat. “I’m glad you didn’t do that.”
“I’ve only gone in afterward.”
“I beg your pardon? Gone in where?” He debated between driving on to keep her talking and stopping at the next low-budget place to have it out with her. “We are going to discuss this.”
“What’s the big deal?”
There were several, but he started with the obvious. “You didn’t tell me.”
“I have the pictures ready to go.”
“Where?”
“In a secure cloud storage,” she said. “It’s not like I had any assurance you’d take the files I gave you seriously. Don’t get mad,” she said. “You admitted that you didn’t at first.”
“I rushed it.” He bristled at her accusation. “Underestimating the number of people who would have noticed a problem within the park system is different from not taking you seriously.”
“Semantics.”
“Who put that big-ass chip on your shoulder?” And damned if he didn’t just pass the hotel he’d wanted to use. The woman got under his skin in ways that had no place during an investigation.
“It’s not a chip.”
He shot her a skeptical look while waiting at the next light to make a U-turn. “Boulder?”
She laughed and the tension filling the car burst like a bubble. “I’m strange and I know it,” she said. “I’m also capable of doing the hard stuff, despite being the baby of the family.”
“Your family forgets that.”
“Occasionally, yes.”
“For you this is about proving yourself.”
“And stopping animal abuse.”
He nodded. It was as personal as he wanted to get right now. “Let the boulder go. I acted swiftly on the information you provided because it was well-organized and the analysis was efficient. There are agents who’ve been with the Bureau for years who couldn’t have put it together so well.”
A blush of pride turned her cheeks rosy. “Thank you.”
“Let’s go in there and be the happy couple so we can see Lester brought to justice.”
She gave him a warm smile and patted his hand. The ring sparkled in the light. “That’s a wonderful plan. Sweetheart,” she added as the valet opened his door.