Chapter 6 #4
“No, I’ve heard from Griffin you’re something of a whiz at that kind of observation.” He shrugged. “It’s probably still a waste of time.”
She was already walking quickly into the forest. Was Jessie somewhere out there watching from the shadows of those surrounding trees?
Or maybe in the heavy patch of heather on that far hill?
Possibly. But now definitely wasn’t the time to reach out to her.
She should keep Cambry as far away from Jessie as possible.
“It’s not a waste of time if you get paid for your effort,” she said shortly.
“You’ll get the information you wanted from me when you drop me off back at the airfield.
I’ll tell you if I need you to stop or pause at any point before that. ”
Cambry’s lips curled. “How certain and cool you are. Not the least nervous about poking your nose where you might stir up something . . . deadly.” His gaze was searching her expression for some sign of weakness.
“Didn’t it occur to you that we might not be alone out here?
I told you that Vlad Korkil’s men have been seen in these hills.
Don’t you think they might want to question you about our friend Lynch?
That Korkil bastard can be very ugly, and he’s already sent two of his men to try to get you.
” He jerked his head toward the shadowy forest now only a few feet away.
“Perhaps he’s out there waiting for his chance to snatch you away. Can’t you feel him, Kendra?”
What a complete son of a bitch. She knew he only wanted to make her uneasy, and there was no way she’d let him get away with it.
She stared him directly in the eyes. “Not even a trace.” She reached into her jacket pocket, pulled out her .
38 revolver, and showed it to him. “I’m usually prepared.
I can take care of myself, and I’m sure that he’d prefer to attack a tough Justice agent like you if given the choice.
Having you here makes me feel so safe.” She gestured again at the forest as she slid the gun back in her pocket.
“Now, if you’ll just go ahead of me down this path . . .”
He shrugged. “I’ll play your game for a little while. But I’ve no intention of tracking through all this brush when I’ve done it before. I’ll just find a spot, open my thermos of coffee, and watch you strike out on your own. If you have any questions, save them for when you finish.”
“That’s not exactly wholehearted cooperation,” she said sarcastically.
“It’s all you’re going to get,” Cambry said. “But if Korkil’s team suddenly sweeps down, I might decide to come rescue you.” He smiled slyly. “Or I might not.”
“I’d rather rely on myself.” She was entering the forest now, and she supposed it was just as well that Cambry wasn’t going to help her any more than he absolutely had to. She doubted if his reluctant assistance would have been anything but a token anyway. She would just handle this on her own.
Okay. Lynch had told Cambry he was here for a meeting.
Use what she knew of Lynch to determine the site he’d choose for that meeting.
Looking around, there appeared to be a few likely options for a meeting that would involve conversation or perhaps even an exchange of documents.
She could hear a waterfall in the west, which was a possibility.
This forest she was trekking through right now wouldn’t be likely, since there were no specific landmarks that would allow the meeting spot to be easily communicated.
But what about that next hillside ahead?
Her gaze flew to the hill, a mile or so distant.
Maybe. Even though it was rough country and she could see huge boulders and deep heather and vines climbing over the trees, something about it was pulling her toward it.
Strange. Because it wasn’t the least bit civilized or inviting.
Yet she thought she could see something that might also appeal to Lynch.
He’d welcome that very wildness, which may have drawn him as much as it had her.
Decision made. She’d do a minor search here in this pine forest—which she was sure would yield nothing—and then head for those hills that seemed to be calling her.
The initial failure here would please Cambry if he could see that he was right about her failing to discover anything after his own failure to track Lynch.
It might get him off her back for the rest of the time she was up here hunting.
If he wasn’t going to help, she didn’t need him getting in her way.
She moved to where Cambry could see her from where he was sitting on the ground beside the helicopter with his coffee and began to make her very noisy way through the brush muttering an occasional curse for additional effect.
She heard him chuckle, but that was no problem.
The more humiliated he thought she was going to be, the better.
She’d give it another forty-five minutes here and then she’d still have most of the afternoon to explore that other hillside site.
She only hoped she’d find something more promising there.