Winter's Curse

by Mary Stone

  Aiden’s face went thoughtful. He reached for the bag of donuts and fished out a plain one.

  “Plain?” She grimaced at his choice. “Why am I not surprised.”

  “Shut up,” he responded mildly, taking a bite. “I’ve been thinking about this, doing some research. I might have an idea of Heidi’s last hit, but it’s just a guess.”

  Winter leaned forward. “Tell me.”

  “Don’t take this and run with it without bouncing it off the rest of your team first,” he warned her.

  She shook her head and gave him an impatient look. “You’re stalling.”

  “I think she’s going to finish off with the Collar Bomb.”

  Winter immediately knew what case Aiden was referring to. It had baffled investigators when it happened. It also made a sick kind of sense when you put all the previous cases together.

  A pizza man had shown up at a National Bank Group bank in 2003, demanding that the tellers give him two hundred and fifty thousand in cash. They didn’t have it on hand. He instead got away with just under nine thousand, seeming nonchalant as he grabbed a sucker from a container on the counter on his way out the door.

  The police caught him not far from the crime scene. He’d been fitted with a bomb around his neck. He told them a fishy-sounding story about some people putting it on him and giving him a list of instructions to follow. If he didn’t do as they told him, they’d detonate the bomb.

  The bomb had indeed detonated a short time after, moments before the bomb squad arrived to dismantle it. It had blown a fist-sized hole in the man’s chest, killing him on the spot. The motives and suspects in the case ended up being confusing and muddled, but it had been a highly sensationalized heist. The man was killed on camera, and videos still floated around the internet of his death.

  “Why do you think she’d choose that one?” Winter asked, unconsciously assigning Heidi the responsibility for the theoretical crime. “To get rid of Ryan O’Connelly?”

  Aiden nodded. “So far, she’s chosen high-profile cases. I think she’s planned these out to gain notoriety. To thumb her nose at everyone, us included, and prove that she’s smarter than any previous criminal that’s come along, and the cops that are investigating her. So far,” he admitted, “she’s done a decent job of it.”

  “So, you think she only brought Ryan in for his name and reputation. In the end, she’ll blow him up, proving that she was smarter than he was too. When the press puts it all together, she’ll be infamous.”

  “I think that’s the plan.”

  “You think she’ll do it at the original location?”

  “That part, I’m not sure of.” Aiden took another bite of his donut. “She changed up the location of the last hit. Maybe because she thought it made sense in a convoluted way, with the ArmorGuard Security and Dunbar acquisition. Maybe because it would keep us off track. Or she just figured it would have been too much of a pain in the ass to get across the country. The NBG bank where the Collar Bomb heist began is in Erie, Pennsylvania. It’s only a six- or seven-hour drive from New York.”

  “But how is she getting O’Connelly to go along with all of this?”

  Aiden shrugged, frustration evident in the movement. “You’d have to ask him.”

  “Hopefully, we’ll get the chance.” The theory was a long shot, admittedly. But it was more than they’d had before.

  “I need to get back to the office. Try and get Sun to listen to me. Maybe Noah can help.”

  “Try to spin it in a way that she’ll see the benefit for herself,” Aiden advised. “Have her call me if you think that will help.”

  Winter pushed to her feet. Yeah, it was a long shot, but it felt right, judging by the new urgency that pulsed through her body. They were running out of time, she knew. Playing against a clock they couldn’t see. “I’m going to get back. Thanks.”

  “Don’t thank me yet.” Aiden grinned. “If I’m right, be sure to give credit where it’s due. If I’m not, keep it to yourself.”

  She headed for the door, new motivation running strong. “I’ll check in with you. Let you know what’s going on.”

  “Do that,” he called after her. “Keep me posted.”

  She shut the door behind her, her steps quick to the elevator. Pulling out her phone, she texted Noah: Got an idea. Prep Sun and get her as receptive as possible. Tell her Parrish has some insight for us and I’m on my way.

  By the time the elevator got to the main floor, he’d texted back: Will do. See u in a bit.

  She’d try Ryan’s phone in the car one more time. It couldn’t hurt.

  After she’d gone, Aiden’s mood dipped.

  It had been like that lately. Winter would burst in, full of angst and energy. When she left, it was like she sucked all of that vibrancy out of the room with her, leaving him more acutely aware of his self-imposed solitude when she was gone.

  It disturbed him. His control, his discipline, his detachment…every time he was around her, he could feel his grasp slipping. Uncomfortable, he thought about the package that had come in the mail the day before. It was sitting in his office on the desk.

  The gift had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now it just felt maudlin. Sentimental. He’d still give it to her. He seldom second-guessed his own decisions. But after that…he had to move her aside. Tuck her back into the safe compartment she’d been in before his injury.

  Eying the clock, he wondered how early was really too early for a drink.

  Fuck it. He was an adult.

  He pushed to his feet and headed toward the carved teak liquor cabinet tucked into a corner of the room. He hoped he was right about Heidi Presley’s next step. He didn’t want to see that fiery light of hope—and hell, hero worship—in Winter’s eyes diminished.

  It would be, eventually, he thought with some regret. No need to hurry the process along.

  29

  It was as dark as a pit. The kind of darkness where you couldn’t tell if your eyes were open or closed.

  Ryan moved painfully toward the bed, the throbbing in his arm competing with the knot that was rising on the back of his head, where he’d slammed it against the floor when he fell. He barely registered the cobwebs that brushed against his face, or the knee he knocked hard into the corner of the metal bed frame.

  Once he’d located the bed, he collapsed heavily on the mattress. There were no sheets or anything to tear to make a bandage. He struggled out of his shirt, wanting to yell with every movement that jarred his injured arm or his swollen hand. Carefully, he pressed the wadded-up shirt against his arm and hissed at the starburst of pain the contact caused.

  He was in bad shape. But not as bad as he could have been.

  Ryan hadn’t come back into the room empty-handed. He’d spotted a small gray packet on his way out the door, the only item sitting on a shelf just outside of the storage room. Heidi had insisted he keep his cell phone in it. He figured the little nylon bag must be some kind of Faraday cage, blocking any signal the phone might give off that would allow it to be tracked.

  Ryan smiled in the darkness as he slipped his phone out. His spirits lifted a little as he felt the smooth, familiar shape of his iPhone in his hand. He pushed the volume down to vibrate and switched on the power save mode to conserve the eight percent battery charge that was left.

  He was still in trouble, but he wasn’t out of options yet. He touched his chest without thinking, where his Saint Dismas medal usually hung. It only served to remind him that he’d been shit out of luck since this whole thing began.

  Then, his phone rang.

  He stared at it for a second as it glowed and vibrated in his hand. He didn’t recognize the number. Upstairs, he thought he heard a floorboard creak. It could have been the normal noise of a building settling, but he couldn’t be sure.

  He hit the button to answer the call.

  “Hello?” he answered, keeping his voice just above a whisper.

  Holy shit, she’d gotten him. Ryan O’Connelly.


  Winter’s fingers tightened on her steering wheel.

  “Ryan? This is Special Agent Black with the FBI. You’re in danger. You need to tell me where you’re at.”

  There was a short laugh, quickly muffled. “You’re bloody right I’m in danger. She just fucking shot me. I don’t think it’ll kill me, but I’m with this crazy wo—”

  “Heidi Presley,” Winter confirmed. “Tell me where you are.”

  “I don’t know. She knocked me out. I’m in a room in a basement, but I couldn’t fucking tell you where if my life depended on it. Which I guess it does.”

  Winter wanted to growl in frustration. He could be playing her, laying a trap, but his voice rang with sincerity, and more convincingly, fear. “I’m going to try to help you, but I need you to stay on the phone with me as long as you can.”

  She put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking spot, her nerves jumping.

  “My phone battery is running low,” he warned. “And I don’t know when she’s coming back.”

  “I’m hurrying.”

  She didn’t want to hang up, now that she had him, but she had to get back to the office and have the techs try and locate the phone again. It had to be pinging now.

  “Where are you shot? What happened?”

  “I tried to get away,” Ryan admitted, chagrin in his voice. “It wasn’t well thought out.”

  Winter glanced either way at the next red light and sped through. “What happened?”

  “I got out of some handcuffs. I hit her, took her by surprise. Hoped I knocked her out. She got me, though. Upper arm. Threatened to do my knees next. I think she wants me alive, but I don’t know why. She sure as hell looked like she wanted to shoot me in the head.”

  Keep talking, she urged him silently. She was two minutes out.

  “Do you know what she has planned next? Do you think you could be in Pennsylvania?”

  “I don’t know why we would be. I thought we were in Vermont. That’s where we were at between the Parrish job and the armored depot thing. Listen, I’m sorry—”

  “No time for that right now,” she interrupted. “Tell me all about it later. Where in Vermont were you?”

  He named a town she didn’t recognize, and she committed it to memory as she made the last turn, practically on two wheels.

  “We’re going to find you,” she promised.

  Exactly how, she wasn’t sure.

  She parked and took off for the building at a dead run, glad she’d chosen comfortable flats that morning. She caught a few curious glances on the way through the lobby but ignored them. Luck was with her. The elevator had just reached the ground floor, with two people getting out. She pushed past them and hit the button. The door slid shut with agonizing slowness.

  “Listen,” Ryan said. “I need a favor.”

  “Gutsy of you, but I’m listening.” The numbers ticked by on the display above the elevator doors. One…two…she hoped she didn’t lose service.

  But Ryan’s voice came through clear, as did the urgency that underlaid his words. “There’s a woman in Jamaica. She has a little boy. I want them protected. Heidi’s been using her as a threat. I can face whatever I have to…just please, make sure she’s protected.”

  “What’s her name and where does she live?”

  “Ionie Clarke. She lives in Ocho Rios. Works in housekeeping at Jamaica Inn.”

  “I’ll see what we can arrange.”

  The doors finally opened, and she headed straight for Doug’s office. He gave her a shy smile that shifted to concern once he got a look at her face.

  “Track it now. The cell phone,” she whispered, holding a hand over the receiver.

  Once he started typing, she put the phone down on the desk and hit the speaker button.

  “Thanks,” Ryan said, his voice sounding a little bit lighter. “Now, if you could just—”

  Whatever else he’d been getting ready to request, it was cut off in a loud, screeching sound, and his sharp, indrawn breath.

  “You got your phone, didn’t you,” came a woman’s voice. “How enterprising of you. I didn’t even think about it until just now. Hand it over.” There was a metallic click, then the rustling sounds of a struggle, and a grunt of pain.

  “Who is this?” Heidi Presley’s voice contained nothing but a detached curiosity.

  Winter wasn’t sure how to answer. She looked at Doug. He stared back at her, motioning for her to talk while he typed with one hand. Around them, other agents gathered closely.

  “Winter Black,” she answered, matching Heidi’s tone. Cool and detached.

  “Well, Winter,” Heidi replied. “What are you? Local police? FBI?”

  Winter narrowed her eyes. The woman was playing with her, she could tell. Heidi Presley knew exactly who she was. Winter played along anyway. “FBI.”

  “I was hoping for Sun.” There was another loud screech and a slam. She must’ve locked Ryan back in. “Although, she’s really been a disappointment so far.”

  Winter reached for a piece of paper and scribbled Get Ming and Dalton, handing it to the nearest agent. She took off at a run.

  “She’d be sorry to hear you say that,” Winter replied. “She was pretty flattered that you chose her to work your case.”

  There was a brief pause, and Winter thought the call had been disconnected. But she heard the sound of another door close and a lock clicking into place.

  “You’re the agent who found my house, aren’t you?”

  “One of them. Yes.” Stroke her ego, she thought to herself. Keep her talking. “You’ve been quite a challenge.”

  “You’re the girl. The one with the long, dark hair. How’d you know where my cubby was? At the house in Saint Ignace?”

  Winter felt eyes on her. Everyone knew the story by now. Apparently, more people than just Heidi had been wondering the same thing. She deflected, a little uncomfortably.

  “You saw us, huh? I’m not surprised. It’d be a shame to set a clever trap like that, and then miss the fireworks when it went off. What kind of accelerant did you use on that explosion? I’ve been curious about how you got the fire to burn so hot so fast and eat up so much fuel.”

  Heidi let out a little chuckle. It sounded rusty and awkward. Not a noise that she was comfortable making.

  “Maybe we’ll sit down when this is all over. Have a chat,” Heidi offered. “I’d love to share all of my little details with someone who will appreciate them.”

  “How about tomorrow morning? I’m sure there’s a coffee place somewhere near the NBG bank in Erie,” Winter replied, going with instinct.

  Behind her, the door opened, and Sun and Noah burst in. Sun pushed her way through the small, gathering crowd, her face furious.

  Winter ignored her, addressing Heidi. “I’d be happy to sit down with you today, but I’m afraid it’ll take me some time to get to Pennsylvania from Richmond.”

  “Oh, I did pick the wrong agent, didn’t I?” Heidi’s voice sounded almost admiring. “You’re the one I should have been talking to all along. This will be so much more fun, knowing you’re right behind me.”

  “Just you,” Winter confirmed. “Not O’Connelly. I can tell he’s just a cog in the machine. Not an organizer.” It felt like she was laying it on a little thick, and Winter winced. Dial it back.

  Doug pushed a piece of paper over to her. Before Winter could grab it, Sun did. She’d seen what it said, though. Erie, PA. The cellphone had pinged off of a tower in Erie. Aiden was right.

  Sun’s face was mottled red, her eyes snapping in furious anger. She opened her mouth to speak, but Noah put a restraining hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.

  “No, of course O’Connelly didn’t have anything to do with this,” Heidi went on, coldly casual. “He’s just a convenient accomplice whose use is almost at an end. I’m pretty sure even he’s figured that out by now, as dumb as he is otherwise.”

  “How convenient has he really been, though? He hasn’t appreciated
the finer points of your plan.”

  “You’re so right. He’s squeamish.” Disgust rang in Heidi’s voice. “I’d researched him carefully beforehand, but it didn’t take long to figure out that I’d have had better results out of a hired thug.”

  “He pulled off the Charlotte Edwards killing. He’ll fry for that alone.”

  Heidi snorted. “He said he shot her in the head while she slept. I don’t believe that.”

  Winter tensed. Did she know the elderly heiress had survived? Had she done follow-up, checking her “partner’s” work?

  “No, he didn’t shoot her in the head,” Winter replied, trying for a confiding tone. “The autopsy showed she died of heart failure. He scared her to death.”

  Again, Heidi laughed. There was a harsh edge of madness to it.

  “I knew he’d lied to me. Fucking coward.”

  “Why even use him? You didn’t need him. You were capable of pulling everything off on your own.”

  “Well, everything but this last heist,” Heidi pointed out. “I could have picked something else, but the ending wouldn’t have been as much fun. Now, as much as I’d like to keep talking, I’ve got lots of things to do before tomorrow morning. I’m sure I’ve given you plenty of time to confirm your hunch. We’re in Pennsylvania. You’re welcome to come find us, but Ryan won’t be available until nine o’clock tomorrow morning. Try to see him before that, and I’ll just kill him early. See you soon, Agent Black.”

  Heidi disconnected, and it seemed like everyone in the room took a collective breath.

  “Agent Black,” Sun clipped out, her tone sheathed in ice. “I need to see you privately. Now.”

  For the moment, at her own peril, she knew, Winter ignored the other agent. She locked eyes with Doug.

  “We need that laptop. Please.”

  He nodded, not speaking, still stunned at the conversation he’d just overheard. He lumbered to his feet and gathered his team with a gesture.

  “Winter,” Sun barked.

  She could feel Noah’s eyes on her, but she followed Sun.