“I’m fine,” I said. “Roy and Garth are the ones who are hurt.”
“The ambulance should be here in a couple of minutes,” Owen said. “They were finishing up at Gladys Norwell’s house. She burned her hand baking a pie.”
I looked at Garth and laughed. “I wonder what she’ll make you when she finds out you’ve been shot.”
“I’m afraid to find out,” he said, shaking his head.
Jeff escorted the paramedics in. “I told you Lizzie would be in the middle of this,” Randy Jenkins said to his partner, Amy Stanley. “You owe me ten bucks.”
“No, the bet was she would be hurt,” Amy reminded him. “She looks fine to me.”
“It’s not me this time,” I told them, “it’s him. He was shot in the leg. I cleaned it up the best I could.”
“I’m sure you did a fine job,” Randy said. “You’ve had so much practice on yourself.”
“Roy, go with Garth to the hospital,” Owen said. “When they release him, give us a call. I’ll let you know where we are.”
“Where’s Olivia?” Garth asked T.J. “I want her to stick close to Lizzie while I’m gone.”
“We put Ethan in one of the interview rooms, and Olivia is standing in the hallway to make sure he doesn’t make a break for it.”
The paramedics put Garth on the gurney that was in the hallway, and they left. “We need to find out if that sniper is still out there,” Owen said.
“Garth said he thought the shots were coming from a roof to the left.”
“I bet I know where,” T.J. said. “The same place Debra used.”
“I thought that was blocked off,” I said.
Owen shook his head. “The owner had a fit when we told him we were going to do that. Maybe he’ll listen to us this time.”
“I suppose you don’t want me to point out that whoever was shooting at us could have been in one of the trees in the park?”
“Aren’t you a little ray of sunshine?” Owen snapped. “But you’re right.”
“You should ask Olivia where she would set up,” I suggested. “She does this for a living, after all.”
Owen stuck his head in the hallway. “Jeff!”
“Yes, Sheriff?”
“There’s a woman standing outside one of the interview rooms. Take her place and ask her to come here, would you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where’s Hopkins?” I asked T.J.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of him, but no one knows where he’s at. I talked to one of the other agents in his office, asking him about Brice Dillard. He’s hasn’t seen the guy.”
“Lovely.”
Olivia came around the corner. “You wanted to see me?”
“We have a technical question for you,” T.J. said. “If you were going to set up outside the sheriff’s office, what spot would you pick?”
“Let me go take a look,” she replied.
“Be careful, the shooter could still be out there.”
While she was gone, I told T.J. what Maddie had told me. “She told them where I worked, and where I lived,” I said. “Just what I need; more people stalking me everywhere I go.”
“They both figure that you will eventually lead them to Ethan,” Owen said.
“All the more reason the FBI needs to consider moving him to another state to protect him,” I said.
“What we need to do right now is get him somewhere safe until we can figure out what to do,” Owen said.
“I say leave him right here. He’s in an interview room, surrounded by concrete walls, no windows, and only one way in,” I pointed out. “Move a bed in there for him, bring his meals in there to him.”
“What makes you think I want to put up with him indefinitely?” Owen said.
“Right now, as far as we know, no one else knows he’s here,” I said. “They came in the back way. If the shooter is out front, there’s no way he or she could know he’s even here.”
“She’s got a point,” T.J. said.
“That may be true, but technically, he’s not our problem, and I don’t appreciate Hopkins dumping him on us,” Owen said.
“Hopkins probably doesn’t want to deal with Ethan any more than we do,” T.J. replied.
“Lord knows I don’t want to,” I muttered.
Olivia came back a few minutes later. “Whoever was shooting at you is gone now,” she said.
“How do you know?” Owen said.
“Because I checked out the area, and didn’t see anyone,” she replied. “Plus, I found some brass.”
T.J. and Owen looked at them. “Looks like the same brass we use for our sniper rifles,” T.J. said.
“Why are you talking about sniper rifles?” Hopkins said as he came in.
“Nice of you to show up after all the excitement is over,” Owen sarcastically said.
“Did someone try to kill Ethan again?”
“No, this time it was Lizzie and Garth,” Owen replied. “They got Garth in the leg. He’ll be okay.”
“Where’s Ethan?”
“In an interview room, probably getting pretty ticked off because no one has told him what’s going on yet,” T.J. said.
“Incidentally, Ethan did get shot this morning,” I said.
“What?” Hopkins said. “I thought he would be safe at your house.”
“He was, until he decided to sneak out of the house. Apparently, he watched me enter the security code last night, and when Garth went to the bathroom this morning, Ethan put in the code, and slipped out the door.”
“So Garth shot him.”
“No, I did,” Olivia said, “from my perch across the street. Don’t worry, I just winged him. We took him to the hospital and got him checked out.”
“I’m trying to arrange another safe house for him, but most of the ones in the area are occupied at the moment.”
“What are you trying very hard not to tell me, Hopkins?” I said, glaring at him.
“Well, um…the thing is…”
“We’ve already decided that the best thing to do is keep him right here,” T.J. said, heading off a possible argument. “But you are going to get us some help protecting him.”
“I’m not sure I can get anyone down here right now. They’ve got a big raid going down today. They’ll be hitting multiple locations. I doubt anyone is going to be free until tomorrow, or the next day.”
“You know what, Hopkins?” I said, getting right in his face. “I think you are full of crap. There is no way that the FBI wouldn’t have available resources to protect a federal witness. I’m pretty sure that your supervisor would be very upset to know that you are leaving a small town sheriff’s department to protect said witness. Am I right?” Hopkins didn’t say anything. “T.J. why don’t you call the office again, and have a talk with the head man.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” T.J. said. “Isn’t the new guy’s name Swearinger?” He pulled out his phone and started to dial.
“All right, all right,” Hopkins said. “The truth is, Swearinger doesn’t know that Ethan is down here. He thinks he’s holed up in a safe house in Richardson.”
“And why does he believe that?” Owen asked.
“Because that is where he’s supposed to be, but the stupid moron kept calling for takeout, making business calls, and other things that I won’t mention. The final straw was when he swiped an agent’s car keys, slipped out of the house, and went to a strip club. He went through four sets of agents, and none of them want anything to do with him.”
“Welcome to my world,” I told him. “I don’t want to have anything to do with him, either.”
“Everything was fine until last night.”
“How long before they bring Edward to trial?” T.J. said.
“I don’t know for sure. It could be a couple of months yet.”
“Meanwhile, you have two people who want to see Ethan dead, and both are in the neighborhood,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that his father and his girlfriend are both in town, asking questions about me. And what about Brice Dillard?”
“What about him?” Hopkins said.
“Hello! Are you stupid? The man transferred here from Richmond. If someone is giving Edward inside information, I’d say it’s Dillard. Are you really that dense?”
“There’s no way Edward has that kind of pull with the FBI to get Dillard transferred.”
“Oh really? Did you ask for a new agent?”
“No.”
“Did the last guy request a transfer?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean anything,” Hopkins said. “People get transferred in and out all the time.”
“But the last guy was only here a few months,” T.J. said. “He was brought in to replace me.”
“I just do what they tell me to do,” Hopkins said, clearly frustrated. “Frankly, I don’t appreciate you accusing one of my agents of selling out, Lizzie.”
“Then prove to me, to us, that he hasn’t.”
“And how do you expect me to do that?”
We were interrupted by a loud pounding sound and yelling from down the hall. “I have a feeling our guest has grown tired of his accommodations,” Owen said.
Jeff looked a little worried when we came around the corner. “He says if I don’t let him out of there, he’s going to sue me and the department for unlawful arrest.”
“Good luck with that,” Owen replied, opening the door. “The moron isn’t under arrest.”
“It’s about time! What’s the idea leaving me in this room by myself?” Ethan angrily said.
“Keeping you alive,” I said.
“What does that mean?”
“That means someone was shooting at us in front of the building a little while ago, and Garth was hit.”
“Is he dead?”
I shook my head. “He should be fine.”
“So what’s the big deal then?”
Was he serious? How stupid can a man be? “Somebody knows that you’re in protective custody, Ethan,” I told him. “My guess is they want to make sure you don’t testify.”
His face turned pale. “I…I…that is, I mean, well, you don’t know that for sure.” I gave him “the look”. You know, the one that makes most men shake in their boots in fear. “Well, maybe it’s possible.”
“We feel that it’s best if we keep you in here,” Owen said, “instead of letting you go outside. There’s a strong possibility that no one saw you come in the back way, which will be an advantage for us.”
“You want me to hole up here…in this…this…”
“Interview room,” I finished for him.
“Yes, that’s exactly what we want you to do,” Owen said. “The only way they can get to you in here is blowing up the concrete wall.”
Ethan looked around the room. “Forget it.”
I looked at T.J., who shrugged. “Two people were asking for Lizzie in town this morning. One was a young woman; the other was an older gentleman. Now, do you want to guess who they were?”
Ethan didn’t say anything. “You have two choices,” I told him. “You can stay here and hopefully survive. You can take your chances outside and probably die. What do you want to do?”
Chapter 39
Owen sent Jeff and T.J. to get supplies, while Hopkins tried to keep Ethan calm, which was like trying to keep a woman with PMS away from chocolate.
Garth and Roy came back just before lunch. “How are you feeling?” I asked Garth.
“Like I have a hole in my leg,” he replied. “The doctor said I’ll be fine. He wanted to know who patched me up. When I told him it was you, he didn’t seem very surprised.”
“They know her on a first name basis out there,” Owen laughed. “With all the money she’s paid them, she should have her own parking space.”
“Very funny.”
“What’s going on here?” Garth said.
“They’re starting up the Ethan Winthrop babysitting service,” I said.
“Pardon me?”
My phone rang before I could explain. “Hello?”
“I thought you were coming in this morning,” Ellen said.
“I got a little sidetracked.”
“Did you hear about the shooting at the sheriff’s department?”
“I might know something about it.”
“Where are you right now?”
“Sitting in Owen’s office.”
Ellen groaned. “I should have known you’d be in the middle of things again.”
“Trust me, it was not intentional.”
“I expect the story on my desk by the end of the day.”
“Who’s the boss here?”
“On my desk.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said. “Anything else?”
“Yeah, a couple of people have been by here looking for you. Both of them were rather anxious to find you.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“Do you want me to tell them where you are when they come back?”
“No, don’t do that. Just tell them I’m in a meeting all afternoon, and get a number where I can reach them.”
“Something smells rotten here,” Ellen said suspiciously. “What’s going on?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss it right now,” I said, glancing at Owen.
“Sounds like a good story.”
“It could be. I better go. If either one of those people come back, don’t tell them anything, and call me as soon as they leave. See if you can find out what kind of car they’re driving, or which way they go when they drive off.”
“Will do, boss lady.”
I hung up and leaned back in my chair. “I wish this whole mess was over with,” I told Owen. “I’m in the same boat Ethan is right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have a feeling that Barbara and Edward are looking for me, hoping I will lead them to Ethan, since I seem to be his latest obsession. They know where I work and where I live. There’s no way I can go either place right now.”
“I’m sure Trixie will let you stay with her,” he replied.
I shook my head. “No way. They took pot shots at us this morning. If something happened to her because of me…”
“Understood.”
“You’ll stay with me,” T.J. said from the doorway.
“Didn’t you hear what I just told Owen? If I’m not going to put my best friend in danger, I sure as heck am not going to put you in the same position.”
“Yes, but there’s a difference,” he said. “I know how to protect us both.”
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head again. “There has to be an easier way.”
“I think this is the best solution for now,” T.J. said.
I got up and paced the office. “The common denominator in all this is that pain in the butt, Ethan. I say let’s give them what they want.”
“Now, hold on a minute, Lizzie,” Owen said. “We can’t just turn him over. One or both of them will kill him.”
“Better him than me.”
“Lizzie!” Owen looked shocked.
“Calm down. I’m not saying throw him to the lions. I’m suggesting we use him as bait.”
“He could still get killed,” T.J. pointed out.
“Look, I’m just throwing the suggestion out there,” I said. “Keeping him alive will be up to you and the FBI.”
“Assuming you can get the FBI to cooperate,” Owen said.
“I suggest you go down the hall and get Hopkins in here,” I told him.
“He’s not going to like this,” T.J. said as Owen left.
“I don’t know what to say to that.”
He walked over and gave me a hug. “I won’t ask how you’re feeling, because I know the answer.”
“Getting tired of answering that question anyway.”
“Is staying at my place really a bad idea?”
“No, it isn’t,” I smiled, “but I don’t want to see anyone else
get hurt because of me. Being in that accident with Jake…there were moments when I didn’t think he was going to make it. And he got hurt because he was trying to help me. I have to live with that on my conscience. I’m dealing with enough right now, I don’t want to add to my stress levels.”
“You do realize that I wasn’t asking if you wanted to stay at my place, and I wasn’t really suggesting it, either,” he said. “It was one of those ‘you don’t really have much of a choice’ type of things.”
“There is no way I’m going to use Winthrop as bait for one of your harebrained ideas, Lizzie Crenshaw,” Hopkins said angrily as he came into the office.
“Who said it was my idea?”
He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Owen, who shrugged. “Forget it. He’s a federal witness, and we need him.”
“A federal witness that you have left in the custody of local law enforcement,” I reminded him. “Apparently, he’s not that important of a witness, since you don’t seem to be too concerned about his welfare.”
“That’s a low blow,” he said.
“Truth hurts; deal with it,” I answered. “Your federal witness has two people coming after me trying to find him. Now, I really don’t care one way or the other what happens to Ethan; drop him off a bridge after he testifies, for all I care. But for the last few weeks, he has made my life a living hell. His father has tried to kill me, and almost killed Jake Mathias. Because of him, I don’t sleep well at night; I’m afraid to go into my own office at work. I don’t want to be alone, and at the same time, I don’t want to be around people.”
“I realize that you’ve…” Hopkins started to say, but I cut him off.
“Do you want to know what the nightmares are like?” I continued. “I keep replaying what happened to me over and over. It always ends the same way. Sometimes I wake up screaming, and I can’t go back to sleep. When I thought he was dead, I hoped that I would be able to start to heal a bit, regain some sanity. You complained about him getting out and doing things. Well, he was sending me little gifts, flowers and things when he got away from you and your agents. He was still harassing me while in your custody. I realized that after I came home and saw him sitting here. You, Agent Hopkins, are just as much to blame for this nightmare that has become my life, because you lied to us, and because you couldn’t control him. So excuse me if I don’t give a damn what you want or don’t want right now. If you won’t agree to do this, I will go over your head to your supervisor. I’m sure he would be thrilled to have something else to pin on Edward Winthrop. Now, either help us, or get out of the way so we can take care of your problem ourselves.”
Death Vetoes The Chairman (Lizzie Crenshaw Mysteries Book 7) Page 30
