Bombshell (AN FBI THRILLER)

by Catherine Coulter

  That brought Hart up short. “Well, no, not really. And listen to me, as much as I dislike Peter Biaggini, I don’t believe he did murder Tommy Cronin; why would he? If he uploaded the photo, then where did he get it? I have no idea, but still, where’s the motive for him to do such a heinous thing? It had to be someone striking out against the old man, against Palmer Cronin. If the fool hadn’t turned a deaf ear to all the warnings bombarding him, if those imbeciles in Congress hadn’t kept encouraging the banks to continue writing unpayable mortgages, let them develop and market derivatives no one understood, the collapse wouldn’t have happened. It’s that simple. But no, they all kept going on, a triumph of greed and stupidity.”

  Savich had already heard about a more flamboyant version of the same diatribe delivered by Hart to the Commonwealth Club two weeks before. He’d probably been paid a princely sum for it. Savich said, his voice precise and cold, “I understand, Mr. Hart, that you sold quite a few of those bonds yourself before the crash. Wasn’t it after they went under that you decided to turn against your own compatriots and join the talk circuit?”

  Hart looked like he wanted to punch Savich in the face, but he was smart enough not to try it. He turned away and walked quickly toward the windows, to get control of himself. He said over his shoulder, “What we did, we did because it seemed smart, it seemed simply good business that made money for the banks and a good return for our investors. None of us guessed some of the biggest banks in the world could totter toward collapse in a few short weeks. Impossible, most thought, but happen it did.

  “I am on the talk circuit now, as you call it, to encourage the Fed, the SEC, Congress, all interested parties to move forward with the regulations I suggest.”

  Another quote from Hart’s speech, and a question he had fielded many times. Not defensive, not all that remorseful, either, but look at the new man, the new wise man with a plan of action. Savich thought he did it well.

  “If you’re right, Mr. Hart, about Tommy’s murder being revenge against Palmer Cronin, then how do you explain the photo uploaded on Stony’s computer? Why did Stony kill himself?”

  They watched Hart deflate, no other word for it, his son’s suicide once again front and center in his mind. He said, his voice hoarse with pain, “An innocent boy was brutally killed, and my poor son killed himself. I can’t explain any of it, but I know it had to be revenge on Cronin, had to be. Peter Biaggini didn’t do it. It was someone you don’t even have on your radar.”

  “Mr. Hart, why do you have cameras in this room?”

  “What—oh, the cameras. When I bought the house the former owner had an elaborate security system installed because he had an expensive art collection. I thought it interesting, and so I kept it. Easier than ripping it out.

  “I need to be with my wife now, Agents. Regina will show you out.”

  Savich was aware of Hart’s bleak eyes following them as Regina led them from the living room.

  Maestro, Virginia

  Monday afternoon

  Anna was surprised when Dr. Elliot Hayman walked into Maurie’s Diner well after the lunch crowd would normally have thinned. It was still crowded today here at gossip central, what with all the buzz about the shooting at the B&B last night. She’d heard many hairy tales about what had happened, but few that remotely resembled reality. And Delsey didn’t star in any of them, a lucky thing indeed.

  He sent her a warm smile, maybe too warm, she never really knew with Dr. Hayman, and he waved. It had been at least a month since she’d seen him in here, too pedestrian for him, too blue collar, she’d always assumed. Why today? He walked straight to a back table where three female Stanislaus graduate students Anna had already been serving were gossiping, not about the shooting but about Gabrielle DuBois. “I wonder if she’ll go after Dr. Hayman now that Professor Salazar’s cooled off,” and, “Well, she’s French, isn’t she?”

  Musicians, cops, waitresses, Anna thought, listening to them. Jealousy and gossip were always the same. She followed Dr. Hayman to the table, where the three women gladly welcomed him to join them. Anna gave him a big smile after he’d settled in. “I believe you like sweet tea, don’t you, Dr. Hayman?”

  He smiled back at her, that too-warm smile, and nodded. “Yes, thank you. I’m told Ms. Freestone didn’t attend classes this morning. Is she not feeling well?”

  “I’m not sure, Dr. Hayman, but I know she would have been there if she could.”

  “Do you know where she is now, Anna?”

  “Can’t say, Dr. Hayman.”

  “Our campus police chief told me there was another break-in and a shooting at the B&B. He said he couldn’t find out more because Sheriff Noble was keeping a tight lid on it. Have you heard anything about it, Anna?”

  “People have been talking about it, but like you said, the sheriff isn’t letting out any of the details.” It was a relief to all of them that the gang member had tried to kill Delsey in the middle of the night when no one was around. And luckily the forensic team and the ME and his team weren’t from Maestro and not around to be grilled over scrambled eggs.

  Anna poured Dr. Hayman’s sweet tea, took more orders, and delivered them to the kitchen window—most medium-rare hamburgers, Maurie’s specialty, and orders of his stiff-as-soldiers-at-attention french fries. It didn’t feel right to her that Dr. Hayman was in here today asking questions about Delsey and the shooting. A local shooting was unusual, it was exciting fodder for the gossip mill, but for Dr. Hayman?

  He wasn’t drinking his tea. She was also aware he was watching her. Did he disbelieve her? Did he think she was holding something back, since she and Delsey were best friends? No matter. She had no choice, she had to keep working and lying through her teeth.

  She delivered late lunches, refilled glasses, and smiled and said cheery things and passed more orders through the kitchen window to Maurie, who was sweating in a thick, fat-filled heat, whistling softly as he flipped hamburger patties and barked at Mickey Cross for another order of tuna salad. Mickey was an aging Desert Storm vet who never paid Maurie much mind, having survived an Iraqi prison.

  And she had a growing premonition that trouble was going to walk through the door at any minute.

  She took a bathroom break, walked back to the ladies’ room, thankfully empty, locked the door, and called Griffin.

  “Griffin, it’s Anna. As you can imagine, this place is buzzing about the shooting, but nothing’s gotten out yet. Dr. Hayman’s here, and I know his main reason for coming was to ask me why Delsey hadn’t been in class today. Please tell me she’s safe in Washington.”

  “She’s fine, all moved in at Savich’s house.”

  “I’m so glad she’s away from here. As you can imagine, everyone is talking about the shooting, and you wouldn’t believe some of the stories.”

  “I’ve heard some myself. Thank you for allowing me to tell Dix and Ruth that you were DEA and here undercover. Dix called your boss, told him what had happened. Brannon asked him to keep the details quiet, if possible, and so Dix threatened physical damage if anyone leaked anything about the gang member being shot to anyone, spouses included. Your boss wants to keep the gangs out of it for as long as possible.”

  She wondered if Mac Brannon had cursed loud and long when he got a dawn call from the sheriff of Maestro. “Do you know who the dead guy is?”

  Griffin said, “Yeah, thanks to the MS-13 neck tattoo, it wasn’t hard. His name was Raul Alvarez, out of Fairfax County. Low-level drug conviction, assault, two murder charges that didn’t stick. He had a hard-as-nails rep, took care of business. Turns out Brannon called Savich after he found out what happened here to tell him they’ve rounded up half of Raul’s homeboys for questioning, see if they can lead us to the accomplice we saw running down the alley at the B&B last night. It seems likely whoever was with Raul last night was also involved in killing your partner. With all the attention they’re getting, I can’t see anybody in that gang trying to move drugs anytime soon.”

&
nbsp; “Yes, that’s what Mr. Brannon told me. So there’s no break on where the drugs are yet?”

  “As you know, DEA agents are all over this area, a good thirty-mile radius, checking out private farms and questioning locals who live outside of town. Nothing solid yet.”

  “And Salazar?”

  “Haven’t gotten to him yet.”

  “Griffin? I don’t want to be a wuss or an alarmist, but I know to my gut that something’s going to happen and I’m going to be outed.”

  He was silent a moment. “Respect your gut. Leave now, Anna. Call your boss.”

  “No, no, I’ll wait to call him from home. My shift’s over soon.”

  She sensed he wanted to argue, but he didn’t. “Okay, then, I’ll meet you when you get off.”

  She was picking up orders again when Henry Stoltzen waved to her. He slid into a booth across from a front window. He sat alone and silent, and fingered his long goatee.

  She delivered an order and went to his table. He looked tired, she thought, and sad. “Hey, Henry, you okay?”

  “Delsey’s gone,” he said. There was sudden silence in the diner. “She’s gone, and she didn’t even say good-bye. And she could have gotten killed last night.”

  Dr. Hayman turned slightly on his burgundy vinyl seat. He asked in his deep voice, “Do you know where Ms. Freestone went, Mr. Stoltzen?”

  Henry said, “Old Man Chivers told me she flew out from Judge Hardesty’s Airfield early this morning in a small search-and-rescue plane. He said you and Agent Hammersmith were waiting there with her, Anna, and you saw her off.”

  Her heart dropped to her sneakers, and both of them were hovering over the edge of the abyss. Chigger Chivers—where had the old coot been hiding? She and Griffin hadn’t seen a soul. Why hadn’t he come out to talk to them? Had he overheard them talking? Oh, yes, for sure, no doubt in her mind. He’d heard every single thing out of their mouths.

  She was fully aware of Dr. Hayman staring at her. Would he pin her on the lie? If he did, what would she say?

  She knew everyone was staring at her now, whispering behind their hands, and Dr. Hayman sat there drumming his fingers on the table, simply looking at her, his expression curiously blank. The three women with him at the table were also silent, their eyes on her, along with everyone else’s in the diner who’d heard her lie.

  She ignored all of them, stopped to take an order from the elderly bookkeeper at the Holcombe bank who played Santa Claus at the hardware store.

  To her surprise and relief, Dr. Hayman left with the gaggle of graduate students without touching his sweet tea. He paused for a moment at the door and looked back at her, shook his head, and left. She served Henry a glass of soda and watched him run his fingers down the outside of the glass. Finally, he let out a dramatic sigh.

  “Henry, what’s wrong?” As if she didn’t know.

  “Are you going to tell me about Delsey, Anna, where she went?”

  “Delsey went to Washington, like Mr. Chivers told you. Wouldn’t you be afraid to stay if you found a dead man in your bathtub?”

  “Well, yeah, I guess, but she should have told me.”

  “Henry, did Mr. Chivers tell you anything else?”

  “Nope. He started whistling, you know how he is, and strolled away, hitching up those ratty old wool pants of his, snapping his suspenders. I called after him, but he kept whistling, wouldn’t say anything else.”

  “Where did you see him?”

  “He was sitting outside the hardware store, shooting the breeze, as usual. Why were you out there with Delsey, Anna?”

  “Because I’m her best friend. I was glad to see her off because it still might not be safe for her here in Maestro. You know she would have said good-bye to you if she’d had time.”

  “Well, tell her hi for me if you talk to her.”

  Anna watched him walk out, stroking his goatee. She realized she was exhausted, too little sleep, running her feet off, but more than that was the fear. Fear drained you faster than hauling a wet carpet. She hated to be afraid, hated she had to own up to it. She wasn’t going to stay to the end of her shift. It was time to leave.

  Maurie didn’t mind, since there were only a dozen customers left. She was bundled up in her winter togs and out the door and into her Kia within five minutes, on her way to Wolf Trap Road to pack. She knew Mr. Chivers had told everyone who’d come into his orbit about seeing her, no doubt in her mind, and if he had overheard them talking, he’d probably said a great deal more to many of them. Dr. Hayman knew she’d lied to him. Who would he tell? His brother? Did it matter? She didn’t know, but she knew she couldn’t take a chance.

  She took a corner too fast and the car tipped for one terrifying second before she got traction again. She felt as though she’d jump out of her seat if the steering wheel wasn’t in the way. Pay attention. She was about to fish her cell out of her pocket to call Griffin when it gave its familiar ring, a worn-out razor buzz.

  “Are you home yet?”

  “Not yet. Another seven minutes.”

  “I forgot to ask you when your shift ended.”

  “I should have called you, but all I could think about was getting away. My gut was right. I’m busted.”

  “I’m five minutes behind you.” And Griffin punched off before she could even say Mr. Chivers’s name.

  She was spooked, a premonition again. She passed two cars with single men driving them, their faces indistinct in the dull late-afternoon light. She watched until she saw them turn off.

  She mentally packed a few things in her duffel. She’d be ready to leave the instant Griffin pulled in. She looked in her rearview mirror at a black SUV, but it was way back. When she turned onto Wolf Trap Road she realized she didn’t want to go near her charming cottage in the lovely dense woods, not when it would be dark in an hour, not with the winter wind whipping the tree branches into a mad frenzy. She hated that she was afraid.

  She pulled into her driveway, cut the engine, and the world became quiet as a tomb. Even the wind seemed dead now. She locked her hands on the steering wheel and stared out the car window at the trees, huddled together like dark monoliths, brooding and waiting, the dark clouds weighing down on everything.

  She didn’t want to open the car door, didn’t want to walk the twenty or so steps to her front entrance, out in the open, for anyone hiding in the woods to see her, and what? Shoot her? No, there was no one there. Anna calmed herself and her breathing. She was a strong, smart, well-trained DEA agent. There was no reason for her to let her imagination run away with her, no reason to get freaked out. If there were bad men out to get her, she’d shoot them first, no problem. She’d face things head-on and not feel terrified at what could be hiding behind all those heavy shadows that cloaked the trees. And there wasn’t anything there. There wasn’t.

  Everything was as it should be, even if the shapeless low-hanging clouds made everything seem otherworldly, like the devil himself was nearby, counting souls.

  Don’t run in the house to pack; don’t get out of your car. Stay locked in and safe. No, don’t wait for Griffin, leave now. Who needs clean underwear?

  A laugh spurted out. That last thought was too much for her to stand. She opened the car door and eased out, her Glock clutched at her side in one hand, her keys fisted in the other hand. She could kill with a gun or with her keys, didn’t matter, she was ready.

  You’re an idiot to come back. Who cares if you’re wearing jeans and a sweater that smell like hamburgers and fries? You’ll be back in Washington soon enough.

  This was nuts. I’m smart and I’m fast, so shut up! Anna pressed her Glock against her leg and refused to sweep it around her as she walked to her front door.

  She heard something, something like a branch dragging on the ground, and froze in her tracks. Then nothing. She didn’t fumble with the keys, in and open, and she had her back pressed against the wall next to the door, her breath coming fast, and for a crystalline instant, she was back in the abandoned w
arehouse in New Orleans that was really a meth lab where she’d seen her first and only firefight. You came through that, didn’t you? You stayed focused, didn’t lose your nerve, even though, admit it, your hands were clammy with sweat and fear, and your heart was beating a mad tattoo. You did okay; you did great.

  She’d never before been so spooked, so close to having her control shatter. It was humiliating.

  Would Griffin be scared?

  No, he wouldn’t. She wouldn’t, either. She’d get a grip.

  Sure enough, no one was hiding behind the mop in the kitchen pantry. Nothing had disturbed the meager lineup of shoes in her closet, and she heard no quiet breathing that wasn’t her own. She opened the bathroom door and turned on the light, the white tile glaring back at her. Her heart skipped as she remembered Delsey finding Arnie’s body behind her shower curtain, his blood trailing into her bathtub. She stared into the bathroom mirror at the pasty white face of a woman running too close to the edge. She stood there and changed that woman’s face into her own, strong and sure and ready to kick big butt. She heard a car engine, heard fast footfalls coming toward the front door.

  Griffin was here. There was a loud knock on the door, and his steady, sane voice: “Anna?”

  Washington, D.C.

  Monday evening

  It was way past Sean’s bedtime, but since Delsey was a new chapter in Sean’s life, they’d let him stay up, even microwaved a bag of popcorn. Savich watched Delsey clean the butter off Sean’s fingers as he confided in her how his future wife, Emma Hunt, could play the piano nearly as well as his mama. He was going to make sure Emma had a big grand piano so she wouldn’t regret marrying him, and maybe Delsey wouldn’t mind playing it, too?

  Savich grinned as he leaned down to pick up stray popcorn from the kitchen floor. He liked Griffin’s sister, the Trouble Magnet, and so did his son.

  Jimmy Buffett sang out “The Piña Colada Song” on Savich’s cell. Savich met Sherlock’s eyes. They both hated late calls because a lot of the time it meant bad things had happened, that their night with Sean was over. He was aware that Delsey was staring hard at him.