by Carsen Taite
“Seriously, that was completely out of line.” Sarah’s eyes, still dark and dangerous, darted around the room as if she was jonesing to get far away as fast as she could. “If you want, I can give you someone else’s number to contact.”
“What?” Ellery had no idea what she was talking about.
“When you’re ready to talk. You can call another agent. He’s someone I trust.”
Ellery reached out and grabbed Sarah’s arm and fixed her with a stare. “Stop it. It was me. I kissed you, not the other way around. There’s no need for you to act like you violated some silly federal agent code of ethics.” She didn’t release her until she saw Sarah beginning to relax. What she’d said was only partly true. She’d initiated the kiss and Sarah had kissed her back, but she was so shaken up about it, all Ellery wanted to do was comfort her, even if it meant glossing over that part of it.
“I should go.” Sarah’s word held a trace of regret.
“If you need to.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll walk you to the door.” All she wanted to do was sweep Sarah up into another kiss, longer and slower this time, but instead she led the way to the door. She paused on the doorstep, toying with the words she wanted to say, certain they would be futile. “You don’t have to go.”
“I do.”
“Okay.”
Sarah took a step through the doorway before turning back. “Can I ask you something without offending you?”
Ellery laughed. “As if you hadn’t already? The whole idea that I might be involved in a plot to bomb innocent people is pretty offensive on its own, don’t you think?”
Sarah cracked a tiny smile. “Yes, but this is personal.”
“Shoot.”
“April Landing. I don’t get it.”
Ellery sighed. “The short version is she’s a remnant of the kind of life I used to have.”
“And the long version?”
“I guess the long version is the story of why I left that life, but it’s definitely not the kind of story you tell standing in a doorway saying good-bye to a beautiful woman.”
Sarah blushed. “You shouldn’t say things like that. You’re killing my badass FBI cred.”
“Oh, I doubt that.” For a split second Ellery considered telling Sarah everything, baring her soul. She’d never told anyone the real reason she’d left her law practice, and the very idea she would choose this woman, her adversary, to share her story was mystifying.
It was the kiss. Every electric sensation of the kiss lingered, shocking the good sense right out of her.
“I should go,” Sarah said again.
Ellery nodded. Sarah was right. Their attraction was a powerful force, but while Sarah held the key to whether or not she would be prosecuted, it was too dangerous to yield. She should let Sarah go now, before she lost her head and her heart along with it.
Chapter Sixteen
Sarah jerked upright as her eyes tried to focus. Her room was dark, but the sounds of the city trash truck told her Monday morning had arrived. She hadn’t been able to fall sleep until just before dawn, and even then her memories of Ellery and their unexpected kiss had morphed into a series of crazy dreams.
In the first dream, she’d been in D.C. with Trip and the rest of the BAU team. They’d just returned after closing the Atlanta Strangler case with an arrest. They had a DNA match for the suspect, and they’d found souvenirs from each of the victim’s homes in a chest in the suspect’s attic. The team was celebrating their victory when a call came in about a new victim. Same M.O., but the death occurred after their suspect was already in custody, casting doubt on their entire investigation.
In the next dream, she and Ellery were at the basketball game the night of the bombing. Ellery left their seats in the arena to get them something to eat. Moments later, the blast from the explosion tore through the arena in the direction of the concession stand. Sarah raced through the crowd toward the rubble. She had just begun digging into the debris with both hands when the loud beeping of the city trash jerked her from sleep.
The painful sense of loss she’d felt in the dream clung to her as she stumbled into the kitchen and punched the button on her Keurig. She’d made a huge mistake letting Ellery kiss her, and an even bigger one returning it. She should never have agreed to Trip’s plan to get close to Ellery, especially since she seemed incapable of setting aside the attraction she’d felt from the moment they’d met. She didn’t care that Ellery was a person of interest, that her accounts were frozen, that she was infuriatingly loyal to her former clients to her own detriment. Despite of all those things, Sarah wanted her. She was handsome, smart, loyal, and passionate. The memory of the dream echoed, and Sarah had no doubt if Ellery were trapped in a burning building, she’d rush in to save her.
She sipped her coffee and contemplated what the revelation meant in terms of her job. What dumb luck. She’d gotten this transfer so she could have a life and she’d wound up investigating the one woman who’d captured her interest. Was she doomed to have only small pockets of personal life sandwiched between cases? Was the point of the first dream that the job would always come first? That its pull was never-ending?
She cared as much as anyone about finding the people responsible for the bombing, but all they really had were allusions to activity, but no actual proof. No one group had taken responsibility, and any evidence that Ellery’s client had supported a terrorist group, while illegal, didn’t automatically translate into any tangible acts. Just because Ellery was associated with the organization didn’t necessarily mean she knew where the money was ultimately going after it left WHI. But she had to admit, it looked bad. Suddenly, Sarah wished she were tracking serial killers again. Dead bodies equaled bad acts—there was no gray area. Were the nightmares of her former life more palatable than the murky questions of moral turpitude she currently faced?
An immediate solution would be to tell Trip she was done with this little side project. She’d continue her regular work at the fraud unit. Surely there were some straightforward schemes she could investigate, shady real estate investments, doctors ripping off Medicare. Something, anything that didn’t put her in such close proximity with a woman she couldn’t have. And later, after Ellery’s case played out and she was absolved, they might be able to explore finishing what they’d started yesterday in Ellery’s kitchen. Deep, slow kisses without the added dose of conflict.
Heat flooded her at the memory of Ellery’s lips on hers and she made a snap decision. She picked up her phone and dialed. Trip’s outgoing voice mail greeting played after the first ring and she was forced to leave a message. “Trip, it’s Sarah. Call me. Today. It’s important.”
She hung up the phone, decidedly unsatisfied. Her plan consisted of getting Trip to share what he could, giving Ellery enough information so she could make an informed decision, and then bowing out of the work side of the equation. She might not be able to see Ellery while the case was pending, but she didn’t have to be in the position of prosecuting her. Unwilling to wait for Trip’s callback to move forward, she dialed Danny’s number.
“Hey, we were just talking about you.”
“All good things, I hope.”
“Just wondering how your meeting went after the show Friday night.”
Friday night seemed so long ago. Sarah remembered she’d mentioned to Danny and Ellen that she was meeting with Ellery after the show in response to their request to take her out for a drink. “Didn’t happen. Besides, it was all about business, you know, if it was even going to happen.”
“Shame. The two of you would make a striking couple.”
“Lay off, Soto. You know better.”
“I get it. Dating a potential witness is oh so taboo.”
Sarah couldn’t help but laugh. Danny had met her wife Ellen during their investigation of a serial murder case the year before. Ellen had been not only a witness, but for a short period of time, a potential suspect. “This is different, pal.”
&nb
sp; “Why don’t you come over for dinner this week and explain it to us?”
“I’ll do you one better. I need access to a file from your office. How about I swing by this afternoon? Are you in trial this week?”
“We’re picking a jury this morning, but we’re not starting evidence until tomorrow. Come by anytime after three. And I was serious about dinner. Ellen thinks you’re lonely.”
Damn. Ellen was perceptive, but Sarah wasn’t sure her loneliness would be fixed by watching Danny and her wife act all lovey-dovey. The very prospect made her feel lonelier still. For a second, she let herself imagine a double date with Danny and Ellen, but the only person she wanted to round out the foursome was the one woman she definitely could not have. She spent a moment reliving the achingly tender, way-too-short, but way-longer-than-it-should’ve-been kiss, and her knees went weak from the memory. But crazy high levels of attraction weren’t enough to erase all the things standing between them. No, she was going to have to find a way to fix her loneliness without the likes of Ellery Durant.
An hour later, she strolled into the office, doing her best to act as if this was just a normal day. As far as everyone else knew, everyone on their team was back to working regular cases since HSI had scooped up any files related to the bombing.
“Hi Sarah, what did you do this weekend?” Beverly asked as she passed by her desk.
She pulled up short at the question, completely unprepared to respond to the casual remark. She’d gone to Ellery’s show, gotten stood up after. Had brunch with Liz who spilled secrets, and run into Ellery. And the kiss, the kiss she hadn’t been able to forget for a single second since she’d left Ellery’s house the day before. Everything led back to Ellery.
As she fumbled for a response that didn’t include any detail about what she’d actually done over the weekend, she heard Liz call out, “Sarah, can you come help me real quick?” She looked across the room and saw Liz waving at her from the door of the conference room. She mouthed “sorry” to Beverly and rushed over.
Liz ushered her in and shut the door. “She’s sweet, but you have to watch out because she’s a bit of a gossip,” Liz whispered.
“Who, Beverly?” Sarah didn’t try to hide the incredulous tone in her voice.
“Yes, Beverly. She’s stealthy about it, so you’d never know, but most of the rumors around the office? All her.”
Sarah raised her eyebrows. “Seems like something you could’ve told me before.”
“Takes me a while to trust someone. Don’t judge. We all have our issues.”
“Fair enough. So, you trust me now?”
“No one’s shown up on my doorstep trying to question my daughter.”
“And no one will if I have anything to do with it. She didn’t do anything wrong. She seems like a pretty good kid.”
“As far as teenagers go, I suppose she is. I wake up thankful every day that she isn’t pregnant or in rehab.”
“High standards.”
“I’m kidding,” Liz said. “Mostly. She is a good kid. I wish I saw her more, but it’s easier to miss her than to have her hate me for dragging her away from the life she’s always known.”
Sarah thought about her own mother who’d found it easier to ditch her family than stick around and make things work. Sacrifice had never been a word in her mother’s vocabulary.
“So, what do we do now?” Liz asked.
“Sorry, what?”
“You’re obviously going rogue on this. You know, showing up on my doorstep over the weekend, questioning my daughter.”
“Takes one to know one. You still have all of those records at your place?”
“Let’s just say I’m not big on trusting agents outside the Bureau to do my work. Mason’s an easy boss, but when it comes to drawing a line in the sand, he has no sense of territory. He’d just as soon give everything over to HSI than be responsible if something goes south. Besides, I heard you asked for the scanned copies of the documents. I’m willing to bet you have a copy at your house right now. Am I right?”
Sarah offered a grudging smile. “Let me guess, Beverly?”
“One and the same.”
“Okay then, I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
Sarah considered carefully. Her gut told her to trust Liz with the information her question would convey, but if she was wrong, she could wind up causing even more trouble for Ellery. She decided to go with her gut. “Why doesn’t the scanned copy contain any of the records that have Ellery Durant’s name on them? The search warrant references a couple of documents, but I haven’t seen them in any of the papers we had.”
“I don’t know. The IRS form was in the box I gave to HSI, but it was only a page or two. Could be that part of the form just jammed up in the scanner and didn’t go through. Wait a minute, how do you have a copy of the search warrant? Do you have an inside connection with HSI?”
Sarah could hear Trip’s voice in her head, telling her to keep quiet, but again her gut told her to trust Liz. If she wanted to get any information, she was going to have to give some. “BAU has been asked to assess Ellery Durant, and since I’m the only agent in the area with their particular training, they asked me to see what I could find out. They gave me a copy of the warrant Friday. Needless to say this is all on the down low.”
“Got it. Have to say I was surprised to see her name come up. She’s an aggressive son of a bitch in the courtroom, but she’s always been very professional when we’ve met before. I figured her for a straight and narrow type when it came to her own affairs.”
Sarah couldn’t help but be pleased to find Liz had essentially the same impression of Ellery she did. Well, except for the aggressive part. To her, Ellery seemed pretty unassuming. Well, unless she counted that kiss and how could she not count the kiss since the memory of it had lingered in her conscience the entire night and was the reason for what she had to do now. “I’m finishing that project up today and then I’ll be available for the most boring assignment you can muster up.”
“Wait a minute, you have a perfect in to work on the bombing case and you’d rather review files?”
Sarah nodded. “There are good people on the case. I know that for a fact. I just don’t need to be one of them.” She spoke the words as if she meant them, hoping if she just kept thinking that way, the tinge of doubt telling her she was going to miss out on something exciting would subside.
The only really exciting thing that had happened to her lately had been Ellery’s kiss. She might not be able to have more of that, but it was time to quit putting her life on hold for her job.
*
Ellery got out of her truck and looked around until she spotted the dark sedan parked near the end of the street. She waved at the car. If the federal agents watching Amir’s house were taking pictures, she wanted them to have a good shot for their files.
She had taken a chance coming here, but she’d called his office and they said he was home. She rang the doorbell and waited, hoping Amir would let her in. He was probably busy trying to console his family after the invasion of privacy he’d suffered on Friday and she only hoped he didn’t attribute any of his misfortune to her. Yet.
The door swung open and Amir’s wife, Fara Khan stood in the foyer. “Ellery Durant. I couldn’t believe it when I saw you through the peephole.”
“Mrs. Khan, I’m sorry to just drop by, but—”
“But you weren’t sure you’d be welcome otherwise, right?”
“That’s about the size of it. Is Amir in?”
“He is. Come with me.”
Ellery followed Fara through a large living room into a study.
“Have a seat. I’ll go get him for you.”
While she waited, she looked around the room, which was apparently Amir’s home office. A large computer monitor sat on the desk, but the shelves were practically empty.
“They took almost all of my papers. Those shelves were full of binders. A lot of them old and worthless information,
but they just kept grabbing and grabbing.”
Ellery stood and reached out a hand. Amir looked at her outstretched hand for a moment before he shook it. “Same thing happened to me, Amir.”
He nodded. “Sit, sit. Do you want some coffee? Fara makes the best coffee.”
Ellery hesitated before deciding that sharing coffee would be a good way to make this visit as friendly as possible. “That would be great.”
While Amir asked Fara to make them drinks, she took in the rest of the room. One wall was a photo gallery, featuring some local celebrities who had worked with the WHI to raise money. She imagined every one of the people featured in these photos wished they could go back in time and make a different choice rather than be associated with someone accused of terrorism. Then she realized Amir might not know he was being accused of terrorism since he wouldn’t have access to the search warrant affidavit. Should she share that with him? That hadn’t been part of her plan when she came here, but it might be the out she needed.
The coffee was wonderful, dark and delicious, but no matter how hard she tried to forget, she wasn’t here for a friendly visit. “We need to talk.”
“My lawyer says I shouldn’t talk to you, but then again I only met him a couple of days ago. Certainly not long enough for me to know if I should trust him.”
The words “my lawyer” sounded weird coming from Amir, especially since she realized he wasn’t talking about her or her former firm. “Who did you hire?”
“Robert Novak. As I said, I don’t really know him, but he was recommended by a friend.”
Ellery wondered if the friend was Sadeem Jafari. It would probably be in Jafari’s best interest to arrange for Amir’s representation so he could have inside knowledge about anything he said to law enforcement. “In the abstract, he’s probably giving you very good advice, but in reality things are more complicated.”
