by Carsen Taite
“Not much besides the curse words. I took French in college.”
“Way to be useful,” Dale said. “So, tell me why you think the phone call was strange.”
“Partly hunch and partly because while she was on the phone, I spotted a truck on the ridge behind the property. Trained the binoculars on it. Didn’t recognize the driver, but he was on the phone. When Sophia hung up, he did too and then he took off.”
Dale replayed what Mary had just said a couple of times to process the information. “Okay, so we assume this guy saw everything including Lindsey and Alice showing up on Sophia’s doorstep. Probably one of Sergio’s guys and he called to find out who the hell Sophia was talking to. Do you think he saw you?”
“I hope not. I was careful, but I guess he could have. I wish we could put more people on this.”
“Me too, but we’re it for now. I’m headed back into town to find Lindsey and figure out what she’s up to, and I’ve got a plan to make things easier for us to keep track of her. I think it’s time someone confronts Sophia about exactly what went down at the prison yesterday. You mind calling Peyton and filling her in? She’s going to want to be part of that conversation.”
“Deal. Let me know what you find out.”
“Will do.” Dale hung up and tossed her cell phone into the seat. She’d need to go home and change before showing up downtown. She’d be back in Dallas in less than an hour, but if she wanted to catch Lindsey before things started she’d have to hurry. She raced the oversized engine in her truck and flew down the highway as she struggled to process everything that had happened.
Lindsey Ryan could not be a more frustrating woman. There were moments when she seemed incredibly open, but her antics over the past few days made it clear she had a hidden agenda and little regard for who got hurt in the process. Including herself. She’d marched up to Sophia’s door likely having no clue that one of Sergio Vargas’s henchmen was watching her every move. If Sergio thought Sophia was talking to the press or the police, there was no telling what he might do, but it would certainly derail their plan to draw him out in the open.
Dale spent the rest of the drive planning exactly what she would say to Lindsey when she saw her. Her goal was to strike a careful balance between providing just enough detail to warn her off without telling her too much. Perhaps letting Lindsey know she’d decided to do the interview would be enough of a distraction.
She’d finally come to the conclusion it was time for her to tell Maria’s story. The interview would be the final piece to laying her wife to rest, a way to honor her memory. She knew in her heart Maria would want her to find closure. She’d been hanging on to what had been as a way to shut out what could be. Although her simmering attraction to Lindsey could never amount to anything more, she felt alive for the first time since Maria’s death, and she was determined not to slip back into the shadows.
*
“Where have you been?”
Lindsey looked up to see Elaina rushing toward her. She and Alice had slipped into the city hall building moments ago and run into Jed who warned them Elaina was on the warpath. He and Elaina had arrived about thirty minutes before, and now that Elaina had spotted her, she’d been doing her best to act like she’d been there the whole time. She could tell by the look on Elaina’s face she wasn’t buying it. She dreaded her reaction when she found out Dale wasn’t going to show up.
“I was checking out a few things,” Lindsey said. “Why, did you need me?”
“We were supposed to go over your interview notes, but we’ll have to wait. The mayor and several city councilmen are here, and we’ve got a spot for you to do some sit-downs with them before the outside ceremony gets underway. Alice is already setting up.”
Lindsey sighed in relief at the reprieve. She had a little while longer before she had to break her news. Maybe by then she’d have some more information about Sophia Valencia. On the drive back from Valencia Acres, she’d called Burt, the network investigator, and given him every shred of information she’d found about Lily Gantry, Sophia Valencia, and Arturo and Sergio Vargas and instructed him to use all his resources to find more. She was convinced there was a story among the scattered collection of facts she’d gathered so far, and she was determined to root it out. She had to admit appeasing Elaina with a new and bigger story wasn’t her only goal. A break in this investigation might give her added insight into Dale, not to mention an opportunity to talk to her again, even if as an adversary.
“Agent Nelson, nice to see you again.”
Lindsey whirled in her chair and saw Dale standing directly behind her, so close she was surprised she hadn’t known she was there. Lindsey watched while Elaina enthusiastically shook Dale’s hand. Dale’s smile was tight and forced, but Lindsey wondered if anyone else noticed. She also wondered if anyone noticed how hot she looked. She was wearing a charcoal gray suit, a jet-black shirt, and the same shiny black boots she’d sported yesterday. Dale looked dark and sleek, and she certainly looked like she planned to be on camera. Had she changed her mind about the interview?
Dale flicked a glance in her direction and then turned back to Elaina. “Nice to see you too. I was hoping I could get a few minutes with Ms. Ryan before things get started.”
“Yes,” Lindsey said.
“Actually, no.” Elaina pointed in the direction of the stage. “We have a few people waiting and we need to get to them quickly. I promise we’ll all have time to talk before you go on camera. You look great, by the way.”
Lindsey watched the exchange carefully, wishing she’d been the one to tell Dale how great she looked, but Dale didn’t react to the compliment. In fact, the only emotion Lindsey registered was a flicker of disappointment on Dale’s face, but it disappeared quickly, replaced by a mask of nonchalance.
“Okay then,” Dale said. “Ms. Ryan, where will you be during the ceremony?”
Elaina jumped in before Lindsey could answer. “Jed can fill you in. He’s right over there.” She pointed to an area to the right of the stage and nudged Lindsey along. “We’ll see you later.”
Lindsey didn’t even try to hide her annoyance at being led around. “I wanted to talk to her.”
“Who wouldn’t? She’s even more gorgeous all dressed up.”
Lindsey seethed at the way Elaina objectified Dale. Of course, she’d been doing the exact same thing a moment ago, but it felt different because she appreciated other things about Dale like her strength, her resilience, and her dedication. Things Elaina didn’t know a damn thing about.
She looked over her shoulder. Dale was watching her walk away, her eyes trained on her arm that was firmly in Elaina’s grasp. While Dale was still watching, she shrugged out of Elaina’s grip, but Dale’s expression didn’t change. The slight frown, the piercing eyes—she looked angry. But she was here, and that was a major step toward mending the rift between them. For a second, Lindsey forgot all about the interview, the late night meetings, and her encounter with Sophia Valencia, and she wanted nothing more than to have met Dale under other circumstances where they could explore the attraction between them without secrets and hidden agendas.
*
Dale stood in the wings and watched. For all the pomp and circumstance, the ceremony was pretty boring. The mayor, Diego, and a few other local dignitaries all gave speeches talking about the dangers of drug use and commending the citizens of Dallas for doing their part to combat the problem.
Bullshit. As long as greedy, ruthless gangsters like Sergio Vargas remained free, there would always be a drug problem, and the damage they caused made the thousands of pounds of prescription drugs collected today seem like candy medicine in comparison. With campaigns like these, no wonder regular citizens didn’t appreciate the extent of the real threat. Even Lindsey didn’t seem to understand the danger. If she did, she wouldn’t go crashing around town, stirring up trouble.
Or maybe she did understand the danger and simply chose to ignore it. Dale shook her head. If that was the
case, then she was better off staying as far away from Lindsey as possible. Dale wasn’t afraid of danger. She put herself in harm’s way on a daily basis, but she did it for a higher purpose, unlike Lindsey who rushed into danger, here and in Afghanistan, for TV ratings. What she did was reckless and brash.
Dale checked her watch. It was almost four, and the ceremony would be over soon. She looked over at Jed, the soundman on Lindsey’s team. He was eyeing her with a curious expression. She raised her eyebrows and he waved her over.
“Yes?” she asked.
“I just got word the order of the program changed and Herschel Gellar may not be here. Do you know anything about that?”
Dale shook her head. Gellar had been scheduled to give a speech right before the class of fifth graders who’d just graduated from the DARE program sang “America the Beautiful,” she assumed to show how talented non drug users could be. She wasn’t surprised he’d bailed on the obligation, but she was surprised that he’d give up an opportunity to hog some press time. Whatever it was that kept him away must be pretty damn important. “No idea, sorry.”
“No problem,” Jed said. “Just need to make a couple of adjustments for the kids’ song, and I was going to wait until after his speech. Thanks.”
“What’s the plan after the ceremony ends? Are you going to be interviewing anyone else?”
“You mean besides you? Elaina arranged for some of the kids to stick around so Lindsey can do a quick spot with them. She mentioned she might try to get it done backstage while the closing remarks are happening.”
They both looked toward the stage as the emcee announced Richards Elementary’s fifth grade DARE class, and watched as a group of about twenty ten-year-olds filed onto the stage. They were all dressed up for the occasion, and Dale couldn’t help but smile as they belted out the song with gusto.
When they started the last verse, she moved toward the back of the stage. She wanted to catch Lindsey alone for a minute before the ceremony broke up and the madness started, and this might be her only opportunity. She spotted Alice and Elaina engaged in a heated discussion, and she approached them quietly to try to overhear.
“The school bus will make for a better backdrop,” Elaina said.
“We’ve already got a setup in the building. We’ll get a much better picture inside. Besides, who knows how many takes we’ll have to shoot before we get clear sound. It didn’t matter so much with the ceremony since we’re going to cut it down to clips, but talking to the kids should be quick, and you’re probably going to want to use the whole thing. Remember, you’ve got another important interview scheduled.”
Jed and Lindsey walked up and Jed asked, “What about sound?”
“Elaina wants to move the interview with the kids outside by the school bus,” Alice said.
“Actually, I think that’s a great idea,” Lindsey said. She turned to Jed. “What do you think?”
“We can probably make it work, but if you get any planes overhead, it’s going to put you way off schedule for your other interview.”
At that moment, Lindsey looked over and met Dale’s gaze. Dale was surprised since she didn’t think Lindsey realized she was standing there. She watched her for a moment, trying to get a read on Lindsey’s expression. Resignation, relief? Before she could figure it out, Lindsey looked back toward her crew. “Let’s do it. The kids should be coming out right about now.”
The music came to an end and the kids filed backstage. Elaina walked over to the group and wrangled two of the kids from the crowd and had a conversation with the adult who was with them. While she arranged the details of the shoot, Lindsey came over to stand next to Dale.
“I’m surprised you’re here,” Lindsey said.
“Me too.”
“You don’t have to do this, you know.”
“I know.”
“I’ll make it as painless as possible.”
The words were like oil on a fire, and Dale fought to keep her anger under control. She knew Lindsey was talking about her personal interview, but she wanted to shout that if Lindsey really wanted to make things painless, she would stop running around on her own investigating behind the task force.
This wasn’t the time or place. She had a plan to keep Lindsey under control and she’d stick to the plan. Right now, she just needed to get through the questions Lindsey had in store for her.
Elaina called for Lindsey, and she offered Dale a pained smile before joining Elaina and the rest of the crew to walk outside by the school bus that was parked near the water feature in front of city hall. Dale pulled out her phone and sent Mary a text. Anything new?
She waited for a minute and then a new text appeared on her screen. No. Talked to Peyton. She’s coming out here this evening. Hopefully, we’ll get to the bottom of things then.
Keep me posted. Dale pocketed her phone. She could hear the closing remarks being made on stage. In a little while, she’d be the one in the spotlight, and she couldn’t wait to get it over with.
*
“Tell me one of the most important things you learned from working with the Dallas Police officers in the DARE program.”
Lindsey stood next to the bus with a kid on either side, Carolina and Emilio. This final piece of the Take-Back Initiative symbolized exactly how pointless it all was. The kids were cute, all dressed up in their Sunday best, and they would likely recite whatever line Elaina had fed them to make it seem like the Just Say No program at their school was really having an impact, but Lindsey knew better. Elaina had picked the minority kids for optics, but they were still upper middle class, from a private school no less, and didn’t represent the type of kids who were more susceptible to the kind of street drugs that were responsible for most violent crime. She couldn’t wait to finish this interview so she could resume her quest to figure out what was going on with the Vargas investigation and why a group of agents and AUSAs seemed to be handling it on the sly.
Except one of those agents was Dale, and the closer she got to her, the closer she wanted to get, despite the fact Dale had made it perfectly clear she didn’t want anything to do with her. But she’d shown up today.
Lindsey glanced in Dale’s direction and hoped her presence was a sign they could move past the differences between them.
In the meantime, the kids finished rambling. She asked them a couple of follow-up questions about today’s event and wrapped it up when Elaina finally signaled they were done.
“Can I get your autograph?” Carolina asked.
“Me too,” Emilio chimed in.
“Sure.” The request was cute and she didn’t mind at all, but she didn’t have anything to write on. Lindsey looked over at Elaina, but she’d buttonholed Dale again, and she couldn’t get her attention. She turned to Alice who’d walked over to join them. “Do you know if we have any press kits in the car?”
“I think so. You want me to get them?”
“No, I can do it.” Lindsey took the keys from Alice and motioned to the kids. “Follow me. My pal Alice will let your teacher know we’ll be right back.”
The street next to city hall was shut down for the festivities, but because of their role, the local cops had let them park just inside the barricade. Lindsey led the kids toward the car while Carolina, who’d seemed shy at first, peppered her with questions the whole way.
“What kind of grades do you need to make to be a reporter? My dad says reporters don’t make any money, but I don’t care. I think it would be fun. Did you major in journalism in college?”
Before Lindsey could answer, Emilio chimed in with, “I bet she makes a lot of money. She’s on TV and she’s famous. You went to war, right? What was it like?”
Lindsey unlocked the car and started rummaging around in the trunk. “Tell you what. Let me get your autographs, and on the way back to your bus I’ll answer as many questions as you can think of.”
She located Elaina’s briefcase, tugged it open, and combed through contents looking for copies of the ei
ght-by-ten glossies she’d autographed for some of the locals who’d asked. She found them in a file folder marked PR, but they were behind a bunch of random photographs that she recognized as her story notes. She pulled them out of the folder and took a closer look. Someone had taken pictures of the notes she’d written while she was researching Dale and her wife’s death. What was Elaina doing with these? If she wanted copies of her notes, why not just ask?
A loud shout behind her yanked her attention from the photos. She turned with the folder in her grip in time to see two men in black masks advancing on them with automatic weapons. One of them pointed his gun at the lone DPD officer who had been assigned to make sure traffic didn’t break through the barricade, and the other had his weapon trained on her and the kids. She dropped the folder onto the ground and whispered, “Run! Yell ‘fire’! Go!” She pushed the kids away from her and ran toward the man to draw his attention away from them.
She risked a glance at the school bus, but her crew was on the other side of it and it blocked her view. When she looked back, the man waved at something behind her. She whirled in time to see the other man disarm the police officer and strike him over the head with his own gun. He met her eyes and lifted his weapon. She was trapped. She knew it; they knew it.
“You will come with us. Now. No talking.”
Lindsey held up her hands. “Please. Whatever you want.”
Her plea was met with the muzzle of the gun jabbed into her side. “I said no talking. Come. Now.”
Fear heightened all of her senses. She’d seen, close up, the power of an automatic weapon and she knew she had no chance of escaping their fire. She’d have to figure out some other way to escape. She had no idea what was going on, but the next thing she knew they forced her into a large cage in the back of a waiting van on the other side of the barricade.
Determined to find out a way out of this, she fought back her fright and catalogued her limited options. Her cell phone was in her bag backstage. Without a way to call for help, she focused on remembering each turn the van made while a litany of regrets coursed through her mind. Not coming clean to Dale about what she’d been doing the past couple of days and not confessing that she cared about her were at the top of that list.
