Desperate Play (Off the Grid: FBI Series Book 3)

by Barbara Freethy

  "Why are you stopping here?" Avery asked, shooting him a wary look.

  "Seems as good a place as any. We need to talk. Let's take a walk on the beach. I could use some fresh air. I'm betting you could, too."

  He could see she was torn between going with him or staying in the car. Probably in her mind, neither option was a good one. But, finally, she nodded and got out, leaving the book on the seat as she did so.

  He wondered if there was more to that book than she'd said; it was interesting that she'd taken it from Noelle's apartment, especially since he didn't know why she'd gone there in the first place.

  They walked across the sand to the edge of the water and just stood there for a moment.

  It was a cool, sunny December morning, with only a few people on the beach: a couple walking their dog, a family with a couple of kids digging sandcastles, and a lone woman sitting on a towel, reading a book.

  "Why does everything look normal when it's not?" Avery questioned.

  He doubted she really wanted an answer, so he didn't give her one. He was just happy that her breath had slowed down. He needed her thinking clearly.

  "What's your name?" she asked abruptly, turning to look at him.

  "Wyatt Tanner."

  She waited a moment, then said, "You already know my name."

  "I do. You're Avery Caldwell, an astrophysicist, and an employee of Nova Star. You created and currently manage the educational outreach program at the company. And I know that because I work in security, as I mentioned before. I've gone over the personnel files for everyone at the company."

  "That's a lot of people."

  "Well, I'm not the only one on the team," he said, meeting her brown-eyed gaze, and thinking irrelevantly that she was even prettier in person. Clearing his throat, he added, "I hope my position at Nova Star makes you feel more comfortable."

  "Why would it?"

  "It's my job to protect the employees of Nova Star, and Noelle was one of them. I didn't hurt her, Avery."

  "But I saw you in the funhouse, and even though I was freaked out, I recognized you."

  "Why were you freaked out? You saw me before you found Noelle."

  She frowned. "Yes, but I hate funhouses. I got lost in one when I was a little kid."

  "Then why did you go in last night?"

  "Because Noelle never came out. I was watching the door, and I kept seeing people come out who had gone in after her. I got worried."

  "You didn't think she was just having fun?"

  "I had a bad feeling. She was acting weird."

  "How so?"

  "She was checking her watch a lot, like she was waiting for something or was going to meet someone."

  "But she was with you. Why would she be meeting someone else?"

  "Obviously, I don't know the answer to that question. When I thought I saw you in the mirror, I wondered if she was meeting you." She paused, a question in her eyes. "Was it you? Were you supposed to meet Noelle in the funhouse?"

  "No."

  "It seems like the oddest coincidence that you were there."

  "I was supposed to meet a friend at the pier. She was late, so I thought I'd check out the funhouse while I was waiting."

  "When did you know that Noelle got stabbed?"

  "I was almost at the exit when I heard screams. One of the employees told us to wait, that something had happened."

  "Us?"

  "There were about a dozen of us."

  "Did you see Noelle?"

  "No. They put us in a back room."

  "Why?"

  "To question us on what we'd seen. Unfortunately, I hadn't seen anything." He paused. "I understand you found her."

  "Yes, and it was awful. She was covered in blood. I wanted to save her, but I could see that she was slipping away."

  "Slipping away?" he echoed, his gut tightening. "She was alive when you found her? Did she say anything?"

  Avery hesitated, the suspicion back in her eyes. "It feels like you're asking all the questions and I'm giving all the answers."

  "I investigate crimes. Asking questions is what I do."

  "But the crime didn't happen at work. Why did you come to Noelle's apartment this morning?"

  He hesitated and wondered why. He lied every single day of his life. It was second nature. And it rarely bothered him. He could pass lie detector tests. He could face down a team of interrogators without giving anything up, but there was something about Avery's haunted expression that made him wish he could tell her something that would help her make sense of things. But that was impossible. More information would only put her in more danger.

  "Well?" Avery demanded. "Are you going to answer me?"

  "Hamilton called me last night after he heard the news. He asked me to make sure that Noelle's death wasn't tied to her job at Nova Star."

  "Why would it be?"

  "I don't know, but he asked me to see what I could find out."

  "At her apartment?"

  "Yes. Now, do you want to tell me why you went there?"

  "I'm not really sure. Noelle muttered a few cryptic words before she died. She said she'd trusted the wrong person and she said something about me going to her apartment, but she didn't say why. I thought about it all night and decided I should go there and see if anything stood out to me. Unfortunately, when I got there, the place was a mess. I don't know if the police turned things upside down or if someone else did. I walked into the closet and then that man came out of the bathroom with a gun. I froze. And then you came in."

  "Did he say anything to you? Did you recognize him when I got the mask off?"

  "No. I'm absolutely certain I never saw him before. What about you?"

  "Same."

  "He was looking for something in Noelle's apartment. Do you think he found it?"

  "My guess is you interrupted his search."

  "I wish I knew what he was after, why Noelle implied I should go there." Her gaze turned toward the ocean. "Noelle often trusted the wrong people. She liked men who were exciting and daring and sometimes walked a fine line between right and wrong. And it wasn't just the men in her life who led her down the wrong path; it was also her female friends. That's why we stopped hanging out together. I felt like she changed into someone else." Avery looked back at him. "Sorry, I'm rambling."

  "You're entitled. You've suffered a huge personal loss." He paused. "Although, it sounds like there was a break in your friendship."

  "We barely spoke over the last six, seven years. It wasn't until she looked me up two months ago and asked me to help her get a job that we became friends again. And, before you say it, yes, I did think she was probably using me, but she was still my friend and I had the ability to help her, so I did." Avery took a breath and let it out, folding her arms in front of her. "What's going to happen now? Noelle's neighbor called the police. She saw us. I'm thinking we should go down to the station and talk to the detectives I spoke to last night and tell them what happened."

  "We could do that," he said slowly. "But we broke into a crime scene."

  "I knew the code," she protested.

  "But you crossed the police tape."

  She frowned. "How did you get in?"

  "You didn't lock the door behind you."

  "What about the other guy? He was there before me. How did he know the code?"

  "No idea." He paused, as he considered his options. He didn't want to go to the police, but he could see she was already working up a lot of steam for that course of action.

  "Why don't you want me to go to the police?" she asked, giving him a suspicious look.

  "I'm trying to protect you." That wasn't even close to the truth, but hopefully she'd buy it.

  "Or protect yourself."

  So much for her buying it.

  "This isn't about me. If I'm reluctant for you to go to the police, it's because Hamilton asked me to look into this. He's concerned about Noelle's death. If it's tied in any way to Nova Star, it will bring negative press and intense s
crutiny to the company, and with the satellite defense launch scheduled for Tuesday, that's the last thing he wants."

  She paled. "I don't care about any of that. I love Nova Star, and I am a big fan of Hamilton's, but I want justice for Noelle. If every employee at the company has to be questioned, then that's what has to happen."

  He liked that she wasn't intimidated by Hamilton. "I want justice for her, too. Why don't we work together on that?"

  "If you want to work together, then come with me to the police station."

  "Is this a test?"

  "It's a suggestion."

  He'd have to make a quick call, but he could probably make it work. "All right."

  She looked surprised. "Really? Why the change of heart?"

  "No change of heart. You're clearly determined to speak to the police, so I'll go with you. Before we do that, tell me about Noelle's boyfriend."

  "Carter? I don't know a lot about him. We had dinner together once. He seems nice enough. He's a lawyer and works in patents at Nova Star. Noelle told me he was steady, and she liked that about him. He kept her feet on the ground the way I used to." She sniffed as emotion came back into her eyes. "Maybe it was good Noelle had a chance to really fly, knowing now how little time she had." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I don't know much about Carter except that he works a lot."

  "You haven't spoken to him since last night?"

  "No. I know the police were going to call him. I did try to reach Noelle's mother, but she didn't answer. I left her a message."

  "Is Noelle's family local?"

  "Not anymore. Her father is deceased. Her mom moved to Florida seven or eight years ago. I don't think there's anyone left here in Los Angeles. They didn't have the biggest family to start with. Noelle and I had that in common. Although my father didn't die, he did leave, so by the time Noelle and I were in high school, we were both basically fatherless."

  "I've seen your father in your office. He must have come back at some point."

  "Yes, but he was gone for a long time before that. And even when he was around, he wasn't really around. Although, he did come to the police station last night; I guess he's trying to show that he's changed."

  "Your father came to the station?" he echoed, making a mental note of that fact.

  "Yes, and then my mom showed up, and suddenly I felt like I was thirteen again, watching them fight over who was going to take me home from soccer practice. Only it wasn't soccer, and I wasn't a kid, and Noelle had just died." She drew in a shaky breath. "Oh, God…I don't know how to deal with all this emotion. I'm angry and sad, scared and confused. It's too much."

  "It won't get easier for a while."

  She stared back at him. "You know I actually appreciate you saying that instead of trying to tell me I'll feel better soon."

  He shrugged. "I know what it's like to lose a friend. It's very difficult, especially when the circumstances are sudden and violent."

  "I never could have prepared myself for what happened last night."

  "No."

  "All right. So, I guess we should go to the police station. And then hopefully I can go home, change my clothes and catch my breath."

  "I'll take you there."

  "Thanks."

  As they walked back to the car, he hoped he was making the right decision. He didn't particularly want to talk to the police again. He needed to make a play…something that would continue to allow him to build trust with Avery but not get him in deeper with the cops, who would only make his assignment more difficult.

  After opening the car door for Avery, he walked slowly around the back of the vehicle, pulling out his phone and texting a quick message to his team leader. He needed the FBI to pull some strings, and they had to do it fast.

  As he slid behind the wheel, he got a text that they were on it.

  Relieved, he started the car and pulled back onto the highway.

  "You haven't been at Nova Star that long, have you?" Avery asked.

  "About a month."

  "And before that? Where did you work?"

  "I was in the Marines—intelligence."

  "That's where you saw friends die."

  "Unfortunately."

  A gleam entered her eyes. "Hamilton was a Marine. I'm sure that made you a good candidate for the job. Always faithful, right?"

  "Semper fi," he murmured, thinking that faithfulness did not describe him at all. He came and left in the dark of the night. He lived his life in the shadows, under different names, different disguises. He was a chauffeur one day, a trucker the next—a gambler, a hustler, an importer, an exporter. He'd lost track of all the different roles he'd been required to play.

  Sometimes, he thought he was losing track of himself.

  But now wasn't the time to think about that.

  He had a job to do, and it wasn't security for Nova Star. It was high-stakes industrial espionage by a possible foreign power into the aerospace industry, and Noelle's death had just raised the stakes. He needed more access, more information, and as he glanced over at Avery, he realized she might be valuable on a lot of levels. If anyone could get him deeper into the inner circle of Nova Star, it was her.

  But that meant he would have to play her…and for the first time in a long time, he felt a reluctance to do that.

  He would have to get over it.

  Five

  Wyatt took his time getting them to the police station, wanting to give his contact a chance to get there ahead of him and smooth the way. Fortunately, there was a fair amount of Saturday morning beach traffic, so he didn't have to try that hard to go slow.

  When they arrived at the station, almost forty-five minutes had passed since his text. Hopefully that was enough time.

  As Avery got out of the car, she looked grimly determined but not very happy.

  "Still want to do this?" he asked.

  "I feel like I should."

  He had a feeling this was a woman who always did what she thought she should do. "Then let's do it."

  When they checked in at the counter in the lobby, he made sure to give his name as well as Avery's. A moment later, a uniformed officer came into the room. The man asked Avery to wait and then escorted him down a hall and into a conference room.

  When he stepped inside the room, he was surprised to see a friendly and familiar face. The beautiful brunette with the sharp, always insightful, green eyes, was one of his closest friends, not just at the bureau but in life. He'd met Bree Adams at Quantico, and through the years, they'd saved each other's life more than once.

  "Bree, what are you doing here?" He looked around, making note of the fact that they were not in an interrogation room. "Where's Flynn?"

  "Don't worry. We're cool," Bree said, reading his expression. "As far as the police know, I'm meeting with you to find out what happened at Ms. Price's apartment this morning. Flynn contacted Special Agent Joanna Davis, who gave me a brief read-in on your situation. She's meeting with the homicide detectives now to inform them we'll be handling the investigation going forward."

  "Good." He was pleased that Flynn had brought Joanna in. She could be the public face of the investigation. Since Joanna had already spoken to Hamilton months ago, it would make sense for her to be involved again. "It's the right move. Nova Star is aware that the bureau is concerned about a spy in their ranks. With Noelle Price's murder, the company won't be surprised that they're back on the hot seat, but as long as they don't know I'm working from the inside, we're good."

  "Joanna said you're on a specialized task force run by Flynn MacKenzie. That shocked me. You and Flynn were intense rivals at Quantico."

  He saw the speculation in her eyes and shrugged. "Things change. I liked the job he was offering, so I took it."

  "How's the investigation going?"

  "Not as quickly as I would like. We haven't had a lot to go on until now. Noelle's murder has definitely raised the stakes."

  Bree nodded. "I've been wondering ever since I saw you at the beach before Than
ksgiving if I would run into you again, or if you would try to contact me, but it's been very quiet the last month."

  "I was about to go under with Nova Star when I saw you there, and you weren't alone."

  "No. I was with Nathan, and I figured you were undercover. You look better than you did then. You got rid of the beard."

  "I had to clean up my act for my job in security. I'm a suit and tie guy now, at least during the week. What about you? You're working for Joanna?"

  "Yes. After everything that went down in Chicago, I needed a change, and I've always wanted to live at the beach. I'm not sure I love the work yet; it's been more administrative than I like, but on the other hand, it's a nice break from the emotionally intense drama of working with missing children."

  "I know you had a rough time in Chicago. I'm glad things worked out." He paused. "Or did they? The kid…your kid…" He let his words slip away. He might be friends with Bree, but he didn't know how much she wanted him to know.

  "She doesn't know anything yet," Bree said quickly. "Someday, but not now. It's easier being here in California. I keep in touch, but I'm not right there wondering what she's doing every second. Plus, I'm with Nathan, and I get to run by the sea every morning. It's not bad."

  He smiled, noting the genuine happiness in her eyes. "It sounds good, and Joanna is lucky to have you."

  "I'm not sure she feels that way. She didn't recruit me, and she still remembers me as being on the Quantico team that screwed up and got Jamie Rowland killed. Not that she says that out loud, but I feel her judgment."

  "That had nothing to do with you."

  "I know. Hopefully, she'll eventually get past all that old history, and realize I'm a seasoned agent now. Anyway, what can you tell me about this morning?" Bree asked. "You went to the homicide victim's apartment?"

  "Yes, and I ran in to her best friend there—Avery Caldwell. I also ran into a masked gunman. Fortunately, I got a look at his face. Unfortunately, he got away."

  "What can you tell me about him?"

  "Caucasian male, mid-thirties, beard, brown hair and eyes, scar over the right eyebrow and the Roman numerals MMX—2010 tattooed on his neck—could be a gang initiation date."