Starched Fatigues walked him to a small plane parked on a runway no more than seventy-five yards from where they’d been sitting. Halfway there, they were joined by a pilot. The pilot made no acknowledgment of Justin’s existence and Justin returned the favor. Before they boarded, Starched Fatigues pulled a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and indicated that Justin should put his hands behind his back. He did as instructed and was cuffed. No apology was made. Starched Fatigues simply said, “Precautionary.”
As they stepped up into the plane, Starched Fatigues grabbed the back of Justin’s shirt. He didn’t grab him too tightly, just enough to hold him back.
“Your investigation is over,” he said. “You do understand that. There’s nothing more you can accomplish.”
Justin nodded. “I understand,” he said.
“Just so you know, if it was up to me, I would have killed you. But I have to follow orders.”
“Orders from who?”
“That doesn’t really matter, does it?”
“It does to me.”
“What matters is that the orders are for here and now. You keep screwing around in this thing, those orders won’t apply anymore. And I’ll be free to do what I think should have been done in the first place.”
Starched Fatigues let his fingers relax. He and the pilot climbed into the front of the plane. Justin was put in the cramped backseat. It was the same kind of plane he’d been flown down there in; the same kind of plane that Hutchinson Cooke crashed. Before takeoff, Justin leaned forward and said to Starched Fatigues, “Hey, what’s today’s date?”
“December twenty-first. You’ll be home in time for Christmas.”
Justin leaned back, but suddenly moved his head forward again. Into Starched Fatigue’s ear he said, “So, since we’re flying companions, do I get to know your name?”
The man’s head swiveled around and Justin saw another thin-lipped smile. “I’m afraid not,” he said. “Some things do have to remain secret.”
“I guess they do,” Justin said. And as he spoke he could feel the flimsy paper cup that was tucked into the right pocket of his khakis, the cup he’d picked up off the desk when he’d pretended to stumble. He had handled it carefully, barely lifting it with his fingertips, trying to touch only the rim, and gently easing it into his pants as they’d walked.
Some things do have to remain secret, Justin thought.
And as the plane began to taxi, as it rocked back and forth and then lifted off the ground, Justin smiled, too.
The first smile he’d managed since he’d been in this hellhole.
It felt even better than the water and the soap and the sunshine because he knew, as long as he was careful, that this was one man whose secrets he was going to learn.
Merry Christmas to me, he thought.
31
She came running as soon as he called.
He dialed her cell phone because he didn’t want to speak to anyone else at the station; the more he thought about it, the more his plan developed in his head, he knew it would be better if as few people as possible knew he was back in town. But he called Reggie because he had to call Reggie.
When she stepped into his living room there was an awkward moment. They had never had a chance to relax as lovers or even savor a moment of the passion they’d shared, so neither was exactly sure how to act. Reggie took the lead when she really saw him-saw the weight he’d lost, and the bruises on his face, and the combination of pain and relief in his eyes. She went to stand in front of him, then put her arms around him. She didn’t kiss him, just laid her head down on his shoulder, comforting him and letting him know how much comfort he gave her.
When she backed away a step she smiled at him. It was an anxious smile. She reached back for his face, put her palm on his thick beard and stroked it.
“I’ll shave it,” he said.
She shook her head. “No. It feels like a part of you right now and I want all parts of you to be here.”
“Okay,” he said. “Okay.”
“There are so many things I want to tell you. And ask you.”
“Me too. But we’ve got lots of time now.” He touched her chest, the spot where he’d seen her shot. “How are you?”
“I thought I was dead when he pulled the trigger. But I was just sore for a few days. It wasn’t bad at all.”
“That was the worst part of it for me. I couldn’t even let myself think about what had happened to you.”
“It’s over now,” she said. “Isn’t it?” And when he didn’t answer, she continued, “It’s on the Net and we’ve all been watching the news all day long. They caught all the people responsible for everything, Jay.”
“I know they have.”
“So it’s really over. Everything can go back to normal.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Everything can go back to normal.”
She took his hand and led him upstairs. “That was the worst thing for me, too, not knowing what happened to you,” she said. “When I woke up, two of those. . those men. . were here. They told me they were FBI and they wouldn’t tell me where they’d taken you. They wouldn’t tell me anything, just asked me all sorts of questions. What I knew about the plane crash, what I knew about all sorts of things, none of which I knew anything about. They took all the papers you had in the living room, all the files. And your computer. They told me not to say anything to anyone. I said I had to say something, you were the fucking chief of police, and one of them said he’d take care of it, he’d talk to the mayor and take care of it.”
They were in the bedroom now and she sat on the bed.
“I didn’t know what to do,” she told him. “I thought you were dead.”
“So what did you do?”
She looked embarrassed. “I called your father.”
Justin looked surprised. “That was smart,” he said. “That was good.”
“Well, you’d told me a little bit about him, and I’d seen some background when I Googled you. I knew he was rich and I figured rich people would have connections.”
“What did he say?”
“He was very calm, he made me feel better. He said he was going to talk to your friend in the FBI, the one up in Boston.”
“Wanda.”
“Yes. He said she could help.”
“She’s all right? Wanda’s okay?”
“I guess she is. She must have gotten involved.”
“Did you talk to Leona?”
Reggie nodded. “Yes. She called me, came to my house, said she’d talked to the FBI, said the one who’d talked to me was named Schrader.”
“What else did she say?”
“She said you were involved in something to do with national security. That you’d be okay, but that you were going to be kept in custody for a while. I was going crazy, Jay. They said I couldn’t say anything, if I did I’d be arrested, too. I didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t until your friend, the big one, came and told me you were okay. .”
“Bruno.”
She nodded. “He wouldn’t give me any details, said he couldn’t. But he came and said you were all right, that I shouldn’t worry, and that you’d be back soon. How did he-”
“I don’t know,” Justin said. “But I’ll find out.”
“Jay, what happened? Why were you arrested? I just couldn’t believe-”
“That’s the right thing,” he said. “Don’t believe anything. Just believe me.” He touched her cheek lightly, ran his finger down to her neck. “How was it handled? What do people think happened?”
“No one knows a thing. At least I don’t think so. I mean, you’re not the most social person in town. So we told the other guys at the station that you were called away for a family emergency.”
“They bought that?”
“They seemed to. No one asked too many questions. Occasionally, they’d ask if I’d heard from you or if everything was okay. But I just said that Leona was the only one in touch with you.”
“Nothing in the paper? No media?”
“No.”
“So no one really knows what happened. Or knows I’m back.”
“No,” she said. “I don’t think anyone knows.” She took his hand in hers and now she kissed the tip of his fingers. “I was going crazy,” she told him. “When I woke up and you were gone, I didn’t know what to do.”