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The car pulled in front of the building that had once housed Earl’s BBQ. A dark figure got out and disappeared in the building’s shadows. She had convinced herself that it wasn’t Jon. But if it wasn’t Jon, then who was he, and what interest did he have at Earl’s BBQ at this time of night? Out of the corner of her eye, she spied Baldini coming toward her. She touched her mouse, and the screen returned to real time.

Baldini touched her shoulder. He’d done that before, and she’d told him to not do it again. It obviously hadn’t sunk in, and she slid her chair back, catching him in the thigh. He yelped.

“Stop sneaking up on me,” she said.

“Sorry,” he said, rubbing his leg. “What are you looking at?”

“Like I just said, it was nothing.”

“Why do I think you’re hiding something from me?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you don’t like me.”

The other agents feigned conversation among themselves. She slid out of her chair and moved toward the door. “Let’s take this outside. One of you guys needs to take over for me.”

She left the camper before Baldini could reply.

Daniels walked around to the front of the camper, and waited to see if the car came out of RichJo Lane. Baldini edged up beside her. He was breathing on her neck, and it was all she could do not to tell him off.

“You must be looking at something,” he said.

“A car pulled down the street a minute ago, and pulled into the BBQ joint. I think the guy is taking a leak,” she said.

“Should we go check?”

“And blow our cover? That’s a bad idea. If the guy stays too long, I’ll call the sheriff, and have him send a cruiser.”

“That works. So what’s the problem?”

“Who said there was a problem?”

“I did. You’re seething. Are you angry because I yanked Lancaster off the investigation and you guys are in a relationship?”

“Leave our relationship out of this. Jon was conducting an independent investigation, and knows things. You should have interviewed him.”

“My mistake. I assumed he told you everything he knew.”

“Why did you assume that?”

“I assumed you were sleeping with him.”

“Did you now?”

“You’re not?”

It wasn’t easy being a female agent with the FBI. The ratio was one to five, with men getting most of the top jobs. When a female did get promoted, there were the inevitable rumblings about the agent having slept with her boss.

Daniels had gotten ahead, and she hadn’t done it on her back. Instead, she’d outperformed her peers, and earned it. She’d also made it a point to mute her looks, and hadn’t worn a lot of makeup on the job. It was the only way to keep the rumors away.

Baldini would have known this about her, had he asked around. Instead, he’d made an assumption about her, and demeaned her at the same time. It was worse than a stab in the back; it was a stab in the front, and she decided to make him pay for it.

Her right hand went up to the side of his head and pushed, while her left hand grabbed his wrist and pulled. At the same time, the bottom of her right foot swept his leg out from under him.

Push, pull, sweep.

He hit the pavement hard, and banged his head. Groaning, he struggled to rise. She put her foot on his chest, and kept him down.

“Let me up. Someone might come out,” he pleaded.

“Afraid they’ll see you lying on the ground?” she asked.

“I’m sorry. It was a stupid thing to say.”

“Is that what you and the other guys were talking about? How you thought I was screwing Lancaster, and that it was clouding my judgment?”

“It was nothing like that.”

“But you were talking about me, weren’t you?”

“So what? No harm, no foul.”

She dug her heel into his chest and watched him squirm. It shouldn’t have brought her pleasure, but it did. “Let’s be clear about something. I work at headquarters, and see your bosses every day. If I put in a bad word, your career will be over.”

“What kind of bad word?”

“I’ll say that you’re drinking on the job.”

“But that isn’t true!”

“And I’m not sleeping with Jon Lancaster. But you assumed that I was, and told the others. That hurts me, and my reputation. It also hurts my career. Do you see my point?”

A knowing look spread across his face, and he nodded.

“I’ll tell them I was wrong,” he said.

Not an apology, but an admission of guilt. She liked that.

“Is that a promise, Special Agent Baldini?”

“Yes, Special Agent Daniels, it’s a promise.”

She removed her foot from his chest and stepped back. He slowly climbed off the pavement, and dusted himself off. His clothes weren’t torn, and there were no visible bruises or scrapes. It could have been worse, a fact that he seemed to appreciate.

“Was that a judo move you used to take me down?” he asked.

“Muay Thai,” she said. Baldini went inside the camper. As he did, a pair of headlights came down RichJo Lane. She hid behind the front of the camper, and watched the vehicle turn onto Alternate 19 and head south. It was the car with the driver who resembled Jon.

She glanced at her watch. The car had been back there for ten minutes. It could have been a guy having a cigarette and drinking a beer. Or it could have been Jon, up to no good. She needed to find out, and went inside the camper.

The agent warming her chair gave it up. Baldini was not present, and she guessed he was in the bathroom, checking himself out in the mirror. The stupid bastard had no idea how close she’d come to kicking out his front teeth.

“Anything going on?” she asked.

“Nothing much,” the seat warmer said. “I need more coffee. Want some?”

“No, but thanks for asking.”

The agent went into the kitchen in the back of the camper. Now alone, she replayed the tape of the car turning down RichJo Lane. Freezing the frame, she memorized the letters and numbers on the license plate. Then, she made a call. The FBI was wired into the DMV databases in every state, and could run down license plates at warp speed.

Within a minute she had her answer. The vehicle belonged to National Car Rental. The bureau had agreements with the rental car companies, and she made a second call. This time, it took a little longer for her to get an answer.

The car was a 2018 Ford Fusion, and had been rented out of the Tampa International location earlier in the evening. The renter’s name was Jon Lancaster.

Part Four

Smoke and Mirrors

Chapter 43

If Lancaster had learned anything during his time on the police force, it was that the world was a better place with certain people dead.

It was true. Some people had evil in their hearts, and the harm they wreaked upon society was incalculable. Lost lives, shattered families, psychological scars that never healed — their mark on the world a bloodied footprint.

Dexter Hudson was such a person. In the short time he’d been out of prison, he’d murdered two people and orchestrated the kidnappings of fourteen more. Sending him back to prison wouldn’t change him — he’d just find new ways to cause harm. The only way to stop a person like Dexter was to remove him from this earth.

If he had one regret, it was that he wouldn’t be the one to do it.

Sleep wasn’t an option. That would come later, when the mission was over.

He dropped the rental off and retrieved his car from short-term parking. Back at his hotel, he showered and put on fresh clothes. Then, he drank a cup of coffee and thought about how he was going to handle Daniels when she found out what he’d done. She wasn’t going to be happy with him, and he told himself she’d have to get over it.