“I haven’t murdered anyone. And the guy? I thought he was a real agent. He tricked me. It’s complicated. Come with me. I’ll explain while I drive.”
“They’ll be looking for your Jag. It won’t be safe.”
“I’m using the dead guy’s car.”
“You stole a car? You see? This is insane. The Marc I married would never do that. If we’re going to have a future together, we need to straighten things out. We can’t just walk away and pretend nothing happened.”
“Look, Carolyn, I know this has been hell for you. And I know a lot of it was my fault. But I’ve got it figured out now. We can disappear. Together. But we’ve got to go. Now.”
“No. Not unless you can convince me the nightmare’s over. I can’t be running and hiding for the rest of my life. I’m thinking, maybe you could talk to someone? Like Homeland Security? Get some—”
“They’re the last people I could talk to. There’s a database. When they check … they’ll find things. Records. Lies. About me. Incriminating stuff. We need to avoid them like the plague. And we need to get away from here.”
“I don’t think so. We can’t do this on our own. We need help, to get all this weird stuff squared away. We need … You’re late!”
Her gaze suddenly shifted to a point above my left shoulder. I spun around. And saw two men, almost on top of us.
Peever. And the other agent from the supermarket.
Carolyn may have called this getting help.
But I had another name for it altogether.
Sunday. Afternoon.
PEEVER GRABBED ME BY THE ARM AND SHUNTED ME INTO THE booth, next to Carolyn. Then he took the chair I’d vacated and moved in close, cutting off any chance of escape.
“You knew McKenna was an imposter.” I turned to Carolyn. “How?”
“He told me.” She pointed at Peever.
“You were working together all along?”
“No. Only after the virus came to light, and you disappeared. He sought me out.”
“And you sold me out. That’s why he’s here. That’s why you wanted an hour to think.”
“No, Marc. He’s here to help.”
“He’s here to bury me.”
“Agent Peever?” Carolyn smiled, nervously. “That’s not true, is it? You said you could help my husband set the record straight. Get out from under all these false accusations.”
“Forget what I said.” Peever shrugged. “I have new information. Bowman, empty your pockets.”
“What?” Carolyn looked shocked. “This isn’t what we agreed.”
“If your husband has nothing to hide, he has nothing to worry about. Just tell him to empty his pockets.”
“No. I won’t. You promised to help.”
“I am helping.” Peever kept his eyes locked onto me. “If we do this here, and your husband’s clean, we can have a different conversation. But if I have to make this formal …”
“Marc?” Carolyn was wavering.
I pulled out my cell phone and checked the time. Then I set it on the table, screen facing up, and took out my keys. I added the dead guy’s keys to the pile. And finally, McKenna’s black box.
“What’s that?” Peever pointed to the device.
“Something someone gave me.”
Peever drummed his fingers on the table, then took a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to me.
“From this morning.”
It was a shot from a security camera. At AmeriTel’s office. It showed McKenna and me leaving the node room.
“Another attempt was made to infect ARGUS this morning, Marc. Through a USB port, this time. Twenty-seven seconds before that picture was taken.”
I didn’t reply.
“That box you were carrying. It has a USB plug, right?”
“The box was McKenna’s.”
“Because you were working with McKenna. Using your knowledge of AmeriTel to help him insert the virus.”
I didn’t bother to reply.
“Marc?” Carolyn gripped my arm. “Don’t stop. Explain it to him. Make him understand you had nothing to do with the virus. That McKenna tricked you.”
“The virus is only part of the story.” Peever pulled out another photograph. It showed the carnage in my bathroom on Thursday evening. “Who was this guy?”
“Marc?” Carolyn sounded shocked.
“I don’t know.”
“You should know.” Peever jabbed at the picture with his finger. “You killed him.”
“He slipped. Hit his head on the tile.”
“And what did you do? Call 911? Get him an ambulance?”
I shook my head.
“No. You stole the guy’s car and used his credit cards. Not the hallmarks of an innocent man, Marc.”
“I had no choice.”
“Like you had no choice when you fell out with your partner?” Peever laid a third photograph on the table. Carolyn gasped. It was of the scene in my hallway, that morning. Minus the blankets. “We see this all the time. Eliminate potential witnesses. Then disappear. Is that why you’re desperate to lure your wife away? How much does she know about you?”
I turned to Carolyn, but she wouldn’t meet my eye.
“You’re done, Marc.” Peever gathered up his pictures. “You’re going to prison. For the rest of your life.”
“You killed two men in our home?” Carolyn’s face was white.
“There’s no way out, Bowman.” Peever produced an evidence bag, put his hand inside, and used it to reach for my keys. “The building’s surrounded. And now that you’ve killed your buddy, there’s no one to stage any fires. Or to ambush my car.”
“What else aren’t you telling me, Marc?” Carolyn’s stare was piercing. “I can see it in your face. You’re hiding something.”
On the table my phone buzzed, and its screen lit up.
u were right. 2 agents. blue dodge. now on ice. u have the name?
Peever snatched the phone up and turned to me. “What the hell does this mean?”
“It means my wife wasn’t the only one who put the last hour to good use. The text’s from a woman who worked for McKenna. She knows her boss is dead. She’s on a mission to find out who killed him. And she’s hell-bent on revenge. I told her if she showed up here, half an hour after I met Carolyn, I’d give her a name. I figured if we were gone—no harm, no foul. But if anyone—like you—kept us here, she’d be our ticket out.”
Peever grabbed his own phone and tried to make a call. He didn’t get an answer. He tried a second number, and got the same result.
“My guys had better be OK. And if you think I’m going to trade you for this woman, whoever she is, you’re crazy. You’re coming with me. I’ll have another team sweep her up.”
“That’s fine, in theory. But here’s your problem. If I don’t go outside in the next ninety seconds and give the woman the name she wants, she’ll come in here. And I’ll tell her you killed McKenna.”
“She won’t believe you. I’ll show her the picture of McKenna, dead in your house. I’ll tell her you did it.”
“You can try. But who’s the more likely candidate? The guy she knows, who was helping her boss? Or the agent who was trying to catch him? And who hung around to take pictures? I know which one my money’s on.”
“So what if she comes in?” Peever frowned. “There are two of us.”
“There are five of them. And how many civilians in here?”
Peever didn’t reply, so I got to my feet.
“Wait. Whose name would you give her?”
“The asshole who tried to kill my wife this morning. He’s already dead, so no one else will get hurt. His body’s at LeBrock’s house. In the basement. I’ll give you the address.”
Peever shuffled his chair aside just far enough for me to squeeze past, but as I drew level his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.