Double Dare (9 page)

She swallowed a lump of panic. She’d tried. She’d spent countless hours contemplating and researching why men are unfaithful. She’d concluded that, in her case, a fourth of the reason was that being unfaithful was Jack’s basic nature, a fourth was her job, and the other half of the reason was because with her job, she was never around and she hadn’t seen the warning signs until it was too late.

To be fair, for months after 9/11, she’d been lucky to make it home two nights a week, and then it hadn’t been for more than four hours. And while Maggie couldn’t just tell the country she’d sworn to defend and protect that she wouldn’t help against terrorists because her husband was lonely, she would take the blame for the part her career
caused in the breakdown and breakup of their marriage. But not all the blame.

What she had been doing had been important, damn it. Besides, he should’ve had more self-control and discipline. They both should have respected each other and their marriage more. It had been a hard time for him, but it’d been hard on her, too. Jack was Jack and he’d done what he’d done. And she’d learned an important lesson from that—and from her own reaction in burning the bed and his clothes. Be slow to do anything you can’t undo.

And all that was wonderful, and the lessons learned were valuable, but none of it told her anything about Justin. Why had he been unfaithful?

She couldn’t imagine. Now that she knew him personally—and far better than she had from just his dossier and reports—she had to wonder. Had he really stepped out on his wife because she spent too much time at her garden club?

That was the findings in the reports, and Maggie had totally accepted them before getting to know Justin. But now…Well, now they seemed inappropriate, like a shallow and fickle conclusion, and not at all like Justin.

She tapped on her blinker to make a right at the corner. Then again, disagreeing with the conclusions was a judgment call. And her judgment was conclusively flawed.

Maggie cranked up the heater a notch. Someone else’s bottom line might be different, but Maggie’s personal bottom line was that there was no justifiable reason for running around on your spouse.

Her curiosity about Justin burned deeper, more compel
ling, and finally, pulling into an open parking slot in the mall parking lot, Maggie gave in to it. She reached over and stroked his arm. “Justin.”

He came fully awake.

“We’re here.”

He sucked in a deep breath and his stomach growled.

She grinned. “Is that invitation for dinner still open?”

He smiled. “Of course.”

“You’re on, then.” If there was a reason for infidelity, she wanted to know it. Not for a second did she believe it might apply to Jack. But it could apply to Justin…

Maybe.

Or maybe not.

Well, that was what she wanted to know—and she intended to find out.

Shown to their table inside Emerald Bay, Justin held out Maggie’s chair and seated her. When he sat, she chuckled. “Do you realize we automatically came back here?” It was an elegant little restaurant, sleek and simple and by far the quietest place in Santa Bella.

“A reprieve from noise and tension?” he suggested, unfolding his napkin and placing it on his lap.

“Maybe.” Probably. They both were ready to treasure the last bit of calmness they’d see for a while.

Justin reached inside his parka pocket, pulled out a small green box and passed it to her. “Darcy said to be sure to give you this, and to watch you put it on.”

“Uh-huh.” Maggie took the box, pulled the little gold halo lapel pin inside it out and attached it to her jacket front.

“I think she was afraid with so much on your mind, the
pin would be forgotten.” He smiled. “Is it a good-luck charm?”

“Yes, it is.” Maggie lied with a straight face. The halo was a camera that would transmit visual data to Darcy, giving her a real-time video stream of all Maggie was seeing. “Thanks for the reminder.” She fished her earpiece out of her fanny pack. “Time for these, too.”

Justin inserted his earpiece without questioning her and then clipped the mike to his collar. “Do we run a test or something?”

“Not necessary.” Darcy’s voice came through loud and clear. “I’ve got you.”

Justin looked at the halo pin on Maggie’s chest. “Not to be rude, Darcy, but do you have to join us for dinner?”

She giggled. “No, actually I don’t. Why don’t I take half an hour and grab dinner? That’ll give you two total privacy.”

“Thanks, Darcy,” Justin said, his face flushing. “No offense intended.”

“None taken, Dr. Crowe. Enjoy, enjoy.”

Recognizing that lilt in her voice—Darcy definitely considered Justin’s interest in Maggie personal—Maggie could have smacked her. And she wasn’t buying that total privacy bit, either. More likely, it was a white lie to appease Justin. And it’d worked; he clearly believed her.

A gentle-looking waitress who seriously needed to gain a few pounds arrived with menus. “Would you like cocktails?”

“Better not,” Maggie said. “Raspberry tea, please.”

Justin grunted. “Is that good? I’ve never tried it.”

“It’s my addiction,” Maggie said.

“Who could resist an endorsement like that?” He nodded to the waitress. “Two, please.”

Maggie felt disproportionately pleased. Justin might not trust her judgment, but he was acting on her tea endorsement. Of course, that meant nothing. The stakes weren’t significant. At worse, he’d hate it and order something else to drink. Still, he had asked her opinion and risked it….

“Are you ready to order or do you need a few minutes?”

“I’m ready,” Maggie said. “Crab cakes and rosemary potatoes, and a small salad with house dressing.”

Justin started to say something, stopped suddenly and obviously ordered something else entirely. “Fried shrimp, fried oysters and French fries.”

Maggie’s stomach flipped over. “Your arteries are going to hate you.”

He shrugged. “I figured…” He glanced from the waitress to Maggie. “Considering…”

He had a point. This could be their last decent meal. “Cancel my order,” she told the waitress. “I want a hamburger with everything on it, and do you have seasoned fries?”

“Waffle or wedge,” she said. “We have both.”

“Wedge.” Maggie’s mouth watered.

The waitress departed and Justin smiled at Maggie. “I think I’ve corrupted you.”

“Not at all.” She denied it. Maggie loved burgers and fries every bit as much as raspberry tea, but these days, she tended to watch her carb intake.

Soon their food arrived and they ate heartily.

When they were half done, a little boy with brown hair and bright eyes ran up to the table with his arms spread wide. “Dr. J., Dr. J.!”

Already grinning, Justin put down his fork, spun away from the table and opened his arms.

A huge grin split the boy’s face and he hurled himself at Justin. “I knew it was you. I knew.”

Justin caught the boy in a bear hug. “Rusty!”

“Rusty?” The boy pulled back. “No, Dr. J. It’s me, Simon.”

Justin laughed, deep and hard. “So it is.” He patted the boy on the back. “I was just teasing.”

“Oh.” Relief swelled and shone on the boy’s face.

“Are you here alone?”

He squirmed around and settled on Justin’s lap. “Nope. My mom’s over there.” Simon tossed a thumb backward. “We’re eating out tonight ’cuz Dad’s working late.”

“Boy, I’ll bet he’s sorry he’s missing this.”

“Mom says he’s gonna be.”

Maggie covered her smile with a hand to her mouth and Justin ruffled Simon’s shoulder. “I’m glad to see you, Simon.”

“Who is that lady?” Simon looked shyly at Maggie.

“She’s my good friend, Maggie.” Justin looked at her, his eyes shining. “Maggie, this is my good friend, Simon. He’s in the first grade now and rides the big school bus.”

“Wow,” she said, suitably impressed.

“The little kids ride in the van. Dr. J. watched me at the bus stop until the bus came. Not now. When I was little.”

“His parents had to leave early for work one day,” Justin explained.

“Ah, I see.” Maggie offered him her hand. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Simon.”

“Thank you.” He glanced back to his mother’s table,
then held up a just-a-second finger. Simon told Justin all about first grade, about his teacher, Mrs. Sandlin, about the class bully, Jason Cray, and about soccer practice.

Maggie sat back and watched the interaction between them, feeling a mix of surprise and envy and maybe just a little admiration for Justin for taking such an interest in a neighbor’s child.

Something niggled at her. At first it twitched, soft and subtle, a gentle nudging, and then it grew more intense until she became consciously aware and couldn’t ignore it.

The niggle took form. A memory of Barone interacting with the little boy who’d chased the ball into the security office and bumped into Barone’s leg. He’d ducked to get away, out of Barone’s reach.

An amazingly different reaction than Simon’s to Justin. Though, to be fair, Simon knew Justin and the child with Barone had been a stranger. Yet Maggie couldn’t honestly say that if the boy had known Barone, his reaction to the man would have been any different.

That explained the niggle, but there was something more. Something in this that she was missing. Something significant…

The recoil.

She pegged it. The child had actually recoiled from Barone’s touch. Why?

At most he should have been wary of a stranger and backed off, but he hadn’t. He’d recoiled, and that was an entirely different innate reaction. That one, according to Dr. Morgan Cabot, an expert on body language, was important to note.

In Maggie’s study under Morgan, recoil signified ha
tred, disgust or fear. The child hadn’t known Barone, so hatred and disgust were out. That left fear. What had triggered such a strong reaction in the boy? It didn’t make sense.

Oh, hell, Maggie. What’s the big deal?

Maybe nothing. But she couldn’t discount his reaction because it may be something. Kids were notoriously great judges of character. If she’d remembered that, she could have saved herself some serious misery with Jack. In her old neighborhood, Chris and Jay Simms’ kids, Candace and Craig, sure hadn’t trusted Jack. Kids seemed to have this built-in radar that cuts right through bull and anything fake. In no time flat, they see the truth. Facts were facts and research backed them up. Kids are seldom wrong. So what did it mean? Was Barone a body double or just a lousy man?

“I gotta go now, Dr. J.” Simon crawled down from Justin’s lap.

“See ya.” Justin waved.

“See ya.” Simon returned to his mother.

“He’s a nice boy.”

“He is,” Justin said, his eyes shining. “His grandfather was murdered. Simon was with him when it happened. For a while, he had trouble being alone. That’s why I waited with him for the bus. He thought I could protect him from anything.”

“His knight in shining armor.”

Justin looked at Maggie and raw pain burned in his eyes. “Sometimes the world makes me sick, Maggie.”

“Me, too.” A knot lodged in her throat. “But then something happens to make me glad I’m in it. Something like Simon being so happy to see you and jumping into your arms.”

The pain dulled and softened, and Justin nodded. “Yeah.”

They finished their meal, paid the check and then stepped out into the mall.

Maggie examined her communications equipment, including the walkie-talkie hooked to her belt. Everything was functioning properly. “Well, we had dinner, but I still haven’t heard what you have to say about cheating.”

“No, you haven’t.” He didn’t sound upset or eager. “We got a little sidetracked.”

They had, but Maggie still wanted to know and gave him a friendly shove. “I was hoping for some insight into that, Justin.”

He stopped walking, faced her and clasped her hand in both of his. “I’m encouraged.”

“By what?”

“You’re at least giving me a temporary reprieve from being considered scum.”

She grunted. “Reprieves mean nothing.” Not with her flawed judgment.

His expression sobered. “Maybe not to you, but this one means a great deal to me.”

Her breathing shallowed and her chest went tight. “Why?”

“You know why, Maggie.” He dragged his lower lip with his teeth. “You knew why the first time I looked at you. How could you not know?”

Maggie had no idea what to say.

“I knew it. I knew it, Maggie. Oh, God, I’m good.” Darcy’s voice chimed in her ear. “He’s crazy about you.”

Maggie watched for Justin’s reaction, mortified that he’d heard Darcy, but apparently she had transmitted to
Maggie privately. Which meant Maggie might just let the woman live.

He dragged a gentle fingertip down her cheek. “Maggie, do us both a favor, okay?”

“What favor?” Her voice sounded a little shaky. She resisted the urge to clear her throat and settled for a swallow.

“Don’t judge me by other people’s actions or opinions,” he whispered, his eyes earnest and clear, his voice sincere and genuine. “Just get to know me—give me that much of a chance—and develop your own opinion.”

“Sound advice, Maggie,” Darcy said. “I’d listen to him on that one.”

“Here, here.” Kate chimed in unexpectedly, obviously also monitoring the private channel.

“Totally reasonable.” Amanda added her two cents. “I’d go for it, Maggie.”

Maggie wanted to scream. So far the only one who
hadn’t
weighed in was Colonel Drake.

Before Maggie could collect herself enough to respond, Darcy’s voice came through, this time, on the general frequency.

“Unauthorized entry. Level One, Door Three. Repeat. Unauthorized entry. Level One, Door Three.”

Maggie turned and ran.

D
arcy continued transmitting on the general frequency. “Adult male. Forty-five, 5’11”, 185 pounds. Brown hair and full beard. Black leather jacket, jeans and white sneakers. Suspect entered the mall carrying a handled Krane’s shopping bag. He’s now ditched the bag. Repeat. He’s now ditched the bag.”

“Where, Darcy?” Maggie asked, cutting through groups of shoppers to get to the site, feeling as worried as Justin looked. “Amanda, Kate, Mark, hold your positions.” Maggie snapped the release on the walkie-talkie attached to her belt. It was dedicated to communicating with Will. No one else was on that frequency. “Will, rally the troops. Level One, Door Three. Unauthorized entry. Suspect ditched a handled Krane’s shopping bag. We need to recover it and tag him. Do not, repeat, do not, touch the bag. Just secure the area surrounding it.”

“On it, Maggie,” Will said, then relayed the transmission to his team.

Justin caught up, fell into step at Maggie’s side.

“Suspect has moved off the screen,” Darcy said. “Be advised that Base has lost visual contact and is faxing still photo to Security office, FBI, Providence police and Okaloosa County Sheriff’s office now…”

“Go right,” Justin told Maggie, then headed left.

“Follow the bag. Will’s scrambled a team,” she said to Justin, then went back to Darcy. “We’re going to need HAZMAT in here to recover the bag. Where is it now?”

“Northwest side of the round, directly across from So Secret.”

Maggie relayed that to Will, then sidestepped a bunch of teen girls strolling.

Within two minutes Will Stanton radioed back. “I’ve got the bag, Maggie. It’s empty.”

“Don’t touch it,” Maggie reminded him, and picked up her pace. “It could be contaminated.”

“Roger on that.”

Finally, Maggie and Justin worked their way through the crowds and met up with Will. Half his security force was gathered, forming a human barricade around the bag. Shoppers slowed down, craned their necks to see what was going on. Maggie grimaced. If Barone saw this, he’d have a cow.

Justin pulled a check on the bag. “No scent, film or residue,” he told Maggie. “Disband your men, Will, before Barone notices. I’ll monitor it until HAZMAT arrives.”

“Yes, sir.” He issued the order.

Maggie stepped closer, ran her own visual and found surprisingly little.

“There’s no apparent evidence,” Justin said, still squat ting near the bag. “But we’d better treat it as contaminated.”

“Definitely,” Maggie agreed.

“Base concurs,” Darcy said. “HAZMAT team is in bound, Dr. Crowe. ETA, two minutes.”

With an estimated time of arrival at two minutes, the hazardous materials team had to have been prepositioned on the premises outside. Darcy and Colonel Drake had picked up on Maggie’s nonorder and arranged it so she wouldn’t have to seek Barone’s permission.
Bless ’em.

Maggie finished her check of the bag and reached the same conclusion as Justin. Judy Meyer, a woman on Will’s staff, quietly steered shoppers around the bag, unobtrusively giving it a lot of space.

The HAZMAT team of five men arrived, wearing street clothes and clear gloves rather than protective gear. They worked quickly and efficiently. Following cautionary procedure, they enclosed the shopping bag in a transportation safe hatch to remove it from the mall.

One of the team members peeled off from the group and walked over to Maggie and Justin. “Captain Holt?”

She nodded.

“I’m Matt Elden,” he said. Sweat beaded at his brow and tension lined his pudgy face. “There isn’t a field test avail able for DR-27.”

“I’m aware of that, Dr. Elden.” Maggie spoke softly. “So what’s your plan?” They could have a mobile lab, but they really needed the full spectrum of lab equipment to get definitive answers quickly. Regardless, this was his decision and he had full authority on it.

“We alerted the lab at Providence Air Force Base. They’ll work it, and get the results to you as soon as possible.”

Colonel Gray’s domain. Damn. Colonel Drake wasn’t going to like that. “I appreciate it.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Elden walked out the same way his team had departed.

As he cleared the exit, Darcy again sounded an alarm. “Unauthorized entry. Level One, Door Four. Repeat. Unauthorized entry. Level One, Door Four.”

Maggie relayed the information to Will, then responded to Darcy. “Same guy?”

“No, Maggie. Suspect is female. Mid-thirties, 5’4”, 140 pounds. Very bad and obvious red wig, black slacks, aqua top. She entered the facility carrying a handled Krane’s shopping bag and has just entered the arcade…” Darcy paused, then went on, her words rushed and urgent. “Suspect ditched the bag inside the arcade.”

Which was full of kids.

Running in that direction, Maggie told Will, “Secure the bag and keep a visual on the woman. Do not intercept.”

“Was that an order
not
to intercept her?” he asked. “Please verify, Maggie.”

“That’s correct. I want her followed.” It was a long shot but the woman could lead them to Kunz’s base of operations.

“Suspect is heading east,” Darcy said. “She’s passing the knife shop, heading toward Door Five.”

Maggie rounded the corner and saw the sign for the knife shop up ahead, but she didn’t see any sign of a woman in an aqua top or one wearing a red wig. “Darcy, is your external tag in place?”

“Ready and waiting for her to step outside, Maggie.”

“The bag is secure,” Justin said. “Same as the last one, Maggie. No scent, film or residue. Not even a crinkle. It looks unused.”

“Recall HAZMAT,” Maggie ordered.

Short minutes later Justin’s voice rang out. “HAZMAT is back on-site,” he informed them. “Elden’s safe-hatching the bag now. Estimated time of departure, two minutes.”

“Suspect is in the north parking garage,” Darcy’s voice sounded through Maggie’s earpiece. “She’s just entered a white, 2004 Honda Civic. Rental Tag,” she added, then reeled off the number.

Maggie spoke into the walkie-talkie. “Will, who’s handling that tag on the suspect in the parking garage?”

“Local police.”

“Do you have a visual?”

“Stand by, Maggie.” A pause, then Will added, “I have a visual now, yes.”

“Can you verify the identity of the officer?”

“I can, Maggie. Worked with him many times.”

“Okay, thanks.” She had to check. Kunz was too good at making substitutions, though never this soon into a mission, to not check. She headed back toward Center Court.

Justin caught up to her. “HAZMAT’s departed with the second bag.”

“Good.”

“Did they get her?”

Maggie nodded. “Local police are following her now.”

“Aren’t you going to pick her up and interrogate her?”

“No, S.A.S.S. doesn’t handle overt aspects on missions.”

“Ah, the unit secrecy thing.”

Maggie nodded, amused at watching him assimilate and put the pieces together and into place.

“Do you think maybe she’ll go back to their operations base, and we can stop this thing before it really starts?” He brushed a strand of hair back from Maggie’s face. “Wouldn’t that be great?”

Surprised by his touch, she stilled, her throat thick. Something hitched in her chest, left her a little breathless, which was ridiculous. It was an innocent touch. No more than that. “We can hope, but—”

“You doubt it.”

“Let’s just say that would be extremely atypical for Thomas Kunz. He never makes anything simple.”

“The man likes complexity, eh?”

“Historically, yes,” Maggie said. “His operations are always complex and multilayered—and dangerous and destructive.”

“Unfortunate.” Justin looked deeply into her eyes and his voice went soft. “And you have to deal with him all the time.”

“We all do. Sometimes the world sucks,” she said, repeating what he’d said about Simon witnessing his grandfather’s murder.

“Yeah, but then something good happens.” He looked her directly in the eye.

“Yeah.”

“Maggie,” Darcy interrupted. “Security just sent us an update on the first bagger.”

“Go ahead,” Maggie said, reluctantly shifting her attention.

“They’ve got his photo circulating and locals have issued an APB on him, but my guess is he’s long gone.”

“Figures. Keep me posted.”

Thirty minutes later at Providence, the lab called Maggie and reported its findings.

“That’s right, Captain Holt. Nothing. Not even finger or palm prints on the handle grips. As best we can tell, totally unused.”

“Both bags?” Disappointment arrowed through her, but no surprise. Clear gloves. That was the only explanation.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Thanks.” Maggie closed her flip-phone, stuffed it back into her purse, and walked down to Center Court. The stores would be closing soon, and the Winter Wonderland crew would be coming in.

The reprieve from the shoppers and false alarms would be welcome. They’d had twenty-seven tonight alone. The day’s tally was over seventy, which was making Will and his staff totally nuts. Maggie had warned him that false alarms could anesthetize his staff. They needed to guard against it, remain diligent and not relax. She hoped they took what she said to heart.

All of the surveillance cameras were now in place and operational. The trash receptacles had been removed and put in storage. The rounds had been netted and the aromatherapy had been nixed.
So far, so good.

But it was still early.

Darcy radioed Maggie on a private frequency. “More chatter from multiple sources has been feeding through Intel into the Threat Integration Center. Nothing any more specific than what we have, but new sources reporting the same thing on the same potential targets.”

Kunz was definitely going to hit someone. Somewhere.
“Thanks.” Maggie rubbed at her neck, let her gaze drift down the steps into the pit.

“Maggie?” Darcy asked.

“Go ahead.”

“Providence police are reporting that the female shopper, Suspect Number Two, is about to cross the state line into Georgia. Do you want our guys to ask the state police in Georgia to intercept her?”

“Thank them for the offer, but we need the FBI on her, in case she’s involved in an attack. Felony charges. Have them pick up the tag, and see where she goes.”

“Truthfully, I doubt she’s going anywhere of interest,” Kate said.

“So do I, Kate,” Maggie said. “But I don’t know it. Until I know it, we’ve got no choice but to follow her.”

“She’s made a U-turn, Maggie.” Darcy relayed from the police. “She’s heading back south.”

“Did she cross the line into Georgia?”

“No, she didn’t.”

That limited their options. “Does she know she’s being tailed?”

A moment lapsed while Darcy relayed the question, then she answered. “No evidence of it. They’ve switched off teams three times.”

“Let’s stick with observation, then,” Maggie decided, hoping she wasn’t making a colossal mistake. There had to be a reason for these abandoned bags. Kunz never did anything without a reason.

“Damn it,” Darcy said. “Unauthorized entry. Level One, Door One. Male. Twenty-five, 5’10”, 165 pounds. Blond ponytail, navy sweater, gray slacks. Suspect entered the fa
cility with—you guessed it—a handled Krane’s shopping bag and ditched it immediately near the Tot Shop. Repeat. Unauthorized entry. Level One, Door One…”

Maggie took off in a full run toward the main entrance, wishing already she had those Rollerblades.

There were no further incidents before the mall closed to shoppers for the night.

Justin oversaw the prepositioning of the boxes of antidote vials at strategic locations on all three levels of the mall, and ordered the undercover medical personnel manning them to never leave their stations unguarded.

Will Stanton had all his security forces assembled in the administrator’s auditorium, briefing them on things to watch for, to guard against and procedures to follow in case various abnormalities occurred.

Daniel Barone walked the premises with Maggie. Now that the mall was empty of shoppers, their footsteps echoed on the tile. She gave him an update on everything done, or about to be done, in the way of extra personnel, cameras and observation stations.

“What about the woman?” he asked.

“What woman?” Maggie hadn’t briefed him on the shopper who’d been tracked to just this side of the state line, back to the mall, then to a hotel three blocks away.

“The female shopper with the Krane’s bag?”

Will Stanton? Had he told Barone? “Dead end,” she said, more from instinct than because she had reason to withhold specifics. Though it broke her rule to ask a question she couldn’t already answer, she had to do it. “How did you know about her?”

“I know everything that goes on in my facility, Captain.”

“Mr. Barone, I don’t wish to be rude, but I don’t have the time or patience for glib responses. How did you know about the shopper?”

“A security staff member told me, which you should have done yourself, Captain.”

“Had it been significant, I would have,” she countered.

“I’ll judge what is significant.”

“Uh, no. No, you won’t. Because if I briefed you on all I know that’s insignificant, it’ll take roughly three weeks of daily, sixteen-hour briefings.” She looked him over, wordlessly saying he wasn’t up to the work. “Which member of Will’s staff informed you of the shopper?”

He paused, then grunted. “Unfortunately, I don’t recall.” He shrugged. “I’ve spoken to a number of people who’ve mentioned it and I’m no longer certain who first spoke of it.”

“Understandable,” she said, knowing he was lying through his teeth to protect his source. “Once the first male bagger disappeared off the monitor, he wasn’t seen again.”

“And the third male?”

“Under surveillance by authorities outside the facility.”

“Maggie?” Justin’s voice came in through her earpiece. “When you have a second, I need you up on Level Three.”

“On my way.” She smiled at Barone. “Sorry, you’ll have to excuse me. Duty calls.”

He nodded and silently walked back toward his office in the administration wing.