Chapter 49: Things Heat Up

I was surprised to find myself in the living room of a strange house. Rebecca wasn't even there yet. One look around was all it took to tell me something was seriously wrong. I could feel Rebecca coming so I made myself invisible so she wouldn't know I had actually gotten there first. She materialized on the couch in jeans, a black t-shirt, and a bullet proof vest! Shit, something was seriously wrong! She glanced at her attire and I think she was about to change so I popped in before she had the chance.

"That's not a good sign," I said, appearing in the room with her.

Her expression said I was right and she had been about to change so she wouldn't have to explain. This was going to be interesting.

"No, it's not," she answered. "I didn't expect to appear this way, and I was seriously considering changing it before you showed up."

Honesty, always a good start. "Then I'm glad I got here when I did. Rebecca, I think we're way past the point of sugar coating reality. Something serious happened or you wouldn't have called. The fact that you weren't expecting me to call right back leaves it up in the air a little, so let's cut to the chase; how serious is it?"

"My partner is missing. Looks like the Sandman got her some time early this morning."

"I thought Rod had people watching both of you?"

"He did," she said, sighing and shaking her head. "I told him before it was a mistake, that something like this would happen."

It didn't take much to figure out what she meant. I sat in the chair across from her and said, "He killed her guards?"

She nodded. "They never even had a chance to draw their weapons, one was still in the car; the other was standing outside, probably having a smoke."

That made no sense. "The guy in the car I can kind of understand -- it would be hard to draw a weapon effectively in a car -- but a trained agent, in the open?" I had to think about what the scene would have had to look like. "Up close or far away?"

"I know what you're thinking, and you're right; to get them both before one had a chance to draw would be extremely difficult. Up close; two shots each, both in the head."

"And your partner is gone?"

"Purse, ID, weapon, all still in the apartment. Water on the bathroom floor; Rod thinks he got her coming out of the shower. Forensics is still processing the apartment."

"This doesn't make sense." I said.

"I know," she said. "It doesn't add up. Why go after her instead of me?"

"Maybe he figures you'll come after her but she might not come after you? Or that the bureau would try harder for you and he doesn't want that kind of..." I caught her eyes as she gave me a look and realized what I was saying. "No, that doesn't fly either. If anything, taking her puts even more pressure on the bureau, it becomes an international incident."

"Right."

"So what did you need me for?"

"You mean other than to give you a pointless warning to watch your ass?"

I had to smile at that. "Okay, you got me on that one. Thank you for keeping me up to date on the latest developments even though there isn't anything that I can really do with the information. Now, how can I help you?"

"You're welcome and it's not like this puts you in any more danger. Even if it is about the money, she doesn't know how much we're dealing with or who did it. By the way, I want you to seriously reconsider turning that money in."

"Why?"

"Because I get the impression it's a rather large amount and it's likely to generate interest you don't want. Even as an anonymous transfer it's going to light up the board if you know what I mean. Besides, if anything like Washington happens again you may need it to disappear. Trust me; starting a new life isn't cheap, and you may be starting four of them."

"Five," I corrected her.

"Five?" she asked. "Why five?"

"Because once we catch the Sandman, Angela is going to be free to go back to her old life. She may not want to and I just don't see Witness Protection coughing up the money after the threat is gone."

"Matthews, you amaze me. Everything else that's going on, all the shit flying around you, and you're still worried about Angela's future. Jimmy, she's not your responsibility."

I didn't say, "Yes, as a matter of fact she is." And I actually managed to keep a straight face when I answered. "That's the problem; once he's out of the picture I'm afraid she's not going to be anybody's responsibility. I don't want her to fall through the cracks. She deserves a life; I intend to see she has a chance at one. So much for the whole 'by the way' discussion; I'll think about the money thing again before I do anything else. Let's get back to your partner. Were you hoping I might be able to find her the way I found Angela?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"I thought that might be it. The problem is I don't know her, at all. You've mentioned her a couple times but I've never even seen her."

"You hadn't seen those girls in Palm Springs either. Jimmy, I don't know what you do or how you do it, but it seems to be getting a lot easier for you to do it, and now would be a real good time to get lucky. If you can reach her, we can nail this asshole once and for all."

"I'm all for getting lucky for a change, how much time do you have? In case Bob didn't tell you, I'm out of school so I have time but this could take a while. I'm going to want to go over everything you have on her."

"I don't have that kind of time. It's going to look suspicious enough as it is. There are people all over the place. I'm actually pretending to be meditating right now. Considering the day I've had, I don't think anyone would buy a nap. So why aren't you at school?"

"Mandatory suspension for fighting. We were at a meet yesterday when two guys snatched some woman's purse. One of the guys on the team went after them, caught them too. I went after him and saved him from getting his face rearranged. It was totally legit, stupid, but still justified. Anyway, you know the school system's stance on violence. Bob said not to worry about it but the suspension is mandatory pending the higher-ups reviewing it."

"Stupid is right!" she said. "What were you thinking?"

"Me? I was thinking Byron was going to get clobbered if he was alone but that maybe if there were two of us they might just drop the purse and let it go. Didn't work that way; Byron tackled one of them but he couldn't handle even him, let alone his partner. If I hadn't gone after him they'd have creamed him. So I'm at home for the day. In fact, I tried calling you earlier but you didn't answer."

"Well, now you know why, what did you need?"

"I need you to check with your friend Atkins and have her check into who is writing off what donations to that church, an actual list would be nice so we can compare it to what we already know."

"She probably already has it but I don't know if it's something she'll share. Why do you need it?"

"I probably don't actually need it, but I would like to compare it to what we know. I'm particularly interested in seeing who may be replacing Charles on the Board of Directors."

"Charles who?"

"Detective Charles, Las Vegas PD."

"Oh. What brought that up?"

"Lizzy caught a news report about it. We were discussing how they were going to spin it and she suggested we might want to find out who is trying the hardest to keep a lid on it. The truth is department money was being spent pursuing a thirteen year old girl across state lines; someone is going to have to answer for that. I just think it would be ... educational to see who is working the hardest to either hush it up or spin it off."

"Damn, you're good. I'll call Atkins; you may be on to something there."

"Thanks. I think it might be a good idea if I got a second phone, at least temporarily. One that people can actually call me on in case something happens, you know? I mean, things look like they are starting to move pretty fast, if there is something I can do to help I don't want us miss an opportunity because you couldn't reach me."

"Jimmy, I can't get you a phone, not a legit one, without having to explain why."

"That's not what I meant. I'm thinking of picking up a pre-paid phone, something I can just pay cash for, use it, and then throw it away when I'm done or if it starts to be an issue. I'll call you with the number. Be careful, Rebecca, I don't want Amy to wake up to bad news. By the way, where are we?"

"A safe house in Pasadena, a really safe house. We use it for other things as well though, that's why there are people all around. I think the phone is a good idea as long as it can't be traced back to you, and it would certainly make life easier. Just be sure you don't leave any prints on it when you toss it. Call me when you have the number."

I hate waiting. It was still hours before Allison was going to be home. As I was sitting, contemplating my next move I realized that I could do the experiment with Lizzy just as easily as Allison. Even if it didn't work it would answer the distance question. I got her voicemail.

"Bad news, you missed me. If you're calling to sell me something, hang up, I'm a college student, I have no money. If on the other hand you actually have a life and want to talk to me, leave a message." I left a message that I really needed to talk to her and would be calling every half hour.

"She's probably at practice," Jamie suggested. "What did you want to talk to her about?"

"The same experiment we're running with Allison. I wanted to see if maybe she could put together a little daydream and then see if we could pick it up. If it works with her then distance isn't a problem. If it works with Allison but not her, then maybe it is, for daydreams anyway."

"Looks like we're going to have to wait until Allison gets home after all."

"Yeah, looks that way." I kept trying her line every half hour like I'd said I would.

Allison got home first. I was out on the patio and heard her call, "Hi honey, I'm home."

"I'm out on the patio, but don't come out. Answer the phone." I dialed the house number, and she picked up.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"There's some stuff I need to tell you but I need to try a little experiment first. Go in the living room and see if you can put together a good daydream."

"Okay, I don't really think I need the practice, but I'll play along. Okay, I'm in the chair and..."

"No, don't tell me. I just need to see if I can pick it up."

It didn't work. Apparently, for daydreams, proximity played an important part. Damn.