Silent Partner Part 27

"But it was pitch-dark!"

"The light from the fire was intense for several minutes after the explosion. Or the enemy may have had night-vision capability."

Lawrence let out a quick, frustrated breath. "I don't understand how individuals armed with surface-to-air missiles could have gotten so close with all of your men around. Don't you sweep the area before I arrive?"

"Of course. Several times."

"Then how in the-"

"I didn't want to have to tell you this."

"Tell me what?"

"That there may have been help from the inside."

Lawrence frowned. "Go on."

"You'll remember that I told you about a man we apprehended who was following Angela Day. We took him down one evening on a lawn across from her apartment in Richmond."

"Yes." Lawrence's eyes narrowed. "And that man has escaped. You told me that."

"Right. But what I haven't told you is that the guard who was on duty at the time the prisoner escaped is missing."

"You think he helped the prisoner?"

"Yes. And this guard was in the group that thought you were actually coming in by helicopter."

"You're right. That's not good."

"And that's not all."

"My G.o.d, what else is there?"

"I believe John Tucker may know something about the prisoner's escape as well."

"What!" Lawrence rose from his seat and moved to where Colby stood. "John Tucker?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes. I believe Tucker may have been involved in the incident on the mountain in Wyoming, and that he may know a great deal about what happened this evening, too. I suspect that John Tucker may have convinced a small cadre of my men to become soldiers of fortune, so to speak. I think Tucker may have been approached by people who don't appreciate the causes you involve yourself in. People who want to see you dead," he said bluntly.

"Angela Day trusts him. Without him close to her I may lose her partic.i.p.ation."

Colby cleared his throat. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, partic.i.p.ation in what?"

Lawrence gazed silently ahead.

At first, Colby had a.s.sumed that Angela Day was simply a physical distraction. Now he knew that wasn't true. But it irritated the h.e.l.l out of him not to know what was really going on. "Sir?"

"A matter of great importance."

"Sir, I feel in this case that I must have full disclosure if I'm expected to protect you. I insist that you tell me what's really going on here. Otherwise, there could be terrible consequences."

Lawrence shook his head. "I can't tell you any more at this time."

"Well," Colby said after a short pause, "perhaps it's a moot point."

"Tucker hasn't surfaced either?" Lawrence asked, aware of what Colby was implying.

"No."

"Were you able to apprehend any of the men who were involved in the attack on the helicopter?"

"Just one, and he isn't talking."

"But you have ways of getting what you want, William."

Colby nodded. "I do, sir. And I will use those ways." He hesitated. "But the man we've apprehended may not really know much. If the people responsible for tonight's attack are as sophisticated as I believe, the foot soldiers will not be privy to any important information. They may not know who they're really fighting for. In fact, they may have been given misinformation to throw us off track."

"I understand."

Colby placed a hand on Lawrence's shoulder. It was the first time he had ever done so, and he saw the surprise in the other man's expression. "Don't worry, Mr. Lawrence. You'll be fine."

Lawrence nodded. "I trust you, William." He let out a heavy sigh. "Is there any possibility that Angela Day was somehow involved in what happened tonight?"

Colby stared at Lawrence evenly. "I think that's a very real possibility."

It was after two o'clock in the morning, and Angela stood on the landing of her apartment. She and Tucker had hiked through the woods until they'd reached a house at the edge of a field. There they had convinced the elderly couple inside to allow them to dry off and warm up, and to call a cab-neither Angela nor Tucker could get a signal on their cell phones. The cab had taken almost an hour to arrive, and the drive to Richmond had taken another hour.

"Thanks for taking care of the fare."

"No problem," Tucker answered. "It's the least I can do for the woman who saved my life."

"Jake Lawrence is dead," she said quietly.

"Yes."

"That was one of the most awful things I've ever seen."

"Terrible."

"What will happen?"

Tucker shrugged. "I don't know." He looked into her eyes. "I know you were counting on Mr. Lawrence to help you get your son back."

Angela stepped forward, put her arms around Tucker's neck, and hugged him. It felt wonderful when he hugged her back.

"It'll be all right, Angela."

"What was that man talking about?" she whispered, closing her eyes as Tucker moved his hands beneath her ski jacket and caressed her back through her sweater.

"Which man?"

"The one who was holding you captive when I found you."

"What do you mean, what was he talking about?" Tucker asked, leaning back so he could look into her eyes.

"He wanted you to tell him about the 'network.' "

"I have no idea what that was about, Angela. Maybe it was a case of mistaken ident.i.ty. Or, more likely, he was fishing for something. Look, there are many secrets in the Lawrence world. People a.s.sume someone like me knows something important, but it isn't true. When it comes down to it, I really am just a ranch hand." He shook his head sadly. "I guess there'll be a lot fewer secrets in the Lawrence world now."

Angela gazed up at him in the moonlight. He was right. Shehad saved his life. She had acted on instinct. If she'd thought about it at all, she might have hesitated and lost her courage. It was as if something had been guiding her. Communicating to her silently that she had to save this man.

She curled one hand around the back of his neck, and pulled him close. "Kiss me, John."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

"What's this all about?" Angela demanded, glancing furtively around the parking garage's third level. "Why did you have me walk all the way over here?" she asked, irritated that she'd been called away from the bank so late on a Friday afternoon.

"Because I didn't figure you'd be able to talk from your desk," Liv explained. "And I wanted you to see the exact spot where I met my contact."

"Contact?"

Liv rolled her eyes. As if Angela ought to know instantly what she was talking about. "A few days ago I got an anonymous call from a man who claimed to have sensitive information about Bob Dudley. I told you, remember?"

That sounded familiar, but she was almost too exhausted to think. She'd caught a couple of hours of sleep last night, but had forced herself to get into the bank as close to her usual time as possible. Booker seemed to be monitoring her very closely.

"Information that would help bring Dudley down," Liv prompted impatiently.

"Oh, right," Angela said, remembering. "You told me that Monday on our way out to the West End. The afternoon you submitted that phony mortgage application."

"Which, by the way, I was turned down for."

Incredible,thought Angela. That application should have been approved very quickly. "Really?"

"Yes. Maybe I should have checked the 'Black' box after all."

"No. I guarantee you that kid altered it the minute we left. I told you-"

"Look, it doesn't matter," Liv interrupted. "I want you to hear what this guy relayed to me last night."

"Okay. But first of all, tell me how he contacted you."

"He called me a few minutes after I got home from work last night."

"But didn't you say you were going to have your number changed again?"

"Yes, and the phone company had changed it by Tuesday evening. Somehow he got the new number."

"That's creepy, Liv. Like I said before, I really think you ought to call the police."

Liv shook her head. "No. He's on our side."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Like I told you, I met with him right here last night. He hates Dudley as much as I do. I can a.s.sure you of that."

"Well, who was he?"

"He claimed he was a Sumter Bank employee," Liv replied, grinning, "but he looked more like a cowboy than a bank employee."

Angela froze. "A cowboy?"

"Yeah. He was wearing boots, jeans, and this jacket with a wool collar. Like he was right off the range or something."

"Did he have a mustache?" Angela asked quietly, her mouth suddenly bone-dry.

"Yeah, I think so. Honestly, I couldn't see much of his face. He had his hat pulled down low. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." John Tucker. It had to have been him. But why? "What time did you meet this guy?"

"Around 8:30."

"How long were you with him?"

"Five minutes, tops. I could tell he was uneasy. Like he thought we were being watched. He kept looking around. One time I turned my head, and he had just kind of melted into the shadows. That was it."

At that time of the evening it would take no more than fifteen minutes to get from here to her apartment in the Fan, Angela realized. If Tucker had left Liv by 8:35, he would have had plenty of time to get to her apartment by nine to take her to meet Jake Lawrence.

"What did the guy say?"

Liv looked around to make certain they were alone. "He told me that Dudley's family was originally from Birmingham, Alabama, and that they have been involved in Klan activity down there for a hundred years. He also said he's pretty sure Dudley himself is a member."

Angela gazed steadily at Liv's round face. "Bob Dudley is originally from Birmingham, Alabama?"

"That's what this guy said."

That was interesting. A piece of information she would make certain to follow up on. "And how exactly did he know that Dudley's family had been involved with the Klan for so long? And that Dudley was a member now?"

Liv shrugged. "I asked him about that. All he would say was that he had done a great deal of research on his own and that was what he had found. He said it sickened him to think that the man who ran Sumter Bank could be a Klansman, and that he wanted other employees, people in Richmond, and the rest of the world to know about it. That was why he had contacted me. Said he didn't have any way to get the information out, but he knew that I could because I was a reporter."

"You can't be prepared to print something like that on the word of a man you've met once on the third level of a parking garage under the cover of darkness."

"Of course I'm not," Liv snapped.