Pieces of the Past (Witness Security Book 1) (10 page)

Doug nodded.
“Tell them we’ll be in touch, and to let us know if Ryan calls again.”

She relayed the message and almost had to hang up on the other frantic mother who wouldn
’t stop with the questions. “Oh my God.” She rubbed her temples.

Doug got in her face.
“This is good. Peyton’s fine. They have a car, money for food and a place to stay. This is the best news we could have gotten.”

“
A place to stay? Like that thought doesn’t bother me?” She looked at the paper and punched Ryan’s number into Doug’s phone. The call went directly to voicemail. “Ryan, this is Christine Scott, Peyton’s mom. I know you’re together and I know you’re okay right now. But there are things
you
don’t know. You need to bring Peyton back,
now.”
There was so much more she wanted to say but her voice choked up and the tears began to flow.

Doug grabbed the phone.
“Kid, listen. This is a dangerous situation, more dangerous than you probably realize. You’re going to have two dozen cops and feds on your ass in a matter of hours. Whatever you do, don’t resist them. But make sure they show you ID. Don’t assume someone is a cop just because they say so.” He paused. “Not kidding here, Ryan. Peyton can tell you this is grown-up stuff. Take it seriously.” He disconnected the call.

Christine thought
she might lose it. “Oh my God,” she muttered for the second time in a matter of minutes. “Now, besides the fact that my daughter is out there with a boy all alone, in some seedy motel, being chased by cops and feds…I have to worry about people who
say
they’re cops but really aren’t? My head is going to explode.” She scrubbed the tears off her cheeks, her sadness mixing with anger and frustration.

Doug grabbed his phone back.
“Hold it together, Christi. Those people have been the main concern all along.” He took the piece of paper and headed into the kitchen to place his call.

Ethan climbed up on her lap and she rocked him, wordlessly, as
they waited.

“We got a hit.” Doug waved the paper as he returned later. “The cell phone pinged off a tower just outside of Kansas City. The credit card was used at a gas station and a Denny’s in Cameron, Missouri. Again, outside of Kansas City.”

He pulled up a map on his smartphone.

Christine glanced at it. Cameron was on I-35, which ran between Kansas City and Des Moines, Iowa. From Des Moines it was a straight shot east to… “Chicago.”

“
Yep.” He pocketed his phone. “Pack your bags, kids. We’re going to the windy city.”

Chapter Six

Gold Coast Historic District

Chicago, Illinois

Sal Russo examined his slicked-back black hair in the mirror. A touch of gray at the temple annoyed him. “I need a new colorist, baby. This is ridiculous.”

His young, buxom wife peered at his hair. “What? That’s nothing. It looks fine. Besides, I like Gina. I don’t want to find a new hairdresser.”

“I
might give her one more chance,” he muttered as he turned to face his wife. At twenty-three, she didn’t know beans about covering gray. She added expensive highlights to her hair for fun but her brown shade was natural.

Everything Roxy did was expensive. He should have known going in that was part of the deal. Probably
the main reason
she married a man three times her age. Deep down, he knew she was in the relationship for the money. Just like he was in it for her firm 36 DD’s, which had been 34 B’s before he sprung for her surgery.

“Thank you, Pookie.” She rubbed her nose on his, then patted his lapel. “You look so handsome. Are you sure I can’t go with you to dinner? I’d love a night
on the town.”

“Sorry, baby, this one’s all business. Maybe tomorrow we can go out, if everything goes as planned
tonight.”

She frowned. “What might not go ‘as planned’? Is this dangerous?”

He shook his head. “Nah, don’t worry your pretty little head.” He leaned in to nuzzle her neck. “I wouldn’t mind if you waited up for me, though.”

“Sure, Pookie. See you later.”

He squeezed one of her breasts through her sweater, then turned to leave.

Dangerous?
Every meeting with Carlos de Salazar was dangerous, but Carlos wasn’t after him. They had a mutual interest in Larry Stewart, and the money he made disappear. One-third belonged to him, and two-thirds to Carlos. It wasn’t peanuts they were talking about. Initial estimates were that Larry siphoned off somewhere between ten and twenty million dollars.

To say h
e’d been pissed had been an understatement. But Carlos had become enraged, and hadn’t calmed much in the ensuing year.

If he knew Carlos, and he thought he did considering their fifteen-year business relationship, then
Larry’s time was running out. Or should he say
Larry’s family’s time
was running out.

* * * *

Topeka, Kansas

Doug glanced back over his shoulder. Ethan was asleep in the back seat, headphones still in his ears.
“He’s wiped.”

Christine followed his gaze.
“I’m not surprised. It’s nearly midnight.”

“
You’ve got to be tired, too.”

“
I’m okay. Are you tired? I could drive.”

“
I’m fine,” he assured her. They were both wiped. It was a ten hour drive to Chicago. It’d be smartest not to drive straight through, but he knew they couldn’t stop. The kids had hours on them. He had no idea what would happen when they reached the grandparents’ house, but he suspected Christine’s parents might try to hide Peyton and her friend.
That’s the last thing we need.

“
I wish you would have let me try to call them again. If I told Peyton we were following them, maybe they’d have reconsidered making the long trip.”

“
Or maybe they’d change plans and go somewhere else—say to a relative of Ryan’s who we know nothing about, somewhere in Sheboygan.”

“
What makes you think he has family in Sheboygan?” she asked wryly.

He glanced sideways at her.
“What makes
you
think Peyton’s going to turn around and come back because you ask nicely?”

She stared out the window.
“I was in Sheboygan once. It’s only about three hours from Chicago. You take I-95 north to Milwaukee. I can’t remember which highway you take after that.”

“
I was in Milwaukee once, for a firearms training seminar. Don’t remember much about the training. Just remember that Milwaukee has a lot of breweries.”

She chuckled.
“That’s the most memorable thing about Milwaukee, I guess. It’s actually a pretty nice town.”

“
I’m sure it is. We were on the feds dime, so we didn’t get to do much sight-seeing. Didn’t even get to visit a brewery. Had a beer at the airport, though.”

“
That’s reassuring. A bunch of federal marshals with guns spotted drinking beer before boarding a plane. The press could have had a heyday with that.”

“
You make it sound much more exciting than it actually was. Has anyone ever told you that you have an active imagination?”

“
Besides you? My mother, maybe.” She stared out the window again. “I wish you’d let me call her, too.”

Doug chuckled.
“Why? So Peyton’s Facebook friend has time to hatch a plot before we get there? I don’t think so.”

“
She’s my mother! She’s not going to do anything to go against us.”

“
She already has. She might not realize it, but you know it’s true.”

“
I’m sure Mom was only doing what she thought was best. They love their grandchildren. I know they miss them horribly.”

“
Then they should want to keep them alive. Your folks need to remember that we’re all on the same side, here.”

“
I guess we’ll have to remind them.” She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

Doug stopped a few times for coffee and to stretch his legs. Ethan slept the whole night long, and Christine dozed off and on. Doug was glad. She was so worried, it was easier when she slept and at least had a few brief moments of peace.

He received regular updates from his boss, and when Christine woke early the next morning he prepared to fill her in.

“Where are we?” She glanced around, yawning.

“
Passed through DeKalb a while back.”

“
Oh! Good. Almost there.”

“
DeKalb is an hour and a half from Chicago?”

“
Hour, maybe, depending on traffic.” She studied him. “You look exhausted.”

“
Thank you.” He smiled. “I’d say the same but you look pretty damn good. Especially cute when you’re sleeping, I might add.”

“
Shush.” She waved him off.

He grinned, and for both their benefits, changed the subject.
“I got a report from my boss this morning. It seems they got a partial plate from that white sedan that was staking out your house. It was captured by a turnpike camera on I-70 heading in this general direction.”

“
Nothing since I-70? We left that highway hours ago.”

“
Nothing we’re aware of. We need to stay on alert. He also found out some news about the upcoming trial of Martin Newsome.”

She shook her head.
“It’s been over a year. I can’t believe that trial hasn’t taken place yet.”

“
When someone has a lot of money and high-priced attorneys, the legal delays can last for years. The longer it drags out, the more time the defendant spends in prison beforehand. If Newsome isn’t convicted on all counts, there’s a very real possibility he could be released after the trial for time served.”

“
They have a ton of evidence on him! How could he not be convicted on all counts?”

Doug shrugged.
“Just letting you know how it is. If for some reason Larry wasn’t able to testify, their case might not have a lot of merit.”

“
That’s why they’re holding Larry in prison, to make sure he testifies, right? And then there are the charges against him.”

“
The charges are iffy, depending upon the testimony. Nobody was offered complete immunity. Obviously they’re expecting a lot of conflicting arguments. It’s all going to depend on who the judge and jury decide to believe.”

“
So it’s possible that Larry could be released at some point after the trial, too.”

“
Not only possible, it’s probable. I can’t say when, of course. He could serve a couple years, or seven, or twenty. But at some point, he’s bound to be released.”

Christine didn
’t reply, she just stared out the window at the passing cars.

“
So, what do you think about that?” he finally prompted.

“
I don’t know. What’s going to happen to us? If Larry gets released, will we still need Witsec? Do we go back to our old lives, or stay in the new ones?”

Doug knew which answer he
’d choose, but it wasn’t up to him. “That’s something
I
don’t know. There could come a point when you’ll have to choose.”

She glanced back at her sleeping son.

“What do you think his choice would be?” Doug asked.

“
He’s been pretty happy this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to stay where we are, provided we could see Grandma and Grandpa, of course.”

“
And Peyton?”

Christine rubbed her hands over her arms.
“I think Peyton’s choice is pretty clear. She won’t let the screen door hit her on the butt as she’s leaving Kansas.”

He grinned.
“And what about you, Christine Stewart Scott? What do you think your choice would be?”

They drove over a rise and the city limits came into view.
“There it is! Chicago!” She turned around and shook her son’s leg. “E, wake up. We’re home!”

He rubbed his eyes and when he realized what he was seeing, they popped opened fully.
“Home!” His voice was thick, almost choked up.

Doug
’s heart sank. Of course Chicago would be home to them. They’d all been born and raised there. They’d only been in Kansas nine months.

He
’d known them that whole time, but had only really been
aware
of them for less than a week. It felt like a lifetime. It felt like five minutes. He wasn’t ready for it to end.

Part of him wanted to turn the car around and drive straight back to the little safe house in Topeka, where he could protect them. He knew it was a ridiculous thought. Almost as ridiculous as the idea that he could love Christine Stewart Scott after less than a week. But he knew what he felt. And he felt really crappy as they headed into Chicago, her home sweet home.

She directed him to her parents
’ house. There was little activity on the street, but it was early. “They’ll be up,” she assured him. “They’re always up by six-thirty or seven.”

He muttered under his breath,
“Unless they were up half the night, harboring a witness from the federal protection program.”

Christine leaned in to him.
“Remember, she’s not the criminal, okay?”

He glanced at her and sighed.
“You’re right.”
You’re also damned gorgeous, even if you slept in a car.

He pulled in front of the house and they all got out.

She looked at him over the hood of the Expedition. “That question you asked me earlier?”

He smiled.
“The one you conveniently didn’t answer?”

She smiled back.
“That would be the one. Ask me again later, okay?”

“
Later,” he agreed, and they walked to the front door of the house.

As she rang the bell, Ethan squirmed his way in front of her.

A tall, silver-haired man opened the door. He had kind, blue eyes that appeared very tired this morning. They crinkled when he saw who was on his front step. He pushed open the glass door and Ethan flew into his arms. “Lil!” He hollered over his shoulder. “They’re here.”

He drew Christine in with his other arm and the three of them hugged until his wife appeared behind them.

“Christine! Ethan! Oh thank the Lord!”

The man stepped back and allowed his wife her turn in the double hug. Tears fell freely from every face Doug could see.

He glanced over his shoulder. There weren’t many cars on the street. A shiny, silver Mercedes sat in the driveway. He leaned in over Christine’s shoulder. “Do you think we could move this reunion inside, please?”

She pulled back from her mother and swiped at her eyes.
“Oh, sure. Let’s go in, everyone.” They took a few steps backward and gathered in the foyer.

Doug closed the front door and locked it.

“Mom and Dad, this is Doug Jackson, a marshal with the federal protection program. Doug, these are my parents, Stan and Lillian White.”