Wrong Number (31 page)

“Hmm, I think I’m gonna live.” He closed his eyes and squeezed her hand.

“I’ll see you soon, okay?” She ran her fingers through his hair and touched his cheek. Wyatt nodded, and she could see whatever pain medicine they’d injected him with was beginning to take effect.

She stepped down from the ambulance and followed Jason to the Hummer. As she climbed inside, she noticed several police officers and agents at the mouth of the cave dragging out the body of Chief Ferrin. Aubree cried out and covered her face with her hands.

“I’m sorry you had to see that. I meant to get you out of here sooner. He bled out in the cave from a gunshot wound to the chest.” Jason put the Hummer in reverse and backed away from the ice cave.

Aubree’s hands shook, and she felt overwhelmed with every emotion that had played out in the ice cave over the last hour. Jason reached behind her seat and handed her a blanket and a water bottle.

“Put this on and take some deep breaths. You’re experiencing some shock.” He spoke in a low voice and continued to talk to her as they drove away from the campground and out onto the main road. The ambulance carrying Wyatt had left before them, and Aubree concentrated on him and tried to shake off the aftereffects of the adrenaline rush she’d been feeling.

“Did they find the other gunman?” she asked.

Jason chuckled. “Yeah. He was lying in the creek bed with a broken leg. He fell out of a tree. I think he was trying to get a visual from high ground to shoot your park ranger.” Jason glanced at Aubree. “It’s a good thing Wyatt knew his way around this place, or you might not have been so lucky.”

Aubree pursed her lips. “I know.”

“Looks like we got here a little late. I’m sorry about everything,” Jason said. He kept his eyes on the road as they drove past Bear Lake.

“Actually it was just in time. I was afraid that police officer was going to arrest me. How did you find me anyway?”

“You have so little faith in the FBI, don’t you?” Jason smiled, and Aubree rolled her eyes. “Well, we’re pretty efficient. But it would’ve been easier if you had told me.” He shook his head. “My office has been trying to hack into the mainframe of Ferrin’s tracking system since shortly after you called yesterday. We acted fast, but he disappeared faster.

“When you mentioned Ferrin and then green, not the color, but GREANE, it was like every alarm in the whole building went off. We went straight to Ferrin’s home and found a tracking system only used by the FBI—it’s new. Somehow he’d gained access to the full system with the tracker in place.”

Aubree shivered and pulled the blanket tighter. “I know. He explained all of it to me in the cave to distract me so that he could climb inside the cavern and kill me.”

“You’re just lucky Wyatt was a good shot. Sometime you’ll have to tell me the story of how you ended up with a park ranger.” Jason glanced at her and then back at the road.

She blushed and touched her lips, thinking of the last kiss she’d given Wyatt.

Jason paused for a second and cleared his throat. “I guess he’ll be taking care of you now?”

Aubree looked at Jason. His jaw was set in a rigid line, and his face was flushed. She felt warmth creep up her neck as she realized that Jason’s feelings for her were deeper than she’d understood. She pulled the blanket tighter. How many indicators had she missed that he didn’t want to just be her FBI agent? She reached over and touched his hand. “He’s a good man. A lot like you. I fell in love with him.”

She watched him swallow, and then he nodded. Aubree looked out the window and watched the forest rushing past.

Jason cleared his throat again. “It took all of our techs to discover how Ferrin found you so quickly, and then we knew it would still be heads or tails whether we could get to you first.

“While they were still trying to bust into the mainframe, I headed out and got to Bear Lake last night around midnight. We’ve been canvassing the area since—praying our techs could break through in time.” He reached across the cab and pulled the blanket over her shoulders.

“Of course you had to pick one of the most remote campgrounds around.” He shook his head. “You did well.”

“I could’ve stayed there a long time too,” Aubree said. “I got a nice trailer.”

Jason clicked his tongue and looked at her. “You know we’ve had our eye on the governor ever since Hank Dennison switched his allegiance from Ohio to Nebraska.”

“That’s the name. Hank. Chief Ferrin said something about him and I didn’t know what he was talking about,” Aubree said.

“Hank Dennison is the secretary of agriculture.” Jason whistled. “It’s what we suspected. Now we’ll have the proof we need.”

“What do you mean?” Aubree asked.

“Ferrin wanted to kill you because he thought you knew more than you did. Maybe he thought you heard more of the conversation that day on the phone, but he thought you knew that Hank Dennison accepted bribes from Governor Ferrin to award Nebraska the pilot program of GREANE.

“It’s what we’ve been trying to prove for months now, but we could never get the evidence to convict.” Jason smiled. “Thanks to Chief Ferrin, we don’t need that now. But what I’d like to know is how in the world did you figure out your case was involved with GREANE?” Then he shook his head. “Actually, what made you think green was something other than money in the first place?”

Aubree gave him a sideways glance. “Google and a blogger with some great inside information.” She folded her arms and tried to keep her knees from shaking. “I kept writing out the conversation, trying to remember every word. Then when I did a keyword search, I realized the original conversation was “in the green” not “in the money” like I’d reported. I just wish I’d remembered the word sooner. It would’ve given you the push in the right direction you needed to investigate Ferrin.”

“So you do have
some
confidence in us, then,” Jason said.

“I guess so.” Aubree smiled. “What will happen next?” She asked the question she’d worried about all day.

“We’ve got to find out who else Ferrin was working with. I guess he wasn’t involved with Miranda and her operation at all—other than for buying information. But I think you’re safe now. Ferrin was looking for you to protect himself. You aren’t a threat to anyone else involved.”

Aubree looked at him and swallowed hard. “But what about Dennison? Will I have to testify?” Aubree gripped the armrests with the little strength she had left.

“Not if I have anything to do with it. I think when Ferrin and Hank see the evidence, they’ll plea bargain their way out of this and implicate each other in a hurry.” Jason checked his rearview mirror. “I want to keep you out of this, and I don’t think that’ll be too difficult.”

“You really think so?”

Jason nodded. “We’ll take some precautions while we finish out the investigation, but yes, I think it’s time you stopped running.”

Leaning her head back against the seat, Aubree felt something inside her break free. The tears escaped from the sides of her eyes, and she didn’t wipe them away. Jason said the very words she’d dreamed about for a year. She was ready to stand still and feel safe.

T
WENTY-EIGHT

B
A, BA
,” S
CARLETT SAID
and clapped her hands when Madeline tickled her. Aubree laughed and snuggled in closer to Wyatt on the porch swing of her mother’s house. “What do you think of your vacation?” Aubree asked.

“I think my mom’s right. I’d better not wait to get shot before I take another one.”

Aubree laughed and then looked down at his right leg. It was wrapped tightly in bandages that began just below the hem of his denim shorts and extended to his foot. Luckily he hadn’t suffered any permanent damage. It had been six weeks since their run-in with Chief Ferrin.

Wyatt’s injury had forced him to take a leave of absence for the rest of the camping season, and then he would have to continue with physical therapy through the winter months. He hoped to be able to return to work by the first of the year.

“It’s still hard to believe it’s all over,” Aubree said.

“Yeah, and that you’re responsible for the takedown of a governor, a chief of police, the secretary of agriculture, and a lucrative ethanol business.” Wyatt squeezed her hand.

Aubree laughed. “I’m not responsible for any of that.”

He lifted his eyebrows. “Well, if you say so.”

Leaning her head on his shoulder, Aubree thought about the past few weeks. There had been plenty of questions, but thankfully, because Chief Ferrin had sought her out so ruthlessly, he’d left a trail of information in his wake. He and his brother were involved in some other shady
deals but none as beneficial to their wallets as the GREANE program would have been to Ferrin Ethanol production.

Governor Ferrin had been under close watch with GREANE because of the last minute decision to include his state in the pilot program, and now the FBI continued to find new information about the plot and assassination of the secretary of defense. Jason had called Aubree again a few days ago and informed her that ethanol had been just the tip of the iceberg and that this case had agents scrambling all over hunting down new information. Dennison and Ferrin had fulfilled his prediction—scurrying to be the first to implicate the other.

“Once we sort through the lies and cover-ups, we may have something solid to work with,” Jason had told her.

“I’m sorry I ran—I should’ve trusted you,” Aubree had said.

“You did all right. They were coming for you from every angle.”

“Thanks, Jason, for everything.”

“Take care of yourself and hug Scarlett for me.”

The FBI had been on the right track all along, but Aubree was the missing link in their investigation. The GREANE program was on hold, but her life wasn’t anymore. Aubree smiled as she thought about her life unfolding before her like a clean slate.

“What are you thinking?” Wyatt leaned back and looked into her eyes.

She smiled. “I was thinking about how much I love camping.”

“Enough to do it every summer?”

“For the rest of my life,” Aubree answered. “I love you.” She tilted her face, and he kissed her, creating tingling sensations up and down her arms.

Then he pulled her close and murmured, “I love you, too.” She felt his chest rumble with a laugh. “I think I need to plan another vacation. I might call it something else, though.”

Aubree lifted her head. “What?”

Wyatt chuckled. “Hmm, I think it’s called a honeymoon.”

B
OOK
C
LUB
Q
UESTIONS

1.  If you received a phone call like Aubree’s, how would you react? How much information would you remember about the caller’s voice, dialect, and inflection? Try listening to someone’s voice in your head and see what distinguishing characteristic you would use to describe it.

2.  As the plot was revealed, did you come up with your own ideas for who was behind it? How close were you to being right? Why did you think one character was more likely to be the criminal than another?

3.  In one segment of the book, Aubree tells Wyatt that if she were to die, Scarlett wouldn’t remember her. How do you think children are affected when they lose a parent at a young age? How does this possibility influence Aubree’s determination to survive?

4.  When Aubree meets Wyatt, she struggles with some guilt for having feelings for him after the recent death of her husband. Is this normal? How does she overcome it? Does she make the right choice when she decides to trust Wyatt?

5.  Were you surprised when you learned about the multi-layered criminal activity associated with the wrong number? Why or why not? If not, what clues gave it away for you?

6.  Do you think Aubree makes the right choice when she ventures out on her own or should she give the FBI another chance to help her? Why or why not?

7.  How do you feel about the ending of Aubree’s story?

A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS

Writing this book was quite the process, and I’m grateful to everyone who helped me reach the finish line.

Patrick and Necia Jolley saw this book in raw form and helped me brainstorm ideas—thanks for your valuable feedback and support. My critique group, Novel Thoughts, helped mold this into a page-turner. Thank you, Cindy Beck, Nichole Giles, and Connie Hall.