Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [491]
And to think it was all because of one man. One man who must want to destroy him. He could see the old man’s house in the distance. Actually all he could see was the diffused yellow light through the blinds in the front room, what he knew from a closer inspection to be the living room. He had memorized where the sofa sat in the middle of the large space. How it faced the main window with a TV set on a cheap rolling cart right in front of the window, where he imagined the old man could watch the news and still catch anyone coming up the long driveway.
When he had seen Luc Racine earlier on TV he knew the old man looked familiar. He knew he had seen him around town, but still there was something that nagged at him all day. Then suddenly he remembered as if in a flash of lightning. Yes, lightning, the storm.
The old man had been there Saturday night. He had been in Hubbard Park, wandering around with that stupid little dog. Wandering around despite the dark and despite the storm. How could he have forgotten? Yes, he remembered seeing him with that strange little black hat on his silver head. He had even watched him give Joan directions to the West Peak. He had taken extra precautions so the old man wouldn’t see him. He had waited until he was gone, making him late, and he hated to be late.
Yet, despite all the precautions, the old man knew. He knew something. Had he seen him that night? Had he been hiding in the shadows? What had the old man seen? And how in the world did he find out about the rock quarry?
No, no, no. It didn’t make sense.
If the old man knew, then why hadn’t the sheriff arrested him? What kind of game was he playing? Did he simply want to destroy him? Was that it? Why, why, why? Why would the old man do that?
Another mess, and he hated messes. Hated, hated, hated them. His mother had always made him clean up his own messes, standing over him, pushing him down into his own vomit—face first—if he wasn’t quick enough.
“You made it, you clean it.” He could still hear her screech.
He needed to start cleaning up this mess and quickly.
CHAPTER 15
Tuesday, September 16
Maggie picked up her keys, badge and cellular phone from the airport security conveyor belt while shoving the plastic basin aside and trying to grab her laptop off the oncoming tray all at the same time. She pushed several buttons on the cell phone and tucked it between her neck and shoulder while she slid her laptop back into its case. She should be an expert at this by now, but still she struggled with the Velcro straps that held the computer in place.
“Hello?” said a voice in her ear.
“Gwen, it’s Maggie. I’m glad I caught you.”
“Where in the world are you? It sounds like you’re calling from the bottom of the Potomac River.”
“No, no. Not the bottom of the Potomac. Worse. Airport security at National.” She smiled when she saw one of the security officers scowl at her words. The woman wasn’t amused. She waved Maggie to the side with her wand. “Oh, shoot, hold on a minute, Gwen.”
“Arms at your sides and out,” the woman barked at Maggie. She set her laptop case on a nearby chair, the cell phone on top, and followed the instructions she knew by heart. It never failed. She was always getting pulled aside. And as usual she immediately set the security wand chirping. She dug her keys and badge out of her pocket and tossed those on the case, too.
“Sit down and remove your shoes, please.”
Maggie slipped off the leather flats and held up the soles of her feet for the wand. The entire time she still smiled at the woman, who refused to return the gesture. With only a nod of release, she left Maggie and went back to the trenches to capture the next potential terrorist or the next wiseass.
Maggie picked up the cell phone. “Gwen, are you still there?”
“You’ll never learn, will you?” her friend started the lecture. “You’re an FBI agent. You of all people know how important airport security is, and yet you insist on egging them on.”
“I don