Judas Horse_ An FBI Special Agent Ana Grey Mystery - April Smith [105]
Rooney choked up. “You got out, but still, after all these years, you remembered?”
“You trusted me, so I’m keeping my word. Some things are simple. What are your plans?”
“Plans?” Rooney’s voice deflated. “I have nobody left. What would I do?”
“Anything you want, buddy.”
Uncertain: “I guess I’d have to take the dogs.”
“You could buy a whole kennel.”
“I wish Mom were here.”
“She would want you to be happy.”
“How do we do this?”
“I’ll be in touch.”
There are no records of them talking again. Once they started using the satellite phone, Rooney would take it to the park. It was probably there that he blew the whistle.
Thirty-six
“This is a waste of time. I don’t need to be here.”
“How are you feeling? What’s your mood?”
“Right now? I’m buzzed, thinking of a million things, like how long we are going to be sitting in this motel. When my partner is coming to get me. How long I can hide out in Portland. How to keep all the balls in the air.”
“You’re good at it? Keeping balls in the air?”
“Have I dropped any lately that you know about?”
“The FBI doesn’t tell me the details of their cases.”
“That would be messy.”
“I’m a psychiatrist; I’m hired as an independent contractor. My concern here is only about you—your mental health, how you’re handling the pressures and demands they put you under.”
“This is a standard evaluation, right? Like they do for all our undercovers?”
“Tell me what’s been going on.”
“I’ve been in deep cover, in an extreme situation, for about three months. I’m living on a Podunk farm with a bunch of violent anarchists who could pop at any minute.”
“Stressful?”
“Kind of.”
“How do you handle the stress?”
“By having chest pains, what do you think?”
“When was that?”
“About a week ago. I was watching TV.”
“No unusual exertion? No change in medication? Just watching TV?”
“Yes. I’ve been doing a lot of that lately.”
“Would this TV watching be normal for someone working undercover?”
“Umm. Yes and no. Depends.”
“Do you like TV?”
“Yeah, I love it. I’m addicted to stupid, mind-numbing crap.”
“I’m wondering if you use it as a way to deal with stress.”
“I don’t watch the shows. I only watch the news.”
“You watch the news.”
“There’s really only one story I’m interested in.”
“Which is what?”
“It’s a local story. There’s a guy named Herbert Laumann, from the Bureau of Land Management, who was killed recently.”
“Yes, he was gunned down in his driveway by some animal rights fanatics. I’m afraid there are a lot of them up here.”
“You saw it?”
“It was all over the papers.”
“I did that!”
“You did it?”
“I shot the dude. The whole thing was staged. But it looked real, didn’t it? It was perfect. He and his family are in the witness protection program now. Isn’t that cool?”
“This is when you started having chest pains?”
“After it was over.”
“So you’re watching the news stories about the so-called murder.”
“Obsessively. I have it on tape. All the national coverage, everything from the local stations, and a close-up of the animal rights movement they did on 20/20. My story was the lead.”
“You sound proud.”
“It wasn’t easy to pull it off.”
“I’m sure. So you’re watching the tapes, over and over. Are alcohol or drugs involved?”
“A little weed. A little beer. That’s how we do it on the farm.”
“Okay, you’re getting high and watching how this man died. The one you supposedly killed.”
“In the line of duty.”
“I understand. You say the operation went well?”
“Very well.”
“And your superiors are pleased?”
“Yes, because now I’m really tight with the bad guys.”
“I’ve got a note here that your communication with the FBI has lagged.”
“Who said that?”
“Do you think you’ve been communicating with your office less than usual? Are you feeling withdrawn from the Bureau?”
“No, it’s just a hassle. I have to get up early and hide out in the barn, or up in the trees. Right now, there’s not that much to say.”
“The important thing, in your view, is that you’ve been initiated into this group—kind of like being