“No, no one saw what I did,” he rushed.
“But something did go wrong. I hear it in your voice.”
“The woman survived. She had injuries, but she will recover.”
“You idiot! What made you think that would work? I sent you there to take care of this problem and you failed.”
He stammered, “Yes . . . yes . . . I realize I should have found a better way by now. The police believe it was an accident. She should have died, but the car was slowing down . . . I just acted on the spur of the moment because I saw an opportunity . . .” He realized he was making excuses.
“This should have been done already.”
“I know. I did fail, but it won’t happen again.”
“It better not. No more waiting. You finish it.”
TWENTY-ONE
Cordie watched the video at the table with Aiden beside her. Alec had gone to the bar to get a beer before he took a chair across from them.
“I really did bounce.” She winced.
“See what you did there?” Aiden replayed the seconds before impact. “It looks like you tried to jump up, like a pole-vaulter, onto the hood of the car. That was smart.”
“Are you seriously trying to put a positive spin on this?”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I think it looks like I tried to stop the car with my left arm.”
“The blinkers were on,” Alec commented. “It’s a good thing the car was slowing down, or you could have been in much worse shape.”
Cordie knew they were trying to be reassuring, but their attempts to make her see the glass as half full were not working. She backed up the video and watched it again. She saw herself step up to the edge of the curb and the crowd gather around her. Everyone was facing forward, and suddenly their heads turned. Apparently this was the point at which the truck backfired. Within a fraction of a second, Cordie lurched into the path of the oncoming car. When she played the video again, she concentrated on the people behind her. Everyone was crammed together so closely, it was impossible to see faces. She backed up the image once more and watched the pedestrians heading to the corner. There was only one suspicious-looking character. He wore a baseball cap down low over his brow, and he never looked up so the traffic cam could catch his face. He seemed to disappear in the throng. She let the video continue to play. After the crash, some people ran to help her; some stood watching in shock; and others who wondered what was happening walked into the camera’s view. The commotion lasted a couple of minutes before a few onlookers began to drift away. She looked closely as they dispersed and saw the baseball cap disappearing among them.
Alec and Aiden played the video at least twenty times more, looking at individuals but concentrating on the man in the cap and finally concluding they saw nothing that would identify an assailant.
“That’s enough,” she said. “I can’t watch this again. I don’t recognize anyone.”
“Why don’t you tell Alec how you let him sneak up on you,” Aiden suggested.
“What are you talking about?” Alec asked.
“All week long I’ve had this weird feeling that someone was following me.”
Alec didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds. He took a long swig of beer. “All week long, huh?”
She nodded. From the look in his eyes, she could tell he was about to get testy.
“Do you want to tell me why you think someone was following you? And then maybe you could explain why you didn’t tell me about it.”
“It was just a feeling,” she said, trying to defend herself. “I didn’t have any proof, and every time I got that feeling and tuned around or looked in a mirror, there was never anyone there.”
Aiden felt like banging his head against the wall. “For God’s sake, Cordelia, the whole point would be to avoid being seen if he was any good at his job, and apparently he was.”
“You needn’t snap at me. I was going to mention it.”
“Start mentioning it now,” Alec said. “When did you first suspect someone was watching you?”
She went through her week, telling him about the art gallery, the parking garage, and the cemetery. When she was finished, all he said was, “Okay. Is there anything else you want to mention?”
Cordie couldn’t tell if Alec was irritated with her now or not. Turning to Aiden, she asked, “What time is it in Sydney?”
He didn’t have to think before he answered. “It’s after nine here, so it’s after twelve noon there. Why?”
“I want to call Liam.”
“I’ve been talking to him,” Alec said. “He’s looking into a couple of things and will call me back.”
What couple of things? Before she could ask, he said, “I’ll let you know. You have to be patient, Cordie.”
That was easier said than done. She wanted to help, but she didn’t know how. It was frustrating, and fatigue was taking a toll. At least she didn’t have to worry about getting dark circles under her eyes. The bruises would hide them.
“I hate being helpless,” she admitted.
Aiden actually looked sympathetic. “I know, but you have to let us handle this for now. You’ve suffered quite a trauma.”
The aches and pains she was feeling at the moment told her he was right.
“Regan and I have a favor to ask,” Alec said. His demeanor had changed. He was no longer the professional and serious FBI agent, but her friend.
“What is it?”
“The attorneys still haven’t gotten the papers ready to sign on the house.”
“Would you like me to call them?”
He shook his head. “No, they promised they’ll get it done. But Regan and I were hoping you wouldn’t mind if we moved some of our things into the house now.”
“No, of course I don’t mind. Didn’t Regan want to change the paint color in most of the rooms before you moved?”
“Just two rooms, and the painters will be there tomorrow . . . if that’s okay.”
“Yes, it’s okay. Go ahead and do whatever you want to do.”
Alec left a few minutes later. Aiden walked him to the door, and the two of them stood there talking for several minutes in low tones. They both glanced at her a couple of times, and she knew they were talking about her. She also knew neither one of them would tell her what they were saying, though she was relatively sure it had something to do with keeping her in the hotel.
Alec had e-mailed the video to her before he left. She opened it on her laptop and watched it again. “This video is going to stay in my head for a long time,” she told Aiden when he returned to her.
“Maybe if you stopped watching it . . .”
He had a point. “Okay.”
“Try to think about something else.”
“What a brilliant idea. I never would have thought to do that.”
“Glad I could help,” he replied, totally unfazed by her sarcasm.
He walked back to the table with his laptop and sat down to check a file. Several minutes passed in silence. He was so engrossed in his work, Cordie went into her bedroom and sat on the bed while she pondered what she could do to speed the investigation along. She walked back into the living room. “Aiden, I was wondering . . . ,” she began sweetly.
“What?” Abrupt as always.
“When are you going back to Sydney?”
He stopped typing and looked at her. “Why?”
“I’d like to go with you.”