His eyes narrowed. He pulled his hand from the girl's shirt. "Now, exactly who's gonna make me do that?"
Andie felt the urge to pop him. Before she could speak, the girl stepped forward and glared with contempt. Her speech was slurred from whatever she'd inhaled two minutes ago. "Get outcha here, bish. Dis is my trick."
Andie froze, not sure what to say. There was a rumble behind the desk. The clerk had a shotgun on the counter.
"Get out," he said, aiming at Andie. "Or you're a stain on the wall."
Andie glanced again at the girl. She was barely able to stand but mad enough to shout. "Beat it, slut!"
The hammer cocked on the shotgun. The clerk meant business. Andie hoisted her duffel bag, turned away, and left. The door slammed behind her.
"Get lost, bish!"
The night air chilled her face. For twenty paces down the dark sidewalk the shouting followed her. It wasn't the men. Only the girl continued to deride her, showering her with slurred profanity.
She kept walking. The shrill voice faded, but the knot in her stomach tightened.
Kira had lost a turf war. Andie had found her demons.
Chapter Thirty-Nine.
The FBI had set up a trap and trace on all of the Wheatley phone lines, so Gus knew they were immediately on the call, even if it was just three tones and a hang-up. An agent he had never met, some guy named Mel Haveres, had called to tell him they were pursuing it. Haveres couldn't say where Agent Henning was, and Gus still couldn't get her to call him back.
For whatever reason, the FBI was being awfully cagey as to Andie's whereabouts. Gus talked it over with Dex, who suggested they try someone outside the FBI, like Detective Kessler. Gus didn't exactly feel like he had a rapport with Kessler, not after their rocky start. It only made sense to let Dex do the digging.
At eight-thirty Dexter Bryant came by the house to report back. A face-to-face meeting was the only reliable way to make sure the FBI wasn't listening. They sat at the kitchen table. Carla served coffee, a polite way of trying to invite herself into the conversation. Ever since Gus had confided in her about Shirley Borge, she seemed to think she was automatically in the loop. But Gus had a feeling she was a pipeline to Morgan, telling her things she didn't need to know. So out she went.
"What did you find out?" asked Gus.
Dex poured a generous amount of milk into his steaming cup. "He doesn't know what's up with Henning. Didn't care to speculate either."
"Does he know about Shirley Borge?"
"I don't think so. But I had to tap dance around that subject pretty lightly. If the FBI hasn't brought him into the loop, I didn't want to be the one to come out and spill the beans."
"I just wish somebody would tell me they're following up on her tip."
Dex sipped his coffee, then added even more milk. "Kessler can't help you there."
"I can't believe they would just drop the ball."
"I don't think they have," said Dex.
"What makes you say that?"
"Just the way this is playing out. Kessler's in the dark. You're in the dark. I think Henning is probably snooping around Yakima as we speak."
"You mean like an undercover thing?"
"That's the way the FBI operates. Don't tell anybody squat. Which sucks from your perspective. But that's why they so rarely lose an agent."
"But that's just your guess, right? There's no way to verify that they're taking Shirley's tip seriously."
"I can't call FBI headquarters and get a list of everybody working undercover this week, if that's what you mean." Gus rubbed his face, groaning. "So what do we do? Sit here and wait?"
"That's one option," said Dex. "Or I could go to Yakima."
Gus perked up. "Or maybe I should."
"Gus, you're a lawyer. A corporate lawyer."
He was suddenly pensive, not listening. "It makes sense. That's what Shirley was telling me. She said, check it out. Check it out yourself. She was saying I need to go."
"You're reading too much into that."
"Think about it. Let's say Andie Henning is over in Yakima now. What in the world is she looking for? If there's some clue over there about Beth, I'm the one who's going to recognize it. Not some FBI agent who's never met her."
Dex didn't argue.
"It's settled, then," said Gus. "Carla can watch Morgan. I'm going to Yakima."
Andie took a room at the Thunderbird Motel, which catered more to business people than the drunk-andfalling-down crowd. It was over budget and definitely out of role for the cameo she was playing, but she didn't care. She needed to get away from that girl and that neighborhood, at least for the night.
From her room she called her contact agent, Mel Haveres. Mel was one of the agents assigned to the Wheatley kidnapping team. As long as Andie was undercover, she was required to check in with him. It wasn't a supervisor-subordinate relationship. She just brought him up to date and let him know she was safe. Likewise, he kept her abreast of real world developments.