Justice

SEVEN

Melissa was waiting when they arrived back at their motel room. Maddock hadn’t wanted her to go home yet, just in case the Sons of the Republic wanted another go at the Mount Vernon staff. He wasn’t worried about being discovered, as Bones had booked their room under the name Elvis Lennon, for reasons known only to him.

“I’m so glad you’re all right!” she said as the two SEALs walked through the door. She threw her arms around Maddock, gave him a tight squeeze, and then quickly drew away. “What did you find out?”

“Right down to business, huh?” Maddock asked, a little disappointed she hadn’t greeted him with a kiss.

“This is a scary situation and I want to know what’s going on.”

“Fill her in, Maddock.” Bones dropped down on one of the queen beds, his size thirteen feet hanging off the end as they did nearly everywhere Maddock had seen him sleep.

Maddock quickly recounted what they had learned, omitting the part where a guy held a Desert Eagle in his face.

“It’s obviously the mysterious journal they’re looking for,” she said. “That must be what Washington wanted Lafayette to have.” She frowned. “But there’s something I don’t understand. Washington lived for several years after this letter was written, and he would have had opportunities to give the journal to Lafayette.”

“Wright is certain it didn’t get to Lafayette,” Bones said quickly. He glanced at Maddock, who knew what his friend was thinking. Avoid the subject of Washington’s death. Not for the first time, Maddock wondered if he’d always be forced to keep secrets from the people he cared about.

“Let’s assume he went ahead and handed the journal off to this ‘most reliable man.’ Any idea who that would be?” Maddock asked.

A knock at the door cut off Melissa’s reply.

Bones and Maddock sprang to their feet. Had the Sons found them?

“It’s Sterling,” a familiar voice said from the other side of the door.

“How did she find us?” Bones muttered as he headed for the door.

Sterling pushed the door open as soon as Bones had cracked it, forcing him to jump out of the way and back into the motel bathroom. She showed no signs of the brief detente from the previous day.

“You two haven’t reported back to me,” she said, closing the door behind her and locking it.

“We decided to stake out Edmonia Jennings Wright’s house. We questioned one of her men, a guy named Guter, and he pointed us in the right direction.”

Sterling crossed her arms. “And he just willingly shared the information with you?”

Bones stepped in front of her. “We can be very persuasive. Don’t you want to hear what happened next?”

“I sure as hell don’t want to hear what you did to get him to talk, but I doubt I’m going to like what happened next any better.”

Maddock said, “No, you won’t. You asked for our aid, so we took action. We got some information and we might need you to grease the rails as we move forward. So either head on back to Virginia or stop busting our chops and start working with us.”

Sterling didn’t back down, but some fire had left her voice. “You know I have the power to arrest you.”

“Sure. But you already told us your pursuit is unofficial. My guess is that actually arresting us is the last thing you want to do.”

She stared at Maddock for a long moment before lowering herself into a chair next to the room’s small desk and lamp. “I’m not going to apologize, but I’ll admit you have a point. Tell me what you know.”

Maddock and Bones told her everything Guter had said, as well as the subsequent events at Wright’s house, including the presence of the man from the security video at Mount Vernon.

Sterling considered this. “So, any idea who Washington’s trusted man was?”

“That’s what we were talking about when you arrived,” Maddock paused, a sudden thought hitting him. “You know what? I’ve been overthinking this!”

“No! Not you!” Bones jibed.

“Bite me. Anyway, I think I know who the person is.”