The Witness

Chapter Thirteen

LUKE TOOK HIS PERSONAL CAR Saturday morning east of town to the roadside deli Amy had given him directions to. He pulled into the eighth spot east of the doors next to the Dumpster and a lumbering semi, and a minute later she tapped on his side window. He unlocked the door and she slid inside, locking it again behind her.

“Don’t tell me you were out running this morning.” She was dressed in sweats, the hood up, gloves on, breathing hard and still sweating under that sweat-suit jacket.

“Five miles or so. I thought I was going to be late.” She braced her foot on his dash and tugged off her left tennis shoe to shake out a rock.

He shook his head at that and turned to back out of the spot. “You’re okay with no transportation of your own?”

“Would you let me drive around if I had a car?”

“No.”

“That’s what I figured. And in a serious pinch I can get as resourceful as I need to be.”

“Sam.”

“I suppose I shouldn’t tell you everything he taught me over the years.”

“I don’t suppose you should.” He turned onto the interstate, watching his rearview mirror for any signs he had a tail this morning. It had looked clean on the way over, but he wasn’t ready to say he was positive he wasn’t being followed. He would be sure before he headed toward their final destination. “So tell me how the last couple days have been. You’re not carrying luggage or any sign of that ledger you’ve been protecting.”

“Just because I agreed to come in doesn’t mean I’m shutting down the safe places I’ve got in the city. They’re going dormant for a while is all. And you can feel free to stop at a local Wal-Mart so I can get the basics in clothes for a few days. Marie still has my wardrobe from New York in storage boxes she said, too sentimental to want to discard my things, and they should still fit. I bought great stuff after I got out of the army, and most of it is coming back in style again.”

“We’ll stop to buy a few days of casual clothes,” he agreed. “Breakfast?”

“The nearest drive-thru would be great.”

He smiled. “You sound like you’re in a good mood.”

She shrugged. “The decision is made. Until I make a different one, this is the new take on the days. I am nervous, Luke, that you haven’t got things as prepared as you think you have, that I’ll take a look around and say you have to take me back. But I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt.”

“We’ll know in about an hour then.”

She turned to face him. “So what’s been happening that I need to know about?”

“It’s been remarkably quiet. There’s been some talk in New York about your sisters, but the men we’re most concerned about are still around their usual haunts; when they travel we should hear about it. Word on the streets here doesn’t have anyone asking questions about you, so if your tails have arrived they are still laying low.”

“And with Tracey and Marie? Any repercussions there?”

Luke smiled. “Besides calls wanting to know if you’ve made contact again? They’re worried about you, excited you’re alive, offering money, people, anything at all that might help out. I put Sam on it to try and slow them up. It’s going to take a while before they can accept the patience that is needed right now.”

“I saw the newspapers. There were photos of them getting back from their dates Thursday night-Marie and Connor, Tracey and Marsh. You can tell the guys were not pleased to have flashbulbs going off in their faces. Can’t anything be done about the reporters bugging them?”

“A new, more interesting story will eventually show up; until then your sisters are the most interesting story around here. The newspapers have run a couple stories recently about Henry Benton, your aunt, and brought up some of the details about your apparent death in New York.”

“You know it’s only a matter of time before the headline reads ‘Oldest Sister Still Alive?’ and they repeat the rumor mill out of New York. Marie will have her hands full when that happens.”

“You can’t stop a free press. If a newspaper reporter gets ambitious enough to run that story with rumors you are alive or goes to the lengths to see Richard Wise in prison, we’ll cope with it when it happens.”

“You’ll have early word it’s coming?”

“I see a faxed list of people who visit Richard Wise every day; the cops in New York are providing whatever they hear on the streets. But until you are ready to admit to the New York cops you are alive, there is only so much I can do under cover of protecting your sisters. You know they’ll want you to testify against the shooter.”

“I didn’t see his face, just the jacket he wore and the center of his chest.”

Luke looked over at her. “And I’ll believe that when I think you don’t have solid reasons to lie to me about it. You saw the shooter, Amy, either at the scene or during the attempt to escape him afterward. I won’t push on that until I need to, since you don’t want a material-witness warrant issued on you, but don’t think I’ll dodge that question forever.”

He turned off the interstate to take his first detour through a subdivision, looking for any cars that might be following him through the turns. “You were hit in that shooting; where did you go to seek medical treatment?”

“Not a hospital.”

She hadn’t liked the warning he’d given about the shooter’s ID; he accepted that but still thought it best to push. He didn’t want buried secrets on him. “A less-than-reputable doctor then?”

“An army buddy helped me out,” she admitted.

“How bad were you hurt?”

“Enough to know I never want to be shot again. It healed. Where are we going?”

“In circles at the moment.” He pulled to the curb in front of a nice two-story colonial in a neighborhood of similar homes and watched the street behind him. “We’ll eventually depart the other entrance to this subdivision, opposite of where we came in.”

“You think you were followed?”

“No. But it’s good practice for when I find I might be. Your sisters are practicing a good form of staying in plain sight and not going anywhere; that is going to get frustrating for whoever is watching them after a while. That will leave following the people your sisters see occasionally-their new cousin, Sam, Connor and Marsh, me.”

“It was so much simpler when it was just me.”

He smiled. “Only in some respects. You could be dead and the rest of us would just be furious with you for not letting us help.” He pulled away from the curb. “How long do you need for doing your shopping?”

“Fifteen-twenty minutes, max.”

He chose a store halfway to their final destination. “Pick me up a package of AA batteries too.” He handed her an envelope. “Your sisters insisted, so don’t jump on me about the cash. It’s already yours.”

“Fine.” She pushed the envelope into her pocket. “I won’t be long.”

Luke held the car door open for Amy. “Do you like the country?”

She glanced around before looking at him and smiling. “I guess I’m going to learn.”

There was crushed gravel under their feet, the long driveway not paved, and still a long walk ahead to reach the house. Luke’s dogs were already here and came racing to meet them. Two other German shepherds tagged along. “The shepherds are Zack and Obby and belong to Caroline.”

Amy knelt to get acquainted. “More cop dogs. I should be relieved, but I think I’m getting surrounded.”

Luke chuckled and ruffled Chester’s fur while he tossed the ball Wilks had brought him. “They like the open territory to run.”

“I didn’t get to meet Caroline Thursday.”

He looked around the property. “There she is.” He nodded toward the barn, where Caroline was closing the large swinging doors. “I’ll let her show you around the house; it apparently struck her fancy when she saw it.”

“You’re not into the big outdoors.”

Luke smiled. “Not as much as I am the convenience of a grocery store and gas station a block away from my house. And winters out here can give you a lot of snow to shovel and push around.”

She laughed and he relaxed. This was going to work out okay.

Caroline had been out somewhere on the property taking its measure, Luke thought. She still wore work gloves, and the farmer’s coat was spotted with mud. And if he wasn’t mistaken, that was her service revolver being worn on her belt and something of the cop’s gaze he remembered as she walked over to join them, relaxed but alert. “Amy, I’d like you to meet Caroline St. James. Caroline, Amanda Griffin.”

“Hello, Amy.”

“Caroline. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

They shook hands and it was a quiet sizing up. Caroline smiled and gestured to the house. “Come on in-let me show you around. We’ll see what you think of this place.”

She led the way up the stone walk path to the front door. It opened into a small closed-in porch that had several closets, pegs for coats, two brooms, snow shovels, and a place to sit and pull off boots.

Caroline stepped out of her shoes and hung up her coat. “The house is old, a farmhouse rebuilt over the years to incorporate central heating, a modern kitchen, and a spacious living room taking advantage of the original fireplace. The barn and additional buildings out back have been converted into a garage and self-contained heated workshop and private study. There are four bedrooms upstairs under the attic eaves, and the grounds cover a quarter section, about a hundred sixty acres. The nearest neighbors have places that are close to two hundred acres of tillable land with a stretch of woods along the river. Beyond a mailman and those two neighbors, it’s a private road.” She opened the door into the living area of the home and let Amy walk through to make her own impressions.

Luke stepped inside after her. He thought immediately that it was a good fit. Warm rugs, colorful fabric on seat cushions, ample seating, and a lot of polished hardwood floors that looked to be refurbished original boards. “The larger windows really brighten up the rooms.”

Amy wandered through the door to the left, and Luke followed. It was a well-laid-out kitchen, with long countertops compensating for the fact there wasn’t room for an island. The kitchen table was covered with a blue-checked tablecloth.

“How did you find this place?” Luke asked, looking back at Caroline.

“Family connections. They travel now they are retired and hate to have the place sit empty. He’s a former arson investigator; he understands it’s more than a simple lodger needing a place to stay. We’ll up the insurance policy to cover any unfortunate actions. Daniel already has the paperwork in place if you’re comfortable saying yes.”

“It’s different than I expected,” Amy remarked.

“You were thinking gated community and patrolled grounds and the controlled surroundings.”

“Yes.”

“I’d go stir-crazy,” Caroline said, smiling. “I’ll take forewarning that someone is coming and leave it at that. There are several places in this home you can actually disappear to if necessary. Somewhere way in the past the owner of this place must have run moonshine on the side or else been part of the Underground Railroad, because he’s got the most elaborate network of storm cellars and storage drops on this property I’ve ever seen. I was checking out one of them when you arrived. I’ll give you the tour of them later and keys to the various vehicles around here. I saw two all-terrain-type runabouts in the far building.”

Amy looked at Luke. “Your dogs can stay?”

“They can.”

“Then I guess I need to get my stuff out of the car.”

Luke offered his keys. “I’ll help you carry in a second.”

Amy headed outside.

“Thanks, Caroline.”

“I haven’t done anything yet.”

“You’ve read her right, on the need to keep her from feeling trapped in somewhere. You’ve got phone numbers for Jonathan if you need more help quietly on the side out here? There could be a few guys watching that private road, the back ways onto the land, without Amy ever knowing they are there.”

“There’s one already out there mapping the area for when that information is needed later. They’ll have more guys around whenever you arrange for Marie and Tracey to be here. Can you stay for lunch?”

“I’d better pass. I’ve already disappeared for a few hours; it’s best I show up at the office, and I’m overdue for stopping in to see my sister. I’ll plan to come out for a late dinner tomorrow night and talk with Amy then about her sisters visiting.”

“Why don’t I plan to disappear about then for a few hours and give you two some privacy?”

Luke smiled. “The relationship is hardly progressing past friends, Caroline. You won’t be in the way.”

“It’s not ever going to progress that far if you don’t give it room to do so. Amy and I will fix dinner together, and I’ll have other things to do tomorrow night. Do you know if Marsh has given Tracey the ring yet? I don’t want to be stepping into new news yet.”

“Not the last I’d heard.”

“What is with that man? He dithered something terrible on figuring out the right ring to buy and he keeps it stuck in his pocket? It’s not like him.”

“Money changes things.”

“If it has, he’s not being quite as bright as I would have thought. Go help Amy get her things; I’ll show her the bedrooms and then unload my own luggage.”

Amy leaned her hand against the bedroom window and watched the wind stir the trees behind the house. The anonymity of her life on the run had been a blessing, no one knowing the truth beyond the basic fabric she told them. It wasn’t going to be as easy as she had hoped to relax in this new world where people around her knew who she really was. But Caroline seemed like a nice-enough lady. A lot more interesting than Amy had expected for a cop. And it hadn’t taken much time to see there was history between Caroline and Luke, a comfort that went beyond what she’d expect for a cop and the police chief.

She left the bedroom she had chosen-the corner room with the wedding-ring quilt on the bed and bookshelves tucked under the attic eaves and braided rugs over the hardwood floors-and walked downstairs. She found Caroline in the kitchen. “What did you do in the army?”

Caroline looked up from the ham she was slicing.

“Luke told me,” Amy offered.

Caroline nodded. “Military intelligence. What about you?”

“Logistics.”

“Miss it?”

“Yeah.”

“So do I,” Caroline confided. “Want one of these, or would you prefer turkey? I stopped at the deli on the way over.”

“Ham is fine.” Amy found the bread knife and sliced open a loaf of sourdough bread. “So what’s the plan for today?”

“Television reception is not great, hence the stack of DVDs in the living room. I thought I’d take one of those four-wheel, all-terrain toys for a ride and see what kind of wildlife is around that the dogs haven’t already spooked away. You’re welcome to join me, or you could spend a couple hours exploring the house.”

“I’ll come along. I spend too much of my days inside as it is.” Amy found the refrigerator fully stocked and got out sodas. “How’s the security around here going to work?”

“I’ve got a small pocket phone for you to carry. Within about a hundred yards of this house when you touch number one it is automatically on intercom mode with mine. My actual phone number is speed-dial two and Granger’s speed-dial three. The dogs are the primary warning for company, and we’ll keep an eye out on the road. For vehicles we don’t know-you disappear from sight and let me check them out. If trouble arrives-we make a deal now that you only run; I don’t want any help. Either go to a safe hiding spot or grab a vehicle and go.”

“I don’t like that idea, but I’ll agree to it.”

“My job is to make sure someone coming after you has to go through me first, and whoever tries will find I’m more prepared for trouble than they expect.” Caroline smiled. “I don’t expect more than the mailman or maybe a neighbor out here. But the faster we both know these grounds like the back of our hands the better. I don’t think we need gobs of security people around who will attract more attention than we need.”

“Like the telephone guy working down on the east road.”

“You noticed him?”

“Granger pointed him out as one of Jonathan’s guys. I’m slowly learning the faces.”

“He’s tightening up phone service for me so it’s not that easy to cut our communications, putting in a relay station for the cellular phones.” Caroline stacked the sandwiches together. “What I could use is your taking a look at the photos from New York and telling me who you would consider as faces I should be watching for.”

Amy knew the suggestion was really Luke’s, another way to nibble at the identity of the shooter and what she had seen the night Greg was killed, but it was a reasonable and necessary request. “I can recognize a few of the people Greg did business with,” she replied, “but the two that have been on my tail recently-they weren’t from New York that I could tell.”

“I think the feds hired them.”

“What?”

“You’ve been appearing at random over the years to hand over information, which was making them some good cases and helping them get noticed and promoted; they wanted you to come in with everything you had and compel you to testify. Two investigators on your tail for twenty months-that’s not Richard Wise-that’s someone with rules they have to operate within. The cop you were working with probably had no say in the matter or even knew the tail was being planned.”

She hadn’t even seriously considered that option, but it was this cop’s first opinion. “Maybe. I admit to being surprised I lived through our last encounter. They were waiting for me when I got home from work.”

“What happened?”

“I have a habit of watching a place before I enter, and one of them was too near a window even in the darkened house. Since they knew the location and probably had seen the safe houses I’d arranged in the area, I got out the hard way-hitchhiking cross country with a truck driver and his wife, even doing part of the driving for a stretch of Nebraska. A long state, Nebraska-you wake up to the sun and see it set all in the same state.”

Caroline smiled. “Are you really ready to be back to stay?”

“No, but there aren’t choices anymore. The money my sisters just walked into says they’re in as much, if not more, danger than I am. Richard knows I’ve got only a few million of his cash left, if that, if he’s assuming I spent part of it over the years.”

“Why don’t you turn in the last ledger and cash and at least clear away one item you carry? Your sisters-the gallery and apartment are going to be a secure fortress the way the guys are going.”

“I’ve got the ledger tucked in a safe place a long way from here, and I don’t want to have to leave for the week it would take to turn the ledgers in. And after what you said, I don’t think I’ll be returning to Texas to make the drop either.”

“We could fly out and get the book, and I could make the delivery for you. There’s no need for you to become a material witness on cases they can make without you.”

“New York will want me to testify about the shooting.”

“Only if they get enough to convince them they can make the case against the shooter. A witness testimony but without the gun, without cooperating motive for who hired the shooter-it’s your word against his, and a DA is not going to make that case when he has to deal with the fact you’ve been on the run for years with stolen money and books. The defense attorney will make waves that you were the one who hired the hit on Greg.”

“And you begin to get the picture for why it was easier to just stay out there on my own this last stretch of time. Cops have more pushing on them than my welfare.”

“I know. Luke gave me carte blanche, by the way, to not tell him stuff. Where you go, who you see, what you do-the only thing he expects is that I take the bullet if someone starts shooting at us.”

“Thanks for mucking with my head; that image isn’t going to leave soon.”

“Well, we’ll have to compromise on it because I doubt I’ve got the reflexes to take the bullet for you. I’ll do my best to make sure you’re not in a place someone can easily shoot you. That’s about my limit.”

“Let’s hope it never gets even close to that.”

Caroline took her plate over to the table. “You want to borrow some boots for today? I think we’re about the same size.”

“Sure.”

“Let’s go explore while the sun is up and making it warmer. Tonight is forecast to be a bear of a cold front coming in, and tomorrow I doubt we want to move from the house.”