Any one of those vehicles could be carrying the man who had attacked her in Frederick, she thought. Or whoever had set the bomb in her car.
The thought that she might be sharing the road with a killer made her stomach tighten. She forced herself to take deep breaths past the sudden constriction in her chest.
Stay focused, she told herself. Keep your eyes on the goal.
It was a relief when she reached the outskirts of Dulles, Virginia, and the relentless darkness of the highway gave way to well-lit civilization. The endless stream of lights behind her became vehicles she could recognizeeighteen-wheeler trucks, expensive sports cars, sturdy SUVs and the occasional pickup truck.
Including a familiar-looking blue pickup just a few cars behind her.
Her heart skipping a beat, she checked her rearview mirror again to be certain.
It was the same truck shed seen following her on the highway into Frederick yesterday.
She didnt like using her cell phone when she was driving. But she found herself reaching for the phone anyway. She shoved it into the dashboard holder and pulled up the farmhouse number on her contacts list. The phone rang twice before Jim Mercer answered, his deep voice instantly reassuring. Hello?
Jim, its Lacey Miles. She glanced at her mirror and saw the blue pickup keeping pace with her, staying a couple of vehicles back. Swallowing her fear, she forced the words past her lips. I think Im being followed.
Chapter Four
The fear in Laceys voice caught Jim by surprise. She normally seemed so composed and competent that her shivery words made his chest tighten with alarm. Tell me whats happening. What makes you think youre being followed?
The other day, before I got to the employment agency, I thought I saw a blue pickup truck following me. I left the highway early, and it passed on by, so I didnt think about it again. But the same truck is behind me right now.
Are you sure its the same truck?
There was a brief pause. I think it is. Her voice took on a sheepish tone. I guess Im not sure. Its dark out. Maybe Im wrong about the color. Im sorry. Im probably overreacting.
Where are you?
I just passed the exit to Dulles.
Dulles? She was nearly to DC. I dont suppose you could cancel whatever you had going on tonight and come back here?
There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and Jim realized the question was entirely inappropriate coming from a nanny shed just hired that day on a probationary basis.
Im sure Im overreacting, she repeated. I shouldnt have called. She hung up without saying anything further.
Jim pressed his head against the wall, feeling stupid. He had to remember why shed hired him. She was expecting him to take care of Katie, not protect her from whoever was trying to kill her. He couldnt come across as overprotective of her.
Katie looked up at him from her seat on the floor, where she was playing with brightly colored letter blocks. Wacey? she asked.
Yeah, that was your aunt Lacey, he answered, settling himself on the floor in front of Katie, trying to decide what to do next. If he called Lacey back, shed be suspicious. But what if that blue pickup really was following her? And why was she going to DC in the first place? A date? A meeting with the network?
Or had she been lured into a trap?
He bit back a curse, pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Laceys number.
She answered on the first ring. What? she asked, her voice tight. He couldnt tell if she was worried or impatient. Maybe both.
Look, I know you think youre overreacting, but at least stay on the phone with me until you get where youre going safely.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. For a moment, he thought shed hung up on him, but then she said, The trucks still back there.
Has it gotten any closer?
No. It hasnt turned off or fallen back, either.
Wacey? Katie queried, looking up at him with troubled gray eyes.
Yes, Katiebug.
Dont worry her, Lacey said quickly. Kids can sense things.
I know. He pasted a smile on his face until Katies expression cleared and she went back to playing with her blocks. He spoke calmly into the phone. I know you dont want to tell me where youre going
Im meeting someone at the Vietnam memorial.
He started to frown but froze his expression before Katie could pick up on his anxiety. Theres no parking near the memorial.
I know. Im going to park at my apartment in Arlington and take a cab into the city. She released a soft sigh. I thought it would be safe. There are always tourists at the memorial. A wide-open public place.
Maybe not in this weather. And you have to get there first.
I know. I should have thought it through more. She sounded angry, but Jim knew it was self-directed. Im not used to being afraid of my shadow. I dont want to get used to it.
Maybe you should call and reschedule whatever this meeting is.
I cant. It might be something I need to know.
Jim lowered his voice, even though Katie didnt seem to be listening to him any longer. About the bomb?
I dont know. Maybe about the bomb. I got a message from one of my State Department contacts. Said he had some information I could use. I didnt get the details, but Ive dealt with this person before. Hes been reliable.
Was meeting at the war memorial his idea or yours?
His.
And youre sure you can trust this guy?
Im not sure about anything right now, Lacey answered, her voice taut with frustration. Sometimes I think my whole life has been turned upside down and I dont know where to go or whom to trust.
Anything he could say in answer to that lament would probably make her suspicious, he knew. So he fell silent a moment, waiting for her to speak.
Finally, she said, Im in Arlington now. I should be at my apartment in a couple of minutes.
Is your parking place outside or in a garage?
Private garage. Lots of security. I should be okay until I leave the garage.
You want me to hang up so you can call a cab?
No. Im going to go up to my apartment. I need to grab a few things anyway. Thats why I left an hour early. I can call the cab from my landline. Listen, Im at the garage entrance. I always lose cell coverage in the garage, so Im going to hang up. Ill call you back in five minutes, when I get to my apartment.
Be careful, he said softly, smiling at Katie, who had looked up sharply at his words.
Five minutes, she said and ended the call.
Five minutes, Katiebug. We can handle waiting five minutes, cant we?
Katie gazed back at him, her expression troubled.
He held out his hands, and she pushed to her feet and toddled into his arms. He hugged her close, breathing in the sweet baby smell of her, and settled his gaze on the mantel clock.
Five minutes.
* * *
THERE HAD BEEN a time when her apartment had been nothing short of a sanctuary. It was her home base, the place where the craziness of the world she traveled as part of her career couldnt touch her. Here, she was just Lacey Miles, sister and aunt. Good neighbor and, when she could find time to socialize, a halfway decent friend and girlfriend.
Five minutes.
* * *
THERE HAD BEEN a time when her apartment had been nothing short of a sanctuary. It was her home base, the place where the craziness of the world she traveled as part of her career couldnt touch her. Here, she was just Lacey Miles, sister and aunt. Good neighbor and, when she could find time to socialize, a halfway decent friend and girlfriend.
Until the night Marianne and Toby had died.
Just a couple of days ago, she remembered, shed wanted nothing more desperately than to come home to this condo and try to recapture that sense of safety and calm. But as she walked through the apartment, listening to the silence enveloping her, she felt as if shed walked into a strange world shed never seen before.
Furniture shed spent weeks shopping for looked alien to her, possessions that belonged to a different person from a different time. The vibrant abstract painting on the wall shed found in a little art studio a few blocks away seemed lifeless, stripped of its beauty and meaning.
She pushed the thought aside and headed to her bedroom. When shed moved into the farmhouse, it had been an impulsive choice. An attempt at escaping reality, if she was brutally honest with herself. The apartment was a vivid reminder of that night, of the phone call and the police visit that had shattered her life. Shed packed in haste, almost frantic to get out of this place, away from those memories. The farmhouse was a connection to her sister, but one without any memories to haunt her. Shed never even been there. Marianne and Toby had still been living in the city when the bombing happened. The farmhouse had still been a project, not a home.
Surveying the contents of her closet, she looked past the sleek, vividly colored dresses she wore on air. They had no place in her life at the moment. Pushing them to one side, she selected several sweaters and coats, the fleece-lined outerwear that shed need, since the weather forecasters were predicting a snowy late winter. Rolling them up, she packed them in a medium-sized suitcase and set the bag by the front door so she wouldnt forget it.
She picked up the phone sitting on an antique cherry table by the door and called for a cab. A car would be there in ten minutes, the cab company promised. It would make her a few minutes late for her meeting with Ken Calvert, she realized, but it couldnt be helped. Meanwhile, it gave her time to pack the bag in her car for the trip home.
She was halfway down to the garage when she realized she hadnt called the nanny back.
Jim Mercer answered on the first ring, his voice tight with tension. Is something wrong?
No, she said quickly, surprised by his tone.
You were in the garage a long time. Longer than five minutes.
I got busy. I packed a few things Im going to need at the farm and I had to call a cab. She felt guilty, which was ridiculous. The man was her nanny, not her keeper. Why did she feel the need to explain herself to him? I think you may be right. That truck was probably just headed to town like I was.
Id still feel better if you stayed on the phone until you reach the memorial.
Id feel better if you were concentrating on Katie.
Shes right here, Jim said. We ate while we were waiting for your call. Now shes half-asleep in her high chair.
Did she make a mess with her food?
No more than the average two-year-old. Ill clean her up before I put her to bed.
Lacey felt a quiver of envy. Most of the time, she felt completely out of her element with Katie, but the one thing both of them enjoyed was that brief time between dinner and bedtime, when Katie was drowsy and at her sweetest. She loved bedtime stories, and Lacey loved telling them. Theyd cuddle in the rocking chair in Katies pretty yellow nursery while Lacey spun the familiar old tales of princesses and evil queens, wicked wolves and hapless pigs, evil old crones and two hungry children lost in the woods.
Give her a kiss for me. She reached the elevator to the garage. Im about to lose my connection again. Im heading to the garage to put my bag in the car so I dont forget it.
Ill get Katie cleaned up and in bed while Im waiting for your call back. Jims voice was firm.
I think we need to have a talk about whos the boss and whos the nanny, she muttered.
You were attacked a couple of days ago, and now you think youre being followed by the same blue truck that followed you that day. On top of what happened to your sister Jims voice cut off abruptly. Im sorry.
You said the guy who attacked me drove off in a van.
He was the passenger in the van. But when he attacked, he came from the opposite direction, right?
Yeah.
Maybe he had the blue truck parked nearby.
As much as she wanted to talk herself into believing she was letting her imagination run away with her, Jim had a point. Okay, okay. Ill call you back. All right? But Ive got to go down to the parking garage now, or Ill miss my cab. She hung up the phone and shoved it into her pocket.
A woman exited the elevator when it opened. She looked up in surprise at Lacey, her expression shifting in the now-familiar pattern of recognition, dismay and pity. The woman smiled warily at Lacey as they passed each other, and for a moment Lacey feared her neighbor was going to express some sort of awkwardly worded sympathy, but the elevator door closed before either of them could speak, and she relaxed back against the wall of the lift, glad to have dodged another in a long line of uncomfortable moments.
Nobody knew how to express condolences for Laceys bereavement. Lacey herself would have been at a loss for the right words. How do you say Im sorry your sister was murdered in your place without making everything a whole lot worse?
She stashed her suitcase in the trunk of her sisters Impala and took the elevator back to the lobby to wait for the cab to arrive. As promised, she dialed her home number. Jim answered immediately, his voice slightly muffled by a soft swishing sound Lacey couldnt quite make out. Thanks for calling me back. I know you think Im overstepping my bounds.
Surprised by his apology, she bit back a smile. I know youre just concerned for my safety.
But youre a smart, resourceful woman whos made her way through war zones. I know you know how to take care of yourself. A touch of humor tinted his voice. I mean, I saw you with that tire iron the other day.
She released a huff of laughter, some of her tension dispelling. Still, it doesnt hurt to have someone out there watching your back, right? Even if its over the phone.
Whens the cab supposed to arrive?
She glanced at her watch. Should be anytime now. Hows Katie?
I got about three pages into Goodnight Moon before she fell asleep. Im just washing up from dinner now.
That explained the swishing sound. It was the water running in the sink. You know, we have a dishwasher.
I know. But when Im worried, I like to keep my hands busy.
I thought you knew you didnt have to worry about me. She looked up as lights flashed across the lobby glass. Probably her cab arriving.
Knowing you can take care of yourself is not the same thing as not worrying about your safety, he murmured in a low, raspy tone that sent a ripple of animal awareness darting up her spine. It had been a while since anyone outside of Marianne had really worried about her safety, she realized. Her bosses at the network wouldnt have been happy for her to be killed on assignment, of course, but she knew it was more about liability and the loss of a company asset than about her as a person.