Page 12 of Fighting for Julia (Laguna Beach Cops #6)

QUANTICO, VIRGINIA

FBI HEADQUARTERS

Miguel and Julia

In the Behavioral Analysis Unit at the FBI headquarters, Trey led Miguel and Julia to his private office as Bureau Chief. It was a coveted position by ambitious men and women with political aims. But not Trey McAdams. He couldn’t be bribed or extorted and that earned him both respect and envy.

As soon as he closed the door, Trey locked eyes with Julia. “What evidence did you remove from Axalia Anderson’s room?”

Julia didn’t blink at his abrupt question. She reached into her coat pocket and handed him Axalia’s journal. “Look at the last entry.”

Trey read it aloud for Miguel’s benefit.

“Now there’s no doubt that Axis and Axalia know your identity, Julia.

They must have seen your mother’s televised press conference.

” He slammed his fist on his desk and cursed.

“I could strangle Dr. Manfredi for ignoring my diagnosis of the Andersons and giving them access to the outside world. Who knows how long they’ve been off their meds.

The level of violence they committed during their escape, the writing on Axis’ wall, and this journal entry speak to the depth of their psychosis. ”

“My family is in danger, and we have no idea where Axis and Axalia are.”

“Since your mother’s public announcement, we’ve increased security around your parents and your brothers and sisters. And in two days, Justice and his team will begin their Secret Service duty.”

“So, where do we go from here?” Julia asked.

“I think it’s time for you and Dr. Manfredi to meet face to face.”

Trey called someone and requested that Dr. Manfredi be taken to an interrogation room.

He, Julia, and Miguel rode an elevator down into the bowels of the building.

Julia had been here twice, escorting highly sought after drug runners to interrogation.

The room where Dr. Manfredi sat waiting at a metal table was approximately eight feet long and twelve feet wide and painted a dull, institutional gray.

Dr. Manfredi wore a crumpled shirt, suit jacket, and pants.

His short light brown hair stood up in greasy spikes all over his head.

Speaking directly into a camera in one corner of the ceiling, he declared, “You can’t keep me prisoner. I have rights.”

“Julia and Miguel, wait here,” Trey ordered. “I’m going in alone for a few minutes.”

Miguel pressed an intercom button so he and Julia could listen to and watch the interview without being seen.

Dr. Elias Manfredi glared at Trey. “You can’t keep me here. I have rights.”

Trey opened a file folder and laid a series of gruesome crime scene photos in front of Dr. Manfredi. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he turned pale. Trey tapped on six photos. “These victims were your colleagues.”

Dr. Manfredi grimaced and averted his gaze.

“No. Don’t look away.” Trey tapped on two more glossy 8x10 photos.

“Two patients with their throats slit. Your patients, Dr. Manfredi. All these victims had rights, too. The right to a reasonable expectation of safety. You unleashed a veritable pair of monsters on them and society at large. All because you were too damn egotistical to listen to me when I explained how dangerous Axis and Axalia were. You violated every single one of my mandates regarding them. The Andersons are incapable of reason or empathy. They will leave a trail of destruction on their way to where exactly, Dr. Manfredi?”

The man shrank beneath Trey’s verbal attack. Guilt and shame replaced the previous fire in his eyes. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know.” Trey removed another photo from the file folder. “I assume you’ve seen Axis’ handiwork. The carvings in the wall of his room.”

Dr. Manfredi’s eyes widened somewhat, and an expression that Julia interpreted as admiration crossed his sweaty face. “So, Axis finished it.”

Trey’s jaw tightened. Anger flared in his unique amber orbs. “Yes, he did. The question is, Dr. Manfredi, who’s Julia?”

The psychiatrist shrugged. “I thought she was a figment of their imagination, though both insisted she was their mother’s long-lost daughter. I conducted online searches of birth records but never found anything.”

“That’s because there isn’t any record of Julia’s birth.” Trey beckoned for Julia to join them.

She met Miguel’s intense stare, and he nodded. Julia took a deep breath and entered the interrogation room.

Startled, Dr. Manfredi exclaimed, “You! You’re?—”

“Julia Washburn, Madam Secretary’s adopted daughter.”

“Adopted,” Dr. Manfredi muttered. “Yes, I knew that. So, is it possible? You’re Axis and Axalia’s half-sister?”

“It’s not only possible, it’s the biological truth.

And now, thanks to you, they know my identity.

My entire family is in danger. So, you’re going to share with us every bit of information you’ve gleaned from the Andersons in your sessions with them, so we can figure out where they might be headed. ”

The interrogation lasted three hours with a break halfway through it when Trey received word from the Feds in Kentucky and Missouri that there had been reports of vehicles stolen and two murders attributed to the Andersons.

Trey passed the license plate numbers to Tex, hoping the computer genius would be able to track the siblings.

The news reports sealed Dr. Manfredi’s fate.

Trey arrested the psychiatrist, charging him with negligence and accessory to murder and a slew of other crimes that a good defense attorney could probably get thrown out, but Trey hoped the worst charges would stick.

“I wish my dad was prosecuting this case,” Trey lamented after Dr. Manfredi had been arraigned and posted bail. “He’d make sure that quack never saw the light of day again.”

“Axis and Axalia are heading west,” Julia remarked as she, Trey, and Miguel left the courthouse. “Do you think they’re on a track for Laguna Beach?”

Miguel spoke up. “I think they’re headed to Mexico.”

The implication wasn’t lost on Julia. However, before she could respond, she received a text message. “My SAC wants to see me immediately at headquarters. I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

“Mind if I tag along?” Miguel asked.

“Not at all.”

“I’m flying to Kentucky,” Trey informed them. “See what I can find out. I’ll keep you posted.”

The trio headed in opposite directions.

On their way to the DEA’s headquarters located across from the Pentagon, Miguel broached the subject of Dr. Manfredi’s interrogation. “It must have been frightening for you to hear all that about the Anderson siblings.”

Julia clenched the wheel of the Suburban.

It had been hair-raising, but she wouldn’t admit it.

“Not frightening. Disturbing. Sad to say, I don’t feel anything for Axis and Axalia, not even pity.

The only thing I have in common with them is half of my DNA.

I’m just grateful that Lola and Julio had the courage to give me up and not look back. I do wonder though…”

“Wonder what?”

“If Lola ever tried to find me. With her money and resources, it wouldn’t have been that difficult.”

“Don’t give it a second thought, Julia. Continue to be grateful that she didn’t.”

When they arrived at the DEA’s headquarters, Julia parked the Suburban and shared some history about the impressive building.

A few years ago, the DEA headquarters underwent a major renovation in phases.

Housed in two buildings, every square foot of space required an upgrade into the twenty-first century, including IT and security.

Now, plenty of large windows, glass-walled offices, and collaborative work areas provided a bright and inspiring environment.

A spacious cafeteria served fresh, healthy food options, and the renovated fitness center offered the most innovative machines.

“We now have our own museum here on campus, a visitors’ center, a media room, and even two courtrooms,” Julia explained.

“Pretty impressive,” Miguel commented. “Shall I wait for you in the cafeteria?”

“No. Come with me. I’ll show you my workstation.”

They headed toward a bank of elevators. Julia used her ID to activate one of them, and they rode it to the fifth floor. Since it was after five o’clock, they stepped into a mostly empty, cavernous space with high-tech computers, gadgets, and open workstations.

Julia greeted one of her lone colleagues who said, “SAC Silver isn’t thrilled with your being MIA for two days. He’s on the warpath because he needs you on a raid going down tomorrow.”

“Thanks for the heads up.”

As Julia and Miguel approached SAC Jerrick Silver’s glassed-in office, they saw him speaking with someone on his cell phone and wildly gesticulating.

“Maybe you’d better wait out here,” she suggested.

“Good idea.”

When SAC Silver caught sight of her, he pointed at her, then at the door. Julia took a half step inside the office and shut the door behind her. SAC Silver ended the call and shouted, “Where the hell have you been, Agent Washburn?”

“I’m sure you heard my mother’s announcement—” Julia broke off when she realized SAC Silver wasn’t listening to her but staring at Miguel.

“What the fuck? Who’s that, and how in God’s name did he get past security?”

Miguel grinned and wiggled his fingers in a silly wave. Julia sucked in her breath, both horrified and amused, and a funny thing happened. Her heart somersaulted.

“Sir, that’s Laguna Beach police officer Miguel Rivera, and he’s here with me. A guest…”

SAC Silver cut her off. “Laguna Beach? I’d heard a contingent of officers from the West Coast had been fast tracked by the President himself to form Madam Secretary’s Secret Service detail.”

His dismissive tone offended Julia. “Chief McQuaid is a former lieutenant commander and a Navy SEAL. When the Navy retired him, my mother sent him to Laguna Beach to investigate illegal arms coming ashore. What he and his officers uncovered was Axel Anderson’s multi-pronged plot to topple America.

They single-handedly stopped him and his brainwashed domestic army and prevented a national catastrophe.

So, yes, sir, Chief McQuaid and his officers were specifically chosen to protect my mother.

Each brings a special skill set to the team, and more importantly, they trust each other. ”

“Huh.” Nothing Julia said made a difference to Silver. “Listen, Agent Washburn, I need your head in the game. You missed the briefing about the raid tomorrow. It’s been confirmed that a large shipment of fentanyl will be delivered to Elba’s Antiques at ten a.m. You’re running point on the op.”

“Why me? As you said, I missed the briefing. Besides, there’s?—”

“What?” Silver interrupted her. “Another photo opportunity?”

Julia resented his snide remark, and her jaw stiffened as she bit back a sharp retort.

She glanced at Miguel who was closely observing her and Silver’s interaction.

The scowl on Miguel’s face indicated he understood the gist of the conversation.

She mentally added intuitive to his skill set, along with loyalty and compassion.

When Miguel made a gesture that meant, want me to punch him, Julia almost snickered.

Turning back to Silver, she replied, “That’s unfair, sir. I’ll join the op.”

“Good. Be here at seven a.m. ready to go.”

“Yes, sir.”

When she and Miguel were alone in the elevator, Julia playfully jabbed him in the ribs. “Your antics almost made me laugh, Miguel.”

“From where I stood it looked like SAC Silver was giving you a hard time.”

“Oh, he was. He’s been petulant ever since he was passed over twice for a promotion. Silver is looking for a big, career-making drug bust so he can move up the chain of command. This raid tomorrow morning isn’t it.”

Outside a light snow began to fall. Julia cranked up the heat in the Suburban and pulled out of the parking lot.

“Are you hungry, Miguel?”

“Starving, actually.”

“There’s a fabulous Cuban restaurant a couple of miles away. It’s warm and intimate. The perfect place on a snowy night.”

“Sounds nice. I love Cuban food.”

Since they didn’t have to wait to be seated, Julia and Miguel chose a table for two in a corner of the small restaurant. They both went to sit in the chair facing the other diners and laughed.

“Habit,” Miguel explained as he held out the chair for Julia.

“Definitely.”

After they ordered shredded pork and beef, black beans and yellow rice, two empanadas, and glasses of Coke, Julia leaned forward and spoke in a low voice. “I want to hear your opinion on Axis and Axalia’s escape from the mental hospital. Do you really believe they’re heading to Mexico?”

Miguel leaned forward, too. She saw tiny flecks of gold in his eyes and smelled the woodsy scent of his skin. Julia’s heart did that funny thing again.

“Yeah, I do. Here’s my theory. Lola told her Anderson children why she had to leave you at the fire station. I think Axis and Axalia are going to Mexico to find your grandfather. And when they do, if they survive the encounter, they’ll promise to deliver you to him.”

A chill ran up Julia’s spine. “Not if I get to them first.”

A waitress delivered their food and asked if they needed anything else. Both shook their heads, and the waitress moved on to another table.

A hard, stubborn expression crossed Miguel’s face. “And how do you propose to do that?”

“By using every resource at our disposal.”

“ Our ?”

“Yes, our . I’m going after the Andersons, and I assume you’re not allowing me to do this by myself.”

Miguel’s lips curved into a slight smile. “Correct. And I have an idea about where they’re headed before turning south to Mexico.”

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

-Carl Sandburg 1916