Page 10 of Final Approach (Lake City Heroes #4)

A short time later, they once again found themselves in the detention center headed down the hallway toward the interrogation room.

Kristine pointed to the room with the one-way mirror and Andrew nodded.

As she’d pointed out, she wasn’t an official investigator for this case.

Her part was done. She’d protected the plane and the passengers.

But she had the time to give feedback on the investigation, and frankly, he was glad to have her perspective.

He might have to request that she be a consultant for the FBI specifically for this case so she could continue to be involved.

Air marshals did not investigate, but her instincts were good and she had a lot to offer.

He sent a text to his SAC with a request to make that happen. He received a thumbs-up in response.

Colleen Pearson was scared. That was Andrew’s first impression when he sat down across from her. Well, who wouldn’t be? A fine tremor ran through her clasped hands, and her pulse fluttered visibly in her throat.

Nathan leaned against the wall near the door and nodded for Andrew to take the lead. After Andrew ran through the preliminaries, he leaned forward. “Ms. Pearson, you’ve declined to have your lawyer present. I recommend that you reconsider.”

“I don’t need to. I’m guilty. I’ll own it.”

“Guilty of what?”

“Letting that man through my security line at the airport. Marcus Brown.” She ran a hand over her lips and swallowed hard. “I had no idea he was going to hijack the plane. I thought it was drugs.”

“Care to start at the beginning?”

She sighed. “Right. The beginning. Which beginning? The beginning of the day my life fell apart when my husband announced he was having an affair and wanted a divorce? Or...” She shrugged.

“The beginning of my stupid spiral four weeks ago when the divorce was final and I made the very bad decision to toast the occasion by getting drunk and then getting behind the wheel?”

“We know about all of that. And truly, we’re sorry for it.” He paused. “You know, we all make the occasional bad decision. Unfortunately, some of those have terrible consequences. Yours affected you and no one else. Thankfully no one died because of it.”

She nodded. “But they could have.”

“Yeah. They could have.” He refused to let his mind go back to that day almost two years ago when his decision had cost an innocent man’s life. He cleared his throat. “So, Marcus Brown.”

“A man contacted me—”

“How?”

“He called my cell phone. Said he knew all about my DUI, my financial hardships.”

“Did you see him? Meet him in person?” Nathan asked.

“No, it was just that phone call. He told me to go out to my mailbox. There was an envelope with ten thousand dollars in it as well as a picture of a man. He said if I wasn’t willing to follow through with his request, then to leave the money where I found it and walk away.

If I took it and tried to steal from him, he’d kill me.

” She pressed a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes for a moment.

“I took the money and did what he asked.”

“Which was?”

She sighed and dropped her hand back to the table. “Let Marcus Brown through security without question.” She frowned. “I was looking for drugs. I didn’t see any, so I felt relief more than anything else.”

“Did you notice an overabundance of glue? Jewelry glue, to be specific.”

She frowned harder. “Yeah, I did. And normally, I would have flagged it, but frankly, I just thought he was taking the kit home to his kid. Like I said, I was relieved I wasn’t letting drugs through.

” Her eyes bounced between Andrew and Nathan.

“But you asked about the glue. What about it? What’d he do? ”

“Used it to make a knife out of wire and a toothbrush.”

Her mouth dropped open into a perfect oval. Then she snapped her lips shut. “And that’s what he used to hijack the plane,” she whispered.

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t know. I never imagined...” She shook her head. “When I didn’t find the drugs, I thought the guy must have changed his mind. I was so glad but worried too. Terrified really.”

“That the guy who left the money would come looking for it?”

“Yes, of course. But I did as he’d asked, so ... I don’t know. I guess I thought that was it. If the guy—Marcus Brown—didn’t do what he was supposed to, then that was between him and the guy who hired us. But then the officers showed up at my house and I knew there was more to it.” She shuddered.

“You haven’t paid the money to stop the foreclosure.”

She shook her head. “I ... couldn’t. I’ve been trying to figure out how to give it back, but the number that called me is out of service. I assume it was a burner. I don’t know what to do with the money. I can’t spend it. I’m so ashamed.” She buried her face in her hands and wept.

Andrew let her cry and rubbed his nose as he thought. Then checked his phone. Still no word from Hank. When she calmed down and had mopped up her face, he asked, “Are you familiar with the Serpentine Network?”

She blinked. “The gang? Of course. Why?”

“Do you see many of them getting on planes?”

“Yeah, sometimes. Probably more than we actually identify. Not all of them have their tats on display. But even if we do pinpoint someone, unless the person is on the TSA watch list or the No Fly List or contraband is found on his person during the screening, we don’t have a valid reason to keep them off the flight.

” She picked at a ragged fingernail and shook her head.

“You know as well as I do that gang membership alone isn’t sufficient legal justification to detain a person.

We’d need a warrant for their arrest. Or proof they’re a member of a terrorist organization. ”

“And yet you took a bribe to let Mr. Brown through your line.”

She bit off another fingernail. “I honestly wasn’t sure if I could do it when it came down to it, but when all he had was a jewelry case and more glue than would normally be allowed, yeah, I let him through.”

“He’d switched it out for superglue. And he could have killed a plane full of people because of it.”

“Yes,” she said, closing her eyes and dropping her chin to her chest, “yes, he could have.”

Andrew and Nathan stepped out of the room, arranged for Colleen to be taken into custody, then Andrew checked his phone once more.

A message from Hank had finally arrived.

He translated the simple coded checking-on-you message into the time and place Hank wanted to meet, then frowned.

Meeting Hank again would be dangerous. The man could drop off the gang’s radar for only so long.

And so often. An in-person this soon wasn’t safe.

Andrew texted his friend that very caution.

Hank insisted, giving the time and place.

Also, bring me a new phone, will you?

Andrew raked a hand down his face, promised he’d be there with the phone, and tucked his own device away. His next order of business was to meet his cousin before Friday to get the details of why the man was really in town.

Nathan walked over. “You all right?”

“Family stuff. The never-ending family stuff.”

“I know all about that.”

“How’s Eli doing?” Nathan’s brother had been on suicide watch for a while but seemed to be doing much better now that the brothers were getting along.

Nathan smiled. “Driving me nuts with all of his ideas for helping his patients. Seriously, the guy never shuts up.” His eyes softened. “But it’s a good thing. I’ll listen for as long as I need to.”

“He’s blessed to have you as a brother,” Andrew said, thinking of his own siblings who he rarely saw.

The nieces who were growing up faster than he could believe.

A pang twisted inside him. He wished things were different, but he’d chosen this job for all the right reasons.

He just hadn’t thought how it would come between him and his family.

And the woman he’d once thought himself in love with.

At least his parents were nearby for the time being.

Nathan nudged him. “Lunch?”

“Definitely. Where’s Kristine?”

“Still in the room.”

Andrew stuck his head in and found her on the phone. “Right,” she was saying, “got it. Thanks.”

She hung up and looked at him. “You probably have the same message on your phones that I just got. Marcus Brown died in custody about thirty minutes ago.”