Page 8 of Final Approach (Lake City Heroes #4)

FIVE

Kristine woke Saturday morning, her mind going straight to the hijacking, the Serpentine Network, and Andrew Ross.

Most especially, Andrew Ross. She’d been looking forward to the Florida trip in part because she wanted to get to know the quiet FBI agent without the interference of work or family demands.

Against her better judgment, she was intrigued by him.

And she could tell he was interested as well.

But the thought of getting involved with someone while her father was so unpredictable with his behavior, well .

.. she was probably better off not risking it.

Even though she found herself thinking Andrew might be worth the risk.

But for now, it wasn’t to be. She sighed and fixed her coffee, then grabbed a blueberry bagel and topped it with cream cheese.

She carried it with her Bible tucked under her arm to the small patio off the back of her townhome, not bothered one bit by the chill in the early morning air.

The sun was barely creeping up over the horizon, the world was still, and all was well for this brief moment.

All too soon, reality would intrude, but she’d soak in this part of her day as long as she could.

God , thank you that I’m safe. Thank you for your goodness that no one died on that plane yesterday.

Thank you for it all. I’m truly grateful.

She sighed. “Can we talk about my dad for a minute? I don’t understand him, God, and I really need your help to keep my patience and my cool with him.

” Sometimes praying out loud even when she was by herself helped her feel more connected to the Lord.

“He’s getting more and more demanding. Controlling.

And I don’t know what to do about it except leave it in your hands.

Be with Emily and Ethan and let them keep their hearts and eyes on you. ”

Her phone rang, interrupting the prayer. Her supervisor. She raised a brow and swiped the screen. “Hello?”

“Kristine, how are you this morning?”

She frowned. He sounded odd. “I’m fine. Recovering from yesterday and processing, of course. Do you need me to come in?”

“No. Er ... that’s why I was calling. I wanted to do this in person, but I’m getting ready to get on a plane to head out of town.”

“All right.” He had her full attention. “What’s going on?”

“The woman from the hijacking yesterday, Brianne Anderson...”

“Yes. She’s okay, right?”

“She’s recovering, but, Kristine, I’m sorry to tell you this, she and her family are bringing charges against you. Saying you didn’t do your job and she was unnecessarily hurt in the incident.”

A bolt of lightning couldn’t have shocked her more. “I’m sorry. What?”

He sighed. “I know. I don’t believe it. But for now, until the investigation proves otherwise, you’re on leave.”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

“Kristine?”

She cleared her throat. “I’m here.”

“Don’t let this get you down. I don’t think it’ll take too long to prove otherwise. We’ve got all the video footage we’re still going through and the accounts of all of the law enforcement there.”

“But they’re my friends, sir. People could say they’re not exactly objective and...”

“I know, but we’re still getting the passenger statements, so like I said, don’t let this get to you. Enjoy your time off. Go flying and finish getting your license. Stay busy, but don’t put too much stock in the accusations. They probably just want a settlement.”

“Right.” She pulled in a ragged breath, then let it out slowly. “Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Of course. We’ll talk soon.”

She hung up and sat still for a moment. “Okay, God, that was kind of out of left field. You know I didn’t do anything wrong. What are we going to do about this?”

She was going to leave it in his hands as best she could and pray her supervisor was right in his belief that she would be exonerated.

“Go flying and finish getting your license.”

“Ugh.” With no appetite, she finished her breakfast, then checked in with Andrew and Nathan to see if they’d made any headway in the case. She left out the conversation with her boss. No need to bring that up until she knew more. Her phone pinged with a text from Andrew.

Colleen Pearson is being brought in. Marcus Brown went through her line. Nathan and I are heading over to talk to Brown’s wife. If you want to join us, I’ll send you the address. Then we’re heading to the detention center to talk to Pearson.

I don’t have a flight for the next two weeks thanks to my vacation days, so absolutely.

She could probably rectify that, but for the moment, she’d let it ride.

I’d love to be involved as much as possible even though it’s not my role to investigate.

I think we can work with that.

He sent her the location. She finished the last of her coffee, then went to get ready. As she pulled her hair into a ponytail, her phone chimed with another text. Nathan.

Late to the party, but I’ll be there.

Thirty minutes later, she slowed to a stop outside the single-story home with the faded black shutters and peeling white paint.

Nathan and Andrew were just climbing out of their respective vehicles.

The house was in the roughest part of Lake City, situated across the street from a large trailer park.

Weeds had invaded what little grass there was, and the place looked deserted. Kristine frowned. “There’s nothing to indicate a family of eight lives here,” she said, walking over to the men. “Much less six kids.”

“That house can’t be more than a thousand, twelve hundred square feet,” Nathan said.

“That’s a tight squeeze,” Kristine muttered. But people did it all the time. Better than living on the streets. “How is it that the media hasn’t invaded yet?”

“I don’t know, but it won’t be much longer before they figure out who’s who and where he lives. We’ll need to put a police presence here or reporters will make their lives even more unbearable.” He shook his head.

The door opened before they had a chance to approach. A young man about thirteen years old stepped out. He planted his hands on his hips and studied them with serious eyes. “You the feds?”

“What gave us away?” Andrew asked with a small smile.

The teen didn’t return it. “If you don’t know, that’s sad.” Uncertainty flickered through the bravado. “Did my dad really do it?”

Kristine bit her lip and heard a muted sigh come from Andrew. “He did,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. Me too.” He swallowed hard, then cleared his throat. “I suppose you’re here to talk to my mom?”

Nathan nodded. “She around?”

“Sleeping. She took some of my dad’s migraine medicine and is snoozing pretty hard.”

Kristine stepped forward. “Hey there, I’m Kristine. I’m so sorry about all of this.”

His lips twisted and he sniffed. “Thanks.”

“What’s your name?”

“Jacob.”

“I know this is hard to think about, but looking back, did you have any idea anything was wrong? That something was going on with your dad?” She kept her tone soft, hoping her compassion would reach him.

The kid hesitated. “Yeah. I just wasn’t sure what it was.”

“Can you tell us more? What tipped you off?”

He shrugged. “Dad’s been acting weird. Not himself.

He’s been sad. Angry. Snappy. Some nights I hear him pacing.

” A tear leaked out and the teen swiped it away.

“I don’t understand why he did what he did.

That’s not him. He’s a great dad. We may be poor, but he loves us and—” He shook his head.

“I don’t understand. Did you ask him why he did it? ”

“We did,” Kristine said. “But we think your mother needs to be the one to explain.”

His jaw hardened, then he sighed. “Fine. When can I go see him?”

“We’ll have to work that out for you,” Nathan said. “We just need a little time to gather all the information we can.”

“Right.” Jacob shoved his hands in the front pockets of his well-worn jeans.

“Jacob,” Andrew said, “did your dad have any visitors over the last few weeks?”

“Here? At the house?” He shook his head, then snorted. “If he was going to meet someone to plan a hijacking, it wouldn’t be here. Too many ears.” He crossed his bony arms and rocked back on his heels. His mannerisms and his eyes were older than they should be.

Andrew ran a hand over his chin. “Of course. Good observation.”

“He’d go to Mike’s.” When he said the name of the restaurant, his expression softened for a brief moment before his features morphed back into a worried frown. Kristine shot a glance at Andrew and thought he noticed it too.

“The café on South Main?” Andrew asked.

“Yeah. He always takes one of us there on the weekend. We take turns. But that’s his favorite place and he’d probably meet someone there. Assuming he was meeting someone.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Jacob shrugged. “My dad would have to be forced to do what he did. Did someone threaten him?” His eyes widened. “Or us?”

Kristine blinked at the astute observation but kept her mouth shut.

Nathan let out a slow breath. “Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s the only thing that makes sense.” He raised a brow, looking much older than his thirteen years. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Look, Jacob, we really can’t talk about it, but just know that we’re going to get to the bottom of it and one day you’ll know the truth about the whole thing. Deal?”

“I guess.”

Andrew nodded to Kristine. “Do you mind if Air Marshal Duncan tries to wake your mother?”

Jacob hesitated, then shrugged again. “Help yourself.”

Kristine walked past them and into the living area of the house. The first thing she noticed was how clean it smelled. The second thing was the emptiness. She turned to Jacob, who’d followed her inside. “Where are the other kids?”

“Farmed out to neighbors and church people. It’s amazing how many people offer to do something good so they can have a front-row seat to all the drama.”

“A little young to be so cynical, aren’t you?”

He snorted. “None of those people offered to lift a finger to help before. Why now?”