Page 58 of Justice for Samara

“Pick up the receiver.”

Michael did as he was told. “Okay.”

“Listen, Cruz will be here this afternoon. I don’t know what he’s up to, but he wants to talk to us before he does whatever it is.”

“Okay. So what are we?”

“I told him to let me know when he passes Exit40 and we’ll meet him at Coach House for drinks. We need to be plainclothes. Whatever it is, I think he doesn’t want us to draw attention to ourselves, and he doesn’t want to be at the office.”

“Got it. When he calls, ask if he’s eaten and if he hasn’t, we can get some appetizers or dinner or something.”

“Sounds good. You got clothes with you?” Carter asked.

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I do too. I’ll be there in a bit, but don’t say anything about what we’re doing. The less the other guys know, the better off we all are.”

“Agreed. Thanks.”

“You bet. See you shortly.”

Michael sat there, trying to figure out what was going on. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Carter, because he did, implicitly. He was just curious to see what an FBI agent came up with that they hadn’t.

A feminine voice cut into his thoughts and in seconds, he was at the front desk. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to do interviews.”

“I was supposed to get a picture for them to look at and I forgot.”

“Oh, yeah. Come on back and I’ll get that for you.” As soon as they stepped through his doorway, he closed the door. “I’m so sorry. I totally forgot to print that for you.”

“That’s okay. Gives me an excuse to see you.” She leaned across his desk and gave him a little kiss as he typed away on the keyboard.

“Okay. Here’s one… Wait! This is perfect!” He spun the screen and pointed. It was Stadler in his KSP uniform, and he saw Samara recoil. “I’m sorry, baby, but really, don’t you think it would help for them to see him in his uniform?”

“Not if they didn’t know he was a cop.”

“So you think he wasn’t in uniform when?”

“I think it’s entirely possible that he wasn’t, but he showed them his credentials and told them he was a cop. They wouldn’t have had enough presence of mind to notice where he served, just that the credentials looked legit and it made them afraid.”

“True. You may very well be right. Okay, how about this one?” It was a picture from his driver’s license.

“Yeah. That’s good.” Michael printed it off, but before he handed it to her, he pulled a manila envelope from his desk drawer and slipped it inside. “Thanks. I really don’t want to have to look at him all afternoon.”

“Don’t blame you one bit. So you be careful. We’re meeting with Cruz tonight, and we’re doing it at Coach House. I’m not sure what’s going on, but he wants to talk to us about something privately and plainclothes, so I don’t know when I’ll be finished.”

“I’ll text you when I’m home so you’ll know.”

“Okay, and I’ll try to let you know by then what’s going on and when you can expect me. And I’ll bring you dinner if you want.”

“Sounds good! Okay. Before you say it, I’ll be careful.” She leaned across the desk again, but that wasn’t good enough for Michael.

He stood, walked around the desk, and wrapped his arms around her, then planted a solid kiss on her lips. “I know you’ll be careful. Just be extra careful for me.”

“Will do.” She opened the door. “Thanks, sir.”

“You’re welcome, Futrell. Be safe out there.”

“Always, sir,” she called back as she headed up the hallway, and he heard the front door close behind her.