Page 35 of Storm and Tempest

“Hey!” the officer called after them.

Jax ignored him and walked away with Bruce and Ramon, moving fast and not wanting to get waylaid. They made their way to the office where Charlie met them. The cops would catch up in a second, no doubt. Intending to make life difficult for him and Kenna’s friends under the guise of finding out what they knew.

Jax said, “Any idea who brought the car in and when?”

Charlie leaned against the doorframe. “No cameras. Don’t need Big Brother watching me. And we were in Vegas at a car show two months ago. Probably showed up then.” He shrugged, apparently not all that bothered by the appearance of a mystery car.

The officer approached, thunder in his expression. “And you didn’t notice a car with blood on the steering wheel in your lot?”

Elliot had been hurt.

Jax glanced at Ramon and mouthed,Hospitals.

Ramon nodded and slid out his phone, texting furiously. Probably contacting Maizie so she could call around local places where Elliot might have been taken if he was found.

Charlie shrugged. “I don’t do inventory until September. Right now, we’re filling rows A through C. What can I say?”

“I have the sister’s information,” Jax told the officer. “In case you want to contact her with the news you found her brother’s car.”

Bruce and Ramon spoke quietly with each other off to the side.

“You still haven’t explained who you are. You don’t act like a civilian.”

“He’s a fed, Son.” The sergeant came over. “I’ve seen him on the news. FBI out of Phoenix, is that right? One of them big-city bigshots who like to tell us small-town folks how to do our jobs.” A big man, he rocked back and forth on his boots. “Only it turns out this is a major corridor for trafficking guns, drugs—you name it. So we don’t just work petty crimes. We do the big stuff, too.”

Jax wanted to ask if the airport was on their radar, but didn’t figure the question would go down well. He could request files from the state police. Going through them would take time he didn’t have.

“This isn’t just a case,” he finally said. “It’s also a personal matter.”

“When the missing driver of that vehicle was one of your agents, right? I don’t think so.” The sergeant shook his head. “Has to be a fed thing. Or a cover-up. Did you run him off the road? Now you’re here to run interference. Is that right?”

Jax ignored the fact this guy mistook what he’d said. “Call my office. I’m sure they’ll fill you in about Elliot Adams. Pretty sure he transferred out of the Phoenix office, but I wouldn’t know. I was in the hospital at the time recovering from surgery.”

“I see.” The sergeant rocked back and forth on his heels, eyeing Jax.

Probably thought he was unhinged. Or lying.

Jax’s phone rang in his pocket.

Thank You, God.Otherwise, he didn’t know how to get out of this conversation without handing over ID and spending hours answering questions.

“I need to take this.” He waved the phone at them. But when he walked away to see who was calling, it was Special Agent Herron.

“Jaxton.”

He stared at the sky in the direction of the airport but saw nothing as he headed slowly in the direction of the open gate. Not like he was leaving, just wandering and talking on the phone.

“I thought you might want to know,” she began, “Assistant Director in Charge Hadley was on the warpath this morning. He’s acting like he’s sticking around for a while, bringing his things into your office.”

“Great.”

“He’s talking like you aren’t coming back.”

Jax winced. “We found Special Agent Adams’ car. Looks like he was in an accident and someone tried to cover it up, but that’s just supposition from the remains of the car. I’m going to have Kenna’s people call around hospitals and find out if he’s in one as a John Doe.”

Or the man was under that name, unclaimed in the morgue. Hopefully, they’d be able to find him and give his sister good news. Not the worst news, the kind Jax dreaded.

“If we find his body,” Jax continued, “or find him alive, I’ll let you know. We can go talk to his sister together.”