Page 17

CHAPTER 17

W HAT ARE YOU DOING BACK here?” said a surprised Saxby after she’d answered the door.

Devine set down the duffel he was carrying and said, “I brought Betsy some clothes and other stuff from her trailer. And I need to talk to her.”

“Why?”

“Rollins’s murder.”

“You didn’t think it was significant enough for her not to meet with her uncle. So what’s the big deal now?”

“The big deal is now we know more. So I need to talk to Betsy,” he added sharply.

“Okay, but I’m there as well. Otherwise, you can shove off,” Saxby shot back.

Devine reluctantly agreed to this, and the FBI agent got the girl from her room.

Odom looked sleepy and disheveled and still in her pajamas. Around her neck was a pair of pale green headphones.

“You okay?” he asked.

She rubbed her eyes. “Fine. Is that all you wanted to know? I was sleeping in.”

He hefted the duffel. “I got you some clothes and other things from your home.”

She instantly perked up and said, “Awesome. How did you even know where it was?”

“Your buds, Nate Shore and Korey Rose. They’re actually there keeping watch over it.”

She took the duffel from him. “Thanks, Travis. I just had the stuff I was wearing in the car, and some clothes in the trunk my mom always kept in a bag.”

“Why was that?” asked Devine.

“In case we had to leave someplace… you know, fast,” she replied, looking embarrassed.

“There are books in there, too.” Devine glanced at Saxby. “Speaking of books, what’s she doing for school?”

“My mom was homeschooling me,” answered Odom.

“I didn’t see any school supplies or workbooks in the house.”

“She had her own way of doing things. And it worked okay for me,” Odom added stiffly.

He once more looked at Saxby. “How long is she going to be kept in this place? And for what reason?”

“You know what the reason is.”

“No, I’m not sure I do. But I’ll take you both out to eat and we can discuss it.”

“I’m starving,” said Odom. “But does she have to go, too?”

“Yes, I do,” retorted Saxby. “And for the record, he doesn’t control my actions,” she added angrily. “And neither do you.”

“Get dressed, Betsy, and we’ll head out,” said Devine.

“Not the burger place,” said Odom. “After the Four Seasons, my stomach expects better.”

She went back into her bedroom.

“Great,” snarled Saxby. “Now the kid’s turning into a food snob.”

“So what is the end game here, Agent Saxby?”

“Just call me Ellen,” she said wearily as she collapsed onto the couch. She pulled out a cigarette but didn’t light it this time. “FYI, I’ve communicated with my superiors about what we talked about. And they have not gotten back to me yet. Which tells me that there is some difference of opinion on how to proceed with the circumstances of the Odoms’ deaths.”

He sat in a chair opposite her. “What’s Betsy’s value to you guys? Am I missing something here?”

“Look, I’m a foot soldier like you. I just follow orders, okay?” she said, crumpling up the cigarette and tossing it into the waste can. She picked up a bottle of water and drained what remained in it. “But we can’t underestimate Danny Glass,” she said in a firm voice. “The man may have an angle on this we haven’t even thought of. I’ve worked enough cases that changed on a dime and led to an ending no one saw coming. You let your guard down even a little bit, you’re screwed.”

With this astute observation, Devine felt better about Saxby’s abilities as an agent.

“Okay, then who out there may want to harm her?”

“Well, if her parents didn’t die from a drug overdose like she claims, then whoever killed them would certainly not be a friend of hers.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense. Why not just kill Betsy at the same time?”

“Again, above my pay grade, Devine. So what’s new on Rollins’s murder?”

He filled her in, including the fact of the listening device in the apartment next to Rollins.

“Rollins apparently had dirt on Glass, maybe enough to screw up his guardianship and adoption of his niece. And someone had him under surveillance and now he’s dead.”

Saxby nodded. “Okay, that is definitely a motive for Glass to have him killed. And maybe he was the one to bug Rollins’s place, too.”

The bedroom opened, revealing Odom in some of the clothes Devine had brought.

She said eagerly, “Okay, let’s go eat.”