M Sellars - Blood Moon

“Are you still there?” she asked.

“Yes, sorry,” I replied. “I’m just… Just a bit surprised I guess.”

“I understand,” she told me. “Normally this is something I would advise against, especially with the way her attorneys were posturing in recent weeks. However, this morning she fired the entire team. And, since you seemed rather adamant about just such a meeting when we spoke last week…”

“Fired?” I asked, a bit of disbelief in my voice. “All of them?”

“Yes, Mister Gant, the entire legal team. I haven’t quite figured out what her ploy is, but on a clinical level she seems to be extremely vulnerable at the moment. If we are even going to think about putting you into a face-to-face with her, now would be the time.”

“By now you mean…”

“I’d like to get you on a plane as early as tomorrow morning if you are agreeable.”

“Tomorrow morning?”

“Yes.”

“If I say yes to this, where am I going?”

“She’s currently being held in the psychiatric wing of FMC Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas while awaiting trial. It’s a federal medical center specializing in female inmates.”

“Sounds lovely,” I huffed then paused for a moment. “Okay… I’ll come… Just let me have my dinner, then when I get home I’ll look into a plane ticket and get…”

“That won’t be necessary,” she interrupted. “The Bureau will handle the travel arrangements. I’m going to have the Saint Louis field office assign an agent to accompany you as well.”

“I said I would be there,” I replied. “Do you think I’m lying?”

“No, Mister Gant. I would just be more comfortable if you had an escort.”

“Okay… Can I have you hold on a second?”

“Certainly.”

I clicked the phone over to mute but held it under the table with my hand covering the microphone pickup just in case.

“What’s going on?” Felicity asked.

“It seems Annalise Devereaux wants a one-on-one meeting with me,” I replied.

“She wants, or you want?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, I know I’ve been pushing for one. But now she’s the one asking for it,” I replied with a shake of my head.

“And you’re goin’…” he returned, the words more an observation than a question.

I glanced over at Felicity’s frowning face then back to him and nodded. “Yeah. This is something I really need to take care of.”

“What does Doctor Jante think about this?” Constance asked.

“She seems like she might be a little on the fence,” I replied. “But, apparently Annalise fired her entire legal team, and Jante thinks she’s in a vulnerable state at the moment. She said if this is going to happen, the time is now.”

“She’s one of the best, Rowan,” Constance told me. “She knows what she’s doing.”

“You really think so?”

She nodded. “I took several of her classes at the academy. In my opinion you can trust her. If she is sanctioning this, even reluctantly, there must be a good reason.”

“Okay, then let me ask you this. How do you feel about Texas?”

“What do you mean?”

“For some reason Jante says she wants to have the local field office assign an agent to escort me.”

“If I heard you correctly, you’re leaving tomorrow morning?” she asked.

“That’s apparently the plan.”

She nodded. “I can pack tonight.”

I looked over at Ben. “Mind if I borrow your girlfriend for a day or two.”

“Not a problem,” he replied. “At least Firehair and I will know you’re not runnin’ off gettin’ yourself into trouble if she’s with ya’.”

I turned back to my wife. “Honey… I know you aren’t exactly okay with this, but… Well… Are you okay with this?”

She nodded, but her expression was still sour. “Aye. It’s something you have to do, I know that. And I agree with what Ben said. If Constance is with you I’ll at least feel a bit better about it.” She turned her gaze toward Mandalay and added, “Just don’t trust him if you tell him not to do something and he agrees with you too easily. It’s a good bet he’s lying.”

I ignored the addendum then drew in a breath and muttered, “Okay,” as I noticed Ailleagan and Doug coming through the swinging door that led in and out of the kitchen. Both of them were hefting food-laden platters that looked amazing even at a distance.

I quickly thumbed the mute button then tucked the phone back up to my ear and said, “Sorry about that Doctor Jante.”

“That’s all right. I assumed you would want to speak to your wife.”

“Uh-huh,” I acknowledged. “So as far as this whole escort thing goes, do you mind if I make a request?”

“What is that?”

“Agent Mandalay has returned to…”

Before I could finish the sentence, she replied, “And you would like for her to be assigned as your escort.”

“Well, yes. Since we’ve worked together and she’s familiar with…”

She interrupted me again. “Understandable. Consider it done.”

Saturday, April 22

4:56 A.M.

Saint Louis, Missouri

“I should be back sometime Monday afternoon,” I told Felicity. “At least that’s what Jante said. I suppose it all depends on how this goes.”

“Just don’t do anything stupid,” she replied.

“That’s why Constance is going with me, remember?”

“Aye.” She nodded. “But I’ve never been able to stop you from getting yourself into trouble, so why should I believe she can?”

“She has a gun?” I replied.

She sighed as she slipped her arms around me and laid her head against my shoulder. “I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but I know you, Caorthann…”

As usual, my wife had a tendency to resort to the Gaelic pet name when she was deeply concerned. I knew she was already bothered by this trip, but her whisper drove the point deep.

“I’ll be okay,” I soothed. “I promise not to do anything stupid. And I’m not just agreeing with you to…”

“Don’t make a promise you know you can’t keep,” she said, cutting me off before I could finish. “Just…be safe.”

“I will.”

She pulled back slightly and looked up into my face. Her jade green eyes were already glistening with dampness, and the corners of her mouth were turned slightly downward. I brushed a spiral of wayward hairs from her cheek then pulled her close once again.

“You call me when you arrive,” she mumbled.

“I promise,” I told her. “And that’s one I can keep.”

The pendulum clock in our dining room softly thunked, and then a muted whirr sounded as the spring began to wind out. A half second later a dull bong echoed through the room, followed by four more to announce the top of the hour.

“I’m loving you,” Felicity said.

“I’m loving you too,” I replied.

As if on cue, the doorbell chimed through the house, setting the dogs off as usual. Felicity began shushing them as I released my grip on her and turned to answer it.

“You ready?” Ben asked as soon as I had opened the door.

He was holding the outer storm door with one hand and cupping a travel mug in the other.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Give me just a second.”

He glanced at his watch. “All good, we got a few minutes.” Nodding toward the floor just inside the doorway, he asked, “That your bag?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll put it in the van and wait for ya’,” he said, holding the storm door with his leg as he reached in and grabbed the handle of the small suitcase. “Heya, Firehair,” he said, nodding at Felicity as he straightened up.

“Ben,” she replied.

The metal door slowly swung shut with a slight creak and hiss of the closure piston as he backed out with my luggage then turned and started down the front steps.