Brad had dropped everything to come over here when she called after Sean’s arrest. And now she felt torn, like she was letting everyone down.
“Anything you learn, let me know. I’ll do the same.”
“Of course.”
“And I reached out to Nate. I’m going to pick him up at SAPD. He doesn’t know anything more than we do, but I’m going to give him this information in person, not over the phone.”
“Thank you, Aggie. I appreciate everything.”
Lucy hung up and dialed Zach’s cell phone. It wasn’t that she didn’t want the office knowing she was calling him, but she didn’t want him to get into trouble for sharing information with her.
“Zach, it’s Lucy. I’m calling from home.”
“How’s Sean?”
“I don’t know. I can’t see him yet. I just talked to Aggie Jensen.”
“You heard about Brad Donnelly.”
“Yes. Brad was here before he was kidnapped. He was looking into the origin of the drugs that were found in Nate’s truck.”
“I can’t get anything from SAPD, but I got the photos, which Donnelly wanted. Not going to do us any good now.”
“Send them to Aggie. Watch yourself. Someone is coming after us.”
“Isn’t that a stretch?”
“No.” Jack had made her paranoid about talking on the phone. While their phone was clean, what if Zach’s wasn’t?
Now you’re being far too paranoid.
“I wish I could do more for you guys,” Zach said. “Rachel had a staff meeting and made it clear that we can’t use FBI resources to help Sean. That’s not our job, all that stuff. But she also said that Sean had a lot of friends. I don’t know what that meant—like, can we help him as long as we’re not using resources?”
“It means that he has friends in the FBI—not just here, but other places. I’m not worried about Sean’s innocence—I know he didn’t kill Mona Hill. I’m worried about him being in jail over the weekend. There are people who want him dead, and jail would be a great place to get to him.”
She had an idea.
“I have to go, Zach—you can help Nate, so focus on that. I’ll help Sean.”
She immediately called Rick Stockton, an assistant director in the FBI. She could go through channels, she could try other people, but she needed a huge favor, and if anyone could do it, it was Rick.
It took her several minutes to get through to him, but she wasn’t surprised. The national FBI headquarters had been raked over the coals of late—some of it justified, some of it not—but even though Rick’s division had gotten through the controversies unscathed, he had to take on additional responsibility as a result.
“Lucy. I meant to call you earlier about Sean, but I’ve been swamped.”
“I know, I didn’t want to bother you, I knew JT was going to call, but I need a favor and I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it was important.”
“Name it.”
“Sean didn’t kill Mona Hill, but they’re not going to release him, not until Monday when he’s arraigned. His lawyer basically said as much. Meanwhile SAPD found a large quantity of drugs in Nate’s truck, which are not his. And Brad Donnelly was kidnapped less than two blocks from DEA headquarters.”
“I heard.”
That was fast.
“Sean is going to be in a Houston jail, and I fear for his safety. Can you do anything to get him transferred into federal custody?”
“This is a Houston PD case. I spoke with the chief of police personally, and she is aware of who Sean is, and that he has had a bounty on his head in the past. She doesn’t want anything to happen to him while in their custody, and has assured me that she and her corrections department will go above and beyond in protecting him. They’re considering putting him in the Houston administrative jail—it’s federally controlled, it’s probably the safest place for him. I’m helping facilitate that.”
“Rick, there is something else going on here.”
“If so, I don’t know what it is. We need to let the system work. If Sean is innocent, Houston PD will prove it.”
“If?” She didn’t expect that from someone she trusted. Who Sean trusted.
“You know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t. Sean didn’t kill Mona Hill, justified or unjustified. But someone is making it seem like he did, and chances are the gun they found in his plane will match ballistics.”
“I know you’re upset.”
“It’s not just Sean! It’s Brad, Kane, Nate! Everyone is in danger or trouble, this isn’t a coincidence, Rick.”