and went to Best Buy for a replacement phone, computer, and software.” She’d contacted Gavin Pounds, Raiker’s cyber wizard back in the Manassas headquarters, to tell him that her agencyissued laptop was toast. He’d promised to equip her new one with all the necessary access codes to databases and other sensitive information as soon as she returned. Then he’d demanded an update on Adam’s condition, and the rest of their conversation had centered on their boss.
It wasn’t until she’d hung up that she realized the man had assumed she’d be returning to the agency.
And that she hadn’t disabused him of the notion.
Resolutely, she pushed the thought aside. She wasn’t making life decisions right now. She had more than enough to keep her occupied.
“Are you sure you have time for this?” He stopped for the red light at the corner. “I know you’ll want to check on your mom tonight yet. And Adam.”
“We can make a couple stops first.” Nate’s phone call to the officers tasked with bringing in Juicy for questioning again had been fruitless. If the man had been seen around his old neighborhood lately, no one was talking about it. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and trip over Emmons.”
“Lots of rat holes in that area,” he muttered. The light turned green and he turned right. Another of his shortcuts, undoubtedly. “And I’ll bet he knows every one to disappear in.”
“Vice won’t be too happy if he goes underground.”
“Vice can get in line.” They drove for a time in silence, with Nate taking side streets and alleys that had her doubting her direction sense. But when the neighborhoods started their visual decline she assumed he was heading the right way.
She used the time to call the hospital. Talked to Burke about Adam’s condition. It remained unchanged since she’d been there earlier. The only way to contact Hannah was by contacting Jerry Muller’s number, which she’d programmed into her new phone when she’d taken her mom there this afternoon. But his line was busy so she gave up and dropped the cell back into her new purse.
Nate was on his own phone, but was doing more listening than speaking. She reached forward, fiddled with the radio. Was mildly amused to discover it didn’t work. Risa was half looking forward to Nate’s reaction when he made the same discovery. Things hadn’t changed much since the days when she was on the force here.
He hung up, silent for a few minutes. His jaw was tight. “That was Cass,” he said abruptly. “She claims that one of Kristin’s coworkers told her my sister talked about going to Atlantic City.”
She eyed him carefully. It was difficult to tell from his expression what he was thinking. “That’s not far. What? An hour by car?”
“She quit her job.” His mouth was set in a flat straight line. But she thought if she could see his eyes, hurt might flicker in them. “That tells me she doesn’t plan on coming back.”
“Where did she work?”
“A fast-food place.” He took the next corner a bit sharper than usual.
“So it’s not like she couldn’t get another one like it without much trouble. She may have just intended to go for a few days and couldn’t get time off so she quit. People do.”
“Maybe.” Clearly, he wasn’t convinced. “But she could have told me that. Hell, she’d have to explain once she got home anyway.”
“What would your reaction have been if she had told you?”
He was silent for a long moment. “I’d have made her leave Tucker with me.”
Risa didn’t respond. She didn’t figure she needed to. Whatever problems Nate and his sister were having, it seemed clear to her that Kristin didn’t mind letting her brother suffer a little. Risa had never missed having siblings. Now was no different. But she couldn’t help sympathizing with his obvious concern.
He slowed on a familiar street. On the next block, she recalled, would be Juicy’s apartment building. “I’m not convinced that’s really where she headed, but Cass will check with hotels there and see if she can find anything out.” One corner of his mouth pulled up slightly. “She’s showing some real aptitude for pretext calls.”
“How does Recker have time to be doing all this?”
His sideways look was sharp. “I forgot. You missed out this morning.” She listened with growing disbelief as he filled her in, with short succinct sentences about Recker’s removal from the task force. He finished with, “It’s a case of her decisions coming back to bite her in the ass.