The Target - David Baldacci Page 0,64

chuckled, but Julie’s expression remained serious.

“Robie told me you don’t retire from the sort of work you two do.”

Reel glanced at her again. “He did?”

Julie nodded.

“Well, then it must be true. I’ve never known Will Robie to bullshit.”

Julie put a hand on Reel’s arm. “But you can make it true. You can be the first to do it.”

Reel stared out the window at the storm that had come in from the Ohio Valley earlier and looked like it wanted to stay a while.

“I’m not sure I’m a good candidate to be a trendsetter.”

“Really? I think you might be the perfect choice.”

“You don’t know me that well,” said Reel.

“So why did you come and pick me up and not Robie?”

This question caught Reel off guard. “He…he was making dinner and I’m a crappy cook.”

“So it was his idea for you to come get me?”

“No. I mean, yes. I might have suggested—”

Julie continued to study her. “So you wanted to talk to me alone? There’s no crime in that.”

A few moments of silence passed.

Reel said, “Robie told me about you. How you…”

“Made a transition to a new life?”

“You’re way too perceptive for your age.”

“I’m a lot older than I look.” Julie tapped her chest. “In here. You get that. I know you do. You’ve had shit in your life. And I’m not just talking with your job. I mean when you were my age, younger. I can tell. I just can. It was like me, right?”

Reel turned down a side street, pulled to the curb, and put the car in park. “Robie told me you were super smart and had been through hell, but still, how can you tell?” she asked quietly. “I play my cards close.”

“It’s in your eyes. It’s in your skin. It’s in how you walk. It’s in how you talk. I see it all over you. And I bet you see it all over me.”

Reel slowly nodded. “You see, Julie, it’s just that…” She couldn’t seem to make the words come out. It was like a hand was around her throat.

Julie gripped her arm and squeezed. “It’s just that you’re scared. I know you’re brave and can probably take down twelve guys at one time.” She paused. “But you’re still scared because you’re wondering if this is all there is for you.”

Reel was nodding before she finished.

Julie said, “I can’t answer that for you. But you can, Jessica Reel. You can.”

Chapter

31

AFTER DINNER WAS OVER, ROBIE drove Julie back home.

Reel sat down in a chair in his living room and looked around. It was growing late, but she really had nowhere to go. Her cottage on the Eastern Shore was destroyed. Her property in the Keystone State was gone from her too. Because of what had happened up there she could never go back. She could go to a hotel. She probably would have to. But right now, right now she just wanted to sit in this chair, close her eyes, and not think about anything.

That was not to be.

Her phone buzzed. She looked down at it and then sat bolt upright. She recognized the number.

She had not had a call from this person in years. Many, many years.

Every other time she had answered. She was programmed to do so.

Apparently, she was still programmed to do so.

She said, “Hello?”

A man’s voice said, “Did you remember the phone number?”

“Yes. Surprised you still have the same one after all these years.”

“Federal bureaucracy moves slowly, if at all. I’ve gotten a few promotions over the years, but the main number is still the same. And when the request came through I told them I wanted to handle it. You were and still are a very special case.”

“What request?” said Reel.

He didn’t respond right away. “Your father,” he finally said.

Reel said nothing at first. It was like a hand from the grave had just closed over her mouth.

“I don’t have a father.”

“I know in every sense of the word except biologically, you don’t. But the biological one has asked to see you, before he dies.”

“I have no interest in seeing him ever again.”

“I thought that would be your answer and I sure as hell can’t blame you.”

“He’s still in prison?”

“Absolutely. Same place. Alabama. And he’s not going anywhere. He’s currently in the prison hospital ward. Cancer. They can’t execute him because of his medical condition. He’s terminal. I was assured of that. The man will not be leaving prison alive.”

“Good. Lethal injection is fast. Cancer is slow. The more pain the better. Hell

readonlinefreenovel.com Copyright 2016 - 2024