her phone’s GPS until too late. Would the protection spells block traces?” When he finished composing, he hit Send.
His email pinged again. Steven had written: “Let me think. I’ll get back to you in a sec.”
He sat back, arms crossed, and waited while he watched the screens. In the far corner of the property, a possum trundled past the security camera.
Another email came through. He clicked Open. Steven had written: “You should be good while you’re in the basement. But you’d be vulnerable before and after. My best advice—destroy the phone card ASAP.”
“Already done,” he typed. And he hadn’t wasted any time when he had brought Molly here. He thought of the speed with which he had gotten her under cover and relaxed slightly. “Thanks and have a good night.”
The risk was minimal enough that it wasn’t worth moving her again. She was as safe as he could make her tonight.
He pushed to his feet and locked the door of the room as he stepped out. When he checked the bedroom, Molly lay still and quiet. It was time to head back into the city.
He paused just before climbing into the car and looked at the quiet country scene. Moonlight illuminated the back of the dark house. It was a creepy, isolated setting, and he didn’t like leaving her like this, but that was no reason to stay. She was hidden, and she had all her essential needs met. She wasn’t going to die.
She messed with his head too much.
Swearing under his breath, he drove away. First item on the agenda was to drive through the neighborhood of her rental. He did so with disciplined patience, all his senses wide open. It was close to three in the morning, and there were a few houses still lit where people were active, but most were dark and peaceful. The last thing he did was park the car and walk over a few blocks to the rental itself.
Everything looked as it had when he had last seen it. The Jeep still sat where Molly had parked it. He scanned the vehicle for magic but didn’t find anything. He eased up the stairs to the rental to test the door. It was locked, the interior dark and silent. The location appeared to be secure.
Maybe Sullivan’s attack on Molly was all of it, at least for the time being. Finally satisfied, he drove to the apartment. As he pulled into his parking space, his phone rang. It was Anson.
Instantly, tension came roaring back. Throwing the Audi in park, he answered. “Anson.”
“You took her to the safe house, didn’t you? That’s why the location is compromised.”
“Yes.”
Anson’s sigh was audible over their connection. He said somberly, “It’s probably just as well.”
He had expected friction from Anson, especially after their earlier text conversation, but that surprised him. He narrowed his eyes. “Something happen?”
“There’s another fire. This time it’s a house near the university. One body has been discovered, a female. There’s no official ID on her yet, but tax records list a woman named Nina Rodriguez as the property owner. I’ve been doing some searching. Apparently she’s a divorce attorney.”
Josiah’s thoughts winged back to the conversation he’d had with Molly in the park. She’d said, Nina Rodriguez is my lawyer. Ever heard of her? He swore.
Anson asked, “Do you know who she is?”
“Unless there’s another divorce lawyer in the area named Nina Rodriguez, she’s Molly’s attorney.”
“So the two incidents are connected,” Anson said heavily.
“Looks like it.” He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Text me the address, will you?”
“Sure. Are you going to check out the site?”
“You bet your ass I am.” He started the car again.
The district attorney’s office in Fulton County had a hundred assistant district attorneys statewide and close to a hundred and fifty other staff that included administrative personnel and investigators.
It might be quirky for the DA himself to show up at a house fire in the early hours of the morning on a weekend, but it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility. Besides, it might be useful for him to develop a reputation for being a quirky, hands-on kind of guy, and two suspicious fires in one night warranted some attention.
Once he received the address, he plugged it into his GPS, and twenty minutes later, he parked half a block away from a house fire that turned the night sky red. Despite the odd hour, the scene had drawn several onlookers who clustered across the street, clad in pajamas, bath robes,