Page 26 of Special Agent Anastacia

Ana revisited the earlier subject. “Can you remember where the Smirnova family lived.”

“Not really, but it won’t do you much good anyway. They sold out years ago. I kinda remember there was a scandal attached, but the details slipped my mind. Person best to help you with that would be Lew. If I recall, he brokered the deal. Back in those days, he used to be the only real estate agent around theseparts. That was before he met Maria and bought the convenience store.”

Ana looked at Nash and saw that he was staring at her, his eyes flashing, making her feel certain they were thinking the same thing.

As soon as they stepped out of the bar, he turned to her. “What if it wasn’t a random shooting? Could they have planned to kill Lew and make it appear as a break-in gone wrong?”

“Beats me. This whole puzzle is insane. Two incidents in a matter of days and totally unrelated. One thing I do know, we need to locate Lew’s old files and find out exactly where that Smirnova place was.”

“So, you’re thinking what I’m thinking. That the girl might have something to do with this case.”

“Right now, I figure she might be our burglar.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Do you remember me bringing in a bag of evidence to Dave when we met there? The things left behind in the house. Now that I think of it, the sleeping bag wouldn’t have fit a full-grown man. And the only articles that appeared to be rifled through in the closet were my mother’s. I didn’t pay much attention at the time, thinking the person nosing around was searching for something to sell.”

“Hold it.” Nash snapped his fingers. “Remember we thought that last night’s break-in might have been because the thief left something behind? What if they did, only you’d gathered it up with the articles you took to Dave?”

Ana’s finger pointed to him in agreement. “Nice play, Sherlock. I think you might have hit on something. Let’s check if Dave sent the stuff away yet?”

As they made their way to Nash’s truck, his grinning made her bite her lip to stop from putting him down. She had to forceherself not to react badly when he voiced his thoughts. “My dear Watson, I do believe we make a great team.”

“Yeah, about that. Don’t hold your breath.”

Chapter Nineteen

Hanna hadn’t wanted to stay the night in the waiting room and the next with Maria at her house. Or drive back to the hospital to see Lew, but she’d had no say in the decision. After all, Ana couldn’t hang with her when she needed to help in the investigation, which was totally understandable. But Hanna didn’t have to like it. Searching her mind for reasons for her nastiness, she finally admitted that the irritation was most likely rooted in fear.

For the first time in years, Ana had made her feel protected… safe, like nothing could happen to her as long as they were together. And that faith had been missing from her world for a long time. Though her family hadn’t personally been caught up in the war until they’d moved to live at the farm in Mariupol, fighting had been a stench in the air and a fear in the belly of every Ukrainian alive. They talked, ate, slept, and lived the nasty war. And for a young impressionable girl, it had taken it’s toll.

Would she ever feel completely safe again? Probably not. And she accepted that as part of what she’d lived through. But Jesus help her, she desperately wanted to feel that life held out some hope for happiness. Didn’t everyone deserve that? She prayed all the time for her country… and her people. And she’d swore to return someday to help them. But for now… for these few years before she matured, couldn’t she at least have a reason to wake up every morning and feel like it was worth it.

Ana had given her that. But now that her cousin was too busy to pay any attention, Hanna felt her loss deeply. Trudging along, her head in the clouds, she tried making sense of all that had happened. Earlier, she’d left Maria with Lew who seemed on the verge of waking up from his coma, and she’d promised she’d return with iced tea for them both to ward off the dry air of the hospital room.

Turning a corner in the badly-lit basement parking area of the facility – a shortcut to getting to the cafeteria – she tripped on something that made her stumble and fall. Only her strong arms and quick thinking stopped her from taking a face-plant on the cement.

Hearing a groan behind her forced her to move, triggering her flight mode seconds later. She’d expected to be alone and finding someone else in her space panicked her so badly that rather than running, she slipped again. That’s when she turned to her expected attacker and instead saw a poor girl around her age who needed help badly.

She’d been beaten, and her scrawny body appeared to Hanna like one of the war victims in a bombing. Her clothes were tattered and as dirty as her face and hair were. The girl’s hands reaching out to Hanna for help were shaking so badly that Hanna’s fear evaporated instantly.

Instead of running away, she moved closer, leaning toward the girl who’s eyes were trying to focus as she whispered in a broken voice. “Help me.”

“It’s okay. Don’t be scared. I’d never hurt you.”

As if the words had made sense, the girl pushed upwards, almost flinging herself toward her savior. “I need to hide. Please. Help me. Help—” Then she struggled as if trying to stand, all the while crying softly in pain. Without arguing, sensing there was no time, Hanna put her strong arms around the other’s waist and guided her toward the hospital, and through the doors.

Loud screeching noises from an approaching car that drove in circles around the pillars came closer. Without the panicked girl having to say anything, Hanna understood by her behavior that the person in the vehicle was who they ran from.

Just in time, she closed the heavy door behind them and turned the lock. Then she snuck a peek through the small window and saw a man exit the van. He put the cigarette he carried in his mouth and used his hands to reach down for the sweater the girl had left behind. Then, he turned toward the door they’d gone through. By doing so, he stepped into the light.

Instantly, Hanna’s heart stopped. Her pulse exploded with a crushing fear gushing through her system so rapidly, she couldn’t breathe. Her legs lost all strength. And then she dropped to the ground. When the door handle jangled, she vaguely heard the indrawn squeal of the girl beside her and didn’t notice when she hid herself against Hanna for protection.

Time stood still. She was back at the farm. Frozen in disbelief, wheezing and shuddering so badly, she hardly felt the girl pull her close and hold her. Together they stayed like that for a long, long time.

Chapter Twenty

Ana took the phone call without expecting bad news. After all, she’d spoken to Maria earlier and had heard that Lew had been taken off the ventilator and was coming around. That was wonderful news. It meant the doctor’s believed he’d recover.

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