Page 84 of Stone
A surge of triumph rose in her chest. He hadn’t admitted anything, but his behavior was that of a man who had something to worry about. And he was heading right down the path they wanted.
“You can’t,” she said.
“Not particularly reassuring, Dr. Morganstern.”
“I don’t care about reassuring you. You can make your own choices,” she said. “You’re a political man, Supervisor Lowery. Weigh everything you know, everything I’ve told you, and make your decision. I hope you’ll want to settle this between us, but if not, then let the chips fall where they may.” She paused. “But as an incentive for you to choose the path that I’d prefer, I’ll even let you pick the time and place.”
“You expect me to believe that once you hand over whatever information you have that you’ll let things go?” he challenged. “I’m not admitting to anything, of course, but if you have theevidence you’re alluding to, you don’t strike me as the type of person to let sleeping dogs lie.”
Callie held up her notepad, catching Juliana’s attention. “It’s all about self-preservation—he’ll identify with the drive to protect yourself,” it said in her oddly beautiful cursive.
Juliana nodded in understanding. “First, why would I go to the trouble of all this if I didn’t intend to—as you say—let sleeping dogs lie? Second, there’s a reporter who’s interested in you, Supervisor. She ran an article on the Bayview development and some of the…peculiarities she found in the land use designation process. You’re right, I don’t like that if we come to an agreement, I’m essentially ignoring your crimes. And those of Lieutenant Polinsky and Brian Gregor. But I believe your arrangement is short-lived as it is. I believe that even without me, your crimes will come to light. Maybe not next week or next year, but soon. If that’s the case, then why involve myself? Why put myself in the spotlight if there isn’t a need?”
Silence filled the line. “Why indeed,” he finally said. “Frankly, Juliana, I’m not sure I can trust you.”
She found it odd that he flipped between “Ms.,” “Dr.,” and “Juliana.” He probably thought it made him sound clever or devious. In reality, he sounded like a wanker.
“Like I said, Supervisor, your call. You don’t have to trust me to believe me or believe me to trust me. I have evidence that would cause a prosecutor to start looking at you and your former army buddies. I’m offering to stay silent on it so long as the three of you leave Simon and me—and everyone, and everything, close to us—alone. And, like I said, I’ll even let you pick the time and place that I hand the copies of the evidence over to you so that you understand the scope and gravity. My only condition on that offer is that Simon will be with me when we meet—I’m not stupid enough to come on my own. That’s all I can do, though. The rest is up to you.”
Once again, silence fell over the line. Callie rolled her eyes, and Sabina looked to be itching to open her computer. Juliana wondered what the cyber expert felt the need to research. Then again, maybe she just couldn’t be without her device for any length of time. Like an addiction. For Sabina’s husband’s sake, Juliana hoped that wasn’t the case.
“I’ll let you know,” Lowery finally said before abruptly ending the call. That, more than anything, told Juliana she’d rattled him.
After double-checking that the line was dead, she looked over to Callie and waited for her reaction. Juliana had never dealt with a criminal before. With the exception of a few minor detours, the conversation had covered everything they’d hoped to cover. But she’d been so focused on the minutiae that she didn’t have a good sense of the tone—of whether Lowery would take the bait.
Brushing back a lock of hair and tucking it into her ponytail, Callie nodded. “You done good, Juliana. I can’t say for certain, but if I were a betting woman, which I am, I’d put my wager on you. He’ll call back. Not today. But he won’t wait too long.”
Simon let out a quiet breath. “And if you were to bet on when this will all be over?”
“So that you two can forge ahead in blissful coupledom?” Callie said, not entirely enthusiastic about the prospect. Not that Juliana thought the agent didn’t want that for them, but more that she didn’t believe it was a real thing. As if love, romantic love, fell into the category of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
“Yes,” Simon responded without hesitation.
Callie’s dark eyes studied him. Then she sighed. “If all goes as I anticipate—and it usually does—then less than a week. Probably closer to two days.”
“Good,” Simon said with a nod. Then turning to her, he grinned. “How about we take the beast for a walk and figure out where we’re going for our first vacation?”
40
“Do you think Sabina is gloating over being right about the location?” Juliana asked.
Stone scanned the area as they approached. Lowery had called two hours ago and given them exactly those two hours to reach the meeting point—the old granary in Galt. Sitting on the edge of an expansive field east of town, it consisted of a warehouse, two large silos, and nothing else.
Stone shook his head. “This was too easy a puzzle for her, not something worthy of gloating over.”
Juliana chuckled softly. “That tracks with her personality. Look, there’s the car,” she said, nodding to the dark blue SUV parked beside the warehouse as they drove by. HICC’s advance team was currently tucked away in various hidey-holes inside the building and thirty minutes earlier, they’d reported Lowery’s arrival.
“When do you think the others will arrive?” she asked as they drove by. They’d double back and park once he had a feel for the location. He trusted the HICC team, he knew their reputation, but he wanted to see things with his own eyes.
“After we’re inside. They’ll want to make sure we’re following the rules,” he replied. It was a guess, but an educated one.
“That we’re alone, have the materials, and aren’t carrying any weapons,” she said, repeating Lowery’s list. He nodded, tension swirling in his gut. At least he and Juliana were kitted out with all sorts of body cams and listening devices, thanks to HICC.
He glanced around for any sign of their backup. HICC had a team of three inside the building, and the FBI had multiple agents nearby, as well as a chopper waiting in a field a half mile away. That he couldn’t see them was both good and bad—if he couldn’t spot them, neither would the triad. But he’d have to trust, rather than verify, they were in position as planned.
A county road intersected with theirs, and he used it to turn around. In silence, they headed back toward the granary, where he pulled up next to the SUV.
“Are you ready?” he asked. Juliana, who’d been intently studying the patchwork of farming, turned her cornflower eyes on him. He was going to be a sucker for those eyes for the rest of his life.
