Page 71 of Sunset Cove
Chapter Twenty-six
The world unraveled in a matter of seconds, and Claire didn’t even see it coming. She was at the front desk talking to Gigi about a guest complaint when Agent McCoy strolled over.
“I’m really enjoying my stay here,” he said with a smile.
Claire smiled back. “That’s nice to hear.”
“I was surprised the judge issued a warrant as fast as he did,” he said, helping himself to a mint. “Made me glad that I stayed on site.”
Claire didn’t know how to respond to that. “I’m sorry?”
He pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket. “This is a search warrant for room 106.”
Oh no.So they’d finally gotten something – enough for a warrant. She stared at it, unable to absorb any of the words on the page.
“I’m going to hang out here with you, if you don’t mind. I wouldn’t want you to do anything silly, like trying to warn her.”
Claire narrowed her eyes. “Her?”
“Okay Miss Cooke,” he said, taking the warrant back. “That’s enough pretending.”
A second later, federal agents poured into the lobby. They moved wordlessly, rushing past the front desk and down the hall toward room 106.
Claire went to follow them, but Agent McCoy grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back. “No, no. You stay here.”
She shrugged him off and went down the hall, closely followed by another batch of agents. They ignored her, focused on the task at hand.
The first agent knocked on the door three times before kicking it in. Claire had the absurd thought that Chip was going to hit the roof when he heard about the broken door. As if that was the greatest of their worries!
Claire stood, mouth hanging open, listening to the shouts of the agents. Within moments, she heard an “All clear!”
She crept closer, watching as agents ransacked the room. One was pulling the sheets off the bed, while two others were ripping the drawers from the dresser and dumping the contents onto the floor. One emerged from under the bed holding a brown, thin wallet.
“We’ve got something,” he said, brushing past Claire.
Agent McCoy accepted it, and Claire watched as he opened it to reveal Marty’s driver’s license, smiling behind the plastic insert.
Her heart ached.Poor Marty.
“There it is,” he said, beaming.
A license! That was all they’d found. Marty had gotten away. She knew she shouldn’t say anything, but she couldn’t help it. “There what is?”
That little bit of snark was hard to contain. If she was about to be arrested, she’d save her next words for the presence of her attorney.
But it ended up being worse than that. Nobody came to arrest her. No one even made a move. She stood there, dumbfounded, watching them scurrying around her. It wasn’t until Lucy burst out of her room down the hall that they perked up.
“Claire!” she yelled, waving.
Agent McCoy took a step forward. “Lucy? Lucy Woodley?”
She ran over, eyes wild. “Yes. Please, don’t –”
He grabbed one of her wrists and swung it behind her back. “You are under arrest for concealing a fugitive.”
“What?” Lucy shot him an offended look as he clipped the first handcuff on.
Claire wanted to scream. “No, you don’t understand –”
