“Don’t sweat it. We’ll be out of here before nightfall. Guaranteed.”
**
Hunter and Raymond left the hospital when they were sure Adan would recover. Raymond drove into Alpine, and ready to head home to Marfa when he spotted a sky-blue helicopter lower and sit down near the S.O. Exiting the craft was a tall man with dark hair, wearing an expensive suit. He carried a briefcase and walked into the building as the helicopter idled.
“Wonder who that is,” Raymond asked.
“Let’s go see.” The two friends drove to the rear of the building and she and Raymond entered through the back door. They were just in time to see Ellis and RL escorted from the premises.
“No handcuffs,” Raymond said.
Hunter pushed forward and found Carlo, looking somber and more than a little pissed. “What’s going on?”
“Big shot lawyer. He’s got them out on bail already.”
“No way.”
“You know how it is, money and power.”
“They’re being released today?”
“Right now.”
As Ellis and RL stopped at the curb to wait for their ride, Ellis turned to look at the crowd. When he saw Hunter, he blew her a kiss.
Hunter started toward him and said,
“That son of a–”. Raymond stopped her before she could get too far.
Raymond said, “This isn’t over, so play it cool.”
“I’d like to cool him.”
“You may still get that chance. We can watch him all you want. He can’t stay out of trouble, and when he messes up, we’ll be there.”
Hunter’s phone rang and she answered it. It was Sector Headquarters. A voice said, “Is this Hunter Kincaid?”
“This is Kincaid.”
“Is Raymond with you?”
“Yes, Raymond is with me.”
“The A-Chief, Frank Saunders, and PAIC Oscar Molina are here in Frank’s office. They need for you two to come as soon as possible.”
Hunter looked at Raymond. She raised her eyebrows and pointed at the phone. “We’re on our way.”
“What was that all about?”
“Frank and Oscar want us to come to Frank’s office, like pronto.”
“What did we do?”
“I guess we’ll find out.”
They parked at Sector and went in by the front office and down to the A-Chief’s office halfway down the hallway. The door was closed, so Raymond knocked.
Frank’s voice said, “Come in.”