King and Maxwell (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell 6)

to put myself together,” said Leslie.

“Okay. I’ve got some stuff to get from the car. Say twenty minutes?”

“Fine.”

She took the kids and the dog into the house but shot a nervous glance back at her husband before shutting the door.

Grant was standing next to his car when he felt the burn phone vibrate.

He looked at the text that had just appeared there.

Nice-looking family, Alan. Let’s keep it that way. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt the pooch.

Grant spun around in all directions, attempting to get eyes on the text sender.

But he saw no one. He put the phone away.

This complicated things. They had a stalemate on the kids, but that had no impact on his overall plan. All elements were in place. And even if Wingo had managed somehow to trace things back to him, he had no proof of anything that could stick. Grant could pull the trigger and there would be no evidence that he had done anything illegal.

After it was all over he would figure out what to do about Wingo. And King and Maxwell.

Far down the block, behind a line of parked cars, Michelle lowered her binoculars and glanced over at Sean, who sat in the driver’s seat. Wingo was in the backseat with optics on Grant as well.

“You were right, Sean,” said Michelle. “That really flushed him out. Like a bird dog into the thicket and the quail spilling out.”

“What I was hoping for,” said Sean with a pleased look.

“You think he’s standing down on this?” asked Michelle.

“He’s got a family, just like me,” said Wingo. “He doesn’t want anything to happen to them.”

“That I get,” said Michelle.

“But I doubt he’s standing down on his overall plan,” noted Sean. “That’s what you mean, right?”

Michelle nodded. “So that means the hostage situation will have no impact on what he wants to do.”

“Satellite, missing money, government conspiracy, leaks,” said Sean.

“And the motive being his mother’s and father’s suicide after Iran-Contra,” added Michelle. “Seems like a lot.”

“But there’s zip there we can take to the FBI,” said Sean. “Littlefield will look at us like we’re nuts. Or worse, he’ll make some inquiries and maybe blow everything up.”

“This satellite,” said Wingo. “You trying to get a fix on it?”

“Trying. We’re also trying to find the blogger’s source, but something tells me we’re staring right at his house. So that part is solved.”

Michelle said, “But if Edgar can establish a link between Grant and George Carlton, that is evidence.”

Sean said, “Evidence of a leak, not evidence of a major crime. And unless it can be proven that Grant stole classified information, his free speech rights might bar any prosecution.”

“So what do we do?” asked Wingo.

“We have to find out what the satellite is for. If we can do that, we might just be able to jump a few spaces and take his king.”

“You’re mixing checkers and chess,” observed Michelle.

“Yes I am, because I’m not yet sure what game Grant is playing.”