Sting

He also lifted an LSU baseball cap from off the head of a stuffed alligator and snatched several strands of Mardi Gras beads hanging from a peg. He put on the cap and draped the beads around her neck.

Beneath her shirt, the bulletproof vest was heavy and hot. Another layer would make it worse, but when Shaw ordered her again to put on the t-shirt, she pulled the gaudy thing over her head without missing a beat.

“How bad was Hickam?”

“Bad.”

“Do you think he’ll die?”

“Probably.”

Her breath caught. “We should go back.”

“And let Panella get you, too?”

“You can’t be sure it was Panella.”

“Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.”

“We left a crime scene. Joe Wiley will be beside himself.”

“I’m doing him a favor.”

“How’s that?”

“You’re one less thing he’ll have to deal with tonight.”

“I don’t think he’ll see it that way.”

“Me either.”

“You could always tell him that you placed me under arrest.”

He threw his arm across her shoulders like an affectionate lover, pulled her close to his side, and nuzzled her hair away from her ear. “I have.”

Astonished, she tilted her head back and looked at him. The upper half of his face was shadowed by the bill of the baseball cap, but there was no mistaking the set of his jaw. He wasn’t kidding. She tried to shake him off, but he held firm, even though he grunted with pain as they struggled.

“You can’t arrest me.”

“Hell I can’t, and if you don’t stop that I’ll cuff you for resisting.”

“What are you arresting me for?”

“Lying to federal agents. The others didn’t know you were, but I did.”

“When did I lie? About what?”

“Your phone conversation with Josh.”

“No one would even have known he’d called me if I hadn’t told. Everything I said was the truth.”

“Maybe, but what did you leave unsaid?”

She remained silent.

“Um-huh. It’s that missing stuff that I want to hear, Jordie. Until further notice, consider yourself under arrest.” And then he Mirandized her, whispering her constitutional rights into her ear as though they were sweet nothings.

Even though by now they were blocks away from the hotel, he didn’t relax his vigilance. While playacting that they were an affectionate couple out for an evening of fun, he remained alert and watchful. He jammed his bloodstained hand into his jeans pocket to avoid it being noticed. When a police helicopter flew in low and hovered, he pulled her into a carryout daiquiri place where they stood in line like other customers until the chopper moved on.