Warpath

Chapter 2

Eyes bugged out, jaw gaping in rigor mortis, lips peeled back exposing blackened gums; Cooper’s death-face still haunted her. This was the man she’d loved. The horrible image was what Jane saw when she closed her eyes at night.

After the attempt on her life Jane was moved to the prison’s medical ward with twenty-four hour watch. The other inmate’s hacking coughs and the smell of death put Jane on edge. She hated hospitals. She hated herself for being so stupid—for agreeing to be the shill.

She was expecting her mom in the visitation room but instead a preppy guy in a pin-striped oxford sat behind the glass. He produced identification and held it to the window, “Special Agent Brendan Gallagher, FBI,” he said. “I need your help.”

Jane thought she was done talking to the cops. “For what?” she asked.

“To find the woman who burned you.”

Veronica had indeed burned her—in the third degree. The beautiful Veronica appeared to be the fiancée of a billionaire, but in reality she masterminded a brilliant scam. Only now did Jane see she acted as Veronica’s puppet, a pawn sacrificed, and three million dollars was missing. Jane was accused of murdering the billionaire and even Cooper, Jane’s lover, betrayed her and was found slain. She could even remember the smell of his rotting flesh.

“I’ve already told the cops everything,” she said, eyeing him with suspicion.

“Veronica is watching you.”

That gave Jane pause. Watching?

“Hear me out,” he said. “I’ve been tracking Veronica for quite some time. She knows all about me. I can’t compromise my cover because her influence runs deep. More than you can imagine.”

Jane didn’t know what to say. She wondered if Veronica could have had something to do with the attempt on her life. Not offering too many details, she explained how she narrowly escaped the assassination attempt.

He nodded and asked, “You’ve heard about jailhouse suicides?”

“I guess.”

“Death by hanging is most often the MO.”

Jane read into what he meant. “You’re saying if I died they would have covered it up, claimed I hanged myself?”

“The Los Angeles Sheriff Department has had its lion share of corruption, especially in the jails.”

“My lawyer is working on moving me to Central Regional, in Lynwood.”

“There’s no guarantee you’ll be safe there. Like I said, her influence runs deep.”

She tried to wrap her mind around it, asked, “She can arrange a murder behind bars?”

“Draw your own conclusion. Now tell me, where do you think Veronica may have gone?”

“I’ve told everyone a thousand times,” she said, “I don’t know.”

“Maybe we can figure it out together.”

She feared she’d said too much. “My lawyer wouldn’t want me to talk about this.”

“Every day Veronica slips further away. Help me catch her before she’s gone forever.”

She really didn’t trust him but ventured, “What do you want to know?”

He started with many of the same questions the detectives had asked, but he was clearly more focused on Veronica. He cared less about Cooper, the boyfriend who coaxed her into the caper. He asked nothing about Alexander Wolff, the murdered billionaire. Instead he focused on Veronica and Wolff’s bodyguard Buddy.

“Did Veronica speak of any specific cities or destinations?”

“Not really.”

“Buddy?”