The Target (Will Robie 3)

Julie shot a glance at Shepherd and then looked over at Reel. “So where is your real daughter?”

Reel looked down at her hands. She said quietly, “I don’t know. I had to give her up for adoption a long time ago.”

“Why?” Julie wanted to know.

“Because I was really still just a kid myself and I had no job. And then the job that was offered to me didn’t provide for a baby in tow.”

“Right,” said Julie, both looking and sounding disappointed.

Reel got to her feet and turned to Shepherd. “Lesley, I owe you more than I can ever repay.”

Shepherd took Reel’s offered hand and shook it. “Are you kidding? My honor.”

Reel turned to Vance. “Can I ask a favor?”

“How can I say no?” said Vance.

“Can I take a couple of photos?”

“Of what?”

“I’ll show you.”

The two women left. Robie turned to Julie.

“You sure you’re okay? They didn’t…you know, do anything to you?”

“Other than smacking me around, the creeps left me alone. But that wouldn’t have lasted. The head guy was a psycho.”

She drew closer to Robie. “Did you know that Jessica didn’t know where her daughter was?”

“No. I just recently found out she had a daughter. She’d never talked about it before.”

“Do you think she regrets it? I mean, giving up her kid?”

“I don’t know. I guess most mothers regret it, don’t they?”

Julie shrugged and looked somber. “Some don’t have a choice. Like my mom. But she always wanted me back.” She thought for a few seconds. “I think Jessica regrets it.”

“I think you’re right.” Robie put an arm around her shoulders. “And I know Jerome will be glad to get you back.”

“Are you going to make this, like, a habit?”

“What?”

“Saving me.”

She was joking, but Robie frowned. “I hope I never have to again, Julie. Considering it was our screwup that got you involved in the first place.”

“We got out okay.”

“No one can count on that to keep happening.” He was about to say something else when a woman appeared in the doorway.

Robie looked at her in surprise.

It was DD Amanda Marks. She smiled and came forward.

“You must be Julie. I’ve heard quite a bit about you from a friend of yours.”

“Jessica?” asked Julie.

Marks nodded. “I’ve been told that everything turned out all right.”

“It did,” said Robie. “And thanks for the assist.”

“I almost never get an opportunity to give back. It actually felt good.”

Reel came back into the room, trailed by Vance. Reel looked relieved about something. Vance actually looked pleased. Reel shook her hand.

“Thanks, this means a lot.”

“I truly hope it works out for you.”

“Oh, I think it’ll work out just fine now.” She looked over and saw Marks. “I’d like to finish this now, ma’am, if that’s okay.”

“With my blessing, Agent Reel. With my blessing.”

Julie glanced sharply at Robie. “What are they talking about?”

“I’m not sure,” admitted Robie.

Reel called out to him. “Hey, Robie? You want to be in on the end of this thing?”

“And what would that be?”

“I’d prefer to show rather than tell.”

Julie whispered to him, “You better go. And you better tell me everything that happens.”

Robie rose and headed toward Reel. “Where to?” he asked.

“Not that far away, actually. We can take a car. But I need to make a phone call first and get things set up.”

“Just one phone call?”

“One is all it takes, if you call the right person.”

Chapter

48

IT WAS RAINING. EVEN IN here Earl Fontaine could hear the drops colliding against the roof of the prison. He could hear the wind howling too. He snuggled more comfortably in his hospital bed. Now that it was over, he knew he could die a happy man. But then again, he might just hang on a little longer. He had a bed, a roof over his head, meds for the pain, three squares a day, even if they were in the form of liquid shot into his gut via a tube, and a good-looking personal doctor to look after him. Not a bad life, actually.

He glanced over at the bed once occupied by Junior. He smiled. He had no idea how such a moron had been able to kill so many people and elude capture for as long as Junior had. Earl had only had to call his “friend” and big Albert had been put on the case, first to hide the knife in Junior’s bed. Then it had been up to Earl to get the idiot to pull it out. Well, that had been easy enough. When Junior’s fingers had touched the knife, his fate had been sealed. Albert had been instructed on exactly what to do. Grab Junior, keep the knife clamped in his hand, pretend to struggle and then kill the little son of a bitch, and kill him good.

And if there was one thing Albert was good at, it was killing. Earl wondered if he had been the one designated to kill Sally. He hoped so. She would be dead as dead could be.

He sighed contentedly and closed his eyes as the rain continued to pound down. He slept for a while, figuring that a nap before his last round of meds would be good.

“Earl?” A hand grasped his shoulder. “Earl?” the voice said more urgently.

Earl slowly opened his eyes. He had been dreaming about the female doctor. It had been a damn fine dream. She had been naked and tied up and he was about to—

“What?” He blinked and slowly rolled over on his back to stare up into the face of the same male nurse he’d talked to before. “What is it? Time for my meds?”

He looked at the big clock on the wall. He’d only been asleep an hour. It wasn’t time for his medication. The rain was still falling outside and the wind made the old prison shudder under its assault.

Earl grimaced. “What’d you wake me up for? Ain’t time for my meds, boy, not by a long shot.” He was upset that his dream had been interrupted. He started to close his eyes once more.

The nurse shook him once more. “It’s not about your meds, Earl. You got a visitor. Well, visitors.”

Earl blinked more rapidly. “Visitors? It’s nighttime, boy. Ain’t no visitors allowed after dark. You know that.”

“Well, they’re here.”

“Who is?”

The nurse pointed to his left. “Them.”

Earl looked over, and when he saw them his heart almost stopped.

Jessica Reel and Will Robie stood there, their hair slicked down and their clothes dripping from the inclement weather they had just come through.

Earl sat up so fast one of his IV lines became tangled in his bedsheets.

The nurse disentangled it and stepped back. He looked at the expression on Earl’s features and then at the one on Reel’s and he said quickly, “I’ll…I’ll just let you folks visit, then.”

He turned and hurried off.

Reel stepped forward, with Robie right behind her.

“Sally?” said Earl. He attempted a grin, but it failed about halfway to his mouth. “What you be doing here, girl?”

“Just coming to say goodbye, Earl.”

“Hell, you already done that. Not that I ain’t glad to see you again.”