Best Laid Plans(127)

Lucy said, “The evidence in your case wasn’t in DEA storage, if you were wondering.”

“I’m sure it’s not,” Elise said with a fake yawn. “I get a trial by jury. Never underestimate me. Or Toby. We always win.”

Lucy leaned forward. “Not this time. We have most of his money. We caught on to your game early enough to trick you, and we diverted the money into an FBI account. If you think your brother is going to be able to buy or bribe you out of jail, think again.”

Elise seemed amused. “We’ll see about that.”

Lucy said, “I will be testifying against you. If you think you’re good on the stand? You’ve never seen me.”

“You won’t.”

“Don’t count on it. I’m looking forward to the day I can tell the court exactly what you are.”

“You won’t, because you’ll be dead.”

A chill ran down Lucy’s spine at Elise’s matter-of-fact tone, but she kept her expression impassive as she rose from the chair. “You don’t scare me. You’re a calculating, street-smart, manipulative sociopath. You talk a good game, but I won. And I will find Tobias. He will pay for his crimes. You can count on that.”

She turned and walked out. Before she closed the door, Elise said, “It ain’t over until the fat lady sings.”

Lucy shut the door firmly. Stood there, took a deep breath. She was shaking. Damn, had Elise seen it? She hoped not. She hoped she’d kept her fear locked down while facing that monster.

Brad was waiting for her in the observation room. “I didn’t know you were here,” she said.

“I got your message late. Hoped I could talk you out of it.” He rubbed her arm. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Fine.” But her voice was clipped and tense.

“You shouldn’t have gone in there. Just like me facing Nicole might not have been the smartest move. Nicole knows how I’ll react and pushes all my buttons. Elise is … different. She’s intuitive, and not in a good way. She wanted to scare you.”

“I know,” Lucy said. “I had to face her and show I wasn’t intimidated.”

“I think you did.”

“I don’t think she cares. She has a hundred little plans she’s working on, and we need to warn the warden that she’s dangerous. We need a psych evaluation immediately, and not just any court-appointed shrink. I’m going to talk to the AUSA about getting my brother Dillon appointed. He’s an expert witness, consults with the FBI all the time, and he won’t be snowed by her.”

And she wanted to see her brother. All of them. She wanted her family. For years she’d detached from her family because when they looked at her, they saw her as a victim. It hurt, and she couldn’t explain it to them or to herself. She’d brought them back into her life one by one. First Jack, then Dillon, then Patrick … and with Sean by her side, she realized she could face anything. Family made her stronger.

What kind of family had created Elise Hansen?

Brad and Lucy walked out of the observation room and through the maze of security in order to retrieve their weapons from the desk sergeant.

“What’s going on with Worthington’s estate?” Brad asked. “Between the congresswoman’s money laundering and Harper’s murder, I figure it’s a mess.”

“Logan Dunbar, the agent from D.C., is staying for a week or two to process the evidence found in her house and office. There was a file in her safe that is coded, but Dunbar thinks it’s proof of her money laundering, and once they figure it out, it will lead to Tobias. Barry is working with Dunbar and the AUSA on the case and any other indictments.”

“You don’t sound optimistic.”

“I’m angry, Brad. Harper Worthington is dead because he tried to do the right thing. First he came to us—the FBI—and we turned him away. So he investigated his own wife. Mona Hill, part of this conspiracy from the beginning, has disappeared. Maybe she’s dead, but the way Tobias works he would have left her to be found—not just for us, but to keep his own people in line. Nicole Rollins is still working on a plea agreement and I really believe she could have stopped all of this—but we’ll never know. A little boy was shot to death because his parents were gangbangers, and that just doesn’t seem right. As if just because of his birth, he was condemned. And that girl—” Lucy stopped and took a deep breath. “I promised myself I wouldn’t let her get under my skin.”

“What we do isn’t easy,” Brad said.

“No one promised it would be. Thanks for letting me vent.” Lucy wanted to go home and disappear in the pool house with Sean. No phones. No computers. Just the two of them. While she was still angry with Barry for talking to people about her behind her back, she owed him big for reminding her that she had a life outside of the job.

“We have one thing we didn’t have before,” Brad said.

“What?” She thought back on her conversation with Elise but didn’t know what Brad was referring to.

“She admitted to knowing about the bomb, about the entire plan. Conspiracy. Every crime we can charge to Tobias, we can charge to her.”

“You think she can sway a jury?”

“No. We’ll both see to that.”