While Justice Sleeps(87)

Jared covered her hand with his, palming the device. He stood quickly, dragging Avery up with him. He took the device and deftly slid it beneath the rim of a plate on the counter, out of sight, then pulled Avery several steps back. “We need to make a list of the ways they could have gotten these photos.” Into her ear, he whispered, “Don’t react. Place is bugged. Audio, possibly visual.” He hugged her forehead soothingly, then held her away from him.

    She leaned back into him, her arms tight around his waist. “Let them hear,” she instructed.

She shifted away and said, “I’m okay. As for Rita, they might have followed her from here on Monday.” Avery broke off her hold of Jared and hugged Ling. “Place is bugged,” she whispered. “Find a way to tell Noah.”

Disengaging, she tugged at Jared’s hand and led him toward the living room. She motioned them closer to the television. “Let’s see if anything has made it onto the news.”

Ling put a companionable arm through Noah’s, leaned in, and quickly passed the message. Together, they joined Avery and Jared in front of the TV, where every news channel was plastered with the Gazette headline.

Noah was the first to speak: “Loyalty has its limits.” He pointed to the screen. “This is the tip of a malevolent iceberg, Avery. On Monday, you’ll have to stand in open court and defend yourself and your mother in front of the probate judge, Diana McAdoo.” He smacked the pages of the paper he’d scooped up against the coffee table. “I’m Justice Wynn’s attorney; I don’t think this was ever his intent. He couldn’t have meant to expose you to this.”

“Justice Wynn couldn’t have given a damn about what this would cost me,” Avery corrected him. “He had a goal, and he needed a weapon. That’s me. A blind, stupid, loyal weapon that would stay on course until I hit my target.”

“He asked the impossible of you,” Jared ground out, leaning in close.

“I’m not quitting.” She snatched the paper from Noah. “And I won’t be distracted by this tripe.”

Jared jabbed a finger into the page. “Read it, Avery. Read the story and tell me my father is worth this.”

She focused on the page, the black ink blurring for an instant. The story continued for another column and fell below the fold. Unable to tear her eyes away, Avery continued on to the smaller story tucked into the sparest real estate of the front page.

    Jamie Lewis, a Maryland nurse, was found shot to death in her apartment in Tacoma Park, the victim of an apparent home invasion earlier this week. The Tacoma Park police have not released any information on suspects. Her husband, Thomas Lewis, has posted a $15,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest of the culprits.

The story was wholly inaccurate, but the reminder was more than sufficient. A woman had already lost her life protecting Howard Wynn.

Avery reached for the remote and killed the sound on the television. Whoever was listening in, she wanted them to hear this.

To hear her.

“I’m not going to give up custody of Justice Wynn. Not now, and certainly not because of an article in the newspaper. He left me clues that will lead me to the truth. There’s a line that connects all of it.” Her hands balled into fists. “They’ve killed to stop me, but it won’t work. I’m going to finish it.”



* * *



—

“She’s tough.” Phillips sat on the opposite side of Vance’s desk, watching Keene on the screen. “We should take her out now.”

Vance thought the same as he took off his headphones. Slammed with bad press and a brush with death, she plowed on. In another life, he’d admire her, but her tenacity was beginning to piss him off.

Phillips left the office, and Vance reclined in his chair. No one else would begin arriving for at least another hour. Which would give him time to initiate phase two. He jabbed in the extension. On the other line, a woman’s firm tones answered, “Special Agent Robert Lee’s office. How may I assist you?”

“This is Major Vance at DHS. Liaison for the president.”

“Right away, sir.”

Muzak piped through the phone for the seconds it took the operator to locate the proper transmission lines. Soon Vance heard a click, and then a voice. “Special Agent Lee.”

“Robert. It’s Will Vance at DHS. I’m working on this Justice Wynn debacle, and I keep hitting a brick wall.”

“The stubbornness of Avery Keene?”

    Vance gave the expected chuckle. “Something like that.”

“What can I do for you?”

“I assume you’ve seen the morning paper.”

The pages lay open on Lee’s cluttered desk, the key passages highlighted in yellow. “Can’t miss the headline.”

“The president is concerned about how this will affect her judgment as Justice Wynn’s guardian.”

“Understood. What are you looking for?”

“I’ve heard about the attempt on her life in Georgia yesterday.”

Agent Lee cocked a brow. “News travels fast.”

“Bullets travel faster,” he replied flatly. “And as long as she’s out there on her own, she’s exposed.”

“What do you suggest?”