Page 91 of Proof

That gave him a modicum of comfort.

As Chris deplaned, he recognized the agent who was waiting for him at the gate. They gave each other a nod as Chris approached him. “Marshal Gaines? Desmond Legend. Let me grab that for you.” He took charge of Chris’s duffel.

“Good to meet you, Desmond. Boy, it really is hot here.”

Desmond chuckled. “But it’s a dry heat.”

“So I’ve been told.” Gaines grinned.

“We’ve got a chopper waiting to take us down to Sedona. That should get us there in about thirty minutes.” The agent escorted Gaines to a golf cart that brought them to the helicopter pad on the other side of the small terminal. As soon as they boarded, the chopper was up and over the sandstone canyons. “Too bad you didn’t get here early to see the scenery.”

Or to stop the woman I love from getting mixed up in who-knows-what, Chris thought to himself. “Maybe on the way back,” Gaines shouted above the noise of the whirring blades.

Legend gave him a thumbs-up.

Before Chris knew it, the chopper was settling down on the tarmac at the minute Sedona airfield, too tiny to accommodate anything but a small private plane. A large black SUV was waiting for them at the equally small terminal building. The driver introduced himself as Buck from the Phoenix office. “Nothing like jumping in feet first, eh?”

More like headfirst, Chris thought to himself.

“Well, now that you’re fresh out of training, maybe you can finish up this job, so we can all have the weekend off.” Buck shoved Chris’s duffel into the back.

“That would be great. My son is getting out of baseball camp this weekend.” Chris decided to be as casual as possible. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for what was ahead. In all his years of law enforcement, this was the most frightening situation he’d ever found himself in. “I don’t want the ex to have to pick him up. She’ll make a big stink.” More idle patter.

“You too?” The driver looked up into the rearview mirror. “Must come with the job.”

And a girlfriend who just might help me lose that job. Chris realized his palms were sweating. “So where are we staying?”

“Arroyo Pinion,” the driver replied. “Not a spa-type resort, but not bad, either. You ever been here before?”

“Just Tucson and Phoenix. Never made it up this far.”

“Wait until you see it in the daylight. It’s pretty spectacular.”

“So I’ve heard.” From my girlfriend, whom I suspect of breaching a witness.

“You’re probably hungry after your trip. I think the restaurant is still open at the hotel. We can grab somethin’,” Buck suggested.

Chris’s stomach was upside down. Food was the last thing he needed. “Sounds good.” He had to play along. Maybe get some soup.

It was a quick drive from the airport to the hotel. The person at the front desk was an older gent with silver hair. “Welcome to Arroyo Pinion. How can I help you?”

All three men took out their fake identification. No one was to know who they really were, what they did for a living, or why they were there. Chris Gaines was now Charles Gannon, Desmond Legend was now David Lamont, and Buck was Bill Cunningham.

“I have all three of you on the same floor, as requested.” The desk clerk handed them their key cards. “Enjoy your stay. If there is anything we can do to make your visit more pleasurable, please do not hesitate to ask.”

Chris refrained from saying, “Can you make this nightmare go away?”

They dropped off their bags in their rooms and agreed to meet up in twenty minutes. Chris stripped off his clothes. He was in need of a shower. He smiled when he pulled out his Axe body wash and thought about taking Carter to the drugstore. He really hoped they could wrap this up in a couple of days. He missed his kid, the only stable thing in his life at the moment. And even that relationship was on shaky ground. He was in and out of the tub in less than ten minutes and then decided to give Luna another call.

“Hey! What are you doing up so late?” Luna asked, thinking he was on the East Coast, where it was midnight.

“Couldn’t sleep.” Gosh, how he hated to lie, but he probably wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway.

“What’s going on?” Luna sounded concerned.

He really didn’t know what to say to her. “Just the whole custody thing,” he said, which wasn’t a lie.

“Is there a problem?” Luna asked.

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