Page 6 of To Die For

“Have you gotten anything out of her along those grounds?”

“No. She’s pretty tight-lipped.”

“What exactly are Glass’s ‘alleged’ crimes?”

“The RICO suit charges drug manufacturing and distribution on a grand scale, extortion, fraud, bribery, human trafficking, and the theft and sale of historical artifacts from the Middle East and Asia, among other charges. Glass has a string of legit businesses of all shapes and sizes, and we believe the illicit proceeds are laundered through them.”

“So how can a judge allow a guy like that to adopt her?”

“There are no guarantees, Devine, but we do have one potential ace in our hand.”

“What?”

“Betsy has a say in all this.”

“Does shewantto go with him?”

“I don’t know. Like I said, she plays her cards very close to the vest. That’s why I said it was apotentialace.”

“And I’m here to escort Betsy to a meeting with her uncle?”

“Yes. Tomorrow at the Four Seasons.”

“Why do they need me? You’re her guardian.”

“When two eight-hundred-pound gorillas like the FBI and DHS climb into the ring with each other, Devine, who the hell knows what will happen? Now, what’s so special aboutyouthat you got this gig?”

“I guess it’s because I knew Glass from our military days back in Iraq. I suppose the powers-that-be thought that might come in handy. So how did her parents die?” he asked.

“Dwayne and Alice Odom died of drug overdoses in their car. Betsy apparently tried to revive them with Narcan. Not the first time she’d done that, I heard. Word is they ingested a heavy dose of fentanyl, so they were goners as soon as it hit their bloodstreams. Died right in front of her.”

“Damn. Pretty traumatic for anyone, much less a kid.”

“Their lives up till then were a bit of a shit show. Moving constantly. Homeless off and on. Not sure how Betsy even managed to go to school on a consistent basis. Wedidlearn that Glass and Dwayne Odom were not close. Glass was considerably older than his sister. Sort of a big brother protector growing up.”

“So brother and sisterweretight?”

“Apparently. But then Dwayne entered the picture when Glass was still in the Army and swept Alice right off her feet. Dwayne was also a number of years older than Alice. He’d been around in life while she was pretty cloistered and naïve. I guess Alice saw something in Dwayne that she wanted. They got married and had Betsy sometime later.”

“So can I talk to her?”

A slight sound made Devine glance over at the bedroom door. It was now open. And standing there was Betsy Odom, with her curly auburn hair, freckled skin, and a round face of stone staring dead at him.

CHAPTER

4

BETSY ODOM, THIS IS AGENTTravis Devine,” said Saxby.

Devine stepped forward. “You can just call me Travis, Betsy.”

He ran his gaze over her. She wore baggy faded jeans with holes in the knees that looked real rather than manufactured, a pale blue Nike sweatshirt, and pink ankle socks with the right big toe showing through a tear. She was chubby in all the usual prepubescent areas, extra weight that would be used for growth spurts and to stretch out the girl’s frame. Her eyes were a muted hazel, her lips set in a firm, unyielding line.

“Mr. Devine would like to talk to you,” said Saxby.

“I’m hungry,” said Odom, not looking at her.

“You can finish the other half of my meatball sub. I can get you a soda and chips from the vending machine down the hall.”

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