Page 122 of Hidden Ascent

“No? I paid a visit to your friend, John Sharpe. Or should I say, the deceased?”

“Sharpe’s dead? I don’t believe you. I would have heard about it. I want to make a phone call.”

“You can do that later. And yes, I saw him die. It happened right in front of me. He was about to kill me when he got caught in the middle of a gunfight. Poor guy. We kept it quiet while we went through his personal effects.”

Baker smiled. “You’ve got nothing.”

Isla pulled a folded sheet of paper from her back pocket. “Let me see here.” She unfolded the paper and pretended to study it. “Looks like an email from you to Mr. Sharpe discussing the agreed amount that we found deposited into your account for taking care of Fogarty.” She looked at him. “He kept extensive details on those he worked with.”

“This is a setup. He never would have given you anything.”

“He didn’t. We found his stash. He’s had everything go so well for him for so long. I think he got cocky and careless. And you know what they say, pride comes before the fall. Thanks for your help, officers. I’ll let you take it from here.”

“I won’t go to prison for this.”

“Yes, you will.” She waved to him and walked away.

* * *

Isla hadn’t intended to drive back to Peter’s after watching Baker be arrested. But she knew Jay was still there. It would have been easier to go home and act like nothing had changed. But she couldn’t leave everything up in the air. She couldn’t forget about their unfinished business.

When she reached the house, Peter and Jay were sitting on the porch watching the sun go down.

“Isla,” Peter said when she got out of her car. “We weren’t expecting to see you.”

“I know. But I left Baker and wanted to come here to say thank you both for all of your help.” She climbed the stairs and leaned against the railing. “Since Sharpe’s death, we’ve barely had the chance to say two words to each other. But I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“How did it feel to put him away?” Jay said. He looked uncomfortable.

“It was amazing. He had no idea. I got to wipe the smug look off his face.”

“I wish I could have seen that.”

“You could have come.”

“No, that was yours to do.”

“I’m just glad it’s over. It’s surreal being here under these new circumstances. It seems a million years ago when you turned up here, Jay.”

“Yeah. It was a lifetime ago, that’s for sure. Isla, are you staying with the agency after all that?”

“It’s where I belong. I do a lot of good there, and now that we’ve got Sharpe’s influence out of the picture, we can do even more. I heard the Red Wolves have been disbanded, so that’s one less gang we have to worry about.”

“Another one will take its place. It’s a good thing the DEA has a capable agent to combat the next problem.”

“Thanks for your vote of confidence.”

“I wasn’t talking about you.”

She laughed. “Actually, I was thinking of going into undercover work for the agency.”

“Oh, great. Let me know when you need to be rescued again.” He started to laugh, but it died into a frown. “Well, I should get going.”

“Now?” Isla said. “It’s getting late.”

“And I’ve got a drive ahead of me. So—”

“Where are you going?”

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