Page 93 of Hidden Depths

“You told her to get a rental?” Sara said.

“Yes.”

“And she knows we’re in hiding? What if she drives by?”

“She knows.”

Sara selected several small stones from a nearby pile of dirt and tossed them one at a time at the wall across the alley.

“You wouldn’t do well on a stakeout,” Tom said.

“Why not?”

“You can’t sit still.”

“It’s my nerves. If I wasn’t nervous, I’d kick my feet up and relax.”

“You have nothing to be nervous about right now. Unless you don’t think we can trust this woman.”

“It’s not that. I know Peter wouldn’t send anyone unless he knew they were reliable.”

Tom pushed his back against the wall as he stood from his crouching position. “There she is.”

He held his gun at his side. Sara trusted Peter’s friend, but everyone made mistakes.

A slim woman with a ponytail of dark straight hair got out of a white sedan. She took a deep breath, looking around as though she was enjoying the setting.

“It’s good to see she’s cautious,” Tom said.

“Cautious how? She looks like a tourist.”

“Exactly. And in the meantime, she got a 360 degree view of her surroundings.”

Agent Taylor wandered toward their hiding spot, checking the road again before she joined them behind the building.

She held out her hand. “Tom and Sara, I presume?”

“Agent Isla Taylor,” Tom said, taking her hand. “It’s good of you to come.”

“You can call me Isla. Peter said it was urgent and it involves drugs. Just my kind of mission.”

“I hope he mentioned it was dangerous, and also, at this point, we’re doing it off the books.”

She laughed. “Seems to be all I’m doing these days. If this drags on, I can get my husband to come down too. He’d love it.”

“He’s with the DEA too?”

“No. He’s got a similar skillset, but of a different flavor.”

“What’s that mean?”

“He learned his trade while mostly working with criminals. But don’t worry. He’s well and truly on our side now. I offered for him to come, but he decided to stay with Peter. He’s helping make some repairs to the house. With Jemi being so sick, we thought it best that he stay there where he’s most needed right now.”

“Jemi’s sick?” Sara said. “He never mentioned it.”

Isla nodded. “Cancer. The doctors have all but given up, but there’s a lot of us praying.”

“I can’t begin to imagine what Peter’s going through. I wish he’d said something. I wouldn’t have bothered him.”

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