Page 22 of Be Courageous

* * *

Faith knew when she saw Seth and the five remaining FBI agents seated in the hotel’s conference room looking at the notes scribbled across the big white-erase board in front of them that they were brainstorming, which meant they had no good leads.

“Hey.” Fitz stood as she opened the door and ventured in.

At her entrance, Seth and every other agent in the room except for Fitz and Charlotte got up and filed out, heading to dinner, given their murmurs. As soon as they were gone, Fitz pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit down.

Faith’s hopes dropped another peg. He had bad news to share.

Sitting beside her, he gratified her by covering her hand with his. She latched on to it fiercely, regretting deeply having pushed him away. His warm, sure touch was the only thing preventing her from falling apart.

Charlotte, sitting on the other side of Fitz, glanced at their interlocked hands, then sent her a sympathetic grimace.

“Tell me what forensics said,” Faith demanded through a tight throat.

Fitz drew in a breath and said quickly, “Just that the phone was probably discovered by the perp, somewhere in that area, and immediately destroyed. Forensics lifted a partial fingerprint, which they’re running through our databases. Regarding the backpack, there were several fibers that could have come from anywhere, but nothing definitive. Prints were also lifted off the bag, but they all probably belong to Grayson.”

Faith nodded. “So, we’re back where we started.” Jerry’s death had shattered her world just one year ago. Why would God put her through thisagain?

Fitz tightened his hold on her hand while the muscles in his jaw flexed. Poor man, the weight of this investigation was resting on his shoulders. He sent her a sudden, sharp look as if something had just occurred to him.

“What?”

“I mean, it’s probably unrelated, but do you happen to know anyone who drives an old Buick, late nineties model, with a purple or burgundy paint job?”

On the other side of Fitz, Charlotte cocked her head at him, clearly wondering what he was talking about.

“I don’t think so. Why?”

“Well, something happened about three months ago while I was watching the baby for you.”

That had to have been the night she’d broken up with Fitz at the counselor’s recommendation. “What happened?”

“Half an hour before you came home, I was in the living room giving Mary Mae a bottle, when I heard a car coming up your driveway. I thought it was you, so I went to look out the window. There was an old Buick, which stopped when the driver saw me. Before I could put the baby down and step outside, it did a three-point turn and drove off.”

“An old Buick.” Faith considered another moment then shook her head. “None of my clients have a car like that.”

A thoughtful silence fell over the table. Charlotte was the first to break it.

“I think we should ask the store owners at the strip mall if any of their clientele own a Buick that color.”

Fitz nodded and checked his watch. “I agree. Let’s go now before they close.”

* * *

At their description of the Buick, the proprietor of the liquor store glanced toward the windows at the front of his store as if picturing a car just like it, parked out front.

“Uh, nope.” The older man looked back at him and shook his head. “Doesn’t sound familiar.”

The man was lying. Fitz waited, sending him a hard stare and causing the man’s Adam’s apple to bob. “Okay then.” Pretending to accept the proprietor’s word for it, he guided a frowning Charlotte and pale-faced Faith out of the store, where they were joined by Seth and the other agents who’d postponed their dinner plans, just in case.

Darkness had fallen, and the liquor store sign cast a surreal green light on their dark-blue jackets. Fitz saw Faith shudder in the damp chill.

“Charlotte, check our trunk for another jacket for Faith, would you? I’ll be right back.”

Charlotte frowned at him as he summoned the special operators, or SOGs, on his team to join him at the far corner of the building. Holmes and Chisolm, both ex-Navy SEALs, followed him, then listened intently as he conveyed his suspicions.

“For whatever reason, Mr. Dawson is lying to us. I know he recognized the vehicle I just described to him. Let’s go elicit his cooperation.”

---