Page 26 of Operation: Sharp Angel

“We’ll all wait outside for him,” Tessman said. “We know these motherfuckers won’t hesitate to take lethal action and I’d just assume not to have to shoot anyone else tonight.”

The three of them stepped back outside. They all got into Jackson’s SUV, and he backed out of the driveway while he called Davis, who was still at the DeSoto residence.

“Where are we going?” Becca asked after the call to Davis was ended.

“We’re just going to circle the block until the police get here and make sure no intruders are still at your place,” Jackson said. “I’m sure the police will want you to take a look to see if anything is missing.”

“This is crazy. What the fuck could they be looking for?” she exclaimed with venom. “I cannot tell you how utterly pissed off I am.”

Tessman turned in his seat to gaze into her eyes. “We’ll get to the bottom of this and find out who they are and what they want. And we’ll keep you safe until then.”

“Well, they either got what they were looking for or it wasn’t there. They said I wouldn’t know what it was if I saw it. I’m not a threat. I probably don’t need protection. I mean, seriously, what more can they do?”

“Don’t ever ask that,” Tessman said. Then he turned back around in his seat.

And she thought she’d been cold before. A new chill invaded her.

Hotel

They didn’t have to wait long for Detective Davis. He arrived with a fresh set of uniformed officers. Jackson and Tessman let the police clear her townhouse before they went in. Becca just shook her head in denial and disgust as she surveyed the disarray close up. They’d even dumped every single kitchen drawer. They found both of the bedrooms upstairs to be in the same state as the first floor. Even her closet had been destroyed.

She gathered clothes for a few days and scooped up the bottles of the toiletries and makeup she’d want with her from the bathroom floor and shoved it all into a backpack. Back on the first floor, she grabbed her laptop bag, which was in the corner behind the curtain and untouched. They must not have seen it.

She gave Detective Davis a spare set of her housekeys. He’d lock up when the crime scene crew was done.

“We’ll talk tomorrow,” Detective Davis told her.

She’d noticed nothing missing, so robbery wasn’t the motive, not that anyone expected it had been.

“At least they didn’t slash furniture or break shit just to destroy it,” Tessman said as they drove.

She watched the side streets pass by her window. “Where are we going?”

“We have an apartment on the ninth floor of our building on the secure side that can’t be accessed from the public side of our building. It’s Fort Knox. Our boss, Shepherd, authorized you be allowed to stay in it for as long as needed.”

“Who the hell are you guys? You carry federal badges.”

“We do,” Tessman said. His eyes flickered to his rearview mirror and Jackson’s headlights. “Shepherd will talk to you tomorrow. I have to ask you not to make any calls tonight, not to tell anyone where you are or about us.”

She forced out an indignant laugh. “Who the hell would I call? And why?”

“I don’t know. Don’t know if you have a boyfriend or if you’d call one of the attorneys you work with,” he suggested.

“No to both,” she said.

“A best friend you’d want to commiserate with,” he then said. “But I have to ask you not to do that tonight.”

“Okay,” she said. “The truth is, I just want to take a hot shower and put my pajamas on and go to bed.”

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “It’s way past dinner time. I could eat.”

“Are you kidding me? Eat dinner? One man is dead, another shot, and my house was broken into.”

“We still need to eat,” he said. “Angel keeps food in the refrigerator, mostly leftovers from the lunches she orders in for everyone every day. Or we can stop and get anything you want. I’d prefer to bring it back to our HQ to eat it, though.”

“No, thank you. Whatever she has there will be fine. You’re right. I am a little hungry.”

The two cars pulled into the parking garage beside the ten-story Shepherd Security building. They were not followed. Becca was attentive as they drove deep into the second sub-basement level, through the security gate and the two garage doors that required codes and a palmprint scan to enter. He parked in the private below-ground parking lot in front of the elevator door. Jackson parked beside them.

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