Page 36 of Fearless
Elijah’s and Jessie’s eyes both alight with excitement at the prospect of using the speedboat docked behind our cabana. I, on the other hand, would prefer to stay on dry land. Roger also appears less than thrilled and taps a few buttons on the laptop. I lean away from him to give him the space he needs to work. “I thought you would be happy to take the boat for a spin,” I say.
Roger rewinds the footage and begins to play the conversation between Jordan and Thomas again. “It’s not that. Thomas said that he was informed that the theft was planned because there were FBI agents on their way. The only people who we are aware of watching them are us and Zurkowski’s team.”
I don’t particularly like where Roger’s train of thought is going. “What are you trying to say?”
Roger shrugs. “I’m not entirely sure. I’m just thinking out loud. We are operating under the assumption that Zurkowski, Henrickson, Walsh, and Ackerman are here under your father’s orders, right?”
I nod once. “Zurkowski chased after the shooter, which means there has to be another player.”
Elijah purses his lips. “Does it? What if that was staged to throw us off their trail, Harper? What if the shooter was Walsh, Ackerman, or Henrickson?”
I glare at Elijah. “I refuse to believe my parents are anything other than honorable.”
“Harper, no one is accusing your parents of anything,” Roger says calmly.
“Um, Roger. We kind of are,” Jessie interjects. “We can’t rule out the possibility that Finnegan is dirty, no matter how much we want to believe otherwise.” I open my mouth to argue with her, and Jessie holds up her hand to stop me. “Hear us out, Harper. Let’s presume that your parents, along with the four agents, are do-gooders trying to stop a terrorist plot from coming to fruition.”
I lean back as far as the couch cushion will allow and motion for her to continue. Jessie smiles wanly. “Then who would tell Thomas that the theft was planned, and why would they do so?”
I begin fidgeting with the bottom of my shirt and contemplate the question. After a lengthy pause, I reply, “Maybe Thomas was lying to convince Jordan to do one last pickup.”
Roger leans forward, interlacing his fingers and resting his elbows on his knees. He peers at me from over his shoulder. “Then why would Thomas send Jordan and his crew to pick up a package and ten people fully aware that another theft could occur? That doesn’t make any sense, Harper. I hate to say it, but we can’t rule out the very real possibility your parents are ‘on the take.’”
Tears well in my eyes, and my heart shatters into a thousand pieces because I can’t deny the truth of his words. Roger shifts to embrace me, but I shake my head and put my hand on his chest to stop him. I need time to process.
No one says a word for several minutes as I let the tears flow and get it all out of my system. “I’ll take that hug now,” I say, and Roger doesn’t hesitate to pull me into an embrace.
I sniffle a few times and then collect myself, ready to get back to business. “I want to go on record and say that Zurkowski, Ackerman, Walsh, and Hendrickson could be operating of their own accord.”
“True,” Roger says. “Go on.”
“We were the ones who contacted the FBI and informed them of the cargo on board. How did Zurkowski and the rest of his team know that Whitman had sent men to confiscate the cargo and make an arrest? They have to be monitoring our communications.”
“This place is clean, Harper,” Roger says. “You saw me check the place for bugs.”
“Did your luggage arrive before or after you checked the place, Roger?” Jessie asks.
Roger heaves out a long sigh. “During. I was done with scanning the main area when the valet arrived, but I had yet to do the bedroom and bathroom. I’ll go and check the luggage right now. There was plenty of time for someone to plant a listening device between the time we arrived and the delivery of our bags. How could I be so stupid?”
“You’re far from stupid, Roger,” I tell him. “It didn’t cross my mind either. Therefore, I’m equally to blame.”
Roger grabs the scanner and storms out of the room, mumbling incoherently the entire way. Once he’s out of earshot, Jessie whispers, “Roger rarely makes a mistake, and he’s going to beat himself up over this.”
“It’s a simple error,” I reply. “There wasn’t any reason to suspect that our luggage could have been tampered with. No one was supposed to know we were here. The only reason why Roger scanned the cabana in the first place was because my parents had stayed here and had been taken. It was logical for us to conclude that they were being watched. I thought he was going overboard since the FBI had already cleared the place.”
Elijah shakes his head vehemently. “While all that is true, that ‘simple’ mistake could have disastrous consequences. Maybe the charter would have docked, and we could have followed the cargo to its final destination. Now we’re spinning our wheels, and they know we’re on to them.”
“Ifthere is a listening device,” I argue.
“There is,” Roger says from behind me, holding up a small disk. He holds the device up to his mouth and says to whoever happens to be listening on the other end, “I’m going to find you, even if it’s the last thing I do.” He sets it on the floor and then steps on it with the heel of his shoe. He grinds it into the floor for added effect just as his phone pings with an incoming text.
Roger reads the message aloud, “We’re not hiding. Meet at the following coordinates tomorrow at noon. Come alone.” Another text pings with the coordinates. Roger’s shoulders tense, and his mouth forms a straight line before he stares at me intently. “Harper, where’s your phone?”
“It’s in my purse with the battery removed. Why?”
He hands me his phone, and Jessie scoots closer to me so she can peek over my shoulder. “Who has a 703-area code?” at the same time, I say, “This is a text from my phone. That’s not possible.”
Roger takes his phone back and puts it in his back pocket. “It is if it has been cloned.”
