Chapter Thirty-Six

Watching a man pull a cart full of art and finding the entire situation absurd, Emma didn’t bother to notice her surroundings. Why should I, since I have someone to do that for me? She glanced behind her at the loyal Lou. The surveillance van Cain had pointed out earlier was still there, so she kept her comments to a minimum.

Juan Luis and three of his men rushed from the coffee shop on the corner and surrounded Lou before he could pull his weapon.

“Good morning, Emma,” Juan said.

Judging by his dark suit with a white shirt and red tie, she would’ve pegged him as a bank president or something just as mundane if she hadn’t known he sold drugs.

“Perhaps you’d like to join me for a cup of coffee or breakfast?”

“I thought I made it clear last night I don’t want anything to do with you, and my name is Mrs. Casey. Is it really that hard to remember, or do we have a language problem?”

“Let me explain something that I imagine your servant here understands. I asked merely to be nice, but answering no isn’t an option. As for ‘Mrs. Casey,’ we both know that title doesn’t exist, so I’ll call you whatever I like.”

From the expression on Lou’s face, Emma was sure he wanted to kill her for antagonizing Juan, but she kept up the sarcasm. “Do women in your country find this attitude appealing, Mr. Luis?”

“Any woman in my country would die to be in your position now. You’re the first woman who touches a place in me that makes me want to conquer something or someone to prove myself to you.” With the calm movements of a man used to being in control, Juan folded his hands in front of him and gave her his best smile. “How could you possibly say no to that?”

With the movements of a woman who’d reached her breaking point, Emma started laughing, aware from one of her college courses that a proud Hispanic man wouldn’t take too kindly to a woman deriding him when he was trying to prove just how powerful and charming he was.

“How could I possibly say no to that?” She repeated the question between gasps of air. “Easy. I’m not one of the many women from your country who wants to be in that position. Just in case I wasn’t crystal clear last night, I’m with Cain. I’m with her not only because I love her and we have children together, but also because I’m gay. If I hadn’t picked Cain years ago, I’d have some other woman in my bed, so thank you for the invitation and the dramatic way you chose to deliver it, but no thanks.”

“You’ll find that what you’ve been missing is the right—”

“Please don’t finish that sentence with ‘the right man.’” Emma quit laughing as her anger returned, and she lowered the tone of her voice. “Lou, let’s go. Even though Mr. Luis isn’t from the United States, I’m sure he knows the consequences of shooting someone on a busy intersection. New Orleans’s finest would love such an open-and-shut case with so many witnesses around.”

“Not so fast,” Juan ordered. He held his hand up as if trying to regain control of the situation, but the gesture didn’t stop Lou from moving. “I said stop.”

With a small wave, Lou greeted the newest person to join in on the fun.

Emma, expecting Cain, was surprised when she saw Shelby waving back.

“Mrs. Casey, could I have a word with you?” The three men with Juan hid their guns behind their backs when Shelby arrived. “You too, Lou.”

“Emma is busy at the moment, so get lost,” Juan said, returning his attention to Emma.

“Too busy to talk to an FBI agent?” Shelby pulled out her identification and thrust it in Juan’s face. “We really frown on uncooperative individuals.”

“What can I do for you, Agent Phillips?” Emma asked, thinking that the morning had truly spun off into the bizarre.

“Just a few minutes of your time. Unless you have unfinished business you’d like to wrap up.”

Emma snorted and motioned back to the Café du Monde across the street. “Why the hell not.”

“We aren’t finished, Emma,” Juan warned as she started to leave.

“Listen to me. There’s nothing to finish since nothing ever started. I tried to caution you last night, but I’ll have to tell Cain about your idiotic behavior. Perhaps if she speaks to you, you’ll believe I’m not interested.”

“I’m not afraid of the infamous Cain, so don’t make idle threats.”

“You should be, butthead,” Lou added. “When she has something to say to a woman, she doesn’t need three guys to back her up. I’ll admit, you caught me unawares today. But that won’t happen again, so I suggest you bring more guys to back up your big cojones act.”

Luis made a fist and spoke to Lou in a controlled tone. “This isn’t over. Tell your boss that.”

“I’m sure Mrs. Casey will tell her everything she needs to know. Now why don’t you take your thugs and slither back to whatever jungle you come from, spunky.” Lou offered his arm to Emma and walked her back across the street.

Shelby followed but crossed walking backward, not taking her eyes off the men standing ramrod straight in the alley.

“As you Americans say, this isn’t over by a long shot,” Juan whispered.

“Claire.” Joe spoke softly into the mike hidden in the mouthpiece of his cell phone.

“Yes?” Claire sat in the van alone, watching Shelby take a seat across from the most fashionable woman she’d seen in ages. Studying Emma Casey, she understood what kept Cain so interested. Emma didn’t just have looks; the confrontation with Luis confirmed that.

“Anything interesting happening outside?”

“That would be putting it mildly. I’d explain, but I’m busy right now. What can I do for you?” She adjusted the focus on the small telescope bolted to the floor at one of the widows, bringing the players at the table into better view.

“Just checking in. Cain’s praying, of all things, so we’re stuck in limbo here until she’s done.” He laughed before adding, “Considering how short her confession was, we may be wasting our time chasing around after her.”

“Or maybe she had a hotline set up at home to save time?” Claire ventured, waiting for the waiter to finish so Shelby could begin her talk. “Sorry, Joe, gotta go.”

“Problems?” Shelby asked, and pointed to the spot where Juan and his men had encountered Emma and Lou. Lou was sitting at the next table with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Nothing we can’t handle,” Emma answered, meaning herself and Lou. “Since I’ve become Miss Popularity, maybe I just should stay home more. Can’t go anywhere these days without attracting an unwelcome crowd.”

“Does that include me?”

Emma drummed her fingers on the Formica-topped table much like Cain had done that morning and expelled a long breath. “Look, I appreciate you sitting with me that night Cain got shot. Perhaps I never took the time to say that, but we’re not friends. We’re not friends now, and I don’t plan to include you in my appointment book for shopping and lunch dates so, yes, that includes you.”

“I just worry about you.”

“Ha!” The short laugh came out so loud that several people stopped what they were doing and stared. “Is that sort of like the IRS showing up at your house just to see if you’re financially secure and help if you’re not?” Emma moved her hand so the nice young woman who was waiting on them could put the mugs down. “We’ve already entertained one of your coworkers today, so forgive me if I come off a little short. I was an idiot to think you’d ever really leave us alone.”

“What do you mean you entertained one of us this morning?”

“That’s it.” Emma pushed the mug to the middle of the table and stood up. “Lou, could you call for the car. We’re leaving. I’ve had enough bullshit for one day.”

“Wait,” Shelby tried. She stood up, but she instinctively refrained from touching Emma. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then call the office and get an update. I’d think, as FBI, you’d be better informed than this.” She strode out and started up the street from where she’d come earlier that morning, leaving Shelby confused.

“Claire,” she whispered.

“I’m on it. None of our team members should have contacted the Caseys this morning. I personally checked with Agent Hicks before we headed out. You’d think she would know, since she is in charge.” She spoke to Shelby as she held up her phone to the other ear, waiting to be put through to operations.

Shelby returned to the van. “There’s one thing I know for sure,” she said as she closed the door behind her.

Claire held up a finger and finished her call. “What’s that?”

“The farm girl’s here to stay, and she’s grown a long set of claws and fangs since she left the city four years ago. I thought she was the sweet and innocent one.”

“Silly rabbit,” Claire joked. She switched off all the equipment, since they were in a wait pattern. “No one’s scheduled to visit the Casey house today, but the small team assigned to the location saw Curtis go in and come out about fifteen minutes later. Since he’s a fellow agent, they didn’t call it in.”

“I wonder—”

“What he was doing there?” Claire finished. “Whatever it was set off this shitstorm we’re riding out now.”

“What could he have told them to make both Cain and Emma venture out with so little protection?”

Shelby voiced the question out loud, but Claire didn’t think it was directed at her. She hadn’t been with the team long enough to know the dynamic among the agents. So far she surmised that Shelby, Joe, and Lionel worked as a cohesive team, but Anthony had his own agenda and played it out with no thought of keeping the others informed. He was following the path of the infamous Barney Kyle.

“Do we break up and follow Emma?”

Shelby closed her eyes for a long moment and shook her head. “No, we follow the plan and wait for the guys to report in.”

“Joe did report in while you were across the street. They’re hanging out by the gift shop until Cain finishes her prayers.”

“She’s praying?” Shelby’s eyes popped open. “God help us all.”

Claire laughed, then stopped when she saw that Shelby was serious. For once in her life she wanted to slap herself for giving up a nice comfortable desk job.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14