“Is there something in the water around here?” she
asked. “I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m just pointing out she’s an
interesting person.”
“Okay, sorry,” said Ryan, slightly confused. He poked
his head back in the room and said good-bye to Kristina. Michelle rejoined her
as Ryan and Dallas left the house.
“What is with the guys turning into hypersensitive meatheads
all of the sudden?” asked Michelle, not expecting an answer.
“I knew I shouldn’t have done that,” said Kristina,
surprising her.
“Done what?”
“He didn’t say anything to you?”
“Who?”
“Ryan.”
“Oh, my God, it’s happening to you, too,” said Michelle.
“I’m not being hypersensitive,” clarified Kristina. “I
apparently lost impulse control and hugged Ryan when he showed up tonight. He
didn’t seem very happy about it. I thought maybe he said something to you in
the hall.”
“It’s like I’ve traveled back in time to high school,”
said Michelle. “Dallas getting creepy jealous I was talking to another guy. That
guy wanting to show me his ‘gun.’ You telling me you have a crush on my boss,
and Tom getting all mushy on me in the car. In the last forty-eight hours, my
life has turned into a soap opera.”
“I don’t have a crush on Ryan,” said Kristina. “Well,
maybe a little. Oh, hell, I don’t know. It’s ridiculous. I hardly even know the
man.”
“I’ll be right back,” said Michelle.
“You’re going to get wine coolers, aren’t you?” asked
Kristina.
“Oh, no, sister. I’m getting us something much
stronger.”
Ryan turned down the long gravel driveway of Stacy
Jorgensen’s country home located an hour east of Atlanta. The sprawling front
yard was manicured, and flower beds flanking the long walkway to the front
porch were in full bloom. When he stepped out of the car, he was hit with a
subtle sweet smell from the confederate jasmine growing up a large arbor at the
end of a stone walkway leading to the house. A woman was watering brightly
colored perennials in ornate flower boxes that were under every window on the
first floor. The entire property reeked of southern hospitality. Stacy put down
her watering can and took off her gardening gloves as the expected visitor
arrived. In a wide brim hat, the older sister of Derek Mathews walked up and
greeted the federal agent hunting her brother.
“Agent Pearson, I presume?” asked Stacy.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Ryan, shaking her hand. “You have an
absolutely gorgeous home. I’ve seen less beautiful houses on the cover of
Southern Living.”
“How sweet, thank you. It’s my little sanctuary away
from the city. The commute is murder, but it’s worth every mile when I get
home. Can I offer you something cool to drink? Sweet tea maybe?”
“It would be a crime to not have a glass while sitting
on your front porch, Mrs. Jorgensen.”
“Please, call me Stacy. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll
be right back.”
Ryan selected one of the four large white rocking chairs
on the wraparound porch. The lazy ceiling fans pushed just enough air down to
stop the sweat and keep the irritating gnats at bay. Even the birds seemed more
polite in her yard as they patiently waited their turn at the feeders. Stacy
handed Ryan a tall glass and sat in the rocker next to him.
“Thank you,” said Ryan, taking a long drink. “Oh, that’s
magical.”
“There really is an art to making good sweet tea,” she
said. “Most people just boil the flavor right out of it. I use nothing but the
sun when I make mine. Quite a difference, don’t you think?”
“It really might be the best I’ve ever had. Stacy, I’m
sorry I couldn’t be more specific on the phone about why I wanted to speak with
you about Derek. To be honest, there are specifics about his case that I simply
can’t discuss. Primarily because it’s still an ongoing investigation. When was
the last time you saw or spoke with Derek?”
“Oh, it would have to be several months ago around the
holidays. He was here for Thanksgiving with the family and then spent Christmas
in the city with his friends. I think he might have been seeing a young lady at
the time, but I don’t know for sure. What I do know is that he seemed a little
distant.”
“How so, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“The entire family always looked forward to Derek’s
visits. He’s one of the funniest people I know. We’d all sit around the table
or outside on the deck and just laugh and laugh. But when the holidays come
around, it’s even more special. He really does love being home during the
season. He’s always been very sweet, but he’ll smother you in it from
Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve. But this year, he seemed so quiet. He doted on
our parents and played with his nieces as usual, but he didn’t talk very much
at all to me or Elizabeth. That’s our little sister. And we’re very, very close
siblings. We’re more like best friends.”
“And she lives a few hours away, correct?”
“Not quite, but far enough to where we don’t see her as
much anymore.”
“Is that the last time you spoke with him as well?”
“No, I believe the last time we talked on the phone was
about three months ago. But we only talked for a few minutes. He seemed fine then.
More like himself.”
“Three months ago,” said Ryan. “I’m sorry, Stacy, but we
checked all his phone records, and there were no calls to your home or cell
phones.”
“Oh, he didn’t call me here. I was at a birthday party
at a friend’s house.”
“Did it seem a little strange he called you there?”
“A little, but I didn’t think anything of it at the
time.”
“Could I have that number, please? And any numbers you
may have of his friends?”
“Sure, I’ll write them down for you,” she said and then
paused for a moment before speaking again. “Is he in trouble, Agent Pearson?”
“That’s why it’s very important I speak with him. He may
be in trouble, yes.”
“Is he in any danger?”
“I’m afraid so,” said Ryan, wanting to be honest to his
host. “If he tries to contact you or if you see him, would you please let me
know? I hope you believe me when I say all I want to do is help him. I was a
Marine myself for many years. We tend to look out for each other.”
Ryan stood and thanked her for her hospitality and the
phone numbers. He returned to his car and immediately relayed the new
information to Michelle. She was still with Kristina but could access databases
discretely from the safe house. He left the peaceful scene of Stacy’s home and
headed back to Atlanta.
When the dust settled on the gravel road, the doors to
the barn behind Stacy’s house opened and a small SUV pulled up to the flowered
walkway. Derek stepped out of the vehicle and trotted to his sister still
sitting in the rocking chair.
“He seemed like a nice guy,” said Stacy.
“They’re trained to be nice when they need something
from you,” said Derek.
“I told him everything you wanted me to say. Were you
able to put that gizmo under his car?” she asked.
“The GPS tracker, yes. You did perfect. Thank you, sis.”
“Well, I just lied to a federal officer. I hope you know
what you’re doing, Derek. He said you might be in danger. What did he mean?”
“If I was in any danger, which I’m not, it would be from
them. But thanks to you, I’ll know exactly where they are. I knew one of them
would eventually show up here. I need to go. And thank you again for letting me
use your car. I’ll get it back to you as soon as possible.”
“Don’t worry about it. We just kept it to give to your
niece when she’s old enough to drive. So just have it back in a few years and
we’ll be good. But don’t bring it back on empty.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Derek, giving his sister a hug, “I
love you.”
“I love you, too. Please be careful. I know you know
what you’re doing, but I still can’t help worrying.”
“Everything will be fine. It’ll be over soon, I
promise.”
He hugged his sister again and sped off after Ryan. He
called Jennifer to let her know the agent in charge was alone. With the GPS
tracker attached to Ryan’s car, Derek could easily stay concealed while keeping
the man hunting him within his reach.
*****
Dallas and Tom were still investigating missing persons
cases that might be connected to Derek or Joshua. They were on the north side
of town and a few hours from finishing their interviews. Ryan decided to stop
and have dinner at one of his favorite pubs not far from the FBI house. He was
looking forward to having a few cocktails with his meal and maybe even run into
some old friends who used to frequent the Village Tavern. It had been nearly
ten years since his last visit, but he immediately recognized the bartender who
smiled and shook his head when Ryan walked inside.
“You have got to be kidding me,” said Jack, frozen in
place. “Did they finally pull your clearance?”
“I’ve seen too many skeletons for them to let me go
alive,” said Ryan, shaking Jack’s hand. “You haven’t changed a bit. You look
good, buddy.”
“I’m basically falling apart on the inside, but I’ll
take the compliment. Did you take some time off?”
“No,” said Ryan, taking a seat at the bar. “But I’m
taking a little time off tonight. I’m here working on a case for Uncle Sam. I
figured I could finish up a little paperwork over a cold one.”
“How long do you think you’ll be in town?” asked Jack,
handing Ryan a beer.
“No telling at this point.”
“You working on anything you can talk about?”
“Trust me when I say you don’t want to know,” said Ryan.
“Any of the old group still come around?”
“Oh yeah,” said Jack. “You’ll probably see a few
familiar faces in a bit. It’s still kind of early for most of them. Hey, would
you mind if I made a few phone calls? If a couple of them found out you were
here and I didn’t call them, they’d kill me.”
“No, go ahead. I can stick around for a couple hours.
Speaking of the old group, do you remember a jarhead named Derek Mathews?”
“Derek, sure,” said Jack. “Great guy, but I probably
haven’t seen him in almost a year. He’d pop in every once and a while when he
was on leave. Why?”
“Turns out he was assigned to my old unit at Camp
Lejune. Just figured I’d look him up while I was here. If you get an ear on
where he might be, would you let me know?” asked Ryan, giving Jack one of his
cards.
“No problem.”
Derek parked in front of a retail store attached to the
same shopping center where the Village Tavern was located. Less than thirty
minutes later, Jennifer pulled up in front of the pub. She stood motionless by
her car for a moment, knowing Derek was somewhere close watching her. She ran
her fingers through her hair. It was the signal for him to leave the area.
She’d take it from there.
“If I didn’t know for a fact Mr. Ryan Pearson would
never come to town without letting me know, I’d swear you were him,” said
Jennifer from across the bar.
“I don’t know a Mr. Ryan Pearson, ma’am. But he’d be a
lucky guy having you looking for him,” said Ryan jokingly. “Do people not age
around here? You look fantastic, Jennifer.” He stood up to give her a hug.
“Did Jack call you?” asked Ryan.
“No, I was doing some shopping and decided to stop in,”
lied Jennifer. “I haven’t been here in a while. The place hasn’t changed much.”
“I’m not quite sure how to take that,” said Jack.
“Take it as you look good, Jack. There are some serious
memories flooding my head right now.”
“Same here. It’s good to see you,” said Ryan. “Please,
have a seat.”
“Oh, no, I don’t want to bother you – Of course you
better offer me a seat!”
“What can I get you?” asked Jack.
“A beer would be great, thank you. So, Ryan, what brings
the prodigal son back home? Or would you have to kill me after you told me?”
“No, you’re safe. I do quite a bit of traveling for work
these days, and the job brought me close. I figured I’d pop in and see how the
old place was doing.”
“Well, next time you decide to pop in, let us know,
please. I’m sure there are a few folks that would love to see you. How long are
you staying?”
“I’m not sure. Basically, until I catch the bad guys.”
“They must be pretty bad to have Super Fed on their
tail. I’m sure you’ll get your guy soon.”
“That’s the plan. Listen, while I was here, I was going to
try and catch up with a couple guys from my old Marine unit. Do you know Derek
Mathews or Joshua Bell?”
“Of course I know Derek. He comes around every now and
then. He has family around here. I think his sisters live pretty close. The
last time I saw him was around the holidays, though. He mentioned something
about receiving orders to a training facility in New York or something.”
“Maine, actually,” said Ryan. “What about Joshua? Have
you heard anything about him?”
“I don’t know Joshua. At least, Derek never mentioned a
friend by that name. But again, it’s been a while since I’ve spoken with him.”
“If you do, would you let me know?” asked Ryan, handing
out more cards.
“Sure. Is he the guy you’re looking for?”
“Oh, no, I just thought since I was in town I’d look him
up. No telling when I’ll get back to visit.”
“Are you going to have dinner here?” asked Jennifer as
Jack laid a menu in front of them.
“I am. I’d love for you to join me. Do you want to get a
table or eat at the bar?”
“Let’s eat at the bar with Jack,” she said. “It’ll be
like old times.”
Ryan and Jennifer sat and talked for nearly two hours
while they ate and enjoyed a few cocktails. Several more of Ryan’s old friends
and acquaintances arrived, extending his initial timeframe of a few hours for
dinner closer to four. He didn’t mind the pleasant distraction from the serious
business he was in town to conduct. For a short period of time, Ryan remembered
what it felt like to have very few cares in the world.