Wilderness Target (16 page)

“Max saw you two talking a lot, right? He might have thought you were working together or that your loyalty would be to Sondra because you were close. Then when you had that money, he concluded you had it figured out. And if the money really is counterfeit, then you could use it as hard evidence against him. That was when he switched strategies from discrediting you to taking you out entirely.”

Ezra paced. “I know one thing. This is not a local police problem. We need to talk to the FBI.” He flipped through the phone book. “We’ll need a car to get to their offices. I don’t think this is a conversation that should take place over the phone.”

“Naomi might have something we can borrow.”

Ten minutes later, they were headed across town. The FBI office was in a nondescript building that also housed offices for a chiropractor and a water quality inspector.

They took the elevator up to the third floor. Anxiety plagued Clarissa. What if Max had gotten to these guys, too? They stepped out into a carpeted hallway. Ezra found the right door and knocked. He offered her an encouraging smile and squeezed her hand. “This is going to work.”

“I hope so.”

A woman with short red hair, wearing a white shirt and navy skirt, opened the door.

“We need to talk to an FBI agent,” Ezra said.

“I’m Agent Lewis.” She stepped aside so they could enter the office. A second male agent sat behind a desk staring at a computer. “That’s Agent Mayer.”

“We think we may have evidence of a money laundering or counterfeiting operation taking place.”

“Why don’t you two take a seat and tell me what you know,” said Agent Lewis.

Clarissa and Ezra settled in the hard plastic chairs while Agent Lewis sat in front of her laptop. She clicked through a few commands and kept her fingers on the keyboard.

Clarissa took the money out of the pink backpack. “This is Ezra Jefferson and my name is Clarissa Jones.”

The agent jerked her fingers off the keyboard. Her face blanched, and she shot a glance toward Agent Mayer, who pushed his chair away from the desk. “Please excuse me for a moment while I make a call.” She picked up her phone and stepped into an adjoining room. The male agent got up and left the room, as well.

Clarissa watched the clock as ten minutes passed. She could hear the muffled tones of the agent talking on the phone in the next room. Clarissa gripped the pink backpack. “I don’t think we should stay here. Did you see the look on her face when I said our names? I think Max got to them, too.”

Ezra rose to his feet. “You might be right.”

They slipped through the office and down the hallway to stand by the elevator. She watched the numbers click by.

Agent Lewis came out of her office just as the elevator doors opened. “Hey.” She ran toward them.

Ezra pulled Clarissa into the elevator. Reaching the ground floor, they raced across the lobby and out into the parking lot. Ezra searched for the car keys. Another car pulled into the lot, but not into a parking space.

“Ezra, hurry.” Clarissa’s heart raced.

The driver’s door on the other car opened. Ezra found the keys and unlocked their car. As Clarissa pulled open her door, a voice shouted her name. She looked up, not immediately recognizing the person in front of her.

“I thought you were dead,” Clarissa whispered.

Sondra walked toward her. “Clarissa.” Her face was bright and welcoming.

Clarissa shook her head in disbelief. “But I saw the newspaper.”

“We planted the story,” Sondra said.

Clarissa took a step back, still shaking her head. “I don’t understand.”

“Clarissa, I’m an FBI agent. Max saw me when I came into town to pick you up. I managed to shake his henchmen off, and then we faked the story so he wouldn’t try to pursue me. When the other agents went to find you, you had vanished off the face of the earth.”

“So you know that Max was doing something illegal with money,” Clarissa said.

“When the housing market went south, we suspected that he took to laundering money for the mob. I was looking for evidence that day in his office, but I didn’t find anything. Though he couldn’t prove anything, Max was suspicious and paranoid, so he got rid of me.”

“I thought you were dead.” Anger and joy wrestled within Clarissa. She’d thought she’d lost her friend.

Sondra pulled her into a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

Agent Lewis ran out into the parking lot. “Clarissa, I was only calling Sondra. I wanted time to prepare you for the shock before she showed up. That’s why I went into the other room.”

Ezra came and stood by Clarissa. “She’s been through a lot.”

Agent Lewis touched Clarissa’s elbow. “We do need to talk to you. Would you come back upstairs?”

She planted her feet and squared her shoulders. “Is this about catching Max?”

Agent Lewis nodded. “We would like to take a moment to find out what you and Mr. Jefferson know.”

They returned to the office. Clarissa was led into a second room, occupied by a table and chair.

“I need to go get my laptop and call my supervisor.” Agent Lewis went to do so.

Sondra came in and leaned against the door frame. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you when we were working together,” she said. “I had no idea Max would go after you. The mob must have got word that he was under investigation, so he suspected everyone.”

Clarissa stood up and offered her friend a sideways hug. “I’m glad you’re okay. This is just a lot to process.”

Agent Lewis came back into the room and set her laptop on the table. “Clarissa, I’m going to need to ask you a few questions.”

Sondra left the office, closing the door behind her.

Agent Lewis placed her fingers on the keyboard. “Can you tell me when you first suspected Max of laundering money?”

“I didn’t put it all together until a couple hours ago. Ezra helped me figure it out.”

“Why were we unable to find you for the past few days?”

“Max’s men started coming after me as soon as I arrived in Discovery. I feared for my life, and I needed to hide somewhere they wouldn’t find me. Ezra runs a survival training program, and I talked him into taking me on one of his wilderness expeditions. Max found me anyway. I put a bunch of people’s lives in danger—the others on the expedition. Ezra stayed with me to protect me, which meant they were left on their own. I still don’t know if they are okay or not.”

Agent Lewis placed her hand over Clarissa’s. “We can find that out for you.” She continued to ask questions about what had transpired in the weeks leading up to Clarissa fleeing California, and then for details about what had happened in the forest. “Can any of what happened to you when you were out in the wilderness be linked directly to Max?” she asked at last.

“Don is an employee of Max’s. I didn’t know the other men. I did see Max get out of the helicopter when those men came after us at the lodge.”

Agent Lewis paused for a moment, tapping her pen on the desk. “Do you think the reason Max made advances toward you was because he thought maybe he could make you a coconspirator?”

“At the time I didn’t think that, but now, with everything that I know, maybe he thought if I was involved with him, I wouldn’t turn him in.”

“We don’t have a lot to nail Max with other than your word against his. I’m wondering if you would be willing to try to trap him into admitting to the laundering,” said Agent Lewis.

“How would I do that?”

“Give him a call. Tell him you are tired of running and that you want to make a deal with him.”

Fear shot through Clarissa like a bullet. “So I’d sit down face-to-face with Max,” she said.

“It would be a public place. We’d have agents outside the restaurant and inside.”

The thought of meeting her old boss terrified her, but she fought past it. “If it’s the only way...I sure don’t want him to get away with all this.”

“Good. Then we’ll make the phone call and set something up for later this afternoon.”

This had to be done. As Agent Lewis retrieved a phone for her to make the call, Clarissa wished Ezra was sitting beside her instead of being questioned in the next room.

* * *

Ezra studied the tall woman sitting on the opposite side of the desk. Agent Mayer had stepped out, saying something about food.

Ezra narrowed his eyes at Sondra. “So you’re Clarissa’s friend?”

“Yes. And in case you are wondering, I truly am her friend. I didn’t pretend to be her friend so I could get information out of her, if that’s what you wanted to know.”

“No, I...” Ezra shook his head, but then said, “Yeah, I guess that’s what I was asking.”

“Clarissa is probably glad that you’re looking out for her.”

“Clarissa can look out for herself,” Ezra said.

“I know that. She’s a very capable woman. But you still feel kind of protective of her, don’t you?” Sondra shifted in her office chair.

“Is that one of the questions you’re supposed to be asking me?”

“As an agent, no. As Clarissa’s friend, yes.”

“Maybe you should stick to the official questions.” He pointed to her laptop.

“But you do care for her?”

Ezra stared at his hands. “Yes, I do. I just don’t know what that means to me right now.”

“If you’re not sure, don’t mess with her head. She’s had a lot of people walk out on her in her life, and she deserves to have someone who will stay,” Sondra said.

“I don’t know if I can be that guy for her.”

Sondra studied him for a moment. “At least you’re honest. Okay, on to the official questions. Can you tell me what you know about Max Fitzgerald? What level of interaction have you had with him, and what Clarissa has told you?”

Ezra recounted everything he had witnessed and what Clarissa had told him. After about ten minutes of questioning, the door to the other room opened. Agent Lewis stepped out with Clarissa behind her. Clarissa’s expression was solemn, and her skin had lost much of its color.

Ezra rose to his feet as she locked on to him with her eyes. “What’s going on?” he asked.

Agent Lewis rested a hand on her shoulder. “Clarissa has agreed to wear a wire and to meet with Max to try to get him to admit to his illegal activities.”

Ezra felt as though he’d been punched in the stomach. “You want her to sit down face-to-face with that man?”

“Ezra, it’s the only way they can make a solid case against him.” Clarissa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes held a pleading look. “I’ve already made the phone call. Max has agreed to meet me in four hours, and he’s promised to come alone.”

“I don’t know if that is such a good idea.” Max’s men had been relentless. Why would they simply back off now?

“Mr. Jefferson, you are free to go,” said Agent Lewis.

A kind of panic that he’d never felt before rose up in him. “I want to be there with her.”

“I’m afraid we can’t allow that and risk Max walking away. She agreed to come alone, as well. She needs to appear completely vulnerable.”

“Appear? You mean you’ll be close by?”

“Agent Mayer will be in the restaurant, and Sondra and I will be listening in the van.”

“I guess you have it all worked out then.” Ezra couldn’t stop the encroaching helplessness.

“Like I said, Mr. Jefferson—you are free to go. There’s no indication that Mr. Fitzgerald will come after you unless you are with Miss Jones.”

Sondra cleared her throat. “Maybe Ezra would like to have a moment alone to say goodbye to Clarissa.”

He nodded. “Please.”

Sondra tugged on Agent Lewis’s sleeve. “We’ll be out in the hall.”

As soon as the door shut behind them, Ezra turned to face Clarissa. “I don’t suppose there is any way I can talk you out of this?”

“I want to make sure I do everything to guarantee that Max goes to jail. It has to be done.” Ezra saw the resolve in her eyes...and the fear.

He rested a hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes.

“I wish there was some other way—a way where I could be there for you through this.”

“It’s not your fight, Ezra. It never was. You’ve done more for me than any man should have to do. You kept your word—you said you would get me out of that wilderness alive and you did.”

She was letting him off the hook, but he didn’t want to go. “I feel like I’m throwing you to the wolves. I can’t walk away.”

“They don’t want you around.” She glanced at the floor, then lifted her head and locked him in her gaze. “I don’t understand why you’re still here. They said you were free to go.”

He didn’t understand it himself. Why couldn’t he let go? She was in the hands of the professionals now. “Guess I want to see this thing to the end. To know that Max can’t hurt you or anybody else.”

She nodded. Her gaze delved beneath his skin. “Is that what it is?” A lilt in her voice hinted at some emotion she was trying to hide.

The door swung open, and Sondra poked her head in. “I don’t mean to rush you, but we have a lot of setup to do, and Clarissa will need some prep, as well.”

Ezra offered a faint smile. “I understand. Be safe, Clarissa.” With one more backward glance, he opened the door and headed down the stairs.

The long walk across town gave him time to think, but his thoughts remained a jumbled mess. He felt adrift, at loose ends. It was as if he didn’t know what to do with himself now that responsibility for Clarissa’s safety had been taken off his shoulders. He stopped in at the Black Bear Inn to see if Leonard or the others had checked back in.

The clerk shook his head. “No one has come by, and their suitcases are still in storage.”

Ezra felt a heaviness as he crossed the street to Jefferson Expeditions. Today would have been the day the group got back if things had gone as planned. He stepped into his office and called search and rescue to advise them of the situation. If the helicopters couldn’t find the group, he’d have to go up himself later today. Search and rescue promised him some men and dogs if needed.

Next, he looked around the office to see if it was still secure. Nothing indicated that Max’s men had broken in. His business website would have provided enough information for them to know the general area where to look for Clarissa once they’d concluded she’d gone on the expedition.