She shrugged. “At first, but she seemed to know what she was doing. She used to be a cop or something, and she stayed with me, made me feel protected. Look, I’m sorry.”

“What was her name?”

“Jo.”

Not a lot of things surprised Kline, but that did. He stared at Sabrina.

“Last name?”

She shook her head. “She didn’t tell me. She seemed nice, though. She was scared for herself.”

“Describe her.” She did, and a sinking feeling crept into his stomach. He swore. “What did you tell the police about Jo?”

“Just what I told you,” Sabrina said. “I don’t think she was working with them.”

“She hasn’t been back to talk to you since?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No. We’ve been hiding here. Rosa’s getting us everything we need, and we haven’t left the house.”

Kline wondered why he hadn’t caught up to her sooner. She’d done well in that regard, especially if she hadn’t been working with Jo or the police.

“Please don’t hurt us,” Sabrina’s mom said.

He stepped forward and looked at the older woman then hit her with the Sig Sauer—one quick, efficient move. She lay still, knocked out.

“Mama!” Sabrina cried out.

“I’ll do more to both of you if you say anything about me,” he said.

Sabrina started to raise a hand, and Kline hit her as well. She slumped over, falling half on her mother. He sneaked back through the house, carefully checking windows as he went. There was no activity outside. The agent down the street apparently hadn’t seen or heard anything to arouse his suspicions.

Kline crept toward the kitchen, then knelt down and opened the back door, listening. Just the stillness of the evening, so he slipped outside and ran through the yard, stopping to make sure the man in the car was still unconscious. Kline hurried down the alley and crossed the street. As he ran through the park, he tore off his mask and gloves. He didn’t think anyone had seen him, and even if the police managed to trace his movements back to his car, it was a rental in another name. He got in and drove slowly out of the neighborhood, careful not to draw attention to the vehicle. His heart thudded in his chest as he went over what he’d learned. It was bad. So bad.

He made his way to the parking garage where he’d left his own vehicle, a garage he’d scoped out many times. There were no surveillance cameras there, nothing to alert anybody to him. He switched vehicles, and as he headed out, he called his police contact one more time. Kline figured the man wouldn’t answer, but for the second time in less than half an hour, he was surprised.

“I was going to contact you,” the man said as the call clicked on, before Kline even had the chance to speak.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Jo and Lydia sat for a moment, the music and noise of the bar around them. Jo knew there were risks in trying to get into JD’s desk, and she wasn’t sure Lydia grasped the true danger they would both be in if they moved forward with their plans.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked. She hoped Lydia would still want to move forward. But she needed to know that the woman could follow through completely. “We can’t do this partway.”

Lydia met her look. “Don’t worry about me. I’m putting a stop to whatever JD’s been doing, once and for all.” She gulped down the last of her martini. “We should get back. We can discuss this more in the car.”

Jo held up a hand. “Does your husband keep tabs on you? Is there surveillance equipment on the vehicle, or listening devices somewhere inside it?”

She shook her head. “I insisted he not do that. My conversations need to be private, and JD knows that. He wouldn’t dare go behind my back.”

Jo wasn’t so sure. “Let’s go over things now. We need to act normal once we’re in the car, and at the house. Just in case.”

Lydia glanced around nervously. “If he figures out I’m here, I can make up an excuse as to why.”

“How are we going to get into his office? Does he keep the door locked?” Jo asked, pretending she didn’t already know the answer.

“The door’s locked, and my husband and Kline have keys.” A sly smile crossed her face. “At least, that’s what they think.”

“You have one?”

“Yes,” Lydia said. “I had one made without JD knowing.” She frowned. “Well, I think it still works. If it doesn’t, we’ll break into the room.”

“I don’t know,” Jo said. “That’s dicey.”

“You could pick the lock,” Lydia said.

Jo knew she could, but there was more risk of someone seeing them. “Let’s try the key first.”

“Once we get into the office, you can look around,” Lydia said. “JD keeps at least one desk drawer locked, and I’m sure he has a key with him, but he might’ve hidden one somewhere. While you search the office, I’ll look around the rest of the house.”

“I doubt he hid a key,” Jo said. “If it’s important to keep things locked in a drawer, he won’t make it easy for someone to get into it.”

“We have to try.”

Jo nodded. “What about the staff?”

“Samual and Alice are off for the evening. They don’t work late unless JD or I need something. The maid wrapped up earlier as well. But I’ll check the house anyway to make sure no one is around.”

“Is there surveillance equipment in his office?”

“He doesn’t have any there. I’ve seen Kline sweep the room to make sure nobody else is listening in, and JD’s said that he can talk freely in his office.”

“We still need to be careful,” Jo said. “We get in and out as fast as we can.”

“Right.”

She thought for a second. “When I park the car, I’ll spend a few minutes in the garage, cleaning up the SUV, killing time. While I do that, you make sure the house is empty.”

“Okay,” Lydia said. She pulled a tiny cash wallet from her purse and dropped enough money on the table to pay for her drink, plus a healthy tip. “Let’s go.”

Jo went with her to the SUV. When she pulled out of the parking place, she glanced at Lydia in the rearview mirror. The woman looked determined, but apprehensive, too. Jo felt uneasy herself. As she drove toward the mansion, her mind raced. Everything they’d proposed sounded so simple, but things rarely turned out that way. There were always problems, obstacles she couldn’t anticipate. And if she did find incriminating evidence against JD, she would need to contact Kelsey as soon as she could.

She soon turned onto the long drive of the Babineaux property and pulled up in front. Both she and Lydia acted normal, as if their evening had been routine. Jo got out and opened the door for her, and Lydia thanked her as she’d done before.

“Once you park the car, meet me inside so we can discuss tomorrow,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am,” Jo replied.

Lydia strode up the front porch, and Jo got back in the SUV and drove it around to the garage. She parked and spent a few minutes stalling, cleaning the already clean car, and then went inside. Lydia was waiting in the foyer.