Jo glanced toward the stars above her in the black sky, feeling momentarily guilty. Unless there was something Kelsey and her people didn’t know, Lydia was an innocent pawn in what was happening, and she was being hurt in the process. However, Jo had to think about herself and her own family.
“Any worries with Mackenzie, that she might know what’s going on, that you’re after JD?” Jo asked.
Kelsey shook her head. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve been working this investigation for a long time, and we’ve been extremely careful.”
“Good,” Jo said, “because I’m vulnerable. Lydia likes me, but Kline doesn’t.”
“He said something to you?”
“Just a gut feeling. I could see something in his face when I talked to Lydia. He didn’t like the questions she was asking me, and he didn’t like that we had a more personal conversation. Later, as he showed me around the apartment and the car, he was wary. Right before he left, he asked more questions about my background. He was trying to trip me up and see if he could catch me in a lie.”
“He wasn’t suspicious about the window blinds?”
“It’s worked so far,” Jo said.
Among the many things Kelsey had arranged was a signal for Jo to let her know she wanted to talk. Kelsey had done her research, and she’d known that Lydia’s driver was provided an apartment. When Jo wanted to meet, Kelsey told her to open the living room blinds. An agent would be watching the apartment and would relay the signal to her. They’d also discussed how Jo would tell Kline that she liked to jog, and although it was a guess, they figured Kline wouldn’t tell her she couldn’t. Bodyguards, after all, needed to stay in shape.
Once Kelsey got the message, whoever was watching the apartment would tell her when Jo left for a run. The meeting site had also been prearranged. She and Jo had studied the area near the apartment complex and chosen the nearby woods. They decided to meet near the bridge, and if either suspected Kline, or his associates, were watching, they would abort and try another time.
Jo glanced around, knowing they had fooled Kline, at least this time.
“Kline has someone watching me,” she said, then explained the sedan in the parking lot.
Kelsey nodded. “My guy spotted the man in the sedan. Nothing we didn’t expect. Kline’s had surveillance on other drivers as well. Once he feels comfortable with you, he’ll get rid of the tail. In the meantime, use the blinds as a signal.”
Jo also had Kelsey’s number. In an emergency, she could call. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need to.
“Can you befriend Lydia?” Kelsey asked.
“I think so,” Jo said. “She wants to talk.”
“She’s wondering what’s going on with her husband.”
“I would assume so. I’ll keep working on her.”
Kelsey glanced around, then said, “You need to find whatever evidence Trent had.”
“If JD has it.”
“He does,” Kelsey said forcefully.
“What if he got rid of it?”
“Then see what Lydia will tell you, or any of the staff. Maybe someone overheard something, a piece of information that we can use against JD.”
Jo let out a breath slowly. “What about Kline?”
“He’s a slippery eel. I try to keep surveillance on him, but he loses them. We haven’t been able to tap into his phone or other electronics, either.”
“He can’t figure out who I am, or I’m dead.”
Kelsey put her hands on her hips. “If I hear anything, if I think you’re in any danger, I’ll use the note. Or call, if I have to.”
That was another arrangement. If need be, Kelsey would leave Jo a note, something that looked like a notice from the apartment complex, but it would tell Jo that her cover was blown. They’d figure out how to meet up after that, but at least Jo would know to watch her back.
Jo was aware of the minutes ticking by. “I need to get back.”
“Be careful, and if you get anything on JD, call me and we’ll get you out of there.”
That’ll be easier said than done, Jo thought. She glanced at the two men, who were still alert. She locked eyes with Kelsey, then spun on her heels and jogged back through the woods.
Over the sounds of her soft footfalls on the dirt, she listened for anything else. It was a quiet evening, though, and she made it back to the road without encountering anyone. Her heart rate was up, and she was sweating when she passed by the sedan in the apartment complex parking lot. The driver wasn’t there, and she wondered where he was hiding. She didn’t think he’d been in the woods, but she couldn’t know for sure. Her palms grew sweaty at the thought of him seeing her with Kelsey. If he had, the special agent wouldn’t be able to help her now.
Jo unlocked the apartment door and slipped inside, briefly thinking about Dack. She’d talked to him before she’d agreed to work with Kelsey, and they had discussed her options, deciding she needed to move forward with the agent’s plans. Dack arranged to get the Ford Escape from her hotel, and he would be available if she needed him. He knew, however, that she couldn’t risk updating him unless absolutely necessary. Even though her phone was safe, Kline was likely monitoring her correspondence, and she didn’t want to draw any more suspicion to herself.
Jo got a drink and went into the bathroom. She peeled off her clothes and took a cool shower, then dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. She turned off the bedroom light and stood by the window, watching the sedan. Fifteen minutes later, she saw a figure in dark clothing slink between vehicles and up to the sedan. The door opened, but no dome light went on. The man got in and stayed put. She waited and watched. If he’d grown suspicious and alerted Kline, she didn’t think Kline would wait through the night to confront her. Still, she stood guard at the window for a long time.
Finally, she yawned and stretched, then went to bed.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Kline could tell that his boss was still frustrated. They were in his office downtown for a morning meeting, and JD’s tone was clipped. Kline briefly wondered if he’d overstepped his boundaries the previous night. If he’d pushed things too far, though, JD was smart enough to realize that he couldn’t get rid of him. Kline knew too much and was too valuable.
That didn’t mean his boss couldn’t stay angry.
“I trusted that you could handle everything,” JD said. “If you planned for all possibilities, then why are we worrying about this woman at the bank talking? It shouldn’t be a big deal.”
“It probably isn’t,” Kline said with more confidence than he felt. The air freshener in the room was strong, and he wrinkled his nose. It—along with everything else—was giving him a headache. “But until someone can talk to her to find out exactly what she told the police, we can’t be too sure.”
