“If we get caught, I’ll handle it.”
Jo wanted to laugh at that. If they got caught, there was no way Lydia would be able to help her. With a frown, she opened the middle drawer and took out a couple of paperclips, straightened them, then inserted the wires into the lock. She worked the wires around, her hands growing clammy as time passed. Lydia’s breathing was loud in the otherwise quiet room.
“Come on,” Lydia said.
“I’m trying,” Jo replied.
She kept at the lock. She was about to give up when she felt movement, and it gave.
“You got it!” Lydia said gleefully.
Jo nodded, pocketed the wires, and put her hand on the drawer handle.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
“Why haven’t you called me?” Kline snapped at his contact from the police station.
“Hey man,” the guy said, talking fast. He clearly knew he’d made a mistake. “I’m pretty sure they were monitoring me at the station. Somebody was suspicious that I might be sharing information. I had to be careful. But hey, I’m contacting you now.”
Kline had his window rolled up, but he heard the sound of a car horn. He looked around to assure that he was still alone. Then he spoke.
“Did you tell anyone about me?”
“Hell no.”
There was fear in his voice, but Kline believed him. He’d worked with this guy long enough to know when he was lying or not. Plus, he knew the man’s gambling habits. The guy needed the money, and he wouldn’t want to blow a good revenue source by pissing off Kline.
“What’s been going on with the robbery investigation?” Kline asked. He had something else to ask, but he’d get there soon enough.
“I told you about that woman, Sabrina Padilla. They let her go, and she didn’t want police protection. But they’re following her, anyway.”
“I figured that out.”
“Oh.” The man didn’t sound happy. He tacked on, “They brought in another woman last Thursday night.”
“Her name is Jo,” Kline said.
“Yeah.” The man sounded surprised. “How do you know that?”
“I’ve been busy,” Kline said. “What’s her last name?”
“Gunning. Her name is Jo Gunning.”
Kline squeezed his eyes shut and swore. He wasn’t surprised, and he was furious. He’d been duped by Jo, but one thing was for certain now. She was going to pay.
“What’d she tell the police?” Kline asked.
“I don’t know everything, but she was conducting her own investigation on the bank robbery, and she was looking into Trent Fontenot. I don’t know how much she knows.”
“Did she figure out who murdered him?”
“I don’t think so. I couldn’t get a lot of information. I had to be careful. She left the station, and I heard she’s been working with some other federal agency.”
Kline swiped at beads of sweat popping onto his forehead. “Who?”
“I don’t know. I’m lucky I got that information. But hey, I’ll see what else I can find out. It might be hard, though.”
Unbelievable. He was hinting for more money. Kline wanted to reach through the phone and punch the man. They had a lot bigger things to worry about.
“What about the Fontenot investigation?”
“No leads.”
That was good, at least. “I’ll be in touch,” Kline said. “When I call, you better answer.”
“Don’t worry, man, I will. And listen, I’m sorry I couldn’t get a hold of you. You know how it is, with everything—”
Kline took the phone away from his ear and swiped at it, emphatically ending the call. His guy had no idea what was coming. When he resolved things with Jo, that man would be dead as well.
He tried Jo, but she didn’t answer. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he dialed another number. After a single ring, JD answered.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
JD was sitting at a table at Nick & Sam’s Steakhouse, one of the most expensive restaurants in Dallas, when his phone buzzed. He glanced at it, seeing that it was Kline. He swore silently to himself. Kline knew he was at this dinner, that this meeting was extremely important to him, and that he wasn’t to be disturbed unless it was an emergency. A driver had dropped him off earlier, and JD was going to have dinner and then move to a room at the nearby Marriott hotel, where there would be more meetings. Kline was supposed to pick him up several hours later.
What the hell was going on? Was Kline going to chastise him not to meet with another woman tonight? JD had told him he didn’t have any plans to, and he didn’t.
“Is everything okay?” another man named Bill asked.
