Page 6 of Risk of a Lifetime
“Give the guy a chance.” Wilson cleared his throat. “I know you looked up to Jennings, but he’s gone. Move on.”
JB cringed. He’d move on when his partner’s killer rotted behind bars. “Landon’s a shadow. Stays to himself. And if you ask me, which you didn’t, he comes real close to crossing the letter of the law a lot of times. I don’t like working with someone like that.”
He heard what he’d just said and cringed. Hell,hewas someone like that. The words he’d just used hit awfully close to home.
“I hear you. For now, see how this goes. Let me know if he gets in the way more than he helps.”
“Hey, I’m not staying around here. I’d planned to be in and out of town in one day, but this robbery has put a hitch in those plans. Once I’ve consulted briefly with the police, I’ll be on my way.” JB raked his fingers through his hair, heaving a loud sigh.
No way in hell was he staying in town. From the letters Sadie had dropped him every so often, Marcy was doing just fine without him.
Wilson cleared his throat. “Don’t you think your wife—”
“Ex-wife!”
“Okay. Don’t you think your ex-wife may feel safer with you around for a few days?” The man paused. “Women are funny that way. Hate you one minute. Can’t live without you the next. Besides, you never know when your expertise may be needed.”
“Then put me in charge of the case.” JB was amazed at the inconsistencies being bantered around in this conversation. His boss never seemed to make up his mind lately.
“What do I have to do to get this through your head?” Wilson’s harsh tone gave no room for discussion. “Special Agent Landon will be lead on this.”
JB fingered his wedding band tucked in his jean’s watch pocket. He had planned to leave it in an envelope at the sheriff’s office before he left town. JB glanced at the nurse and Marcy’s mom waiting just inside the office doorway. Maybe he should stay a few days. Make sure evidence wasn’t being ignored. Man-up and give the ring to his ex-wife in person.
He turned back to the window, braced his hand against the frame. No way would his boss change his decision. No way would Landon come close to knowing how to talk to the locals. No way the Crayton Police Department had the resources or guidance to follow through on leads. Especially with the sheriff being out of town.
Might not be JB’s case, but this was his town, and he wasn’t leaving until the pieces fell into place. Besides, he’d already been wavering about his job with the Bureau. “Remember last month when you put a warning in my personnel file for a no-brainer infraction? Said I needed to be more careful at following your boss’s orders.”
“Sure. I remember. No big deal.” Wilson’s tone sounded less than straight forward.
“Wrong. Being called on the carpet for no good reason was a hell of a big deal in my book.” JB focused on the life-changing words he’d mulled over for the past few weeks, ever since he put in for a transfer. “You know that resignation letter you’re holding for me? The one I gave you in case my transfer request didn’t go through?”
“Now hold on there. I’ve got a good idea what you’re going to say, so take this piece of advice before you speak. Don’t make any rash decisions. You’ve got a career to think about. Your future.” Wilson’s flat, non-conciliatory tone sounded about as sincere as dirt.
“I already thought.” JB steeled his resolve around his next words. “Pull the resignation out and file it. Effective. Immediately.”
Enough said. He ended the call. Protocol would have been to handle the leaving in person, but unusual times called for unusual means to an end.
After clicking to his e-mail files, he pulled out a copy of the resignation and forwarded it to Wilson and Wilson’s boss as added assurance that they both knew he quit. Whatever he needed to do to protect Marcy and this town would be his own call. Not the Bureau’s.
The phone rang as he turned back to the women. Caller ID showed his boss—ex-boss. JB powered the handset off with a long, hard push of his finger. So much for a career with the FBI.
Sadie joined him by the window, and he draped his arm across his ex-mother-in-law’s shoulders, pulling her into his hold. She’d kept him up-to-date on Marcy for the past few years. Never asking why they were apart. Then after the divorce, Sadie’d still dropped him a note every so often.
“How you doing, Sadie?” He owed her an explanation. But how would he explain that the suitcase on the porch that last night before he’d left town had been an echo from the past that he couldn’t handle?
She leaned on him for a moment, then straightened and blinked her eyes to clear the tears. When a couple trickled down her cheek, she brushed them away as if daring anyone to say they existed. “This nurse needs to talk to you.”
“Okay.” He looped his thumbs in his back pockets. “What can I do for you, ma’am?”
The woman in scrubs placed the papers on the side table then held the pen in front of him, impatience etched across her face. “Dr. Crowley wants these forms signed by the next of kin before we operate on Marcy Bradley.”
He stepped back. Waved his hands in front of the paperwork. “You got the wrong person here. Her next of kin is her mama. Marcy divorced me a long time ago. Besides, she didn’t look bad enough that she can’t sign.”
She’d always wilted at the sight of someone else’s blood. Especially his. Evidently, his fleshy bullet wound had been enough to cause her to faint earlier. Sure, hers needed to be explored, cleaned, and sutured, but there hadn’t been enough blood for the injuries to be life-threatening.
Clearly irritated, the nurse slammed the pen to the table and headed out the door. “Dr. Crowley said one of you had better have signed that form by the time Ms. Bradley’s ready to roll into that operating room.”
He held the pen out to Sadie, but she shook her head.
