Page 8 of Fatal Mistake
“There’s not a nice way of saying it, but he’s not a good-looking man, and he wasn’t a good-looking teenager. All gangly and disproportioned. He was teased a lot, and girls didn’t find him attractive. So I think he chose a Goth lifestyle because it made him seem odd on purpose. And he changed faiths for added shock value.”
Interesting. “Did he tell you that?”
“No. Just a guess. I tried to get him to talk to me about it in high school, but he refused and became withdrawn. That’s when our friendship totally fell apart, and we barely talked to each other.”
Cal nodded and wanted to dig deeper, but he’d hold additional questions until the team had completed their preliminary research on Keeler. Then, when Cal knew the right questions to ask, he’d come back to her relationship with Keeler.
“You’re a government translator and work out of D.C.,” he stated, as their research had proved that, and he wanted to get her take on it.
She nodded. “I work for the State Department translating documents, conversations, videos. You know, that kind of stuff.”
“What language?” He hoped she didn’t claim a Middle Eastern language, potentially tying her to a terrorist cell.
“Depends on the day.”
“So you speak more than one foreign language?”
“I’m fluent in Spanish, French, and Russian.”
He almost sighed out his relief, and he hated that he didn’t want her to be involved when he was desperate for a lead on Keeler. Any lead. “How did you decide to major in languages?”
“I’ve always been good at math, so my teachers wanted me to go into a math career or IT and languages. I have no interest in IT. Math would have been okay, but as a child, I spent a lot of nights staring at the stars and dreamed of discovering what was outside my little town.” A wistful smile found her lips.
“So you want to travel. Maybe visit the countries where they speak your languages?”
“Yes, absolutely. In fact my friend Penny and I have been planning a trip to Russia now that I’m free.”
“Free?” he asked, and her open expression closed down.
“And after Oren is caught, of course,” she quickly added, her avoidance of his question raising a red flag. “So what happens next in finding him?”
“Are you up to telling me about the pump house?”
“Sure, but I can’t. I mean, for some reason, running from Oren keeps coming back. But no matter how hard I try, my time at the pump house is fuzzy.” She sighed. “Truth be told, I don’t actually want to remember the details of getting shot.”
Maybe a red flag, maybe not. “Memory loss happens in traumatic situations. Things are likely to come back in bits and pieces.”
“I’ll be sure to let you know if it does.”
“About that,” he said, and leaned forward. “I’ll stop in to see you each day to try to jog your memory. If possible, I’d also like to get your assistance in finding Keeler.”
She eyed him cautiously. “How?”
“For starters, you can share every detail you know about Keeler with my team. And we can also put you in situations that could help bring back your memories.”
“I suppose I could.” She wrapped her arms around her waist. “Maybe…I guess, anyway. This is all new to me. I’ve never been involved in anything like this, and…” She shook her head. “How long will it take to come to grips with Oren being a bomber? A killer…women…he kills women, and he shot me. Tried to kill me, too. I mean…” Tears flooded her eyes, and she covered her mouth with her hand.
He reached out to take her hand, then snapped his back before he made this personal. “It’s hard to comprehend something like this.”
“Maybe Oren didn’t mean it.”
“Oh, he meant it, all right. He didn’t accidentally chase you through the woods and fire a gun at you.”
“You’re right, I suppose.” She nipped at her lower lip.
“Look, Tara,” he said, putting force into his tone to get her full attention. “I get that this is hard to handle, but you can’t doubt Keeler’s intentions. He wanted you to die, and the worst thing you can do for your safety right now is underestimate him. You need to remember that he’s a dangerous man. So dangerous that while you’re in the hospital, I’ll have an agent outside your door at all times. In fact, Agent Fields is already standing duty in the hallway.”
“He’s out there now?” She shot a look at the window. “Because you think Oren will try to kill me again?”
