Page 112 of The Newcomer
Letty decided to press her point. “You both know I’m right about this. Text Evan and tell him what I just told you. That Maya is too emotionally fragile to travel right now. Which is the truth. Tell him she’s asking questions about what happened to me, and her mother. If he wants her, he’ll have to come and get her.”
“You don’t get it. It’s not just Wingfield. It’s my bosses.”
“Are you telling me you never buck The Man?” Letty asked.
“In this case, ‘The Man’ is Cheryl Shapiro, who is an extremely ballsy assistant US attorney, who is also calling the shots on this investigation.”
“Ballsier than Vikki Hill?” Joe said mockingly. “I seriously doubt that.”
The FBI agent knew she’d been beaten. “You’re gonna get me fired,” she said with a groan. “If this thing blows up, I’ll end up working as a school crossing guard.”
She pulled her phone from her pocket and started to type.
Your kid is a basket case. On verge of hysteria about Tanya and Letty. Too risky to bring her to New York. You’ll have to come get her. Bring cash.
“That should work,” Joe said, looking over the agent’s shoulder as she typed.
The three of them stood motionless in the office, waiting for Evan Wingfield’s reply.
“What will you tell your bosses?” Letty asked.
“Just what you said. Anyway, the deed is done. They’ll have to either back me up or fire me.”
“I hope they don’t fire you. You’d be a terrifying school crossing guard.”
The agent’s phone dinged with Evan Wingfield’s response.
Tell me where and when.
“Tomorrow,” Joe urged. “Tell him tomorrow. Have him fly into Tampa. Get his flight info and tell him we’ll text him details as soon as he lands.”
“That could work,” Vikki said, nodding.
“You pick him up at the airport. We set up a meeting at a safe place. I’ll be there, waiting. We tell him he doesn’t get to see Maya until we get our money. When he does that, you arrest his ass and charge him with conspiracy to commit murder,” Joe said.
The FBI agent shook her head vigorously. “You don’t know Wingfield. He’s no pushover. He’s going to insist on seeing Maya. Tell him, Letty.”
“Oh, God.” Letty rested her forehead on the reception desk. “I just can’t put her through this. Seeing Evan again? It’s too confusing for her.”
“This’ll be the last time,” Vikki said, awkwardly patting Letty’sshoulder. “The minute he transfers that money, the act is complete. He’ll be arrested and put into custody. It’ll be quick and clean. Surgical.”
Letty looked up at Joe. “You’ll be there?”
“I will.”
“And we’ll have backup,” the FBI agent said. “I’ll put in a call to the Tampa field office. They’ll give us whatever assistance I request. What about locals?”
Joe nodded. “Pretty sure my chief will cooperate. I’ll ask Shauna to give us a hand.”
“Is she the officer who showed up when you were arresting the meth heads?” Letty asked.
“Yeah. Shauna’s good people.”
Letty ran her fingers through her hair in a gesture of frustration. “I know you’ll do your best to keep Maya physically safe. But I just can’t stop worrying about what kind of long-term effect this will have on her emotionally. Maya’s just now getting to the point where she doesn’t have night terrors. This is going to dredge up all the horrible stuff she witnessed when Evan and Tanya were fighting over custody. And we still don’t know what or how much she saw when Tanya was killed. Will she freak out when she sees Evan?”
“I don’t honestly know,” Vikki admitted. “I can spot a psychopath at fifty paces, but I never wanted a kid, so I don’t know how their evil little minds work.”
“Look,” Joe said. “I was twenty when Isabelle was born, and her shitbird dad took off when she was only three. God knows, I can’t take any credit for how great she turned out, but I think me being around maybe helped a little. Mostly, it was my mom. You’ve met Ava, but you don’t know all she’s gone through over the years. She’s a fighter, and she’s a survivor. And so are you, Letty. Give yourself credit for that. Maya will be okay. Because she’s got you.”
