Page 79 of Jacques

“That’s right,” Beau said. “You have to put up with us now.”

She laughed. “Like I haven’t been putting up with you at the Crawdad Hole.”

“Yeah,” Beau said. “You’re right. Well, at least now, it’s official.”

“I’ll take it,” she said.

“Collins arranged a private room in an office building across the street while the firefighters clear the building,” Remy said.

Beau collected their bags, and they all crossed the street.

Danny walked alongside Jacques, holding his hand. “I knew,” she said, “when he said, ‘Easy soldier,’ the same way he’d said it before…I knew it was him.”

Jacques’s jaw tightened. “I heard him.”

“I froze.” Danny shook her head.

“But not for long.”

“I wasn’t drugged. I was wide awake, not in a blurry haze, and I stopped him.”

Jacques squeezed her hand. “Yes, you did. You took him down like you did Bobby Ray. I’ve never been prouder.”

Inside the office building, Danny sat with Detective Collins and Agent Ruiz while the others waited outside. She gave her account of what happened in the hotel, describing how Jeffries had grabbed her, repeating all the words he’d said.

“I saw Mercer draw his gun and yelled. Next thing I knew, Jacques and Mercer are rolling on the floor.

When she finished with her recounting, Ruiz asked if she was ready to give her full statement of the Fort Benning assault.

“I’d like to do that today,” she said. “After I have a break.”

“Deal,” Ruiz said.

“I don’t remember anything more than what I’ve already told you, but I remember Jeffries’s voice,” Danny said. “Remy has copies of my medical record. I’ll have him forward it to you.”

“Good. We’ll add it to the file,” Ruiz said.

Danny walked to the door and paused. “If you speak with Melanie Ellis again, could you tell her thanks for me? And tell her that if she ever wants to call me, she can.”

“I’ll let her know,” Ruiz said.

She forced herself to eat part of a sandwich and downed a bottle of water while the others gave their accounts of the hotel incident. Finally, it was her turn to go back into the room with Ruiz and give her statement.

The fire department cleared the hotel by the afternoon. Collins updated them on what he’d learned from reviewing surveillance videos.

“Someone pulled the fire alarm. We suspect either Mercer or Jeffries did it to cause a distraction. The footage showed Mercer entered the hotel lobby before the fire alarm went off. After it went off, he headed for the north exit. Jeffries came in earlier than Mercer.”

“They set it up,” Danny said, her gut clenching. “They were waiting for me.”

Collins nodded.

“Did Mercer admit Jeffries hired him?” Jacques asked.

“He did.” Collins smiled. “Jeffries tried to lay all the blame on Mercer. Mercer wasn’t going down alone. He said Jeffries hired him. His first job was to silence Sarley; his second was to silence Danny. Of course, Jeffries denies everything. We’re checking bank accounts, phone records... With Beaumont’s messages, videos and witnesses from this morning’s attack, we have a good start. Both men are in custody.”

Danny nodded. “That’s the best news.”

Jacques squeezed her hand. “The very best.”