Page 3 of Shadow of Death
When he hung up, she knew.
“The black horse?” she asked.
He nodded, still studying her face.
“We have a plane to catch,” he said.
“Okay,” she said slowly. “First out of Key West. And then where?”
“Denver. Via Miami. There has been a rash of disappearances, apparently.”
“But why would that indicate anything to do with the Horsemen cases?”
“A little black plastic horse. This time, it was received by a colleague of mine, a guy I worked with years ago. Andy Mason, Assistant Field Director out there. He has no idea where it came from. It wasn’t mailed to him—it was on his doorstep when he went home last night. The entire agency has been briefed on what did happen with the previous Horsemen cases and to be aware we’ve been warned it isn’t over. Andy talked to the brass, and we’re to join him and see if the horse and the missing people do align. Andy is a good guy and a good agent. He didn’t miss the little horse, and he’s the one with the theory the missing people may have something to do with the horse.”
“No luck on getting our crazy incarcerated ‘red horse’ to talk, right?” Amy asked.
“She has an attorney who has advised her to keep her mouth shut. Poor attorney. Our ‘red horse’ is so proud of herself for being in her position, she doesn’t seem to appreciate the fact she shouldn’t be saying she orchestrated life and death. I think she really is a true believer.”
“She wanted to go into politics. That’s what I can’t wrap my head around,” Amy said lightly.
“And God help us all. She had it together until the end. Imagine if she had started in office in state government and moved on tonationalprominence.”
“Terrifying. Anyway—”
“Hey, vacation was ending. And they have a nice place for us in a hotel on the outskirts of Denver. I mean, it won’t be hot, and our days won’t be filled with diving and our nights with music and heat—”
“Hey!” Amy teased. “Mr. G-man, it will be hot wherever you are.”
“Thanks—I’ll take it,” Hunter said. “So, our plane out of here is in just three hours—”
He paused, stopping to look at his phone before answering it again. He sat silent for a moment before saying, “Um, sure, thanks.”
He hung up, grinning.
“Never mind. Our plane is in two hours, direct to Denver.”
“And we’re going to get to the airport and through security and—”
“Private plane,” he told her. “The brass is sending us off right. We won’t even have to worry about lunch.”
“Cool. Okay, so...”
They still had to hurry. They had to forego the tour of Fort Zachary Taylor they had planned for later. They had to make good time—it was a six-hour flight at best. With the time change, they’d get a few hours back, but now that they were going...
Amy wanted to move.
Within two hours, they were in the air. It was one nice plane—Amy had to thank the powers that be who had provided for them.
Amy looked out the window. She really did love Key West.
Hunter was at her side. “I know. I’m sorry. Watching sun and sea and a bit of nirvana disappear into a tiny spec.”
She turned to him. “I was thinking it was darned nice to be partnered with an FBI agent who draws this kind of attention from the bigwigs.”
He smiled. “Depends on the case.”
“Hunter, will this end?” she murmured. “There could be copycats out there. There were so many people involved, people who lost loved ones. This horse left on your Agent Mason’s doorstep...maybe it’s someone playing games. This is big and it could be endless—”
