over the radio. She went weak with relief and then immediately started worrying again.
"Do you think she's spotted us?" she asked Kelly.
"I'm sure she doesn't know she's being followed," he replied.
Jilly was now so far ahead of them on the highway, Avery could barely see the back of her head.
"She's speeding, isn't she?"
"Yes," he answered. "She's going at least eighty."
"If there's a speed trap-"
"There isn't," he assured her.
"How do you know?"
"I know."
She moved on to another worry. "Shouldn't you get closer?"
"I'm not going to lose her, Delaney. Now sit back and relax."
"She's turning."
"I see her."
Avery forced herself to stop telling the agent in charge what to do. It would all be over in just a few minutes. If she could just
stay calm that long, she could spend a month falling apart if that was her inclination. Stay cool, she told herself.
Jilly had almost missed the entrance to the Windjammer motel. Avery watched her slow her car, make the turn, and drive
across the parking lot. She lost sight of her then as Kelly sped on. He pulled into the exit, circled around the motel, and parked
next to the restaurant adjacent to the parking lot.
"She's parked in front of the steps," Kelly said.
Avery was looking up at the units. All the doors faced the street. Then she looked at Jilly. She wished they were closer so
she could get a good look at her face.
"What's she doing?" she asked as she leaned forward.
"Brushing her hair," Kelly said.
Avery squinted against the sunlight. She saw Jiily pull down the vanity mirror.
"Is she putting lipstick on?"
"She sure is," Kelly said.
She sat back when the agent turned off the motor and rolled the window down. "You get out of this car, Delaney, and I swear-"
She didn't let him finish his threat. "I won't move."
Avery looked at Jilly again. She must have been satisfied with her appearance because she finally opened the car door and got out.
"Showtime," Kelly whispered.
Jilly ran up the first flight of stairs, raced along the outside corridor until she found the number she was looking for, and then stopped. Avery watched her spread the collar on her blouse so that cleavage would show. She smoothed her tight skirt, and then rapped on the door.
Avery's stomach lurched. She heard her voice calling out, "Darling, it's me, Jilly."
Tony Salvetti opened the door.
Chapter 39
The trial in Sheldon Beach didn't drag on long. The attorney prosecuting the case was competent and effective, and
with the evidence at hand, he was able to convince a second jury that Dale Skarrett had broken into Lola Delaney's home
with the intent of kidnapping Avery Delaney. In the process of committing the felony, he had caused the premature death
of Lola Delaney.
Skarrett insisted on testifying, which was a big mistake. He mumbled and squirmed, and by the time the prosecuting attorney
got finished with him, the felon was screaming obscenities at him for twisting everything he said.
Skarrett insisted that he hadn't used Avery as a shield and that he was really only trying to assist the child to her feet when her grandmother fired the gun. He couldn't explain why he'd taken his belt off and beaten her nearly to death except to say that he was simply trying to coax her into going with him to see her mother.
The photos of Avery in the hospital proved beyond a reasonable doubt that 'Skarrett had left her in that hallway to die. Within
an hour, the jury rendered its verdict, and Skarrett was led back to prison, where he belonged.
John Paul stayed in Sheldon Beach with Avery through the entire trial, and Carrie flew in the day before Avery was scheduled
to testify. The aunt had been to hell and back, and he expected to meet a shattered woman. She wasn't, though. If she was devastated by her husband's betrayal, she didn't let it show.
In between her calls to her staff in Bel Air, John Paul told Carrie he was going to marry Avery. She didn't want to hear that.
If her niece was going to marry, she should find a man with potential… and money. What kind of life would she have, married
to a carpenter?
Oh, yes, Carrie was one tough cookie… and meaner than a crocodile when she didn't get her way.
He really liked her.
MR.Carter will see you now."
"Thank you." Avery straightened her skirt and smiled at the receptionist as she walked to the door.
"You want me to go in with you?" John Paul asked.
She shook her head. "You'll wait here?"
"For as long as it takes."
She opened the door and stepped into the freezer. She'd come prepared this morning and was wearing a long-sleeved jacket.
"Good morning, sir."
"Have a seat, Delaney."
He didn't look happy, but then, she'd never seen Carter smile before, so she wasn't certain if he was still angry with her or not.
She sat in the chair facing his desk, folded her hands in her lap, and said, "Sir, if you're going to fire me, I'd like the opportunity
to preempt and resign first."
"Why?" he asked.
He'd stood when she entered the room but now took his seat behind the massive desk.
"Resigning would look better on my resume."
"No, I'm asking you why you think I'm going to fire you?"
"Because I didn't follow procedure," she said.
Her hands were trembling. She wasn't certain if it was due to the frigid air in the office or the fact that she was so nervous.
He had the ability to turn her into an insecure twit simply by looking at her.
"I should have figured it all out much, much sooner, but in my defense, sir, I was busy jumping in and out of fivers and dodging bullets. I didn't have time to analyze the data, but I should have made the time," she hastily added so that he would know she
was taking full responsibility for her mistakes. "I also used your name to force Agent Kelly to let me ride in the tail car, and
you were very specific with your order that I should never do that again. I broke the chain of command. I didn't let the agents
a ssigned to protect me do their job. Sir, I ran from them. I did. Oh, and I also bothered you during your monthly poker game
when I called you that night from Walden Point, and everyone at the Bureau knows how sacred your poker games are to you."
She thought she noticed the corner of his mouth turn up just a little. Was he about to smile or sneer?
He leaned forward and stacked his hands on the desk. "Just so you know, I had a full house, Delaney, but you used the priority code, so I had to fold. Why did you call me instead of going through channels?"
She might as well tell him the truth. She didn't have anything to lose. "I knew you'd listen to me and tell me if I was right or wrong. I also knew you'd help me, and we had to move fast. Because you gave the okay, we could do that."
"Go on," he urged.
"While the agents were getting things set up in Florida, I called Aunt Carrie and told her that John Paul and I were staying at
Milt's Motel in Walden Point and that she would be brought there to stay with us until Skarrett's trial. I knew she would call her husband, Tony, and tell him to come there. And, by the time she did that, agents were monitoring Tony's phone calls and e-mail."
"And if she hadn't called him?" Carter asked.
"Then I would have," she said. "But she did tell him, and just as I suspected, Tony contacted Jilly and gave her the news that Carrie and I would be together in Florida. Then he booked a flight there for himself."