Teren smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Miri. That’s nice to know.”
Miri nodded and smiled, then left, carrying Arlea who was still sniffling.
Alex turned to David. “You look good, pal. Hurry up and get well, alright?”
“Will do.” David reached up for a hug, and kissed Alex’s cheek gently. “It’s good to see you, Alex.” He turned his gaze to Teren. “And you — come here and give me a hug before you go.”
Teren raised an eyebrow, but did as he requested.
David whispered in her ear, “It’s a good thing you’ve been taking care of her, Teren. She’s my partner, you know.”
The dark woman pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes. “I know. She’s mine, too.”
The brown eyes in front of her widened, as David’s smile turned to a grin.
Teren straightened back up and turned to Alex, who was watching Ken slip into his coat.
“Where are you going, Ken?”
“With you, Alex.” He pulled up the zipper on his jacket.
“Um, no, Ken, I don’t think so.” Alex smiled, but shook her head. “You don’t have any idea what kind of trouble you could get into.”
“Don’t care. You either take me with you or I’ll follow you.”
Teren folded her arms and looked at him. “Ken, Alex has already lost her badge. You sure you want to risk yours as well?”
“Yes.” He pulled out his FBI identification and laid it on the table. “I’ll give it up in a heartbeat.” He started towards the door.
“Wait, Ken, no. You don’t want to do this.” Alex took his arm and made him face her. “Look, I’ll get my badge back, I swear I will. Don’t get yourself in trouble over this, okay? I mean it.”
“Alex, I don’t care about the goddamn Bureau. I care about you, and tall, dark and dangerous here. Got it?”
“That’s nice, Ken, but you’re not going.” Teren stepped past him, then whirled around to glare at him when his hand grabbed her shoulder.
“You don’t have a choice.” His voice softened. “Besides, I promised Cliff I’d keep an eye on the two of you. Make sure you didn’t need back up.”
At the mention of Cliff’s name, Alex tensed. “Why did he want you to do that, Ken? He hasn’t cared up until now.”
“The hell he hasn’t. He practically begged Graves for information. He was as worried as anyone.”
Teren glanced at Alex, wondering if the shorter woman was thinking the same thing she was. Alex’s brow was creased, and her mouth was pulled into a frown.
Making a decision, Teren nodded. “You want to come with us? Fine. But I’m telling you now, you will do exactly what we tell you, when we tell you, or I’ll stuff you into a locker at the airport, and leave you there. Got it?”
Ken nodded. “Got it.”
Teren growled at him, and glanced at Alex, who was still frowning. Then she led the way out, with her blonde partner behind her. They left Ken to wave goodbye to David and close the door behind them.
Chapter Forty
They were a few minutes early getting to the airport. The plane Dawkins was on wasn’t due for another fifteen or twenty minutes. They took their time getting to the gate, keeping an eye out for Treville.
He wasn’t there, but Alex did spot an old nemesis.
“Shit,” she whispered. “Ken, you see him?”
“Yeah. What the fuck is he doing here?”
“Who?” Teren asked.
Alex answered through clenched teeth. “Captain Davies.”
The unexected appearance of the Philadelphia police captain put them in a precarious position, Alex realized. The only one of the three who had met Dawkins or Treville was Teren. Alex and Ken could have trailed the men without problem. However, Davies knew both of the FBI agents. Which meant that, instead of only Teren staying in the shadows, all three of them had to.
“Got any ideas, Teren?”
“Maybe.” She pulled Alex into a souvenir stand. “Listen up. Ken, you and Alex are going to hang back a bit. I’ll get a baseball cap, and pull it down. With my short hair, and the cap, Dawkins probably won’t recognize me. I’ll go to the gate and watch for him. You two stay out of sight — but not too far away. Alright?”
Ken started to speak, and both women glared at him. He closed his mouth, and nodded.
Alex turned to her partner. “What if Davies is picking up Dawkins?”
Teren frowned. “Why would he be here for Dawkins? Maybe he’s just getting a flight back to PA, and it’s at the next gate. Or he could be picking up someone else.”
Her partner shook her head. “No. Think about it.” She began ticking things off on her fingers. “One, Davies was a guest at the banquet where Dabir was killed. He’s a police captain, and should have either pursued Mather or stayed to help — but if I remember from the reports, nobody saw him for a long period of time before or after the shooting.” She looked at Ken. “Is that what you remember from the reports?”
He nodded. “He said he was in the restroom, and nobody questioned it because he’s a captain. But, I don’t think anyone ever verified where he was.”
“Right. Number two, Davies is the one who didn’t want us bothering Kyle Brogan. He said we were harassing him for no reason — even after we found the pictures and fingerprints.”
Teren nodded. “Go on.”
“Three, Davies is the one who arranged for the back up car — and he handpicked the officers. How hard would it have been for him to slip into the back seat?”
One dark eyebrow went up into Teren’s bangs.
“Four — who was it that tried to pin that on you, Teren? Even though the cop that drove you there told him otherwise?”
“That’s right,” Ken said. “The patrolman had to go to the press to get anyone to listen to him, cause Davies wouldn’t believe him.”
The other eyebrow joined its twin.
Teren nodded. “Alright. So, Davies is a very possible suspect.” She shrugged. “Doesn’t change the plan. If he is here to pick up Dawkins, I’ll trail them, and you two trail me. Got it?”
“Right. We’ll keep out of sight.” She reached out and touched Teren’s arm. “Careful, partner.”
Teren grinned at her. “No problem.” She winked and headed up to the counter to pay for her new hat.
Along with her new cap, Teren got a magazine, and sat down to read. There was actually a very interesting article on the newest computer gadgets, and the time passed very quickly. Before she knew it, the plane was in, and the passengers were disembarking.
It wasn’t hard to spot Dawkins. He had an entourage of several people traveling with him. Davies greeted him with a smile and a handshake, and Teren heard him mention Treville, and “meet at the hotel.” She waited a few moments after they left the gate area, then casually joined the crowd heading toward baggage claim.
She noticed Alex waiting behind a magazine rack, and saw that she had gotten a new cap of her own. Teren motioned with her head for her partner to slip into the group just in front of her. After Alex was in position, Teren leaned a little closer and whispered.
“They’re headed for the parking lot. Treville’s waiting for them at a hotel.” She paused, as they came to a bottleneck point. “I’m gonna keep tailing them, you try and keep an eye on me. Send Ken for the car — got it?”
A nod, and Alex was moving away again, pushing her way through the crowd.
Teren watched as the men got into a white Taurus with local plates and a rental barcode on the window. Davies was in the driver’s seat, and he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, driving past the CIA operative, who was walking and reading her magazine at the same time.
Within a minute, Ken was pulling up next to her. He opened the driver’s door, and let her slide behind the wheel while he climbed in the back.
“I don’t know what hotel they’re headed to, but Treville is going to be there. There are four of them, Davies, Dawkins, and two guys from Dawkins’ staff. The rest of his group stayed to get the bags.” She pointed to the sedan, which was several car lengths in front of them. “That’s them, in the white Taurus.”
“Right. So what’s our plan? Follow them, and then what?” Ken asked from the back seat.