The words were very quiet, and Teren kept her eyes forward as she pulled to the curb in front of Alex’s place. She refused to look at her companion. Alex, however, couldn’t look away from Teren’s face.
“If you’d rather I didn’t go with you, I’ll accept that.”
As Alex watched, Terens’s face took on a haunted look. The natural shadows under her eyes seemed to lengthen, stretching down her face. The frown she wore curled her mouth down, and lifted her chin. A vein near her temple seemed to throb, and the muscles in her neck bulged as she clenched her jaw.
What was that I told Cliff, Alex thought. Contradictions wrapped in dynamite.
“I want you to come with us, Teren,” Alex said quietly. “But I also want your word you’ll be honest with me. Completely. Not only with any information, but also any danger.” She leaned forward and touched the arm of the shadowed figure. “I can’t defend myself if I don’t know, Teren.”
Teren looked down at Alex’s hand where it rested on her forearm. Then she looked up and met Alex’s eyes. “I’ll do my best, Alex.”
Alex hesitated, then nodded. That would have to be enough for now.
She reached for the door handle and stopped. “You want to come up? It’ll be better than sitting in the cold.”
“I can keep the heat on; it won’t be that cold.”
“No. Come on, I promise my cat doesn’t bite.”
Teren smiled, and nodded. She shut off the engine, and climbed out of the car.
“What’s the cat’s name?”
“Appleby.”
“And you’re sure he won’t bite?”
“Positive,” Alex said as they entered the house. They climbed the stairs, and she stopped halfway. Looking back at her companion, she said, “But you do have to watch for falling cats.”
“Huh?”
Alex grinned. “You’ll see.”
She unlocked the door, listening closely for the tinkling of a tiny bell. Then she cautiously turned the handle.
Appleby was waiting on top of the bookcase. Alex was ready, however, and caught the leaping feline in her arms, letting him then scramble up to settle for a moment on her shoulders. He looked at Teren and meowed at her.
“Teren, meet Appleby.”
She turned to see the other woman grinning.
“Falling cats. Gotcha.”
*******************************************************
It didn’t take long for Alex to pack a bag and be ready to go. She gave Appleby a good hug, then left a note for Sarah and Maggie, who had agreed to cat sit once again.
They were on their way to the airport when her cellular buzzed.
“Reis.”
“It’s Cliff. Got the word back from the lab on that stuff from the box.”
“Anything important?”
“Two things. Number one, you were right. The dagger is from the 1930’s, and probably made in Germany. Number two, there were fingerprints on it. Guess whose.”
“Mather’s.”
“Well, yeah. But besides that.”
Alex felt her pulse increase. “White’s?”
“Yep.”
“Shit. We got him, Cliff.”
“Not quite. We can prove he knew the guy, that’s all. But there’s a little more.”
“What’s that?”
“Lab said they had a ninety percent match on White’s prints, but they also had a fifty percent match on somebody else’s. Kyle Brogan’s, to be exact.”
“Oh, yeah. I think we should send that little piece of info down to Ken and Rick.”
“Done. Faxed them a picture of the knife and a copy of the lab results. They’re going to talk to him tomorrow morning.”
“Are they arresting him?”
“No, but they’re not going to do the cozy chat at home this time, either.”
“I hope they break him.”
“Me, too. You on the way to the airport?”
“Yeah, Teren and I are almost there. David is supposed to meet us at the terminal.”
“You guys keep in close contact, alright? I want constant updates. Make me feel like I’m right there, Reis.”
“Got it, sir. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Good. Safe flight, Alex.”
“Thanks, Cliff.”
She folded the phone, sliding it back into the clip on her hip.
“They pulled Derek White’s fingerprints off the dagger.”
Teren nodded. “Nice. Doesn’t do much for you, though. You already knew they were connected.”
“Yeah, but that was circumstantial. This is physical proof. At the very least we’ll be able to pull him in for questioning.”
The former assassin gave Alex a sinister look, curling her eyebrows into knots. “Let me question him alone for ten minutes. He’ll tell you whatever you need him to.”
For a minute, that sounded like a really good idea to Alex. Then her conscience seemed to smack her, and she shook her head.
“Can’t do it. It’s against all the rules, and it’s just downright cruel.”
“Cruel for who?”
“Me. I wouldn’t be allowed to help you.”
*******************************************************
Alex was surprised to find that Miri and Arlea had accompanied David to the airport. It was a pleasant surprise though, and she reached out to capture her playmate while David introduced Teren to his wife. She was so caught up in the child’s laughter that she never saw the bemused look Teren was giving her, or the carefully watching eyes of the child’s mother.
She didn’t notice Miri approaching until she had already sat down beside them. Alex had the toddler riding on her knee, and Arlea continued to giggle, though Alex didn’t know if it was because of the bouncing, or because of the silly faces she was making.
Finally she noticed Miri, and she looked at her friend.
“So, I hear you’re teaching her to use the phone already.”
“Nope. She learned that trick all by herself.” Alex turned back to the gigling girl on her lap. “Didn’t you, Arlea? You grabbed the phone and talked all by yourself, didn’t you?” She mixed her words with little tickles, enjoying the laughs it illicited.
“Where’d Dave and Teren disappear to?”
“David went to get some gum, and Teren wanted to pick up a magazine for the flight. They should be back soon.”
“Good. We’ve still got an hour till boarding, right?”
“A little over.”
“How about we all get some dinner together? David and I can put it on our expense account.”
“Alex, is that the woman that threatened to kill David last night?”
Alex stopped tickling Arlea for a moment. She looked at her playmate’s mother.
“Well, yeah.”
“And now you’re all taking this flight together?”
“Yes.”
Miri was quiet for a moment, then looked Alex in the eye.
“You promised me you’d protect him, Alex. I’m holding you to that.”
“Look, Miri, David was being an insensitive ass last night, and Teren was on edge. It’s alright now. They even apologized and shook hands. There’s nothing to worry about.” Alex had to finish her statement around the tiny fingers trying to invade her mouth.
“When you’re married to an FBI agent you worry about everything, Alex.”
Alex was surprised to see the look of grief that drifted across her friend’s face. Miri had always worried about David, even more since Arlea’s birth. But the sadness and fear, almost dread, that showed in Miri’s eyes was something Alex had never seen. She shifted the squirming child onto the next seat, then reached out to hug her worried friend.
“Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.”
Miri nodded against Alex’s shoulder, but Alex heard her sniffle as well. The two clung to each other for a moment, then was forced to release their hold as Arlea grabbed a handful of Alex’s short hair, and pulled.
“Yeow! Arlea …”
Miri laughed, and tried to help Alex get free of her attacker.
David and Teren chose that moment to reappear.
“David, does your daughter often attack your partner?”
“Absolutely. I encourage it.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because if she’s attacking Alex, she’s not attacking me.”