"That's not Santa Cruz," Fallon said.
He reached up to remove the thumbtack that secured the calendar to the wall.
Voices sounded outside. Mrs. Ragsdale was talking to someone.
"She just got here," Mrs. Ragsdale said. "About time, if you ask me. It's been a month since Bernice passed."
"Everyone handles this kind of loss in a different way, ma'am," was the response.
Isabella went cold.
"Fallon," she whispered.
He folded the small calendar, stuffed it inside his jacket and took out his gun.
There was a sharp rap on the door followed by a low, chillingly familiar male voice.
"I know you're in there, Angela, and I know that Jones is with you. I'm unarmed and I'm alone. Open the door. We need to talk."
"You know that guy?" Fallon asked, keeping his own voice equally low.
"It's my old boss at Lucan Protection Services, Julian Garrett. When I worked there I used the name Angela Desmond. Julian's the one who set me up and then sent those two men to kidnap me in Phoenix."
"About time the guy from the maintenance crew showed up," Fallon said.
27
Fallon opened the trailer door, making sure to keep the gun out of Mrs. Ragsdale's line of sight. He made certain the man on the front steps got a clear look at it.
"Ah, shit," Julian Garrett said, weary and resigned. "Take it easy. I just want to talk to Angela. I swear, she's got it all wrong. No one is trying to hurt her."
"That's good," Fallon said. "Because anyone who lays a finger on her will wake up dead."
Julian was dressed in a green work shirt, pants and low boots. The logo for a company named Desert Sun Maintenance was stitched on the pocket of the shirt. Garrett looked to be in his midthirties. His gray eyes, high cheekbones and sharply etched features gave him the air of a lone wolf. There was energy in the atmosphere around him, a lot of it.
"Trust me, the last thing my boss wants me to do is bring Arcane down on his neck," Julian said.
Isabella moved up behind Fallon and looked at Garrett. "My name is Isabella Valdez now, and if you don't want to hurt me, why did you send those two thugs to grab me in Phoenix?"
Julian glanced meaningfully over his shoulder and then lowered his voice another notch. "I admit that was badly handled. My men had instructions to pick you up, that's all. Look, I can explain everything. Mind if I come inside? I don't want to get too dramatic here, but there's a small matter of national security at stake."
"Oh, bullshit," Isabella said.
Julian's mouth tightened. He switched his attention back to Fallon. "Department A has done some jobs for some very black-arts agencies. Just like J&J."
Isabella rounded on Fallon. "You never told me that we do work for the Feds."
"We try to avoid those jobs," he said patiently. "But we have been known to do some consulting for certain agencies."
"Consulting." Julian's mouth twisted in a humorless smile. "Nice turn of phrase. It's the same kind of consulting work that Department A does at Lucan. And that's what this is all about." He looked at Isabella. "Give me five minutes. That's all I ask."
Fallon did not take his eyes off Julian. "What do you think, Isabella?"
"Well," she said. "I guess we can't just shoot him here in front of Mrs. Ragsdale. The gossip would be all over the Court in about twenty seconds. And then there's the problem of the body."
Julian winced.
"You're right," Fallon said. He realized he was starting to enjoy himself in a perverse way. "Probably be better to do the actual shooting somewhere else where there aren't any witnesses."
"Lot of desert out here," Isabella observed.
Julian's jaw tightened. "Very funny. Five minutes. That's all I'm asking."
Isabella stepped back. "Okay, there's not much he can do here in the Court. He's got the same problem that we've got, too many witnesses."
"True," Fallon said. He moved back but he kept the gun visible. "Five minutes."
"Thanks." Julian stepped into the trailer and pulled the door closed behind him. He gave Isabella a wry smile. "Isabella Valdez?"
"That's my name."
"Glad to meet you," Julian said dryly. "You don't know how glad I am to see you."
"Can't say the same." She narrowed her eyes. "Did you kill my grandmother?"
"No, I swear it," Julian said. "I only discovered a few days ago that she even existed. When I finally tracked her down to this trailer park, hoping to find you, she was already dead. Heart attack, according to what I could determine." His expression softened. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Yeah, right. Explain those two men in Phoenix if you can."
"As I said, Phoenix was a bungled operation. I apologize."
"For sending two men to kidnap me?" Isabella said, her voice rising. "You apologize? "
"You were never in any danger from that team," Julian said.
"They chased me up to the roof of a department store. They had guns. They were trying to grab me."
"Like I said, it was clumsy work and that was my fault." Julian shoved his fingers through his hair. "All I can say is that we were desperate to find you and bring you in before some really bad guys got to you first. I knew that you were running scared. I was afraid that if you got wind that anyone associated with Lucan was in the vicinity, you'd disappear again."
"Good guess," she said.
"I told the team to do whatever they had to do to bring you in. Figured I could explain everything once I met with you face-to-face. I made it clear you were not to be hurt. But you ditched my men and we lost you again."
"You set me up, damn it. You were dealing para-weapons out of Department A. You knew Max Lucan was getting suspicious, so you put that incriminating file on my office computer. As if I'd be dumb enough to actually use an office computer to keep a file that could get me fired or sent to prison. You don't think very highly of me, do you, Julian?"
"You were set up, all right," Julian said. "But not by me. Caitlin Phillips was the one dealing the para-weapons. She's the person who installed that file on your computer."
Isabella felt blindsided. "Caitlin?"
"My administrative assistant, remember?"
"Of course," Isabella said, struggling to process the new information.
"She resigned and then she disappeared. We think one of her connections in the black market killed her."