Contents ( 49)
- Copyright
- Contents
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- CHAPTER THIRTY
- CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
- CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
- CHAPTER FORTY
- CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
- CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
- CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
- CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
“Are you flying out tomorrow?”
Bell shakes his head. “Ticket’s booked for Monday morning, I’ll have to stay off base tomorrow night, but I’ll find someplace near Washington National. How about you?”
“Long drive ahead.” She bites her lip. “I was going to leave after lunch tomorrow.”
“Don’t leave without saying goodbye.”
“I won’t.”
Bell chuckles. “I know you want to. Don’t bullshit me.” When Emma glances over, he peers at her. “Seriously—don’t just disappear. I’ll be here or in my dorm.”
“Okay, I’ll find you.” The look between them feels like a promise. Emma tears her eyes away as they go through the door into the Behavioral Science foyer and up to the reception desk. “Hi, Betty.”
“Good…” Betty checks her watch. “… afternoon. How can I help you?”
Bell allows his lanyard and Emma’s to pool together on the desk. “The Section Chief said we’d be delisted after tomorrow, so we’ve been instructed to return our lanyards and IDs to Behavioral Science. Is there anything we need to sign?”
“There’s nothing you need to sign, and the Section Chief is incorrect,” Betty pronounces. She looks radiant today, in emerald-green wool boucle. “Identification invalidation can only be completed during a standard business day. Your identification will remain valid until midnight on Monday evening.”
“So we have another forty-eight hours?” Emma asks.
Betty checks her watch again. “Technically, you have fifty-nine hours.”
“That’s… that’s great.” It means Bell can stay on base tomorrow night. It also means they’re still technically FBI until Monday. Emma exchanges a glance with Bell at the implications. “Betty, can I ask one last favor? We’d like to say goodbye to Agent Martino, but we don’t have his contact number.”
Betty picks through her Rolodex, writes Martino’s contact down on a card. “There you are. And Agent Carter has been engaged with work in Berryville, but he’s due to arrive back Monday morning. I took the liberty of suggesting that you would like to speak with him, when he arrives.”
“Betty, thank you.” Bell leans to shake Betty’s hand. After a startled moment, she allows it. “We really appreciate everything you’ve done while we’ve been here.”
Betty straightens. “It’s been a pleasure working with you. And I wanted to say that Agent Cooper…” Her eyes get a little bright and she swallows. “Agent Cooper was a good man, and he put a lot of store in you. In both of you. I just thought you should know.”
Emma finds her throat suddenly has a frog in it. “Thank you, Betty. That means a lot.”
She and Bell walk out of Behavioral Science together, and Emma’s not sure whose face is more surprised.
“Now what?” Bell asks.
“We have extra time.” Emma’s confused about what to do with it, but they have it, and strangely enough, she’s grateful. “And we need to call Martino.”
“I’ll do that.” He steers them toward the elevators. “You’ve gotta do something else.”
“What’s that?”
“Eat.” He hits the button. “You have breakfast?”