“Tell her this is her only chance,” he said, loud enough to make sure she knew he was serious.

The on-hold information feed had to do with the various programs the FBI had available in the community and how responsible citizens could get involved. The mechanical sounding voice had gotten to the rewards people could claim when it shut off, and all he heard was silence on the other end.

“Agent Hicks?” he said trying to sober up and sound respectful.

“Who am I speaking to?” The voice sounded female, but she really didn’t say who she was.

“Is this Agent Hicks?” He wasn’t dicking around with any more flunkies. “If it’s not, I’m gone.”

“This is Special Agent Annabel Hicks, and I’d like to know who this is before we go on. You demanded my time, so give me a name.”

“This is Detective Elton Newsome, and I want to come in and talk to you, but only if you can guarantee my safety.” He lifted the bottle to his lips again and decided not to take another sip. He’d probably regret it later, but if she agreed to his demands, he had a long drive ahead of him.

“That’s interesting, considering you’ve been MIA for weeks. Your involvement in the Hannah Casey case has left quite a few questions that need answers. Carol Verde has refused to give her side of things, so that leaves you.” Annabel sounded like a woman who didn’t take a lot of shit from anyone.

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know, but the feds got me in this, and you’re going to give me my life back. I’m not going down because your people fucked up.” He had to stop and take a breath before he started screaming. “What happened isn’t right.”

“Where are you?” Annabel suddenly sounded like she was more interested than she was letting on. “I can have you picked up if you’re worried about your security.”

“I’ll drive myself to your office. There’s no way I’m trusting anyone but you. All I tried to do was help you, and I lost everything. Now I want my life back.”

“I’ll be waiting, but I need to know where you are. Trust is a mutual thing, Mr. Newsome. If you don’t show up because something happened to you, I need a place to start looking.”

“I’m at a dive off the interstate in Slidell. That’s all I’m giving you right now, so you’ll have to wait an hour if you want the rest.” He hung up before she made any other demands and took a moment to get his balance when he stood up to grab his keys.