New cop? A fed? He didn’t recognize her, and he’d been watching the Spokane Police Department for two full months. Didn’t mean much—there were a lot of cops here. But it was clear that this lady cop and Maddox were friendly. Why hadn’t he seen her before? If Maddox was cheating on his wife—the bastard—why hadn’t he picked up on it?

She must be a fed. She wasn’t in town before, now she was, and maybe she and Maddox knew each other from something or were just working together to find him.

He almost smiled at the thought that here he was and they had no idea.

Still, he didn’t like not knowing all the players he might encounter.

He almost walked out, but then Maddox and the blonde got up and left. They talked in the lobby for a minute, then Maddox left the hotel and the blonde went up the staircase.

He breathed easier. He was right; she was with the feds. He hadn’t screwed up his surveillance.

He took another sip of his beer and said to the bartender, “I noticed a couple police cars outside. Trouble?”

He shook his head. “Not here. We’ve been getting a lot of them in and out this week. With the murder up in Liberty Lake and all. A couple of the federal agents are staying here.”

“How exciting,” he said. A couple of the feds? Wouldn’t they all stay in the same hotel? Did that mean there were only a few working this case? That would confirm the information in the paper. But how few were a couple? Two? Four? Six? “I read about the murder in the paper.”

“There was another one, early this morning.”

“Really? I didn’t hear anything about it.”

“Was on the news, right before you walked in.”

Perceptive bartender. He wasn’t going to be able to stay long, didn’t want to be remembered.

“Another nurse?”

He shook his head. “Some guy. I didn’t catch the name. It was up in Liberty Lake.”

“Wow. Spokane used to be really safe.”

“Where you from?”

Careful.

“Born here, but left for college. Stayed in California for the weather, just here on business.”

“I hear ya. If my parents didn’t need me here, I’d be down south so fast. Arizona. The desert. I’ve been trying to convince them to move.”

Fortunately, another customer wanted a refill, so the bartender walked away without any more small talk. So he left a buck on the bar—not too large or too small a tip to be remembered. He walked out, got in his car. He almost drove away.

This is where the FBI is staying. This is where they are plotting against you. They don’t know you, but they think they do.

He bit his lip. It was risky, but he prided himself on always having another plan. And being here, in this hotel, could be useful.

He walked back in with his backpack and smiled at the clerk. “I need a room for a couple nights. Do you have anything available?”