Earthway by Thurlo Aimée

Author:Thurlo, Aimée
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

FOURTEEN

The alarm on Ella’s wristwatch went off at two-thirty a.m. She got out of bed and dressed quickly, grateful now for having taken her shower last night. Though still groggy, she moved noiselessly through the house and stopped by the kitchen to make herself some strong coffee. She downed the first cup quickly after cooling it with cream, then poured the rest into a thermos, black.

Ella met Blalock at his office twenty minutes later. As she pulled up, he was standing beside his vehicle, waiting. It was three twenty-five, and the sky was bright with stars and a full moon.

“If my calculations are right, we’ll be there at around five,” Ella said. “What a way to start a Monday.”

“With luck, he’ll still be passed out, or nearly so,” Blalock said.

“Don’t count on anything being easy. Think the worst and it won’t take you by surprise,” she muttered.

“What’s eating you?” he said. “Something I should know about?”

She shook her head. “Nothing to do with the case.”

“If you need to talk, I’ll listen,” he said. “I know from our conversation yesterday that you still have a life outside the job.”

Ella considered it. She did need a sounding board, and some information. . . . “Have you heard anything about a new investigative firm in D.C. headed by former FBI agents?”

“Yeah,” he said, looking at her in surprise. “PPS—Personnel Profile Security. In fact, I’ve been offered a job with them once I retire. One of the men running it is John Blakely, my former SAC in Denver,” he said, meaning the Special Agent in Charge. “The work would put me behind a desk, overseeing operations, but the pay . . .”

“Is fantastic.” Ella finished for him.

“Yeah, and I’d be getting my Bureau retirement check on top of that, too. The firm’s got so much business they’re thinking of expanding and setting up regional offices in Denver and L.A.” He paused. “But how did you find out about them?”

“I heard that I’m going to be offered a job.”

He stared at her. “I didn’t realize your reputation had grown so much. Or did you know one of the agents from your days in the Bureau?”

“I know Blakely, but I have a feeling this was Kevin Tolino’s doing,” she said.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” he said. “I have a feeling it wouldn’t have been a hard sell at all. Ethnic diversification makes them look good in D.C., and would be a plus if they set up shop in other major cities. Plus, it adds credibility to what they’re pitching—that there’s no case they can’t crack.”

“So you think I’d be the token Indian?”

“No, Blakely hires on talent and skills, not skin color,” he said flatly. “So, you gonna take it?”

“The salary they’re offering would tempt just about anyone with a pulse. And my kid seems to like D.C. and the advantages big-city living brings,” she said. “But I have to be sure it’s the right step, and I’m not there yet.”

“You could really go places in a job like that, Clah,” he said.

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