Scott Free by John Gilstrap

Author:John Gilstrap [Gilstrap, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Thriller
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2004-09-29T04:00:00+00:00

21

BARRY WHITESTONE PICKED UP THE PHONE to call his wife. They hadn’t spoken all day. Eagle Feather being the kind of community that it was, he’d grown accustomed to having lunch with her more days than not, and today, between the storm, the president, the death down at the motel and the search for the plane crash kids, he’d barely had time to think, let alone eat lunch.

He needed to talk to Janey, if only to touch base with the part of his life that was always happy. The Jamiesons had joined the O’Tooles here in town, and the whole thing was eating away at him. He’d seen plenty of grieving people in his time—parents, kids, brothers, sisters—but there was something about the intensity of Brandon O’Toole’s angst in particular that resonated with Barry. Maybe it was the fact the Brandon’s Scott and Barry’s Tyler seemed cut so nearly from the same cloth. Maybe it was merely the man’s limitless capacity for hope.

He’d just finished dialing the number when Secret Service Special Agent Ed Sanders appeared in his doorway, clearly anxious to speak.

Janey answered on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Hi, honey, it’s me,” Barry said, indicating with a finger for Sanders to wait a minute.

The agent walked into the office and helped himself to a seat.

Janey teased, “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“Hang on a second.” Whitestone covered the mouthpiece with his palm and said to Sanders, “Give me a minute, would you?”

“Take your time,” Sanders said, but he didn’t move.

Back to Janey. “It’s been a wild day. I’ve got Secret Service crawling around like maggots on a dead skunk.”

“Oh, now isn’t that a pleasant image,” Janey said.

Whitestone glared at Sanders, whose face never moved from its humorless Secret Service scowl. “Never seen such an obnoxious group in my life. They think they own the world.”

“Their boss does own the world, doesn’t he?”

“Nah, he just has the power to blow it up at his will.”

“You’ve got an agent sitting there in your office, don’t you?” Janey asked. Sometimes her powers of deduction amazed him.

“I sure do.”

“Barry, you should be ashamed.”

Whitestone laughed. “I was just calling to check in. Everybody okay?”

“Disturbing case, eh?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t hear from you all day, and then your first question is, ‘everybody okay?’. That means something’s eating at you.”

“You’re good,” Barry said. “It’s the missing kids from the airplane. I just hate to see the families suffering the way they are.”

“So, you’re still no closer?”

“It’s like the earth swallowed them whole. Not a trace.”

“That’s such a shame,” Janey said. “We’re all just fine. Well, I’m fine. Tyler is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to tell you about his D in algebra.” In the background, he heard his son shout, “Mom!”

“Terrific. Do we need to talk to his teacher?”

“You need to talk to the guy in your office, Chief Whitestone. Finish up there and come home.”

Barry smiled. “Yes, dear. It’ll be a while yet.”

“I’ll be here.”

Whitestone hung up the phone and looked at Sanders. “It doesn’t bother you to hear me call you a maggot?”

“You didn’t call me a maggot,” Sanders corrected.

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