Shay yawned and stretched her tired muscles. "I'll never understand how you can sit in one place for so long," she commented to Cody, who sat next to her as they ran checks on the remaining thirty names on the list of suspects.
Cody shrugged. "Beats me."
"I'm gonna take a break, Code. I need to call Dad." She smiled slightly and flipped open her phone.
"Hey, Dad."
"Hey, kiddo. Frank and Jake just left. He filled me in on what happened today."
"Dad..."
"You don't have to ask, Baby. I've already made arrangements to go today. If it's okay with you, I'd like to take the munchkins with me. After all...where I'm headed...it's the most secure location in the world."
Shay choked out a small laugh. "Sure, Dad."
"It'll be okay."
"Thank you, Daddy," she replied in a small voice. It still amazed her how she had grown up hating him and now she could not picture her life without him in it. "For everything."
"No need, Pumpkin. I'd do anything for that man of yours."
"Me, too, Dad. Me too. Call me as soon as you get there."
"Where'd you send your dad?" Cody asked when she closed her phone.
Shay smiled thinly and shrugged. He knew she could not say. Most things in Thomas Renquist's life remained the same. Classified. She countered with a question of her own. "Where's Alex?"
Cody cast his eyes away. How could he tell her Alex was out investigating her? "She just said she had something to take care of. You know Alex."
Shay nodded absently. Jake had gone along with Frank to see the kids and fill Thomas in on what had been going on. Alex was out. Frankie was at home with Jessie. And she knew Cody was looking forward to his evening at home with Katie. "Alllrighty then. Back to work for us," Shay sighed.
************
Striding purposefully into the Chevrolet dealership where Shay had taken Frank's Blazer the previous week, she flashed her badge and requested a meeting with the service manager. Like most businesses, the attention brought on by law enforcement was negative and usually brought on the fear of losing customers the longer attention was brought to them.
Alex found herself quickly ushered into the service manager's office. "Look...I'll make this quick. Last week, Shay Donovan brought her husband's Blazer in for some work...."
"Just a moment please. May I see your credentials?" he asked and held out his hand.
Alex grunted and flipped them open into his hand. "Now..Mr..." she glanced around the desk and found his nameplate. "Hilliard...about Mrs. Donovan?"
She waited while he punched his keyboard to bring up her file. "Yes, Agent Cross. Mrs. Donovan brought a Blazer in last week. Tune-up."
Alex nodded. So, that much was true. "Approximately how long was Mrs. Donovan here?"
Mr. Hilliard looked thoughtful before punching the intercom button. "Miguel...come in here, please." He smiled thinly at Alex while they waited for Miguel.
"Sir?" Miguel came to the door.
"Last week when Mrs. Donovan was in, how long was she here?"
Miguel searched back to the day Mrs. Donovan was in. He remembered her because she always brought her vehicle to him. She was always pleasant and was very pretty. It was hard to forget her. "Mrs. Donovan asked me to arrange a ride for her. She didn't wait on her vehicle, she came back for it a few hours later."
"Do you know where she went when she left here?" Alex asked anxiously.
"I can only tell you she asked our Courtesy Driver to take her downtown." Miguel nodded and left to return to his station.
Alex thanked the manager and quickly left the dealership. Downtown. The first attempt on Frank's life happened downtown. Coincidence? Alex did not believe in coincidences. This brought Shay closer into the picture. Too close.
************
To be continued...