Chapter 19
Lee steered the car through the metal gates of the prison as Francine stared at him.
"What do you mean I'm wrong? Lee, we just wasted an entire afternoon with him. He didn't tell us anything," Francine insisted.
Lee grinned, his dimples deep. "I think you weren't listening hard enough," he teased.
"Okay, mister 'I listened better than you'… explain to me what I apparently missed." Francine growled.
Lee checked for on-coming traffic before he pulled out onto the street. He focused on the road for a minute, the grin still on his face.
"I'm waiting," Francine reminded him as she folded her arms across her chest.
"And I'm going to explain it. Do me a favor. I want you to make a list for me," Lee began.
Francine glared at him. "A list for what? What do I look like… your personal secretary?"
Lee shook his head slightly as he said, "I'd make the list myself but I think I need to keep at least one hand on the wheel."
"Fine," Francine grumbled. She dug through her purse and pulled out a pen and a small notepad. "Go."
"We need a complete list of all of the guards in his sector and any other section of the prison he frequents. We also need a full background on his cellmate, Halal Al Saleed." Lee tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he rattled off the list.
Francine scribbled down his suggestions before she asked, "Why? Al Saleed I can understand, but why the guards?"
"He's gotta be getting info out somehow. There's no way Staples did what he did without Brody's involvement. And we already know he didn't do it alone. We're still waiting on those other fingerprints from that syringe. We just need to figure out who's currently on Brody's payroll." Lee glanced in the rearview mirror and frowned.
Francine exhaled loudly. "So are we in agreement, Brody is involved then?"
"Honestly, I don't see how he isn't." He checked the side mirror, then focused on the rearview mirror again. "Hey, what was the color of the car that followed us yesterday?"
"Um, blue I think. Why?"
Lee looked in his mirrors once more. "It appears our friends are back."
Francine twisted in her seat to see the familiar blue car behind them. "Looks like there are two people in the car. How do you want to handle this?"
Lee pursed his lips tightly and scanned the road ahead. He could see a few signs and bright orange traffic cones, indicating they were entering a construction zone. "Let's try to keep a low profile. Maybe we're wrong and it's not the same car."
Without warning, the car behind them surged forward, colliding with the back of the Wagoneer.
"Or maybe it is!" Francine braced her hand on the dashboard as their car swerved slightly.
"Let's see if we can get them to a more open road." Lee pressed his foot on the gas, pushing the Jeep's speed a little more as the construction area loomed closer.
The car behind them slammed into the tailgate again. Lee fought to keep the Wagoneer under control as the impact pushed them off toward the shoulder of the road.
Francine tried to get a good look at the passengers but the glare of the sun on the windshield prevented a clear view.
As they got closer to the marked construction site, Lee swallowed hard. A slow-moving paving truck lumbered ahead on the single lane road, blocking his view of on-coming traffic. He leaned to the side to try to see around it but shook his head. Off to the right, he noticed an access road running parallel to the one they were on.
"I'm going to try to swing onto that road. The four-wheel drive should be able to take it but I'm not so sure about them back there," Lee explained just as they were rear-ended again. He fought the wheel to hold it steady as they inched closer to the paving truck.
They were both taken by surprise when they heard a shot ring out from behind. Instinctively, they both bobbed their heads. A second shot sounded, smashing the back window of the Wagoneer. Lee spotted a break in the construction cones and a small gravel area connecting the access road to the main road.
"Hold on!" Lee jerked the wheel to the right, the Jeep bouncing wildly. He straightened the car out on the gravel and pressed on the gas. "Do you see them?"
Francine reached into her purse and pulled out her pistol. She tried to level her weapon as the Jeep bounced along the uneven road. "They're right behind us. I'm trying to get a clear shot but you're not really helping."
"Amanda's gonna kill me when she sees the damage to her car." Lee pressed his lips together tightly, the muscle in his cheek twitching.
"They're gonna kill us first, if you don't step on it!" Francine yelled. She squeezed off one round, missing the car following them.
Lee glanced into the rearview mirror again and saw the car inching closer. "Dammit!" He pushed the gas pedal a little more and the engine roared in response. He gripped the wheel tightly with both hands and tried to focus on the road ahead. "Anything?"
"You drive, I'll shoot," Francine instructed as she pulled the trigger again. This time her aim was on target and the center of the windshield spiderwebbed. She saw a hand appear out of the passenger window. "Gun!"
"No kidding!" Lee responded sharply. He heard the sound of the shot and cringed, awaiting the sound of impact somewhere on the Jeep.
Francine pulled the trigger again, this time shattering the headlight on the driver's side. She watched the car pull sharply to the left and bounce across a small grassy area, smash into a construction barrel, and fishtail back onto the main street. It sped up until it was almost parallel to the Wagoneer, giving the unidentified passenger a clearer shot. Her eyes widened as the gun appeared out of the window again.
"Hang on!" Lee shouted as the road ended and the nose of the Wagoneer suddenly dipped.
Francine jolted forward, her hands catching the dashboard as tree branches and leaves obscured their front windshield and rushed past her window. Underneath the car, they heard bangs and thuds as the car careened down an embankment.
Lee tried stomping on the brakes but nothing was stopping the out-of-control vehicle.
Several long seconds later, they both heard a loud snapping sound followed by a high-pitched metal-on-metal squealing before the Jeep came to an abrupt stop.
"You okay?" he asked tentatively.
"Peachy," Francine groaned.
Lee blinked several times and mentally surveyed the front of the car out of the cracked windshield. He turned slowly to Francine and asked, "You get a look at the shooter?"
Francine turned her head and looked around. "Nope."
"Me either," Lee stated before he pulled on the door handle to try to extricate himself from the car. He pushed the door hard against the brush, exhaled loudly, and exclaimed, "Amanda's gonna kill me."
Francine started to laugh. "Probably. But the shooter didn't, so we can call it a good day, right?"