In Harm's Way (Heroes of Quantico Series, Book 3) (38 page)

"Rachel Sutton was in your trunk, Debra" His words were
slow. Deliberate. Deadly.

Panic flitted through her eyes. "I want a lawyer."

"You can make that call after we take you in. But a lawyer
can't change the fact that Rachel's blood is in your trunk. We
found the things you threw in the well too"

She jerked as if she'd been struck. "You couldn't have .." She
clamped her lips shut and twisted away from him. "It's cold out
here. I want to go inside." She shivered inside the coat someone
had re-draped over her shoulders.

Anger bubbled up in Nick, like a pot about to boil over. He
reached over and yanked her coat off, tossing it to Mark.

"Hey! What are you doing? It's freezing out here!" She glowered at him.

"Rachel doesn't have a coat, either, Debra" Nick ground the
words out through clenched teeth. "And she's been out in this
weather a lot longer than you have. How cold do you think she
is?"

A shiver rippled through the woman beside him. Nick didn't
feel one iota of sympathy.

"I don't know Rachel. I don't have to talk to you. I want a
lawyer. And I want my coat:'

Nick directed his next comment to Mark. "Can you get Emily
on the line?"

Motioning to the other agents to take their places, Mark
pulled his BlackBerry off his belt. As he moved toward the garage, he called out to the technician working inside. "Can we
borrow your van for a minute, Clair?"

"Sure:" She waved at him without looking up from the trunk
of Debra's car.

They climbed into the front seat and were closing the doors
as Emily answered. Mark put her on speaker and set the BlackBerry on the dash.

"Em, Nick's with me. We need your help. Debra had the O'Neil
baby, and we found Rachel's glasses in her trunk, but she won't
tell us where she left her:"

"We're hoping you can suggest an approach that might
get her to open up; Nick added. "If Rachel's out in this cold,
she's not going to be able to ..." His voice hoarsened and he
stopped.

I understand, Nick. And I'm glad to help. But without talking to Debra, I can't really make any kind of formal assessment.
This is all going to be gut feel:'

"This is off the record, Em," Mark assured her. `And we'll take
whatever you can offer. We don't have time for any kind of of ficial psych workup' He gave her the rundown on their brief
interrogation session.

"Okay. Here's my take, factoring in what Mark told me about her
when he called earlier. It sounds as if this woman has convinced
herself the O'Neil baby is hers. That's your bargaining chip, guys.
You have to promise her whatever will get you the information
you need. If that means you tell her she'll get her baby back, that's
what you need to do. Nothing else may work in the short term"

Nick frowned. "I'm not in the habit of lying, Emily. Even to
suspects"

"Do you want to see Rachel alive again?" Emily countered.

Her blunt comeback helped him put things in perspectiveand sowed the seed of a plan. "I agree we need to take some kind
of drastic action. And you've given me an idea, Emily. Thanks"

As Mark slid his BlackBerry onto his belt, Nick took a deep
breath. "Okay. Here's what I think we should do"

Cuddling Megan on her lap, Rebecca lifted a trembling finger and touched the familiar faint sprinkling of freckles on the
bridge of her daughter's nose. Traced the graceful curve of her
perfectly shaped ear. Drank in the sight of the sweeping lashes
that rested against her downy cheek. Smiled at the tiny rosebud
mouth suckling in sleep.

Her baby was home.

At last.

The solid little body in her arms had done more than anything
else to chase away the chill that had plagued her for hours.

"Mr. and Mrs. O'Neil?" After a discreet knock, Steve Preston
stuck his head in the tiny office where she and Colin had been
reunited with their daughter and left in privacy to savor the
moment.

"Come in, Agent Preston" Colin remained seated in the chair
beside her, one arm around her shoulders, the other hand resting on the soft, comforting warmth of their baby.

"Is there any news about Rachel?" Rebecca forced herself to
look up from Megan.

"No. Nick and Mark have tried to question Debra Kraus, but
she's not talking. And the situation is getting desperate. If your
sister is still alive, Mrs. O'Neil, she won't be in another couple of
hours. The temperature's supposed to plummet after midnight,
and we're only half an hour away from that:"

"I know she's alive, Agent Preston. I still feel cold:"

"Is there anything we can do to help find her?" Colin asked.

The man settled one hip on the desk in the small office and
faced them. "We have a plan that may persuade Debra to talk.
But we'll need your cooperation"

"We'll do whatever we can, Rebecca assured him.

"Maybe you better wait until you hear our idea before you
say that, he cautioned.

As the squad supervisor laid out the proposal, Rebecca understood his warning. It would take every ounce of her courage
to go along with the FBI's plan.

When Steve finished, he rose. "I understand that this is a difficult decision. I'll wait outside while you two discuss it"

The door closed behind him, and Rebecca looked at Colin.
His eyes reflected the conflict in her heart.

They both wanted to save Rachel.

But could they put the daughter that had just been restored
to them at risk to do so?

The violent shivering had stopped again.

Rachel was aware of that change in her body on some pe ripheral level of consciousness as she lay on the dirt floor, curled
into a ball. The shakes had been coming in waves for a while
now. The pattern had shifted soon after her hands had grown
useless and her legs had given way. She was no longer able to
do anything except lay on the ground.

And pray during the lucid moments that were becoming less
and less frequent.

At least she didn't feel the cold anymore. In fact, she didn't
feel much of anything. Including fear.

She groped for the chain around her neck. Her fingers could
no longer feel the thin links or the cross they supported, but
she knew she'd snagged it when she pulled and felt pressure on
the back of her neck. She willed her fingers to close around the
cross, hoping she'd succeeded, recalling Nick's suggestion not
long ago to hold on to it if she ever felt alone.

God would hear her whether she succeeded in grasping it or
not, though. Nick had told her that. And she trusted him. He
wouldn't lie to her. If he thought God listened, Rachel was certain
he did. She'd expected to have the chance to discover for herself
the truths that had laid the foundation for Nick's confidence in the
Lord, but it seemed God didn't intend to grant her that time. She
hoped he would accept her second-hand pledge of faith. It was the
best she could offer at this early stage of her spiritual journey.

As her awareness began to seep away, Rachel managed one
last, brief prayer.

Be with me, Lord. Forgive the wrongs I've inflicted on others.
Please restore Megan to Rebecca. Bless Nick. And please let him
know in some way how much he meant to me.

"The O'Neils are on board with the plan"

At Steve's news, Nick closed his eyes. Thank God.

Shifting the BlackBerry on his ear, he waited until Mark
looked toward the passenger seat and gave a thumbs-up.

"What's your ETA?" Steve asked.

"Less than ten minutes"

"Okay. Here's how we're set up for your arrival:"

As Nick listened, he glanced over his shoulder. Debra was
wedged in the back seat between the other two agents, still minus
her coat, her face vacant. She'd been less and less responsive
as they loaded her into the car and began the drive to the New
Melle police station. He prayed their plan would pull her back
to reality long enough to produce some usable information.

"Front door," he told Mark as they swung into the station a
few minutes later.

They found Steve waiting as they stepped inside. He gave
Nick's eye an assessing scan. "You need to put some ice on
that"

"Later"

Without pressing the point, he ushered them into the office
where Rebecca and Colin had sat earlier with Megan. The child's
snowsuit had been left on the desk.

Debra noticed it at once.

Some of the haze lifted from her eyes. As Mark and Nick
seated her in a chair, she stared at the pink garment. "My baby
... Is Danielle here?"

Instead of responding, Nick moved the garment aside and
spoke to Steve. "Would you get Ms. Kraus a cup of coffee? It's
a little chilly in here. Or do you drink tea?" He kept his tone
conversational.

"Coffee"

In silence, Steve left the room. Mark stood behind Debra
and folded his arms across his chest. Nick took the chair beside
her and leaned back in a relaxed pose. He'd already spotted the
mike the FBI had set up. It was between two books on top of the metal filing cabinet. Steve and some of the other agents would
be listening in an adjacent room.

"Ms. Kraus, would you like to see your baby again?"

Her head jerked up and she stared at him, her eyes not quite
focused but more responsive. "Is she here?"

"Down the hall."

The woman tried to rise, but Mark pressed her back into
place with firm hands on her shoulders.

"Would you like to see her?" Nick repeated, maintaining his
casual position.

"Yes"

"I can make that happen"

Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. He could see her
cognitive processes kicking in again. Good.

The door opened, and Steve entered. He handed a large ceramic mug to Nick and set another one on the desk in front of
Debra, depositing packets of creamer and sugar beside it. He
left in silence, closing the door behind him.

Lifting his steaming mug, Nick took a sip and addressed
Debra. "Do you want cream or sugar?"

I want my baby." A shiver rippled through her.

"We'll get to that. Cream or sugar?"

"Sugar. One packet"

After stirring in the sugar, Nick pushed the cup toward Debra.
"Mark, why don't you take her handcuffs off so she can drink
her coffee?"

As Mark complied, Nick continued to sip his own brew.

Once free of the cuffs, she wrapped both hands around the
toasty mug and gave him a suspicious look. "Why are you being
nice to me now?"

"You have information I want. I figure we can make a deal:"

"What kind of deal?" She took a sip of the coffee.

Setting his cup on the desk, Nick leaned forward and clasped his hands between his knees. "Let me tell you how I see this
situation. You didn't hurt the baby. On the contrary. As far as I
can tell, you took wonderful care of her. That will work in your
favor, Debra. The courts like good mothers. Now, a murder
charge? That's not so good"

"I didn't kill anyone"

"What about Rachel?"

"I didn't kill her"

"Then she's alive?"

"I don't know. It's cold outside. People can die in the cold.
That's not my fault" She took a long gulp of the coffee.