Cop Said “You Two Aren't Welcome Here” To Twins — Both Were Federal Agents Investigating Him
Chapter 19
Theme:
Font Size:
24px
That night at Delaney's Tavern, Jayda sat down with Hank in the office behind the kitchen. "We need you to pay him one more time," she said. "Friday night, same as always."Hank looked at her like she was crazy. "Pay him? After everything?""With our money," Jayda said, laying a new white envelope on the desk. "Five more recorded bills. And you'll be wearing a small microphone under your shirt."Hank stared at the envelope, then looked up at the old photo on the office wall: his father, standing behind this same bar 50 years ago. "I said I was done paying," Hank said slowly. "I meant done paying with my money." He picked up the envelope. "This one, I'll be glad to hand him."On Thursday, their boss in St. Louis listened to the whole plan on the phone without saying a word. "Washington ordered you home Friday," he said finally."Friday's not over until midnight," Kendra said.There was a long silence; then he made a sound that might have been a laugh. "I'll call the judge. If Webb puts what he told you in a new sworn statement, she'll sign a warrant for Pratt's safe, and I'll send a team. But if this goes wrong, it's my job, too.""It won't go wrong," Jayda said.On Friday at noon, the last part of the plan began. Kendra carried two suitcases out of the motel room in plain sight and loaded them into the rental car. She checked out at the front desk, stopped at the gas station on Main Street, filled up the tank, and bought a coffee.Across the street, a police cruiser sat at the curb; Kyle Dempsey was watching.Kendra pulled out and drove slowly out of town. The cruiser followed her a quarter mile back, all the way to the county line. When she crossed it, she saw it in her mirror: the cruiser stopped, sat there for a full minute, then turned around and headed back toward Cold Creek.He had seen one twin drive out with the suitcases; Pratt had told him both sisters were ordered home Friday. As far as Kyle Dempsey was concerned, Hollis County was finally rid of them. He couldn't tell them apart—he had said so himself. It had never even crossed his mind that the other one might still be there.Back in Cold Creek, in a small storeroom behind the kitchen of Delaney's Tavern, Jayda Holloway sat on a crate of napkins with a laptop on her knees and a headset on her ears; she had been there since 5:00 that morning."He turned back," Kendra's voice said in her ear."I'm coming around on the back roads. 30 minutes.""Copy," Jayda said, looking at the clock on the laptop: nine hours until rent was due.At 9:00 exactly on Friday night, the front door of Delaney's Tavern banged open. Kyle Dempsey walked in like a king coming home.The bar was half full; people looked up and then looked away. Behind him in the doorway, Tyler Webb stood with his hands at his sides, a small strip of black tape covering the light on his body camera. Under the tape, it was recording.