Page 47 of Laura's Truth

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Every scenario we use is based on old, declassified material.”

“Yeah, it looked that way to me,” Eva agreed. “What?” She grinned when Ross groaned. “Need I remind you why I’m a partner again?”

Ignoring Eva, Ross gestured for Laura to continue. “I really think he managed to set up an alert for when anything pertaining to the day he tried to kill Drew was accessed,” she explained.

“Again, agreeing,” Eva said. “It’s not that hard to do, especially if Hackett or his tech guy ever had access to begin with.”

“So do we want to take a look at personnel?” Rick asked.

“No time,” Drew said, shaking his head. “With his service record it’s too much to weed through. He wants to eliminate Aziz and make one last sale before he fades into oblivion. It’s his first deal brokered in the states and it’s best if we use those issues to catch him. Recent charges will be easier to prosecute and harder for him to evade.”

“Once he’s in custody, we can pile on with the other material you’ve gathered,” Eva said.

“Provided it gets to the right authorities in a way they can use it,” Laura reminded them.

“Count on me,” Eva said. “I’ll use this,” she said, holding up the flash drive, “and start being you.”

Nicole piped up, “How can we keep him from killing Aziz before we reel him in?”

“We can bring Hackett here to us,” Ross suggested.

“Here?” Laura stared at him, as shocked as the rest of the group. “That’s a terrible idea.”

“It would buy us time. He travels here to take a swing at Garner while you,” he pointed at Laura, “and the girls set things in motion in Charleston.”

“I’m a wanted woman in Charleston.”

“Not after Drew confesses to Sheriff Cochran for killing those men with your gun.”

“Hang on, Ross. I’m not confessing to any of Hackett’s crimes just so you can get a little revenge.”

Laura agreed wholeheartedly, but she knew Ross wouldn’t have suggested it simply out of vengeance or spite. It wasn’t his way.

“Hackett set up Laura to keep her out of the equation and flush you out. We’re just giving him a little twist he won’t expect.”

“How does that help? Assuming I play along.”

“We’re a team here,” Rick said.

“Yeah, I noticed that from my place over here on the outside.” Drew’s eyes were hard, his expression grim.

Laura knew he wanted to bolt. Couldn’t really blame him. “Spell it out for those of us who haven’t had enough coffee,” Laura suggested.

“Sure.” Ross picked up the carafe and topped off Laura’s cup. “The double homicide is all over the news. If you go into Charleston, you’ll be picked up in no time for those murders. Letting the media broadcast that someone is confessing to the crime will draw Hackett out. I can’t believe he’d miss a chance to take a shot at Drew. Playing it by the book, Sheriff Cochran will share your statement with the Charleston authorities. He can even take a statement from Laura and share that too, while keeping Garner in custody. That leaves Eva continuing on as Drew, Hackett’s contact, while the ladies are free to set up a trap for him to walk into.”

Laura mulled that over. It had potential, but she could see more than one pitfall.

“Hackett won’t tolerate looking like a fool,” Drew said, voicing her first concern.

“That works for us,” Ross insisted. “It pushes him into a corner—one we’ve designed. We’ll make him increasingly uncomfortable as we drip out false information that gives him more cause to go after Laura.”

“I can do that,” Eva said, with a fast crack of her knuckles. “All of that.”

Laura understood the ploy and in her head she saw it play out perfectly. Hackett would think she was poking into his past, she’d become a more immediate target, and they’d catch him as he moved in to kill her. She agreed with a confident ‘yes’ even as Drew said ‘no’.

The chatter stopped and all eyes turned to them. “Why not?” She studied Drew over the rim of her coffee cup, wondering about the sudden protective vibe. He knew she could take care of herself. He shifted in his seat, clearly wanting to get up, to pace. He wanted to lie, she realized, curious if he’d lean on his old habits or test his new options.