Page 21 of Tempting Devil

“Yeah. Fine.”

I gave him a reassuring smile, trying to downplay the knot building in my stomach. I couldn’t lose focus now. Not when my gut told me there was a damn good reason James Turner flew all the way out here, and it had nothing to do with planning Alton’s memorial service.

“Looks like it’s showtime,” I announced when a sleek, dark sedan passed by, much to my relief.

Henry shifted his attention away from me as the car turned into the public lot across the street that was shared by several other area businesses —coffee shops, boutique clothing stores, even a bakery.

Clicking a button on his comm unit, Henry announced, “He’s parking now.”

I grabbed a small pair of binoculars and held them up to my eyes, watching James get out of the sedan, wearing casual clothes along with a baseball cap.

Which only increased my suspicion that something was going on. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him dressed so casually. I didn’t think he owned anything other than designer suits and top-of-the-line golf attire.

As he hurried along the sidewalk, his attention remained glued to his phone, causing him to bump into a man jogging past him. Without missing a beat, James berated him.

The runner gave an apologetic smile, then continued down the sidewalk while James returned his attention to his phone.

“It’s done,” a voice crackled over Henry’s laptop.

“Copy,” Henry responded.

“What’s done?” I asked.

He gestured toward the runner. “I had one of my guys slip a tiny microphone into his pocket in case they meet somewhere I can’t access.” He hit a few keys on his laptop, bringing up a security feed of the funeral home.

The second he did, another wave of déjà vu slammed into me, this time leaving me momentarily breathless. Especially when I saw a few of the preparation rooms. More memories flashed before my eyes, but as had been the case for years, they were too foggy and jumbled for me to make much sense of with any certainty. But something about that sterile, windowless room stirred something loose in my memory. It wasn’t that exact room, but I remember waking up in a room just like it after the man I thought to be a good Samaritan came to my rescue as I bled out in my car.

“You okay?” Henry studied me, his concern increasing with every second.

“Fine. I just… Being back in Atlanta again is bringing up some memories.”

I fully expected him to call me out on my bullshit, but before he could, there was a motion on one of the feeds. A man walked down a long hallway and opened the front door.

“Senator Turner,” he greeted James with a handshake as he entered the foyer. “It’s good to see you again, although I’m sorry it’s not under better circumstances.”

I leaned closer, analyzing every detail about the two men. Their words. Their tone. Their body language. Anything that could provide a clue about what was going on.

But there was nothing.

“You and me both, Mr. McGuire.” James forced a sad smile, playing the part of the bereaved friend. Much like he did in the video clips I saw of him after my supposed passing. “Is there somewhere we can talk in private? As I mentioned, there’s a very pressing matter I need to discuss with you.”

“Certainly. This way, please.” Brian spun around and walked down the hallway with an air of confidence.

What was James’ connection to him?

And why did I sense Brian had the upper hand?

“I worried this might happen,” Henry remarked when the two men disappeared from view.

“What’s that?”

“That they’d talk in Brian’s private office. It’s one of the few rooms not wired into the security system. And since we’re short on time, I wasn’t able to break in and install anything.”

“What other rooms aren’t wired?” I asked out of curiosity.

“It’s hard to know for certain. I was able to pull a blueprint from when he bought this house, since he had to submit plans for the remodel. From what I can tell, all the first floor rooms are wired. There’s the viewing room. The parlor. Arrangement room, as well as several prep rooms. All the administrative offices on the second floor are also wired, apart from his office. The only other place that isn’t wired is the cremation room.”

“Cremation room?”