The Intern(44)
Screw them. Fuck them all.
“Judge, please. Wait,” Martin said, alarmed now that he realized his advantage had been squandered.
“I’m an Article Three Judge with lifetime tenure. How dare you insult me this way. Your supervisors will be hearing from me. This meeting is over.”
She stomped out of the conference room, expecting them to run after her to try to change her mind. Part of her wanted them to do exactly that. But hurrying to the elevator, she glanced over her shoulder and saw that no one was there. Just ghosts from the past who refused to die.
17
After walking out on the feds, Kathryn went straight to the airport and caught the afternoon flight back to Boston. She’d left Brooke Lee and Andrew Martin with the impression that she would never flip, and she regretted it already. Striking a plea deal was sort of like romance. Playing hard to get could be an effective tactic, but only if you didn’t take it too far. She was afraid she’d pissed them off, when she might need them someday. Someday very soon, in fact, given how desperately she needed to get away.
On final approach, she watched the landmarks of Boston come into focus. The rain had stopped. The sun was setting. The Citgo sign flashed red, and the Bunker Hill Bridge was lit up like some prehistoric bird about to take flight into the purple sky. Most people seeing those sights would experience the warm glow of homecoming. She just felt the walls closing in. In Central Parking, she dragged her roller bag for miles, looking over her shoulder and listening with every ounce of concentration for the sound of footsteps behind her. She’d forgotten where she parked, apart from a vague recollection of facing out into open air, with a long walk to the nearest exit. Her car looked like a thousand others. A recent-model, mid-priced, white SUV with no identifying stickers or decorations. A popular car in a popular color, chosen for its ability to fade into the background and frustrate anyone who might try to follow her. Yet another worthless precaution undertaken to give her the illusion of control. Stupid ploys wouldn’t save her when they tracked her with advanced technology and the complicity of the people closest to her. Hell, with her own consent. Her worst enemy was herself.
She spotted a car that could be hers in a spot that looked vaguely familiar, held up the key fob, and pressed. The lights blinked and the doors unlocked with a soft beep. She couldn’t wait to be home with a glass of red wine and Lucy purring in her lap. Then she remembered—the intern was there. That would take some smoothing over if she didn’t want her ploy to turn into a fiasco. The girl wasn’t stupid. She’d already started asking questions. The whole thing was a mistake. It would’ve been smarter to just tell Charlie that she was going to DC. He didn’t believe her stupid ruse anyway.
As she opened the rear hatch, a wisp of cigarette smoke reached her nostrils, and she froze. She’d imagined it happening a million times, just like this. In the dark recesses of a parking garage. Someone stepping up from behind. A loud pop, then blackness.
“Kathy, what a surprise,” Charlie said, appearing from behind a pillar. “Funny, for someone who stayed home all weekend, you turn up right when the flight from DC is letting out. Here, let me get that for you.”
Her heart clutched as he snatched the key fob from her hand and heaved her suitcase into the trunk. She had a gun in her handbag. She ran through the pros and cons of killing him then and there. Pro: she hated his guts. Con: he was her brother. Pro: she’d be getting rid of him before he could murder her. Con: there were cameras watching, and he wasn’t worth spending the rest of her life in prison.
“Get in. I’ll drive you home.”
“I can drive myself, thank you.”
“Don’t make me ask twice.”
It would feel so good to splatter his brains across the windshield. As much as she wanted to, her hands were shaking. The power dynamics formed so many years ago were hard to overcome, and Charlie had always scared her. The violence was just beneath the surface, ready to rear its head at a moment’s notice. He got that from his father and his mother. Kathryn’s mind raced as they exited the garage. He knew she’d been to DC, obviously, and that she’d lied about it. She could admit that she’d met with the feds. Or make up a different reason for her trip and risk getting caught in another lie.
“Before we get into what you did on your little vacation,” he said, “tell me something. Who’s that staying at the town house? And before you open your mouth, I’m warning you: I know the answer. Fuckin’ lie to me, and they’ll find you floating in the river.”
He gave her a look that made her blood run cold. She took the measure of her surroundings. They were in a no-man’s-land of parking lots, diners, and chain hotels, with no street life. There was nowhere to go, and no point in running. Her best move was to turn and face him down, like a mailman chased by dogs. Charlie was feral. He sniffed out weakness but cowered at a show of strength.
“You’re blowing smoke, Charlie. You’d never hurt me. I’m too valuable.”
“Maybe that was true once. Not anymore. Now I view you as a security risk.”
She folded her arms and squared her shoulders. “You’re the security risk. You want to know why I was in DC? I was cleaning up your mess.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The feds ambushed me and dragged me down to Main Justice, where Brooke Lee raked me over the coals. Were you aware that she’s now running the Public Integrity unit? No? I didn’t think so. You know what else you don’t know? Justin Greco flipped.”