“I can. Where should I hook up with you?”
“The usual place. I’ll have a uniform and badge for you.”
“Thanks, Mickey,” Finley said. “See you in a couple of hours.”
“This might not be the best idea,” Jack warned as she put her phone away. “Siniard is watching you.”
“Trust me.” Finley gave him a wink. “He’ll never know I was there.”
For a moment Jack hesitated. It wasn’t like him to ignore an opportunity. “I don’t want to be the reason you fall again, kid.”
Ah, the Judge had gotten word to him that Finley working with Jack was a bad thing. Anger and frustration and other emotions too raw to name whirled inside her. She took a moment. Steadied her composure.
“This is all I have, Jack.” She looked directly at him then. “I want to do this. If I were anyone else, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” When he would have argued, she held up a hand. “Just let me do what needs to be done.”
He nodded. “All right. Just don’t get caught.”
She laughed. “That is definitely not part of the plan.”
“All right. I have to get back to the office,” Jack said. “I’ll give you a call if I hear anything from either of the twins.”
“You know . . .” Finley reflected a moment before going on. “I’m not so sure we’re anywhere near figuring those two out.”
“Sophia once said they were like daylight and dark. Meant to be, but never at the same time.”
Finley thought about that for a moment. “She was right.” Finley climbed out. “See you later.”
He gave her a nod and drove away.
She watched Jack go, then checked her cell. She had time to go by the Legard home. Maybe she’d drive by Bethany’s home too. Cecelia may have gone to an old friend.
Finley considered another item on her mental checklist. She should try reaching someone at the university in California too. She leaned against her car, pulled out her spiral, and turned to her notes on Olivia as she put through the call. Six minutes later she finally reached the proper office. She ID’d herself as Olivia and asked about the glitch in her file. The clerk assured her that she would check into the situation and get back to her. Finley wasn’t holding her breath. The request was a little low on the priority scale for the clerk to rush.
At this point she fully expected any and all things that came out of the twins’ mouths to be lies.
Finley tucked her spiral along with her cell into her bag. For what came next she needed different transportation. She pushed away from her car and started toward the garage. Across the street, Helen Roberts stood in the yard watering her plants the way she did every day, sometimes twice. Finley waved. Roberts threw up a hand in a sort of nonwave.
As strange as she thought the woman was, she imagined that Roberts thought she was a little on the strange side too. Maybe a lot.
Riverbend Maximum Security Prison
Cockrill Bend Boulevard
Nashville, 12:30 p.m.
Finley didn’t get another deep breath until she parked behind the prison commissary. She shut off the truck’s engine and thanked her lucky stars she’d made it with no issues. Derrick’s truck hadn’t been taken out of the garage in a year. It was a straight-up miracle the tires weren’t flat and the battery wasn’t dead.
She’d had no tail when she left her neighborhood and didn’t pick one up on the route to the prison. If Siniard sent his minion to check up on her, he would find her car parked in her driveway.
Jack didn’t need to worry—she had this.
Mickey was waiting for her at the docks. He gave her a nod and passed her a badge. The name on it was Jenny Schultz.
“You ever done any nursing?” he asked as he guided her inside and to a place where she could change clothes.
“No, but I’ve spent enough time in hospitals and rehabs to have an idea what they do.” This was sadly very true.
He grinned. “You’ll do fine. Besides, Doc West is a big flirt. Just smile, and he’ll overlook any mistake you make. If he’s not in there when you arrive, then he’s probably off for a smoke.”
Finley wasn’t worried. Unless there was an emergency surgery, she could handle most anything thrown her way.
The staff restroom was clean and utilitarian, and there was a locker where Finley found a pair of scrubs. She changed and stowed her bag. She tidied her ponytail, added a little lip gloss for the doctor’s benefit, and she was ready.