Jim turned to Johnson. “We should get the communications equipment together. I don’t want you out of touch with Anders.”
“And fire power,” Johnson added.
“I’ll instruct the pilot to prepare,” Victoria said to no one in particular, though Lisa suspected what she wanted was for her son to acknowledge her act of support.
“Can we be ready to go by three?” Lisa looked from one man to the other. She recognized that Victoria needed certain information, starting with takeoff time.
Johnson shifted his attention to her, though reluctantly so. “Three will give us plenty of time.”
Jim Colby nodded. “We’ll rendezvous at the airfield at two-thirty,” he said to Victoria.
His comment felt like a dismissal to both her and Victoria, but Lisa wasn’t going anywhere without Sam Johnson. No way was she going to risk him taking off on her and doing this on his own.
“I don’t see any reason to hang around here,” she said with a glance in Victoria’s direction. “I can drop my rental off and join the two of you for preparations,” she said to Jim Colby. “If—” this was the tricky part “—Johnson doesn’t mind giving me a ride from the rental car agency.”
Johnson stared straight at her. For three beats she was certain he was going to say no.
“I can do that.”
He didn’t want to, his body language shouted that message loud and clear, but for some reason he didn’t turn her down.
Lisa offered her hand across Victoria’s desk. “Thank you for your help, Mrs. Colby-Camp.”
Victoria shook her hand. “I’ll see you this afternoon, Detective Smith. I’m certain that we can find the truth you’re looking for and neutralize this volatile situation for Mr. Johnson.”
Hoping like hell she was right, Lisa turned to Sam Johnson. “Are you ready?”
To Jim Colby, Johnson said, “I’ll see you back at the office.”
Colby confirmed with a nod. “I’ll just finish up here.”
With Johnson right behind her, Lisa left Victoria’s office without a backward glance. She could feel the tension mounting once more, pushing the air out of the room. Mother and son weren’t finished by any means.
The trip down the two flights of stairs was made without conversation this time and with every bit as much tension as before. They’d reached the parking lot before Johnson said a word to her.
“Which rental agency?” he asked without so much as a glance at her.
“Budget.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
She wanted to say no. To tell him that she’d rather stay close behind him or have him follow her.
“Okay.” At least she knew what kind of car he drove and his license plate number. She’d just have to keep him in her line of sight.
Lisa headed for her rental, keeping an eye on Sam Johnson as he strode toward his own sedan. She got into her car and started the engine. The opportunity to hit the street at the same time he did wasn’t possible, but she did fall in three cars behind him.
She gripped the steering wheel in a death lock as she waited for an opportunity to maneuver closer to his black sedan. A stop light caught her after he’d passed through it.
“Damn!”
Her heart thudding in her chest, she waited for the green. Her foot instinctively shifted from the brake to the accelerator the instant the light changed. She’d never catch him now.
The cell phone in her pocket vibrated. Not taking her eyes off the back of Johnson’s car, she dug out her phone and took a breath.
“Smith.”
“Hey, Smith, where the hell are you?”
Lisa’s pulse skittered. Her partner, Charles Sanford.
“I’m…headed to a spa appointment,” she lied. “Where the hell are you?”
She cut right, edging between two cars, which left only one between her and Johnson.
“I figured you’d still be in bed. You’re supposed to be partying, hanging out in the bars all night. Isn’t that what singles do when they go to Cozumel?”
She glanced at the digital clock on the dash—9:20 a.m. Two hours earlier in L.A.
“I had to take the first appointment of the morning to get this particular masseur. He’s supposed to be the best.” She bit her lip and hoped he’d go for the lie.
“Oh-ho, I see how it is. Well, enjoy. I just wanted to check in and make sure you were behaving yourself.”
“Thanks, Chuck. I’ll see you next week.”
Lisa closed the phone and slid it back into her pocket. Was her partner suspicious? She couldn’t be sure. She’d given him no reason to be…but he was no fool. He’d been at this a whole lot longer than she had. He knew she was obsessing over the news about Johnson. In fact, she’d used that as her excuse for the abrupt vacation. The timing had worked out perfectly. Her parents were away on vacation with friends, as well, so she didn’t have to worry about them calling to check up on her.
Still, her story might not be enough for her partner.
Pushing her partner’s call aside, she changed lanes, tried to get behind Sam’s car. She’d almost caught up with him. As she moved closer, a look at the license plate told her she’d made a mistake at some point since leaving the Colby Agency parking lot.
This wasn’t Johnson’s car.
Where was he?
There was no other vehicle matching his for as far as she could see.
With no other choice, she drove to the rental agency and parked. No sign of Sam Johnson in the lot.
Just her luck. Less than an hour after coming face-to-face with him again and he’d lied to her already.
So much for finding the truth.
Chapter Three
Sam watched Lisa Smith climb out of her rental car and survey the lot. She was looking for him. He shouldn’t keep her guessing like this, but he needed to be sure of her motives. He’d played a little switch-and-bait with her, falling in between a couple of other black sedans and then abruptly making an exit while she followed the others. Even with that one traffic signal to his advantage, he could only assume she’d been distracted, otherwise he wasn’t sure he would have fooled her so easily.
He’d taken a shortcut to the rental agency and parked where he could watch her arrive.
When she walked out of the rental office, an overnight bag in her hand, and took another long look around the lot, he decided to put her out of her misery. He backed out of the parking slot where he’d waited, then pulled up right in front of her.
She tried to act as if she weren’t surprised as she stowed her bag in the back, then slid into the passenger seat, but he knew better.
“Did you get an unexpected call?” he ventured as he merged into the traffic on the street.
Her startled glance in his direction gave him his answer. He’d been guessing, of course. But a cell phone call was the most likely culprit whenever a driver got distracted. Since she didn’t have any passengers, hadn’t been eating while driving and there hadn’t been any traffic incidents to vie for