Behind the Mask Read online

“I want to tell you, but I can’t. I’m not supposed to talk to anyone about what happened.”

  Lexie’s head was spinning. She had to keep Savannah talking. She couldn’t lose her now, not after coming this close to the truth. “You can trust me, Savannah. I’ll help you through it. It’ll make you feel better to have someone to talk to about whatever is bothering you. We’ll get though this together.”

  “I can’t. Nick would kill me if he found out I told you this much. I love him, and I can’t risk losing him.”

  “Nick will never know you talked to me. I would never tell him.”

  The undercover motto, “You build relationships to betray relationships,” was banging around in the back of Lexie’s brain.

  “I know you wouldn’t, but I can’t lie to him. He knows me too well. He will know something is wrong as soon as he sees me.”

  Lexie was trying to process everything. Savannah had done something that was bad and Nick was involved. She decided to take another approach. “What about Haley? Have you talked to Haley about this?”

  Savannah was staring at the table, apparently trying to formulate her next thought. “I can’t talk to her either. She wouldn’t understand.”

  “Tell me. I want to help you. I promise I’ll never tell Nick or Haley you talked to me. You will feel so much better to have someone on your side.”

  Lexie could feel Savannah regressing. Should I push or let her go and try again later? She decided to roll the dice. She gripped Savannah’s hand, took a deep breath, and asked, “Savannah, does this have anything to do with the fire at the lab?”

  Savannah’s head jerked up. She glared at Lexie, her eyes blazing. “No! Why would you even ask me that?”

  “I don’t know. Since the fire, you seem distraught. I thought you might have heard something and feel bad about what you know. I’m not accusing you of anything. It was a crazy thought.”

  “Jesus, Lexie! Let’s just drop it.”

  “Okay. Whatever you want. I’m trying to be supportive.”

  Savannah jerked her hand away from Lexie.

  “By accusing me of burning down the fucking UCLA lab? That doesn’t sound very supportive to me.”

  “I’m sorry, Savannah. I didn’t mean to upset you. I know you didn’t burn down the lab. I’ve been trying to figure out what has you so upset, and I let my imagination run wild. Please don’t be mad at me.”

  Savannah seemed to relax a little.

  Lexie took a sip of her latte to give her hands something to do. A moment passed, and she looked at Savannah. “Are we okay? It makes me sick to my stomach to think you’re mad at me.”

  Savannah looked up at her. She had tears welling up in her eyes. “We’re good, Lexie. I’m sorry I got so mad. I overreacted.”

  “Well, I did go out on a limb with that theory.”

  Savannah chuckled. “Can you imagine me with a black mask and red spray paint?”

  Lexie’s heart skipped a beat. She faked a laugh. “Yeah, I guess that speculation was pretty out there. Let’s lighten the mood. Do you want to do some shopping this weekend? Or perhaps hit a movie?” Lexie pulled two dark chocolate vegan candy bars from her purse and handed one to Savannah. “Chocolate is the cure for any woe,” she said.

  “You got that right, girlfriend.”

  They finished their coffee and candy bars and decided to go shopping in the small, overpriced boutiques on Main Street. Lexie caught one quick glimpse of Kate as she darted across the street and ducked into the sunglass shop. She found a cute pair of earrings she couldn’t live without.

  “Hey, Savannah, I was thinking of either getting my eyebrow pierced or maybe getting a tattoo. What do you think?”

  “Seriously? What kind of tattoo, and where would you get it?”

  “What would you think of a palm tree on my foot or ankle?”

  “That would be cute. I’ll go with you.”

  “You’ll have to. I’ll need the moral support. I’m a huge coward when it comes to needles.”

  Savannah threw her arm around Lexie’s shoulders. “I’ll be there to hold your hand to keep you from screaming or record it on my phone and post it on Facebook.”

  Lexie walked Savannah to her car. “Are you sure you’re not mad at me?” Lexie asked.

  “We’re fine, but you better pick out a tattoo, because I’m going to get one with you. We’re going together, BFF.”

  Lexie laughed. “You got it!”

  She closed Savannah’s car door for her and headed toward her own car. She dashed back into the coffee shop and hit the restroom to turn off her body recorder. While in the Coffee Bean, she decided one more cup of coffee wouldn’t hurt. After all, she had a report to write when she got home, so an extra shot of caffeine might help.

  Lexie called Kate on her way home. Kate answered on the first ring.

  “We got her! Meet me at my apartment as soon as you can.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Savannah

  When Savannah arrived back at her dorm, both Haley and Nick were waiting for her. “Hey, guys. What’s up?”

  Nick was lounging on Savannah’s bed with a beer in his hand. He got up, walked over, and hugged Savannah. “Hey, babe, where have you been?”

  “Class.”

  “You’ve been at class all day?” Nick inquired.

  “Yeah, why?” Savannah bit her lip. She didn’t like lying to Nick, but because of his suspicious nature, she didn’t want to tell him she was with Lexie.

  “I drove over to meet you after your history class this morning, and you weren’t there. I wanted to surprise you and take you for coffee. The redheaded girl you usually walk out with told me you weren’t in class, so where were you, Savannah?”

  “Jesus, Nick! Why the inquisition?”

  Nick cleared Savannah’s desk with a single sweep. Her books and a coffee mug crashed to the floor. Savannah gasped and jumped out of the way.

  “I’m trying to figure out why you lied to me and where the hell you’ve been all day.”

  Savannah took a moment to regain her composure. Her knees were weak and shaking. “If you must know, I met Lexie for coffee and shopping. We spent the day relaxing and hanging out.”

  Nick clenched his teeth. “What did you tell Lexie?” he asked.

  “I didn’t tell Lexie anything.” Savannah’s breathing was labored and shallow. “We just hung out and shopped. Why on earth do you think I would tell Lexie anything about what we did?”

  “Then why did you fucking lie to me?”

  “Maybe I didn’t feel the need to justify every minute of my day to you. You certainly don’t share your comings and goings with me, and you’re way more mysterious than me.”

  Nick abruptly grabbed Savannah’s wrist. “I’m trying to protect you, Savannah, so I’m asking you again: what did you tell Lexie?”

  Savannah flinched. “You’re hurting me.” She jerked her wrist from his grasp. “I didn’t tell her a fucking thing, Nick!”

  Haley stepped forward. “Let’s all calm down. We can sit down and discuss this quietly without all the neighbors hearing our conversation.”

  Savannah tossed her backpack and purse in the corner and flopped down on the end of her bed.

  Haley took a breath. “Savannah, this is very serious.”

  “I know. Don’t you think I know how serious this is? I’m well aware we could all go to jail if I open my mouth to anyone, which is why I have not and I will not ever tell anyone what we did.”

  “Lower your voice, Savannah,” Nick whispered. “We need to discuss this quietly and rationally. We shouldn’t be discussing the subject inside.”

  “You should’ve thought of that before grabbing me and accusing me of betraying you. I’m just defending myself in my own home. You and Haley ambushed me.”

  “Maybe we came on a little
strong,” Nick said in a gravelly voice. “Haley thought you were a little upset this morning when you left for class, so I decided to meet you for coffee. When you didn’t come out of your first class, I searched for you. You didn’t answer your cell phone, and you always answer that damn phone of yours.”

  Savannah felt her pockets. She stepped over and lifted her cell phone from her dresser and held it up. “So I forgot my phone. That’s not exactly a federal offense.”

  “No, but torching the lab was a federal offense,” Haley added.

  “I realize that, Haley!” Savannah was having trouble keeping her voice low. “How many times do I have to tell you two? I did not tell Lexie or anybody else anything. What do I have to do to get you to believe me?”

  Haley’s eyes glowed with rage. “Then why lie?” she asked through clenched teeth.

  “I needed to get away and have a little fun,” Savannah said. “I’ve been stressed out, and I wanted to relax and not think about anything important.”

  Nick snatched his beer and took another swig. “Savannah, if you tell us you didn’t say anything to her, then we have to believe you. But please remember our fate is in your hands. It’s not just you who gets in trouble if you tell anyone; it’s all of us. We could all go to jail for a very long time. We put our trust in you.”

  “I know, Nick, but remember I’m just as involved as you two. I put my trust in you as well. In fact, I trusted you, and it was your maniac friend who got all three of us in this fucking mess. If anyone should be pissed off, it should be me.”

  “You wanted us to include you,” Haley sneered. “All we heard from you is that you wanted to take your activism to the next level. Guess what, hotshot? This is the next level.” Haley kicked a coffee mug lying on the floor across the room, smashing it into three pieces.

  Nick got up and walked across the room. He stared for a moment at a painting of historic Charleston’s Rainbow Row. It belonged to Savannah. He turned, and Savannah expected him to be angry, but instead he had a rueful expression on his face. “You’re right. I brought Badger into your life. He caused this. But he is one of us, and we have to protect him by staying strong. I’m sorry I involved you in this mess. Hindsight is twenty-twenty. If I could do it over, I would keep you away from the direct action.”

  Savannah’s heart sank. She didn’t want Nick to feel bad about including her in the mission. She got up and walked over to face him. “I’m not sorry I was involved. I am sorry it went bad, but I’m glad you trusted me enough to bring me in to help with the action. I wish you trusted me now. I haven’t told anyone about what we did, and I never will. I’ll take it to my grave.”

  Nick wrapped his arms around Savannah. She could smell the lingering scent of the vanilla soap he had bought from the co-op.

  “I do trust you, Savannah. This was your first action, and it went about as bad as a mission could possibly go.”

  “I’m okay. A little shaky still, but I’ll be fine. You and Haley don’t have to worry about me.”

  Nick whispered in Savannah’s ear, “We’ll get through this together. I love you.”

  Haley stared at Nick. He could read Haley’s expression and knew she was thinking that this situation didn’t smell right.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Alexis

  Kate arrived at Lexie’s door in record time. Lexie opened the door and pulled her into the apartment. She had her yellow legal pad out, where she had been jotting notes about the encounter so she wouldn’t forget the details.

  “You want a glass of iced tea?” Lexie asked.

  Kate laughed. “Always the consummate Southerner, ready with a glass of tea and cookies. Your mother would be proud.”

  Lexie gave her a sideways smile. “Tea or no tea, smart ass?”

  “Tea, please,” she answered. Kate continued, “The pressure is mounting at the office, Lexie. I hope you’re close to a breakthrough. If not, I’m not sure how long we can fend off the vultures. You need to produce something substantive soon, or else headquarters might pull the plug on our case.”

  Kate sat down in the living room, and Lexie emerged with a glass of iced tea and a plate of key lime cookies.

  Kate took a cookie from the plate. “So tell me what happened.”

  Lexie took a sip of tea. “It was apparent from the moment I arrived that Savannah was distraught. I took a calculated risk and straight out asked her if her anxiety had anything to do with the UCLA arson.”

  Kate choked on her tea. “Oh God, Lexie! Are you sure that was a wise move? What did she say?”

  “It felt like the right thing to do at the time. Anyway, she went apeshit, but in her fury, she gave away something.”

  “What?”

  “She asked, ‘Can you see me running around wearing a black ski mask with red spray paint?’. Didn’t you tell me the ski masks and red spray paint facts were not released to the public? I know black ski masks are probably used in all ALF actions, but the fact that the arson inspectors found a black bag with red spray paint was kind of a stretch for her to guess.”

  Kate sat quietly for a moment.

  Lexie’s heart pounded erratically, awaiting a response.

  With a broad smile, Kate said, “Please tell me you have that conversation recorded.”

  Lexie realized she had been holding her breath while Kate was contemplating the news. She sucked in a breath and said, “If the body recorder worked properly, I have the entire conversation recorded.”

  “Let’s get the recorder to ELSUR and make sure we have the conversation before we get too excited.” ELSUR was the FBI evidence storage center for all electronic evidence. “This is huge, Lexie!” Kate said.

  Lexie continued to recount the details of the day to Kate, who sipped her sweet tea and ate key lime cookies.

  “You do love sugar,” Kate said.

  It was true, Lexie treated sugar like a food group. She hit the cotton candy stand on the Boardwalk at least twice a week.

  “Well, my sweet tea isn’t nearly as sweet as my mother’s. She’d be embarrassed to serve this sweet tea.”

  Kate laughed. She and Lexie had a natural rhythm.

  “I’ll take the equipment to ELSUR and make sure we have a recording. We probably should do a strategy meeting at some point tomorrow.”

  “Sure. What time?”

  “Let me call Adam and set it up. I’ll call you with a time after I hear from him.”

  * * * * *

  The next morning, while driving to the meet location, Lexie popped a Green Day CD into the car stereo and skipped to “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” Lexie had a new appreciation for this song. She woke up in a dismal mood and couldn’t shake the feeling. It was her birthday, and she didn’t have anyone to share it with. None of her friends or family members had her undercover phone number to call her to wish her a happy birthday. It was the price she paid for being a full time undercover operative.

  She contemplated her relationship with Savannah. She liked Savannah, and if the situation were different, she could easily be friends with her. Lexie believed Savannah was a sweet, naive girl who glamorized the activist lifestyle. She hoped, when the time arrived, Savannah would cooperate with the FBI and save herself. If it came down to it, Lexie didn’t feel guilty about jamming up Haley or Nick, because they knew what they were doing, but Savannah was a different story. Lexie tried to shake the nagging knot in her stomach. As much as she wanted to arrest and convict every person responsible for the death of the security guard, she secretly hoped Savannah was not involved. Now it looked like Savannah was in fact involved in the arson.

  Lexie arrived at the pier where she was meeting Kate and Adam. She noticed Adam’s unoccupied car parked in the corner of the lot. Lexie rounded the corner and heard Adam and Kate engaged in a heated debate. She stopped abruptly and listened.

  “I think Lexie is too close
to the targets,” Adam said. “She’s developed a friendship toward the Riley girl.”

  “She’s doing her job, Adam. She has to befriend the targets in order to get close.”

  “I’m not talking about befriending them. I think she actually sees them as friends.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Kate snapped. “Lexie is a trained undercover agent. She’s doing what’s necessary to make the case.”

  “I think you need to reel her in. Either you do it, or I will.”

  “How about you concentrate on being the case agent,” Kate hissed. “Lexie is my responsibility.”

  “You’re right. She is your responsibility. And you need to make sure she’s not going off the rails on this one.”

  They both took a moment to calm down.

  “Look, Kate, I’m not trying to be a hard-ass on this. It’s just, well, HQ is all over me. I need to produce some results soon, or they’re going to close us down.”

  “I understand. But you need to cut Lexie some slack. She’s going as fast as she can. If she pushes any harder, Nick and Haley will get hinked up. We have to let this play out naturally.”

  Adam ran his hand through his hair. “Okay. We’ll play it your way.”

  “Thank you,” Kate said.

  Lexie knees were shaking. She waited a few moments to regain her composure before popping around the corner.

  “Hello, guys,” Lexie said, trying to sound natural.

  “Hey there, you,” Adam responded.

  “Hi, Lexie,” Kate said. “How are you?”

  “I’m good. Did the recording come out?” Lexie asked.

  “It certainly did,” Kate answered. “You captured the whole conversation. Adam and I listened to it this morning. You did fantastic. I have to admit I was holding my breath when you brought up the fire, but your gamble paid off.”

  “Let’s sit down,” Adam said.

  The three found a bench in the shade and sat down.

  “Hey, I’ve got good news,” Lexie said. “Savannah, Haley, and Nick are coming over to my apartment for dinner next week. We’re eating then going to the NWM meeting together.”