Hostage Read Online Free Page B

said.
    “Yes.”
    “Life lesson or psychic lesson?” John asked, honestly curious.
    “Six of one.” Briskly, Bishop continued, “I have an agent in place with an excellent cover story that can be maintained almost indefinitely if necessary. An agent with specific instructions to observe for a time sufficient to reveal anything unusual, and then report back so that we’ll know before he’s officially approached by non-SCU law enforcement agents whether Cole Jacoby has any psychic ability.”
    “And if he does?” John asked slowly. “If he has enough psychic ability to affect your agent?”
    Imperturbable, Bishop replied, “Then he’ll be a very, very special psychic indeed. And Nash will be stuck in that field office awhile longer.”
    “Because Jacoby will become an SCU target.”
    “He’s already an SCU target. We just aren’t sure—yet—what sort of threat he might pose, how much manpower it’ll take to get him, and whether we need to intervene officially or leave it to Nash and his people. The initial readings on Jacoby were . . . indeterminate.”
    “Is that as unusual as it sounds?” John wanted to know.
    “It’s troubling,” Bishop admitted. “Getting away from the agents transporting him, and then making it into a wilderness where it was virtually impossible to follow him, took careful planning and considerable cool-headed reasoning, but since then his observed actions have been erratic. To say the least.”
    “Erratic how?”
    “Let’s just say he hasn’t been very welcoming even to innocent game hunters just passing by his place. He’s called attention to himself, which I would have guessed isn’t part of his original plan. Locals are talking about him. And insular though they may be, nobody wants a dangerous armed stranger up on the mountain near their town.”
    “Local law enforcement?” John asked.
    “Not moved to intervene, so far. But that could change.” Bishop paused, then added, “Wherever he hid his stash, it isn’t where he is now, or at least we don’t believe it is. And yet he’s become aggressively protective of the remote cabin he rented up in the mountains.”
    John and Maggie exchanged glances, both silently hearing the admission that whether he had known before sending his agent, Bishop most certainly knew now
exactly
where Cole Jacoby was staying. But neither of them commented on that.
    “He is a wanted fugitive,” Maggie pointed out. “I’d expect him to be protective of his location.”
    “Protective in very specific ways,” Bishop said without saying much of anything at all.
    John sighed. “Well, I know better than to ask. You’ll tell us whatever it is you’re holding back if and when you’re ready to. But can you at least put Maggie’s mind to rest and tell her Luther is all right?”
    “He’s being taken care of as we speak,” Bishop replied.
    * * *
    “REMIND ME AGAIN why we’re doing this?” Hollis Templeton’s voice wasn’t exactly nervous, except around the edges.
    Her partner, Reese DeMarco, perfectly aware of the nerves, answered patiently. “Because you told Bishop weeks ago that you wanted to learn to interact with spirits outside our investigations, without the pressures of chasing bad guys.”
    “Yeah, but—”
    “And our options to do so openly and without our badges are rather limited. Either you’re some kind of paranormal investigator like we were in Baron Hollow in July, which would involve carting along a lot of equipment we don’t need, or else you bill yourself as a medium and offer your services to allow loved ones to talk with the dead.”
    “But a
séance
? Seriously?”
    “At least Bishop didn’t ask you to wear a turban or a dozen jangling fake gold bracelets.”
    Hollis turned her head and glared at him. “You’re not helping.”
    DeMarco kept his attention on his driving as he navigated a rather winding mountain country blacktop in the waning twilight. “Sorry. But you did ask, Hollis. And it’s