Easy Innocence

Chapter 53

***

Matt was still in the Chevy, his hands on the wheel when she climbed out of her car and went over.

"It was you."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Hello, Georgia."

There were the same brown eyes she'd lost herself in. The curly hair she'd run her fingers through. And glasses. She liked it when he wore his glasses. They gentled him, she said. She started to speak, but her throat closed up.

"You look good," Matt said.

Georgia gazed at him. Then she blinked it away. "You mind telling me what the fuck you're doing here?"

"I work here."

"For Perl?"

He nodded slowly. "It's a long story."

"The man's a monster."

"I know. "

"Walcher is dead."

He looked shocked. "When?"

"Last night. I shot him."

A gleam came into his eyes. "So that's it..."

"What?"

"Perl and Lenny went out about an hour ago. They told me to stay here."

"Lenny?"

"My—my supervisor."

"We need to find them. "I think he's going after..." She pressed her lips together. "... Ricki Feldman."

"What?"

"It's my fault. I set her up." Georgia explained how she'd gone to her office and told her about the fake report. "If she didn't already know about it, I was hoping, given her father's history, she'd raise hell with Perl. And if she did know, I figured she'd warn him I knew. Either way, I figured I could use her to flush them out."

Matt interrupted, a knowing look in his eyes. "It worked."

"How do you know?"

"She called Perl. I was there." He paused, putting something together. "Now it makes sense."

"I should have warned her. I screwed up."

He shook his head. "You did what you had to."

"There's more. I think Harry Perl had Sara Long killed."

"The girl in the woods?" Matt looked worried. "That was before I signed on."

"Walcher was screwing her," Georgia said "She was a hooker. I think she heard something she shouldn't have."

Matt's mouth opened and then shut.

"Where did they go? Do you know?"

When Matt shook his head, she pulled out her cell and punched in a number. "Is Ms. Feldman there yet?" She paused. "And you haven't heard from her? Okay." She disconnected. "She's not at her office. Hasn't been in all morning." Georgia's pulse started to race. "Where does she live?"

"Hold on." Matt pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number. "Korman, Singer. I need a GPS fix on the SUV." He paused. "Yeah. Call me back." He disconnected.

"A GPS locator?" Georgia narrowed her eyes. "What's that about?"

Matt didn't answer.

"Who was that?" He still didn't answer. "You're working undercover!"

He didn't answer for a moment. Then, "Yes."

"For Olson?"

He shook his head. "When I got back from Israel, the U.S. attorney set me up with the Bureau. White collar crime unit."

"How did that happen?"

"I've known Perl was dirty since Ricki and I were together. It grated on me. I came home to deal with it."

"The avenging angel." It came out sharp.

A guarded look came into Matt's eyes. "Would you believe me if I said I wanted to make restitution?"

She wondered whether to apologize. "For what?"

His cell trilled. "Yeah? Where? Okay. I'm going there now. I need back up." He dumped the cell into his shirt pocket. "The SUV is on Barberry Lane in Lake Forest." He swallowed. "That's where Ricki lives."

"Let's take my car." She headed toward the Acura, then turned around and caught his arm. "Matt, I don't have a gun. They took my Sig."

"I can fix that."