Free Easy Target by Kay Thomas Page B

ask anyone else to risk their loved ones based on his own gut feeling. Bryan was loyal, but he wasn’t crazy. Afghanistan had taught him that unhappy lesson.
    Leland had to consider his own new family—­Anna Mercado and her teenaged son, Zach, who was still recovering from a heart transplant. Bryan knew they were tucked away somewhere safe, but he had no desire to know where Leland’s safe spot was. He just wanted to get Sassy to a safe place of her very own and out of all this uncertainty and chaos.
    “For tonight, I just need to get us out of this hotel, or at least somewhere with no paper trail. Plus, I’ve got this dead body.”
    “Calling the cops will not help you avoid the paper trail. Given your association with Gavin, most likely it would get you arrested,” said Leland.
    Bryan glanced uneasily at the bathroom door. “You think everything about AEGIS is already in the system? I didn’t have any problems at the airport when I was coming back into the country.”
    “You didn’t have a dead body with you then, either. My understanding is the new charges on Gavin haven’t been filed yet. But once they are and you’re connected, the cops will turn your life inside out if they come to your hotel room to investigate this intruder. At best, you won’t be leaving New York anytime soon.”
    A wave of exhaustion hit Bryan. “That’s what I was afraid of. Got any suggestions for what to do with a body?” He was only half joking and was a little stunned when Leland told him exactly what to do.
    “That will buy you some time,” Leland finished a few minutes later.
    “How do you know how to . . .” Bryan wasn’t sure how to ask the question without sounding insulting.
    Leland’s laugh floated over the phone. “I wasn’t a hit man in a former life. I just worked for the DEA too damn long. The cartel was filled with sadistic SOBs who were quite creative in body disposal.”
    Bryan didn’t ask any more questions he didn’t want answers to. He’d seen enough of the same evil in the Middle East that Leland was referring to.
    “How many nights are you paid up in the room?”
    “Just one,” said Bryan.
    “Call the front desk and extend it for three . . . no, make it four more nights. Crank the air conditioning down as far as it will go when you leave. The body will probably be discovered before then, but the AC will keep the decomposition under wraps at least three days. Tell ’em you’re on your honeymoon, whatever. Stress you don’t want to be interrupted. No housekeeping, no nothing. Hang the Do Not Disturb sign before you leave.”
    “Right. Got it.” As callous as it sounded, Bryan knew Leland was right. This would buy them some much-­needed time.
    “We’ll deal with the police after you two are safe. Risa should be able to help. For now, if we don’t figure out this thing with Gavin, we could all be in jail together on more serious charges than murder.”
    That was a frightening but accurate thought. If Gavin was brought up on charges of terrorism, they were all in very deep trouble. “I’ll check us in somewhere that doesn’t require ID for registration.”
    Most likely it would be a rooms-­by-­the-­hour kind of dive. Sassy would not like that. But she’d survive. She’d more than proven that she was a trooper.
    “Our main problem is how to get out of town without a paper trail. Renting a car is a nonstarter, and I don’t like the idea of a bus.”
    There was a pause, and Bryan could hear computer keys clicking in the background before Leland finally spoke. “What if you took a commuter train? I’m looking up schedules right now. If you hurry, you might be able to skip the hotel tonight and catch the 12:15 AM to Philadelphia.”
    Bryan heard the shower kick on as Leland kept talking.
    “If you use cash, you won’t have to put any names on tickets. And even if they check your ID once you’re on board, it won’t be a computerized check. You could slip far enough down the