“Tell me aaall about it,” she said, her voice laced with humor.
He shot her another glare. “Are you high?”
She cackled. “Anyway, I’m glad. He’s a great person. I’m only gonna say this one last time. “Don’t hurt him, Delancey.”
“I won’t.” He suddenly thought about Thelma and burst out laughing.
“What is it?” she asked suddenly.
He told her about the ridiculous Yugo and the way Luca drove into the parking lot of the police station the day before, chuckling the whole time. Kelly laughed hard when he described his driving instructor as being a hundred eighty years old. He wasn’t kidding at all about that. By the time they arrived at Lance and Shield, it was not yet noon. He parked the Dodge and they got out, walking into the dark pub. It was quiet, too early yet for the lunch crowd so they were walking to a rear booth when Kane spotted the bodyguard. He was sitting in another booth close to the back of the pub. Brandon was nowhere in sight but seated across from the bodyguard was the old man who’d been the subject of so many of Kane’s nightmares over the last twenty years.
Enoch Moore sat in the booth hooked up to an oxygen tank that sat on a rolling stand beside his booth. He seemed to be engaged in conversation with the bodyguard but when the bodyguard spotted Kane and Kelly, he held up his hand to get the man to stop talking. The old man looked over at them and Kane was certain he felt a chill run down his spine. The bodyguard leaned in and whispered something to Enoch and the old man nodded before looking back at them. He lifted a gnarled finger and crooked it at them, beckoning them over.
Kane felt his heart do a flip-flop. So many emotions ran through him at once. If the old man recognized him, though he’d only been a boy when he’d testified against him, their whole undercover operation would be blown right out the window. If he lost his temper and said something he shouldn’t say, it could also cause big problems. Kelly glanced over at him and he glanced back. Her eyes were wide, but he reached out, patted her on the shoulder and they walked over to the booth. The bodyguard stood up and patted them down, running his huge hands over Kane’s chest to check for wires. Other than their sidearms and the gun in Kane’s boot, he didn’t find any weapons. The bodyguard completely missed the knife hidden on the inside of his belt.
“I know who you are,” Enoch Moore said the moment the bodyguard finished. For a moment, Kane thought he’d recognized him. “You’re the two cops my son has been talking to.”
“Yes,” Kelly said. “And you must be Enoch Moore, Brandon’s father.”
Kane watched the old man sweep a jaundiced eyeball up and down Kelly’s body before stopping at her bustline for a moment. When his mouth split in a wide yellow grin, Kane felt nauseous. Just the knowledge that this man had taken away the father he’d loved in one heartless moment made him angrier than he could imagine. He’d hoped to never see him again unless it was lying on the ground with a bullet from his own gun in the middle of his forehead.
“Brandon said you were a looker. He was right,” Moore said to Kelly.
“Thank you,” she replied with no warmth.
Kane cleared his throat drawing the man’s attention back to him. Anything to get his leer off his partner.
“We’d like to talk to you.”
The old man nodded and then shot his bodyguard a frown. The man immediately got up from the booth and moved to stand beside a pillar not far from them. Clearly he was on the job for the old man as well as the son. They slid into the booth across from Enoch.
“What can I do for you?” the old man asked, wheezing heavily. He was emaciated, breathing a high concentration of oxygen through a nasal canula. His skin was a sick orangy color and the whites of his eyes were almost yellow. He had a rash of bright red petechia on his face and his belly was distended, all signs that he was in late stage liver disease. Kane knew he should feel somewhat victorious to see him in this condition considering all the people he’d probably harmed or killed in his lifetime, but watching the man die of disease wasn’t the way he wanted to see him go. He’d pictured him dying by the needle in an execution chamber too many times to count. Knowing he’d breathe his last with his son holding his hand for comfort bothered Kane more than he wanted to think about.
“We spoke to your son about being of assistance to you,” Kelly said. Kane was glad she’d taken the lead. He was pretty sure he couldn’t say anything to Moore without it sounding venomous.
“He told me as much. There’s no need for your… services.”
“That’s too bad. We might have been some help with the jewelry store robbery but I guess you’ll never know that now,” Kelly said. She looked over at Kane and nodded. “Are we through here?”
“Yeah,” Kane said, starting to stand up before Moore’s skeletal hand shot out and grabbed his coat.
“Wait,” he said before going into a coughing fit that lasted way too long. He let go of Kane’s coat and grabbed a tissue, spitting into it as he tried to regain his breathing. Kane turned and saw Brandon approaching. He was frowning as he walked over to his father, laying a hand on his shoulder.
“You okay, Pop?” he asked, bending over the old man.
Enoch shrugged his hand off his shoulder. “Leave me alone. I’m fine,” he said, his voice graveled as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up at his son. “They know about the robbery.”
Brandon shot them both a frown. “What do you know about a robbery?” he asked.
“We were telling your father we could have helped you with the robbery. Unfortunately, you didn’t call us and you lost a man in the process,” Kelly said as Enoch coughed again.
“My father said he didn’t want to involve you. We checked you out and you seemed to be who you said you were.” Brandon frowned at Kane. “I just don’t like hotheads.”
Kane forced out a chuckle. “That’s too bad. I often find hotheads effective. Because you don’t, you lost a man. Your choice.” He deliberately pulled his glance away from Brandon and stood up, facing him squarely. “We’ll be leaving now.”
“Wait,” Enoch said. “Sit down. We have another job.”
Kane raised his eyebrows and stared at the old man before retaking his seat beside Kelly. Brandon pulled up a chair and sat at the booth. He stared at his father.
“What are you saying, Pop? Now you want to use them?”
Enoch ignored his son and instead looked Kane right in the eye. “You have a smart mouth on you and I can tell you have the chops.” He stopped to cough for a minute, spitting into the tissue. “We want you in.” He looked at Brandon, gasping for breath. “Tell them. I’ll be upstairs.”
Brandon scooted back and helped his father stand before the big bodyguard took the man by the arm. He was stooped over and shuffled painfully to the stairs, pulling the oxygen tank along with him. Kane watched them go and then looked back at Brandon who’d scooted back into the booth. He was watching his father with agony written all over his features. When they’d finally disappeared up the stairs, he turned and glanced across the table.
“Let’s talk business, then.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Stephen Auerbach was already at the store when Luca arrived about ten that morning. He’d called while Luca was on the bus to tell him that he’d spoken to Kelly Murphy at the LAPD about beefing up security. He’d apparently put that in process but until then, he wanted to meet with the staff. When Luca hung up with his boss, he immediately called all his employees in.
After the impromptu meeting about security, vigilance, and Stephen’s impassioned promise that he would do whatever he could to keep his employees safe by hiring more guards, he explained that he’d already ordered upgrades on the store cameras and surveillance. Luca was aware that he’d wanted to do that for some time. After the meeting broke up, Chris and Tracy went home and Marilyn and Sebastian stayed to help customers. Stephen followed Luca into his office and sat down across from his desk. Luca thought he looked stunning in a charcoal Hugo Boss suit and yello
w silk tie with matching pocket square. The yellow silk had tiny purple umbrellas woven into the design. The lavender dress shirt with white collar was stunning and Luca could tell it was made of an expensive linen, probably by hand.
Oh, to be wealthy.
Luca’s mercurial mind wandered back to the simple appointments of Kane’s townhome. It was located in a lovely neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley and had no lack of character. The furnishings were basic and masculine and the balcony that housed his lovely tropical plants in brightly-painted Mexican pottery were gorgeous. As they’d reclined on the couch after finishing off the amazing pizza the night before, the wide screen door leading out to the balcony let in a plumeria-scented breeze. Kane’s house felt homey to him, as much as his own neglected apartment where he loved to cook.
“Luca… Luca!”
Luca jolted, dragging his attention to Stephen who’d apparently been talking to him as he remembered being at Kane’s place the night before. The man had done things to him that no straight man should know how to do but as Luca had observed before, Kane was a quick study.
“I’m sorry, Stephen. I was just thinking about the robbery,” he lied. “I just can’t imagine you having to replace the cases and diamonds again.”
Stephen smiled sweetly. “Luca, you know that isn’t as important as any of you getting hurt by these people. As I was coming in, I heard about another jewelry store robbery not too far from here.”
Luca’s eyes widened. It had to be the robbery Kane had been called out to that morning. “Was anyone hurt?” He felt his lip trembling and then had the sudden almost irresistible urge to call Kane.
“No, Luca. No one was hurt during the robbery. They had armed guards too. I understand gunshots were exchanged though—at least, that’s what the news reported. It’s one of the reasons I called this meeting. I wanted to talk to our guards and make sure they are vigilant. I couldn’t handle it if someone got hurt.”
Luca felt like he was going to throw up. He needed to call Kane which meant he needed to get rid of his boss as soon as possible. He took a big lungful of air, blowing it out very slowly so he could try to calm down. He pasted a smile on his face as he looked at Stephen.
“Have the police contacted you about the robbery? Has anyone tried to pawn or dispose of the diamonds?”
Stephen screwed up his features. “I thought you’d spoken to Detective Delancey. When I spoke to Kelly Murphy yesterday, she told me that he’d updated you.”
“Um, well, yes, I spoke to him briefly but he didn’t say anything about it.”
“Okay, well he should have told you that only a few of our smaller pieces have turned up but the pawnshop owner wasn’t able to identify the seller from the sketches you helped with. None of our large stones have been pawned. It could be that the thieves are smart enough to send the stones to a lab to have the micro-etching removed from the diamonds before they attempt to sell them. They’d get a lot more money for them if they aren’t traceable. Then again, only the largest of the stones are micro-etched, as you know.”
“Right,” Luca said, trying to stay focused and in his chair when all he wanted to do was jump out of it and call Kane.
“Luca, if you didn’t talk to Delancey about the diamonds, what did you talk to him about?”
Luca shot a quick glance at Stephen, swallowing hard as he opened his mouth to say something… anything that wouldn’t sound like a lie. He couldn’t think of a single word to say. Surprisingly, Stephen grinned widely. His deep dimples were gorgeous and Luca was suddenly reminded of how stunning and desirable the man was. He was a fool not to want him but now that he’d been in Kane’s bed, he knew other men would pale in comparison. Certainly, Stephen would never hold his lovers down and fuck them until they couldn’t see straight. He was way too polite.
“Are you dating the detective, Luca? It’s okay to tell me. You know we’re friends, right?”
Luca nodded slowly. “We’ve been… we haven’t been out. We’ve stayed in a couple of times,” he admitted lamely.
Stephen burst out laughing and then reached across the desk. Luca instantly took the hand he offered, letting Stephen squeeze it hard.
“I never would have guessed that man is gay.”
“Wait, you saw him?”
“Only from across the street but seriously, he has that whole straight look to him. I never would have guessed he was out. Is he out?”
“No.” Luca shook his head. “I was… I was…”
“Ohhhh. You were his first!” Stephen winked. “Okay, now you must dish. How was it?” He leaned forward, speaking almost conspiratorially as if someone would overhear. “You went back for seconds so I guess it was good.”
Luca chuckled as Stephen let go of his hand and sat back in his chair. He wasn’t judgmental like a lot of guys who thought dating closeted men was stupid. He’d been one of those guys before meeting Kane. Actually, if one of his friends were dating a closeted guy, he’d probably point out how stupid he was… so yeah, maybe he was judgmental after all.
“It was better than good. I went back for thirds and fourths to be honest,” he admitted, smiling shyly at Stephen as he doubled over with laughter. When he finally stopped laughing, Stephen looked across the desk to where he sat. His expression was pensive.
“Be careful, Luca. I’m only telling you this because I care so deeply about you,” Stephen said seriously. “I’ve got a lot of years on you, love, and I just want you to understand how sweet you are. You give a thousand percent of yourself. We haven’t known each other that long but I have met a lot of men in my life. I’ve known a lot of men with stronger hearts than yours get them broken into tiny pieces by falling for a closeted man. I don’t want to see you get hurt, honey. You are a special person. Guard your precious heart until you are sure about him.”
Luca nodded. He’d been thinking exactly the same thing.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Kane and Kelly left the pub feeling pretty damned sure of themselves. After Enoch had ordered Brandon to work with them, Brandon had laid out the time and told them they’d be meeting at the pub prior to the robbery to go over a detailed plan. He hadn’t told them what store they’d be robbing, only that it was to be done at store opening which would be ten o’clock tomorrow. He and Kelly hadn’t pressed him about the location and even with Kelly’s flirting, he hadn’t given it up. The entire time they spoke, Kane wished he’d have been wearing a wire but because they knew they’d be searched, they’d have to rely on whatever the FBI tapes would pick up. He just hoped they’d be fruitful this time. After seeing the filthy old fossil in the bar, he’d almost not been able to stop himself from kicking his ass. Fortunately, Kelly was there to prevent him from doing something stupid.
As they climbed back into the Charger, Kane’s phone rang before he got a chance to start the engine. He immediately recognized Lincoln Snow’s number. He showed the screen to Kelly.
“Answer it. Maybe they picked up something on the wire,” Kelly said, excitedly.
“Lincoln, what’s happening?” Kane asked, answering the call and immediately putting it on speaker. He held the phone between them so Kelly could hear everything.
“We got him!”
“What happened?” Kelly asked.
“Two things actually,” Lincoln said. “First, we went back to look at the DNA on that headless body that was found under the pier in Santa Monica months ago to see how it fit into this case. Linda Hastings, the LA County coroner, ID’d him as Lyle Lindstrom.”
“Who was he, Lincoln?” Kane asked.
“Lindstrom was a disgraced LAPD cop who once worked with the narcotics division. He was caught ten years ago with stolen drug money. He took it right out of the evidence locker and then, like an idiot, went on a spending spree with wads of cash. Internal Affairs already had an open case on him so when they saw him spending large sums, they searched his house and found a bag of money in his freezer. They found fingerprints on the bank st
raps wrapping that money which matched fingerprints found on several kilos of pure raw heroin also housed in the evidence locker.”
“Whose fingerprints?” Kelly asked.
“The fingerprints came from the usual suspects—various drug dealers. At the time, narcotics was certain they were low level dealers who worked with the Boston mob. When Lindstrom’s own partner rolled over and took a deal to stay out of jail and then went into WITSEC, Lindstrom went to prison. He was paroled four months ago and it looks like he went right back to work for Moore.”
“Whose drugs were they?” Kelly asked.
“At the time, everyone knew the Boston mob was the owner of the drug shipment but because of sloppy police work, the LAPD couldn’t make the case. The drugs were seized but the criminals who were supposed to receive them at the port never came forward to claim them. We think they were tipped off ahead of time. The LAPD ended up with egg on their face and deliberately didn’t publicize the drug bust like they usually do. Even then, it was common knowledge that Moore ran the West Coast branch of the mob out of his pub. but his hands stayed clean because his guys weren’t caught with the drugs. Later on, Lindstrom was caught stealing money that had been seized.”
“It had to take huge balls for him to steal money that he knew belonged to Moore and the mob. I bet he shit a brick when he was busted with the money in his possession,” Kane said.
“Yeah, you’d think Moore would have taken him out while he was in prison but because he was a cop, he stayed in protective custody the whole time he was inside,” Lincoln said. “I guess he didn’t realize they’d have a long memory.”
“You think Moore ordered Lindstrom killed once he was released?” Kelly asked.
“We can only assume they gave him assurances that he would be welcomed back as long as he was of value to them,” Lincoln replied.
“So, he went to work for them, and they double-crossed him,” Kane said.
Lincoln nodded. “Brandon and Enoch may have had it out for him the whole time he was in prison and killed him when they got the chance. There was a rumor of a big drug shipment down at the port just before Lindstrom’s body was found under the pier but narcotics says that shipment never hit the streets. We now think Moore started that rumor and then lured Lindstrom out to the docs telling him they needed him to guard their shipment. He was spotted by a couple guys in the narcotics division in a local mob hangout one night after the rumor started. The next morning, Lindstrom’s body was found under the pier.”
Stay with Me (The WITSEC series Book 1) Page 29