"We don't know how long we'll be away. Jared contacted the Charlottesville Chief of Police and asked for the courtesy and promised him a favor should he ever need it. She'll have round the clock security."
Mal reached out and shook the man's hand. "Thank you, we appreciate the courtesy."
"No worries. We take care of our own." The officer hooked his thumbs in his black leather gear and leaned back against the wall. "No one without a Guardian or a hospital badge goes in. We're square."
Jacob slapped him on the shoulder, and they headed down the corridor.
He drew a breath and glanced at the man he’d known for years as Alpha. "Back to what I was saying––"
"Look, you're not getting the big picture here. You and a few others were in on our ground level and build up. When we were elevated in the business, the people we could trust, grow with, and shape the company through, were handpicked. I picked every member of Foxtrot Team. Every fucking member. Your team leader failed you and your team, but the ultimate failure was mine. I didn't use the psych evals to my benefit. Sure, I looked at them. I asked the questions I thought were appropriate, but I failed to take into consideration the evaluator's notes, their intuition. Two of the three evaluators for your skipper warned he could be a risk due to his greed. Three years later, they were proved right."
"There was no way you could have known what he was doing." Mal shook his head. "Hell, I had no idea what was going on, and I was with them. At some point, we have to put those old ghosts to rest."
Jacob stopped and Maliki followed suit. "Have you?"
He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and nodded. "Yeah, you know what? I have. I'll always remember it, and I will probably always wonder if there was something I could have done differently, but at the end of the day, I did the best I could at the time."
Jacob's eyebrows lifted to almost his hairline. "Damn, this little trip has been beneficial, huh?"
He shrugged. "I've gained new perspective, listened to a woman who is a hell of a lot smarter than I am, and decided that I need to focus on today, not yesterday."
Jacob nodded. "My experience is women know what the fuck they’re talking about. Not that I'll let Tori know. She thinks I'm perfect."
He lasted five seconds before he bent over laughing. Jacob gave him a shove. "Dick. Come on, Asher was going to call in."
Chuckling, Mal followed Jacob down the long hallway. They found the conference room with some help from a nice lady in the hospital administrator’s office.
Jared held up a finger, stopping all conversation when they entered the conference room. "Okay Asher, I know you gave me a run down, but let's go through it one more time. Jewell, can you run these claims of Watson’s in real time?"
"I can send requests for information as Asher talks. I'll route them to your tablets as they come in. How is the deputy doing?"
"She's being taken care of." Maliki spoke for the first time. "Thanks to you, we were able to get to her in time."
"Yeah? I think it was a team effort, so give yourself a solid high-five, too, my friend. By the way, I have a couple people who volunteered for a little over time. We are going to find who was watching that shit, and we are going to get them. Even though that bastard wasn't recording the films, the people who paid to watch it more than likely have it recorded. According to the whispers on the Darknet, it costs about a hundred thousand for a full access seat at one of these… executions."
"Asher, what do you have?" Jared scribbled something in his notebook as he asked.
"The dead man is Darren Watson. He's half brother to James Watson. According to James, Darren was the result of an affair. Darren was born shortly after James. His mother and father reconciled, and the bastard son, Darren wasn't a part of the family. James said he didn't meet his half brother until his parents passed. He claims Darren was destitute and has lived in their house since his parents died. It was left to James, but he didn't need it, so he allowed Darren to live there."
"I see a birth certificate. The man is six months younger than James Watson. His mother is dead, father, John Watson, passed with his wife in a freak accident."
"Anything else on him?" Jacob leaned forward after he asked and grabbed a pen from the cup in the center of the table. He took a piece of paper from the back of Jade's notebook and was rewarded with a glare and a flip of the woman's hair.
He could hear Jewell type as she spoke. "Digging. Give me ten minutes and I'll be able to tell you his shoe size and what flavor ice cream he eats."
"Asher, how did Watson explain the fact that he 'found' Deputy Campbell?"
"He said he took personal time because his half brother was acting weird and that he was worried about him. He suggested the guy was suicidal. He said he couldn't deal with the job and his brother, so he took vacation. He was doing his daily check on him."
"Hold up." Jewell's voice cracked across the conference line. "Darren Watson was employed in Charlottesville, a pharmaceutical representative. He has an apartment downtown. He's not destitute. Bank records show bi-weekly deposits in his bank account by Webster-Franklin-Cole Pharma. He pays his bills. Likes Thai and Italian food and has a membership at a crossfit gym and according to his online purchases, drinks a lot of protein drinks."
"So, Watson is lying." Mal leaned forward.
"Or was being lied to," Asher countered. "Don't get excited. We're still sorting the stories."
Mal sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. Fuck, he wanted to pin this on the sheriff. His gut told him the man was complicit.
"I'm having someone contact Darren's office." Jewell interjected as the ever present tapping continued.
"Asher, what else did the sheriff give you?"
"He said he tackled his brother. He said his brother went limp, and he thought he'd knocked him out. He untied Poet and woke her to get her away from the basement."
Jared concurred, "That is flushing up with the other statements."
Asher asked, "Did we get the body to D.C. for an autopsy?"
"Our jet was loading the body as we left the Charlottesville Airport. He's probably already at the lab," Jacob answered.
"Affirmative. Body received and checked in. We have a certified private lab on standby for the tests. I'm keeping the AG away, for now." Jason's voice interrupted the conversation. "We can hold Watson for twenty-four hours based on the incident and our suspicions. Can we get a positive ID from the deputy?"
Jared sighed and scrubbed his face. "No. She couldn't be sure. He wore a mask and the voice is similar, but higher pitched than James Watson, according to her. But she has suffered a concussion. We'll debrief her further as she heals."
Mal leaned forward, "Within twenty-four hours that man will be back on the street."
Jared nodded and Jade made an exasperated sound and threw her pen onto the table. "You know, sometimes the law really gets in the way of fucking justice."
"We follow the law, Jade. Shortcuts will screw us in the long-run," Jared reminded his sister.
"I know that. I just don't like it."
"Jewell, compile everything and zip it to Asher. Asher, you will bring Doc Blue into this investigation. He has a vested interest," Jason dictated.
Asher acknowledged Archangel’s orders. "Copy that. Is Deputy Campbell safe?"
"Charlottesville PD is supplying a guard. We'll get our own down here if she is kept more than a week."
Maliki shook his head. "Once her arm is repaired and her concussion issues start to resolve, she should be released. I'll take her home."
All three heads in the room looked at him. "As in…?"
He blinked at the question, before he realized what they were asking. He shook his head quickly. "No, my parents’ estate. They have recently updated security and have a manned gate. Asher, you can run your investigation from there, too. If the sheriff is released, I don't like the chances of us being unmolested at the Paintville Inn."
"I can send a new team down. We have six of
them that are in training. They can patrol the local area around the estate until we get a resolution on this," Jacob offered.
"I thought we were moving to a different composition of teams?" he whispered to Jacob.
The man winked at him and whispered back, "Different missions, different compositions. What does one have to do with the other?"
Maliki leaned back and stared at the speaker in the middle of the table. Jared confirmed the team would be useful. Asher, however, declined. "I'll take you up on that if we see any indication of the sheriff doing anything other than being very helpful."
"Then we've got our assignments. Asher, call Mal at least twice a day and give him updates until Deputy Campbell is released. After that, if he is comfortable leaving her at his parents’ residence, he can join you for the investigation."
"Roger that. Do me a favor and charge your phone?" Asher chuckled. “There was one pissed off dude looking for you. I swear that was the only time I heard Operator Two-Four-Seven speak with anything but dead calm. Whoever that guy was, he was scary."
Everyone in the room chuckled. Jason's voice broke up the meeting. "Mal, charge your phone. I think Joseph is going to have words with you about that. Jacob, Jared, and Jade, the plane should be on the ground by the time you get to the airport. Get back here. The rest of the world needs us, too. Maliki, if you need anything, you call. Archangel out."
"I'll get that info to you and Asher. The stuff I have coming in can fill a vat six feet deep. You'll have a lot of digging to do."
"It's what I'm good at. I'm going to go after the sheriff again with the new info about Darren's employment, residence and income. Maybe we can chip away at that airtight story of his. Hudson out."
"CCS out." Jewell hung up, too, and then dial tone was all that remained.
Jade stood up and reached over to swat the off button on the conference call device. "Well that sucked."
"We have to do this step by step. You know that." Jared picked up his tablet. "Mal, keep us posted on her condition. Poet has CPD at her door for the next week. If she needs to stay longer, we've got you covered." Jared extended his hand and shook his.
"Thank you, I appreciate everything you've done."
"We'll be expecting you in D.C. for dinner before you go back to the heat and Joseph's bossy ass." Jade lifted up and kissed him on the cheek.
"He's really not that bossy." His friend was abrupt, brash and a dick at times, but bossy? Not so much.
"Yeah, and a rattle snake is not that poisonous." Jared slapped him on his back and winked as he followed his sister out the door. "Tori and I want to be at that dinner, Jade."
"Cool. We can do a private room at one of Justin's restaurants." She swung and blew a kiss at Mal as he closed the conference room door behind them.
He waved as they headed out of the building. Damn, it was good to have friends. Or rather family, chosen not given.
Chapter 19
Maliki stepped out and nodded at the new officer on the exterior of Poet's door. She was resting after her surgery yesterday. Rods, pins and screws now replaced her shattered ulna and radius. Her blurry vision had cleared, and the other signs of concussion were lessening. If everything kept progressing, she'd be released the day after tomorrow. He rubbed the back of his neck and made his way down to the end of the hall. There was a window by the stairwell a floor down and on the other side of the building where his reception was best. He called Asher, instead of Asher calling him. It worked better for both of them if he initiated the calls.
"How is she?" Asher answered.
"She’s a champ. She's resting now. She should be discharged the day after tomorrow."
"Thank God, something is going right." Asher sounded wrecked.
Maliki's shoulders slumped. "You no longer have him in custody."
"Yeah. We couldn't hold him any longer. We already surpassed the twenty-four hour limit. We exhausted all our probable cause." He swore bitterly. "Until we get something from the lab or the autopsy that ties him to Poet's abduction or any of those women's deaths, he's back wearing his uniform and pretending he's the hero in this event."
"Anything from Jewell and those traces on the video feeds?" Mal sat on the windowsill and leaned back against the glass. The cool feel of the smooth pane against his back felt good.
"Not that I've received. The autopsy concluded the preliminary cause of death for Darren was blunt force trauma."
"He died when James tackled him."
"Allegedly."
"You're not buying it?"
"Too tidy. The sheriff showing up and rescuing the damsel in distress. Poof, all the suspicion is off him and dumped on a guy who we believe was leading a pretty damn normal life. He doesn't have any extra income from the videos. I don't get it."
"What about the sheriff?"
"We need a warrant. Can you believe that shit? He's requested a lawyer, and he's charging our continued inquiry ‘without cause’ is purposefully maligning his reputation.”
"There are no charges for killing his half brother?"
"Since we have jurisdiction, Jared ran it past the US Attorney General. At the bottom of this is the man who was allegedly acting to save another. He didn't use unnecessary force and fled with our victim without engaging again. It reads accident, but they are willing to wait to see if we can find any evidence that links the sheriff to the crime."
"Damn it. You know doctors are sworn to protect lives. I've bent that rule to the protection of my team members when I was assigned to a team, but I really wish Poet had bit the sheriff instead of his brother."
"What?" Asher’s voice lowered.
"What, what?" Mal stood and looked through the window. "I can be vindictive. Bites hurt like a motherfucker and human bites tend to get infected. I wish that fucker all the pain in the world, you know what I mean?"
"There weren’t any bite marks on the corpse. Fuck, where is that report." His attention snapped to what Asher was saying. "Here. No... no. No bite marks. Are you positive she said she bit him?"
"Absolutely. She said she bit him when she fought with him at the apartment."
"Fuck. How did I miss that? Did I know?" He could hear Asher going through the files in front of him.
Mal tensed. "I don't know if it was ever put in a statement."
"Look, I'm calling this in. We may have proof to nail his ass."
"If he hasn't fled already."
"He hasn't. We're monitoring him."
"And if it isn't enough?"
"Reports are coming hourly. Guardian is trying to track the URLs she gave me, but Jewell mentioned it might not be necessary. They have Doctor Giles' computer in D.C. and she's digging in. I'm buried in paper. There will be something. There has to be. I'm not giving up, and neither should you. Get back to her. As soon as she wakes up, we need to verify this bite information."
"Done." He dropped his phone into his pocket and made his way back to her room.
"Hey, Mom." Poet yawned and pushed the pillow behind her. She maneuvered the bed into a sitting position and put the phone on speaker. It was easier that way until they removed the IV from her good hand.
"How are you feeling today?"
"Ah… just waking up from a nap." She blinked and carefully rubbed her eyes with her good hand.
"Are you sure I can't come up?"
"I'm feeling a lot better and no, not yet, please. My department is working to close the case. Until that is done, I need to focus on work. You can mother me later. I promise to come down and let you fuss, soon." She stared at the gauze wrap on her arm. The doctors told her they would put it in a cast before they discharged her, but right now they wanted the swelling to go down a bit more before they encased the arm in plaster.
"So, are you going to tell me how you broke your arm?"
"I already told you. I was working. I can't say much more because it is an ongoing investigation. Rules, you know." Poet rolled her eyes. Like she was going to tell her mom that she'd been abducted, beaten and
her forearm shattered by a potential serial killer. That would go over sooo well.
Her mom made a noise in her throat and snipped, "I don't like your rules."
"I know, Mom, but they are in place for a reason."
"If you say so. So, tell me about this young man you're seeing."
"Maliki?"
"Yes, that is an interesting name."
"He's an interesting man. I told you he's a doctor, and he works for Guardian Security."
"But you said you didn't think it would ever be a relationship."
"Things change. I know I've changed in my attitude. We mesh, Mom. I've never been so relaxed and myself around a guy before. He's an amazing man. He makes me eat healthy."
"Well, that's a point in his favor."
She laughed and continued, "He's kind and generous, and he's been working through an old problem with his parents. That was why he came here to begin with. His dad is failing. He has dementia and has had a stroke. Maliki is mending those bridges. He's spent every day and night here with me, but he calls his dad and talks to him as much as possible in the morning. That's when his father is most likely to remember. Sometimes they talk for hours, sometimes only for minutes. He checks in with his mom, who is taking care of his father. Well, there is a staff full of healthcare workers, but his mother is running that show."
"Sounds like he is a good son."
"I think he is. They were estranged for a long time, but they're working through it."
"And how is he with you?"
She sucked in a breath and whispered, "Oh, Mom, he's amazing."
Her mother's voice lowered too, "You're in love with him, aren't you?"
She blinked back tears and nodded her head. "I think so. I can't imagine not being with him, you know?"
"Wait, you'd leave your job for him? The job you love?"
"Mom, I'd leave the country for him. He hasn't asked me to do that, though."
"Do you think he cares for you?"
"I do, but we haven't spoken those words, and I'm not going to put a decision in front of him." She picked at the woven white cotton blanket that covered her legs.
Maliki (Guardian Defenders Book 2) Page 23