The Devil's Work

by Linda Ladd

  A few minutes later, Black was back with a frown. “Sorry, Claire, but I’ve got to get back to Miami. We’ve got a guest who set a fire inside the penthouse suite and barricaded the door. Now he’s in some kind of armed standoff with police.”

  “Anybody hurt?” Claire asked.

  “Not yet. My manager thinks it’s a domestic dispute. The husband is apparently holding his wife hostage. I’ve got to get back there right now.”

  “How long will it take?”

  “I hope we’ll be back by tomorrow afternoon. Novak can handle this until then.”

  Novak looked at Claire, pretty sure what was coming next. “I can’t go with you, but that’s okay. Novak and I can handle this thing.”

  “Or Novak could work it alone today and wait until we get back tomorrow to make the next move.”

  Novak had been expecting that response as well. He’d been through this before.

  “Yes, I’m sure he could handle everything just fine, but I flew back here to help him. It’s my job, Black.”

  Her husband frowned but didn’t argue. Claire enjoyed her independence and liked to make up her own mind. Her husband was used to it, even though he didn’t always care for Claire’s decisions, like right now.

  “We’re just now starting to gather background, Nick,” Novak said. “She’ll be fine. I’ll be with her the entire time. I won’t let her out of my sight, I swear.”

  “Yeah, thanks. I wish this thing hadn’t come up right now, but I really need to get back to Miami.”

  “Are you driving?” Claire asked.

  “No, I’ll take the jet. It’ll get me back here faster. You guys are going to need the Lincoln, anyway. I’ll call an Uber to take me to the airport. Maybe I can make it back first thing in the morning. Where will you be?”

  “At the condo, I guess, or out on the boat?” She looked at Novak for confirmation. He nodded. “Well, please be careful,” she said to Black. “I’ll walk you out so Novak won’t have to see us kiss.”

  Novak grinned, but he was used to their affection. They were in love and a happy couple, especially now that they were married. Knowing Black, Claire might be outside for a while. He watched them leave through the front door, then went back to observing the crowded elevators. He didn’t see anyone resembling Kellen’s photograph. So he picked up Claire’s iPad and skimmed through the other pages on the lawyer’s website. He found nothing pertinent. It looked like Kellen had no partners, but that didn’t surprise Novak. Not many attorneys would dive headfirst into baby snatching. That kind of work took a special kind of devil. When Claire returned, he was watching the elevators and reading through testimonials of adoptive parents, trying to pinpoint any mention of where the children had been born.

  “Black’s dragging his feet, worried as usual. You know how he is. Always thinks I’m going to end up in the hospital.” Claire took a seat beside him. “I told him I’d be safe enough with a big scary guy like you around.”

  “He’s right, you know, especially now. I don’t blame him for being concerned.”

  “I don’t blame him, either. It’s sweet, but no way am I going to get hurt down here in this big, bright lobby surrounded by a zillion people with two loaded handguns on my person.”

  Claire always carried a Glock 19 and a .38 snub nose strapped to her ankle and knew how to use them both. “Stranger things have happened.”

  Claire laughed. “So true, especially to us. Okay, what do we do first? We need to get this case on the road.”

  Novak had been thinking about it. “I say we take the bull by the horns and go upstairs right now and tell him we want to adopt a baby.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “No. We’ve been married over ten years now and have given up on getting pregnant. We tell him that money is no object. After that, he will bend over backward to reel us in, trust me. This guy has to be over-the-top greedy to do what he does.”

  “Well, okay, except for a couple of elephants in the ointment. I’m obviously already pregnant and they’ve seen you.”

  “Put on my Windbreaker and say you’re cold. He won’t see the baby bump. You hardly show, anyway.”

  “Look closer, Novak.” She frowned a little, but Novak knew she’d come around. “Well, I must say, that is jumping right in with both feet. Maybe a little risky, huh? What if you were recognized by those guys?”

  “I haven’t seen any loitering around here. Think about it. Why would they be down here at Kellen’s place of business? They’re his enforcers. The ones who show up on your doorstep in the dead of night, the way they did with Alcina’s family. He won’t want them hanging around here where his clients could see them. Good way to ruin his image.”

  “He has your description, though, and you know it. You know: Sasquatch size.”

  “There are lots of big men. It was dark on that beach. Things happened fast. I think it’s safe to say that he doesn’t know who I am yet. How would he know we’re onto him? And why would he expect me to show up here? The idea probably wouldn’t even occur to him.”

  Claire hesitated. Novak understood her reluctance, but he wanted to get a feel for Kellen in person. More than that, he wanted to see if he could break into his office later that night.

  “Well, what can he do to us here, Claire? Shoot us down inside his office? You know what? I think it’s better if I go up there alone. I’ll just tell him my wife is in Miami on business or something. I don’t want to put you in that kind of danger.”

  “No, that will look even more suspicious. I’ll go with you. It’ll look better if we’re a couple. We should’ve thought to do this when Black was still here. He could’ve gone up with me.”

  “So how about calling upstairs? Ask if he’s in today, and try to wangle us an appointment for right now. Tell him it’s a spur-of-the-moment thing and we’re on our way out of town. Tell him we’re only here for the day. Say whatever you want. You’re good at that. Just get him to see us.”

  “Okay, give me your jacket, and I’ll get his number.”

  Novak shrugged out of his Windbreaker and handed it over. “We have to be careful what we say up there. We don’t want him getting suspicious this early in the game.”

  “No kidding. I already thought of that.” She poked the number into her cellphone. The receptionist must have answered on the first ring, because Claire spoke almost at once.

  “Yes, hello, this is Shirley Brown, and I’m calling to see if Mr. Kellen can see my husband and me today concerning an adoption. Is he in the office right now? We’re downstairs in the lobby and would love to come up.” Claire stared at Novak as she listened. “No, next week will not do at all. We’re here on business just for today and it’s our only opportunity to meet with him.” Another slight pause, and then she said, “Wonderful. We could come up right this minute, would that be okay? We’re here because we heard he’s the best adoption attorney in Florida.”

  She listened some more. “Well, that’s too bad. Money is no problem, you understand. We want a baby more than anything in the world, and my husband’s willing to pay whatever Mr. Kellen needs to get it done. No figure is too high. But if he’s busy, I’m sure we can find somebody in Miami.” The person at the other end spoke at some length, and then Claire thanked the receptionist and hung up. She smiled at Novak. “Come right up, ma’am, he’ll see you now. I’m surprised she didn’t tell me to bring the checkbook.”

  Novak stared at her, now having second thoughts. “I think I should go up there solo. This could get dicey.”

  “Oh no you don’t. This was your idea, Novak. He doesn’t know either one of us. He’s not going to attack us there, just like you pointed out.”

  “Nick’s going to kill me for doing this.”

  “Well, Nick’s not here. Let’s go. We’re both armed.” Claire stowed her iPad and got to her feet. His jacket hung on her like a sack. No
way would she look pregnant to Kellen or anybody else. “That food cooking over there smells so good. I’m hungry all the time now. It’s just amazing. I never used to eat like this. Maybe we could pick up a snack on our way out. I’m eating for two, and all that crap.”

  “No problem.”

  They headed for the elevators, and Novak pressed the button for the top floor. “Better let me do the talking.”

  “Give me a good reason why you should.”

  There wasn’t a good reason. Earlier he hadn’t been thinking it through. Now he was uncomfortable with her coming along because even though it was unlikely, it could be dangerous. And if that was sexist, like Lori Garner liked to say, so be it. He preferred to call it protective. It was unlikely anything bad would go down inside Kellen’s office—at least, nothing they couldn’t handle.

  “How about we both talk, you know, like ordinary married couples do,” Claire suggested.

  “Know what? Maybe we should put this visit on the back burner for a couple of days. You know, wait till we know more about this guy’s M.O. We could tail him for a time, see where he lives, and see who he associates with. Then we could approach him as potential clients. Or you and Black could.”

  “Never put off till tomorrow, and blah blah blah. You’re gonna be Anthony Brown, by the way. Tony, for short.”

  They rode up in silence. Claire was usually right. What could go wrong in an office building with a hundred people in the lobby and hundreds more walking the hallways?

  Novak got his answer the minute the doors slid open on the fifteenth floor and revealed three guys lounging on chairs directly across from the elevator. Novak’s muscles tensed. All three of them had on business suits and conservative corporate haircuts. They looked like businessmen who worked in a building like this. They all looked up and watched him and Claire step out of the elevator. Novak had met some very bad characters who looked just like them. Casually, he moved his hand closer to the .45 lodged in his back waistband.

  “Hello,” Claire greeted them, smiling pleasantly at the one who had one of those scruff beards young guys sported now. He returned the greeting, his face pleased with what he saw. Claire was a looker. Men always stared at her, and this guy was no different.

  “We’re looking for Max Kellen’s office. Are we on the right floor?”

  “Yes, ma’am. See that door down there at the end of the hall? That’s his office.” Then he transferred his gaze to Novak. Novak nodded but failed to look harmless because he was poised to throw the first punch. Claire had ice water in her veins, it seemed, or thought they were what they looked like.

  “Okay, thank you so much.”

  Claire tucked her hand into the crook of Novak’s arm, and they started walking down the hall. Halfway there, Novak glanced behind him. None of the guys were paying attention to them. They were just sitting there, but they weren’t talking. Maybe they were waiting for somebody.

  “You think they work for Kellen, don’t you?” Claire asked.

  Novak kept watching them, not sure. “I don’t know. They aren’t Skulls, but they may be on Kellen’s team, bodyguards, maybe.”

  “Well, they don’t appear interested in us. So take a deep breath. The lion’s den beckons.”

  Claire sounded excited, which was also par for the course. She loved her work. Novak opened the door and allowed Claire to precede him, but he side-eyed the trio at the elevators one last time. They had to be out there guarding Kellen’s office, or maybe they were his bouncers if anyone like Alcina got out of line or started throwing around accusations. Maybe there was a Mafia turf war in Fort Myers, and they were Kellen’s workplace muscle that fit in with the surroundings. If that was the case, Novak needed to find out who Kellen was feuding with. Any enemy of Kellen’s would be a friend of theirs and his weakness that they could exploit.

  Inside the reception area, a matronly middle-aged woman wearing a blue-and-red flowered blouse and navy skirt was sitting behind a high black marble counter. She sat on a director’s chair and looked to be taller than Novak but two hundred pounds lighter. Her nameplate read Billie Lou Banks. She smiled at them. “Mr. and Mrs. Brown, I believe?”

  “That’s right. Thank you so much for seeing us on such short notice,” said Claire.

  Novak said nothing, watched the door behind them, and tried to look like her wannabe-a-father husband. He didn’t feel good about this. He also felt like he’d have to physically restrain himself from grabbing Max Kellen’s throat and choking the life out of him. Forcing the facts about Alcina’s baby would be so much faster and ten times more enjoyable than uncovering enough dirt to bring him down. Now was not the time and Novak knew it, but maybe later. He could only hope.

  “Please take a seat on the sofa,” Billie Lou said with a toothy smile. Her eyes were the color of olives sans the pimentos, and she let them linger on Claire’s face a second too long, and then she moved her appraisal to Novak. That made Novak’s nerves twitch a bit, but so did everything else since he’d suggested they make this office call. Sometimes his ideas didn’t turn out as well as they did inside his head. The receptionist got over her fascination with Claire and smiled at him again. “I’ll tell Mr. Kellen that you’re here.” She turned back to Claire. “May I hang up your jacket for you, Mrs. Brown?”

  “Oh, no, this is my husband’s jacket, but I’ve been freezing all day long. Air conditioning does that to me. Thank you, anyway.”

  The woman nodded, buying Claire’s load of crap without a hitch. They sat down beside each other and watched her disappear behind a partial wall made of weathered barn lumber. She was gone for less than five minutes before she returned and asked them to follow her.

  The hallway she led them down had six doors, all closed tight, with a set of white double doors at the end. Novak was more interested in what was lurking inside those offices. It could be a gang of tattooed guys in leather vests, probably was. Billie Lou tapped on the double doors and opened them without waiting for a response. “The Browns are here, Mr. Kellen.”

  They were ushered inside, and there sat Max Kellen himself like Napoleon in his heyday. Unlike his picture, he did not look so small anymore. He was as tall as his executive assistant, maybe six feet one or so, and a lot heftier. He looked like he worked out and got a lot of sun. His manner exuded confidence and friendliness. His desk had a gigantic black marble top that matched the one outside. Nothing was on it except a modern tripod lamp and a pad and pencil. He stood up. He beamed at them. His hair was parted on one side and stiff with goop up top. His teeth were white and blinding and looked like expensive dental implants. His eyes were not brown, after all, but greenish hazel, and looked large behind his round wire spectacles. The glasses must be the new rage in yuppie land—at least in the lobby downstairs it had been. Lori Garner had a pair, too, but just for reading. Behind the dirtbag son of a bitch, a wall-to-wall window stood impressively undraped and flooded with blue sky and the glare of Florida sunshine that made them squint.

  “Please sit down, Mr. and Mrs. Brown. I am so pleased I had time to meet with you.” He came around the desk and shook their hands. His handshake was firm and steady. There was no flare of recognition that Novak had been the man at the beach altercation, so Novak breathed easier.

  Claire was ready. Novak had never seen anybody who loved the thrill of undercover investigation more than his partner, and he’d known a lot of detectives in his time.

  “Thank you so much for seeing us on the spur of the moment like this, Mr. Kellen,” she was saying to him, all eager and genuine. Hell, Novak almost believed her. “We know you must be so busy, as successful as we hear you are. Your credentials are absolutely spectacular.”

  Kellen did so love her compliment. “Please, call me Max. May I call you by your given names?”

  “Of course. I’m Shirley and this is my husband, Anthony, but he prefers to go by Tony.”

  “Well,
it’s very nice to meet you both. I’m going to get you that baby that I understand you want so desperately. Have no doubts or worries concerning that. You’ll find that I am a man of my word and a man of action. That’s how confident I am that I can help you find a beautiful child of your own.”

  God help him, but Novak loathed this man, every single inch of him. He was careful to keep his face neutral, but it wasn’t easy. He wanted to stand up and punch him in the face. Max looked different than his photograph, in that he had a well-tended goatee to go along with his thick mustache. He was oozing easy charm like all shysters and salesmen and scam artists could do everywhere, but his eyes lingered on Claire’s face too long for Novak’s comfort. Why was everyone looking at her? Had they guessed that she was expecting? He looked at her where she sat beside him. No way could anybody tell. Even Novak couldn’t tell with that coat on. Novak felt that this guy was admiring her, either as a sexual predator or as an egotistical Lothario who considered himself God’s gift to women. There was just something about his leering that bothered Novak even though he wasn’t her husband. Good thing Black wasn’t with them.

  “Oh, Max, you don’t know how happy you’re making us,” Claire told him. Her smile was huge and just so thrilled. “Tony and I have waited so long for a baby.” Her face changed to rueful regret. Novak had always been impressed with Claire’s acting ability. He wasn’t good at it, so she usually did the talking in situations like this. That was fine by him. He didn’t chat or gush or wheedle—especially wheedle.

  “Well, the inability to have children happens more than you might think, but I can make your dreams come true. I will do that for you, I promise.”

  Kellen was more than confident, but why wouldn’t he be? He had all the babies in Guatemala to choose from. Novak wanted to know more about him. “Do you have children yourself, Max?”

  “Oh, no, I’m not married yet. I haven’t met the right woman, I guess. Not as lucky as you are, Tony, to be married to such a beautiful lady. I’m a bachelor but still looking for love.” This was followed with an appreciative perusal of Claire. Yep, Black would’ve already slugged this guy.