Deep Cover Detective

by LENA DIAZ,

  Now who was losing focus?

  He shook his head in disgust. “I made a royal mess out of that.”

  “Yeah, you did,” Drew said. “But you were right. And you didn’t say anything that her boss didn’t already guess. He was planning on confronting her after we shared everything about our cases.”

  “Shared?” Colton snorted. “Is that what you call all that yelling?” He glanced around. “And what did you do with the lawyer? Is he back in your office?”

  Drew grinned. “We gave him a headache. I think he went downstairs for an aspirin.” He plopped down in the chair that Silver had refused earlier. “Special Agent Garcia has been worried about her working alone on this case but wasn’t sure how to help her without blowing her cover. People in the Glades aren’t quick to trust outsiders.”

  “So what’s he going to do now?”

  “Pull her. He’ll send a team into the marsh to see if they can salvage any evidence, maybe get lucky. But most likely they’ll have to start a new investigation to stop the flow of drugs moving through there, from outside of Mystic Glades.”

  “That’s a shame. From what she said, she was close to a break in the case.”

  “You thought the same thing, and look where we are on that.”

  He winced. “Point taken. What do you want me to do? Find Rafferty and bring him in?”

  “I think that’s about the only thing we can do at this point. Cut our losses. We’ll coordinate with Garcia, help him salvage as much as possible from Westbrook’s investigation. Then we all start over.” He pushed the chair back from the desk and stood.

  “All right,” Colton said. “The kid’s gone to ground right now. I think we should give him a couple of days to start feeling secure before we go looking for him. Then I’ll get a couple of guys to go with me up through the canals and we’ll sneak in the back way. We’ll catch him as soon as he pops his head up somewhere.”

  Drew nodded. “Sounds like a good plan. I’ll see if Garcia wants to—”

  “Lieutenant.” Another detective several desks away held up one of the landline phones. “There’s a call for you, from the Miccosukee.”

  “Miccosukee? Their resort’s almost two hours away. Why aren’t they calling Broward County or Miami-Dade if they need help?”

  “Not the resort. Alligator Alley. The Miccosukee police out on their section of I-75 said they’ve had some kind of incident that you need to know about.”

  Drew took the call. From the way his jaw tightened, Colton knew the news was bad. The detective who’d notified him about the call grabbed a piece of paper off the printer on his desk and handed that to Drew as well. The lieutenant read it while he spoke on the phone, then shook his head and tucked the paper into his suit jacket pocket. By the time Drew ended the call, Silver and her boss had finished their meeting and joined Colton in front of the desk.

  Silver’s face was pale and she wouldn’t meet Colton’s gaze. He was about to demand that Garcia tell him what he’d said to her when Drew joined them. He nodded at Silver and Garcia, before his weary gaze met Colton’s.

  “What happened?” Colton asked.

  “The Miccosukee police had heard about the attempted holdup earlier and that we were interested in interviewing Rafferty.” He glanced at Silver before continuing. “There was a 911 call a few hours ago around mile marker fifty-two on I-75, in their jurisdiction, and they just briefed me on their initial findings.” He cleared his throat and looked at Silver again.

  She sucked in a breath and fisted her hands at her sides.

  “Please,” she said, her voice so tight and hoarse that she couldn’t finish her sentence.

  Garcia gave her an odd look, as if he didn’t understand what the rest of them had already guessed.

  Colton circled around him and stood behind Silver. He put his hands lightly on her shoulders, as a show of support and to let her know that even if her boss was being a jerk, she wasn’t in this alone. Instead of pushing him away, as he’d half feared, she took the support he offered and subtly shifted so that her back was pressed against his chest. Colton nodded at Drew to continue.

  His face was a mask of misery and sympathy as he broke the news. “I’m sorry, Agent Westbrook. Eddie Rafferty is dead.”

  Her body started to shake and she wobbled against him as if she was about to collapse.

  Colton reacted on instinct, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her tight. He didn’t care one whit that Garcia frowned at him or that Drew raised an eyebrow. She’d fought for that kid, had allowed herself to be arrested and risked losing her inn for him. Maybe Colton didn’t agree with her choices, but he admired her just the same for fighting for a troubled young man whom everyone else had thrown away—including Colton. He couldn’t help feeling guilty about that now.

  When Silver didn’t say anything, Colton asked the questions that needed to be asked, the questions that he knew she’d want the answers to, later, when she could move past her shock and process them.

  “How?” he asked. “What happened?”

  Drew hesitated and shot an uncertain look at Silver.

  “Say it,” Colton told him. “She needs to know.”

  Drew looked to Silver’s boss for guidance, but Garcia shrugged as if he didn’t have a clue how to handle Silver’s silence.

  “A motorist called it in a couple of hours ago,” Drew said. “A body lying in the grass beside the highway. The coroner still has to perform an autopsy, of course, but the cause of death is probably internal injuries. He was beaten, and...” He looked at Silver again. “I don’t think the medical details are pertinent at the moment. Suffice it to say, he was murdered. And the evidence suggests it was the primary site. He was killed right there on the side of the highway.”

  Silver drew a sharp breath and started pushing at Colton’s arms around her waist. He let her go and she shoved away from him, wobbling like a drunk on her feet.

  Colton reached for her, but she scrambled back out of his way. “Silver, let me help—”

  “No, don’t,” she whispered, her voice full of anguish. “I have to... I need to go to the ladies’ room.”

  The stubborn woman looked as though she was about to pass out, but Colton didn’t argue. He could tell she was about to break down and she desperately wanted some privacy before that happened. “Down that hallway, first door on the right.” He waved toward the right side of the room.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, then made her way unsteadily out of the room.

  Garcia frowned after her. “She shouldn’t be that upset. She’s too softhearted, too weak for this job. I should have recognized that years ago. And now she’s obviously crossed the line even more than I’d realized, made this personal.”

  Colton swore. “You do realize she knew Rafferty before your case started, right? He was in high school. A kid. She even helped him with his homework. But she still did her job, let you know that he was mixed up with a drug-running operation. And she was working to bring that operation down in spite of that personal connection to Rafferty. If she’s choked up over his death, it’s understandable, expected. From where I stand, you’re the one with the problem. You aren’t making this personal enough. You should be offering her support and understanding instead of criticizing her.”

  Garcia took a step toward him, his dark eyes flashing with anger. “Watch your tongue, Detective.”

  Colton matched his step. “Why don’t you—”

  “Hey, hey, hey.” Drew moved between them, pushing his hands against them to keep them apart. “Back off, gentlemen. This has been a stressful day for all of us. Let’s leave our opinions and our egos at the door and focus on our cases.”

  “What cases?” Garcia sneered. “Rafferty was the link to the robbery ring and the drug ring. There aren’t any cases anymore. We have to start over. This is a complete cluster from beginning to end.” He glared at Colton. “Since you’re so cozy with Westbrook, you can give her a message for me when she comes back. She’
s fired.”

  Colton shoved Drew’s hand out of his way so he could reach Garcia, but the agent whirled around and strode toward the exit.

  “Let it go,” Drew ordered.

  “He’s a colossal jerk who doesn’t even support his own agents,” Colton ground out.

  “Agreed. But it’s his call. She’d given notice that she was quitting after this case anyway. It’s not like he destroyed her career.”

  “Maybe not, but once she works through her grief, she’ll want to catch Eddie’s killer. And without the DEA’s support, she’s lost her vehicle for doing that. You know good and well the Miccosukee police aren’t going to know what to do with this one. And we sure don’t want them trouncing over our burglary ring while trying to solve the murder. It’s part of our case. We should take it and find Eddie’s killer. And if there are drugs flowing through Mystic Glades, we can’t turn a blind eye just because Garcia does. Someone needs to stop it.”

  “I’m well aware of that. But if this wasn’t political before, it just got political. I’ll have to smooth Garcia’s ruffled feathers and see if we can’t come up with a joint plan, maybe even a task force. Obviously if Rafferty was involved in both cases, it makes sense to work together. It’s a pretty safe bet that the guy at the top is running both the drugs and the burglary ring. I’ll have to think on this and figure out how to handle it without putting my job on the line. First things first, we need to notify Rafferty’s family.”

  “He didn’t have a family. He was in the foster system, never adopted.”

  “Oh, man. Poor kid.”

  “Yeah. Poor kid.” Colton shook his head. “From what I can tell, Silver’s all he had. But I can ask her about it. We can do the notification together if there’s anyone to notify. Or I can do it alone once I get the details from her.”

  “Works for me.” Drew pulled the piece of paper out of his suit jacket pocket that the other detective had given him while he was on the phone. “I was going to tell the others about this, but obviously Miss Westbrook is in no shape to read it right now.”

  “What is it?”

  “A copy of a letter from Rafferty, addressed to Miss Westbrook. The original was found in his jeans pocket in an envelope, so the responding officer emailed us a picture of it that he took with his phone. Looks like Eddie had planned on mailing it to her when he got to wherever he was going. I assume he avoided text or email, since the coverage is unreliable in Mystic Glades. Unfortunately he never got the chance to send it.” He handed it to Colton. “Take her home. Watch over her for a few days and then check back in with me. I’ll put you on paid administrative leave until I get together with Garcia and we decide where to go from here. If he won’t do what he should—support his agent when she’s in crisis—then we’ll have to do his damn job for him.”

  Colton stared in shock at his boss. “Did you just say—”

  “Do you like your job, Detective?” Drew practically growled.

  He choked back a laugh. “Yes, sir. I do. Which means I never heard you break your own cursing rule.”

  “Good answer.” Drew headed toward his office.

  Chapter Seven

  Colton glanced at Silver in the passenger seat of his Mustang as he drove under the archway into Mystic Glades. But she was just as silent, just as withdrawn as she’d been since Drew announced that Eddie was dead. She hadn’t even reacted when Colton told her that her boss had fired her.

  She was definitely in shock, and probably blaming herself, second-guessing everything and replaying the investigation over and over in her mind to see if she could have done something differently. He hated that she was going through this, but at least she wasn’t pushing him away. No one should have to face grief like that alone.

  As he pulled into a parking space in front of the B and B, he frowned at the lack of lights outside. At a minimum, the porch light should be on to help dispel the darkness. A streetlight would be better, something that would cast a glow across the entire front yard, especially since the inn was a bit isolated from the other businesses. There were streetlights farther up the street, but they stopped short of the B and B.

  It was only a little past ten, but with all the businesses closed except for Callahan’s Watering Hole, which was a good distance away, it seemed even later. And too quiet. Silver’s inn seemed far too vulnerable for his liking. He’d have to talk to her about the lighting and maybe even a high privacy fence, at least on the sides of the property. That would remove a burglar’s ability to hide in the bushes and trees. Anyone intending harm to the inn or its inhabitants would be forced to come out on the street in full view or approach from the back. He’d take a tour of the property tomorrow in daylight and see just how bad the security setup was.

  Glancing over at Silver, who seemed to be lost in her own little world at the moment looking out at the dark sky, he was glad he’d brought her home and that he’d be there tonight to watch over her. Because right now he wasn’t sure she could protect herself if it came to that.

  He took his pistol out of his ankle holster and slid it into his waistband so he’d have it at the ready. He’d been thinking about Eddie’s murder the whole way here and had come to a conclusion. If the burglary or drug ringleader was behind Eddie’s murder—which seemed the logical conclusion—then the only reason to kill Eddie and leave his body in a public place was that the killer wanted him found. Which meant the killing was a message. Eddie had to have done something that put the killer at risk, and his murder was to warn others not to do anything similar.

  But the only true risk to a drug boss would be exposure to law enforcement. And since Silver was the only law-enforcement officer in Mystic Glades and she had established a friendship with Eddie, then putting those together added up to one thing—Colton was convinced that the killer knew that Silver was DEA and that Eddie was her contact. The kid might not have realized he was being used, but his “boss” would have figured it out if Eddie mentioned anything about Silver and then the boss did some research. If he had the right contacts, he might have figured out that Silver was a threat.

  Which meant Colton needed to stay extra vigilant, at least for the next few days until his boss soothed Garcia and figured out a new game plan.

  “Silver,” he whispered, not wanting to startle her in the quiet of the car. “Hey, Silver?”

  She shook herself as if waking up. “Oh. We’re here. Sorry.”

  She popped the door, but Colton leaned across her and pulled it shut. She looked at him in question.

  He patted the gun at his waist. “I’d rather you wait until I get out and open your door. It’s dark out here, and we don’t know what Eddie may have told his killer, and what they may have deduced. We have to assume we’re being watched. And since you don’t have a gun—”

  “I have a gun. Garcia gave it to me before, well, before everything went south at the station.” She yanked her pant leg up to reveal an ankle holster much like his, with a Ruger 9 mm snapped into place. She let her pant leg drop. “I’m just keeping it hidden. You know, because B and B owners don’t typically walk around with guns at their waists. It’s bad for business.”

  He smiled. “You had me worried earlier. But you’re going to be okay, aren’t you?”

  Tears suddenly brightened her eyes, but she blinked them back. “I’m okay.”

  “Wait here.” He hated that he’d managed to bring her out of her stupor one moment and then had her ready to weep the next. She was still fragile, and he needed to keep a close eye on her. He hopped out and moved quickly around to the passenger door, keeping a watchful eye on the woods to the left and right of the property before opening her door.

  A hurried walk down the path through the middle of the front lawn, with him looking left and right every few seconds, his right hand on the butt of his gun at his waist, found them at the front door.

  She turned the knob, then turned it again. “I don’t understand. Why won’t it open?”

  Colton shook the keys in his
left hand. “Because I made you lock it when we left. You don’t remember?” He put the key in the lock and opened the door.

  “Now I remember.”

  She started to step inside first, but he moved past and pulled her in behind him, tucking her back against the wall as he locked the door. He flipped the entrance hall light switch and pulled out his gun, still blocking her with his body as he scanned their surroundings.

  “Stay here while I do a security sweep. Stay alert. And don’t hesitate to use your gun if someone other than me comes back. I’ll announce myself before I step back into the foyer.”

  “No.” She pulled her gun from its holster and held it down by her side, pointing at the floor. “We’ll both clear the house.”

  “Silver, I don’t think that’s a—”

  “Good idea?” she finished for him. “I’m grieving. And I feel guilty as hell for what happened to Eddie. But I’m not helpless. I’ll deal with this. And just because Garcia fired me doesn’t mean I’m suddenly not capable of using my training.” She motioned toward the doorway to their left. “You can start with the kitchen and dining room, and circle around to the hallway that runs across the back of the house. I’ll go right and clear the gathering room, the bathroom under the stairs, and circle around to the same hallway.”

  He agreed reluctantly, and they each headed off in a different direction. They ended up meeting halfway down the hallway she’d mentioned, after he’d cleared the two rooms.

  “What else is down there?” he asked, waving toward the other end of the hall.

  “Bathroom, office and a sunroom. I cleared all three.”

  “Does this place have a back door? I didn’t see one.”

  “Through the sunroom. And before you ask, yes, I locked it. Let’s hurry and check upstairs so you’ll stop worrying. I’m tired and I want to go to bed.”

  Together they searched all eight bedrooms and attached bathrooms, plus an additional bathroom accessible from the hall.