by Kane, Janine
He scooped up his real phone, turned it on, and went to the couch. While he waited for the screen to light up, he flipped on the news. The anchor was talking about another murder that had happened in the city. It had been the result of a domestic dispute. The man had beaten his wife to death with his bare hands. Gray hoped that Zack wasn’t watching. Things like that pushed his friend over the edge.
The phone buzzed in his hand, showing that he had four missed calls and three voicemails. One of those calls was from Zack, speak of the devil. Gray put the phone on speaker and dialed his voicemail. The first one was from Gomez. He had left it about two hours before. He wanted Gray to check in, no matter what time he got home. The next was from Zack. Eva had gotten a strange letter from Hank, and she was worried, again. Poor girl. It was obvious she was trying to go about her own life in a positive way. Her brother’s negativity kept getting in the way of that. He would call him back in the morning. He listened to the third voicemail, and that was the one that made him get up and go put his clothes back on.
It was from Danielle. She said that she didn’t know who else to call. She had been arrested, and she needed his help. When he came back out from the bedroom and picked up the remote to turn off the television, there was news of two kilos of cocaine that had gone missing from the San Antonio courthouse. They flashed a picture of Ayden on the screen behind the anchor’s head. Gray turned the volume up and listened.
“Today was supposed to begin the trial of Christopher Ayden Styles,” the anchor reported. “He is allegedly a general in the Aryan Brotherhood and was facing charges of drug trafficking. Before his trial began Tuesday morning, it was discovered that two kilos of cocaine that had been stored in the evidence vault at the courthouse was missing. It was also discovered that a key witness in the case was missing as well. The charges were dropped against Mr. Styles, but we have received accounts that an arrest has been made in the case of the missing drugs. A Danielle Thurston was taken into custody after evidence was discovered leading authorities to believe she had taken the cocaine. Miss Thurston is an attorney often used by the members of the Aryan Brotherhood, and Eyewitness News has discovered that she has a brother who is serving a sentence for drug sales and trafficking at Dominguez State Prison.”
They flashed a mug shot of a skinny white kid with a shaved head and coke-bottle glasses. He had Danielle’s eyes.
“Fuck!” Gray said out loud to the empty house as he flipped off the television and grabbed his keys off the table.
******
Sutherland Springs, Texas
Early Wednesday Morning
Danielle sat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, staring at the wall. She had watched as the police tore apart her car, and then again as they had torn apart her new home. She looked around and gave a disgusted little laugh as she realized that, now, she didn’t have to unpack. They had done that for her, going through every one of the cardboard boxes she had sitting in her house and garage. They hadn’t found anything, and they wouldn’t.
Ayden had set her up; she was certain of it. But she also knew him well enough to know the cocaine was probably already back out on the streets. Far be it for him to waste the product. They had her on tape, and it had been good enough for them to arrest her, even though she was innocent, and the guilty party was out in the world, free to cause more trouble.
Her attorney, a friend that she had gone to law school with, had told her not to worry. The woman had convinced the judge to grant bail and release Danielle on her own recognizance. She reassured her that, without the cocaine in her possession, they really couldn’t prove anything. Danielle knew she was right. She wouldn’t likely be convicted of this, but how much damage would it do to her life in the interim? All she had to do was glance around this room she sat in to know that the damage had already begun.
Before the tears could come again, there was a knock on her door. It was three o’clock in the morning. This can’t be anything good, she thought. She sat where she was, hoping that whoever it was would go away.
There was another knock, this one louder and more urgent. “Danielle! It’s Grayson, open up!”
She sighed and pushed herself off the couch. With the blanket still held tight around her shoulders, she went over and pulled open the door. Grayson’s face looked like he was ready to scold her, but then he saw hers. Instead, he pushed his way inside, kicked the door closed behind him, and took her in his arms.
The tears came then, and for the next half hour, he held her while she cried.
***
After a while, Gray realized Danielle had stopped crying. He pulled back and looked down at her. She had fallen asleep, and she looked at peace. He didn’t have the heart to wake her, so instead he leaned back into the couch, propped his feet up on a cardboard box that sat in front of them, and he continued to hold her until he fell asleep himself.
******
Stockdale, Texas
Wednesday Morning
Vincent and Armando sat in the bakery. As he picked at a croissant, Vincent watched Eva go about her daily routine. He wished that her boss wasn’t here today. He detested that nosy woman. She kept trying to talk to him to find out where he was from and what he was doing in town. He had brushed her off, but the woman was relentless. If she wasn’t careful, she would find down at the bottom of a well.
Vincent was restless. He was tired of the sleazy little hotel he slept in at night. He wanted things to move quicker. “So, Pablo said things went well with his meeting with the white devils yesterday?”
“Yes, sir. I have the cash, and it’s the appropriate amount,” Armando confirmed.
Vincent smiled. “That’s magnificent. I will meet with my father’s man tomorrow to make the payment, and the rest we shall use in the purchase of a home. I am ready for a home, Armando.” He looked over towards the counter where the lovely auburn-haired woman stood smiling and talking to a customer. “And a family of my own.”
“That’s great, Boss,” Armando said. “Is it Marcella?”
Vincent looked at him like he had two heads. “Are you serious? I’m Vincent Heston,” he reminded him in a hushed tone, “Son of Gilberto Fidel Sanchez. I cannot marry the help. No, Armando, the woman I have in mind will be the perfect adornment on my arm, and I know that, together, we will come to own this state, and our children will be beautiful.”
“That’s nice, Boss,” Armando said. “Um… Boss, what are we going to do about the rat who is now working as a lawn boy?”
Vincent glanced towards Eva again and said, “We will know very soon.” As Eva headed over with a coffee pot in hand, he added, “Now run along, Armando. I have my future to attend to.”
******
Sutherland Springs, Texas
Early Wednesday Afternoon
Gray woke up with a crick in his neck and a buzzing in his ears. He tried to move and wondered why his body felt weighed down. Then he opened his eyes and remembered where he was. Danielle was still asleep, her blonde hair spilling across his lap. The buzzing was his phone, but he wasn’t going to be able to fish it out of his pocket without waking her up.
He thought about last night, or early this morning. He had come here to confront her. He planned to find out once and for all if she was working with Ayden. It had made sense, once he saw the news account that mentioned her brother. Danielle could well be one of those lawyers he heard about who was sent to law school by the thugs, just so they could have access to someone they knew would always be on their side.
Those were the assumptions he had in his head as he rode Stella over, but as he looked down at her now, her face peaceful and surrounded by that golden halo of hair, he second-guessed himself. She didn’t look like a criminal, but Gray had been in this business long enough to not give that any credence. What he did give credence to, however, was his gut. When he had seen her face last night, his gut had told him that all he wanted to do was make her feel better. He looked at her again. He had done that, if only for a little whi
le.
But when she woke up, she was going to have to answer the hard questions. He didn’t intend to let her get away with not answering them this time, no matter how attracted he was to her.
The phone in his pocket buzzed again. The persistence made him think it may be Gomez, so he needed to answer it. He tried to gently slip his hand down under her head and into his pocket, so as not to disturb her. It didn’t work, though. As soon as his hand was underneath her, she opened her eyes.
When she realized that she was asleep against his chest, she popped up and gave him a wide-eyed look. “What happened?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he said, pulling the phone out. “You fell asleep.”
She looked mortified, and Gray decided that particular look wasn’t good for his ego. He glanced down at the phone. It had been Gomez. And Zack had also called again. Looking back at Danielle, he said, “Are you okay?”
She looked around her shambles of a house, and for a second, he thought she may start crying again. He was relieved when she didn’t. Instead, she only nodded and said, “Do you want some coffee?”
Gray smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Danielle went into the kitchen, and while she was gone, he listened to the voicemail from Gomez. It said something along the lines of, “If you are still alive and you haven’t checked in with me yet, you little shit, you better be buried in a box somewhere with no cell service. Call me! Now! Damn it!” Gray grinned. It was nice that Gomez cared.
He listened to Zack’s message. It said pretty much the same thing as it had last night, only this time Zack sounded more desperate. “Hey, I know you’re busy, man. Do you want me to call the Marshalls about this? I have the card of that one Marshall who was going to set things up for Hank. Let me know. Eva’s at work today; hopefully it will keep her mind off things.”
Danielle came back in. “I’m going to shower. The coffee is brewing and the cups are… wherever you can find one.”
“Thanks,” he said. He would give her time to shower, and drink her coffee, and then they would talk.
He dialed Gomez back as he went into the kitchen. His boss answered by saying, “Where the fuck are you?”
“I’m in Sutherland Springs, Boss. I’m sorry I didn’t call you last night. It was a long day. I fell asleep.”
“In Sutherland Springs?”
“Yes, sir,” Gray said, not offering any other information.
“We need to meet today and talk about what happened yesterday. I have some other news to share with you as well.”
“Is it about Sam? Did they find Tammy?”
“No, not yet,” he said. “It’s about your lawyer friend, Danielle Thurston.”
“Oh,” he said, not wanting to tell Gomez he already knew. He was going to handle this personally. It was true that he wanted to be the first to talk to her, but he knew it was also more than that. He suddenly felt a need to protect her, from everyone.
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to get into it on the phone. Can you be at the office in two hours?”
“Give me three?”
“Alright, but you better show up. Freeman’s out of the hospital, so if you don’t get here, I’ll sick him on you.”
Gray laughed. “Thanks for the warning, sir. I’ll be there.”
As he rummaged through a box on the counter for a coffee cup, he called Zack.
“Hey!” Zack greeted as he picked up the phone.
“Hey, Norcross. I’m sorry I took so long to get back to you. How’s Eva doing?”
“She’s hanging in. I wish this brother of hers would move the fuck to Siberia already, though. Makes me sick how he just seems to keep causing her more grief.”
“Yeah, I was thinking about that too. So tell me about the... Yes!”
“Tell you about the yes?”
“Sorry, found what I was looking for, and a bonus.” Along with the cups, Gray had found a canister of sugar. He liked his coffee black and sweet. “Anyways, tell me about the letter.”
“It said he got to Illinois, but he thought he was being followed, so then he went to Mexico. He promised he would keep in touch. The letter is postmarked from someplace called Matamoros.”
That triggered something in Gray’s memory. Gilberto Sanchez was from Matamoros. “When was it mailed?”
“Hang on,” Zack told him while he went to get the envelope. “Two days ago.”
“Alright, put the envelope in a plastic bag for me. I’m in town, so if it’s okay, I’ll swing by in an hour or two and grab it.”
“Sure, what are you doing in town?”
“Long story… for over a beer sometime in the future. I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Thanks, buddy,” Zack said.
***
When Danielle came out of the bathroom, she was dressed in a pencil skirt and blouse, and she had her long hair pulled back in a ponytail. She felt better, more focused, but she was still upset. How had she not seen this coming? Ayden was truly a mastermind. She hated him even more for that, but she had to be careful. As long as Justin was still in prison, there wasn’t much she could do to the scoundrel that protected him.
“You smell good,” Gray noted when she approached him. “I found some cups. And sugar.”
She gave him a weak smile and said, “Thanks,” before pouring herself a cup. Coffee never tasted so good. She took several long sips, inviting the warmth of the coffee into her bones. “I’m sorry about last night.”
“Nothing to be sorry for,” he said. He knew she was embarrassed, but being a surprising gentleman, he tried to minimize it as much as possible. “Sit, please.” She came over to the table and sat down in the chair next to his. “Will you please tell me what’s going on? Start with how you know Ayden, and maybe throw in a little information about your brother over in Dominguez.”
Surprised, she couldn’t find the words to answer him. How did he know about Justin? She bit her lip, stuck between wanting to accuse him of investigating into her private life and letting everything she’d held in over the years come rushing out.
He hated to be the one to tell her, evident by the way he nervously ran his hand through his hair, but he explained, “It was on the news last night.”
Oh. Composing herself, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then began. “When my brother was a teenager, both of our parents passed away within two years of each other. I was at school in Boston. I... I should have been there for him.” She took another deep breath and pushed on. “My dad was in the bike business. He did restorations and worked on custom bikes. He had a shop in—”
“San Antonio,” Gray said.
“Was that on TV too?”
“No, I’m sorry, go on.”
“He had a partner when he died. The guy brought in a lot of customers, according to my dad. My mother never liked him, but my dad and my little brother thought he was okay. When Dad died, I asked his partner, who my brother was very fond of, to look after Justin until he finished school.” Her tears returned. Unable to stop them from spilling out, she wiped them with the back of her hand. “Sorry,” she apologized before going on. “It was another mistake. A huge one that influenced the path my brother was going to take in life. My dad’s partner was a criminal. A drug dealer, a gun runner, and a racist pig.”
“Ayden Styles,” Gray stated.
“Yes. Back then, I knew him as Christopher. By the time I found out who and what he was, Justin was so deeply involved, I couldn’t get him out. The saddest part is that he didn’t want out. He had been taught by a master that what he was doing was okay. He was arrested a few times for petty stuff up until a few years ago, but I didn’t know the extent of what he was actually involved in. Not until he was caught holding almost an entire kilo of coke crossing the border into Mexico. Stupid kid tried to outrun the Border Patrol. He got shot and spent a month in the hospital. They offered him probation if he would tell them who he was carrying for. He refused. He’s been in prison two-and-a-half years. He’s on th
e downward slide now, and I think he’s ready to straighten out his life.”
“Does Ayden coerce you into defending them?”
She took a sip of her coffee, unsure of how to answer. When she spoke, her voice trembled. “Not exactly. About a year ago, Justin was stabbed by a Crip member. They were trying to kill him, and almost succeeded. He was in the hospital again for a long time. I approached Ayden then. I offered him my half of the business for much less than it was worth and told him I would do my best to catch any cases involving the Brotherhood, if he would make sure that Justin was protected for the last year-and-a-half or so of his incarceration.”
Gray stared at her with that intense gaze of his. She didn’t know what it was he was thinking, but she could guess. She never should have called him. She must have been out of her mind. There was no way she could convince him now that she hadn’t taken the cocaine—that Ayden hadn’t somehow told her to, using Justin as leverage. Gray would never believe she was innocent.
“Do you think Ayden had the cocaine taken to set you up?”
Danielle was astonished. It meant a lot to hear him suggest what she had also been thinking. Still, she wasn’t completely sure she could trust him. He did, after all, work for the DEA.
“I don’t know. Anyone could have taken it, Grayson. I was the last one there, but really, no one had seen it since Monday morning. There was a whole day of people going in and out in between.”
“Did they watch all the tapes?”
“I don’t know. My attorney said she was going to find out.”
“What about the disappearance of the witness?”
“Now him, I would bet money Ayden did something to. Either he paid him to go far away, or he had him sent somewhere, probably to the morgue, against his will. These are scary dudes.”
“I just spent a weekend in a cell with the guy. Trust me, I know.”
As the one who pretended to get him out on bail, she’d known he had been locked-up as part of some sort of investigation, but she’d forgotten it involved Ayden. “Grayson, I owe you an apology.”