“Now, cancel your cell phone. We’ve got work to do.”
“How do I know you’re not a cop?”
Jesse leaned against a wall watching Dozer pepper Mack with question after question, each time piling more paranoia onto the character of Mason. Mack seemed to be handling herself okay, in a textbook sort of way. Her weirdness factor just might work to their advantage. One could hope.
Mack was offering an elaborate explanation about why she wasn’t a cop when Sergeant Yeager interrupted her. “Mack, listen. Criminals never explain themselves to people they don’t know. As far as you’re concerned, he could be a cop. The way you handle this is to become just as paranoid. Turn all the questions back on him.”
“But what if he won’t back down?”
Jesse jumped in. “You’ve got to be able to make him think that you’re about to walk away from the deal. Look, you know, in high school, the quickest way to get a date was to act like you didn’t want one, right?”
Mack cleared her throat. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”
“You didn’t date in high school?”
“I did. Once. A guy named Thomas.”
“So did you play hard to get?”
“Um, kind of.”
“Let me guess. He showed up at your doorstep only to be met by your dad and his shotgun.”
“Well … not quite. He showed up at my door with his shotgun and totally freaked my mother out. We had a common interest in guns, and he was just bringing one to show me. Turned out I was a better shot than him, so the relationship didn’t last.”
Kyle appeared. “Hey, guys.”
“What are you doing here?” Mack asked, standing to greet him with a hug.
“Just for support. For Jesse.”
Everyone looked at Jesse, who shrugged. “Its complicated.”
Sergeant Yeager walked back into the crowded office. His expression quieted the room as he focused on Mack. “You ready?” he asked.
“Um, yes.” She tilted her head and looked closely at the sergeant. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. You have the number?”
“I’ve got it,” Mack said.
“Wiz, recording equipment ready?”
“Yes. Tested twice.”
“Just leave a brief message for him to call back if he doesn’t answer. We’re ready when you are.”
“All right,” Mack said in a calm voice. “Give me a moment.” She bowed her head and prayed, mumbling to herself as if no one else were in the room. Wiz and Dozer shifted uncomfortably. Kyle just smiled. Jesse looked at Sergeant Yeager, who didn’t seem to notice what was going on. He was staring at the wall, looking like he was a million miles away.
“We can’t hear you,” Dozer interrupted.
“That’s okay. I’m not talking to you.” She finished with a quiet, “Amen,” and then took the phone in her shaking hand. Her eyes darted around the room. “Gentlemen,” she said, “it’s feeling a little crowded in here.”
Sergeant Yeager gestured toward the door, and everyone filtered into the hallway. Jesse and the sergeant stood opposite each other, leaning against the walls with their arms crossed.
“You okay?” Jesse said quietly. The sarge looked up. “You seem a little out of it.”
They heard the soft musical tones of a number being dialed. Several long seconds ticked by as they listened for Mack to say something, but instead she was suddenly in the doorway, looking disgruntled.
“What’s wrong?” Jesse asked.
“The number is no longer in service.”
Jesse tilted his head toward the ceiling. “So much for the power of prayer.”
Mack seemed irritated. “Looks like there’s more than one disconnection here.”
Chapter 30
Ron sent everyone to lunch. He needed time to think. So many things were going wrong. And Laura’s admissions, among other things, complicated matters. He began to distrust his emotions. Pride tempted him with the idea that busting up a huge narcotics ring would prove every young jerk wrong who had told him he was long overdue to retire.
But bringing the narcotics factor into the equation made everything more dangerous. Knowing that this wasn’t any ordinary auto-theft ring forced him to change his course of action. If the stolen vehicles were indeed crack rentals, it was almost certain they were dealing with the mob.
Back in Chicago, Ron had his fair share of run-ins with the mob, including a bust that went all the way to a suburban mayor and some of his cops. Sometimes the trials were scarier than the arrests. People all over the city started turning up dead whenever the mob was involved in a trial.
Busting an auto-theft ring meant arresting the guys who brought in the parts and then making deals with them to get to the bigger guys. That wasn’t going to work if this was a mob operation. If his suspicions were right, the only way to make it to the top of this ring would be to get someone on the inside, most likely deep cover. That would take months. Ron had gone into deep cover once for two and half months. It had nearly gotten him killed … and divorced.
A white paper sack dropped onto the table in front of him. Ron twisted around to find Jesse, who handed him a coffee.
“Large, thick, and black,” Jesse said.
“Thanks.”
“Turkey, extra mayo.”
“Don’t tell Nan.”
Jesse pulled up a chair and sat across the table from him. “I want to talk to you about something.”
Ron unwrapped the sandwich. He suddenly realized how hungry he was. “Shoot.”
“As you know, I’ve dealt with Mason Capps in Henderson. It was a small-time drug deal, nothing to do with auto theft. He doesn’t have that long of a rap sheet.”
“What about him?”
“Mason has always been well connected, not because he’s smart, but because he has this ability to become everyone’s loyal dog. People trust him just enough. And so he rides on the coattails of others’ hard work.”
“What does that have to do with our situation? Mason has cut ties with us. We have no way of contacting him.”
“I know someone who can. His former girlfriend. We arrested her along with Mason in Henderson.”
“And?”
“I’m positive she would agree to be a confidential informant.”
Ron set down his sandwich. “Not a good idea.”
“It would work. She’s got it in for Mason, and I know I could get her to cooperate. He sold her out during the bust that we made.”
“No. We’re not using informants.”
“Why?”
“They can become a real thorn in your side.”
“I’ve used informants a dozen times. You just have to know how to control your snitch.”
“You can’t completely control informants, Jesse. They can create complicated situations. And in this instance, if you’re talking about an informant who is out for revenge, you’re doubling the likelihood that something could go wrong.”
“Human intelligence, time and time again, has proven to be the most reliable asset we have in undercover work. The CIA started phasing out human intel in the early nineties and look what’s happened to them.”
“Look, Jesse, I’m working on this, okay? I realize a gigantic wrench has just been thrown into the situation. But Mason was a fluke to begin with. Our original idea was to send you guys into bars to start taking names and making contacts. That’s still a feasible idea.”
“Mason is a better line in. I can get him back. I’m certain I can get Brandi to work for us.”
“Brandi, huh.” Ron shoved the rest of the sandwich in his mouth and crinkled up the sack. He took his coffee, stood, and said, “No. We’re going back to the original plan. Now let’s get this body shop ready, okay? If we’re up and running by next week, we’ll still be ahead of schedule.”
“Um … weren’t we supposed to turn back there? I thought we were going to check out some bars.”
“I’m supposed to be checking out bars. Y
ou’re supposed to be going home and starting your real sabbatical.” Jesse glanced at Kyle. “Don’t look so innocent. You’re not here just for me. There’s something in this for you too.”
“I’ve been praying all morning for you.”
“For safety and protection? Did you pray that Psalm 91?”
“Yes. And about a dozen more. I also prayed that your heart would be open to hearing God’s voice in your life.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Don’t you want to hear God’s voice?”
“I don’t have to,” Jesse sighed. “I’ve got Mack. She’s like his mouthpiece. I once worked with a partner—this guy named Fred who was infatuated with Celine Dion. Horrible. She’s all he would talk about. I’m kind of missing Fred, if you get what I’m saying.”
“You obviously believe in God and his power or you wouldn’t want his protection.”
“Yeah, but don’t you think Mack takes it a little overboard? I mean, you’re a priest—”
“Pastor.”
“Whatever. The point is that if she wants to talk about it, maybe she should be a pastor, not an undercover cop. There are thousands of other occupations that would suit her just fine. Why a cop? Why an undercover cop?”
“It is rather exciting. I can see the appeal.”
“Undercover work isn’t for people who say things like ‘rather exciting,’ and it’s definitely not for people who say, ‘Blessed are those who are flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.’”
“That’s clever.”
“No, it sounds like the kind of thing you’d see on a church billboard. There’s one by my house. And on hot days, they love putting this one up: ‘Repent now or you’ll be headed for a place hotter than this.’”
“Well, that’s just tacky. From everything I’ve seen, Mack is going to be a great undercover cop. You should’ve seen her in that bar. She was amazing.”
“That was one time.”
“What does a cop need to do for other cops to give her a break?”
“I know this is hard for you to understand. There’re just a lot of unspoken rules with cops. You’ve got it easy. You have the Ten Commandments, and if you follow those, you’re in the club. We have a code of conduct and a badge that gives us authority, but we’re bonded together by something more than those things. It’s a sense of trust. I have to trust that the person I’m working with is going to make decisions that aren’t going to get me killed. And if I’m in a dangerous situation, I have to believe they would die trying to save me.”
“Mack seems like that kind of person to me. She scrambled to your rescue at the bar. When Ron asked her to go, she didn’t think twice about it.”
Jesse eyed him. “Why do you keep coming to her defense?”
“I suppose we Christians have our code of conduct too.”
Jesse leaned back into his seat and kept his eyes on the road. “Don’t get me wrong. She’s nice. And a hard worker. Just because you can do all the right things doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the right person for the job. That’s all I’m saying. But enough about that. I promised you some advice. So, is there a specific woman you’re interested in or is the sky the limit here?”
“Uh, yeah, there’s someone I’m … well, I’m interested in. I mean, I don’t know her real well. I know she’s … I don’t know, I just like her. We seem to have a … connection, or maybe that’s too strong of a word. Maybe it’s more like a—”
“Kyle, we’re off to a shaky start here. Women are looking for men who are confident. I’m not talking cockiness. Walk into any bar in America and you can see that approach crash and burn by the second. But confidence, that works.”
“That’s the problem. When I get around women, I lose my vocabulary and my voice. I start squeaking and then apologizing and then stuttering and next thing I know, she’s saying, ‘I’m sorry, you’re going to have to excuse me.’”
“Just remember, they’re as frightened of you as you are of them.” Jesse decided to show one of his lessons-learned cards. “I’ve been married before.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“I don’t talk about it much. I told Chaplain Greer, though.”
“How long were you married?”
“Eleven months.” Jesse held up his hand to stop whatever comment Kyle might make. “I take full responsibility for it. I always have. I know lots of things can make a relationship fail.”
“Why did yours fail?”
“Irreconcilable similarities.”
“What does that mean?”
“I married a carbon copy of myself. Shanna. We came through the academy together, went to undercover school together, and worked on several of the same cases. I thought I had married the girl of my dreams, but basically I just ended up marrying myself, and two of me in one relationship was more than the ‘I do’ could handle.” He glanced at Kyle. Chaplain Greer often had the same expression. It wasn’t shock or disgust, or even pity, but something else Jesse couldn’t quite put his finger on. “What I’m trying to say is that maybe the women you’re trying to date are too much like you.”
“Yeah … I see what you mean.”
“What about this woman you like? Are you two similar?”
“I would’ve never dreamed of dating someone like her. It was a fluke that we met.”
“There you go. Another rule of thumb, never date someone you work with.”
Kyle’s excitement diminished. “Oh.”
“You work with her?”
“No. Not technically. I kind of worked with her on a … We did this thing together, but that’s over. I guess, technically, we’re not working together.”
“It would be a bummer to lose it all over a technicality,” Jesse said and smiled. Kyle didn’t seem to find it funny. “I’m kidding. Lighten up.”
“I can’t. God is telling me some very strange things about you right now.”
Jesse let off the accelerator. “What is he saying? Is it about my marriage?”
Kyle offered a small, wry smile. “I’m kidding. Lighten up.”
Jesse blew out a breath and gripped the steering wheel. “Cute.”
“So what do I do? The moment I think I’m going to ask her out, I clam up. Plus, there’s a part of me that feels like she’s going to think I’m a very unexciting person.”
“Not anymore. When this job is over, tell her about your brief but galvanizing stint in undercover work.”
Kyle slid down in his seat. “Uh, yeah. I don’t think she’d be too impressed by that. What else?”
“Well, what do you do in your spare time? Something like bungee jumping or kayaking would be good,” Jesse said.
Kyle thought for a moment. “I do like to pontoon. And I love motorcycle racing.”
“Good! That’s exciting. What kind of bike do you race?”
“Oh, I don’t race them. I like watching it on TV.”
Jesse pulled his truck to the curb and took out his wallet. He handed Kyle a twenty.
“Buy her dinner?” he asked.
Jesse laughed. “That’s a start, but this is for a taxi.”
“Why?”
“There’s something I’ve got to go do, and you can’t be with me when I do it.”
“Why not?”
“Well, if you feel comfortable lying to a certain member of your church who helped you kill time during a sabbatical, then you’re welcome to come.”
Kyle opened the door. “Is it dangerous?”
“Not in a bodily harm sort of way.”
Chapter 31
Captain Gates didn’t look pleased to see him. “You’re back,” she said in a flat tone.
“Get used to it. I’m going to be here a lot until you can prove to me why this is a good idea.”
Gates gestured for him to shut the door. “You are not backing out on me, are you? We’ve come too far.”
“Our suspect broke contact.”
“What happened?”
“I’m no
t sure. His phone was disconnected. Maybe he suspected something. Maybe he didn’t pay his bill. Either way, we’re back to square one.”
Her jaw muscles quivered. “All right. So we’re at square one. We can still make this thing work.”
Ron sat down. “I don’t feel good about it.”
“You’re just going to let everything they say about you be true. Is that it? You’re too old for this job. You can’t handle the pressure. Similar things that were said to me, but the difference is that I’m not buying in to it and you are.” She leaned forward on her desk. “Ron, there’s more talent in you than all of the UC guys in narcotics put together. You can do this.”
“And I am going to do this. On one condition. That I do the UC work.”
“What?”
“My team isn’t experienced enough to handle a narcotics case. Since the body shop is now a cover for a drug investigation, I can’t take my chances with a team that’s not ready. They can cover me, but I have to make the contacts.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Laura snapped. “You’re going to stick out everywhere you go.”
“I know how to work this thing, and I know how to get to whoever it is that’s using these crack rentals.”
Laura leaned back in her chair. “You’re supposed to be on light duty, which means no suspect contact.”
“True,” Ron said with a small smile. “So if this doesn’t work, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble.”
“You’ve got Jesse Lunden.”
“Jesse has a lot of talent, but he doesn’t have the finesse it’s going to take to earn their trust. At least in the time frame we’re talking about. Jesse is quick on his feet, and I’m obviously quite a bit slower, but slow and pathetic can work to your advantage sometimes.” Ron could see the apprehension building on Laura’s face. “This is nonnegotiable for me. Either I go in, or we don’t go in at all.”
“We’re running out of time. How long will it take you to infiltrate?”
“Ordinarily, a few weeks of hanging out in bars and getting to know the players.”
Laura groaned.
“But,” Ron added, “I’ve already been doing that.”
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