There was a long pause. “Jesus Christ. I’ll pull my two best detectives off what they’re working on and get them up to speed. But don’t expect them to buddy up with you and share anything about the investigation.”
“So you refuse to keep me in the loop?”
“It’s an active investigation,” Briggs began. “We’re trying to keep a lid on things. Hawkins should never have given you any information.”
But Anniston cut him off. “Just remember, the same person who killed Dack also murdered a couple of kids. We’re trying to find out who that is before he kills again.”
After ending the call, she eyed the others. “Okay, so I shared with Briggs and he’s decided to shut us out. What should I have said?”
“You did the right thing,” Sebastian agreed. “If we have no one in law enforcement left to turn to, then we’ll do this on our own.”
She plopped down on the bed, held her head in her hands. “Like you said, there has to be something we’re missing. Something that’s right in front of us.”
Raine had a thought on that. “Something occurred to me the other night after I went home from the gun range. Where is this wealthy Dietrich guy staying? No one’s really seen him except for Tessa that night at Royce’s house. There’s no scuttlebutt making the rounds. Why is that? Am I the only one who finds that odd?”
“Excellent question. I don’t know the answer, but let’s find out.”
“How?”
“There is a direct approach. I ask his business partner, Royce Buchanan. Royce kind of likes me. He has to know where the guy is living, right? The thing is I want y’all to come with me.”
“Us?” Raine said. “I don’t think so.”
“What about you, Tessa?”
“You know, I saw him at the memorial service and he looked like a man deep in sorrow. At least, that’s how he seemed to me, like a grief-stricken father. I’ll do it. I’ll go with you. I’m done letting this guy make me wonder if he’s the same kind of monster as the right-hand man.”
Tessa bumped Raine’s shoulder. “Come on, come with us.”
“Okay. But one of you should do all the talking. That man’s always made me really uncomfortable.”
Anniston made the appointment to see Royce inside the plush offices at Buchanan Industries. His secretary gave her directions. On the drive across town she turned to the other women. “Don’t you think Royce deserves to know he’s harboring his son’s killer in his own guesthouse?”
“Whoa, I’m not willing to trust Royce just yet,” Tessa said from the backseat. “I mean, do you feel that kind of confidence he isn’t mixed up in these murders in some way?”
“I’m with Tessa on this,” Raine said. “The jury’s still out to what degree we should trust that old man.”
“Tell you what. You’re both coming with me into his office. I’ll let you two judge whether or not he’s leveling with us. How’s that? You make the call on his honesty.”
“He’ll have to convince me,” Tessa warned.
In a small environment like Indigo Key, the Buchanan Industries building was about as high-rise as anything in town. At four stories, it sat on the east side looking out on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The irony of that wasn’t lost on Anniston. She swung into the parking lot, cut the engine to the SUV, and pivoted in her seat. “Why didn’t anyone tell me that Royce’s workplace overlooks the area where the bodies were dumped?”
“I thought the Indigos would’ve mentioned it,” Raine said. “It wasn’t that far offshore.”
“You’re telling me,” Anniston grumbled as she got out, her umbrella in hand. She took in the view of the coastline and then looked up at the building. “If Royce’s office turns out to be on this side, I’m beginning to get an eerie feeling.”
Raine skirted the hood, holding her own umbrella so she could share with Tessa. She waved her hand toward the top floor. “His office is in the corner, to the left.”
“That’s an almost direct line to where the shrimper netted the barrel. Let’s get out of this wet.” Anniston led the way inside, leaving the rain gear in the lobby.
Once they reached the fourth floor, Royce’s secretary—a tidy woman in her forties with her hair pulled back in a bun—ushered the three women into a lavishly decorated corner office. Royce was sitting behind his mahagony desk, and got to his feet when the women came in.
“Esther, would you bring us some fresh coffee, please.”
“Certainly, sir.”
“Have a seat. What on earth brings you out on a nasty day like today?”
Tessa and Raine got comfortable in the pair of leather club chairs in front of his desk, but Anniston remained standing. She went over to the window and stared out at the torrent of rain still coming down.
Anniston had always preferrred the direct approach. “Royce, have you been honest with me? I mean, I’m asking because it’s vital that you tell me the truth now.”
“Of course. What’s this about?”
“You have a business partner in the resort project named Werner Dietrich. He’s been staying here in town but not at the hotel. Where exactly is he living?”
Royce narrowed his eyes. “South of town there’s a gated community. I own a house there. Why?”
Anniston crossed her arms over her chest. “How do I put this? How well do you know this guy?”
“Well enough to take his money and hope there’s a healthy return on investment one day.”
“Or else Dietrich would be very pissed off. Am I right? Did Walker know that Dietrich was such a dangerous guy to do business with?”
“I was the one who found Werner and brought him in on the golf course deal. I did business with him, not Walker. I’ve already gone into this before. You were right there when I did.”
“Royce, what if I told you that big deal Walker bragged about last summer involved Dietrich.” Anniston watched his eyes bug out, watched his face go white as a sheet before the man clutched his chest.
Anniston went over to him, bent down in front of his chair. “Are you okay?”
“Pills…in…top…drawer.”
Anniston found the digitalis and shoved one under his tongue. “You have heart problems? Arrhythmia?”
Royce nodded. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes.
“Do I need to call the paramedics?”
Royce moved his head slowly from side to side.
Anniston picked up his hand, squeezed his fingers until the meds kicked in.
About that time Esther came back in with the coffee. She set down a tray holding a silver pot and four pale-green bone china cups. When she turned to do the serving, she saw Royce’s face. “What’s wrong? Is he having trouble breathing? There are pills…”
“I think we have it covered. Does this happen often?” Anniston said, turning to Esther.
Esther hesitated but then admitted the truth. “Lately, yes. A lot of people don’t understand what this man’s been through. It hasn’t even been a year since he went through this same thing with Winnie.”
“I agree. He’s had a rough time of it.”
After the pain had subsided, Royce took out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped his brow and upper lip, which had broken out in beads of sweat. Embarrassed to show such weakness, he waved the linen like a flag of surrender. Each breath labored, he finally got out the words. “You…were saying? Walker did…business with…Dietrich?”
Anniston cut her eyes toward Esther.
“Esther, I’m fine now. I’m okay. You…please, go back to your…work,” Royce ordered softly.
Anniston waited for the secretary to leave the room. “I’m reconsidering. I don’t think you’re strong enough to hear this.”
“I am. Go on. Please.”
“Okay.” She told him about the Nazi gold. She could see in Royce’s eyes a horror at the notion Walker would go after something so huge. She also could see he believed her.
“You’re saying
Dietrich killed my son?”
“You know as well as I do that he has henchmen to do that. Let me ask you something else. Did you bring Roger Baskin here to the island?”
“Baskin was recommended to me by Braden Pendleton long before he became a state senator.”
“I see. What about Dandridge?”
Royce’s words came out slowly. “Life Stone needed a pastor. Boone sent in his resume. I liked his philosophy so I recommended him to the church deacons. They got together at a meeting and agreed he was the best man for the position. I didn’t hire him, all I did was put his name into the hat.”
With great energy, Royce threw out his bony finger at Anniston. “Now, you tell me who killed my boy.”
Anniston looked at Tessa and Raine, waited for them to give the go-ahead or not. Once they both nodded, she went on, “Roger Baskin used to work for the Dixie mafia as an enforcer. He’s well-versed in murder. We think he’s working for Dietrich.”
“That son of a bitch.”
“You have a killer living in your guesthouse,” Anniston said flatly.
“You have proof?”
“I won’t go into what I have or don’t have. Mainly because those women over there are my clients. I owe it to them to hold something back to take to the cops…eventually.” But she pointed beyond the window to the view of the Gulf waters. “You want proof right now, here, today? Look out the window and beyond to the water.” When he turned his eyes to the rain coming down, she went on, “Five hundred yards from this office is where your son’s body was dumped. I guarantee you that wasn’t a coincidence.”
Royce’s jaw locked. His hands clenched into fists. “I’ll kill him myself.”
“No you won’t. I’m serious, Royce. Don’t even think like that. You may have known Baskin for two decades but when a fortune is at stake, loyalty flies out the window. We all know that. Right-hand man or not, he’s younger than you are, stronger, cunning. And if you shoot him dead, we won’t get all the answers.”
“But I may not live long enough to see him pay.”
“You will. Take your meds and do what the doctor says, you will.”
“What about Boone?”
She shook her head. “Honestly, we don’t know who Boone is. But he didn’t exist before he arrived in town.”
Royce swallowed hard, then used the handkerchief again to pat the sweat from the corners of his mouth.
“Does it sound like we’re on the right track?”
The old man bobbed his head. “I believe you are. The question is what do you want me to do?”
“Ever played poker?”
“Yes.”
“How good are you at bluffing?”
Royce’s lips curved up. “I haven’t forgotten how, if that’s what you mean.”
“Good. Because you need to act as though you still trust Baskin, totally. Will you let us run a wire into your guesthouse?”
“Absolutely. I’m surprised you asked.”
It was Anniston’s turn to grin. She spread her arms out wide. “I’m a law-abiding private detective just doing my best to earn a living. You need to let us know when there’s a clear path to the cabana.”
“You’re welcome to put a bug in my study, too. Baskin is often in there to talk business.”
“No. I’m not asking you to play informant or wear a wire. You need to understand that in Walker’s venture there are millions at stake. It pales in comparison to the return on investment from the casino deal. You can’t go questioning a killer about what he’s up to even in your own study. Are we clear on that?”
“Sure. And Anniston?”
“What?”
“Thank you.”
“No problem. I keep my word. I’m trusting you to do the same.”
Back in the Ford Explorer, Tessa was the first one to toss cold water on the deal. “I hate to bring this up, but there’s not an Indigo anywhere around who’ll be pleased with this turn of events. When Jackson finds out you trusted Royce like this, he’ll be furious.”
“Same with Mitch. He won’t understand at all why we even came here today.”
Anniston sighed. “Neither will Garret. I knew when I was standing in Royce’s office I’d have to describe the man’s emotional state in order to make my case with Garret.”
“I never would’ve believed it unless I’d seen it with my own eyes,” Raine said. “I think he was mad as a hornet when you mentioned Baskin’s betrayal.”
Tessa added, “You have instincts there, Anniston. You knew all along Royce wasn’t involved.”
“No, I didn’t. But after talking to him face to face the first time I decided he was a greedy landgrabber, a ruthless businessman, but not a murderer. And he adored his son. He would’ve given up his own life to protect Walker.”
She backed out of the visitor space and exited the parking lot, heading south. “I know it’s pouring rain, but I need to check out this house Dietrich’s living in.”
“Go for it,” Raine said. “For the first time in weeks, I feel like we’re finally getting somewhere.”
“You don’t think Royce would go after Baskin by himself, do you?” Tessa asked.
“That’s the wild card. I hope not. I need to get Sebastian in there as soon as possible to bug the place before Royce changes his mind.”
Chapter Twenty-Three - Heat
Walsh hadn’t been far off the mark.
Roger Baskin communicated with his associates through a coded message chat room. That’s how the group got wind of Dietrich’s latest madness. He’d taken things to the next level and acted on his own—bad idea even for the moneyman.
What would they do now if the irrational twit had brought down the entire house of cards? It had taken them so long to reach this point, it would be a damn shame if everything was for naught.
In his auto repair shop, Roger paced the full length of the garage. At times, it never ceased to astound him how stupid rich people could behave.
In one afternoon, Dietrich had singlehandedly sent everything into a tailspin. Everything they’d worked for, everything they’d planned was at risk. If it imploded now, they’d never get to the gold.
For years, he’d sacrificed his own life, his owns dreams, slaving away for someone else, doing their dirty work, doing their bidding.
Roger was done being Royce’s lackey—at his beck and call no more. Throwing in with Dietrich and getting to the gold had been his only chance at the life he deserved, the life he should have had years ago while still in his twenties and young enough to enjoy it. Why did he keep hooking up with losers?
It was one thing to kill a naïve pest like Ryan Connelly, who stumbled on the truth. It was quite another to eliminate a cop and get him out of their hair. But killing an entire family because one old man got rattled and worried was something else entirely. The very man who’d ordered Walker and his family dead, had now, in fact, committed a tactical blunder, one that might not be able to be corrected or fixed, one that could easily send them all to Florida’s death row.
As his computer dinged with another message, this one from Sinclair, Roger felt cheated.
Stupid old bastard, he decided, as he sent a reply back to Sinclair, Oakerson, Dandridge, and Frawley.
Chapter Twenty-Four - Heat
The Black Rum motored into port at five-fifteen in the morning under a heavy greenish fog. The pea soup had made it a major pain in the butt trying to get back to Sugar Bay. But it did provide one huge benefit. They had the shroud of mist and the cover of darkness to hide Hugo’s presence from anyone who might be watching.
Not that Mitch planned to let him leave the ship. He left Walsh under strict orders. “Stay glued to his side. No one guards him but you. We both know Hugo could easily talk his way past Prentiss, Blaine, or Jenkins.”
“Gee thanks. How do I go to the bathroom? I’m not taking him with me.”
“Lock him in his cabin if necessary. He’s to communicate with no one but you. Surely you can keep a seventy-five-year-o
ld man from getting off this boat.”
“Don’t be so sure. How do you think that old geezer’s lived this long? That’s one cagey dude. Imagine what he’d be like if he didn’t booze it up.”
“No thanks. I’m well aware we can’t fully trust him. He’ll likely explode when he finds out I’ve taken the chest, which I’m putting under lock and key in a safe place.”
“So you want me to explain it to him.”
Mitch frowned. “I’m not in the habit of asking my brothers to do my dirty work for me. All I’m asking is to keep him from going crazy so he doesn’t spoil this whole thing. I want you to call me as soon as he wakes up. I’ll let Hugo in on the plan then.”
The first thing Garret did was text Anniston that he was back. If he got a reply, fine. It meant she was awake and he’d head to the hotel. If he didn’t, he’d go home and grab a quick shower and sleep on the couch for a couple hours of much-needed shuteye.
She surprised him with a text message. How soon can you get here?
He grinned as he hefted his bag over his shoulder and started trekking down the path toward the hotel. As he walked past the front desk, he sent a wave to the pretty redhead behind the counter and headed through the lobby to the elevator. It occurred to him he needed a cover story for anyone curious enough to ask where he’d been. He decided fishing was as good as any and he had the makings of a beard to prove it.
He waited what seemed like five minutes for the elevator but when the light seemed stuck on two, he took the stairs up to the third floor and knocked on her door.
As soon as she opened it, he dropped his gear on the floor and hauled her up against his chest. As if he’d been away for months, he kissed her with a fervor he hadn’t felt before now. She tasted like warm vanilla with a hint of cinnamon. “I know I need a shower but…”
She ran her fingers through the stubble that was just beginning to soften up. “I missed you.”
He framed her face, looked into her chocolate eyes. “That’s what I like to hear.”
“So what happened? I’m dying to know.”
The Indigo Brothers Trilogy Boxed Set Page 58