Callye's Justice
Page 9
She nodded and squeezed his neck tight. “Then it’s going to be good. You always make it right.”
Her little heart would shatter if she knew the truth. He wasn’t the white knight she thought he was.
With Megan still velcroed to his neck, Justice stepped out of the way when the tech came in to wheel Cas down for her tests.
“Megan. Why don’t we go get something to drink?” Valerie crooned.
“No, Mommy. Uncle Justice needs me.”
He looked into Valerie’s green eyes to silently plead for a few minutes. At her nod, some of the tension released him, and he walked over to a chair. The kid wasn’t as light as she looked, but it was such a comforting weight. For just a little while he could play the part, enjoy her confidence in him for as long as it would last.
“Mommy said Aunt Callye got hurt by a bad man, but you saved her. Thank you for making sure she was here.”
He heaved a sigh, fighting the feeling of being a fraud. “Your aunt is the bravest woman I’ve ever seen.”
“You’re gonna marry her, aren’t you? Mommy told her friend that you were Aunt Callye’s um—” her forehead puckered and she seemed to be digging for the right word, “—hunkilicious?” Her lips frowned. “I don’t know that word, but anyway, Mommy said you were that to Aunt Callye and that one day we would be hearing bells. Why do we have to go to school?”
His mind was tripping, trying to follow her thought path. School? Oh. Bells. He chuckled and ruffled her hair. “Not school bells, church bells. It’s what people say when someone is planning on getting married.”
Megan thought it over for a few minutes and nodded. “And that word, hunki…whatever it was, what does that mean?”
His face heated up. “Ask your mommy that one.” So he was “hunkilicious”? He grinned slightly and then looked around. Wedding bells wouldn’t be tolling for them. Soon he wouldn’t be anything more to Cas than a painful memory.
He heard a throat clear and he looked over to see Chase standing in the door.
“Hi, Uncle Chase.”
Chase moved closer to them. “Hey, princess. How are you today?”
“Aunt Callye isn’t feeling good. She needs Uncle Justice to work his magic.”
Justice met Chase’s gaze and gave a slight shake of his head. He reached up to pull Megan’s arms from around his neck. “Let’s go find your mommy. Make sure the invisible man is here,” he murmured to Chase before he took Megan’s hand and led her into the hall.
Valerie was just walking in and he touched her arm. “I thought we could head down for a snack. The nurse can call us.”
“Something wrong?” Valerie whispered the question in his ear.
“No. Just need a little snack.”
Once in the lounge, he settled Megan with a juice and cookie. He gave Valerie a slight tug and pulled her to the side. He kept his eyes trained on Megan while he lowered his voice. “I’ve got to go. Call me as soon as you hear anything?”
“I don’t understand.”
“I need to work some things out, and right now Cas needs her family with her. You have my cell number. Just call to let me know what they say, okay?”
Her brows knit in confusion. “Um, all right. I still don’t understand. She needs her family, all of us here.”
He dropped his gaze. “Look, I have to go back to work.” He squeezed her arms gently and turned to Megan. “Hey, kiddo, I’ve got to go back to work for a little while. I’ll see you soon. If you need anything, anything at all, you call me and I’ll be right here.”
She nodded and reached out for him. “I love you, Uncle Justice.”
He kissed her forehead. “I love you too, kiddo.” He had to get away, far away, and start actively hunting his enemy. He headed out.
This office had been his second home for so long. Then Cas had come and he was able to live more of a life. Since Rivera and his garbage moved in, he was back to living here again. He went up to the tactical room. Inside, his team sat around the white table, each face set in a grim line. He met each man’s eyes as he sat down with them.
“So, as you all know, Dalton Bismarck was the one who—” His jaw clenched, his fist knotted and he swallowed hard. “But he wasn’t the man behind it. What I need to know is who hired him and why.”
“The sketches didn’t pan out.” Bobby spoke up. “The only person I could get to even look at the sketch said he couldn’t help me with this one.” He picked up the sketch of the younger man. “He’s the one who’s got them all afraid.”
Chase lifted his brow. “There were a couple of busboys at Sandzis who said they didn’t know either man, but the look in their eyes told me plain and clear they were lying.”
Mickey nodded his head in agreement. “I ran into that a couple of times. These guys obviously have the entire community hooked in tight. Not even the threat of jail would shake my C.I.’s tongue loose.”
Justice put a thumb and a finger at the corners of each eye and slid them to meet at the bridge of his nose. He looked down at the sketch of the younger man. This was the one they feared. Justice would make it loud and clear that this dirtbag wasn’t the one they should be afraid of.
He slid the picture back on the table. “This is the one we’re going to get moving on.”
The three men in the room nodded their agreement.
“Then let’s find out who he is, and why he’s got a death wish.”
He saw Chase’s censuring look but waved it off. “Mickey, get to your flea. See if there isn’t a way to rattle his cage. I need him. Bobby, you take one of the busboys. Chase and I’ll take the other one. Between the three of them, we’ve got to come up with something.”
They got up and gathered their gear before heading out. Justice had just cleared the door when he heard someone calling his name. He looked up to find Director David Barker headed his way. “Hey, Director.”
“How’s Callye?”
“Hanging on.”
The older man nodded, inhaled, and set his mouth hard. “I won’t step in the way. But I will be monitoring the game from the sidelines. You four can only step so far out of bounds before I can’t cover for you. Use your head when bending or downright breaking the rules, got it?”
Justice nodded. At least there would be some cushion. “We all do what we need to do.”
“Watch your ass.”
“Noted.” Justice turned and walked out to the lot. Now that Cas was safe, he wouldn’t pull any punches in making sure she stayed that way. He unlocked his car and jumped in. Chase settled into the seat next to him and Justice sped towards Sandzis.
Chapter Thirteen
Justice parked in the alley behind the restaurant. It was the perfect spot to watch the back door of Sandzis.
“So what happened at the hospital?” Chase asked.
“Megan’s a scared, confused little girl. Her aunt’s been hurt and she thinks that all it takes is…” He shot a corner glance at Chase. “The kid thinks all I have to do is say the word and everything is going to be fine.”
“You don’t think you can measure up?”
“Hell, we know I’m no hero.” The thought of breaking the little girl’s heart was almost more than he could take. “Focus. That’s all. I just need to focus. Now that I know where Cas is and that she’s safe, I can do my job. Find the asshole and rip…” Chase frowned at him again. “Bring him in.”
A movement at the back door drew Justice’s attention. “There’s our boy.” He climbed out and closed the distance between himself and the busboy. “Hey, Rodney.”
The young man’s gaze darted around them. Then he took a minute to breathe, settled back on his heels and leveled his gaze at Justice. He could tell the kid was nervous, a rabbit watching for the hounds.
“So, Rodney, I think we should have a talk.” Justice walked up to the kid’s side. “See, some friends of mine showed you a picture, and your mouth said you didn’t know the dude, but your eyes said you did. So I thought maybe we could sit down to
talk it over.”
Rodney inched back a few steps. He looked ready to bolt. “I don’t know nothing.”
Chase moved around to the side, ready to pounce if the kid dashed off.
“All right, well, I was thinking maybe you just needed to study the picture some more. Maybe something would jog your memory.”
“No, man, I don’t know nothing,” Rodney said again.
Chase’s lips curled. “We know you weren’t an English major.”
“Even if I knew the dude, which I don’t, I couldn’t tell you nothing.” He shook his head. “I need to get back to work.”
Justice pressed into the kid’s face. “You know, I’m getting real sick of all this shit. I keep getting dicked around, and I’m about to go off. Now my question is, do I put you in a box or do you point me in the right direction?”
The kid’s face paled and he backed away. “I swear I don’t know nothing, man. I ain’t lyin’.”
“All right.” Justice followed him to the back door of the kitchen. “Maybe we’ll just hang out here for a while. The veal piccata—” he pressed his fingertips to his lips and kissed the air, “—to die for.”
“Why you sweatin’ me? I ain’t done nothing. I’m just working.”
Chase nodded and placed an arm across the kid’s shoulders. “So are we. But I think you may know something that can help us get our job done. Then we’ll leave you alone.”
“No. I can’t help.” Rodney turned and scurried inside, swinging the door shut tight behind him.
Justice squashed the urge to run after the kid. Things were going nowhere fast. He felt Chase watching him, waiting for their next move. “Come on,” Justice said and headed back to the car.
“Aren’t we going in after him?”
“What’s the point? We know where the little turd works, where he lives, and we know he isn’t smart enough to figure out how to dodge us.” He grabbed his cell and dialed up Mickey. “Hey, Mick, you get anywhere?”
“Actually, Bug has something to tell us. He’s agreed to a meet, but he says neutral territory.”
“When and where?”
Mickey muffled the phone and then came back. “Hudson Glen, the underground garage, in one hour.”
“Hudsen Glen? All right. See you then.” Justice flipped off the phone. “Don’t know how Mickey did it, but the flea decided to talk.” His knee bounced in irritation as he sat staring through the windshield at the restaurant.
“Cool your heels.” Chase sounded almost as irritated as Justice felt.
“I just need this over with.”
“I understand that, buddy. So what happens after?”
“What do you mean?”
“When you nail the slime bag, where does it go from here with Callye and you?”
Justice shrugged. He couldn’t think about that right now. Not if he wanted to keep his head clear for the job. “I guess we’ll see.”
“Yeah.” Chase strummed his fingers on his armrest. “Listen, I don’t know what happened between you. One minute things seem fine, next one she’s thrown you out because she blames you? Justice, she didn’t blame you before. Why would it have changed?”
She had time for her memory to clear and she was able to see that he was always going to be a threat to her and the rest of her family, that’s what changed. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.” Justice’s cell rang. “Bernard.”
“Justice? It’s Valerie.”
“What happened?”
She sniffled and tried to catch her breath. “She’s slipped into a coma. The doctor said that a mass is putting pressure on her brain. Blood is pooling, and…”
The world spiraled around Justice. “And?” This was it. Cas was really going to die. Please don’t take her from me.
“The doctor said they were going to try some medication to see if the swelling could be reduced, but if that didn’t work they would have to go in and try to relieve the pressure.”
“Surgery? Brain surgery?” That was so risky. He should be at the hospital with Cas. But he needed to take care of business first. “I’ll be back there later. I’ve got something to take care of.”
He could almost see the look she must be wearing. “Justice?”
“Everything will be all right, Valerie. I’ll be there after a while.”
Brain surgery. He scrubbed his fingers across his forehead. Was this nightmare never going to end? What more would Cas have to suffer, all because he was stupid enough allow her to get close to him?
“Jus?”
He shook his head. “We meet with Bug in a little bit.”
“No, we need coffee, then you need to get to the hospital where you belong. Me and Mick can handle the meet.”
If one more person tried to tell him what he needed to do, Justice wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep from causing a lot of bodily damage. Even if the person he ended up throttling was Chase. Justice started the car and pulled off down the road to the mini-mart. “There, go get your damn coffee.”
Chase slid out and headed for the convenience shop. Chase was grating on his last nerve. Hell, everything was crawling under his skin. Heat prickled his neck and his muscles tensed tight. If he didn’t do something, he was going to explode.
Not too long ago, he’d been working a case, a coordinated effort with the county sheriff’s office. An officer went down and Justice lost it. He lunged forward and slammed the perp’s head into the ground. The department filed it as resisting arrest. He still caught hell for it and had been cautioned about his temper. But this time, this time was different. It hit far too close. The rein he usually tried to keep on his rage was sliding from his grasp. He was losing control and there was no way he could get it back.
The door opened and Chase climbed in. “It won’t make this any better.”
“What?”
“Losing it now.”
“We should head for Hudsen just to make sure we’re not walking into the rat’s nest.”
Everything was quiet as they drove up the alley and turned into the dark underground garage. In places, the cement was crumbling. All around them were signs that the homeless had used this place as shelter.
It was also a perfect place for drug deals, and for people to end up on the missing persons list. He backed against the wall, the front end facing the exit. If needed, they could be gone in a hurry.
Mickey showed up only a few minutes later, backed right next to Justice and climbed out, his snitch following behind him.
The junkie looked like a dog that’d been kicked one too many times.
Justice and Chase moved to them. “So, Bug, Mickey says you got something to say?”
The dirty lump nodded his head. “But this didn’t come from me, I don’t need no bullet in my brain.”
Justice rubbed his neck. “You make it worth my while to save your scrawny hide.”
Another nod, and in the dim light Justice could see the dust floating from the mass of dirty clothes. “The young guy? Name’s Charlie. Don’t know a last name so don’t ask me. He’s the one who sees that all the merchandise flows though easy-like. If there’s any kink in the chain, he gets it smoothed, no matter who gets clobbered in the process. He works for Abrahms.” Bug sniffed and shuffled. “He was the other guy you was asking about. The old man don’t do the work himself. He likes to watch but don’t get his hands dirty, ya know? He don’t like anything left behind that might could give him away.”
Justice flickered a look at Mickey, then at Chase. “Could explain the explosion.” He turned back to Bug. “Abrahms run the show?”
Bug’s nose twitched. “I only know Abrahms. Jarold Abrahms, he’s above Charlie.”
He wasn’t telling them everything. Justice felt it in his bones, could read it in Bug’s eyes. Blow up now and shred the kid, or take the information and run with it. “You know where to find him?”
Bug searched the darkness, trying to study the walls. His head twitched. “Look man, I said too much already.”
“He’s developed a taste for some Italian joint. Sand something.”
“Sandzis?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
Justice walked away, his fist pounding into his other palm. He spun back to face Bug. “Did he have anything to do with Cas’s getting hurt?”
The skin beneath the dirt paled visibly. The man shook, whether from jonesing for a fix or from fear, Justice he wasn’t sure. “Yeah, no, maybe. Look, I don’t know. I know he’s pretty pissed off. You guys got a lot of enemies, ya know.”
Justice nodded grimly. “Obviously.”
Bug fidgeted, shifting from one foot to the other. “I told ya all I know. I need to get outta here.”
“Go on. Beat it,” Justice growled before turning back to the car. He opened the door and looked across the roof at Mickey slipping Bug a twenty. After Bug disappeared into the back of the dark building, Justice climbed into the car.
“So what’s next?”
“Lunch.” He waited for Chase to get in and then he shot off, back to Sandzis.
“We should get frequent flier meals,” Chase joked offhand. “I’m going to be sick of the smell of tomato sauce.”
Justice parked, waiting for Mickey to pull in beside him. He slid out of the car and Chase followed him. “Bobby on his way?”
Mickey walked around the front and joined them. “No, he’s got the other kid on the ropes.”
Justice led the small procession into the front door and they scanned the room. He saw Abrahms seated in the back. He nodded at the team and they walked back to Abrahms’ table.
Justice stood next to the quarry, Mickey and Chase angling into position around them. “Jarold Abrahms, I think we need to have a little conversation.” Justice pulled over a chair and sat right next to Abrahms.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?”
“Oh yeah, I think you do. This past week a woman was grabbed from the parking lot out front. She was an agent’s, this agent’s, fiancée. They didn’t treat her very well. Then someone tried to kill the both of us. A little bird told me you know something about it. Since you were in here that night, you can see how I would think you might.”