Mob Justice

by Morgan Kelley

  * * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *

  Thursday

  Mid-Morning

  They waited for Brandon Ames to leave his gym. When he came out, he found them leaning on his ride.

  “Uh, cop here, you can mosey along unless you want to turn yourself in, Croft.”

  Oh, he had news for him.

  That wasn’t happening.

  “Uh, mob here, and unless you tell us why you are doing illegal things for Commissioner Raye, you’re going for a long ride in the desert.”

  The man tried to get away.

  Greyson dropped his arm over his shoulder and tried to make it look friendly.

  You know…in case anyone was watching them.

  “What do you want?” Brandon Ames asked.

  “Eloise Wayne.”

  The man tensed at the mere mention of her name. That told them everything they needed to know.

  “We know about the DNA test. We know how Raye made you do his dirty work for him. We even know that you questioned the relative. We want the details. Now.”

  He clammed up.

  Oh, well, Greyson had a way around that.

  “We just put drugs in your trunk. We told the police the color of the car. I suggest you talk fast. We’ll be fine. You…not so much.”

  Dimitri looked at his watch. “Brandon, they’ll be here in a few minutes.”

  He began sweating.

  Big time!

  “Raye won’t get you out of it. In fact, he’s been known to have lots of cops die around him when they know shit. I suggest, to save your life, you spill it. Once they find those drugs, you’re going to lock up, and you won’t make it out.”

  That clearly freaked him out.

  “The commissioner asked me to find Peyton Muller. I went to her house, pretended to be one of those reunion shows, and talked about her DNA. I asked her about some relatives.”

  “And you got a name.”

  “Yes. I got a bunch of names.”

  “Who?”

  He began rattling them off.

  Dimitri stopped him at Brent Hendricks. That was the guy they couldn’t get their hands on to interview. He was not home on their two attempts. He’d tried once with Poppy, and once with Tessa. Both times, they assumed he was out working, since it was tax season, and he was an accountant.

  “What did Peyton Muller tell you about him?” Dimitri asked.

  “That he’s been a recluse for years. He’s in his late fifties, and he’s all about sticking close to home. No one visits him, and he still lives in the same place all these years. He slammed the door in Peyton’s face the one time she went there.”

  “How are they related?” Greyson asked.

  “Peyton is his aunt. It’s her sister’s boy, and she called him odd.”

  “So what happened after you got the name?” Greyson asked.

  “I told Jeffrey, and that’s it. He didn’t tell me why he wanted the name—just to get it. He gave me some cash, I did the deal, and I was done.”

  Well, well, well.

  It looked like they were on the right track.

  “Grey, let’s go. The cops,” Dimitri stated, as a police car was seen driving down the street.

  They walked to their ride.

  “What about the drugs?” he yelled.

  Dimitri turned off his camera.

  “I wouldn't tell the commissioner, or this little video clip will be on social media, and you will lose your job.”

  “But the drugs!”

  Greyson laughed.

  Brandon Ames watched as the car drove by, but all the people in the parking lot looked at him like he was some drug buying lunatic.

  As he opened the trunk of his ride, there was nothing inside.

  “They’re gone,” he shouted, realizing he’d been played.

  Big time.

  Dimitri and Greyson pulled away, and they were amused by how easy that had been.

  “Well, what do we do now?” Dimitri asked.

  Oh, that was easy.

  “Let’s go break into Brent’s home. If he’s there, let’s put him down. You know…just to be safe.”

  Dimitri was good with that.

  He was an animal.

  Someone had to do it. He would definitely take one for the team.

  * * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *

  Poppy wanted to cross something off her list. The entire time that they were out, it was on her mind. Poppy couldn’t shake it. There was this niggling feeling that it had to be done.

  “Can we head to the detective’s house who worked on my mother’s case? I want to question him again, and maybe this time I might pick something up.”

  Emma could do that.

  “Chris?”

  “We should be safe. Emma, you stay in the ride. You’re the most recognizable out of the three of us. I might pass as unnoticeable.”

  She agreed.

  Emma got the directions, and they headed there. When they arrived, Chris and Poppy headed toward the door.

  She knocked.

  No one answered.

  “His car is here. It’s the same one that was in the driveway the last time we came here.”

  Chris began looking in the windows, trying to see if the man was there.

  That’s when he saw it, and it wasn’t pretty.

  “Um, let’s go.”

  “What?” she asked.

  He grabbed her arm, and they ran to the car. This wasn’t good. They couldn’t be there.

  “Emma! Let’s go!”

  She waited for them to hop into the ride before pulling away.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I saw him.”

  “And?”

  “One bullet hole to his forehead. He’s dead. I don’t think that’s a coincidence, and we don’t need to be seen here. Back to Sky Villa. It feels like a setup.”

  She agreed.

  A dead cop, a Croft, and two ex-cops?

  Oh, yeah.

  That was a recipe for something dangerous.

  “Call Greyson. Tell him to get in. Now,” she said. “The shit is about to hit the fan.”

  And none of them needed to wear that.

  * * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *

  They went to Brent Hendricks’ home, and while they knew that breaking and entering was dangerous, they didn’t have a choice.

  Dimitri wanted to catch the man, and it mattered.

  So, they did it.

  As Greyson covered him, Dimitri picked the lock. He did it fast, he did it with gloves on, and he didn’t hesitate to get them inside.

  Once the door was open, it was like any other apartment. It was lived in, there were books all over, and there was a recliner.

  It screamed middle-aged reclusive accountant.

  Heading into the other rooms, they found a knife lying on the counter.

  “I think that’s from Poppy’s house,” Dimitri said. “It looks like hers.”

  Yeah, Greyson was edgy.

  So far, they didn’t see a single thing that led them to believe that this man was a lunatic. The knife…many people had them. If they wanted to pursue this, they needed more.

  As they headed into the bedroom, they saw it.

  Yeah, that was definitely more, and then some.

  The walls, all over his bedroom, were covered with pictures of Poppy. They all looked recent. Above them, there were scribbles.

  Curses.

  Anger.

  Perverse words.

  “Someone is unhinged,” Greyson said, video recording the whole place in case something happened, and this got buried by the commissioner. After all, he was now involved.

  Yeah, he was aware that this man was nuts.

  “He’s not here. Let’s get out of this den of crazy. We’ll put Ilan on the place. He’ll watch it.”

  “Call Emma and have her get Poppy indoors. She’s not safe. This guy is nuts,” Greyson stated.

  As he was pulling out his phone, it rang.

&n
bsp; It was Chris.

  “What’s up?”

  “Get home! NOW!”

  “What’s going on?” Greyson asked, grabbing Dimitri by the shirt and dragging him out.

  “We found a dead detective. It’s the one Poppy and Dimitri interviewed. It feels like a setup. Poppy and Dimitri’s DNA are in there.”

  Shit!

  That was not good.

  “We found the killer,” Greyson said, as they raced to their vehicle.

  “Who?”

  “Brent Hendricks. We’ll meet you at home. Get there, and stay in until we do.”

  “Emma thinks she knows who killed Libby,” he added.

  “Who?”

  “We’ll tell you when you get there.”

  Greyson hung up.

  Dimitri was calling Ilan, putting him on the place. At least they’d have eyes on Brent—for when he killed him.

  And that was exactly what he was going to do.

  For his woman.

  * * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *

  He saw them break into his home. He stood there watching as they went right to his apartment, entered it, and touched his things.

  Well, this wouldn’t do.

  He was going to have to kill the man first since he seemed to be in his way. Dimitri Gideon was going to have to die. If he wanted to get to Eloise, her new lover needed a bloody end.

  And he’d get it.

  Then he’d claim his lovely Eloise.

  It was time.

  Now, he was pissed.

  And he was going to do something about it.

  * * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *

  When they all got back to Sky Villa it was time to discuss what they found, and what to do about the dead cop’s body. More importantly, the DNA that was going to be found in the man’s home.

  When Dimitri came in, he went to Poppy and held her tightly in his arms.

  “Chris said you found him.”

  Yeah, his face said it all.

  “What?” she asked.

  “We have to show you what we found. We have to show you what’s chasing you, and I promise he will not get you.”

  She was nervous.

  That didn’t sound good at all.

  “Okay.”

  Greyson sent the images from his phone to the tablet. He plugged in, and they went to the screen.

  They all stood there.

  Poppy watched as the video played out. She gasped when she saw the pictures.

  They were of her.

  “He’s been stalking me a while. Since before I turned down the job. That means he’s been planning on having this evidence to use it to control me,” she said, referring to the commissioner.

  “He likes to plan everything,” Emma stated. “You were a risk, but he was going to manage it.”

  “We have to get rid of that body,” Dimitri said. “There is no way the cops can find it.”

  Yeah, they really did.

  “We can send Heath,” Greyson offered.

  Emma shook her head.

  “Nope. I need him. I have a way to flush out Libby Raye’s killer.”

  “You do?”

  “It’s not her husband. Raye is in the clear.”

  Uh, how did she know? He didn’t tell her about the brothel and the hooker date every Sunday.

  “You’re right. He has an alibi.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not shocked. We were jumping the gun,” she stated. “He’s not going to be involved.”

  They stared at her like she was crazy.

  “Hear me out. Who here would know if their significant other was cheating, and fell in love with someone else?”

  All the men stared, but the women…yeah, they raised their hands. Chris had been cheated on and never knew, Greyson had been too. Dimitri had been betrayed by his wife and Curtis…yeah, Brynn did him in.

  They were oblivious.

  Paris laughed.

  “Uh, well, that says it all about the male of the species. We aren’t really smart.”

  “Yeah, because men don’t pick up the subtle things,” Emma stated.

  “Like?” Greyson asked. “Asking for a friend.”

  Dimitri laughed when he pointed at him.

  “When your woman goes out and buys brand new panties, and you don’t get to see them, she’s cheating. When she loses weight or starts becoming more body conscious, she’s having an affair,” Tessa stated.

  “HEY!” Paris said. “You bought new panties.”

  “And you saw them,” she stated. “Totally a different game there, Paris.”

  Greyson got in on it.

  He pointed at his wife. She, too, bought new underthings the other day.

  She shut him down.

  “I bought new underwear because your son is making me fat. I’m more body conscious because I’m sharing my body with a space hog!”

  He kissed her.

  Greyson just wanted to make her laugh.

  “What do men do?” Emma asked.

  “They just cheat. If anything, we’d shower after sex when we’re done with the other woman. We’d maybe go to the gym more, but use that only to swing by her place.”

  “I’m willing to bet that Emily knew. She gave her husband money to invest with her good friend, and then noticed when her husband started giving her signs. Tristan was going to leave his wife, and Libby was leaving her husband.”

  Greyson got it.

  “Only Jeffrey Raye had already checked out. It was about the money for him. His wife was bringing it in, and he was spending it at a brothel. He wasn’t focused on her. He wouldn’t have noticed.”

  “I’m willing to bet it’s Emily.” That wasn’t all. “I want to scare her out of her mind,” Emma stated.

  “What?”

  “We have Abby’s phone. We know Libby’s old number.”

  “And?” Greyson asked, wondering what she was up to now.

  Curtis raised his hand.

  “I can clone it onto another phone, and make the call to her.”

  Greyson listed.

  “We tell her that she’s coming for her. What’s the first thing she’s going to do?

  “Go to the grave to see if it’s disturbed,” Dimitri stated. “She’ll want to check.”

  “We can hope. That’s why I need Heath. She hasn’t seen him. He’s going to sit outside her house and play follow the murderess.”

  “If she leaves…?” Greyson asked.

  “He will follow. We don’t need her to tell us she killed her. We just need the location. When she’s there, she’ll freak out, or she’ll call the police and say someone is pranking her.”

  “That will tell us what we need.”

  “The only thing is the voice,” Greyson said. “She’s going to need to hear her.”

  Emma pushed play.

  Libby’s voice was stored on the old phone in voicemail. It was a good thing Abby saved them.

  Greyson smiled.

  “When you can’t interrogate it out of someone, scare it out of them,” Poppy stated. “I learned that today.”

  Well, it worked.

  “Yeah, so while Heath is on her, you are going to have to play arsonist.”

  Kat raised her hand.

  “I can go. Chris can be my driver.”

  That worked for everyone.

  “Blow it?” Chris asked.

  “Yeah, we have to erase Dimitri and Poppy’s DNA. I don’t doubt that the commissioner is waiting for him to be found, and then he’ll use it against Poppy.”

  “That asshole,” Dimitri stated.

  Yeah, no one argued with that.

  “What are you going to do with Brent Hendricks?” Emma asked.

  “We’re going to find him and end him,” Greyson said. “Ilan is at the house. Poppy is going to be with Dimitri nonstop until we get him. As soon as we can find him,” he said, as Dimitri drew his finger across his own jugular.

  It was how he ended people.

  “Good. We don’t need this go
ing to court,” Emma stated. “Poppy, are you good with that?”

  “Yes. I don’t want him to get off on two counts of crazy. I want him to pay.”

  And there it was.

  “It may take a while,” Dimitri said. “Are you okay with staying with me at all times?”

  She nodded.

  “He won’t come at you with Dimitri there. Under NO circumstances are you to go anywhere alone,” Emma added. “Got it?”

  “I do. At some point, I’ll need to head home to get the rest of my things. Can we go?”

  “If you let me take you, yes.”

  “Deal.”

  He smiled. It looked like he had a long-term roommate, and he was more than okay with that.

  “Okay, well, now that’s done, let’s get some fun started. Let’s scare a murderess.”

  Greyson looked bummed.

  “What?” Emma asked.

  “One, you came up with this, and I’m jealous. Two, I really wanted it to be Raye. Who would have known that the man wouldn’t be guilty in his wife’s disappearance? What are the freaking chances?”

  She laughed.

  Yeah, Emma was aware.

  No one saw that one coming.

  * * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *

  One Hour Later

  Curtis had plenty of time. He cloned the number, he got the voice uploaded, and it was perfect. Without a computer, the woman wouldn’t know it was being run through a voice program.

  It was going to scare her stupid—if she was involved.

  Sometimes, it was good to kick in doors, and other times, in their line of work, you had to be sneaky.

  Tricky.

  This was one of those times.

  As they had Heath in position, they got ready.

  Emma was on the couch, and they were all watching Heath on the screen. He was live, so he could tell them what was going on at the house.

  When Emma pointed, Curtis did the deed.

  The phone rang.

  They all listened, holding their breath. It was muted so they couldn’t be heard, but Curtis could control what Emily heard.