Option to Kill (Nathan McBride 3)

by Andrew Peterson

  They embraced tightly.

  Lauren interrupted them. “Well, aren’t you going to introduce me to your…friend?”

  Nathan winked at Grangeland. “Special Agent Grangeland, meet Lauren Marchand.”

  They shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you, Lauren.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too. Is your gun loaded?”

  “Yes, all FBI special agents are required to carry loaded weapons in public.”

  “Are you a good shot, like Nathan?”

  Nathan kept a straight face and crossed his arms, as if asking Grangeland: Well, are you?

  “I think I can hold my own.”

  “Let’s go check on Abrille,” Nathan said, ending Lauren’s interrogation. He sensed a Have you ever shot anyone? question coming.

  Grangeland said hello to Dr. Reavie and gave him a hug — a good one.

  “Easy, Grangeland,” Nathan said. “Doug’s a married man.”

  In the small recovery room, Linda had Abrille in a semiupright position in a large recliner. Dressed in a light blue surgical gown, Abrille looked groggy, barely awake. After what she’d been through, it was probably for the best.

  Doug returned to his office while Nathan got Grangeland a cup of coffee.

  “I need to give you a thorough update on everything that’s happened,” Nathan said. “I’d like your input in planning my next move.”

  “Sounds good,” Grangeland said.

  With Lauren in tow, Nathan and Grangeland returned to the waiting area. Five minutes later, Grangeland knew the whole story.

  Nathan handed the confiscated cell phone to Grangeland. “I want to pursue the Opus X A cigar reference from the text string in there. If we can determine where Voda or his men purchased the cigars, it might give us a good starting place.”

  “Okay, I’ll see what I can dig up. How much of this am I sharing with Holly?”

  “She talked to you about that?”

  “While I was driving. She said to let you decide.”

  “Let’s see what you find first.”

  “You got it.”

  “As I understand it,” Nathan said, “Holly’s working on Abrille’s situation. Since Abrille’s a material witness against Voda, I’m pretty sure she’s trying to get Abrille into the witness security program as soon as possible. But for now, she stays with us. Since she didn’t need to be admitted to the hospital, we’ve got some extra time. We’ll get her situated in the same hotel we used last year and make sure she’s as comfortable as possible. I appreciate you helping me out.” He looked at Lauren and winked. “As you can see, I’ve already got an eighty-three-pound ball and chain.”

  Lauren poked his arm. “Hey, don’t be mean.”

  “You’ll live. We’re both gonna get some rack time while Grangeland does some homework.”

  “But I’m not tired.”

  “Suit yourself. I’m crashing for a couple more hours.” Nathan looked at Grangeland. “I’m not sure what time Doug’s office opens for business, but we need to be out of here before it does. I’m setting my alarm for oh–seven hundred. See you in about two hours.”

  Nathan awoke to the electronic buzzer and again had to orient himself. He left the examination room and found Grangeland and Lauren sitting in the waiting area.

  “Did you find anything useful in the cell phone?”

  “I think so. One of the phone numbers in the call log belongs to a retail tobacco shop called Samantha’s. It’s in Del Mar. The text with the Opus X A reference mentioned having the cigars delivered. Guess what? Samantha’s does deliveries. I checked the website.”

  “Good work. We’ll head over there as soon as the doors open. Do we know what time that is?”

  “I’ll check the website again.”

  “I’d like you with me for this, which means Abrille has to be with us as well. I’m sure Samantha’s isn’t open this early, so let’s do this: let’s get checked in and give Abrille a chance to get more rest. We’ll order room service. Lauren and I haven’t eaten anything in a while.”

  “Sounds good,” Grangeland said.

  Although sleepy, Abrille could walk, and Grangeland helped her into the FBI sedan. Lauren sat next to her and held her hand. Doug offered a few pillows to make Abrille’s ride more comfortable, saying they didn’t need to be returned. After moving Gerry’s Explorer to a remote area of the parking lot, Nathan stuffed all the loose equipment into the duffel bag but left the parabolic mike behind. He slung the bag over his shoulder and hustled back to the front door. They exchanged good-byes with Doug and Jane, and they went on their way.

  Chapter 25

  With Abrille and Lauren secured in the backseat, Grangeland drove out of the Rancho Bernardo Inn’s parking lot while Nathan entered Samantha’s address into the nav. Grangeland had determined the place opened at 0900. The tobacco shop was located in a small retail center off I-5 in Del Mar. According to the map, it ought to take around twenty-five minutes to get there, but rush-hour traffic would probably add some extra time to their drive. It was just after 0830 hours, so the timing should work okay.

  “Lauren, I’m going to tell Grangeland about us. I think of her like family. Several years ago, she helped Harv and me in Montana. You don’t need to know the details, but she nearly died during the mission.”

  “Seriously?” Lauren asked.

  “I think Nathan’s exaggerating a bit.”

  “It’s no exaggeration. Now, just because I’m telling Grangeland about us doesn’t mean it’s okay for you to tell anyone.”

  Grangeland glanced into the backseat at Lauren, before looking at Nathan. “Tell me what?” she asked.

  “Lauren’s my niece.”

  “Your niece? But you don’t have any brothers or sisters. Do you?”

  “Jin is my half-sister. While my father was stationed in Korea during the war, he had a brief relationship with a young woman.”

  “Does he know about Jin?”

  “No.”

  “Given who your father is, someone might be trying to create a scandal.”

  “Yeah, I thought about that, but I don’t think that’s Jin’s motivation. She has classified information on Harv and me. If she wanted to harm either my father or me, she could’ve done it long ago. Jin wrote me a lengthy note and said my father doesn’t know about her. She taped his Korean War dog tag to the note. There was a dried drop of blood on the back of it. I’m sure Jin included the blood so we could do a DNA analysis. But at this point, I don’t have any reason to doubt her. Lauren and I have nearly identical eyes. It’s been a dominant family trait for generations.”

  “This is going to be a real shocker for him.”

  “True, and we still don’t have any idea how Jin ran afoul of Voda’s operation. On the one hand, it may have been the bad luck of marrying Marchand, who was doing some business with Voda. But, given what little I do know about Jin, I think it could be more than a coincidence.”

  Grangeland nodded. “Yeah, most moms don’t vow to go after criminals, even if the bad guys kill their husband. Plus” — Grangeland looked over at Nathan — “she is related to you. I’ve never known with certainty what you and Harv did for a living, but it doesn’t take a giant leap to conclude it involved covert ops.”

  “Let’s just say we worked for the government in a discreet way.”

  “Nathan was a spy,” Lauren interrupted with conviction. “I’m going to be a spy too.”

  “Lauren, we’ve had this discussion. I never said I was a spy.”

  Grangeland smiled, then grew serious. “Maybe Jin has a covert background as well?”

  “That’s what Harv thinks, and I’m beginning to agree. She’s been teaching Lauren basic survival and tactical skills.”

  “I know how to make a fire from scratch,” Lauren said.

  “Impressive,” Grangeland said.

  “I know other stuff too, like how to work radios and night-vision scopes and thermal imagers.”

  Grangeland glanced at Nathan wit
h a puzzled expression.

  “Let’s stay focused here,” Nathan said. “Lauren, when we get to the tobacco shop, I want you to remain in the car with Abrille. She’s still sleepy, but I want you to keep a close eye on her anyway.”

  Lauren didn’t respond.

  “Okay?”

  “Okay…”

  “Thank you. Trust me, if it’s what I think, you won’t like it in there.”

  Samantha’s occupied a prominent location just inside the main driveway leading into a retail center. Grangeland parked as close to the front door as possible. Even though it was a cool morning, she rolled the windows down a bit to keep the sedan from getting overly warm in the sun.

  Nathan pivoted in his seat. “Okay, Lauren. We’ll be right back. Sit tight. This shouldn’t take long.”

  Lauren looked like she wanted to protest, but remained silent.

  “Grangeland, I know it’s against Bureau policy, but we don’t want to look like cops. Do you have a different shirt?”

  “Yeah, I have a change of clothes in the trunk.”

  “Do you mind changing your shirt and leaving your service piece behind?”

  “I suppose that’s okay.” She popped the trunk and climbed out. She returned with a white button-down shirt and got back in. Without hesitating, she pulled her FBI shirt off.

  Black bra.

  The visual burned into Nathan’s brain before he could stop it.

  “Hey, you aren’t supposed to look,” Lauren said with a slap to his shoulder.

  “Well I didn’t look, exactly.”

  Grangeland buttoned her blouse. “It’s okay, Lauren — he’s seen me before.”

  “For cryin’ out loud, Grangeland, you’re gonna give this innocent child the wrong idea.”

  “I thought Holly was your girlfriend,” Lauren said.

  “She is. Grangeland’s referring to something that happened…Oh, forget it — there’s no use trying to explain.”

  “What’s wrong, Nathan? You look kinda red.”

  He stared straight ahead and shook his head.

  There was something about the smell of a tobacco shop that appealed to Nathan. It didn’t smell noxious or bad. It had a seasoned aroma that he knew took years to create.

  Just inside the door, Grangeland whispered, “That’s Samantha, over by the register. I recognize her from the photos on the website.”

  “Let’s go say hello.”

  Like caged gorillas, the handful of male customers stared at Grangeland. Nathan couldn’t blame them, but good grief, a little discretion was in order. “These clowns are acting like they’ve been on a deserted island for the last twenty years,” he whispered.

  “I’ve tried to get used to it, but I don’t think I ever will.”

  Nathan and Grangeland walked up to Samantha, who held up her hands like a robbery victim. “Whatever it is, I didn’t do it.”

  Nathan faked a bewildered expression. “We’d like to get some Opus X A’s and heard this is the place to buy them.”

  “Then you heard right. How many would you like? I only have five in stock. They have to be special-ordered from Fuente.”

  “We’d like fifty. Delivered…”

  Samantha’s eyes grew a little. “I see. You do know how much they cost, right?”

  “Indeed we do.”

  “Follow me.”

  They followed Samantha past the walk-in humidor and into the stockroom. They entered a small office embellished with all kinds of cigar posters, most them featuring beautiful women in alluring poses. Samantha sat down behind her desk and sighed. She waved to a couple of chairs. “All right, you two. Why are you really here?”

  Nathan exchanged a glance with Grangeland.

  “Come on. I had you guys pegged as cops the moment you walked in.”

  “What gave us away?” Nathan asked.

  “Instinct. I see a lot of people walk through my door, and I can usually nail cops within the first few steps.”

  “I’m impressed, but you’re only half right.”

  “She’s the cop, not you. If you’re after information on my Opus X A buyer, don’t bother asking unless you can produce some paper.”

  “We’re hoping to avoid that,” Nathan said.

  “No doubt you are, but I’m protective of my clients, especially the one you’re interested in. For one, he tips like a champ.”

  “I’m really more interested in you,” Nathan said.

  Samantha’s expression changed.

  “You may have us nailed, but I’ve got you nailed as well.”

  “I’m intrigued. Do tell.”

  “You don’t like men much, except as customers. You have one or more cats. You’re left-handed, you like to vacation in Mexico, and your favorite color is blue. Oh, and you’ve got a rocking plastic surgeon.”

  After a few seconds, Samantha said, “To quote someone I just met, what gave it away?”

  “A couple of things,” Nathan said with a straight face. He saw Grangeland roll her eyes.

  Now Samantha smiled a genuine, gleaming grin. “Well, big guy, you just earned my undivided attention.”

  “There’s a very traumatized young girl in our car, and we think the man who buys your Opus X A’s is responsible for hurting her. We think he’s a serial. We’re talking about half a dozen girls.”

  Samantha paused, and Nathan saw he’d scored a direct hit. “Then why no paper?”

  “I’m working independently.”

  “With a cop? Did this girl’s father hire you?”

  “She’s an orphan.”

  “How do I know this won’t come back to bite me?”

  “You don’t.”

  Samantha lit a cigarette and squinted. After a few seconds she reached down, opened a drawer, and placed a file on her desk. “If you’ll excuse me for a minute, I need to check on some inventory in the humidor.”

  Without looking back, Samantha walked out of her office and closed the door behind her.

  “You want to tell me what just happened?” Grangeland asked.

  Nathan opened the file. “We communicated.”

  “Yeah, I gathered that. How did you know all that stuff about her?”

  “I presume you mean the not-so-obvious things? See those eight-by-ten photos on the wall behind her desk? I gambled on the woman in both of them being more than just a friend.” He nodded toward the door. “She’s working the register out there. This is a mom-and-mom establishment.”

  “That was a big gamble.”

  “Look at the photos. What else do you see? The photo on the left is in Cancún. The one on the right’s in Cabo. Both picture frames are blue. So is her coffee cup, and her hair tie’s also blue.”

  “What about the cat reference?”

  “Hair on her blue blouse.”

  “You saw all of that?”

  “You’re forgetting what I used to do for a living.”

  “I can’t forget something you haven’t told me.”

  “Point taken. Trust me, if we’d tried to strong-arm Samantha, she would’ve clammed up.”

  “I’m amazed.”

  “At what?”

  “You got the information without having to break anyone’s arms.”

  “Thanks…I think.”

  “Well, we’ve got what we came for. Now what?”

  “It’s time to cull Voda’s herd.”

  “I’m a special agent in the FBI. I didn’t hear that.”

  On the return walk through the shop, Nathan spotted Samantha inside the walk-in humidor. “I’ll be right back,” he told Grangeland.

  “You find what you needed?” Samantha asked as he approached.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “The place is near Montgomery Field. Some kind of furniture retailer.”

  Nathan thought that sounded promising. Marchand manufactured patio furniture.

  “Was it a big building? Like a warehouse?”

  “It wasn’t really big, you know, like a Costco, but it was pretty goo
d-size. I told the guy on the phone we don’t deliver that far south, but since he bought one hundred Opus X A’s, I told him I’d make an exception. I handled the delivery personally. The guy paid cash, just under ten grand, then threw in a five-hundred-buck tip.”

  “Can you describe him? Was he fair-skinned? European-looking, with a Spanish accent?”

  “I’m no expert, but yeah, I’d say he looked Spanish. He definitely spoke with an accent.”

  “How about his build, hair color?”

  “Tall guy, good-looking.” She smiled. “Not as tall or as good-looking as you, but he was definitely over six feet. I don’t remember the exact color of his hair, but yeah, it was darkish.”

  That didn’t fit Voda, because he wasn’t tall, but it could have been one of his men. “Anything else you can tell me about the place?”

  “Not really. To be honest, I wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention. They wanted me to deliver the cigars at the back of the building, though. I remember feeling a little nervous about it. I thought maybe I’d get ripped off, or worse.”

  “Why did you think that?”

  “It was the way the guy talked to me on the phone. He sounded…I don’t know…arrogant, like a jerk. He made me feel like I was nothing more than a delivery girl, even though he knew I owned the store.”

  “Yeah, that sounds like our guys. How many men did you see?”

  “Just the tall guy who bought the cigars.”

  “Thanks again, Samantha. You’re a stand-up woman. Sadly, it’s an uncommon trait these days. I honestly don’t think you have anything to worry about. Besides, I have a feeling some of your best customers are law enforcement, and I’m willing to bet they’re quite protective of you.”

  “Right on both counts. I’m a pretty good judge of character. Despite your hardened look, you’re actually quite personable.”

  Nathan didn’t respond.

  “I’m being serious. What you said to me in my office? It took some manhood, if you catch my drift.” She lowered her voice. “Tell Ms. Ice Water to lighten up a little.”

  “We are who we are, Samantha.”

  “Amen to that. Get some payback for the girl.”

  “That’s the general idea.”

  Nathan left the humidor and found Grangeland near the entrance with her back against the wall, watching the door. It was no wonder Samantha had her pegged as a cop. No doubt Grangeland didn’t like being unarmed, probably felt naked without her service piece.