Her Final Watch (A Detective Blanchette Mystery Book 2)

by Marguerite Ashton

  The chauffeur opened the door, ushered them into the heated limo and closed the door once they were settled inside.

  “What brings you here,” Pop said.

  “I’d like to see about using that favor.”

  “Anything for Collin’s daughter.”

  “I’d like you to rescind the contract your family has out on Jeremiah Mills.”

  Pop shook his head. “Interesting. Having a contract on a cop is illegal.”

  “True. But there’s still someone out there hired to kill my partner.”

  “He may be your partner, but he’s an enemy to my family. Your partner slept with my son’s fiancé the night before their wedding. That I don’t excuse, not even for you.”

  “Jeremiah had no idea she was going to marry Mikey. He didn’t even know she was an escort until he saw the surveillance photos.”

  “I’m not so sure I believe that.”

  Lily looked out the tinted windows. Quentin stood near the limo on her side while another guard circled the vehicle. “I don’t try to understand this mafia thing that exists in your world, but I respect you because in your own way you’re a decent man.” She faced him. “That was proven when you sent your son with me to answer for what he did to Diamond. I think that if you didn’t have any good in you, my dad wouldn’t have done whatever he did for you.”

  “You wanna know what sealed my loyalty to your father?” Pop asked.

  “You promised to tell me the story.”

  “I love telling stories.” Pop tapped his foot on the floor, probably thinking about what parts of the story were better left unsaid. “It was during the nineties. A family war broke out and a rival of mine was trying to take over my interests. I refused to share.

  “This person killed someone and made it look like I did it. I can’t tell you how mad it made me. I wanted to rip his freaking neck off with my bare hands. But I wasn’t going to be the one to break the peace. My wife was alive at the time, and I promised her that I’d avoid dealing in the mafia world as much as I could without looking like a coward.

  “Anyway, Collin had just made detective and was the only one who was interested in doing a fair investigation. He caught the person responsible, and I was a free man. Your dad made it possible for me to live my life with my family.”

  The discussion Lily had with Sergeant Owen re-played in her head. “I do remember your dad and I being part of an investigation that happened over a span of eight weeks,” Sarge had said. “It had to do with bad blood between the Surace and the Leoni families. It was your father’s determination that helped to find the real killer.” It was Pop Surace that Dad helped out. “I’ve heard part of the story.”

  “True story.” Pop made eye contact with Lily. “That was many years ago. Your dad and me. It’s still fresh in my head, like the smell of mi nonna’s breakfast bread in the morning. No one made bread from scratch like she could.”

  “How is Jeremiah’s situation any different? My dad gave you a chance. All I’m asking is for Jeremiah to have a chance. He has the texts that were shared between him and the woman—still on his phone.”

  Pop rolled his shoulders.

  A heavy feeling settled in Lily’s stomach. She was a stranger, and she suspected that some of the things she had said to Pop since their first meeting, had been more than what others dared to say to him. She wasn’t interested in pressing her luck. She didn’t want any part of the mob world. Perhaps it would be best to just leave everything alone. She was pregnant and wanted to be content, at least for the duration of her pregnancy.

  Lily opened the car door. “I meant no disrespect. Thanks for hearing me out.”

  “Stay in the car,” said Pop, his voice dripping with malice.

  Lily’s hand tightened on the door handle. “Or what?”

  “I haven’t given you permission to leave.”

  “I’ve just survived a shooting where my partner was the target. I came to you to address the wrong that’s looming over Detective Mills’ head on a day your family is grieving. The last thing I want is to start any more trouble.”

  “Close the door so that we can discuss your friend.”

  Don’t push it. He said discuss, meaning there’s still a chance to help Jeremiah. Lily did as requested. She rubbed her hands down her pants leg to wipe the sweat from her palms.

  Pop spoke Italian to the chauffeur and lit a cigar. Suddenly, a privacy window whirred softly as it rolled up, separating the front from the back. “You’re the second person that has risked coming to me for a favor that would go against loyalty to my family. That requires either balls or brains. And the last guy didn’t have the brains.”

  “I can assure you that I don’t have a pair.” Lily cracked the window for fresh air.

  Pop Surace turned his head toward Lily and chuckled. He puffed on his cigar and placed it in the ashtray. “But you come to me with good intentions. You’re doing this out of a sense of friendship to this Jeremiah.” He stared straight ahead. “You prove to me that your partner didn’t knowingly sleep with my son’s fiancée, I’ll see if this rumor about your detective is true. But I’ve gotta have proof. I wanna see those texts myself. Do you agree?”

  Lily extended her arm. “Yes, Sir.”

  “Sir?” Pop Surace placed his hand in Lily’s and shook it. “I haven’t heard that word in years.”

  “I was brought up to respect my elders.”

  “Humph. You just made me realize that the older I become, the softer I get. You never could’ve pulled the wool over my eye if it had been in my younger days.”

  Lily exhaled. Moisture trickled down her armpits. She’d keep the bluffing strategies for investigations and during poker. And she was done negotiating with the mob.

  *

  Mikey cracked his knuckles as he watched Detective Blanchette get out of the limo. What the hell does she want? “Pop couldn’t hold a private audience with her back at the club? He does it here in front of everybody.”

  “Pop’s been spending more time with that cop than the others care to see,” Quentin said walking up to Mikey. “People are starting to question what’s going on.”

  Mikey’s body tensed as he worked to hold himself back from beating the hell out Quentin. He felt like a cornered tiger, watching his enemy making his rounds within the family, waiting for something to go wrong. It was like he got off on delivering bad news. “Nothing’s going on, you moron. My father trusts you as his executioner. If you have doubts or can’t keep others in check about Pop’s intentions with this cop, then we have a big problem.”

  “I was just telling you what was told to me.”

  “Next time, stomp the asshole who dares to talk bad against my family.”

  “Yeah. I get it.”

  Mikey was beginning to see what it was going to be like as head of the Surace family. People who claimed to be loyal to you stood at a distance and twisted the knife, doing anything they could to start problems.

  If the people you paid to protect you talked about you behind your back, then who was the head of the family supposed to trust? At the moment all Pop had was Mikey; he could see that Quentin wanted more. Yeah, people are talking about you too.

  If things went wrong once Mikey was in charge, who could he turn to? Who would be his elderly counsel when Pop was gone?

  The snow stopped as Mikey trekked through the ice towards his father. His dress shoes crunched in the snow as Quentin came up alongside him. “Did you do your job and find out who jumped me?”

  “Brian Weeks. No one knows where he is.”

  “After everything we did for him. Stealing from the family wasn’t enough? He spits in my face by attacking me from the back.”

  “Brian and Dan have been working together, stealing. Still want me to take care of him?”

  Mikey reached into his coat and stroked his handgun. “No. This I do, myself.”

  Chapter 27

  12:00 p.m.

  As Lily stood in her cubicle, staring at her cork
board, Evan sauntered in and handed her a piece of paper.

  “Sorry it took so long. I finally had a chance to run the mobile number you gave me. She lives in Milwaukee.”

  Lily skimmed the piece of paper. “Haley Lowe?”

  “Do you know her?”

  “I have a cousin Haley who lives in Milwaukee. But she’s older than me. I’m not sure of her last name. I haven’t seen her in years.”

  “If that’s your cousin, why didn’t she say so when she called?”

  “I ran into a gal back at the hospital.” Lily jammed her hands into her pocket, pulled out the folded piece of paper with Haley’s phone number on it, and compared it to the one Evan had run. 414-555-0189. It’s the same number. “Haley called a while back and left her number. I was supposed to call her back, but I haven’t had the time.”

  “Time or not, Lil, be careful. Normal people don’t just follow someone around unless they have an ulterior motive.”

  “I’m not sure if she’s following me.”

  “You ran into her at the hospital. You saw her when you left the club. I can’t believe that it’s just a coincidence.”

  “This lady also looked like the one that Mother had an argument with the other day. I didn’t get a good look at her, though. Anyway, we’re in a holding pattern. I’m waiting for Gus to call me back. He’s checking to see what he can find on Brian or Dan. Until then, I’ll head to the bank and rifle through the family safe deposit box. Mother keeps all information pertaining to the family in there. Maybe I can find something on Haley.”

  “I love you,” Evan said in a low whisper.

  Lily smiled and mouthed, “I love you, too.”

  *

  12:23 p.m.

  The mats on the glossy floors muffled Lily’s footsteps as she entered the bank. Ronnie, the silver-haired banker she used to call “Candy Man,” led her into the vault. It had been years since she had seen him, but the sparkle in his eye as he handed her a lollipop was the same as when she was twelve.

  “Thank you,” Lily said, taking the candy. “I won’t be long.”

  Seconds after Ronnie left, Lily scanned the contents of the safe deposit box. She went through several envelopes before she came across one marked Haley, at the bottom of the box. She pulled out a single sheet of paper decorated with a black border, soft to the touch.

  Dearest Haley,

  I’m sorry that I wasn’t strong enough to keep you as my own, but for others, it was for the best. My sister will be a good mother to you. I hope you’ll forgive me for placing you up for adoption. My only hope is that when you get older, you’ll try to understand. Hopefully, you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me.

  Please, my darling daughter, know that I will always love you.

  With all my love,

  Mother

  Images of Lily and Haley at camp seeped into Lily’s memory like a thick fog. As it cleared, Lily remembered seeing a man waiting in her mother’s car as Deena hugged and kissed both Lily and Haley. I have a sister. Was Landon her father, too?

  Just outside the door, a teller called out to a customer, bringing Lily out of her thoughts. Her eyes dropped down to the company name at the bottom of the letter. Personalized Papers. She didn’t need to see anything else. She shoved the letter into the envelope and closed the box.

  Lily’s phone pulsed in its case. She dug it out and read the caller I.D. It was Gus. “Please tell me you have an update.”

  “Before Weeks worked on computers, he worked at an investment firm in New York. But it seems he didn’t have what it took for Wall Street. At one time, he was under investigation for missing funds and other related charges. Witnesses started to come forward cementing the charges that were being brought against him.

  “He called his friend Dan Ligelli, who asked for help from the Suraces. Money was waved around, and the charges were dropped.

  “After the fiasco, Weeks moved back to Wisconsin, where he put himself through business school and landed a job at his current employer. As a way to recoup the favor provided by the Suraces, Ligelli brought Weeks in to help shuffle money around and invest it ‘properly.’ But, old habits die hard. So what does Weeks do? He turns around and starts stealing money from the same people that helped him.”

  “The Suraces.”

  “You got it. He was stealing from Old Man Surace’s investment accounts.”

  “That’s what Pop found out from Crystal. Brian killed her and the others, including his wife to shut them up. It was him who was hanging around the mob, not Ariel. She was working the club and most likely realized her husband was involved. Thanks, Gus.”

  Lily hung up, her mind racing.

  If the Suraces were after Brian Weeks, no wonder he was missing. She hoped she found him before he disappeared for good.

  Chapter 28

  Lily crammed the remaining chicken and avocado sub into her mouth as she entered Sarge’s office. Jeremiah was already there, leaning against the wall. She quickly spilled out the update from Gus. “We’ve got Weeks prints on Ariel’s phone, but I want something more concrete so that this is an open and shut case.

  “The voice on the video isn’t distinct. But if I can get something solid to tie Brian Weeks to Crystal, then I’ve got him for all three murders.”

  “Here’s the timeline that I’ve managed to come up with for Ariel’s last days.” Jeremiah handed Lily a packet of papers. “All of the photos and videos mirror Ariel’s detailed written notes, starting from the beginning of the investigation until the end. I’ve attached the notes to the correct corresponding video or photo.

  “I paid attention to the last twenty-four hours of Ariel’s life. A few days before she was killed she had everything she needed to close her investigation. But Liam didn’t. He needed an extra night so they could seal the deal on the drug buy. That’s where the video of Ariel and Ibee comes in. She wanted out, but Ibee wanted her to hold off.

  “After Ariel’s meeting with Ibee, Ariel went back to the strip club and took a call for a date with Dan Ligelli to attend an awards ceremony for his investment firm. The ceremony was held at the Shell Lake Club. The thing about this one is it was last minute. According to the notes, Dan usually calls a night ahead to book the date.”

  “And this time he didn’t,” Lily said.

  “The photo of Brian sitting at the bar is at the Shell Lake Club. I spoke with the bartender on duty that night and showed him Brian and Dan’s photo. He said Brian’s a regular and sometimes has drinks with Dan. But on that night, he was with a woman.”

  “Did the bartender know who the woman was that accompanied Brian?”

  “Not at first. But when I showed him a set of pics, he identified Crystal.”

  Lily peered closer at the second photo of Brian and scanned the note attached. “Brian was at the strip club.”

  “Good work, Mills,” Sergeant Owen’s said.

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  Evan walked into the office. “The contacts on the flash drive are identical to the file found on Ariel’s phone. They belong to Brian. Also, there were a couple of files stashed in a generic folder on the drive. The photos are of Dan and Brian whooping it up in the Tahoe. Specifically, one of the photos show Brian in the driver’s seat of the Tahoe.”

  Lily said, “It was Brian that Dan loaned his truck to. Not Mikey.”

  “There it is. We’ve got him,” Lily said, following Evan out. “I wonder if Dan is getting something out of this. He’s Brian connection to the Suraces.”

  “We’re having a hard time tracking Dan.”

  “His phone’s probably turned off.”

  “Not Brian’s. It has him in Saint Germain. Brian purchased a cabin six months ago.”

  “Then get a hold of the authorities up there. Let them know we’re on our way.”

  Chapter 29

  December 24, 1:31 p.m.

  Lily, Evan, and Alec finished getting ready in the parking lot while Jeremiah stood by and watched.

  “We
’ve got to get up to the cabin before the Suraces realize what’s going on,” Lily said, twisting her hair into a bun.

  Evan said, “If they haven’t found out already. I put in a call to Lieutenant Gaines in Saint Germain. I gave him the address, and he said he’ll meet us five miles back, so we don’t tip off anyone.”

  “I’m ready to go in and bring these dudes down.” Alec adjusted his gun holster. “Jeremiah, where’s your gear?”

  Lily said, “Jeremiah can’t go with us.”

  “Why not?” Alec asked.

  Lily grabbed her tactical vest and put it on. “The Surace’s have a hit out on him. That’s who shot at us when we were at Hindle’s. He needs to stay back. Sarge didn’t want anyone to know. He’s trying to see what he can do to help.”

  Silence lingered.

  Jeremiah exhaled. “It was a stupid mistake. It cost the life of the woman I cared for. I don’t wanna die, but I’m tired of running. I’ll leave first before I let any of you get hurt.”

  Alec patted Jeremiah’s back and pulled him into an embrace. “We’ve got your back brother. We also protect our own.”

  “But maybe vet your women better from now on,” Evan said.

  Mikey glanced over at the GPS. An hour and thirty minutes left before he exited off of US Highway 51. His gun lay on the passenger seat. I hate a traitor. Traitors deserve to suffer. But for you, Brian, it’ll be seven times worse.

  *

  Heavy, wet snowflakes accumulated on the five acres of wooded property surrounding the Weeks’ cabin in Saint Germain, near the headwaters of Rice River.

  The pre-dawn twilight cast a soft light on the police vehicles parked at the end of the driveway on Channel Creek Road. Patrol officers and detectives spread out as Lily fell in at the tail end of the group, with Evan following up in the rear.

  After everyone took their positions, Lieutenant Gaines of the Saint Germain Police Department, approached Lily and her team. “My guys assigned to watch the cabin said that one car registered to Dan Ligelli came back about eight last night. They were able to identify both men as Dan and Brian. They believe both men are still inside. I’ve obtained a warrant. The house is large, so we’re going in heavy.