“Was not,” I lied as we reached the first floor.
“Oh, it so was,” Trish stated. “What I’d like to know is how that scene progressed to where the two of you were stationed. The secretary said you had only entered the damn office about ten minutes before that.”
I told them the ‘Jesse Stone’ angle Emily had used on me after getting into position on the desk to make her move as we walked to the parking lot.
“You couldn’t tell she was panty-less when she jumped up on the desk, Rick?”
Trish just had to ask that one. “I may have briefly noticed the awkward positioning. I’m the victim here. I was savagely attacked by a sexual predator.”
Okay, that got some laughs, but I could tell I was still on the hook. Some things can’t be explained, especially in Cantelli Land, a known hotspot of deceptive temptations not always noticed by the one and only Cantelli. I decided on our business endeavor to get us back on track, and me off the griddle.
“We need to figure out our next move with Stuart. Our best course is the cloned phone we now have. Don’t you two think finding the hitter might be a more worthwhile project than hauling my old ass over the coals?”
Trish shrugged, looking straight at Lois before we split off to our vehicles. “Oh, I don’t know. I think we can do both. What do you think, Granny?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely, Skipper.”
Damn it!
Chapter Thirteen
Foiled Hit
We no sooner arrived at the office then Bone came rushing out to greet us with a big smile. “I got him already. She burned up the airwaves reaching out to the hitter. I have him triangulated, and his signal stored. Their conversations are being recorded now, so we won’t miss anything. Was it as good as you hoped, Lo?”
Lois gripped Bone’s arm in a vice grip. “First off, you are now officially second in value for pulling that off so quickly. I’ve reduced Cantelli down to the fifth slot below the two of us, Shelly, and Trish for conduct unbecoming a representative of Madigan and Cantelli Security. My intervention was the stuff of legend, Bone. Let’s go listen to what you have on the hitter. I’ll fill you in on the Cantelli masterpiece while we work.”
Bone’s face drooped slightly in awe. “You mean… that you called it, Lo?”
“Even Hooterville admitted it was an ace of all time, Bone.”
Bone glanced over at me. “Damn, Rick! Sorry, brother, she’s scary good. You have got to get that thought blocking helmet.”
“It’s okay, Bone. I’ve been roasted to a well done charbroil already. Great work on the clone signal. Let's see where the two of them are headed or meeting now, and we can get in front of this.”
“Get what you’ve done out, brother. Otherwise you’ll be stewing in the slow boiling water like a damn lobster.”
I patted his shoulder. “I can’t trespass into the Gorgon’s lair on this one, but thanks for the sympathy. It was an ace I doubt I’ll live long enough to top.”
“Damn…” Bone replied.
“Damn right,” Lo added with an inappropriate cackle. “Now let’s go see who else we can boil like a crawdad for some money. I have an itch to take down the temptress who would dare to soil my partner’s lily white reputation.”
Lo cackled on into her office with the rest of us following, including the snickering Trish. She grabbed my hand on the way in, squeezing it in I hoped understanding fashion. Bone played the conversation for us, which proved damning in so many ways, it quieted the room. Doc Stuart was adamant about the hitter, Jacob Ross, getting the job done. I saw Trish listening with utmost intensity to the exchange between the two. Ross demanded the second ten thousand dollar installment be paid or he was walking with the first ten grand. He backed Stuart into a corner. She knew we would be on the intense surveillance contract from now on, and her best chance of setting up the hitter would be in the next few days. Emily demanded if she met with Ross with the final ten grand, she needed him to give her the exact time he would be doing it. Ross agreed, but told her he would have to check over Andrew’s schedule again to name a time to meet for the payout. The call ended on that note.
“This is definitely amateur hour,” Trish said. “This guy Ross, which is probably an alias unless he’s a complete moron, has furnished a number where she can call him, agreed to her time frame, and admitted he had to look over the husband’s schedule again. He might be ex-military or just some flake with debts for all we know. How she hooked up with him would be real interesting.”
“Damn fine observations, Skipper,” Lo said. “I guess we have to wait until he contacts her again with a meeting place. That would be the spot to bust this bullshit. We may not be able to convict her of anything, but we would be able to make it clear the police would be on her ass from now on. It ain’t justice, but we’re not killing her, so it’s the best we can get.”
“We would be saving a guy who by all accounts deserves to be saved,” Bone said.
“Amen to that,” Lo replied. “We’re agreed then? We stay on this with Andrew’s survival in mind rather than chancing unintended consequences?”
“We’ve been paid, Lo,” I stated. “We’ll put the ‘Black Widow’ on our list of past clients gone bad, and deal with it as we’re allowed to.”
“Or… I could put an ice pick through her head while she’s sleeping,” Trish countered.
Lois laughed her ass off at that remark with Bone and I exchanging uneasy glances.
“That scene in the office is kind of haunting you, huh Skipper?”
Trish shrugged. “Yeah… maybe a little.”
“Go on back over with Shelly, and stay with the computer indoctrination you were doing when I yanked you to rescue Hooterville. There won’t be much else until we see what kind of aliases tapping into the hitter’s probably phony name will draw. If he’s been arrested while using the alias, we’ll be able to get his real name. That will make this much easier. You and Bone take on the follow up of Ross. Keep track of his whereabouts. I’ll call our little FBI Rita while the fact she owes us big time is fresh in her mind, and see if she can find anything out on Jacob Ross.”
We split up silently. Bone brought along his laptop. We were still networked from our cloning operation. After setting up across from each other over the desk, Bone wanted to hash out my Doc Stuart incident. Lois had freaked our IT specialist a bit with her clandestine attack on me, and once again predicting it before she left the office.
“Lo messed my head up a little with her new mind munch on you, Rick. How the hell does she do it?”
I chuckled a little at the fact Bone was using some of my terminology already. “It’s like this. Lo was a CIA analyst along with being my handler. She was the best I ever met. That they screwed with us until she split from them, instead of making her the damn CIA Director, was a dimwitted move they’re still paying for. Anyway, Lo is intuitive, not magical.”
“I hope you’re right, brother.”
“Me too. She sure got me this morning, and no, I can’t tell you about it. Lo would Tase me if I didn’t let her fill in the entire world on one of the best Cantelli hits of all time.”
“You’re probably right. Hey… you seeing this?”
Oh yeah. “Our newbie hitter Ross used the same alias when he was arrested for assault down in Missouri.”
“Real name, Adrian Templar, Rick. We got him. They have three other aliases listed for him. I’ll run them all. He still has his phone on, and I have the GPS location. If any of the names cross to the same location, we’ll really be amped.”
While Bone worked, I went through the social media, including the popular dating sites. I started laughing. “Hey, Bone, the idiot’s on three different dating sites with his real name.”
Bone looked up with a smile. “Oh look, Rick, he has some nice photos of himself that match the mug shot from Missouri too. How nice. Give me a few seconds.”
I watched Bone hack the dating site, and come up with an address for our Mr. Templar that was
different from where he was holding position across town. “That’s promising. I wonder if Templar rented the room at the Good Nite Inn on Greenwood Street for his alias, and he actually lives in the apartment at Pacific Gardens on Hamilton.”
Bone immediately hacked the Good Nite Inn registry. “Yep. It’s under Ross at the Good Nite. That’s near Sea World, so lots of people, and places to do a meet up without being noticed. Are you thinking about going to get him before he meets with the Doc?”
“Does he have a warrant out on any of the aliases?”
“Damn… I should have thought of that. I’ll work it.”
I watched the screens flash by as Bone worked the aliases with police databases. He hit a jackpot on the Clyde Jeffries alias in Los Angeles of all places. I even knew the bonding agency looking for him. “Lo knows the guy who owns Longtree Bail Bond. It looks like we may be able to make a little money on this too, my friend. Print it out for me, and I’ll go talk to the Gorgon.”
Bone chuckled while shaking his head. “You two are something else, brother.”
“If you knew the long ago past she hit me with out of the blue in front of Trish while we were foiling the drug operation in LA, you’d really be wondering what the hell our deal is. Best not to worry about it. She hasn’t corralled you into gumshoeing me has she?”
Bone took a moment too long.
“Damn it! You owe me, Bone. What the hell?”
“She’s scary, Rick. Lo starts measuring me up while interrogatin’ the crap out of me, and I start getting the feelin’ she’s already in my head like she’s in yours. It’s damn spooky.”
“Okay… give me a printout. I know exactly what she’s like. I can’t fault you for it. She got Steve the same way.”
“Speaking of Steve,” Bone said, eager to change the topic while he handed me the print out. “I wish to hell he’d grow a pair and come back. I liked working with him.”
“You and me both, but when choices have to be made involving someone you love, things get real complicated.”
Bone nodded. “You right. I hope it works out for him. It’s just that he loved this business.”
“I know it, but we don’t always get what we want. I’ll be back. Keep tearing Adrian’s life apart while I brief Lo.”
“Will do.”
Lo was still talking on the phone with someone other than Rita. I could tell because her features were in full on Huntress mode. Whoever it was on the other end of the line owed Lo, and she talked like it. It’s called polite ‘I own your ass speak’. When she ended the call, Lo waved me into a chair.
“Don’t just stand there Hooterville, lay it on me.”
I handed her the printout. In ten seconds she was dialing Longtree Bail Bond. Then the negotiation began. She was polite, but firm. I could tell we got a nice price by the smirk. After the negotiation call ended, Lo was all business.
“The way I see this Rick is we have the ticket for Adrian. We let Emily meet up with him. Then we bust them both. He’s a novice. Adrian will rat her out for hiring him in a heartbeat. With Staley’s help, we may be able to get him looking at the mysterious deaths on her ticket already. I’m thinking he may be able to get a plea deal out of her for conspiracy and she does some hard time. Having the Longtree ticket on his ass is a gold mine. It buries our illegal info gathering.”
Yeah, it does. “This meeting without casualties will be tricky. We don’t know this Adrian Templar guy at all, other than he’s a petty crook with assault charges, and scams. He figured out a way to get the Doc ponying ten grand up front, and she’s no dummy. I’m worried about what we don’t know about this guy. I can’t help thinking he had to have had some proof he could get the job done.”
“You’re right. We’ll have to plan after he picks a place for the meet. There will be no casualties on our end, Rick.”
“I hear you. We armor up. We space all the angles, and we take them down hard with no conversation.”
Lo smiled. “Yep, that’s perfect. Now… once we enter, and the op degrades into Cantelli Land what do we do?”
“We start shootin’ Lo, and God take the hindmost.”
Her cackle was soothing for some reason.
* * *
I made an emergency meeting with Detective Captain Staley. Our odd couple agreed to meet at The Sea Rocket Bistro. I had eaten there a few times. It was a bad place for a take down. Staley motioned me into his office. I entered and sat down opposite him with what I hoped was a smile of friendship.
Staley’s eyes narrowed. “I can tell that ‘Staley is about to get fucked look’ from here, you prick. Your firm of bend, break, and blaspheme the law must have a problem. Don’t play out your shit unless you have something concrete.”
Oh no, I’m not letting bygones be bygones. “You set us up with the FBI for one of the most screwed up ops Lo and I have ever done, involving a bought off FBI agent, and deadly outcome. I’m a big boy, Bill. I don’t play any cards on you at all. The only reason you have your own office is because of my C.I. status. I’m here to deliver another bonus. Play me, and crap on our relationship like you’re some hurt party… and we’re done.”
To his credit, Bill backed the hell off quick. “That was stupid, Rick. Tell me what the hell’s happening now and I’ll work to pay back the ticket I owe.”
“We know you can’t act on anything but solid intel. We have a woman, Doctor Emily Stuart, hiring a hitter on her husband. We also believe she’s killed before. Lo and I will set up the trap, including audio and video. What we need is a discreet police presence, ready to move in when we have the proof needed.”
“Done. I’ll lead it myself, Rick. A doctor, huh?”
“It’s a long story, but solid, Bill. We’re trying to keep her husband Andrew alive. If we could have done it without involving you, we would have. I came to you because we don’t know how dangerous this Adrian Templar is. We’re acting on an official bond skip from Longtree Bail Bond in Los Angeles. We’re going to allow them to meet at the Sea Rocket Bistro. Once the money for the hit exchanges hands, those two are up for grabs. We’ll do what we can once the scenario we have loaded works. If they exit separately, we can take them one at a time. If they exit together, we can take them down together once we know we have them. If they get away somehow, her husband will have to be protected.”
I took a breath, wondering if I should tell him my plan for getting the meeting recorded. Ah… what the hell. “The Doc’s never seen Bone. I’m going to send him in with one of our very sophisticated miniature video setups with super audio. I’ll pipe the meeting right to you if you’d like. It’s a public place, and Templar is a wanted felon.”
“Let’s do it then. I’ll get on the paperwork and make some calls to the other precinct commander letting him know of an operation in his jurisdiction. I’ll make it a joint operation where he’ll get half credit for doing squat. What’s your idea on the takedown?”
“Hard and fast. That’s the advantage to keeping you out of it until the apprehension. It’s a bond retrieval of a violent felon. We don’t have to kiss his ass before we handcuff him.”
Bill sighed. “Very true.”
* * *
Lois, Trish, and I watched Bone enter the Sea Rocket Bistro a half hour before the intended meeting between Stuart and Templar. Five minutes later we had an excellent video and audio feed. “That’s perfect, Bone. You getting this okay, Bill.”
“Very nice, Rick,” Bill said from the corner screen of my laptop where we had him networked into our feed. He frowned. “I should arrest you bunch just for having gear like this.”
“Keep talkin’ flatfoot, and I see you walking a beat in the near future,” Lo retorted.
“No need to get nasty, Lo.”
“I just wanted to make sure those Captain’s bars don’t start giving you delusions of grandeur, Bill.”
“Mission accomplished.”
* * *
Ten minutes later Emily Stuart arrived in the same hot dress from this mo
rning, but with panties on I’ll wager. I received a quick smack in the back of my head from Trish.
“Not you too. Get out of my head. We’re on a job.”
Bone angled our camera perfectly as Stuart sat down and ordered coffee while she waited for a friend. The audio was loud and clear. “Picture and sound very good, Bone.”
Five minutes after Stuart, Templar arrived, complete with ball cap pulled over his eyes, blue jeans, black sweatshirt hoodie, and about three days growth of beard. He sat down opposite Emily, and got right to it.
“Did you bring the money?”
Stuart looked around and right into the camera, without seeing it of course. She then passed over a stuffed envelope. “I need this done right away. Andrew will be at the gym tonight. It’s the perfect place. Here’s the spare key for his Ford Explorer. You have been watching him, right?”
Templar took the keys with a look of disgust as the waitress walked up. They both ordered. After the waitress set the coffee down he ordered, she left them alone. “Of course I know his Explorer. It’s the four door burgundy sport model. I’ll be able to wait in the backseat.”
“Remember, I know your real name, and I know you jumped bail,” Emily warned him. “Don’t screw me over. If you get this done tonight, I’ll give you three grand more.”
The sour look on Templar’s face brightened. “Fine… it’ll be tonight.”
The waitress brought them their food. They ate in silence. “Hey, Bill… how was that?”
“It couldn’t have been any better, Rick,” Staley answered grudgingly. “You still planning on taking them outside the restaurant entrance?”
“Yep. Bone will follow Templar at a distance and Tase him the moment he’s clear of the door. Lo and I will be fronting them. We’ll take Stuart into custody. Then you arrive for all the glory. We get Templar’s ticket though.”
“Done deal.”
They finished eating. Templar altered our plans. “You stay here for another few minutes, Doc, while I leave first. No need for us both to be seen together on the street.”
Rick Cantelli, P.I. Deadly Liaisons (Rick Cantelli, P.I. Detectives Book 2) Page 18