Taggart knew that meant Walker would leave it alone even if it bothered him. They trusted each other implicitly.
Walker changed the subject. “Billy is making noises about how he was framed. I heard he’s calling in lots of favors to get away from the corruption charges.”
“He can call on the devil, but even he can’t help him. He’s not getting away with what he did. I can’t get him for Anna, but I will for this.” Taggart stared at Walker.
On his face, he saw the same determination Taggart knew was on his. Walker also worked in conjunction with the center. Although he hadn’t been there when Taggart found Anna, he’d seen what was done to her. He’d worked with them to make sure she was safe. When the time came, it was decided Taggart wouldn’t be the one to take Anna to Grayson, because they knew Billy was having him watched. Taggart had made sure Billy knew he was the one who found Anna, and he would make him pay. Del had all the resources to hide her leaving, but they wanted to make sure someone familiar accompanied her. Del or his brothers couldn’t do it either since, with their involvement, they knew Billy was looking at them too. It wouldn’t have mattered if they could. Since he couldn’t take Anna himself, Taggart only trusted one other man to take her, and that was Walker. Taggart knew the way Billy thought, and to him Walker would be beneath his notice because, in his eyes, his rank wasn’t up to Taggart’s. Walker and his wife had taken a surprise vacation and met up with Anna along the way to take her to Grayson. It had worked out, and now Anna was doing better. She had a long way to go, but she was safe.
Taggart thought of not going after Billy for the child abuse. He’d wanted to, they all had, but in the end what was in Anna’s best interests came first. They’d used the threat of it to make Billy sign papers, relinquishing his rights, and pushed it through with a judge Taggart knew. They used the same judge to make the adoption arrangements for Grayson. It was unorthodox, but the judge knew Taggart well and trusted him. He had many people in Mapson with whom he’d built a circle of trust. As he liked to say, information was power, and he made sure he had it at his disposal. With Billy’s derision for anyone below his rank, Taggart knew it rankled him that Taggart, who was nowhere near his rank, had the audacity to attempt to do anything to him. Billy would try to get away, but he wouldn’t succeed. Of that, Taggart was sure. His thoughts flashed to Rhodes and his offer to take care of Billy. He made a mental note to reiterate that Rhodes was not to touch him. Taggart wanted Billy to suffer in jail. Death would be an escape and he didn’t want Billy to have that.
“We need to find Hanu,” he said, referencing the lead they had been tracking that would be the final nail in Billy’s coffin. “Drugs, corruption, and all the other shit Billy’s done, most of his so-called friends will accept. But when they find out about the child prostitution, they won’t look the other way on that.” Taggart clenched his fist.
“It’s a shame the face of the operation wasn’t there when we busted the ring a few months ago. Hell, I wish one of the people we arrested could identify Billy as the leader of the operation.”
“He was smart enough to make sure Hanu was the only one who knew he was. His stupidity was being the one to test”—as usual, when he said it, he felt nauseous at the idea—“the new meat.” He almost gagged on the words used by the kids he’d interviewed. “The witness who actually saw him after he—” Taggart couldn’t even say it. “She’s safe at Willow.” He used the code word for the center. “We need Hanu so they can’t try to discredit her, and we can close the cases.”
“The ADA is making noises about why the case isn’t being put on the docket to proceed. She’s pushing the judge on it.”
“He won’t make a move until I say so. He knows the reason and, better than most, he knows how stuff happens to get brushed aside when someone is highly regarded.” Taggart chuckled. “He doesn’t like Billy at all. Never has, but with the information from the witness, he’s willing to stall for a little longer. The last few weeks, with the two holidays and coming into a new year, worked in our favor.” Taggart did the math in his head. “I figure we have until about the second week in January before the ADA starts to push again. We need Hanu.”
“Fucker is a wily bastard. He has some hidey holes, and someone is helping him.”
“Billy?”
“I don’t think so. In my inquiries, I’ve found there’s someone else looking for him. Billy is probably looking for him to cover his bases and shut him up.”
“We need to get to him first.” Taggart tapped his finger on the desk. “I—” A knock on the door stopped what he was about to say. “Come in.”
Taggart watched as Ramirez, Miguel, Gerry, Eva, Tobias, Hill, and Klein came into his office. He leaned back in his chair and noted Ramirez looked very gleeful.
“Cap.” Gerry’s lips twitched, then he spoke again. “We solved the Steward case.”
“Walker mentioned you did. Is there a reason I don’t have a written report and am getting a verbal one?”
The detectives looked at Ramirez, then back at him.
“We’d prefer to give a verbal one and then write it up,” Hill said formally.
Taggart wasn’t buying it for a minute. They were up to something. He gestured for them to go ahead. They filled him in on the case, which was a robbery that resulted in two murders—the maid and butler. They had been called in because the homeowner was friends with the mayor. Politics, and he didn’t like having any part of it. Taggart listened as they each outlined the steps they had taken to solve the case. Ramirez went last.
“It didn’t seem right about the way the paintings were cleaned out of a twenty-room house and no one, not even the neighbors, saw or heard a thing. They were all helpful to say that. So we went and questioned them again. But then one said something they hadn’t before. There had been a lawn service working at the house over the weekend. We went to them and found out something very interesting. They remembered that they had heard what sounded like firecrackers but kept working since it wasn’t their business.”
“Why didn’t the owners tell us about that?”
“They didn’t know. It’s not something they set up, the butler does. He didn’t have it written down in his logs either, so it wasn’t there for us to know until the neighbor mentioned it.”
Taggart’s eyes narrowed. “But aren’t there other employees in the house? Why didn’t they mention it?”
“They were all off, as they stated. Since the homeowners were away for a few weeks, they only had minimal staff. The maid and butler who were killed were the only ones who should have been there.” Ramirez rocked back on his heels.
Taggart noticed Eva was texting on her phone. She saw him looking and smiled, putting it away. Taggart focused back on Ramirez. As if he was waiting for him to look at him, Ramirez wiggled his eyebrows.
“The butlers did it. I’ve always wanted to say that.” Ramirez laughed.
“Huh?” Taggart frowned. “How can a dead man have killed himself and the maid, then stolen all the paintings?” He pointed at them all. “And if any of you say he’s a zombie I’m going to—” He left the threat hanging.
Gerry closed his mouth and looked at Eva and they snickered. Taggart returned to Ramirez.
“The butlers did do it. Man, saying it again is just as good as the first time.” Ramirez looked at the others. “Come on, say it with me.”
“The butlers did it,” they all said together.
Hearing more voices joining in, Taggart looked between them and saw the rest of the squad crowded in the doorway. Taggart figured Eva had texted them and said to come to the door. He spotted the man behind them and knew they didn’t know he was there. Taggart went back to Ramirez first.
“Now you’ve had your fun, expl….” He trailed off as realization dawned when he remembered the list of employees and what they did. “The second butler.”
“Yes. Seems he knew the maid and um, the butler, were actually a couple. Their employer has a no-fraternization rule, but no
ne of the staff adheres to it. They just don’t let their bosses know. From what the second butler said, the first butler was taking the maid on a romantic weekend getaway. They weren’t supposed to be there. The idiot didn’t check the house before he and his buddies started removing the paintings. He shot the butler and one of the others killed the maid.” Ramirez shook his head. “It was senseless, robbing them. But he did it. Well, the butlers did it. They have a butler organization or something and he and a few of them decided to form their own little clique to do robberies. They’ve hit a few other places around Mapson. We passed the information onto the precinct who has the other cases so they can close theirs too.”
When he mentioned the plural, Taggart realized he had been saying it but he hadn’t registered he meant more than one. “How many were there? How many cases?”
“Nine butlers did it.” Ramirez laughed and answered the second. “Twenty-eight cases.”
“What? How could there be twenty-eight cases and no one made the connection?”
“They didn’t steal paintings from all of them. They changed it up when they hit the various houses. They used their connection to the butler organization to know when homeowners were out of town, then hit their houses. With the variety of neighborhoods and items taken, there was nothing to really connect the cases until they confessed. This is the first time they killed anyone. When we confronted him with what we had, he started spilling everything. He wanted a deal,” Ramirez said in disgust. “I hope the DA doesn’t give him one.”
“After all your hard work, I’ll make sure he doesn’t.”
Taggart watched as they all snapped to attention, recognizing the voice.
“Chief,” they all greeted him.
They parted in the doorway and Chuck came in. He shook the Steward case team’s hands and congratulated them on closing the case. He stopped in front of Ramirez.
“Twenty-eight cases closed is a good way to end the year.” Chuck put out his hand. Ramirez took it and they shook. Chuck held on. “You’re the one who has the best feature.”
Taggart stifled a laugh, expecting Ramirez to sputter and act professional.
“Yeah. You wanna see?” Ramirez asked.
“Ramirez,” Taggart said sharply.
“What? He asked.” Ramirez blinked innocently.
“I did.” Chuck laughed. “Good work.” He released Ramirez’s hand and included all of them in his look, even those still in the doorway. “Although this unit has been together a short time, you all are doing good work.”
Chuck looked at him and Taggart didn’t like the expression on his face. He looked at his squad.
“All right, you all heard, the butlers did it. Now back to work.” Taggart paused before saying, “And keep the butler jokes to a minimum.”
They chuckled as they left. Walter nodded to him and shook the chief’s hand before he too left, closing the door behind him. Chuck came around the desk and leaned against it.
“What was with all the praise?”
“You all deserve it. And now more than ever, you’re going to have to get over your distaste for the press.”
“What? No.”
“Shut up, Captain.”
When he used his rank instead of his name, Taggart knew he wouldn’t like what was coming.
“There are questions on the necessity of a unit such as yours. People want to know why you are getting special treatment. Maybe it has something to do with your brother-in-law being the Chief of Police. There’s a news report on that later today.”
“That’s a fucking insult to me. I worked for this. The commander of this station is the one who asked me to head this unit. I agreed if they let me handpick my squad from any within this precinct. You had nothing to do with it. I don’t come to you for favors.” Taggart lowered his voice. Rage coursed through him.
“You’re not the only one it’s an insult to. We know what happened. Hell, your superiors do too. But this is politics, and it’s a game some are very good at.” Chuck gave him a significant look.
“I know how to play it, but I’m not going to put on a show for some bureaucratic bullshit.”
“I know, Taggart. I know it’s a load of crap.” Chuck rubbed his fingers down his nose; then he lowered his hand. “But it has to be done. The closing of such a major robbery ring is going to play very well in the press for the next few days. Push or even shut down this supposed exposé. Hell, when we get a complete list of what was taken and who was involved, it might be longer.” Chuck stood. “I’ll have my press secretary set up a press conference at my office for one thirty. Actually, no, it will be better to do it here. Get the use of the media room in this building, the one your division works in.”
Taggart opened his mouth.
“No arguments, Taggart. You will be there and bring along the detectives on the case too.” Chucks lips twitched. “The media will enjoy a look at the colorful personalities you have on your squad.”
“Ramirez will probably want to show them his butt,” Taggart grumbled.
“That would be funny as hell.” Chuck put his hand on his shoulder. “Billy thinks he has a long reach and can discredit you and what you’ve done. Using me to do it was a big mistake.”
“I don’t want you involved.”
“I already was involved. I’m the chief, and what any officer does is a reflection on my office and me. I know you’re trying to shield me from some really big stuff coming, but he’s playing dirty by pulling this. He made it personal on you and what you’ve built. On what your detectives have worked on. That brings it into my court. I’m good at politics, and I’m going to bury his fucking ass.” Chuck breathed out. “No one tries to mess with my police force. He’s forgone his right to wear any badge, and I will make sure he realizes it.”
Taggart believed every word he said. Chuck believed in the justice system and his officers. Billy had indeed made an error in judgment by trying to attack them.
“Tell Charlie thanks for the heads-up.”
“It was deliberate that he made someone go to the station. She’s the news anchor for the story.” Chuck shook his head. “He knows she’s my wife and your sister. I bet he expects her to push to have her station not go with the story about you.”
“He doesn’t know Charlie. She’s a Monroe. If it comes down to it, she’ll do her job even if she doesn’t like it. But he’s going to pay for it.” Taggart almost felt sorry for Billy. He was sure Charlie hunting for information on Billy would make something he didn’t want known come to light. He made a mental note to call her, just in case. Chuck not knowing about a potential bombshell before the news was revealed was still for the best.
“And you can thank her yourself. She wants you and your boyfriend to come to dinner.”
“He’s not my boyfriend. We’ve only just started dating.” Taggart frowned.
“Well, when the kids described him, she figured out he’s the Rhodes fellow that agitates you. For that alone, she wants to meet him. She says anyone who can get under your skin would be fun to watch.” Chuck laughed.
“She would.” Taggart had no intention of them meeting anytime soon.
“AND NOW I have to be in a news conference in half an hour.” Taggart viciously stabbed a tomato on his plate.
Rhodes wouldn’t say it out loud, but he was enjoying Taggart’s ranting about what Billy had done. His eyes were fierce and his nostrils were flaring. He was glad he’d been called into town today, or he would have missed this. Finished, Rhodes put down his fork and watched Taggart.
“Billy riled up Chuck. Bad move. He involved Charlie too. They want to meet you, by the way.”
“Billy?”
“No, Charlie and Chuck.” Taggart rolled his eyes. “She’s a busybody and nosy. It’s the reporter in her. She feels she needs to know everything.”
“I could point out that’s like someone I know. But I’ll restrain myself.”
“Very admirable of you. She’ll like that you’re a smart-ass. But don’t
worry, you won’t be meeting them.”
Rhodes kept his expression contained. He knew it might be too soon for them to be introducing each other to family, friends they didn’t have in common, and so on, but Taggart made it sound very final that he wouldn’t be meeting his sister and husband.
“Thanks for lunch and listening to me rant.” Taggart smirked wryly. “I’ll see you later tonight.” He stood and leaned over, kissing him, then lifted up slightly. “How’re the puppies?”
“After tomorrow, you’re using the certificate I gave you.” Rhodes scowled.
“Oh boy. What did they do?”
“The pillows I had set up in the media room. They ripped them all up.”
“They have a thing for pillows.” Taggart started to laugh.
“It’s not funny.” Rhodes’s lips twitched. “They were covered in them and jumping in the feathers. I swear, if they could talk, they would have been screaming ‘wheee’ as they did it.”
“Yeah, I get the same feeling too.” Taggart kissed him again. “I’ll replace them.”
“They were so well behaved before this pillow incident.”
“They’re comfortable being in your house. Just like I am. It feels like home.” Taggart’s watched dinged. “I’ve got to go. Later. Me and you ringing in the New Year.”
“I’ve got the beer all chilled.” Rhodes shook his head. “And the pillows were all ready for us.”
“We’ll use the couch.”
“But I had plans for those pillows,” Rhodes grumbled.
“We’ll do it another time.” Taggart ran his fingers down Rhodes’s face, winking, and left.
Rhodes watched him walk away. The suit covered Taggart’s ass, but Rhodes already knew it very well and didn’t need the view. Taggart’s confidence showed in each step and his shoulders were ramrod straight, showing his military bearing. He said something to the host and went out the door. Rhodes leaned back against the booth, checking his watch. He signaled for a coffee and it came quickly. He sipped as he waited. When it was close to the time of the press conference he stood, paid the bill, and left. Rhodes strolled toward the precinct. Inside, he didn’t have to ask for directions; he already knew the way. He waved at the desk sergeant, whom he happened to know. The man nodded and pointed at his watch. Rhodes went over. They shook hands.
Something in Common (Dreamspinner Press Bundles) Page 95