Bullet From Dominic

by Giammatteo, Giacomo

  “Yes, Agent Nash, that is a threat. And yes, I do know who I’m talking to. Furthermore, if you check around, you’ll discover that Gladys Cooper just doesn’t give a fuck, so find somebody with authority and get back to me. Quickly.” She slammed the phone onto the base.

  “Sounded like fun,” Tip said.

  “Cut the shit, Denton.”

  I moved toward Coop’s desk. “Captain, we’ve got the Sniders in an interview room, but still no word on the daughter. Delgado and Cruz are interviewing the bus driver, and we’ve got every available officer looking for the woman.”

  “Is the house ready?” Coop asked.

  “I checked it on my way in,” Tip said. “Everything looks good.”

  Coop leveled her gaze at Tip, then at me. “What’s the plan?”

  I took a deep breath before answering. “Delgado and Cruz are moving the Sniders tonight. We decided to wait until after dark. Tip’s got two deputies from County who volunteered for duty at the safe house.”

  “And Cortes?” Coop asked.

  “We’ll get him as soon as we get the warrant,” Tip said.

  “Good,” Coop said. “I want that son of a bitch to rot in prison.”

  We left Coop’s office and made the long walk to see the Sniders. I felt as if I were headed to the gallows and wondered if facing the hangman’s noose wouldn’t be easier.

  “You want me to do this?” Tip asked before we walked in.

  “Yeah, I want you to do it, but this is on me.” I reached to grab the door handle, and turned toward Tip. “Thanks for offering though. I appreciate it.”

  Cathy Snider sat on the edge of her seat, her hands folded on the edge of the table. Her face had the look of a woman who’d lost everything, and her eyes told the same tale. Patrick sat beside her, his left hand resting across her shoulder, a futile attempt at comfort. And Trisha sat on the floor, slouched against the wall in the corner.

  When I walked in, Patrick came to attention. “Any news?”

  “Nothing yet,” I said. “But we’ve got everyone working on this. I mean everyone.”

  I expected Cathy to jump up, scream, and claw at me. Something. But she did nothing. I’d been prepping myself for several possible reactions. But her doing nothing had not entered my mind.

  Nothing was worse.

  I started to reach for her, but Tip tapped my arm and shook his head. “We’ll be moving you to a safe house after dark,” he told them. “We’ll have two officers with you the whole time. You’ll be safe.”

  “And we’re arresting Carlos tonight,” I said. “He’s not getting away with any of this.”

  Patrick Snider jumped up from the chair. “No!”

  Cathy reached for him, but he yanked free. “I don’t want him arrested,” Patrick said. “He won’t hurt Marissa if we don’t press charges.”

  Tip pulled up a chair next to Snider. When he spoke it was almost a whisper. “Mr. Snider, I know you probably think that, and it even seems logical to think he’d keep her safe as long as your wife doesn’t testify, but that’s not the way he works.”

  “How do you know how he works?” Snider said. “You didn’t count on him taking Marissa.”

  I didn’t know how to answer that. We couldn’t tell him that last year, Carlos killed a cop, or that he’d killed Tip’s dogs, or that he’d tried killing me. But I had to answer him. “Something triggered him to do that. He must have suspected you were cooperating with us.”

  Snider shot me a look filled with disgust. “If he suspected something, Detective, it came from here. Cathy and I told no one.”

  Tip stepped close and addressed Mrs. Snider. “You’ll have to trust us on this. I know how Carlos thinks. He’ll keep her safe as long as there’s a chance you’ll change your mind about testifying. If he thinks he has something to negotiate, some bargaining chip, he’ll keep her alive—and unharmed. But the moment you drop the charges, you have nothing.”

  Mr. Snider was about to say something, but Tip stopped him. “The money laundering is dead. You’re useless to him now. You’re all useless. The only reason your daughter is alive right now is because your wife can still put him in prison.”

  “Bullshit,” Snider said, but then Cathy stood and grabbed his arm.

  “Patrick, they’re right. I saw the look in that man’s eyes when they…” She turned and looked at her daughter, then back to Tip and me. “I know what I saw. He’ll never let her go if we give in.”

  Patrick hugged her for a few seconds then looked at Tip. “Promise me you’ll find her?”

  “We’re gonna find her,” Tip said. “And he’s going to pay.”

  I didn’t gasp, but I almost did. Tip never promised victims or families of victims any kind of resolution. Smart cops never did.

  “We have to go,” I said. “But Detective Delgado will let you know when it’s time to move.”

  “You’ll keep us informed?” Cathy asked.

  “Every step of the way,” I said, and then Tip and I left. “Not very smart,” I said to him after we walked out.

  “You mean promising them we’d get the girl?”

  “That’s exactly what I mean.”

  “We’re gonna get her,” Tip said. “End of discussion.”

  Chapter 43

  You Have the Right to Remain Silent

  Tip drove, and for the first time since I’d known him, it wasn’t fast enough.

  “Hurry up,” I said for the second time.

  “We’ll get there. Don’t forget, we’ve got two units following. Besides, it looks like you need time to cool off.”

  “Bullshit,” I said, but he was right. We had to play this by the book. No way was I letting this arrest get tossed on a technicality.

  “About the leak,” Tip said. “Who knew that Snider was cooperating?”

  I thought for a moment. “Besides us—Delgado and Cruz. Coop. Julie, Herb, Charlie, Renkin.”

  “Didn’t Coop send a couple of uniforms to the house?”

  “Yeah. I forgot about them. That makes far too many. And we add in Cindy, Renkin’s admin, and God knows who else from the other division.”

  “We need to figure this out,” Tip said. “We can’t afford more mistakes.”

  We arrived at Carlos’ house a few minutes later. The place looked as it had the last time we were there, which seemed like years ago, but it had only been seven months. Tip parked across the street, and the backup units pulled in behind us. Two officers got out of each car.

  “Keep your eyes open,” Tip said. “We’re damn sure this guy killed one of our own last year. And he tried killing Connie, too.”

  “We’re ready,” the senior officer said.

  I rang the bell. It barely had time to chime before the door opened. “I’m guessing we were expected,” I murmured.

  Tip nodded and showed his badge to the guy behind the door. “We have a warrant for Carlos Cortes.”

  The man stepped back, allowing us entry. The foyer was even bigger than I remembered. A sofa and three waiting chairs sat along the side walls, and the door to an elevator stood at the rear. The marble floor looked as if it had been laid yesterday.

  I turned to the officers who arrived in the second unit. “Wait here while we go up. Detain anyone you see.”

  Tip and I, and the other two officers, walked to the elevator. When the door opened, the young cop with us jumped a little, his hand moving to his gun. I grabbed his arm.

  “Easy,” I said, but I was glad to see him ready.

  The elevator stopped on the fourth floor, where another man greeted us, again without a word, and led us across another foyer and into a room that resembled a library. Carlos sat in a stiff-backed chair next to a small table. A cigarette burned in an ashtray. A second man sat in a chair opposite him. Neither stood.

  I glanced around the room, checking to make sure no one else was there. “Keep your eyes open,” I whispered to the young cop.

  “What do you want?” Carlos asked.

  T
ip held out the paper. “We have a warrant for your arrest,” he said. “And the arrest of three of your men: Roberto, Tico, and Chaparrito.”

  “On what charge?”

  I stepped forward. “Sexual assault and rape.”

  “Rape? Is she now saying she didn’t want to do that? I have witnesses who say otherwise.”

  “We have our own witnesses,” Tip said.

  “Witnesses or not, you must understand that Señor Snider wanted this. He is a man with a strange sexual appetite.”

  “You expect me to believe—”

  “I expect nothing. I have pictures of him with other women. Naked pictures.”

  “I don’t care about pictures of him and other women,” Tip said. “But you will pay for what you did to Mrs. Snider.”

  “I did nothing,” Carlos said.

  My body tensed, but I fought for control. “Stand up,” I said, and held out the handcuffs.

  Carlos turned and reached toward the table.

  “Gun!” I shouted, and drew my weapon.

  Carlos froze and slowly raised his hands above his head. “I have no gun. I am not armed.” He turned, a smirk on his face. “You won’t get to kill me so easily, Detective.”

  I gripped my gun with both hands and pointed it at his head. My hands were shaking; I felt my finger pressuring the trigger. It was a surreal moment, not unlike the thousand times I’d shot him in my dreams. A voice inside me told me to stop, but something stronger fought that voice.

  Carlos lost his smirk. His eyes opened wide, and he slowly shook his head.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Tip moving toward me, his hand reaching for my gun. “Gianelli.”

  I didn’t move.

  “Gianelli!”

  I closed my eyes, just for an instant, and then I let my finger off the trigger. And then I lowered the gun. “Cuff him,” I said to the young cop. Put ’em on tight.

  Tip looked to the man with Carlos. “What’s your name?”

  “Roberto Vasquez.”

  “Cuff him,” Tip said to the senior officer, and then he faced Carlos and read him his rights.

  “Where are the others?” Tip asked.

  Carlos glared at me. “I believe I have the right to remain silent.”

  “Search the house,” Tip said. “Make sure you don’t break anything. Don’t even ruffle the sheets.”

  “What do you want us to do?” the senior officer said.

  “Stay here. They’ll be back,” Tip said. “Call for another unit.”

  We headed across the upstairs foyer. As the elevator door opened, Carlos said to his man, “Call Señor Griffin. Tell him what is happening.”

  “Good old Señor Griffin,” Tip said. “I guess you’ve got him shook up pretty good after killing his partner.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Carlos said, but the smile he flashed said otherwise.

  “I’m sure you don’t,” Tip said. “But that’s all right, because we do know what we’re talking about.”

  I wanted to get this son of a bitch into a lineup so the Sniders’ could ID him, but I knew that wouldn’t happen until morning. On second thought, it might be better to let him sit in jail all night. That would piss him off.

  Tip put Carlos and Roberto in the back of the second unit’s car, and then we followed them back to the station.

  The first few minutes of the drive were silent, unless you counted the screaming inside my head. I had almost blown it. If I had…I turned to Tip and said, “Thanks.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Thanks,” I said again.

  “Say it again. I can’t hear you.”

  “You son of a bitch.” Tip had done it again. Made me laugh.

  “I almost lost it in there.”

  “Didn’t notice,” he said. “But I bet Carlos has shit in his pants right now.”

  I was still shaking, afraid of what I almost did. I turned toward him. “Have you ever—”

  “Wanted to blow somebody’s head off?” He nodded. “Way too many times.”

  “How do you control it?”

  He didn’t say anything. I let it go for a few seconds and then asked again. “What stops you?”

  “I still need to find out who killed my mother,” he said. “And I can’t do that if I’m not a cop.”

  That surprised the hell out of me. I knew he wanted to find her killer, but I had no idea the feelings ran that deep. “She must have been a good woman.”

  “Unfortunately I can’t say that she was. Fact is, she was a son of a bitch.”

  I couldn’t believe he’d just said that about his mother, and I almost said something, but then he continued.

  “But she was the son of a bitch that raised me. And she was the only person who ever gave a shit about me. I owe her for that.”

  I didn’t know how to respond, so I said the first thing that came to mind. “Now you have one more person who gives a shit. You saved my career tonight.”

  He turned onto I–10 and headed toward the station. “You can pay me back when I find the one who killed her, ’cause if you’re not there, I intend to pull the trigger.”

  I looked at him, at his pursed lips, his narrowed eyes, and the twitch on the side of his face. That happened only when he got pissed off in a dangerous way.

  I made a promise to myself that I would be there. I owed him that.

  Chapter 44

  Information from the Enemy

  When we arrived at the station, Tip went with the two officers to process Carlos and Roberto. I wanted his ass in a jail cell long enough to make him squirm. While Tip took care of the processing, I went to see the Sniders.

  Delgado and Cruz were with them. I walked in, and Mrs. Snider almost sprang from her chair. “Any news?”

  I shook my head. “Not yet. But we’ve got people everywhere. We’ll find her.”

  “When?” Her voice broke on that one word, and she fell into my arms. “Is she going to be all right? Have they hurt my baby?”

  I held her, but there wasn’t much to do except let her cry. I had nothing to tell her. Now I wished I could relive that scene at Carlos’ house. I might have pulled the trigger.

  After a few seconds she lifted her head. “Did you arrest him?”

  “We just brought him in. Carlos and Roberto. The other two weren’t there, but we’ll find them. I’ve got officers waiting at his house.”

  Mr. Snider stepped forward. “Did he say anything…about Marissa?”

  Something in his voice told me he was wondering about more than his daughter. Maybe what Carlos had said about Patrick Snider and another woman was true. I knew the rest of what he’d said was a lie, but the other woman part might have been on target.

  I looked at him and shook my head. “He said nothing about Marissa.”

  Cruz stepped in close. “Mr. Snider, we’re ready to move.”

  Trisha stood, and Delgado took hold of her hand. “You want to ride with me?”

  “No need for you to go,” Cruz said. “We’ve got two deputies, and I plan on staying.”

  Delgado cocked his head and looked at Cruz. “Are you sure? I can do this.”

  “No way,” Cruz said. “Go home to Rosalee and the kids. They’ll need you.”

  I had forgotten that Delgado had moved Rosalee to another house because of the men following her. “I can join you, Cruz.”

  “I got it covered,” he said. “I don’t think we can squeeze any more cops into that house.”

  “I’ll go with you to the house,” Ribs said. “You can take it from there.”

  I said goodbye to the Sniders and moved toward the door. “Ribs, you got a minute?”

  He stepped into the hall, and we walked to the coffee room. “Did you get anything from the driver?” I asked.

  “Not much. She confirmed what we knew—that it was a woman and two men, and that the woman took Marissa. Ordinarily, I’d feel better knowing a woman has the kid, but if it’s the same woman we’re after…”<
br />
  “I hear you. Judging by what we’ve seen of her work, she’s one cold son of a bitch.”

  “I can’t figure out what they plan to do,” Ribs said. “This is a sexual-assault charge. Assuming she’s working for Carlos, why would he risk kidnapping charges?”

  I had to agree with Delgado. It seemed crazy for Carlos to order Marissa kidnapped when his high-priced lawyer would probably get him off on the sex charges anyway. “I think it’s his ego. This guy is a real nut bag. Don’t forget, we’re positive he’s the one who killed Tony—and Tip’s dogs.”

  “And tried killing you,” Delgado said.

  “Exactly. I’m not about to forget that.” My phone rang. “Tip, what’s up?”

  “We’re about through processing him, and then we’re taking him to a cell.”

  “Okay. See you in a minute.” I looked at Delgado. “Gotta go, but keep us up to speed. When are you leaving?”

  “In about an hour, which reminds me—I’ve got to get the keys from Julie.”

  “She left early,” I said. “I think her son was sick. But she put the keys in her desk drawer.”

  “Okay, thanks. See you later.”

  Tip and I followed the other officers to the jail. After they logged in Carlos and Roberto, Tip and I took Carlos to a room to talk.

  He sat at the end of a small rectangular table. Tip sat to his right and I took the seat on Carlos’ left.

  “It will go a lot easier on you if you tell us where the girl is,” Tip said.

  “I have no idea what you are talking about,” Carlos said.

  I wanted to beat that smug look off his face, but I kept my cool. “We know about El Terrible,” I said. “And we know she took Marissa. If you know where she is, and we get her back safely…let’s say I’m confident that the Sniders might reconsider their charges.” I was lying through my teeth, and I’m sure he knew it, but it was worth a shot.

  Carlos turned his head slowly. When he was facing me, he smiled. “I believe that in this country, I am allowed legal representation, am I not? I would like to invoke those rights now.”