“No clue. I don’t know if we’ll be able to find anything on him. He might have been Mr. Cipriano’s enforcer. That’s the impression I got anyway. He was pretty built, looked like he could handle himself. Certainly had no problem confronting us.”
“Right,” I said, my hand involuntarily reaching up to my chin as I thought about this. Was Mr. Cipriano in the building when we were in Arturo’s? Or was this other guy acting at his own discretion? Where exactly did they both fit in on the Giordano crime family hierarchy?
“I want to put together a hierarchy of the family. I want to know who’s who in the Giordano family so we can determine who’s giving orders and who’s taking them.”
I reeled backward slightly. Elias looked over at me quickly, noticing my flinch. It was as if he’d read my mind. No, no… it was probably just coincidence. I mean, it was natural to think that pinning down the command structure of the family was the next step. The fact that we’d both thought it at the same time just showed we were both good cops. I sat back down at my computer and got back to work.
“We’ve got a hierarchy in the database, but I’m not sure how current it is,” said Dr. Geiss. “It looks like it’s from around 2006.”
“OK,” said Elias. “We’ll work with that for now. Let’s find out what other properties they own; I want to pinpoint where they’re conducting these operations.”
“Agent Chamberlain, I have to say I don’t entirely support this path of inquiry. We have no data that suggests that the Giordanos are behind these abductions. There is organized crime in practically every city and the Giordanos have been operating here for several decades; why would abductions start now of all times?”
“Evelyn, do you have any better ideas? Because as far as I can tell, you and Agent Henderson didn’t come up with any valuable leads while Tess and I were out earlier.”
“No, well…” Dr. Geiss trailed off.
“Alright, then. This is our best chance right now. If you find anything that points us in another direction, we’ll redirect our efforts. For now, we’re focusing on the Giordanos.”
“OK.”
“Now, it’s getting late. I’ll have someone downstairs go out for coffee. And what do people want for dinner? I don’t think I have to tell you that we’re all going to be here late tonight.”
CHAPTER 10
———
Empty Thai food cartons were scattered across the tables. A map of New York City had been put up on the wall at the back of the task force work room. All across the five boroughs little thumb tacks had risen, each representing a property owned by someone in the Giordano crime family. There was an auto repair shop in Bushwick, an Italian restaurant in Park Slope. There was purportedly a tax preparation office in Brighton Beach, but it was probably just a front for a money laundering operation. The list went on and on… and that was just in Brooklyn.
All in all, over thirty properties had been identified and marked on the map in the past couple of hours. The question now was what exactly we were to do with all this information. We couldn’t exactly go visit all of these places; after all, we were likely to get the same ‘warm welcome’ we’d received when we went to Arturo’s. There was little to be gained by questioning the workers found at these businesses; there was no guarantee that they’d even be in on the operation. Perhaps this was Paul Cipriano’s racket and no one else’s.
We didn’t have probable cause, so getting a warrant was out of the question. Truthfully, I didn’t know what exactly Elias was looking for. I assumed it was some type of pattern, that maybe he was just waiting for something to jump out at him, for inspiration to strike and lead him in a promising direction. But there didn’t appear to be a pattern. We cross-referenced the locations where the girls had disappeared with those of the Mafia-owned properties. No consistency there whatsoever.
I looked over at Elias as he sat slumped at his desk. His face looked dejected and tired, that spark of life completely absent from his eyes. It was then that it struck me that he wasn’t used to struggling like this, to grasping at straws and finding nothing.
“I’m tired,” said Dr. Geiss. “I’m going to head home for the night.”
“Come on, Evelyn, just an hour more. We’re close, I can feel it,” said Elias. There was a slight hint of frustrated desperation in his voice.
“No, we’re not. Even if we had a lead, there’s nothing we could do about it tonight. You should get some rest yourself, Elias,” said Dr. Geiss, squeezing his shoulder gently as she walked by.
“Goodnight, Dr. Geiss,” I said, giving her a tired smile.
“Goodnight, Tess. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“If she’s heading home, I’m gonna get out of here as well,” said Agent Henderson.
“Alright, take it easy, Darren. I want you here early tomorrow, though.”
Agent Henderson turned around in the doorway and looked back at us.
“Of course. You’d do well to recharge the batteries, too, Elias.”
“I know, I know. I won’t be here much longer,” he said, giving Agent Henderson a nod as he disappeared out the doorway. Elias sighed.
“Maybe we should get out of here,” I said.
“Let’s put in another hour. I really think we’re close, Tess. If you can keep going, I think it will be worth it.”
“OK, I’m game.”
“Good. I knew I could count on you,” said Elias, offering me the first smile I’d seen out of him since the early afternoon.
I smiled to myself. There was that spark. Just seeing it gave me a little burst of energy, just enough to continue on for another hour.
—Elias—
It was getting late. Elias knew that. There was only so much more time he could keep Tess here. But the truth was he couldn’t let her go home alone; that would be risking far too much. How could he explain that to her without giving away the whole story?
He thought about this as he eyed her from across the table, steadfastly doing her work, scrolling through document after document looking for answers, every now and again going up to the map on the other side of the room and placing a new thumb tack. There was something charming in her dedication to the job, to the innocence under which she worked.
How would she react to the truth about things? She seemed like a strong spirit, but how strong? Would she cower in fear knowing that she could be the next victim? Would she faint at the mere suggestion that there was such a thing as shifters, or werewolves as she more likely knew the term? How would she respond to the fact that one was sitting across from her right now?
Elias sighed. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but he couldn’t right now. He tried reading her thoughts, trying to determine how she might react to these revelations. But he couldn’t get anything right now. Something about him felt off. Was he just tired? Maybe. He needed rest.
But he would have to tell her something. Eventually, she would want to go home for the night, and he’d have to find a way to protect her. He could stand guard outside her apartment all night; that was always a possibility. But without sleep, he’d hardly be able to function the following day, and that certainly wouldn’t be helpful to the case.
Perhaps he could ask her to come back to his hotel with him. But wouldn’t she find that presumptuous? He would be doing it to protect her, but she might interpret it the wrong way. He thought about this, long and hard, staring off into space.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked him.
“Oh, nothing,” said Elias. “Just the case is all.”
She looked back down to her laptop and Elias watched her, working calmly in front of him. The truth was, he didn’t even know if he could trust himself if he brought her back to the hotel room. Yes, he wanted to protect her, but there was no denying he wanted her body, that he wanted to ravage her, taking them both to the heights of ecstasy.
No, he said to himself. You can’t think of that right now. You cannot lose your focus. But the pull of this woman was hard
to resist, and his tired mind drifted back to her again and again. How would it feel to be with her? His imagination ran wild, playing with this thought, his mind toying and teasing him with his own desires.
Perhaps she could want him, too. This wasn’t wishful thinking. He knew by human standards that he was attractive. Women adored him, but he’d never met one that affected him like this. Just sitting across from her was maddening, her scent filling his nostrils, her body looking supple and voluptuous. He wanted to undress her, to have her body for his pleasure.
But for now this was just idle daydreaming. Elias tried to force his mind back to his work. What a hard battle he was fighting just sitting there—if Tess could only know.
—Tess—
Elias got up and walked over to the map. I watched interestedly as I saw him place another tack up on the board. Somewhere in Midtown. After he’d done so, he stayed there for a long moment, studying the map, noting all the locations we’d identified across the city.
I averted my eyes as he turned around and walked back to the table, sitting down quietly and going back to work.
“What was the location you just marked?” I asked quietly, almost absent-mindedly.
I was just trying to make a little conversation. I’d hit a wall in my own research and was feeling bored. I wanted to go home, but didn’t want to have to ask permission to leave.
“Some bar in Midtown. Some kind of trendy name. Forty-one or something like that. It’s a play on the address.”
My ears perked up and looked over at him, watching him closely as his eyes remained on his computer screen.
“41X?” I asked hopefully.
“Yes, that’s the one,” he said, still focused on the laptop screen.
“Elias. I came across that place in my preliminary research. Remember? You said it could just be coincidence. Are you telling me that the mob owns this place?”
Elias looked up at me and I saw his eyes light up, their shade of cool blue gaining in brightness and vibrancy. I could practically feel energy flowing from his body. His eyes locked with mine and we stared at each other a few seconds before he spoke.
“I told you we were close to something. This is that something,” he said, reaching across the table and touching my hand.
I shied away slightly, blushing. He was absolutely magnetic right now, teeming with life. It was only then that I realized how much this case meant to him, how much his happiness hinged on solving it before another girl went missing. But the more I looked into his eyes, the more I saw something else, too, some other emotion I couldn’t quite read. There was something passing between us, something without a name, deep and incomprehensible, but very, very real.
Part of me wanted to make a move at that moment. I’d fantasized about him before. I knew that I wanted him. And right now I felt like he would be receptive, that he wanted it, too. But I held back, knowing I had to remain professional. Just then a change came over his face, a new seriousness that changed the entire tone of our exchange. It appeared that he had something to say to me and I had no idea what that might be.
“Tess, there’s something you should know.”
“What? What are you talking about?” I asked, my voice quivering slightly.
His eyes had changed now, exuding a new seriousness, expressing some previously unknown danger.
“You’re not safe anymore.”
“What? Why? Elias, you’re scaring me.”
“Tess, you’re a target now. They saw you in Arturo’s. You know you’re their type. You’re on their radar now.”
“You think I’m going to be kidnapped? You’re crazy,” I said, disputing his claim, and trying to reassure myself in the process.
“No, this is real. Now that we know they’re active at 41X, we know this isn’t coincidence.”
“Elias, I’m fine. I can fend for myself. I’ve got a good head on my shoulders, I’ll be on the lookout.”
“You don’t know these people. You don’t know what they’re capable of.”
“What am I supposed to do? Lock myself away until the case is solved? You can’t expect me to do that.”
“I don’t expect you to do that, but I’m not letting you out of my sight. You’re sleeping at my hotel room tonight. I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer,” said Elias.
I paused. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I found this proposition slightly tantalizing. Not that I thought anything would happen between us necessarily, that anything could happen between us. But sharing a hotel room, that increased the odds, didn’t it?
“OK,” I said. I decided I wouldn’t fight him on this.
“Good. I’m glad you see things my way.”
“Can we go now? I’m so damn tired.”
“Sure. Let’s get some rest. We can get back to this in the morning.”
CHAPTER 11
———
The next day I woke up as the early morning sun streamed in through the window of the hotel room. I blinked my eyes and looked over to find Elias sleeping peacefully next to me. Well, not exactly right next to me. He was sound asleep in the other bed a few feet away.
When we’d gotten in late last night, we were both exhausted and had fallen immediately asleep. Nothing had happened between us. And despite whatever secret fantasies I nurtured inside myself, this fact wasn’t surprising to me. Sure, I thought I’d seen a sign of his affection in the looks he gave me, but what reason did I really have for believing him to be interested in a girl like me? He was gorgeous, after all, and could probably get any woman he wanted. Besides, we were coworkers and I knew he was a professional; he wouldn’t want to jeopardize the investigation with some quick fling.
After getting up I headed into the bathroom and had a quick shower. It was then that I realized I didn’t have a change of clothes; I’d have to let Elias know we had to stop by apartment so I could change. I didn’t want it to look like I’d been out on a one-night stand or something.
I came out of the shower dripping wet only to be greeted by Elias. I saw his eyes widen, surprised to see me like this. I felt desire rise up inside me, but I did all I could to force it back down; I knew he didn’t feel the same and it was for the best that I just kept quiet instead of expressing my feelings and looking like a fool in front of him.
While I waited for him to shower, I couldn’t help thinking about the new developments in the case. We finally had a substantial lead, but I was new to this and didn’t know the next steps. I figured we’d brief Agent Henderson and Dr. Geiss. After that, what else? We’d probably need to go down to 41X and talk with the owner and employees. But if they were anything like the crew at Arturo’s we knew they wouldn’t let us in without a warrant, and probably wouldn’t even say a single word until they were subpoenaed.
We still didn’t have any substantial evidence, nothing that would directly link the Giordano crime family with the various abductions. I’d have to follow Elias’s lead; I only hoped that he had some sort of plan for working this all out.
After a quick detour to my apartment to change, we arrived at the station an hour later. Elias came in a few seconds after me and we pretended to bump into each other in the lobby so as not to arouse suspicion. Even though nothing had happened between us, we knew we had to make it obvious that this was the case.
In the elevator, Elias turned to me, a serious look making its way across his face.
“Tess, we’re going to 41X today. But it’s strictly off-book.”
“Off-book? What do you mean?”
“I mean no one can know about it except for you and me.”
“But why? I mean, shouldn’t Dr. Geiss and Agent Henderson know about the connection between 41X and Arturo’s? It’s the most substantial lead we have.”
“Of course, of course. I’m going to tell them, obviously. Listen, I’ve got an idea for an operation, one that will really let us nail those bastards, but it’s a bit unorthodox and I know Dr. Geiss would be against it. But I think it’s the only c
hance we have, so we need to keep it private between us.”
“What kind of operation do you have in mind?” I asked, very curious given the secretive element involved. Was it some sort of sting? A trap for the Mafia?
“I’ll tell you later. We don’t have the time to discuss it now,” said Elias as the doors opened on the eighteenth floor.
We walked down the hallway to the task force work room where we found both Agent Henderson and Dr. Geiss already busy at work.
“Listen up, guys,” said Elias. “I think we’ve got a bit of a break in the case.”
“Let’s hear it, we’re all ears,” said Agent Henderson.
“Last night we stumbled upon another property owned by the Giordano family. This one too, not coincidentally, happens to be owned by Paul Cipriano. 41X, a club in Midtown. Anyone heard of it?”
“Doesn’t register,” said Dr. Geiss.
“Well, if you’ll recall, about eighty percent of the girls who went missing checked into this club not more than three weeks prior to their individual dates of disappearance,” said Elias confidently, giving me a knowing look in a quick side glance.
“And you think there’s a connection?” asked Dr. Geiss.
“Yes. I think it’s quite obvious in fact. This is pretty clear evidence that the mob is in some way affiliated with these kidnappings. I don’t know the details, but there’s something here and I mean to find out what that is.”
I smiled to myself. I liked seeing him in control. But I was also happy to be a part of this. I had been the one who’d made the connection, after all. It felt good to be part of the progress. With any luck, we’d soon be on our way to solving the case and putting the criminals behind it in prison. I looked forward to hearing Elias’s plan with great anticipation.
Early that afternoon, Elias and I left to go question the owner of 41X. That was the story, anyway. As soon as we got into his car, Elias turned to me and let me know what was actually happening.
The Shifter's Conspiracy (Paranormal BBW Werewolf Romance Novella) Page 6