“Sounds like I might.”
Ambler fished in his pocket for a tin of Altoids. He popped one in his mouth, then offered the tin to me.
“No, thanks.”
He had an odd expression on his face as he began to speak, sort of like he was having fun. “I can see what Stone sees in you.”
“Just doing my job, sir.” With all that had been going on, I never stopped to think about how the chain of command would be altered. Accepting the new position would mean reporting to Ambler, which I saw as a very positive aspect of the job. I can live with that. I’d be happy to live with that.
“I’ll be honest, which is all I’ve ever been good at,” Ambler said. “I haven’t been in this position very long, and well, Bill Wallace …” He frowned. “Bill was kind of self-sufficient. Sure, I read all of his write-ups, but he … Well, you know how he was—he woke up every morning as if he had been shot out of a cannon. He only came to me when he had a problem he couldn’t handle on his own or to brief me as necessary.”
“He was a good man, sir.”
“Yes, he was.” He sat up straight in his chair and folded his arms. “Before the DD comes back, I have something I want to tell you. Now don’t get me wrong, but the bureau could save a lot of money by folding Wallace’s group under Bakal’s. You know, efficiencies of scale and all that.”
I cringed.
“I can see by your expression how much you like that idea.”
“It’s that obvious?”
He answered with a grin, then said, “Well, I have to tell you, there are times when being efficient makes good goddamn sense and there are times like these when it’s just one huge pain in the ass.”
Oh, thank God. I knew I liked Ambler.
“Bakal’s an ambitious man with a good record, and he’s been bugging me to consolidate the teams since he learned about Wallace’s death.”
“What a dick.”
“Not one to mince your words, are you, Mather?” He leaned forward. “I know you’re back and forth over this promotion thing, and I have to tell you that I think it’d be great for you. As I inferred, I don’t like to micromanage my staff, so draw the obvious message from that. Play by the rules and you can run your own shop, pretty much. You get me?”
I smiled. “I do.”
He checked his watch. “Now before the boss gets back … talk to me about any reservations you have about taking the job, because if you say no, it’ll make a lot of sense to give in to Bakal, and from the few minutes the two of you were in the room together, I can just sense how much you’d enjoy working for a guy like him.”
“I like being out on the street.”
“So be out on the street. I’ll make it easy for you—I’ll burn your desk and give away your office. You can operate from the souvlaki cart at the South Street Seaport for all I care. The point, Mather, is that you can take the job and make it your own. Being bumped to SSA doesn’t mean having to be a desk jockey.” He checked the time again. “We’ve got maybe five minutes—what else?”
I took a deep breath. “It’s just …”
“The guilt?”
I nodded.
“That’s just dumb. You hear me? It’s just fucking dumb. I talked to Cabrera. I know that you wanted to stay upstate until the DNA results came back and we were sure that Sand was dead. It was Wallace who pulled you back into town for dinner with Stone, and as much as I hate to say this … it was Wallace who put your life in danger, not the other way around. I understand that you respected your boss and that you’re a caring human being. I also understand that you’re taking his death personally, but … marine, get your head out of your ass and smell the coffee. Opportunity is knocking.” He grinned and I reciprocated with a sad grin of my own. “I enjoyed that,” he said, then stood. “I’d better get the hell out of here before Stone accuses me of coaching you.” He grinned. “So how’d I do?”
“You’re good, sir.”
“Excellent.” He was still grinning at me through the glass panels as he disappeared down the corridor. It appeared that Ambler was one of those men who could lighten your heart.
Just then my cell phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket and noted the caller ID. It was from a man who was Ambler’s complete opposite. I hit Accept and answered in a somber voice, “Yes, Al.” What is it now?
Chapter 26
I heard an unfamiliar voice on the end of the line. “It’s not Al.”
“Who is this, and why are you on his phone?”
“That’s not important. What is important is that you listen very carefully to what I’m about to say.”
Jesus! I rubbed my forehead and covered my eyes. “Yeah, go on.”
“Al’s in trouble. I think maybe he mentioned it to you.”
Silence.
He continued, “And maybe not. I just stopped by to see him, and he’s gone but his phone was here on the table next to his wallet. His shoes are here too, along with his car keys, and his rental car is still parked outside. I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I think that maybe someone took him.”
“What? Who do you think took him, and why?”
“A guy named Enio Benzino. Maybe you’ve heard the name.”
“The guy the Suffolk DA is investigating on the dumping scandal?”
“He’s the guy most likely to have killed two of our old friends, Mike Otho and Nunzio Faciamano. I think your father may be next.”
“This is unbelievable,” I fretted aloud. I wanted to tell him that I hadn’t seen my father for more than an hour in the last fifteen years and that I didn’t care about what happened to him, but it wouldn’t have been true. “Where do I find this guy … Benzino?”
“He’s got a place on the water in Bayshore, and his company is called Beacon Hill Partners. It’s a carting company.”
That makes sense. “Anything else you can tell me?”
“Yeah. Benzino’s not a patient man, so I wouldn’t waste any time trying to find him.” The line went dead.
“You all right, Mather?” Deputy Director Stone had just entered the conference room. I guess he saw the tormented expression on my face. “The bullet wound acting up?”
I lied, “Yeah. It hurts like hell.”
“Then let’s have our talk and you can get the hell out of here. I know it’s not your thing, but go home and rest.”
I lied again. “I think I’ll do that.”
He pulled out a chair and sat down. I did the same. “Well, did you make up your mind?”
I wanted confirmation that Bakal would absorb Wallace’s staff if I didn’t agree to take his spot, but I couldn’t ask because it would’ve appeared as if I were taking the job for the wrong reason. The information I had gotten from Ambler would just have to do. I could do worse than reporting to a man like him. I forced a grin. “Where do I sign?”
Chapter 27
This is crazy! One good hand and no jurisdiction, coming to the aid of a father I hardly know. God, if this goes badly, I’ll lose my promotion before it becomes official. Screw that, I could get brought up on charges. Look at me, I’m talking to myself.
Liam had requested an extended lunch and had picked me up at the train station. He was behind the wheel chauffeuring his maimed girlfriend to a home we had no business visiting. “You sure about this?” he asked. “This doesn’t sound like the best idea to me.”
“Do I look like I’m sure? Christ, I don’t know what I’m doing here … or why.”
“Because you’re a good person and you can’t sit idly by knowing that your father’s life may be at risk.” He mumbled, “Even if the man is a total shit.” He patted my leg. “You know it’s not too late for plan B, Chloe. Let’s stop and call the police.”
“Believe me, I’m thinking about it.” I’d come up with the idea of reporting my father missing as an independent citizen and not an FBI agent, and informing the police of the anonymous phone call I had received. “It’s really my best option because I really don’t know what I’ll d
o when we get there. I mean, I can’t just knock on this guy’s door and ask if he’s abducted Al.” I drew a tense sigh. “How far?”
“Ten minutes, give or take.”
“Pull over,” I ordered and yanked out my phone. I googled the Bayshore Police Precinct and punched in the number. “This is FBI Agent Chloe Mather calling on unofficial business,” I explained to the answering officer. “As a courtesy, may I talk to the precinct CO?”
“What’s the nature of your call, ma’am?”
“Missing person. Possible abduction.”
“Just a minute,” the officer replied. “I’ll get the OIC.”
“Is he putting you through?” Liam asked.
“I think so. Sounds like he went to look for the officer in charge.” I literally crossed my fingers. “God. My father is the devil. I just can’t stand the way he pulls the strings and gets Grace and me to dance around like puppets.”
I heard someone getting on the line. “Shit,” I said nervously. “Here goes.”
Chapter 28
We parked down the block from Benzino’s home and waited for a police squad car to arrive. The house was set back off the road, a white clapboard colonial with a black roof and about a hundred feet of bulkhead on the Great South Bay. It wasn’t a fancy spread, but it wasn’t exactly a shack either, and the waterfront location put its price tag well north of a million. It had a long gravel driveway that was occupied by two black SUVs.
“What’s going to happen, Chloe?” Liam asked.
“Orange Alert neighborhood check protocol. They’ll knock on the door and tell whoever answers that a senior citizen is missing and may have been seen in the area. They’ll show the picture of Al they just received from Florida DMV and ask if they’ve seen him.”
“I like the idea of the ruse, but is that all we can do?”
“Yeah. That’s all we can do, Liam. The precinct commander is going out on a limb to help me as it is.”
“But if they have him … I mean, do you really expect these henchmen to cooperate?”
“Cops are observant. They know it’s a possible abduction and will be looking for telltale signs: expressions, body language, bad answers to unambiguous questions… If we get lucky, they’ll see or hear something that is out of the ordinary.” I stroked his cheek. “Sorry to drag you into this. The Mather clan patriarch is a real wild card.”
“Can’t believe he’s your father. The two of you are so different. Still, I would never let you go through this alone. I’m glad you asked me to drive you. I’m your wingman.”
I smiled fondly. “You’re a lot more than that.”
I saw a police cruiser in the rearview mirror as it rolled slowly up the block. “Here they come.” It pulled up alongside of us and paused momentarily, just long enough for the accompanying officer in the passenger seat to give a reassuring nod, and then the cruiser rolled past. They pulled up in front of Benzino’s house, walked to the front door, and rang the bell. We rolled down our windows and waited for the door to open. A few moments passed. One of the officers rang the bell again and then knocked.
“Doesn’t look like anyone’s home,” Liam said.
I blew out a troubled sigh but remained silent.
The officer knocked again and then I saw the two of them conferring. One of them looked through the nearest window. The other scrambled down the steps and began looking around the property. The other officer did the same, walking around the house in the opposite direction.
“Let’s hope that this is nothing more than one big wild-goose chase. With any luck Al’s sitting in a bar somewhere drunk as a skunk and oblivious to the world, trying desperately to score with some barfly floozy.”
“Barefoot?”
I replied with exasperation in my voice, “I don’t know, Liam. Maybe he packed a second pair of shoes. Maybe he’s become a nature child.” I shook my head. “The man is an enigma to me.”
The sound of fracturing wood hit our ears. Liam jumped. “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.” I opened the door, got out, and paused by the front fender, resisting the impulse to race across the street and check it out in person.
Liam joined me by the front fender a moment later. “What’s going on? Why haven’t they come back out front yet?”
I had a bad feeling but didn’t want to alarm Liam prematurely. “Because …” I saw one of the officers rushing toward us with a police radio in his hand. The look of urgency on his face was unmistakable. “What happened?” I asked in a dire tone.
“Male homicide victim,” he replied. “I just called it in.”
Chapter 29
My father’s dead was the first thought to cross my mind. I reeled for a moment and drew in some fresh air before my training took over and pushed reflexive panic aside. Easy, Chloe. Don’t jump to conclusions. The officer who had just reported the homicide was hustling back toward the house. “Can I come with you?” I was going to follow him no matter what he replied, but Liam’s presence reminded me that I was there purely as a visitor and that Suffolk County PD was merely extending a courtesy to a fellow law enforcement officer.
He continued to run a few yards before turning back to me. “Mind the crime scene,” he advised.
“You got it.” Turning to Liam, I said, “You have to wait here. Sorry.” I frowned and then took off.
“Have the premises been cleared?” I asked as I caught up with the patrolman. He turned to me. “All clear.” His badge read Samuels.
His partner was in the den, standing over a corpse. I stopped in my tracks and sighed with relief, my heart pounding wildly in my chest. Whoever was on the floor was not Al Mather. The victim was much shorter and stockier than Al, with stiff gray hair like Gene Simmons that stood out and away from his head like an old Nazi helmet. His lifeless eyes bulged from their sockets. His neck was sliced open and the skin was spread apart above where the carotid artery had been severed. The carpeting had soaked up his blood like a sponge. The blood-spatter pattern on the carpet was a wild pattern of blobs, splashes, and swirls not unlike a Jackson Pollock painting, and was not inconsistent with the rupturing of an artery under high pressure. I imagined the victim clutching his throat and turning this way and that before hitting the floor, his movement directing the spurting blood in a random pattern around the room. “Have we confirmed identity? Is it Benzino?”
Samuels partner, Shah, was on his feet and looking through the wallet he had just removed from the victim’s pocket. He pulled the driver’s license, turned to me, and nodded. “That’s him all right.”
Samuels was on the radio. When he finished receiving instructions, he said, “Crime scene investigators and detectives are on the way.” Turning to me, he added, “They’d like you to stick around to answer some questions, ma’am.”
I saw that coming. They’d want to know why my father feared for his life and why an anonymous source suspected that Benzino had abducted him. Al Mather—leech, deserter, and absentee parent—could now add person of interest to his list of descriptors, and as usual, a member of his family was far worse off because of it.
Chapter 30
A hero had fallen and his murderer roamed free. I was unhappy with the situation and was feeling disconnected from the capture effort because I’d been home recovering from my wound. Sand had to be found, but not before giving Wallace a proper send-off. We were all somber as we attended his funeral on that sunny spring morning.
As in life, so in death, his funeral proceedings were formal and dignified, a tribute to a man who had embraced FBI principals all the days of his career. But for all the pomp and circumstance, the only thing that truly mattered was the family he had left behind. The rest of us would mourn Wallace’s loss and then go on with our lives, but his family would be forever damaged and would have to live with holes in their guts forever. His children were young and unfamiliar with the formal process of laying a loved one to rest, but I could sense the suffering on his widow’s
face and the faces of his parents, family members, and friends, who knew all too well the gravity of the tragedy that had befallen Bill Wallace.
Cabrera and I stood together. He put his arm around me. Together our heads hung side by side, sadly staring at the coffin. “This sucks!” I dabbed at tears as my ex-boss was eulogized.
Cabrera remained silent and tightened his grip around me as we endured the pain together. His funny side was absent, drawn from his spirit like a candle flame in the wind. It was a bad day, one I’d remember a long time.
Kathleen Wallace’s face was a portrait of distress as the service came to an end. I was about the same age as the widow, but we lived such very different lives. We, all of us, live with it, the reality that any day could be our last, but as law enforcement officers that reality is ever present in our minds and the minds of our immediate family. Our goodbye to Wallace was an emotional one. Kathleen would be left to contemplate a future without her friend and husband, and I would forever wonder if I could’ve done more to save him. My hurt was not anywhere as strong as hers, but it was a heavy burden to bear, I assure you.
The crowd slowly dispersed after the ceremony. Cabrera waited patiently while I walked off to chat with Ambler. I’d been completely open with Cabrera about the promotion, and he seemed to be taking it in stride. I’m sure there was a part of him that was unhappy about being passed over, but he never showed it. “Better you than that Bolshevik Bakal,” he’d said. “Am I still allowed to call you Gumdrop?”
“You bet,” I responded with a meager smile before joining Ambler.
“I guess you’re my CO now,” I said to Ambler.
“You’re darn tooting,” he said with a wink. We strolled a few yards before he said, “So what’s all this about your father disappearing?”
“Sorry to burden you with this so early on in our relationship.”
The Mather Triad: Series Boxed Set (Chloe Mather Thrillers) Page 57