Tough Justice Series Box Set, Parts 1-8

by Carla Cassidy

  When he and Lara reached the gravesite, the forensics team, outfitted in protective gear, was there to greet them.

  Nick approached the group, showed his ID and shook out the court order for the exhumation. “Do you need this?”

  A big guy, whose hazmat gear made him look even bigger, stepped forward and perused the order. “We don’t need it. Judge Brown’s clerk emailed it to us. I’m Snyder. Have you ever done one of these before?”

  “Can’t say that I have.” Nick turned to Lara, whose pale face matched the color of the hazmat suits. “You?”

  “No.”

  “I’m Agent Delano and this is Grant. How does this work, and what do you want us to do?”

  “We’re going to set up a staging area here.” As he spoke, the other people in his team unfurled what looked like an easy-up tent. “We’ll dig up the casket, pry it open, take some pictures and gather some samples.”

  “DNA?” Lara pressed her shoulder against his, and if they hadn’t been standing in the middle of a graveyard surrounded by three men and a woman in hazmat suits, he would’ve put his arm around her.

  “DNA and teeth. I think that’s about all we can get since the guy was burned to a crisp, wasn’t he?”

  “Pretty much.” Nick shoved his hands in his pockets, never losing contact with Lara. “I don’t think the teeth are going to do us much good since we don’t have any dental records for comparison.”

  Lara bumped his shoulder. “We can get Mason’s dental records to at least rule him out.”

  “DNA’s going to do that, anyway. Already did.”

  “If you have no clue who this guy is, I’m not sure the DNA is going to do you much good either.” Snyder spread his arms, looking like a spaceman ready to take a step on the lunar surface.

  Nick blew out a breath. “It’s a shot in the dark, but we’re hoping to get a hit on CODIS.” The Combined DNA Index System contained over ten million offender profiles.

  “Got it. Okay, since you’re not properly outfitted, I’m gonna ask you to wait outside the staging area. You’ll get all the pictures, samples and the report, and if we make any discoveries in there, we’ll get you tricked out and you can have a firsthand look.”

  “Appreciate it.”

  “Are you emailing the data to the name on the order?” Lara asked.

  Snyder pulled on his gloves. “Victoria Russo, right?”

  “That’s it.” She nodded. “Let us know if you find anything out of the ordinary.”

  The forensics team members ensconced themselves behind the curtain.

  “Let’s wait over there.” Nick pointed to a stone bench at the edge of a garden—at least it looked like a garden. He didn’t want to speculate on what was fertilizing the rose bushes.

  “Sure.” She perched on the edge of the bench. “I don’t know what I was expecting. Maybe we should’ve requested protective gear so that we could’ve witnessed the exhumation.”

  “This is close enough for me.” Nick settled on the bench beside her and stretched out his legs. “Maybe we’ll get lucky. At the time of the fire, New York had already started collecting DNA samples from murderers and rapists.”

  “Are we hoping the current resident of that grave had been a killer or rapist before dying in the Moretti brothers’ fire? How else is his DNA going to match anything in CODIS?”

  “Remember, it doesn’t have to be a perfect match in CODIS, and his DNA might be in the database for another reason. But you’re right. At least we can rule out Mason for sure, unless the Morettis were triplets.”

  Her body jerked. “Don’t even.”

  “I’m joking. Hey, we’re in a cemetery witnessing an exhumation. If now isn’t the time for black humor, I don’t know what is.”

  She punched him in the arm. “That Snyder’s a little strange, isn’t he?”

  “It’s his job, and someone’s gotta do it.” He cocked his head. “Have you ever been to one of these?”

  She sat up straight. “Luckily, no. These creep me out.”

  Finally Snyder poked his head out from the tent and called out. “We’re done. Give me a few minutes.”

  Five minutes later, Snyder left the tent and loped across the grass. He looked a lot smaller without the hazmat suit.

  He held out his computer tablet with one hand. “I’m going to email the photos and report to Special Agent Russo. Like I said, her government email address was on the order, but I can copy you two if you want.”

  Lara shook her head. “We’ll get the report from her.”

  “My guys have the samples, and you can take those with you.”

  “Do we need special gloves or anything?” Lara inquired.

  “The samples are in a sealed container. You can handle that with your bare hands. Take it to your lab at headquarters, and then you can submit the results to CODIS.”

  Nick gestured to the bench. “Have a seat and do your thing.”

  As Snyder’s fingers moved across his tablet, one of the forensics team emerged from the tent with a black case, which he delivered to Nick.

  Snyder gave his screen one last tap. “Everything’s on its way, and you have your samples.”

  They all shook hands. “Thanks, Snyder.”

  “Hope you find what you’re looking for. That body—” he glanced at Lara’s stony face “—well, it was a mess.”

  Nick held the case in front of him as he returned to the car. “I’ll deliver this to the lab, and you can touch base with Victoria at the office.”

  He popped the lid of the trunk to place the case inside a net enclosure so it wouldn’t slide around.

  Lara stood beside him, shifting from one foot to the other. “God, I hope something turns up, and I hope Cass found Mason’s file, so we can verify once and for all who’s in lockup.”

  Nick buried his head in the trunk and without looking up, he said, “It’s really important for you to know who’s who between the Moretti brothers, isn’t it?”

  “It should be important for everyone on the team.”

  Nick secured the case. Frankly, he didn’t give a rat’s ass which twin had been playing the Andrew Moore-Moretti character. They had one of the scumbags, and they were hot on the trail of the other.

  What he couldn’t figure out was why it mattered so much to Lara.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  An hour later Nick pulled into the parking garage at 26 Federal Plaza. He got off on a lower floor and turned to her as he straddled the elevator door. “You okay? That little exercise didn’t freak you out too much, did it? You were quiet on the ride back.”

  Lara wouldn’t let Nick see how much the exhumation had affected her. “I’m fine. Thanks for coming out with me.”

  “We’re partners. Why wouldn’t I be there?”

  The elevator doors closed on her frozen smile. She hoped the findings would turn up something.

  The doors whisked open, and Lara dragged her feet to the office. An empty conference room greeted her, and she dropped on to the chair in the corner.

  Two minutes later Cass limped into the room. She hadn’t noticed Lara yet, and as Cass yanked out her chair at the table, she uttered a curse.

  Lara coughed. “Everything okay, Cass?”

  Cass jerked up her head, eyes wide. “You scared me.”

  “I’m sorry.” She narrowed her eyes, taking in Cass’s flushed face. “How are you feeling?”

  “Just tired. Aren’t we all?”

  Lara leveled a finger at the array of computers on the table. “We’re all not digging into the very complicated lives of Andrew and Mason Moretti.”

  “Or attending exhumations.” Cass adjusted her glasses. “How are you holding up? Did you discover anything out there at Evergreens?”

  “Not yet. Nick’s delivering the DNA samples and teeth to the lab right now. Where is everyone?”

  “Xander’s still working his magic, Ty hasn’t been in yet today, and Victoria went to a meeting.”

  “Don’t sit too long.” Lar
a poked at her own thigh. “How’s your leg doing?”

  “That’s what I was doing while my programs were running—stretching it out a little, even though it still hurts when I walk.”

  “Are you propping it up?”

  “I’m doing everything the doctor ordered, except I’ve cut the dosage of painkillers.”

  “Well, no wonder it hurts when you walk.”

  She tapped one of her monitors. “I can’t be all doped up while I’m working.”

  “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

  “It’s not your fault.” Cass ducked her head and delved back into her research.

  Tipping her head back against the wall, Lara closed her eyes. But it was her fault.

  I know what you did.

  What had the note meant? Did his brother know how close she’d gotten to Andrew Moore? Or had it been Mason? God, she at least wanted to know that much. Had she gotten too close to Andrew or Mason? Or God forbid, both?

  Maybe the note had been referring to the fact that she’d earned the trust of Andrew and then betrayed him. Of course, she’d betrayed him. She went into the Moretti organization with the goal of betrayal. Goal met.

  Maybe the note meant something else.

  Lara dug her fingernails into the arm of the chair. Peter Linden hadn’t moved the family to another location after that last picture she received, but the US Marshal had assured her that they’d ramped up security. How much? Was it enough?

  She traced the outline of her phone in the pocket of her jacket. One call.

  “Cass, I’m going to step outside for a minute to make a personal call. Do you need anything?”

  “I’m good.” She held up a can of soda.

  Lara rose, her adrenaline pumping hard and fast. She took the elevator down to the lobby and slipped outside.

  With one trembling finger, she scanned through her contacts until she located Linden’s number.

  “Marshal Linden.”

  “It’s Lara Grant.”

  “I knew that. I saved your number.”

  Was he implying she called too much? How much was too much when the safety of a baby was at stake?

  “Everything okay?”

  “Everything’s fine. After that little snafu with the numbers, it’s all good.”

  “You said you were going to increase security. Did you?”

  “Yes, yes. Did Victoria give you the details? Or is that why you’re calling now?”

  “No, I just want to know that the family is safe and secure.”

  “That’s why it’s called a safe house.”

  The tightness between Lara’s shoulders was beginning to loosen—but not quite. “C’mon, we both know safe houses have been compromised before.”

  “Yeah, but it’s all good. I just checked on the family today—safe, happy and healthy—just the way we like ’em.”

  “Okay.” She rolled her shoulders. “If anything changes, call us immediately.”

  “I’ve got my orders. Relax.”

  She ended the call and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath through her nose and letting it escape from her mouth.

  Everything was coming together. They had the Moretti twin on high alert, and they had The Ghost in their sights. This had to end soon—had to end for all the victims, past and present, had to end for Mei.

  With her pulse back to normal, Lara went up to the office and stumbled into party central.

  Xander waved at her. “Cass did it. She found Mason Moretti’s juvenile records for us.”

  Cass didn’t speak, but the smile on her face spoke volumes.

  Lara’s pulse ticked up again. “And the prints?”

  “Running them against Trevor Black’s right now.” Victoria jerked her thumb at Cass. “Isn’t she great?”

  “What about the DNA from the exhumation?” Lara crossed her arms over her stomach and tipped her chin at Nick.

  “Rush order. When the lab geeks are done identifying the DNA, they’re going to send it straight to CODIS.”

  Victoria patted her laptop case still hanging over her shoulder. “I have the report and the photos. We’re going to compare the teeth to Mason’s juvenile dental records, also, to rule him out as the corpse currently taking up space at Evergreens.”

  Lara’s gaze tracked over Victoria’s shoulder to Cass, waving her hands in the air. Lara whistled through her teeth. “Quiet! I think Cass has something.”

  Cass shoved her glasses on top of her head. “Got a match on the fingerprints.”

  Lara held her breath. Which Moretti twin was free and which was imprisoned? Her lungs felt as if they were about to explode, and her head felt light. She braced one hand against the desk. “Well, who is it, Cass? Who’s on the outside?”

  “It’s Mason Moretti.”

  * * *

  Nick watched Lara over the rim of his cup. The same thought kept racing through his mind. Why the hell did Lara care so much which Moretti brother was on the outside and which was on the inside? Had she gotten closer to Andrew Moretti than she wanted to admit? Well, now she knew it was Andrew Moretti she’d brought down, as if that made a difference.

  Xander snapped his fingers. “I still think I was on the right track. It may have been Andrew playing the gun runner role and then the Moretti role at the time of the bust, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the brothers slid in and out of the Moretti persona. Why not? Nobody knew Moretti anyway, and think about the Moretti symbol. MM for Mason Moretti, or MM for two Morettis?”

  Nick nodded. “You could be right.”

  “So, Mason is on the loose. He never died in that house fire, and we have an imposter in the grave.” Victoria put a check mark next to Mason’s name on the whiteboard.

  “There might be more to the Moretti story,” Cass said, not looking up. She was reading something on one of the computer screens. “There was another file attached to Mason’s juvenile record, both deleted at the same time. Seems there was something suspicious about the parents’ car accident.”

  Nick’s brow furrowed. Why were they even surprised that the twin terrors might’ve had something to do with their parents’ deaths? “What’s suspicious?”

  “The brakes.” Cass finally looked up from her monitor. “The brakes on the car failed.”

  Xander cursed. “Any other accident, I’d shrug that off, but it is suspicious given their antics at such a young age. Shit, they murdered the poor sap whose DNA is being extracted as we speak.”

  “That’s not all.” Xander rushed to her side to read over Cass’s shoulder. “One of Mason’s offenses was punching his auto shop teacher.”

  “Maybe the teacher dared to ask little Mason why he was so interested in learning how to cut brake lines.” Nick’s phone buzzed, and he checked his display. “DNA’s ready to go. They think they can have some results beginning tomorrow morning.”

  “Good.” Victoria turned to Cass. “The cops still ruled the car crash an accident, didn’t they?”

  Cass nodded.

  “They just might be interested in our latest find. I’m going to contact the PD and have them look into that accident again. They’ll probably want to find that auto shop teacher, too. See if he can shed any more light on Mason.” She jabbed her finger in the air. “Keep digging, Cass. Who knows what else you’ll turn up?”

  Xander snorted. “I’d start looking at suspicious deaths on the brothers’ Little League baseball teams.”

  Nick cracked a smile, but he wouldn’t put anything past the Moretti twins. They were pure evil...and Lara had gotten close enough to one of them to touch the flame.

  * * *

  The following morning, Nick showed up at the office almost bumping into Ty charging from the conference room.

  Nick held up his hands. “Hold on, brother. You doing okay?”

  “I’m hanging in there. That session with Oliviero yesterday helped, but the only thing that’s going to satisfy me is justice for Mei.”

  “I hear ya. Did someone give you th
e lowdown on yesterday’s activities?”

  “I just gave Cass the third degree in there. I wanted to know every detail about that son of a bitch Mason Moretti. I’m going to track him down.” Ty drove his fist into his palm. “And then I’m going to destroy him.”

  “Get in line.”

  Ty shrugged into his jacket. “I’m heading to the front of that line right now.”

  Nick marched into the conference room, nodded at Cass and poured himself a cup of coffee. “Do you want some?”

  “Lara’s bringing me a cup of the good stuff from her coffee house. She’s on her way in now.” She swirled her finger in the air. “Anything back from CODIS yet?”

  “Not yet, but the DNA’s been running through the data bank all night.”

  Lara strolled into the room holding two cups of coffee. “I just saw Ty on my way up. He’s looking much better, and he’s following up on some Mason Moretti sightings.”

  “He’s a determined guy.” Cass got up and took the coffee cup from Lara. “I gave him everything I had on Mason.”

  Lara popped the lid on her cup and blew on the surface of the black coffee. “Victoria and Xander?”

  “Out.”

  “DNA?”

  “Nothing yet.”

  “I’m keeping my fingers crossed. In the meantime—” Lara kicked one of the boxes containing the Moretti files “—with new information from Estela Ramirez and Ty’s discovery about the sniper rounds, Victoria wants us to continue to review some of Andrew Moretti’s connections for some links to The Ghost. Maybe a colleague would be willing to roll on him.”

  Nick settled across from Lara at the other end of the table from Cass. As he watched her work with her lips pursed, he had the strongest urge to kiss that luscious mouth. Instead he contented himself with nudging her shoe with the toe of his boot.

  She glanced up raised her brows at him. “What’s up?”

  “Need anything?”

  “I’m good, Nick.”

  When his phone buzzed on the table he jumped. He swept it into his palm, and his heart slammed against his chest. “We got a hit.”

  Lara dropped her pen. “We got a match on the DNA from the grave?”

  “It’s a partial match. We can pull it up on our computers to see the file.”