Jack grinned. ‘Thanks, old man. You look pretty good, considering what you’ve been through.’
‘Nah, could have been worse, although my days with the Bureau are over.’
‘I bet Chrissie’s pleased.’
‘She’s been after me to retire for a long time. Guess I just had to nearly die to see the sense of it.’
‘And you have.’
Mike snorted. ‘I’m a Bureau guy, Jack. What do we know? Nothing. We never figure shit out until we’ve had it kicked out of us. Which I sort of did, didn’t I?’
‘Yep, you did.’
Jack pulled out a chair for Grace and stood by her side.
Mike smiled at Grace and the baby. ‘Good to see you, Mrs. Elliott.’
‘I don’t think of myself as ‘Mrs. Elliott’ anymore, Mike. I guess you could say I’ve had the shit kicked out of me too.’
‘She’s a tough woman, Jack. I like her. I always liked her, but there’s something different about her now.’
Grace smiled and looked down at the sleeping baby. ‘I had a reality check, you might say. I found out what’s really important in life too.’
‘So,’ Jack said, a little uneasily. ‘Is Chrissie going to keep you under lock and key for a while?’
‘For a while, but then we’re going to take a cruise. I don’t know where yet. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is it’s another day and I’m breathing, and I’ve got a woman who loves me. God knows why…’
‘I think I know why, ‘said Grace, looking first at Mike, then over at Jack.
‘Well,’ said Mike. ‘So how does it feel to crack one of the largest counterfeit prescription drug operations on record?’
‘I wish I could say it was because of my brilliance and intuition. Truth is, I was lucky.’
Mike smiled grimly. ‘You’re a damned good agent, Jack, even if you do bend the rules.’
‘Does that mean you’ve cut my transfer orders?’
Mike laughed. ‘Hell, no. They won’t let me near a computer yet.’
‘I spoke to Anderson’s doctor,’ said Jack. ‘The bullet missed the bone and passed right through his leg. He’ll out of hospital in a few days, but he won’t be back in action for a while.’
‘I’m glad to know he’s okay. He’s a good man.’
‘And it turns out Salazar’s been on Interpol’s radar for some time, mainly for racketeering. Trafficking fake prescription drugs is a new game for him.’
‘What do we know about him apart from the fact he had a Swiss Bank account?’ asked Mike
‘He’s Eurasian. Chinese mother, Portuguese father. My guess is that the narcotics are manufactured in China. Before the vessel reaches the U.S., the drugs get off loaded onto a smaller ship and taken to Salazar’s home on Marathon Key and distributed from there.’
‘Sounds plausible. Have you notified the FDA?’
‘Yeah, and the DEA. The Swiss authorities have seized the contents of his bank account.’
‘The lab extracted DNA off the cigarettes you found in the study.’ Mike turned to Grace. ‘I’m sorry, but your sister’s is a perfect match. I understand you found Elliott’s ATM card in her luggage. Don’t blame yourself. Catherine’s an adult. She made her choices.’
A momentary look of sadness crossed Grace’s face. ‘She made her choices. That’s true, she did. None of them included me.’
‘She wanted everything in life and she decided a life of crime was the solution,’ said Mike. ‘It’s not your fault.’
‘It feels that way sometimes. A lot.’
Jack squeezed Grace’s hand. ‘It’ll take time, baby. You’ll forgive yourself. You did everything you could. Even if you’d have done more, it wouldn’t have been enough.’
Mike scratched at his IV drip. ‘These nurses. They can’t even put on a Band-Aid without messing it all up.’
‘The results of the second autopsy on Elliott came through,’ said Jack.
‘And?’
‘His real name is Niall Deloitte. He’s the son of Christiano Deloitte, a Mafia boss in New York back in the ‘50s. When his father was murdered, Niall’s mother, who was Irish, sent her son to live with relatives in Dublin.’
‘So, why the change of name?’
‘I guess she thought she was saving her son from a life of crime.’
‘Pity it didn’t work out that way,’ said Mike. ‘By the way, Jack. Did Diego tell you the news?’
‘What?’
‘Hector Suárez spilled his guts. Turns out his older brother, Estefan, is serving time for drug running and murder.’
‘I know. So?’
‘Estefan got engaged just before he got busted. Two guesses about his fiancée.’
‘Come on, you know I’m not good at this. I give up.’
‘Rosa Nunuz.’
Jack swallowed. ‘No shit.’
‘None whatsoever. And she got arrested this morning for attempted murder of an FBI agent. You, Jack.’
Grace grasped his arm.
‘She must have been pretty pissed at you,’ Mike said. ‘She hired Hector to follow you and kill you.’
Jack shook his head. ‘I always knew she used me. At first I thought it was for green cards, but now I can see she wanted revenge.’
‘You weren’t the first to get suckered by a pretty face, son. She’ll be doing some serious time. And when she gets out there isn’t a judge alive who’ll grant her custody of Emilia.’
At the sound of her name Emilia’s eyes fluttered open and she gurgled softly. Grace gently rocked her back and forth.
‘Well, Mike, I think it’s time we left you to rest.’
‘One more thing before you go, Jack.’
‘When I retire, I’m recommending that you take my place as Special Agent in Charge of the Miami office.’
‘Uh, Mike, well, I—’
‘Save your mumbling and humility, you’ve worked for it. You deserve it. Of course it’ll be up to the Director, but I’m betting he’ll say yes.’
Jack looked at Grace. ‘I don’t know what to say, Mike.’
‘So don’t say anything. That’s my recommendation. And I’m finished talking about it.’
‘Okay…well, look, Grace and I have a few things to discuss, so we’ll be on our way.’
‘You two kids get outa here then. Just make sure you invite me and Chrissie to the wedding.’
Jack pulled Grace to her feet and wrapped an arm around her and Emilia. A smile tipped the corners of his mouth as they left the room.
‘Well, that’s not exactly what I had in mind for a proposal, but you know what they say: ‘Out of the mouths of curmudgeons’…’
Grace took a breath. ‘Are you asking what I think you’re saying?’
‘Yes to both. What do you say to a Christmas wedding?’
Grace stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips against his. ‘I think it sounds perfect.’
‘Well, then we’d better get going. Think Emilia’s too young to be a flower girl?’
The End
Ring of Lies Page 28