Tough Justice: Countdown Box Set

by Carla Cassidy

  She pulled up the site on her computer and grabbed her cell phone. She punched in the number for reservations and leaned back in her chair. “It’s a luxurious day at Mountain Cove. This is Krista, how can I help you?” The voice sounded youthful and oozed friendliness.

  “Hi, Krista, I’m Lara Grant, a special agent with the FBI. We’re in the middle of an investigation and I need some information about one of your guests.” There was a long pause.

  “We take our guests’ privacy very seriously.” The friendliness was replaced with a haughty tone that instantly rankled Lara.

  “This is part of a very important investigation. Would it help if you spoke to my supervisor?”

  “I don’t need to speak to anyone. Nothing short of a warrant will get you any information.” There was a click and Lara realized the woman had hung up.

  “No luck?” James asked.

  “I spoke to a snooty receptionist who pulled out the warrant card.” She got up from the chair. “I’m going to go talk to Christina and see if she can get us some information about this particular hotel. Maybe she can pull up some security footage that will show William checking in,” she said.

  She left the room with questions tumbling around in her head. Had William been on some sort of a business trip that hadn’t been marked in his calendar? She supposed it was possible. But he’d been to that particular hotel several times according to his business expenses.

  She entered Christina’s office. It was still disconcerting how different the tech office looked from when Cass had been queen of the room. Gone were the comic book posters on the wall, replaced by silver-framed photos of New York City. Where Cass’s desk had always looked like the scene of mass destruction, Christina’s was neat and tidy with nothing out of place.

  “How’s it going?” Lara asked.

  “It’s going. What’s up with you?” Christina asked.

  “We need you to work a little magic,” she said.

  Christina smiled. “I don’t know about magic, but what do you need?”

  Lara explained that she wanted any security footage the hotel had for the last weekend in question. “What do you know about this particular hotel?” Christina asked as her fingers danced over her computer keys.

  “Nothing. I just pulled up the website long enough to get a phone number. The receptionist I spoke with to try to get some information was a snot who hung up on me. I was going to check it out more in depth on my computer when I got back to my desk.”

  “I’ve got the hotel website pulled up if you want to take a look at it,” Christina replied.

  Lara walked around Christina’s massive desk to peer over her shoulder. The web page indicated that the luxury hotel was nestled amid the Catskill Mountains. On the outside it appeared rustic, but the photos of the inside looked luxurious.

  “Look at this,” Christina said and pointed to a particular paragraph. “The Mountain Cove prides itself on luxury, with top notch amenities and assured guest privacy.” She looked at Lara. “Sounds like the perfect place for all kinds of nefarious things to happen.”

  “I’d just like to see if William Walsh checked in alone or if he was with somebody,” Lara replied.

  “I’ll get right on it,” Christina promised. “Hopefully, I’ll have something for you before the end of the day.”

  “Thanks, Christina.” Lara left her office and nearly bumped into Nick in the hallway.

  “Whoa.” He caught her by the shoulders and his hands lingered there. “How’s everything going?”

  “It’s going.” She took a step backward, forcing him to drop his arms to his sides. She didn’t want to feel his touch. She didn’t want to think about how nice it would be to lose herself in him, about how she always felt less stressed after having him in her bed.

  “How’s James holding up?”

  “He’s doing great,” she replied, surprised by a surge of protectiveness that rose up in her for her new, albeit temporary, partner.

  She didn’t want anyone to know that she feared James was barely hanging on by a thread and she had no idea what event or information might make him snap. If necessary, the only person who needed to know that was Victoria.

  “I’m glad to hear that. I heard they’re having William’s funeral day after tomorrow.”

  “So soon? They haven’t even released the body yet.”

  “I heard that Elisabetta is requesting the medical examiner’s office act quickly so they can get him buried as soon as possible.”

  “Oh, I hadn’t heard,” she said in surprise.

  “How are you holding up?” he asked.

  “I’m fine, just busy like everyone else,” she replied.

  His dark gaze lingered on her for a long moment and then he stepped aside. “Then I’ll just let you get back to it.”

  She swept past him. She didn’t have time to think about Nick Delano. She couldn’t get caught up in trying to untwist her tangled emotions where he was concerned. She had too many other things on her mind right now.

  She returned to the small conference room where James stood at the window with his back to her. “James, are you okay?” she asked.

  He whirled around to face her. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was just taking a little break to stretch.”

  She eyed him intently, looking for signs of cracks in his composure. He looked tired. He looked sad, but he also appeared completely in control.

  “I just heard that William’s funeral is going to be the day after tomorrow. Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.

  “It’s going to be a small, private affair. I requested the morning off from Victoria, but I’ll be back to work as soon as it’s over.”

  “But you should have told your partner,” Lara chided him softly. “I need to know what’s going on in your life, James. That’s what makes good partnerships.”

  “Got it,” he replied.

  What a hypocrite she was, telling him he needed to share what was going on in his personal life when she shared nothing about her personal life with anyone.

  Of course the only personal life she had at the moment was her obsessive hunt for her mother’s murderer and an occasional desire to take her partner to bed.

  “Why don’t we take a real break and go get some coffee,” she suggested. They’d had their nose in the paperwork for hours and she was more than ready for an afternoon caffeine break.

  Minutes later they entered the break room to discover a large platter of fancy cookies from a nearby bakery on the table. A folded tent note read, Enjoy, compliments of Xander.

  “Fresh coffee in the pot and free cookies? Must be our lucky day,” James said.

  Xander came from wealth, a fact he never flaunted, but occasionally he’d spring for pizza or goodies for everyone on the team, a gesture that was always welcomed.

  They carried their coffee to the table and sat. Lara grabbed a chocolate cookie with pink frosting while James opted for one loaded with peanuts.

  “I hate going through financials,” she said.

  “I’m just glad his banking statements didn’t show any strange cash deposits or anything like that.”

  Lara chewed the last of the cookie and reached for another one. “Were you really worried that he was crooked?”

  James frowned. “I know William had a good heart, but I also know that politics can be a dirty business. So yeah, I was a little concerned about what his bank statements might really show. So far they all seem to be in good order, thank God.”

  James didn’t know it but Lara intended to take William’s banking statements home with her that night so she could go over them herself.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t trust James. She just didn’t trust his grief and his love for his brother. Damn Nick for putting doubts about James into her head in the first place.r />
  Still the most important thing to Lara was that their investigation be above reproach. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to accuse James of being biased or possessing self-serving oversight in an effort to keep his brother’s good reputation intact.

  “How is Elisabetta holding up?” she asked.

  “I haven’t seen much of her. She’s close to her parents and they’re with her.” James grabbed another cookie. “She’s young and she’s very attractive. Eventually she’ll be fine. She’s a survivor.”

  “Ready to get back to it?” she asked after she’d eaten two cookies and refilled her coffee cup.

  “Ready,” he agreed.

  They had just settled back at the table in the small conference room when Christina came in. “I’ve got the security footage for the day in question from Mountain Cove.”

  “Already?” Lara said in surprise. “That was fast.”

  Christina nodded with a small smile. “I managed to connect with a tech from their security team who apparently has a secret desire to be an FBI agent. After he flirted shamelessly with me, he gave me what we needed.”

  Lara jumped out of her chair. “Let’s go see what you have.”

  In Christina’s office she directed Lara and James to pull up chairs in front of the large monitor mounted on the wall. “I had them send me the footage inside the resort for the weekend in question. I raced through them and have it cued up to a couple of minutes before William arrived to check in.”

  She sat down behind her desk. Lara shot a quick glance at James. How difficult would it be for him to see his brother alive and well a little over a week ago? Probably as difficult as it had been for her to see the crime scene photos from her mother’s murder.

  As he stared at the monitor his chin rose a notch and a tense knot pulsed in his jawline. Yes, this was going to be difficult for him, but he’d get through it...because that’s what she expected from him.

  The video that came on the monitor showed a lavish lobby with black glazed marble floors, rich leather sofas and the polished wood of the check-in desk.

  Behind the desk a middle-aged, attractive woman stood in a tailored black uniform. The time stamp in the corner of the monitor was for Friday, September 16 at 6:17 p.m.

  James’s tension filled the room as the seconds ticked by. At 6:21 p.m. William Walsh walked through the front door and over to the check-in desk.

  He was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a light blue button-down shirt. He carried only a duffel bag and was greeted by the woman clerk with what appeared to be friendly familiarity.

  They chatted for a couple of minutes and then he handed her a credit card and a moment later she returned it to him and gave him a room key. William walked over to one of the black leather sofas in the lobby and sat.

  It was obvious he was waiting for somebody. Lara found herself leaning forward. Who was going to join William? Was it possible he was having an affair? Maybe with one of the attractive women they’d interviewed who worked for him?

  Or, was he meeting someone to finalize the plans for the bomb that had exploded less than a week later at the police precinct? Lara’s heartbeat accelerated as she watched intently. Who in the hell was going to walk in through the door?

  Chapter Five

  A small gasp of surprise escaped Lara as David Larsen appeared in the hotel lobby. He was also clad casually and carried a small bag. William got up from the sofa and greeted him and together the two men left the lobby. The fact that David didn’t go to the check-in counter to get a room key indicated something Lara hadn’t even considered before this minute.

  “You can stop running it now,” Lara said to Christina. “I know you have tons of other things to do, but would you continue to check it out and let me know if you see anything else that might be pertinent to our investigation?”

  “Of course,” Christina replied.

  “James, let’s go back to the conference room.”

  James nodded. His eyes were dark and shuttered and his features betrayed no emotion. As they walked back to the conference room, questions and suppositions whirled around in Lara’s head.

  She’d suspected that Elisabetta had been hiding something. Her gut instinct had told her the marriage between the lovely woman and William wasn’t terrific. She believed they hadn’t shared a bedroom. She’d suspected William of having an affair. She’d suspected Elisabetta of having an affair.

  Everyone in William’s office had mentioned his close friendship with his chief advisor. David had been particularly grief-stricken when they’d interviewed him. Still, she would have never considered it without seeing the videotape of the check-in at the hotel.

  “Did you know that your brother was gay?” she asked once they were back in the conference room alone and seated at the table.

  James leaned back in the chair and drew a hand through his hair. “I had some suspicions over the years,” he admitted. “But it wasn’t something we ever discussed. When he got married to Elisabetta I never really thought about it anymore.”

  “Do you think it’s possible he was having an affair with David?”

  “I think we just saw proof of that on the tape. There isn’t any other explanation for the two of them checking into one room at the hotel.” His eyes were still dark as he held Lara’s gaze.

  “It wouldn’t have mattered to me,” he continued. “I wouldn’t have cared if he was gay or not. But he must have been afraid of it coming out.”

  He got up from the chair and walked over to the window where the day had turned gloomy and gray. “Apparently he was leading a double life,” he continued. “He was the perfect politician and husband to the public, and was carrying on a gay affair in private. He had to have been terrified that this would get out and ruin his career.” He turned around and faced Lara. “Maybe this was what he was being blackmailed about.”

  “Maybe.” She frowned thoughtfully. “But what would this have to do with the bomb? Why did he write that note?”

  James returned to his chair. “Hell if I know.”

  “I get it that William didn’t want anyone to know that he was gay even though in today’s society it probably wouldn’t have been the death of his career. Lots of politicians have come out of the closet over the past several years. I also think Elisabetta knew about her husband and David. Nick and I came away from our interview with her believing that she was hiding something.”

  “She wouldn’t have wanted her fairy tale to end. She’s got money and beauty and she’d wanted to marry somebody with a political future,” he replied. “She and William were living the good life and he had big plans for their future. There’s no way she would have done anything to rock that boat. I think she hoped eventually she’d be living in the White House.”

  “Maybe there was evidence of his relationship with David on his personal computer and so Elisabetta took it to keep William’s secret safe after his death,” Lara mused aloud. The computer had yet to be found anywhere, even though everyone in his office had said he had a personal laptop.

  “I suppose that’s possible. It’s also possible William did something with it right before he decided to...” James face blanched slightly as he continued. “He would have known that whatever he erased on it we would have eventually found. It might have taken some time, but our tech department is really good.”

  “We need to get some people out to check the trash in the neighborhood. Maybe he just tossed it in a bin near his house.”

  “Anything is possible,” James replied.

  “So why did he commit suicide and more importantly why did he write that note about the bombing?” Lara asked. No matter how she twisted things around in her mind, she couldn’t make it come together to a logical conclusion.

  “I don’t know, Lara,” he replied with heavy exhaustion. “Even knowin
g what we suspect, none of this makes sense. Maybe none of this was about him being gay. Maybe it was about something else altogether.”

  “Why don’t we knock off for the day,” she suggested. “We’ve been going at things full steam since early this morning. We can approach everything with fresh eyes tomorrow. You go ahead and I’ll check in with Victoria.”

  “Sounds good to me.” He got up from the table. “I’ll see you first thing in the morning.”

  Lara waited until he’d left the conference room and then she gathered up the banking statements she intended to go back over that evening.

  Family connections could blur even the best police work. She couldn’t help but think of their former tech agent, Cass McDonner. Lara hadn’t even thought about not trusting her, but she’d helped Moretti ruin Lara’s life last year.

  Cass had come through for the team in the end, but the betrayal had been a good reminder to Lara that she couldn’t trust anyone.

  Still, her gut instinct right now was telling her that James was innocent in whatever had gone on with his brother, and that he wasn’t now working on covering up anything for anyone.

  With the bank statements tucked away in her bag, she headed to Victoria’s office. She knocked on the door and when Victoria replied she walked in.

  “I just wanted to update you on what we’ve uncovered today,” Lara said and sat facing Victoria. She explained about the upstate hotel and the suspicion that William was gay.

  “So far we haven’t been able to work how what we discovered today squares with the suicide note, but we intend to keep looking into his life to see if we can figure out why he wrote that note claiming responsibility for the bomb. We also haven’t found any evidence to directly tie him to the bombing.”

  “How’s James holding up?” Victoria asked.

  “He’s okay. He’s being a complete professional right now, but I’m worried about his reaction if we find evidence that for some ungodly reason William really was responsible for the bomb.”