Tough Justice: Countdown Box Set

by Carla Cassidy

  She and Nick stood as Terra returned. “The paperwork will be ready for you in just a few minutes at the front desk.”

  “We thank you for your time,” Nick said and rose from the table.

  “You all will be available if we have any further questions, right?” Lara also stood.

  “Of course,” Terra replied and the two men nodded their heads in agreement. “I can’t imagine that this is anything more than an odd coincidence. And in any case we have nothing to hide here.”

  “You’re right, it could be just a coincidence, but we have to check it out,” Lara replied and then with murmured goodbyes she and Nick left the conference room and headed back down the long corridor.

  “You can sure tell who the brains are behind this operation,” Lara said softly.

  “And possibly the money?” Nick replied.

  “Oh, I don’t know about that. They all smelled filthy rich to me.”

  They reached the lobby once again where the receptionist told them it would take her another few minutes to finish printing out the documents they’d requested.

  Once again they sat on the sofa to wait. And once again Lara’s thoughts filled with the gun and Lamar Jeffries. She hoped he cooperated with her and told her everything she needed to know.

  If he was a hard-ass and refused to answer her questions, then there was nothing she could do about it. He had a life sentence. He didn’t have to do anything for anyone. Right now the inmate had no idea how much bargaining power he held.

  Twenty minutes later they were once again in the car and headed back to headquarters. “Shit, there’s probably over a thousand names on this list,” she exclaimed. “Guess I know what we’ll be doing over the next couple of days.”

  Lara checked her wristwatch. It was still three and a half hours before she’d need to leave the office to keep her date with Lamar Jeffries at the Long Island prison.

  “Maybe it is just a weird coincidence,” Nick said. “Christina didn’t find anyone involved in the bombing at Smoothie Heaven with a connection to BrainWave and they didn’t even remember Anthony Frank working for them.”

  “Christina hasn’t found anyone yet,” Lara replied. “That doesn’t mean she won’t.” She glanced at her watch once again.

  “You keep looking at your watch. Do you have someplace else to be?” Nick asked and shot her a quick glance.

  Lara sighed. “I’ve got some things to take care of later this afternoon. I’m going to take off around two and should be back to work by five at the latest.”

  “What kind of things?”

  “Personal things,” she replied. “I already okayed the time off with Victoria.”

  Just that easily a new tension sparked in the air between them. The rest of the ride back to headquarters was a silent one. No matter how close they were as partners, she didn’t owe him anything, she reminded herself. She was grateful when they were back in the office.

  Ty and Jennifer sat at their desks. Ty whirled around to face them as they came in. “Find out anything useful?”

  Lara placed the pile of papers she’d carried in on her desk. “Just a lot more follow-up work. What about here?”

  “We’re just going over some of the reports from CSI,” he replied.

  “What did you find out about BrainWave?” Jennifer asked.

  “We got a list of present and former employees,” Lara said.

  “We don’t know if the connection there is a coincidence or not since Christina hasn’t been able to link BrainWave to any of the victims from Smoothie Heaven,” Nick said.

  “Serendipity,” Jennifer said. They all looked at her in confusion and her cheeks flushed slightly. “What if somebody with ties to BrainWave in their background went to the smoothie shop every day at noon? What if our bomber had studied this person’s habits and so set the bomb to explode at noon when this person was inside? But, for some reason that day, through serendipity or fate or whatever, maybe that person went to the smoothie shop early or didn’t show up at all.”

  “That’s a possibility,” Lara said thoughtfully. “But the evidence points to the bomb being remotely triggered.”

  “The bomb was already in place. Maybe even without his target there he decided to blow it up anyway,” Jennifer replied. “Maybe he was afraid the bomb would be discovered before he could detonate it.”

  “If his target didn’t show up that day then we might never make the link to the smoothie shop,” Lara replied.

  “Good thinking, Jennifer,” Ty said with a grudging smile at his partner. Lara hid an inner smile of her own. Maybe Ty was finally warming up to his new partner.

  “I’ll go talk to Christina and see that she gets any surveillance footage that might show us who entered the smoothie shop in the morning before it exploded,” Nick said.

  “Maybe she should pull up the footage for a full week around noon and check if she sees somebody who was in the shop every day except the day of the bombing,” Lara added.

  “I’ll tell her.” Nick left the room.

  As Ty and Jennifer got back to work, Lara sat at her desk and focused on beginning the hunt for the people who had been fired by BrainWave.

  As the morning wore on she found it more and more difficult to concentrate as thoughts of her afternoon appointment intruded. Who exactly was Lamar Jeffries? She didn’t remember his name being in any of the files of the cases her father had worked on. What relationship might he have to her family?

  She nearly leapt out of her chair when it was finally two o’clock and time for her to leave to meet with the man she hoped would give her some answers that might help her solve the mystery of her mother’s murder.

  Then, maybe, she could finally put to rest the ghosts that had haunted her for so many years.

  Chapter Ten

  The Selden Maximum Security Prison was located on the east side of Nassau County on Long Island. High fences surrounded the two-story gray building. Watchtowers with armed guards were a reminder that the men held inside could not be out in free society.

  Excitement continued to rush through her veins as she went through the security process and then a guard led her to a conference room. She sat at the head of the long table and tried to tamp down anticipation that was sweeping over her.

  She closed her eyes and drew in a deep, long breath to center herself. She needed to be cool and calm. If he sensed her desperation he might not cooperate at all—or, he might be tempted to lie to get something from her. It all depended on what kind of an asshole he might be. Please don’t let him be an asshole. I need him to cooperate. Her eyes snapped open at the sound of the metal door opening.

  Lamar Jeffries was escorted in by two burly guards. He was in an orange jumpsuit with the numbers 14221 on the back in large black type. He was bound by chains on both wrists and feet.

  The guards each nodded to her as they secured him to the chair and then took places on either side of the door.

  “I’d like some privacy,” Lara said to them. “I’ll be fine.”

  They each gave her a curt nod and then left the room. She knew they would be watching through the two-way mirror and if Jeffries made any kind of a move toward her, somebody would be back inside the room in a heartbeat. In any case, Lara had the training to deal with any situation that might turn bad.

  She stared at the man who just might hold all the answers that had eluded her for so many years. Lamar was a big, tall man with a shiny bald head and black eyes that held her gaze intently.

  He appeared to be in good health and she suspected he used the prison gym frequently as he didn’t appear to have gone soft as so many convicts did with the starchy prison food.

  He didn’t speak and neither did she. It was important that he be the one to break the silence and speak first. She had to establish herself as the a
lpha dog.

  “Why does an FBI agent want to talk to me?” he finally asked after several long minutes of silence and sizing each other up.

  “Because I’m hoping you can clear up a few things for me.”

  His thick brows lowered as he frowned. “What can I clear up for anyone? I’ve been in this hellhole for over twenty years.”

  “My questions are about something that occurred over twenty years ago,” she replied. Thankfully her tone was even and calm despite the tightening in her chest.

  “I’ll tell you what happened over twenty years ago... I was thrown in prison for a murder I didn’t commit thanks to a crooked cop.”

  Lara’s heart stilled. A crooked cop? Was he talking about her father? She pulled a photo of her father from her pocket. With her heart thundering once again she scooted it across the table. “Is that the crooked cop?” She held her breath.

  Once again Lamar frowned as he looked at the picture. “Nah, that’s not him. I’ve never seen this man before.”

  Her breath fluttered out of her. “Are you sure? I know it’s been a long time.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know this guy, and I know for sure he wasn’t the bent bastard who put me in here.” He shoved the picture across the table back to her and she returned it to her pocket.

  “What do you know about Anna Grant’s murder? It took place over twenty years ago in a house in Rockaway, Queens.”

  He sat up straighter in his chair. “Don’t try to pin anything like that on me. I’ll admit I’ve done a lot of bad things, but I never killed any women in my life.” His eyes blazed with a fiery anger. “They put me in here for murdering a man I never even knew, but I’m not going to let you or anyone else pin a woman’s murder on me.”

  “I’m not accusing you of anything,” she replied smoothly. “I’m just wondering how a gun registered to you wound up in my parents’ home.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Why would I ever register a gun? I’m a drug dealer. Those damn crooked cops did it when they stole it from my house. I’d just bought it in a new shipment and hadn’t even had the chance to grind down the serial number yet. Those assholes knew what they were doing. They registered it, removed the numbers, then a month later I was arrested on a trumped up murder charge and got myself a life sentence. I know they did it. I can’t prove it, though. I’ll cop to the drugs, but no way I killed anyone. They put me in here to shut me up.”

  Lara took a moment to digest what he’d just said. “And where did this drug bust take place?”

  “In a warehouse in Queens.” He leaned back in the chair. “I had a huge supply of heroin to sell and had found a buyer. It was the biggest sell I’d ever made. The buyer arrived and we were just about to conduct the deal when five men showed up. Like I said, I didn’t murder anyone.”

  “You don’t know the names of any of these cops?” she asked.

  He looked at her in disgust. “They didn’t exactly introduce themselves to me when they were stealing my shit.” He leaned back in his chair. “So, who was this Anna woman?”

  Lara’s chest tightened once again. “She was my mother.” A wave of piercing grief swept through her. “She was beaten to death in our home when I was ten years old. Are you sure you don’t know anything about her murder?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing. I swear I’m telling you the truth. I don’t know anything about it.”

  “And you have no idea how your gun turned up in my parents’ home?” Grasping at straws, that’s what she was doing.

  “The last time I saw that gun it was in the hands of that crooked cop. Whatever he did with it after that, I have no idea. Look, I’ve got a life sentence here. I have no reason to lie about anything. I’m not going to get time off or a pardon and I can’t get any more time unless they want to keep me locked up in hell after I die.”

  She searched his features, wanting something...anything...from him that would help her make sense of the old crime. But in the very depths of his eyes she saw that he was telling her the truth.

  “Would you be willing to see a sketch artist and tell him what the cop looked like if I can arrange it?”

  Lamar shrugged. “Sure, although I don’t see how that will help you being it happened so long ago.”

  It probably wouldn’t help, but at this point she would try anything.

  A heavy weight clunked in her chest. He didn’t have any answers for her. He’d only brought up more questions. There was nothing more here for her. She thanked the man for agreeing to speak with her and then motioned for the guards through the window.

  Once Lamar Jeffries had been escorted from the room, she stood wearily. She’d driven here with such hope and she was going home emptier than she’d ever been.

  As she made the long drive back to Manhattan, thoughts tumbled over themselves in her head. Corruption in a police department wasn’t a new issue and she supposed it opened up a whole new avenue for her to explore, but she couldn’t help the bitter disappointment that ripped through her.

  She had to get her head back in the bomber game. She had to put all this shit out of her head until later tonight when she was alone in her office in her apartment.

  However, her conversation with Jeffries still rang in her head as she walked into headquarters at a few minutes before five o’clock.

  Xander got up from his desk and approached her before she could even sit at her desk. “Lara, have you heard from James this afternoon?”

  “No, I thought he was supposed to meet up with you.”

  “He was, but he never showed. I called Elisabetta and her mother answered the phone and told me he wasn’t at the funeral this morning, either. I’ve got to admit, I’m a little worried about him.”

  “Have you tried to call him?” she asked with a touch of worry of her own. Why wouldn’t he have attended his brother’s funeral?

  “Several times and he isn’t answering his phone. It just goes to voice mail.” Xander definitely appeared concerned. “I don’t know if I should tell Victoria about him being MIA or not.”

  “No, let me see if I can find him.” Lara picked up her keys and bag from her desk and then once again left the building. If James hadn’t gone to the funeral that morning he might not have wanted to grieve with anyone else. He’d told her that he and Elisabetta didn’t have much of a relationship.

  It was possible he was at his brother’s grave right now, grieving all alone. That’s what Lara had wanted when she’d attended her mother’s funeral.

  She still remembered the sweet scent of flowers that had filled the air, the weeping of her mother’s friends and her father usurping the sound of the birds chirping in nearby trees.

  All she’d wanted to do was sit next to her mother’s grave and talk to her. She’d resented the other people there. She’d wanted everyone else to go away so she could be alone for a final private goodbye to the woman she’d loved.

  She headed toward the Brooklyn Heights Cemetery where she knew William Walsh had been buried that morning at nine o’clock. She didn’t believe James would just be sitting around in his studio apartment in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. He was driven...like her, and wouldn’t be able to abide a day of inertia.

  Finding him at the cemetery might be a long shot, but lately it felt as if long shots had been the order of the day.

  She consciously shoved aside her disappointment with the Lamar Jeffries interview and any new questions that had come up. Right now her focus needed to be on a team member who might need somebody whether he knew it or not.

  The Brooklyn Heights Cemetery was like a thousand other cemeteries across the land. A peaceful setting dotted by beautiful stone monuments and mature trees, it was one of the smaller in the city.

  She didn’t have any idea specifically where William had been buried on the grounds, but figured his grave wou
ld be fairly easy to find given the fact that it was a fresh one.

  If James wasn’t here, then she’d have no idea where to look for him, but she’d go to his apartment just in case.

  The minute she got out of her car, thoughts of her mother’s funeral assailed her. The casket bearing a spray of lilies... She’d been horrified to think of her loving mother in that box buried beneath all those flowers. It had been like a nightmare and she’d desperately wanted to wake up and have her mom tuck her into bed that night.

  Later that night had been the first time Lara had seen her father drop-dead drunk. He’d sobbed and railed at the fate that had taken his Anna from him. He’d drunkenly vowed to catch her killer and make him pay. And listening to those alcohol-infused sobs, Lara had known her father was innocent of any wrongdoing in her mother’s death.

  She walked back and forth on the paths, her mind still consumed with visions from her past as she sought William’s grave.

  She passed graves with new headstones covered with fresh flowers and wreathes, and other headstones crumbling with age and obviously long forgotten.

  Another flashback assailed her. A year after Anna’s death her father had dragged her back to the cemetery to place flowers on her grave. Even after a year it had been hard for Lara to comprehend that her mother was now nothing more than a simple concrete headstone and a handful of flowers.

  Her flashbacks halted as she saw James in the distance. He stood with his back to her and at the foot of the mound of dirt that marked his brother’s final resting place.

  She watched him for a moment and then hurried forward. “James,” she called out as she got closer to him.

  He turned toward her and waited for her to join him. “How did you know I was here?”

  “A hunch,” she replied. She gazed at him worriedly.

  She’d never seen him so pale and looking so exhausted. Still, a sick energy wafted from him as he clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides. She took a step closer to him. “James, are you all right?”

  He drew in a deep breath. “No, I’m not all right.” His eyes burned with fever-like intensity. “I found it, Lara. I was up all night going through the evidence we’d collected, and I found it...a trail of corruption going back to before my brother was even elected to the city council.” He shook his head and stared back at the burial mound. “Bribes and dirty deals. Promoting his lover, David, into jobs he was barely qualified for. Lavish gifts and getaways with David, all billed to the taxpayers. I think he must have destroyed his laptop because it held more evidence of corruption. He was probably hoping we’d never find out who he really was, but I found it all.”