Guys, Lies & Alibis

by Kimberly Reid

  “Cisco knows Kane. He’s been working this case for months. Marco will be okay, I just know it. Once Cisco brings him back to me, we’ll figure out a plan, and then you can do what you have to do.”

  “I’ll give him half an hour to call you. If we don’t hear anything, I have to move on this.”

  Lana doesn’t say anything more, and neither do I. I know it sounds crazy, but I actually feel calm. Maybe it was the release of tears, or I convinced myself that Cisco will come through while I was trying to convince my mom.

  “What kind of plan will keep Marco out of jail?” Lana says after a long stretch of silence.

  “I don’t know. Talk to your lawyer friend. Maybe Marco can plea down to probation. Or avoid a conviction altogether by turning state’s witness,” I suggest.

  “Witness against who? You won’t let me go after Kane. Other than abducting Marco, I have no basis for a charge. He didn’t even take Marco, for that matter. He got Duncan to do it. Going after a dirty cop is a whole different level of problems.”

  We go quiet again for a while, both of us thinking it through, both of us checking the time every other minute.

  “If Marco gets out of this—”

  “You mean when he gets out of this,” I correct Lana.

  “Okay, when. I know I’m the last one to suggest your boyfriend stays overnight, but maybe it’s safer for him until we know what’s what. Maybe his family should, too. As long as Kane is running free, he might go after them to get to Marco.”

  “And you know I’m the last one to say we don’t need to worry anymore, but we don’t,” I say. “Cisco will handle it. After tonight, no one will be coming after Marco or me or his family. He’s going to deal with Kane.”

  “You don’t know that. You don’t even know for sure he’s a cop.”

  “There’s still a lot you don’t know, Mom. He saved my life once, now he’s going to save Marco’s. I trust him.”

  Lana stares at me, trying to read how much I’ll hold back when she asks, “Saved your life? You need to start talking.”

  “I will, as soon as this is all over and Marco is back.”

  “This guy Cisco, whether he’s bad or good, why is he so interested in you? Is he some kind of freak or what? How old is he?”

  “It’s nothing like that. I suppose he’s young compared to most cops, or at least he looks young. He has to be if he’s undercover as a drug dealer. How many forty-year-old dealers do you arrest? You know that game better than anyone.”

  “I know undercovers walk a thin line between good and bad. We have to, every day.”

  “Maybe, but that isn’t why I trust Cisco,” I say, though I can’t really answer her question about his interest in me. I never thought to ask, but now she’s got me wondering.

  Chapter 32

  Ten minutes later, just as Lana’s deadline is approaching, we hear a car pull up in front of the house. Lana goes to the window, her hand poised over the gun on her hip.

  “You recognize this car?” she asks when I join her.

  “That’s Golden’s car.”

  “Who the hell is Golden?”

  “It’s all right. She’s with Cisco.”

  When Marco gets out, I nearly collapse again, this time from relief. Golden waves, knowing I’m watching her, and pulls away, followed by the other car that Cisco had posted out front all week.

  Once Marco is inside, safe, I nearly knock him down when I jump on him, asking over and over if he’s okay. I keep hoping Lana will let us have a little time alone, but that ain’t ever going to happen. She waits all of thirty seconds before the interrogation begins.

  “I don’t know,” Marco says after Lana starts her questioning. “Everything just happened so fast. That cop, Duncan—”

  “I always suspected he was on the take,” Lana interrupts, almost hissing the words.

  “He took me to some house and left me there. Then those two guys who jumped us, you remember, Chanti, after the movies—”

  “What?”

  “I told you, Mom, there’s still a lot more story to tell, but let Marco get this out. We need to know what happened to Kane.”

  “That’s the thing. I don’t know what happened to him. Kane was never in the house, at least not that I could see. Those two guys were about to beat the hell out of me, or worse, when this man and woman come busting in. The woman has a gun drawn on them, and the guy handcuffs the two men.”

  “Handcuffs?” Lana asks. “I suppose that’s a good sign. Maybe he really is a cop.”

  “Not handcuffs, but those things that look like zip-ties to close garbage bags.”

  “They are zip-ties. Anyone can buy those.”

  “Anyone can buy handcuffs, too,” I say, getting her meaning. “Go on, Marco.”

  “That was it. The guy stayed behind with Kane’s men, and the woman brought me here. Look, Ms. Evans, I know I committed a crime, and I know you have a job to do. But I just want you to know I did it for a good reason.”

  “Chanti told me why you did it,” Lana says, her expression still not looking very charitable. “I’m not going to arrest you. We’ll figure something out.”

  “I should go home. My parents were at the game and they must be going crazy. They may have already called the police.”

  “I may not arrest you, but I’m still a cop. I have to do something,” Lana says, more to me than to Marco. “Even if Cisco’s working for some agency as you suspect and is dealing with Kane, there’s still Duncan, this kid Brent—”

  “Me,” Marco adds.

  “Okay, Mom, but can we do it tomorrow? After what he’s been through, I bet Marco just wants to go home.”

  “Remember what I said? That might not be the safest thing. Maybe his parents should come here. I’ll call Falcone,” Lana says, referring to her old partner in vice. “We can keep an eye on them until we know where Kane is.”

  “I’m telling you, Mom, Cisco will handle Kane.”

  “I saw that guy in action, Ms. Evans. I think Chanti’s right, and I really do just want to go home right now, see my parents. Sleep in my own bed.”

  “Go, be with your parents. Call us when you get home.”

  “No,” I say, handing him my cell. “I’m calling you now from the landline. Put it on speaker and we’ll talk the whole way until I know you’re home safe.”

  I walk Marco to the door and watch him drive away.

  “Why did you do that?” Lana asks. “With the phone, I mean. I thought you said because of Cisco, you know Marco’s safe now.”

  I ignore her and go to my room, where I keep Marco company on his drive home, and don’t let him hang up until he’s inside his house and I can hear his parents in the background, their relief coming right through the phone.

  Chapter 33

  The next morning, I wake up wishing yesterday was a bad dream, but no such luck. That experience was realer than real. It’s just before seven, but I smell fresh coffee, which means Lana is already up. I guess she didn’t sleep as well as I did. But she hasn’t been carrying the weight of all this for two weeks. Last night turned my worry into relief, but her worry is just beginning.

  I splash some water on my face, stop by the kitchen for a mug of coffee, and join her in the living room. The TV is muted but only until seven when the Sunday morning news comes on.

  “I didn’t get any sleep. My mind is still reeling,” Lana says. “I just can’t believe what you told me last night. I’m not sure whether to hug you for being safe or yell at you for getting into such a mess without asking for my help.”

  “I told you why. Marco was complicit. It would be your job to arrest him.”

  “You have to trust me, Chanti. Always. No matter what.”

  “I do trust you, Mom, but this wasn’t about trust.”

  “That wasn’t what you said last night. It was all about trust between you and Cisco.”

  “No matter what or who Cisco is, he wanted Kane more than anything, except maybe protecting me. You want to
do right by the law, more than anything.”

  “Except protecting you. That’s my number-one job, before what I do as a cop.”

  “But I wasn’t the one in danger. Marco was. And I promised him I wouldn’t go to the police, even you.”

  I feel bad because Lana still looks a little hurt, but she lets it go. At least for now.

  “I heard you in your room talking a few minutes ago. How’s he doing?”

  “He’s fine.”

  “I doubt that. He went through a little hell last night.”

  “We’ll get through it together. He and I have been through hell before. Which reminds me. How was your date last night? No, it was the night before. The last day and a half is a blur.”

  “I forgot all about that.” The memory makes her smile. “It was good. Exciting.”

  “Apparently. You didn’t come home.”

  “Now wait a minute. It wasn’t that good. I didn’t come home because he got a call and I went with him. It was like old times.”

  “I bet it was.”

  “The guy led us on a chase up into the mountains. Four jurisdictions were involved in the pursuit. That’s why I didn’t answer when you called. The perp led us into some backcountry and we were out of range. I couldn’t text you until morning.”

  “Mom, what are you talking about?”

  “Some date, huh? That’s what I meant by exciting.”

  “My father got a phone call that resulted in you chasing a suspect?”

  “Your father? I was with Falcone.”

  Hold on a minute. She was with her old partner?

  “But I thought…”

  I stop talking when the news opens with a breaking story:

  We’re on East Forty-seventh Street where Denver Police have been working a murder scene since the early morning hours when a man was found dead in the Platte River. He has been identified as suspected drug dealer Ray Kane.

  “What the . . . You still think your Cisco is such a good guy?”

  “But he said he’d handle it.”

  “Well, he did. Sorry, Chanti. Time for Mom to be a cop and do what I should have done last night. If I’m lucky, the worst that’ll happen is I’ll be the subject of an internal affairs investigation right alongside Duncan. Go get dressed,” she says, turning off the television.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “You mean what are we going to do? Go talk to my boss. We’ll pick up Marco on the way. Call him and tell him to be ready.”

  Just then, we hear a car break hard in front of the house. Lana grabs her gun off the table.

  “Stay there,” she says, then peeks through the blinds. “Oh my God.”

  “Who is it?” I ask, ignoring her command to stay put. “Oh snap. What’s he doing here?”

  “It can’t be.”

  “Wait—you know him?”

  “Of course I know him,” Lana says, turning to me. “But how do you?”

  “That’s Cisco.”

  “I don’t know who Cisco is, but the man coming up the porch steps is Richard Kingston.”

  My mother was right. This cannot be. Because if Cisco is really Richard Kingston, that means Kane was killed and dumped in the Platte River by my father.

  The End

  About This Series

  Thanks for reading Guys, Lies & Alibis. I hope you had a great time! If this is your first venture into Chanti’s world, you might want to read about her from the very beginning in My Own Worst Frenemy. The second and third books in the series are Creeping with the Enemy and Sweet 16 to Life.

  You can visit my website, www.kimberlyreid.com, and send me an email if you’d like to join my mailing list, or get the 4-1-1 on upcoming books and events by checking out www.facebook.com/KimberlyReidAuthor.

  Acknowledgments

  I’ve had the chance to do my dream job for a while now and have learned that, as in any job, opportunities and people come and go. I’ve been able to rely on two constants in this business. My agent, Kristin Nelson, has been my partner through the ups, downs, and all stops in between. I thank Kristin and her team—Lori Bennett, Angie Hodapp, Anita Mumm, and Becky Taylor—for keeping my head straight and making me look good. I appreciate all that you do or have done for me.

  The other constant is you, the reader. Y’all inspire me. Thanks for being there.

  About The Author

  Photo credit: Marielle Bergstrand-Reiersgard

  Kimberly Reid grew up in Atlanta, the daughter of a police detective. Like her girl detective in the Langdon Prep series, Reid attended a prep school where she did not fit in and always wanted to help her mother solve crimes. Kimberly Reid is the author of No Place Safe and lives with her family in Colorado.

  You can visit her website at www.kimberlyreid.com

  GUYS, LIES & ALIBIS

  A Langdon Prep Mystery

  Kimberly Reid

  Copyright © 2014

  All Rights Reserved.

  AGENCY INFORMATION

  NLA Digital LLC

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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