by Gerri Hill
“Why the father?”
“I’ve done work for him in the past. But the thing is, it’s over with now. Brett Peterson called me earlier this evening. Said he and his wife had worked things out and my service was no longer needed.”
“So if you’ve been doing surveillance, he has to know that you saw what went down today, right?”
“I would think so, yes.”
“You didn’t confront him?”
Finn shook her head. “It’s not any of my business, Dee.”
“Of course it is! Somebody had his child! You saw the exchange!”
“I’m not a cop. Brett Peterson hired me to follow his wife. I did. End of story.”
“You’re unbelievable!” she said, pointing at Finn. “It’s all related to our case. It has to be.”
“I agree. The plates on the black Cadillac came back to Jose Hernandez.”
“The guy who owns the house? Why didn’t you tell me all of this earlier? I could have tried to—”
“Dee, this is my job. This is what I do. Again, I’m not a cop nor do I want to be.”
“Finn, I swear. Sometimes you—”
“Hey, guys…yelling won’t solve anything,” Rylee said, holding her hands up. “The Peterson thing is over with. Let’s talk about the house.”
Dee blew out her breath. She wasn’t cut out for this, apparently. There were rules that she didn’t break. There were orders that she followed without question. Well, usually. But now? Now she was hooked up with an ex-cop who admittedly didn’t follow rules or orders and a young woman whom she knew nothing about. It’d be a miracle if she didn’t lose her job over this. But what else could she do? She was already in too far.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath, trying to put the image of an abducted child aside and focus on the possible clubhouse. “So two of these so-called members went to this house owned by Jose Hernandez. Peterson and O’Leary. They knew the gate code.” She folded her hands together. “Tell me about the house.”
“It’s at the peak of a cul-de-sac, only one close neighbor. The other side is vacant. Ten-foot privacy fence, gated entrance. The house sits off the road. Bay front. Judging by the size, I’d guess at least four or five bedrooms.”
“So you think this could be their clubhouse? Where the girls are?”
“At this point, it’s only a guess. We’d need more of the names on the list to show up there to be sure.” Finn stood up. “You want a drink?”
“Definitely. Make it a double.”
Finn smiled slightly, then looked at Rylee, who nodded. “I’ll have a splash of that cognac.”
“Tell me about the wife,” Dee asked her when Finn walked away. “Are you certain it wasn’t an affair?”
“Where would they have met? Their social circles are so far apart he may as well be in China. But it was her demeanor, the look on her face that was the most telling. It was fear on her face, not ecstasy.”
“What do you think went on?”
Rylee leaned back in her chair. “You want my opinion?”
“What’s your gut feeling?”
“Well, what it looked like, after we saw the kid, was that Lori Peterson was exchanging sex for her child. Which I can’t quite wrap my mind around it, it sounds so crazy.”
“Yeah, well, in my line of work, there’s crazy…and then there’s crazy. Nothing would shock me.”
Finn came back in and set a glass down beside her, then handed Rylee one. “The way this house is situated, it’ll be hard to do surveillance on it. I would need to go there in the daylight and see if a side street might have a view, but that’s unlikely. I’m thinking our best bet is to watch South Bay Drive. That’s not the only street they could take to get back there, but it’s the main one. We could also park on Sealane, I think it was.”
“Have you linked Jose Hernandez to any of the others?”
“We haven’t had a chance to research it. I thought we’d tackle that in the morning,” Finn said as she sat down again. “I’ll also do a thorough workup on Jose and his business.”
Dee cupped her glass, her eyes going to Finn before she even took a sip. “What the hell are we going to do with this information, Finn?”
“Are you afraid of going rogue?”
“I’m a cop and a damn good one,” she said, tapping her chest. “What we’re doing goes against all of my principles.”
“So what do you want to do?”
“I’ve got a friend with the FBI. I could—”
“Dee…please, not yet. I know we’re sitting on something here that’s way out of our league…my league, especially. I shouldn’t be this involved. I know that. You know that. But whoever killed the Fraziers, whoever killed Sammy…the FBI’s not going to be concerned with that.” Finn stood up, leaving her drink on the table. Dee glanced at Rylee, whose eyes were fixed on Finn. “Once we know who’s the organizer of this little club, once we know who all the players are, then you bring in the FBI. We’ll serve up this information on a silver platter. But if you contact them now, then it’s game over.” Finn stared at her. “Game over for you too, I imagine. You’re going over Mabanks’ head. Hell, you’re going over everyone’s head by reporting this to the FBI first.”
“Before I got taken off this case, Mabanks was already hedging on the money laundering. He said there wasn’t enough evidence to support it. That’s the reason the FBI was not notified.”
“You found phony vendors. You’ve got Frazier’s accounting records. How can he say there’s no evidence?”
“The detectives on the case, they know the real deal. They’re not that stupid. They’re young and they’re following orders. If they knew everything that we know, it might be different. But still, I don’t think they’d question his order, even if we supplied them with these account numbers we have.” Dee shook her head. “I can’t figure out how the captain plans to make this case disappear.”
“Easy. There are no suspects. Wrap up the money laundering angle as not enough evidence—he’s already essentially done that—and let the murder cases go cold. Hell, they’re already cold.”
Dee turned to Rylee. “You’re awfully quiet. What are your thoughts?”
Rylee looked first at Finn, then brought her attention back to Dee. “Blackmail him.”
Dee’s eyebrows shot up. “Who?”
“Your Captain Mabanks. Blackmail him. That’s the reason he’s trying to cover up these murders, isn’t it? Because someone owns him now? Because of the debt? Because of the pictures?” She leaned her elbows on the table, her gaze now on Finn. “We’ve got the information that they’re all afraid will get out.”
“But what do we have exactly? A spreadsheet with members’ names and their debt. Account numbers. Pictures of these men having sex. That’s not against the law. There’s no proof these women are prostitutes. There’s no proof as to what this debt is for.” Finn picked up her drink and stood, walking a few steps away. “We’ve been guessing and assuming, but there’s no proof of anything.”
Dee took a swallow of her own drink. “I think we should stick to the original plan. Follow these guys, find out where they meet. Maybe this house you found is the place. If so, then Rylee has a point. Mabanks keeps talking about retiring. He’s been married forty-something years, he’s got grandkids he dotes on. We may not have proof of what’s going on, but if he knows we’ve got this information and we threaten to turn it over to the FBI, I think we can use that against him. Hell, we threaten to turn it over to his wife.”
Finn sat down again. “Why would he spill his guts to us? If he’s worried about the FBI, it’s still going to get out. It’ll get out to everyone. But if he plays dumb when we tell him…if he keeps quiet, then our little secret is out. We’ve got the information that three people were killed for. All he has to do is make a call. Then the three of us will have targets on our backs.”
“I would like to think the man I’ve worked for for nearly ten years would do the right thing. If he’s offered immunity
, then that would be a way out for him.”
“We’re not in a position to offer immunity, Dee. Remember? We’re not even supposed to be working this case.”
“After all of this, I still trust the man. He’s not going to ‘make a call’ as you put it.”
“It’s very risky for us. The man’s career is on the line, his legacy, his whole damn life. Maybe they all feel that way. Maybe that’s why this little club setting has worked for whoever started it. They’re all in now and there’s no way out. Maybe that’s the whole point of it. Once they’re in, they can’t ever get back out.”
“Because they now know too much,” Rylee interjected. “They don’t have a choice any longer.”
“So you’re suggesting they’re all being blackmailed already?” Dee shook her head. “I find that hard to believe. A few people, maybe. But ten? That would be hard to pull off.”
“Think about it,” Finn said. “These guys aren’t your run-of-the-mill Joes. They’re politicians. They’re judges. They’re businessmen. Hell, they’re law enforcement. These are all guys who have a lot to lose if this gets out.”
“They’re also powerful men who I would think would be smarter than to let themselves be blackmailed,” Dee said with a shake of her head. “I’m thinking some of these guys are involved in the running of this little scheme. They’ve got to be.”
Rylee got up to clear the table but Finn stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t mind. I’m not contributing much anyway,” she said as she stacked Finn’s plate on top of hers.
“I don’t know if any of us are contributing anything worthwhile,” Dee said. “We simply don’t have enough information.” She stood up, taking her own plate with her. “And I’m beat. Gonna call it a night.” She turned back to Finn. “You’ll see what you can dig up on Jose Hernandez?”
“First thing in the morning.”
“Good. The guys are supposed to brief Mabanks tomorrow at ten. I didn’t get an invite to the meeting, but Detective Davis has been keeping me in the loop. Without Mabanks knowing it, I imagine.” She shrugged. “They have nothing new, really. The books had been doctored, but we already knew that. The account numbers on the ledger? Still haven’t nailed them down. Offshore, obviously. Next step is one-on-one interviews with the managers, see what they knew.”
“What about Duncan?”
“Yeah, get this. Mabanks wants to sit in on that interview. My guess is, take over that interview.”
“For what reason?”
“What’s your guess?”
Finn smiled slightly. “That our intuition was right after all. It suggests that Duncan Frazier is involved and Mabanks knows it.”
“It suggests that on the surface, yes. Or maybe Mabanks is trying to be respectful to a young man whose parents were murdered.” She put her plate in the sink where Rylee was rinsing the others. “There’s no evidence whatsoever linking Duncan to anything. By all accounts, he was a normal college kid. We both followed him around, thinking there was a link. And yes, he was a cocky ass when I met him, but that’s not a crime.”
“Maybe we should focus on him again. Now that we’ve got a list of names, maybe he meets with them.”
“I think we’ve got our hands full.”
“There is another way,” Finn said. “We get tracking devices.”
Dee shook her head. “That’s illegal.”
“Yes, I know that. We could leave them on for a few days, then remove them.”
“Tracking devices that dot a map cost a hell of a lot more than cheap devices that you follow. But more importantly, anything we find will not be admissible in court.”
“Jesus, Dee…worrying about what’s admissible in court? Who the hell cares? We’re just trying to find some links with these guys. Quit thinking like a cop!”
“I am a cop!” she shot back.
“Hey…” Rylee said as she came back to the table, standing between them. “We’re all tired. How about we discuss tracking devices tomorrow?”
Dee blew out her breath. “Yeah, okay.” She pointed her finger at Finn. “I’m breaking all sorts of rules as it is. I’d just as soon not lose my job over this.”
Finn stood up. “Yeah. Sorry. But there’s something else. Have you considered that they know you’ve been coming here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if we assume they think I have this flash drive, they may be watching the house.”
“Do you think someone’s been following us?” Rylee asked.
Finn shook her head. “No. I can spot a tail. But maybe they watch the house, try to see what pattern I have.”
“If they knew I was seeing you as often as I am—if Mabanks knew—he would have brought it up, I think. But for your safety, with your alarm and security cameras, do you think they’d try to break in?” she asked.
“Not unless they disabled the system. If the alarm goes off, it’d still take a few minutes before a patrol car came by to check it out. But not so long that they’d have time to get inside, search the place, and get back out. I don’t think they’d take that chance.”
“What other option would they have?” Rylee asked.
“Snatch me up, hope I’ve got the drive on me. Kill me.”
Rylee squared her shoulders. “Well, I guess we need to be careful then, don’t we?” Then she smiled. “I’d hate to have to look for another job.”
Finn laughed lightly. “And here I thought you were worried about me.”
“I am. I’d miss your witty charm.”
At that, Dee laughed. “Yeah, right. Grumpy charm is more like it.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Rylee leaned against the counter with her hip, following Finn’s movements as she tidied the already clean kitchen.
“Is this how your house stays so clean?”
Finn paused and tilted her head, as if only then realizing that she’d been wiping the countertop repeatedly.
“Lost in thought,” she said as she put the dishcloth down.
Rylee moved closer to her. “Thoughts about the case…or…”
Finn hesitated in meeting her eyes, but it was just the two of them in the room. She had nowhere to escape to. When she did look at her, Rylee realized where her thoughts had been. She wondered if this would be the time they finally talked about that night.
“About the case, yeah,” Finn said.
But no. Finn apparently still wasn’t ready. Rylee took another step closer. She never thought she’d have to be the one to bring it up. But enough already. Finn might not be ready, but she was.
“There’s no need to lie, Finn.”
Finn raised her eyebrows. “What makes you think I’m lying?”
Rylee tried to hold her gaze. “Let’s talk about it.” But still, Finn feigned ignorance as she turned away from her.
“Talk about what?”
“God, I had no idea you’d be this stubborn,” she said as she grabbed Finn’s arm and spun her around to face her again. “This is ridiculous, Finn. I don’t want to pretend anymore.” She shook her head. “I don’t like this game we’re playing with each other.” Her hand was still touching Finn’s arm and she swore she felt her tremble. She squeezed a little tighter. “Finn…we’ve seen each other naked. Let’s stop pretending that we haven’t.”
Finn moved away from her touch, going to the other side of the sink. “What…what is there to talk about?”
“Well, for one thing, I need you to know that I don’t do things like that. I…well, obviously I did, that night. But…never before and certainly never since.”
“Is that why you left?”
“I panicked. I woke up…I had no idea what time it was. I was in bed with a stranger. A stranger whom I had been incredibly intimate with.” She met Finn’s gaze. “I panicked and I ran.”
Finn nodded. “You would have been what? Embarrassed?”
“Yes. Embarrassed. Ashamed.”
Finn nodded again. “So what time was it that you ran away?”
Rylee smiled slightly. She knew exactly what time it had been. She remembered looking at her phone, the large numerals staring back at her, permanently imprinting on her brain. “It was 4:47.”
Once again, Finn gave a subtle nod, then she cleared her throat. “I don’t…” She cleared her throat again. “I don’t do things like that either. In fact, I hadn’t been out to a bar in years, I guess. So…if I had woken up first, I might have been the one to run.”
“Wow. And all these months I imagined you did that sort of thing a lot.”
Finn smiled. “Yes. I thought the same of you.”
Rylee’s eyes widened. “You did? Oh, my God! See? That’s why I left. I was embarrassed.”
“If you’d stayed, you could have explained.”
“If I’d stayed, we wouldn’t have gotten out of bed.” She was surprised by the blush that lit Finn’s face. “So you’re embarrassed.”
“Like I said, I don’t…don’t do things like that.”
“So neither of us do, yet we met at a bar that night. A simple case of coincidence? Or…fate?”
“Aren’t they the same thing?”
Rylee smiled at her. “I never thought I’d see you again in a million years. I almost fainted when I came to your office and…and there you were.”
“You hid it well. I thought at first that you didn’t recognize me.”
“Not recognize you?” God, they’d spent hours in bed. Her mouth had been on every inch of Finn’s body. Of course she would recognize her. She felt a slow roll begin in her stomach as she remembered Finn’s mouth on every inch of her body as well. Every inch. She swallowed as images raced through her mind…naked skin, soft, wet…hot. Their eyes held and yes…she felt hot. And she needed to get away. “I…I should…” She turned away from Finn quickly. “I…I think I should…I mean…I’m tired.” She nodded curtly. “Goodnight.” She turned, not looking back.
“Rylee?”
She paused at the door but kept her back to Finn. She felt Finn walk closer to her. “Yes?” she managed with a shaky voice.