He remembered the last thing he’d said to Mona Hill before he left Monday night.
She walked him to the door, unhappy, hugging herself. “Mona,” he said. “Look at me.”
“You don’t care about me.”
“You’re wrong. You called your bodyguard—that’s the first step. Do exactly what I told you, okay? And if you see her, call the police—then call me. There must be a cop you trust.”
She snorted. “Trust?”
“You know what I mean.”
“There’s a guy. Likes one of my girls, treats her well, he might help.”
“See? You have someone. Talk to him. Seriously, if you see her again or if she leaves another note, let me know. And like I said, change your locks first thing in the morning. Bolt this door when I leave.”
“Fine. Right. Okay. Thanks.”
“She’s eighteen, Mona. She might be a nut job, but she’s still a kid.”
And then he left.
* * *
Mona had been alive. Even though he hadn’t heard from her again, he wasn’t worried—and he’d been focused on tracking Elise.
Now he knew he hadn’t heard from Mona because she was dead.
Chapter Five
When Lucy arrived home, the garage door was up and an SAPD patrol car was out front. Sean’s Wrangler was in the garage, and for one moment she was elated—that Sean was home and everything she’d been told was wrong. She ignored the officer, parked next to Sean’s Jeep, and closed the door. She went in, checked the alarm—it was on—so she coded that she was home and to secure the property, which would alert her if anyone stepped onto the grounds. She wanted a heads-up if any agency was about to serve a warrant.
For now, all was quiet.
She opened the laundry room—Bandit, their three-year-old golden retriever—was relegated to the laundry room and sunroom when they weren’t home. He was well-trained, but the run of the house might be too tempting. He still acted like a puppy at times and got lonely when no one was home. Sean had lost one sneaker in three different pairs because Bandit was bored while unsupervised.
Lucy knelt and hugged him tightly, his tail wagging frantically, hitting both sides of the door jamb. “I know, I’m never home at this time,” she said. She would not cry. She took a deep breath, got up, and walked down the hall to Sean’s office. Bandit followed her and immediately walked behind the desk, where he curled up on the dog bed and thumped his tail while watching her. If Sean was working, Bandit was here with him.
Lucy called Jack from the landline, but he didn’t answer. She opened the safe and retrieved the secure cell phone. No messages. It was fully charged and she put it in her pocket.
She didn’t know who to call, but then the landline rang.
It was JT Caruso, one of the principals of RCK.
“Are you alone?” he asked.
“Yes. Jack said he was going to call Nate, but Nate’s in court. I called Brad Donnelly, and he’s coming over. I don’t know how he can help, but—”
“That’s good. Until we know what’s going on, you shouldn’t be alone.”
“Sean’s the one in danger.”
“The RCK lawyer is already working, and we’re bringing in a top criminal defense law firm based in Houston.”
The words criminal defense made Lucy’s stomach turn. This should not be happening.
JT continued, “It looks like Banner asked for a narrow warrant for the time being—to search Sean’s plane, car, and home for a .45 caliber gun. I have a list of the .45s that Sean owns—he has two.”
“He keeps the Colt in the bedroom, and the other is probably in the gun safe. He usually carries his 9mm when he goes out.”
“You’ll have to open the gun safe if they come with the warrant, but even if they only have a warrant to search for the murder weapon, they could still search your entire property. If they see something suspicious they could ask for an expanded warrant.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Not necessarily. Have you learned anything else?”
Was JT being cautious or did he have a reason for concern that he wasn’t telling her? She let it go for now.
“No, nothing,” she said. “I was going to tell you Sean doesn’t have an alibi on Monday. I didn’t get home until late, it was after eleven. Sean was home when I arrived, but he could have been out.”
“Jesse?”
“I haven’t asked him, he’s still at school. According to Tia, they have Sean on security cameras at about the time of the murder.”
“We’ll have an outside expert verify the time stamps, but let’s assume that he was there. Why would he meet with Mona Hill?”
She didn’t know what to say.
“Lucy, you there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Mona was the prostitute who helped us last year, right? With my sister?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, and have you or Sean used her information since?”
“I haven’t, I don’t trust her. Didn’t trust her. But Sean has tapped her for information a couple of times, including a missing persons case he was working.”
“He knows you have issues with her.”
“Yeah.”
“Assume he had a legitimate reason to talk to Mona Hill, okay?”
She would, though he should have told her. Just because she didn’t trust Mona didn’t mean she didn’t understand that the woman could have valuable information for a private investigator or law enforcement.
“Is he working on anything for RCK?” she asked.
“Yes, it’s computer security related, and he does that from his desk. He’s scheduled to go to Miami to work on site at a government defense contractor to debug a new program, but that’s not for a couple weeks.”
“This arrest is going to hurt your business, isn’t it?”
“That’s not important right now,” JT said. “I’ll take care of RCK—Duke and I are already running through every conceivable scenario where someone might want to take Sean temporarily off the board. But I suspect he’s working a side project. Duke’s going through the system logs to see what he was doing. Do you know if he had something going outside of RCK?”
“Nothing he’s mentioned to me.” She paused. “He’s been a bit preoccupied this week, and he was talking to someone in Los Angeles named … hold on, it’ll come to me…”
“Nico Villanueva?”
“Yes—that’s it. Who is he?”
“A contractor for RCK, private investigator we use in the L.A. area. I’ll call him, but this is good. Nico served with me in the Navy, I’ve known him for years.”
A warning beep echoed.
“What was that?” JT asked.
She checked the security pad and watched as Brad walked up the front pathway. “Brad’s here. DEA—you met him, right?”
“I know him. Good.”
“Should I search the house?”
“For what?”
“I don’t know—bugs?” That sounded stupid. “I need to do something.”
“You have plenty to do. And I’m certain Sean does regular sweeps for listening devices.”
Of course he did, she thought.
JT continued, “As soon as I wrap up the situation with the lawyers, I’ll call you. Before Sean even arrives in Houston, he’ll have a lawyer on site.”
“I’m worried about him, JT. If he goes to jail tonight—they may not even arraign him until Monday.”
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure he’s released on bond before the end of the day. Hold tight, okay?”
The door chimed.
“Okay.” She hung up and went to let Brad inside. He closed the door and said, “Prick out front actually tried to stop me.”
“He’s just doing his job.”
“He wanted to know my business. I flashed my ID, kept walking.” He put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed. “You okay?”
“I don’t have time not to be okay.”
She led Brad into the kitchen and filled him in on what she knew, which wasn’t much.
“I called a buddy of mine in Houston—a vice detective I know well. He’ll sniff around, knows that it’s sensitive. You can trust him like you do me.”
Lucy made a pot of coffee because she had to do something while she waited for JT to call her about the lawyer. She itched to head to Houston herself, but feared she’d just be sitting around and not be allowed to talk to Sean anyway.
“What?” Brad asked as he watched her pace.
“I’ve grown complacent. Everything has been great for months—honestly, the last few cases I’ve had were interesting but uneventful. It’s been calm. I’ve been able to enjoy my evenings with Sean and Jesse and for the first time I felt normal. Totally, completely normal. And now … oh, shit. Jesse.”
“Where is he?”
“School. I have to tell him.”
“I can go get him for you.”
“That won’t work—there’s a restricted list of who can pick him up during the school day. Nate’s in court and Kane’s out of the country.” She hesitated, then realized she needed someone to confide in. “Kane’s missing. Jack went down to a small village outside Saltillo to find him.”
“Saltillo is a small village. What was he doing? I thought he’d retired.”
“Semi-retired,” Lucy said. “A human trafficker he’s been keeping tabs on was moving young girls. Siobhan is down there with them, they rescued six minors, but now Kane is missing.”
“Can I do anything?”
“Help me with Sean. Nate’s in court and I’ve been sent home, so I’m just waiting for information and it’s driving me bonkers.”
“I’m glad you called. I’ll do anything I can. I wish I could help Kane and Jack, but I don’t have a lot of resources in human trafficking.”
“Jack’s on top of it, but I’m worried about him, too. First Kane goes missing, now Sean is arrested.”
Brad frowned.
“What?” Lucy asked.
“Is there any connection between these two events?”
She thought, shook her head. “I can’t see how. Mona Hill was a prostitute. She didn’t have any connection to human trafficking, and Sean made sure she didn’t use underage girls. She helped us last year, remember?”
“I do. I just don’t buy that whole prostitute with a heart of gold bullshit.”
Lucy laughed. She shouldn’t, but she needed to. “Trust me, she has no heart of gold. It’s all about self-preservation, and Sean made it clear to her that if she crossed that line he would take her down.” She bit her lip. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Don’t censor yourself around me. If you want to go get Jesse, I can stay here.”
She did … but what would she tell him? “It’s early. I have no information for him, and he’s going to have questions. I’ll get him when I know something.”
The house phone rang, which was a rarity, and she practically ran to Sean’s office to grab it. “Yes?”
“Sean asked Nico to track Elise Hunt. Why?”
It was JT and he sounded angry.
“She was released from juvie three weeks ago, but she’s in Los Angeles.” And Nico was a PI in L.A. “I don’t know why Sean would keep tabs on her.”
“Has she threatened you?”
“No. I was told about her release. She turned eighteen and they cut her loose. I made my statement when she was arraigned two years ago.”
“Which was?”
“That she’s a danger to society and needs to be tried as an adult, not given a minimum security plea deal. They opted to give her juvie until her eighteenth birthday. You should know all that.”
“I do, but you testified against her, right?”
“Yes. So did Sean, Detective Mancini, Brad, others. You can’t possibly think that Elise Hunt is behind this.”
“I know what Nico told me. Sean called him Monday night and asked him to find out where Elise Hunt is living, what she’s doing, her associates, the exact terms of her release, the whole nine yards. He’s been following her. Staked out her house starting early Tuesday—didn’t lay eyes on her until late that afternoon. He’s been sending reports to Sean, he’s sending them to me now. Sean didn’t tell you any of this?”
“No,” she said, her chest tight. Mona Hill had betrayed Elise Hunt. Was that why Sean went to see her? Because he wanted to warn her about Elise’s release? He could have called her. He didn’t have to go there in person.
“I told Nico to keep close tabs on her for the time being, but we need to know what was going through Sean’s head. There are no restrictions on Elise—no parole, no probation. She was given a plane ticket to Los Angeles because that’s where she has property that she inherited from her family—what wasn’t seized under asset forfeiture laws.”
“Someone had to be taking care of the property,” Lucy said. “They owned it free and clear, but there would be property taxes and other expenses.”
“Nico said that three people live there other than Elise. All he has are names and basic descriptions; he gave that to Sean, who was running a background check on them, but now we’re doing it from here. He’s sending us photos as well.”
JT continued. “RCK has retained a law firm for Sean. Garrett Lee is an investigator with the law firm, a former cop who we’ve worked with in the past. He’ll be working with you on any warrant issues. He’s based in San Antonio and he has a good relationship with SAPD. Felicity Duncan is a criminal defense lawyer in Houston, with the same firm, and she’ll be representing Sean during this process. She is hands down one of the best criminal defense lawyers in Texas. Hell, the country. Sean is in good hands.”
Lucy closed her eyes, tears burning, but she controlled them. She would not break down.
“Lucy, you okay?”
“I need to do something.” Every word was difficult to get out.
“Garrett will contact you directly. Until we know exactly what’s going on, you play everything by the book. Get badge numbers, IDs, confirm everything—including Garrett’s identity. He’s a six-foot-two-inch, half-black, half-Chinese health nut. He would be difficult to miss, but assume nothing. Do not talk to the police without Garrett with you, understand?”
“I can’t just sit here.”
“For now you can. They’re not going to let you see Sean until after he’s booked. We need Nate to stay with Jesse—if this is at all connected to Elise Hunt, until either Jack or Kane get there, Nate is the only one I trust. Understand?”
“I haven’t told Nate. I didn’t want to tell him over text.”
“Jack did. Nate needed to know what’s going on.”
“I understand,” she said quietly, rubbing her temples.
“We’re going to get Sean out of this,” JT said. “But there’s a process, and because he’s in the system right now, we have to use the system.”
What did that mean? If they had known this was going to happen, would Sean have run? Arranged to turn himself in? Her law-and-order personality told her that running was a sign of guilt … yet Sean had had bad experiences with law enforcement in the past, and he didn’t trust the system, not like she did. Jack and Kane had spent most of their lives in the system … while also working outside the system. They saw things more as they were then as they wanted them to be. The good and the bad.
“Lucy?”
“How are they going to protect Sean in jail?”
“Felicity understands the danger to Sean. She’ll be at the police station before he arrives. She has a team of lawyers and investigators at her disposal. Trust me, Lucy. I will do everything in my power to keep Sean safe.”
Chapter Six
Lucy inspected Garrett Lee’s identification before letting him inside the house. He was even more imposing than JT described, and older than she expected—in his early fifties, with gray dotting his temples and crow’s-feet framing his dark eyes.
She introduced him to Brad.
“Can we sit somewhere?” Garrett said. “We have a lot to go over, and not much time.”
Lucy motioned to the formal dining room. They rarely ate in there—but the kitchen didn’t seem appropriate to the solemn moment.
“First, JT gave me a short list of people who, for lack of a better word, we’ll call Sean’s defense team, which includes you, Agent Donnelly, as well as Agent Dunning, who will be joining us when he’s done in court. As Sean’s spouse, you do not need to speak to the police, but I recognize that you may have a conflict because you’re a federal agent. Don’t let them manipulate you into saying anything—and do not talk to the police or anyone about Sean’s case without me.
“As for the warrant, I’ve already spoken to SAPD and the liaison who is working the case with Houston. They’re searching Sean’s plane now. One of our associates is with them. They are sending a second team here; they’ll arrive shortly. The warrant is limited. They are looking for the murder weapon and the clothing that Sean wore that night—they have a color image from a security camera in the building. They’ll be taking all his jeans, for example, because he wore a pair of jeans. He wore dark sneakers, the video is unclear on the brand so they’ll be taking all dark sneakers—basically everything but white. They’ll be testing the clothing for blood or other physical evidence that might tie Sean to the crime scene. They have a warrant to search his vehicle as well for any of the items on the warrant, plus to test the carpet and upholstery for blood and fibers. The murder weapon shoots a .45 caliber bullet, so they can technically only take guns capable of shooting a .45. Your service weapon is a .40 caliber and because all FBI weapons have ballistics on record, you won’t need to turn yours over. However, every other weapon—whether registered to you or Sean, as long as Sean would reasonably have access to it—that fits the specifics on the warrant, they can take. Not just .45s, but any gun that is capable of shooting a .45, which may be more than the two JT mentioned to me.”
He paused, seemed to consider what he was going to say. “I have an acute understanding of Rogan-Caruso-Kincaid Protective Services, and I know that there are some operations conducted in and outside of the U.S. that may not be perfectly … legal. JT assures me that any weapons used in any RCK operations are handled differently and will not be present in your house, but I need to warn you that if they test a firearm and it was used in the commission of a felony, that can be another charge brought against Sean. So even if we clear him of this accusation, he may be facing other charges.”
Cold as Ice Page 4