Visible Threat (23 page)

62

W
HEN
B
RINNA STEPPED
back into the office, something was happening. Jack was involved in a serious conversation on the phone, and Anton and Magda were chattering in a foreign language. Welty was furiously pounding on the computer.

“What’s going on?”

“Magda remembered something,” Welty informed her. “Simon Greuv has a relative here. He owns a business in San Pedro. I’m trying to find an address, and Jack is on the phone with the Feds.”

Brinna’s throat felt tight as she considered her options: go chase down Maggie and her cryptic message, or stay here and follow this new promising lead. She decided quickly. She knew what Jack and Darryl were looking for. She needed to know what Maggie had found. She grabbed her fanny pack and leaned toward Welty.

“Darryl, I’m going home. I’m beat, and I’m no help here. But call me if you guys hear anything, okay?”

“Sure, you know we will.” He never looked up from the computer.

Brinna raced downstairs and out to the back steps before she remembered Jack had driven her here in his homicide vehicle. She checked her key chain. Luckily all the Chevys were keyed alike, and she had a Chevy key. As she started the car, she hoped Jack wouldn’t need it anytime soon.

College Park. Maggie had said she was in College Park. Why was she there? College Park was the name of a section of tract homes on the farthest east side of Long Beach, near the state college. Gracie didn’t live there
 
—Brinna knew that from the interview. Laura was Gracie’s neighbor, so she didn’t live in College Park either. With every question she asked, another popped up, but there were no answers.

Once home, Brinna quickly leashed Hero and loaded him into her black-and-white Explorer, leaving Jack’s car parked on the street. There was no need to go to her mother’s house for a piece of clothing. Rose had wrapped herself in a fleece throw the last time she’d been at Brinna’s, and that would be enough scent for Hero. The night was dark and cloudy but dry, so if Hero was needed for a search, the weather wouldn’t be a problem.

She’d just pulled out of her driveway when her phone rang again. Checking the screen, she saw it was Maggie.

“I hope you have more to tell me,” she said when she opened the phone.

“Where are you?”

“Pulling away from my house. I’ll be in College Park in a minute.” She slowed, finding it awkward to hold the phone with her cast while she drove.

“Do you have Hero?”

“Yes,” Brinna snapped. “Mags, what the heck is going on?” She slammed on the brakes when she almost ran a stop sign.

“Meet me at the 7-Eleven at Studebaker and Anaheim, and I’ll tell you everything.” The line went dead.

*   *   *

Since they’d left the warehouse, Ivana had gone from fearful to hopeful and back again. Simon gave them no explanation as to why he wanted to leave the warehouse. He’d just rushed her and Mrs. Caruso out and into the car. They’d had to step over Gavin’s corpse. At first he’d planned to tie them up and force them into the trunk, but Mrs. Caruso talked him out of it, promising that she and Ivana would behave if they sat in the car. He drove around until it was dark and then brought them to this house.

When Mrs. Caruso asked him if the house was his, he said nothing. Once inside, he gave them street clothes to wear
 
—again, there was no explanation for who the clothes belonged to. He would only say that he didn’t want them “running around in nightclothes.” Though the clothes were too large for her and Mrs. Caruso, they were a lot warmer than their thin nightgowns, and Ivana was happy to feel warmth return to her extremities. She found herself hoping, now that they were away from the warehouse, that Simon would relent and release them.

Then he turned on the television and saw a picture of himself on a wanted poster. Ivana was sure she and Mrs. Caruso were dead. Simon had smashed the television, then
turned off all the lights and herded them into a back bedroom. He had his phone in one hand, the gun in his other. He’d forced them to the floor, where they were still seated, their backs to the wall, while he sat on the edge of the bed. He’d open his phone, close it, then repeat the process a few minutes later.

Mrs. Caruso tried to speak to him, but he’d ordered them both quiet. From time to time he’d curse in Bulgarian. Ivana could barely keep her eyes open, but every time she’d nod off, Simon would erupt in curses. He no longer held the gun in his hand, but Ivana knew that the dark lump on the bed next to him was the weapon, close enough to still be a threat.

“You’re exhausted,” Mrs. Caruso said and Ivana jumped. The room’s only illumination was the glow from a backyard light. It was impossible to see Simon’s features, but his head did turn in Mrs. Caruso’s direction.

“What do you care?” Simon’s voice was flat, hollow. He slid off the bed and sat on the floor, back against the bed.

“I care, whether you believe me or not. It’s clear that you’re lost, confused.” She leaned forward. “End this. No one else has to get hurt.”

Ivana held her breath. Her eyes went from Simon to the gun on the bed and back again. He made no move toward the gun.

“I’m a dead man walking; that’s what I am. The one friend I thought I had has betrayed me.” He emitted a mirthless chuckle. “Demitri will be back in two days. I either wait for him to kill me or let your police do it now.”

“American police won’t kill you. Can’t you believe that?” Mrs. Caruso pleaded. “If you let us go now, no one has to die.”

“Believe her, Simon, please.” For the first time in hours Ivana found her vocal cords. Her throat was dry, and her voice sounded rough. “I’ve met these American police. They were kind to me. They weren’t the demons Demitri told me they were.”

“You weren’t the one holding the gun.” With that he stood and picked up the gun. “Stand. We’re going for a ride.”

63

B
RINNA SAW
M
AGGIE
as soon as she pulled into the lot. She stood outside her car and jogged toward Brinna.

“I think I found your mother.”

The positive, confident declaration gave her a jolt. “You said that already.” Brinna threw her arms out. “What is going on?”

“It was Laura, the neighbor, who cleared everything up,” Maggie explained. “I went to talk to her, to ask her some simple questions. Turns out she saw who we think is Simon at the shop.”

“You think?” Brinna stood, arms akimbo.

“He was a scary guy, according to Laura. She heard him talk and could tell by his accent he was Bulgarian like Magda.” Maggie paused, and Brinna gestured for her to continue.

“Anyway, Laura had seen this guy someplace else before, but the day he visited Magda, she couldn’t remember where. When we were talking, Laura remembered that she’d been in College Park at a friend’s house when she saw him. He was at a house across the street. Brin, at her house, she had the
news on the TV and the bulletin about Simon Greuv came on. Laura blurted out, ‘That’s him!’”

Brinna sucked in a breath and thought for a moment. “Why call me to come out here? This information should go to the Feds.” Even as she said the words, she knew what she was going to do.

“Laura is kind of an airhead,” Maggie continued. “I didn’t think at the time she was reliable, so I drove out here to look things over for myself. I found the house with no trouble. There are several cars parked in front. Face it, this is thin, but I thought if Hero walked by and gave a sniff or two, you’d know if your mom were there or not.”

“If there is a chance my mom is there, argh
 
—Maggie, we can’t go off half-cocked like this.”

“Look who’s talking. The queen of going off half-cocked.” Maggie faced Brinna, an amused expression on her face. “Look, if we notify Chuck, ICE will mobilize, and that could take hours. If your mom is in that house, do you really want to wait hours? Plus, this is an off-the-wall hunch. If your mom isn’t in that house, do you want the federal resources tied up for hours chasing geese?”

Folding her arms, Brinna looked at Maggie, knowing that if the situation were different, if it were someone else’s mother, she would be making the same arguments. “What did you have in mind?”

“Like I said, stroll by with Hero. This Simon doesn’t know who you are. And with me and Hero, it will just look like we’re walking our dog.”

“A walk at midnight?”

“If the dog needs to go, he doesn’t look at the clock. If Hero hits on something, we call in the troops, okay?”

Brinna sighed and looked away from Maggie as she considered this. She looked back and said, “Maggie, what if we put my mom at risk?”

“All we’ll do is walk by. This is a low-key thing to do.”

Brinna tugged on her earlobe and paced, thinking. There was no one else around, though the lot was bright with light from the open convenience store. Her mother’s life was on the line.

Silently, before she answered Maggie, she prayed for her mother’s safety.
I don’t know how to do this, Lord, but everyone says you hear and understand, so here goes. Please, please keep my mom safe.
Briefly she felt better, stronger, and thought to herself,
I’m finally getting the hang of this.

She hesitated about calling Jack, knowing he’d insist on mobilizing the federal machine.

Looking up at the dark, patchy sky, Brinna made her decision and muttered to herself, “I hope it’s the right one.”

*   *   *

Jack tried not to worry about Brinna. She’d left while he was on the phone telling Chuck about this relative of Simon Greuv. She’d said she was going home, and the only thing that kept him from calling was the hope that she’d left to get some rest. He knew she needed it. He needed it too. He felt dead on his feet. But he wanted to see what came of this tattoo shop lead. Apparently the cousin, a Walter Arnaut, had a thriving shop in San Pedro.

ICE had descended on the shop, interviewing the cousin in the hopes he might have heard from Simon. But like a lot of situations in law enforcement that started out promising, this had turned into a hurry-up-and-wait scenario. All Jack could do was drink coffee to stay awake so he could pray.

*   *   *

“Now that you’re in,” Maggie said to Brinna, “how do you want to do this?”

“I don’t want to walk. Even with the dog, it’s too odd for two women to be out at this time of night.”

“You want to take the Explorer? Won’t that be more conspicuous?”

“No. What would be unusual about a single patrol car driving through the neighborhood at night?”

“I guess you’re right. The gangsters do call us ‘One Time’ because they think we only drive by one time.”

“Yep. We’ll drive by at patrol speed, you’ll run any vehicle plates, and then we’ll drive out of sight to see what we get.”

“All right, I guess that makes more sense than walking. Let’s go.”

They hopped into the Explorer. Hero stood in the back panting as if expecting something. Brinna drove at a slow speed.

“Okay, you said there were three cars in the driveway. I want all three plates in one pass. Can you handle that?”

“That’s a big 10-4.” Maggie had paper and a pen in her hand. She clicked on Brinna’s under-the-dash light and got ready.

The house came into view. All three cars were sedans. One was a Chevy; two were Toyotas. Two were in the driveway, and one was half on the front lawn. Brinna kept her speed steady, resisting the urge to slow further, and recited one plate, then another, while Maggie scribbled. As they passed the house and turned the corner to another street, she looked at Maggie.

“Did you get them?”

“Yep, all of them.” She positioned Brinna’s computer keyboard toward her and began to type. Brinna made a U-turn and pulled up to the corner, parking where she could see a portion of the house in question. She switched off her headlights but left the car running. From where they were, the driveway was visible.

The computer began to beep with returns on the license plates. “Well?” Brinna said to Maggie.

“Two of the cars are registered to Walter Arnaut.” Maggie frowned and glanced at Brinna. “That name familiar?”

Brinna shook her head. “What’s the third?”

“That’s the Chevy. It’s a rental, to a BVD Enterprises. An underwear company owns the car?”

Brinna’s heart flew to her throat. That was the car. Her mother was in that house.

64

“C
ALL
J
ACK.
He should still be in the detective office,” Brinna told Maggie. “Tell him everything. Let him know that we’ll stay here and keep an eye on the car and the house.”

“Will do.” Maggie opened her phone.

Brinna stared in the semidarkness at the house and drummed on the steering wheel with her good hand. The street was well lit, but the house was dark. She hoped that the rental car in the driveway would be enough for a warrant.

“No answer at the station,” Maggie said. “Do you have Jack’s cell number?”

“Yeah, I think it’s on my phone.” She pointed to her fanny pack, and Maggie bent to retrieve the phone.

“They might have left to check out the relative Magda remembered.” Brinna regretted her hasty departure from the station. “I sure wish I’d stayed to find out a name.”

Maggie got Jack’s voice mail and left a message. “He might have gone home to sleep, if he was as tired as you look,” she said as she closed the phone.

Brinna glanced at the house. “We’d better call dispatch
 
—”

Just then a dome light went on in the Chevy as a dark figure opened the rear car door. Two people got into the backseat, and the light went out. They were too far away for Brinna to distinguish if the people were male or female. Next a driver got behind the wheel. Taillights glowed red, and Brinna knew the Chevy was leaving.

In tandem Brinna and Maggie leaned forward and looked to the right.

“That’s the rental, the one registered to BVD Enterprises,” Maggie said.

Brinna switched on her police radio. “Notify dispatch. They’ll be able to get ahold of everyone who needs to know what’s happening.” She watched, fear gripping her like a too-tight handcuff as the sedan backed out of the driveway and started down the street.

*   *   *

Maggie phoned dispatch. It would have been too confusing to take up airtime on the radio when neither one of them were logged on or officially on duty at the moment. But on the phone Maggie could explain the situation and they could be given a designator and logged on by the dispatcher. Once they had a designator, speaking on the air was appropriate. Maggie would operate the radio, something Brinna couldn’t do with her cast while she also tried to drive. As Maggie outlined the situation to dispatch, she sounded frustrated.

Brinna’s stomach lurched. “What are they saying, Maggie?”

“They got snitty because neither one of us is supposed to
be working. They told me to stand by while they contact the watch commander.”

“They told you to stand by?” Brinna glanced at Maggie and then at the sedan in front of her. “Did you tell them what’s going on?”

“Yes, you heard me,” she hissed. “Now they’re trying to raise the watch commander.”

“Don’t tell me it’s Harvey.”

“I won’t tell you, but that won’t change the fact.”

Just then the nasal voice of Lieutenant Harvey came over the radio using Brinna’s designator. “King-44, your location?”

Maggie keyed the mike and relayed their location and direction of travel. Brinna held her breath while she waited for the lieutenant’s reply. The sedan ahead of them wasn’t moving fast. There’d been no indication the driver suspected he was being tailed. They were following a path that would take them into downtown Long Beach. There was minimal to no traffic.

“King-44,” the radio crackled with Harvey’s voice once again, “I’ve been in contact with the federal agent in charge of this operation. Apparently a team of agents is en route to Long Beach from San Pedro.”

“En route?” Brinna frowned. “Ask him why, Mags. Why are they coming here?”

Maggie keyed the mike and asked the question.

“It’s too complicated to explain over the air. Keep transmitting the location of the sedan. The federal agents are monitoring our frequency.”

“Where’s Jack?” Brinna wondered out loud. “He’d have a radio if he was with the Feds. We could talk to him.”

“You want me to ask?”

“No, just keep giving them our location.” She tapped on the steering wheel with her cast, frowning. “If the Feds are on their way to Long Beach, I wonder what they found in San Pedro. And Harvey wants us to stay with it.” Her face flushed as she realized this had to be the car
 
—that she and Maggie were quite possibly following her mother or at least following someone who had something to do with the situation. The vehicle continued at a steady, almost leisurely pace, and that put her on edge.

“Maybe they’re trying to fool us,” Maggie suggested. “Make us think they’re innocent and decide to turn away.”

Brinna said nothing. They were about to cross into downtown proper when the sedan made a left turn on Shoreline Drive. Shoreline Village! They were going to Shoreline Village; she was certain.

She looked at Maggie as the radio burst to life. Federal agents had entered the city limits. They would be traveling south on Shoreline Drive as Brinna and the sedan traveled north.

“Tell them I think they’re heading to Shoreline Village.”

“We might meet them at the entrance,” Maggie observed as the turnoff for the Village approached. Several pairs of headlights were visible in the distance, about half a mile away in the opposite lanes.

The sedan made the turn into the Village, and Brinna allowed herself to relax. There was no way out now. Shoreline Village was built along the marina
 
—one way in and one way out. If this was Simon, he had nowhere to run now. Was that better for her mom . . . or worse?

*   *   *

“They have found us,” Simon said flatly. He kept glancing in the rearview mirror. Rose Caruso and Ivana sat close together in the backseat, holding hands. Though he made no move to flee from the car he insisted was behind them, Ivana could tell Simon was at the end, beyond desperate, beyond hopeless. He and the car stank of cigarettes. He’d been through three packs since dusk and had cursed when he’d finished the last one.

“Please, give yourself up,” Mrs. Caruso pleaded. She’d been talking to Simon nonstop since they left the house. He hadn’t told her to shut up, but he hadn’t given any indication he was listening, either. “If they are following you, and you stop and surrender, no one will get hurt and you’ll see what I’ve been telling you is true.”

Ivana had no idea where they were as they traveled over dark streets. Gradually, the lighting and size of the buildings increased, and she could tell they were approaching the city center. They made one turn and then another.

Finally Simon spoke. “I have no wish to hurt you. I will give you one chance and one chance only. When I stop at Magda’s shop, you will get out of the car, and you will get out quickly or I will kill you.”

“What are you going to do?” Mrs. Caruso asked.

“That is not your concern!” Simon bellowed. “You will get out of the car, or you will die.”