Covert Reich (21 page)

She didn’t respond and the man pushed her slightly. “See that grey sedan over there? That’s where we’re walking. Nice and easy. Your friend, Tony, is waiting for you there. He wants to talk to you.”

“Oh my God!” she gasped. “Did you hurt him?”

The man laughed. “Of course not. He’s working with me.”

Kelly’s stomach dropped. She didn’t believe him. How could that be?

She walked slowly towards the car and watched as someone stepped out of the passenger seat and opened the back door. Before her mind could actually process what was happening, her protective instincts took over. Years ago, in college, Kelly had taken a self-defense class at her father’s insistence. She’d never been more grateful for that class than at this very moment. She jabbed the man sharply in the ribs with her left elbow, catching him off guard. He dropped the gun and it skittered across the pavement. She forcefully hit his face with the palm of her hand, causing him to stumble back and bring his hand up protectively to his eyes. In her peripheral vision, she saw the other man in the car start after her. Kelly didn’t hesitate. She took off running as fast as she could.

She ran into the street, darting in and out of traffic in an attempt to get away without being run over. Kelly heard the squeal of tires nearby and saw the grey sedan speed toward her. She turned sharply down another street and nearly collided with a car. There was a bang and the sound of crumpling metal behind her. She glanced back to see the sedan and another car smash together. For a moment, she thought she could stop to catch her breath. But then Kelly spotted two large men running after her.

It was then, with a sharp, sinking feeling, she realized one of her pursuers was Simmons. What the hell?! But she couldn’t stop running now, because one of the guys was closing in on her. She needed to get away, fast.

Directly in front of her, beside one of the medical buildings, was a large parking structure. Kelly dashed inside, figuring it would be her best bet at this point.

She darted another look behind her, but didn’t see any of the men. However she did spot a white Mercedes pulling out of a parking space. Without the slightest hesitation, Kelly pulled open one of the passenger doors and jumped in.

The fortiesh looking blonde woman behind the wheel stared at her incredulously.

“I’m a doctor,” Kelly breathlessly panted as she flashed her I.D. badge. “Sorry about this but there’s an emergency. My car won’t start. Can you drive me to the—oh, God, where was it? The train station. A woman just delivered a baby there. I need to get to her as quickly as possible.” Kelly knew her story sounded ridiculous but she was desperate.

The woman popped a piece of pink bubble-gum into her mouth and said, “Sure, hon, no problem. Want a piece of gum?”

“No thank you. Um, but I kind of need to hurry.” Kelly hunched down in the seat as they eased out of the garage.

“Would you look at that?” the driver remarked, shaking her head.

Kelly peeked carefully over the passenger-side window at a crowd gathering around a body on the ground. Then she saw Simmons looking up and down the street. She dropped back down. Not even the police had been able to protect her, and if what that man said was true, then the police were behind this—whatever
this
was. Maybe even Tony was behind this.

Could that be true?

Could Tony and Simmons somehow be involved? Could Tony have been in that car? Is that what he’d meant earlier today when she’d overheard him talking to his boss on the phone? Her mind was racing, along with her heart.

Simmons had disappeared and Tony had not been in contact all day. And that phone call he’d been on that morning. Oh God. Had he been talking about her? Kelly was beginning to wonder who she could trust.

“Hey, hon, I hate to be a busy body, but you sure you’re heading out to take care of some woman who just had a baby? I wasn’t born yesterday, and if truth be told, you look like someone on the run.”

Ah, so she hadn’t bought her story. She sighed heavily.

The woman glanced back at her. “Listen, I’ve had my own share of problems and I really don’t want to pry. If you need to get out of town quickly, I wouldn’t travel via Amtrak or even LAX. Trust me. I can drop you at the Burbank airport. Hardly anyone goes there these days.”

Kelly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You know, I think that is a good idea. Thank you.”

The woman laughed. “My horoscope said today would be full of surprises. “ She blew another large, pink bubble and merged smoothly into traffic.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

Redding felt a sharp stab of anger rise through his body when he heard the police were now considering Wentworth’s case a murder. Redding had an informant at the LAPD, and the unofficial word was the suicide had been staged. Fuck. The reason he’d told Connor and Thomas to have Mark make it look like a suicide was murder cases were investigated by police he had no control over. And he’d wanted this whole thing to create sympathizers for Senator Wentworth. On top of it all, Ryan Horner was still missing. Peter did not like any of this. His stomach burned and his head pounded.

Things went from bad to worse when he received a call from his man handling the situation with Horner’s wife and kids. She’d been located in New Jersey visiting a friend but had narrowly escaped with the children. However her friend had been killed by two of his henchmen. This was not good. He shook his head, downed another scotch, then switched over to speaker phone. “What the hell happened, Jeff?”

Jeff White had worked within The Brotherhood for more than a decade. He handled the dirty work on the east coast. He was good at it. But it seemed White had lost his touch. Or his team had. It only took one moron, one peon, to turn a strong organization into a house of cards. Peter wasn’t going to let that happen.

“I’m sorry, sir. Things got out of hand.”

“I don’t understand.” Redding was trying hard to stay cool. “Things got out of hand? What does that mean, Jeff?”

“We located the wife and kids sir.”

“Yes, and you also murdered an innocent woman, Jeff!”

“She was a Jew, sir.”

Peter slammed his empty scotch glass onto the table next to him. “I don’t care if she was the Queen of the Jews! Killing her raises questions…questions bring cops. You prepared to take a fall for The Brotherhood if it comes to that?” There was silence on the other end of the line. “I asked you a question!”

“Yes, sir, for the higher good of humanity and what we stand for, I am prepared to make any sacrifice necessary.”

“Good to hear, Jeff. Now tell me, do we know if Mrs. Horner is aware of anything her husband was involved in, or if he somehow leaked information to her?”

“She changed her hair color and cut it. She also cut the hair off the little girls.”

“She knows. Any idea where she was going?”

“No. She’s in her friend’s car and we have the make on it. She’s also got the other woman’s infant with her. The police may find her first. She’s wanted for her friend’s murder and for kidnapping the baby.”

“Interesting.
I want her before the police get her. And I want her found alive. No more killings at all. Do I make myself clear?”

Redding hung up the phone and then placed one more call. “Hello, love.”

“Peter?”

“Of course.
I was thinking how nice it would be to see you tonight,” he said.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. The police were here yesterday before the funeral and asking questions.”

“Really?
All the more reason for us to meet. See you at eight.” She would come. Redding needed a distraction and Susan Hamilton would do just fine.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Gem knew Pazzini could have been a lot harder on her and she was grateful he’d let her off easy. Now she needed to learn as much as she could about Wentworth and Craig Johnson. Because the two deaths were far too coincidental. Two powerful men with money. One young. One old. Both strongly opinionated and not in a good way. Johnson she didn’t know much about but she’d heard enough from Chad that night while hiding in his upstairs guest bedroom. Yes, she’d heard enough to convince her Wentworth was a very hateful young man. But what about Johnson? Who was he? Would the cops be able to connect the dots?

Pazzini
was a smart guy. A good detective. If anyone could make the puzzle pieces fit, it would be him. But she’d see what she could do to help him out.

Gem googled Johnson’s name and pulled up a variety of articles. Some were about his wealth and rise to fame. Others were about his unpopular views about immigration, race, and women. There were even a few about his philanthropic efforts. Gem couldn’t help but laugh. “Who knew bigoted racists had philanthropies?”

After a couple hours spent reading through various materials, two articles caught Gem’s attention. One had to do with Johnson’s support of Senator Wentworth. The other covered a grant Johnson’s technology company had underwritten. Her jaw dropped when she saw who the grant had been written for; L.A. County Hospital’s Pathology Department and Dr. Jake Hamilton.

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

Pazzini
had promised Kelly he would see what he could find out about Lupe Salazar. He had tried giving Kelly a call a few times, but got her voicemail. She was likely in surgery. He’d changed his mind about calling another cop in to be with her for the evening. If anything, the two of them needed to talk about what had happened last night. He wondered how she felt about last night. He knew one thing for sure—there was a part of him that regretted it because he’d crossed every boundary possible, but there was another part of him that had no regrets at all. He hoped he had not screwed up with her because he was
very
interested.

Trying to maintain focus on his job, he headed into the Women’s Shelter where he had learned Lupe Salazar had been living for the past few months. He was immediately led into an office where he met a lithe, petite woman of about fifty seated behind a desk. She stood and shook his hand. “Rosa Gonzales. How can I help you Detective?”

“I’m here about a young woman who I understand was staying here. Lupe Salazar?”

Rosa sat back. “Yes. Lupe. It was tragic what happened to her. I can’t believe she’s gone.” She shook her head. “Do you know how her baby is doing?”

“The baby is holding her own. She’s in the Neo-Natal-Intensive Care Unit at County.”

“Poor thing.
Such a shame. Lupe really wanted the baby and to do right by her.”

“So, she did want the child? Tony asked.

“Oh yes. There was no doubt. She came here about four months ago. She asked me where she could go to get some care for her child and herself. I sent her over to the Women’s Health Center just three blocks from here. I know she kept regular appointments and was eating well. That kind of thing.”

“And did she have friends here? A boyfriend? Do you know anything about her family?”

“No. I don’t know anything about a family. She says she was abused at home and ran away. She was nearly seventeen. We don’t ask many questions of these girls. It’s obvious they have some real issues. As far as friends, she really kept to herself. Did a lot of reading. Was attempting to finish up her G.E.D. and get a diploma. There was no boyfriend that I was aware of, but again, the girls are semi on their own. We have an overcrowding problem and there is only so much any of our counselors and myself can do. We are all volunteers.” She ran a hand through her long, silvering hair.

“What about drugs or alcohol? Did you ever notice anything like that with? Where you may have suspected she was using or on something?” he asked.

“No way.
The kid was a good girl. I can spot the users, Detective. Lupe Salazar came from a violent home, she wanted to do the right thing for herself and her baby, and so she got out and away from people who were bad to her. I don’t believe she was wrapped up in drugs or alcohol.”

Pazzini
sighed. “Okay. One more thing. Did you know Naomi Williams or Desiree Jones? They were both teenage girls. African-American. Both pregnant.”

Rosa nodded. “I do remember Naomi. She came here a few times for meals. I didn’t know she was pregnant though, and I haven’t seen her for some time. I’ve never heard of the other girl before.”

“Do you know where Naomi was living?”

“I couldn’t say. It’s possible in the tenements seven blocks from here. Sometimes we get girls or women who come in from there just for a warm meal. Remember, Detective, I keep a discrete place. I know the hardships these women face so I try and watch my boundaries with them.”

“Right.
Well, thank you for your time, Ms. Gonzales.”

She stood and they shook hands.

Pazzini
headed out of the shelter more baffled than before. So, this Lupe Salazar was a decent kid according to Rosa Gonzales. Not a druggie at all, and Naomi Williams had been here a few times. Was this shelter the link to Dr. Hamilton’s murder?

Maybe he would get some more answers if he visited the health center Lupe had been seen at. He started to head the two blocks up when his cell phone rang. It was Simmons. “Yeah? What’s up?” he asked.

“Oh man, uh, I am so sorry but the doc…she’s gone. She’s missing, Pazzini.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

The plane screamed down the runway. Kelly glanced at the rows behind her. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but all the other passengers seemed oblivious. No one took note of her. She leaned against the window and sighed.

What the hell was she doing? Running, of course. But from who? And why? She replayed her last conversation with Jake over and over as the plane headed north. “Leave this alone, Kelly. You could get hurt.” And he’d been right. Those men had meant her harm. And was Tony involved? It didn’t make sense. She fought back her tears. And that man, Mark Pritchett. Probably not his real name, either. Something about him looked so familiar.

What did she know? There was Lupe and the drugs in her system that transferred to Baby S. There had been at least two other cases similar to Lupe’s. Then Jake was murdered after he’d warned her. She’d told Tony her theory about a new street drug. And she spent part of the afternoon running for her life. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed Tony was on the take. He was a dirty cop and so was Simmons. Their whole charade about wanting to protect her, shadow her, and all that was just to keep an eye on her and discover what she knew. It all made perfect sense.