Fatal Secrets (14 page)

On the table behind Cammarata was a virtual arsenal of weapons, one of which was disassembled. Cleaning
supplies were visible, and the pungent scent of solvent hung in the stifling heat.

“You should open your windows,” Dean said, “unless you’re getting high off the fumes. Which is a crime.”

Cammarata glared at him.

“Can I come in?”

“No.”

Dean shrugged casually. “We didn’t get a chance to talk this morning. But I wanted to make sure you understood that we’re investigating Mr. Jones on money laundering and racketeering. Very serious charges. You’ll be charged as an accessory when I prove my case. And I
will
prove my case. I’m giving you the chance to help. I’m sure—”

Cammarata rolled his eyes and started to close the door. Dean stuck his foot between the door and jamb. Cammarata glanced down and said, “You want that foot shot off, don’t you?”

“You are treading in dangerous waters, Mr. Angelo.”

“So are you. I have nothing to say.”

“Are you certain—”

“Back off.”

“I tried.” He extended his hand. Cammarata made no move to shake it. Dean pushed the small piece of paper between his fingers so it couldn’t be missed.

Cammarata glared at it.

“Just drop the good-cop act, you’re all a bunch of fascist pricks.”

Dean dropped his hand, letting the note fall to the floor. Cammarata made an aggressive move toward him, his foot falling squarely on the paper. “Get off my property or I’ll file charges for harassment.”

“You’d better watch that temper of yours, Chuck, or I’ll be hauling you in just because I don’t like you.”

Cammarata dragged his foot—and the paper—inside and slammed the door shut.

Dean got back into his car and hoped Sonia got what she needed, but after meeting the man, Dean doubted Charlie Cammarata cared about anything but his personal cause, whatever that was.

Noel Marchand did not react well to bad news.

Mr. Ling drove. They were headed to the river, to his meeting with Jones. Noel glanced at Tobias in the rear seat watching the lights pass by as if he were a child. Noel harbored no guilt for what he planned.

That Johan had failed to terminate the whore made this miserable day worse. What was so complicated about walking into a hospital room and injecting arsenic into the veins of an unconscious girl?

Mr. Ling said, “Perhaps we should abandon this project and go home.”

Ling meant home to Mexico, not the hotel. If any other employee suggested such a thing, Noel would have killed him. But he valued and respected Ling, whose advice and loyalty were exemplary.

“Perhaps,” he said without seriously considering the option. “There is a lot riding on this exchange. A new venue, a new client, new opportunities. I like their innovative ideas. Interactive online sex. Brilliant. We provide the girls, and we get residuals for years. Like royalties on movies. One girl will pay off long after she’s used up. And they want a minimum of two hundred annually? No more dealing with middlemen like Jones.”

True, Xavier Jones had originated this deal and expected
a cut from every sale, but a dead man couldn’t get paid, could he?

“We can approach them later. When things settle.”

“I appreciate your concern, Mr. Ling, but it won’t be much longer. If we abandon this deal now, they’ll go to someone else—like the damn Russians. I’ll be cautious. On our other matter of the girl, find an attorney and educate him. As long as Johan doesn’t talk before Monday, the attorney will be paid handsomely.”

“Very well, Mr. Marchand.”

Noel wasn’t personally worried about Johan. He was a hired assassin and didn’t know anything about Noel or Tobias. His contact was Mr. Ling.

Mr. Ling continued. “I’ve narrowed the possibilities of Jones’s betrayer.”

“Who are the lucky dead men?”

“Craig Gleason, his chief of staff.”

“Gleason?”

“Thinking as Machiavelli would, he may figure that with Mr. Jones out of the picture, he would rise quicker in the hierarchy.”

Noel considered the arrogant lobbyist. “He doesn’t have the balls to risk it.”

“You may be right.”

“Anyone else?”

“Gregory Vega.”

“Far more likely—he certainly has the spine for it. He’s straightforward and has been with Jones for many years.” Noel had intended to put Vega in charge once Jones was out of the way. If he was a traitor … “Why him?”

“His wife has been getting her affairs in order.”

“Elaborate.”

“She allowed her magazine subscriptions to lapse. She’s searched the Internet for houses and school districts in other states.”

“School districts?”

“She’s pregnant.”

“And Jones didn’t insist on terminating the pregnancy?”

“It’s not his child.”

“Does not matter. Kids are nothing but problems. They force Americans to make stupid business decisions. But that’s no reason to think Vega is talking to the feds.”

Mr. Ling pushed a button on the dashboard of the car. He said, “After our conversation this morning, I took the liberty of planting a bug in the Vega residence. He sweeps the place regularly, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try one. He doesn’t sweep daily, after all.”

Another reason Noel appreciated Mr. Ling: his foresight.

“This conversation took place shortly before we left the hotel.”

Through the car speakers, an indistinct verbal banter could be heard over the clattering of dishes. A chair scraped the floor. The pouring of liquid, ring of utensils.

“It’s great, Kendra,” a male voice said. Greg Vega.

“Thanks.”

“You shouldn’t be on your feet. I don’t mind eating takeout.”

“I like to cook. The baby likes it. If it’s a girl, what do you think about the name Emily? I know, it’s trendy, but ‘Emily Vega’ has a nice sound. Or Elizabeth.”

“You like the ‘E’ names? For a boy you wanted Ethan.”

“You nixed that idea.”

Noel snapped, “This is ridiculous.”

“It gets better.”

If Noel was willingly going to have a kid, he would choose the name. He didn’t give a damn what the whore wanted. She’d be dead as soon as she delivered. There would be no emotional maternal influence over any child of his.

“—in Pennsylvania.”

“Shh,” Vega said.

“Do you think they’ll send us there? It’s beautiful. Very green. Maybe you can ask—”

A loud crash of dishes followed by the bellow, “Shut
up!”

A moment later Noel heard the sound of a sobbing woman, and Vega mumble, “Fuck.”

The tape stopped.

Noel was furious. He was an outstanding judge of character, but he’d been wrong about Greg Vega. He loathed being wrong.

“I will take care of them,” Noel said through clenched teeth. “Personally.”

Sonia sat in a chair next to Riley’s hospital bed while he slept. It was late, near the end of visiting hours, and she’d just kissed her parents good-bye. She was exhausted and wanted to go home and sleep for a week, but she couldn’t leave without absolutely knowing her brother was going to be okay.

He looked so … helpless. “Helpless” and “Riley Knight” didn’t belong in the same sentence. He’d truly been her knight in shining armor from the beginning.
After her rescue as a child, she’d lived with Wendell Knight for nine months. He taught her that she was a survivor. He showed her the first unconditional love she’d experienced. And then he died.

She was terrified to move to California and live with Wendell’s brother and family, but it had worked out.

Sonia adored her adopted mother, but it was Riley she had bonded with. They’d gone through high school together—she was a year older than everyone in their grade and still struggled, but Riley helped her with homework every night. Without him, she’d never have graduated. Without him, she’d never have felt comfortable around boys. Around men. Without Riley, she would have been lonely and lost. He had always treated her like she was normal. And normal was good. That was what she needed, because she knew deep in her heart that she wasn’t like all the other girls in her school. She wasn’t
normal
. With Riley she could be anything, do anything, and grow into a
normal
adult.

He listened and didn’t judge; he believed in her; he didn’t tell her not to do something because of her background or because she was too emotionally invested. He called her to the carpet when necessary, but never had Sonia felt anything but brotherly love and respect.

“Damn you, Riley, you can’t get hurt like this again. It’ll just kill me.”

“Hmmm.”

She jerked her head up. “Are you awake?”

“Hmmm. Yeah.” His voice was weak, but he was talking.

She took his hand and held it to her face. “You scared me to death.”

“Nothing.” He cleared his throat. “Nothing scares you, sis.”

“Losing you scares me,” she whispered. “You’re my best friend.” He was her only friend. At least the only friend she could truly talk to.

“I love you, sis.”

“Love you, too, Riley. Now get some sleep.”

“You too.”

She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. When healthy, Riley was the life of the party, cracking jokes and smiling. He shouldn’t be in a hospital bed. He shouldn’t have needed a blood transfusion.

Sonia would find out who was responsible for nearly killing her brother. She would make him pay.

Charlie’s instincts were sizzling; something was going down. And none of it was good.

It was five to midnight and he was crouched among scraggly trees and shrubs along the bank of the Sacramento River. Jones wanted him to stay back, hidden, and observe. If anything weird happened, his orders were to shoot.

Jones didn’t tell Charlie who he was meeting; when Charlie asked, Jones simply said, “My supplier.” Charlie knew damn well that Jones had multiple suppliers, but he didn’t push because Jones didn’t know what Charlie knew.

You could have told Sonia about this meeting
.

Stakeouts take time to set up
.

Not for Sonia. She’s sharp
.

Charlie rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb. He had to stop thinking about Sonia. Focus on the goal: saving Ashley Fox. That’s all that mattered. He’d almost
broken the code in Jones’s journal. As soon as he did, he’d have what he needed.

He’d rescue Ashley, then he’d send the books to Sonia. Not the FBI and that arrogant agent Dean Hooper, but Sonia Knight. He owed her …

You owe her nothing
.

No, Charlie owed her his honor. He wasn’t a bad person, no matter what she thought. He would prove it to her. He had to. Isn’t that why he sent her intelligence every now and again when something crossed her jurisdiction?

You didn’t tell her about Xavier Jones
.

Obviously, he didn’t need to. She already knew something was up with him. She must have found the missing kid. Jones was still looking for him, which was good news. The kid didn’t know much, but when Charlie learned that he was to be killed, he couldn’t in good conscience allow it to happen. Not to a ten-year-old boy. Charlie
would not
be party to the murder of a child.

Jones walked around the perimeter of the restaurant, as if checking out his property. Charlie wasn’t quite sure whether it was an act of nonchalance or if he was truly inspecting the place. It was after midnight; Jones’s meeting was late.

Headlights cut the darkness on the road above Charlie. Gun in hand, he crouched and waited for the vehicle to pass.

It didn’t.

The car turned into the parking lot of the closed riverfront restaurant, cut its lights, and parked.

Two men got out.

They met at the rear of the car and spoke quietly.
Charlie could barely make out shadows let alone features. The car started rocking back and forth. The larger of the two men opened the rear door and a tall, beefy man emerged. He seemed agitated and his voice rose over the still, warm air.

“I don’t like the water!” he exclaimed.

The others admonished him. Jones emerged from behind the restaurant.

Charlie braced himself, gun in hand.

Noel turned from Mr. Ling and Tobias and smiled at Xavier Jones. “Good to see you again.” He extended his hand.

Jones took it. His palms were dry, but his grip wasn’t as firm as Noel would have liked. Nervous? Perhaps. As well he should be.

“Did you bring the kid?”

Jones shook his head slightly, clearly somewhat disconcerted by Tobias’s bizarre behavior. “The kid’s still missing. But he hasn’t been picked up by the police or social workers. He’s in hiding. I’ll find him. I have good men on the job.”

Noel scowled. “I thought I made it clear that I wanted the kid tonight.”

“Yes, you did. But I’m certain he’s not anywhere he can do harm. He’s very likely lost. Dead.”

“Then why can’t you find him?”

“I would know if he were in custody.”

“I’m sure you would.” Noel emphasized each word.

“I don’t like your tone.”

“I don’t ask for a lot from our agreement, Mr. Jones. I expect solid negotiations, clean deals, and prompt payment. So far, you’ve provided such.”

“That’s my job.”

“Exactly.” Noel grinned. Jones cowered. Good. He should be scared. Noel had been told he looked more dangerous when he smiled.

“I’m confident that he will be found. I promise to deal with the problem swiftly. The shipment from China is secured. Everything is on schedule.”

“And the FBI?”

“I explained that. They’re fishing. They didn’t get anything incriminating because there is nothing incriminating to find.”

“And why do you think the FBI is looking at you at all?”

“Because they always look at the rich. I have money, therefore I must be dirty,” Jones replied sarcastically.

“You are, Mr. Jones.”

“I am extremely diligent. I’ve been in this business for a long time, Noel, without a single blemish. None of my people have been arrested; none of my people are a threat to me or you.” Jones was working himself up, playing the indignant, righteous victim. “The FBI didn’t even mention anything related to our business arrangement; it was all about money. I’ve been through three audits in the last ten years and twice the IRS ended up paying
me
money for
their
mistakes.”