Incriminating Evidence (11 page)

“I may be speaking out of turn here, but you’re only trapped if you allow yourself to be.”

She pulled her hand back from his. “You think I want to live like this?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“What did you mean, then?”

“You’re the only one who sees yourself as being weak. You’re stronger than your past. You’ve overcome the struggles. Embrace that and look to living each day looking forward and not back.”

“It’s easy for someone to say that who hasn’t lived my life. Who doesn’t wake up many nights in a cold sweat and full of angst and fear.”

He reached out and squeezed her hands again. “I care about you. More than you probably want me to.” He paused. “You can start fresh right here and now.”

“I want nothing more than that.” She felt the tears pooling up in her eyes. She didn’t understand what Zach really saw in her. But she couldn’t deny that she felt something for him, too. Stronger feelings than anything she’d ever experienced in her life.

He let go of her and reached out to gently brush away the tear that had fallen down her cheek. “Jess, all I’m asking is for you to keep an open mind about the possibility of a future once this case is over. Just promise me you won’t shut me out because I couldn’t handle that.”

“I don’t want to shut you out. I’m just going to take it one day at a time.”

“That’s enough for me.”

But would it be enough for her?

ELEVEN

Z
ach was a bit disturbed that he’d been summoned into the FBI field office. Was he in some sort of trouble? Was Ford going to remove him from the case because he’d taken Jessica out to do on-the-ground investigations of Ana’s businesses? Or was there some other misstep that he wasn’t even aware of?

Whatever it was, he was about to find out. He’d left Jessica with Brodie at the safe house and was about to walk into the meeting with the big boss man. It wasn’t every day that a rookie FBI agent was called into a private meeting with the special agent in charge.

The fact that Brodie hadn’t been included in the meeting did give him a shred of hope that he wouldn’t be fired. Since Zach reported directly to Brodie, Zach assumed that Brodie would need to be in on any major decision that impacted his job, or at least that was Zach’s hope.

“He’s ready for you now, Agent Taylor.” The dark-haired receptionist smiled and gave him a reassuring nod. He wondered if she did that to everyone, even if they were about to be fed to the wolves.

He took a deep breath, stood up straight and walked into Ford’s office ready to face the music.

“Zach, come on in,” Ford said. “Take a seat.”

Ford got up from his desk and shut the door behind Zach. That couldn’t be a good sign.

Zach did as he was directed and sat down. He waited for Ford to take his seat and start the meeting.

“You’re probably wondering why I wanted to speak to you today,” Ford said, his hazel eyes serious.

“Yes, sir. I’m anxious to hear what it is you’d like to discuss.” Zach prayed that he wasn’t about to get fired. He had so much more to do as an FBI agent. Yeah, he shouldn’t have taken Jessica out of the safe house like that, but it wasn’t a mistake he would repeat. And he was a stronger agent for it, having been tested.

“Well, first things first. Brodie briefed me on what happened and the close call you had with Jessica while the two of you were out working on the Ana Hernandez case.”

“Yes, sir, about that. I should apologize. We were both anxious to get out there and do some actual investigatory work. But in retrospect, I never should’ve taken Jessica down there. At the time it seemed like a good idea, but I can clearly see now that it was a misjudgment, and I can assure you it won’t happen again.”

Ford lifted up his hand, and Zach immediately shut up.

“Actually, from what I hear from Brodie, you saved Jessica’s life. If it hadn’t been for you, that SUV would’ve run her over.”

“Yes, but I put her in that situation to begin with, sir.”

“Zach, this is your first assignment as an FBI agent out of Quantico. I don’t expect you to make perfect decisions every day. You’re not going to be judged against a guy who’s been with the bureau twenty years. All I ask of you is that you do your best, use your best judgment and don’t make the same mistake twice.” He paused. “And you should know that you come highly recommended out of the Academy. I got a few personal phone calls about you when you first started, Zach. You have a raw talent that doesn’t come along very often. You just need the right people guiding you. And Brodie is one of the best.”

“Thank you, sir. I am trying to do the absolute best job that I can. I think our enthusiasm for the investigation just clouded my decision-making. But I’ve learned from that and will make sure next time I am more cautious, especially where Jessica is concerned. I realize that she isn’t one of us and doesn’t need to be treated as such.”

“The last thing on this topic I’ll say is that you are doing a fine job as a rookie agent. I remember being in your shoes, and it’s much harder now than it was back when I came through. But having said all of that, that’s not really the reason I wanted to speak with you today.”

If it wasn’t about what had just happened with Jessica, then what could Ford possibly want with him right now? Why not go to Brodie? Zach sat with his fists clenched in anticipation of what Ford was going to say.

“Anyway, there’s something else.” Ford looked him directly in the eyes. “I am going to be reassigning your priorities. Effective immediately, you are going to be working solely on matters related to the Luke Hernandez and Ivan Markov investigation. We’re short on resources, and I need you focused on that case.”

“Really?” He hadn’t seen that coming.

“Yes,” Ford said flatly.

“I understand, sir,” he said. He didn’t feel as though it was his place to challenge Ford.

“The Markov case has extreme interest all the way up to the highest levels of the bureau. Given the break we have with Luke, we can’t mess this up. I’ve been told in no uncertain terms that the powers that be fully expect us to be able to gather the evidence and get arrests for both men.”

“And the Ana Hernandez case?” Zach asked.

“It’s placed on the back burner for now. We just had the big loss against Simon. The case against Ana is moving forward, but from everything I’ve heard, we’re not in a position to be able to act right away. It’s a no-brainer that we would shift priorities. Markov is huge. And you should see this as a big career opportunity for you. If you’re involved in a takedown of this magnitude, then that will be a big résumé booster. Ana’s not going anywhere. She can wait.”

“And what about the prosecutor’s office? Do you know if Jessica will be receiving the same message?”

Ford nodded. “I had a long talk with Ian this morning about both cases and all the facts and moving parts involved. He agrees that we need to focus on the biggest criminal threat first—and in this situation that is hands down Ivan Markov. There is no dispute about that. Add to that the potential of a corrupt police detective working for Markov and, well, I don’t have to spell out all of those implications for you.”

Zach leaned forward in his seat, engaged in the conversation. “No, you don’t. I’ve had my suspicions about Luke from the start. Has there been any further development with tracking him down?”

Ford shook his head. “Unfortunately not. I’m a bit concerned that he may have gotten out of the country before our investigation even started. But we won’t give up. We’re going to run this thing all the way to the ground, including finding every other corrupt cop in the Miami PD that was in on this thing—if he was working with any other cops, that is. That’s another reason it’s so important for us to figure out how this scheme works. Is Luke working as a lone wolf with Markov or is there a complex web of corruption in the Miami PD? We can’t let police corruption continue. The public demands more from them and from us.”

“I understand, sir.” Zach thought about Ford’s words. If he was involved in a case of this magnitude and they took down a man like Markov, it would be an amazing start to his FBI career.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay with this reassignment. I still want you working with Jessica, but only on the Luke Hernandez case.”

“I’m hearing you loud and clear, sir.”

“This could be a strategic move for us. Let the Hernandez family think that Jessica has shifted her efforts. Then maybe they’ll lay off. Especially if Mick gets wind of what happened and becomes involved. Regardless, though, we can’t assume that Mick controls any of his children. So you still need to be on high alert as far as Jessica’s safety goes. And no more investigations related to Ana until we get this other case closed. Understood?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good. Well, then get out of here and back to work. I’ll be sending over some additional hard-copy files on the Luke case today for you and Jessica to work through. It’s an extensive amount, but I figure between the two of you, that you’ll be able to handle it. We’re trying to do the deep dive on everything associated with Luke’s life to connect all the dots to Markov.”

“We’ll get right on it.” Zach stood up and walked out of Ford’s office. It wasn’t until he reached the elevator that he realized he’d been holding his breath. He hadn’t known what to expect from the meeting, but all things considered, that had actually gone well.

He was going to be working the biggest case they had going, and he’d also still be teaming up with Jessica. He knew that her reaction probably wasn’t going to be the same as his. While she definitely wanted to work on the Luke investigation, too, she wanted to follow through on Ana’s. That would still be possible, but it would just have to wait. He figured he could help make her understand that the FBI had limited resources and had to go after the bigger fish in the sea first.

He arrived back at the safe house and found Jessica seated in front of her laptop in the kitchen.

“Where’s Brodie?” he asked.

“He’s in the family room watching TV.”

He walked over closer to her. “Have you talked to Ian?”

She looked up from her computer. “No, why do you ask?”

“Because I have a feeling he’s going to be contacting you soon.”

“What happened at your meeting with Ford?”

He didn’t know that it would be best for him to be the one to talk to her about this before she spoke to her boss. “Maybe you should call Ian first.”

She stood up and walked over to where he stood. “No, Zach. Please tell me what’s going on. I’d rather hear it from you.”

“It’s nothing bad.” Well, he didn’t think so, but she might.

She crossed her arms in front of her. “Then why do you have that concerned look on your face?”

“Because I think you might take the news a little differently than I did.”

“C’mon, Zach. First you have to tell me what the news is.”

“The FBI has decided to prioritize the investigation into Luke and Markov. From here on out, I’m only going to be working on that case. Not on Ana’s case until further notice—likely not until after the Luke case gets put to bed.”

“So you’re saying that they told us not to work the Ana case anymore?”

“Ford told me that. When I asked if he had spoken to Ian about the prosecutorial side, he indicated that he had and that Ian agreed that the two of us should keep working together but focus our efforts on just that one case.”

She let out a sigh. “Is this because of what we did going after Ana’s businesses and the SUV coming after us?”

“No. I don’t think so, but I think that’s a side benefit to us shifting priorities. I think Ford is a bit uncomfortable with having you being active in the field, especially given the unknown threat level against you. This way we’re working on the case that matters most, and you’ll be safer being out of the spotlight from the Hernandez family.”

She grabbed his hand. “And how do you feel about this?”

“I’m actually excited about getting more involved with the bigger case. But I didn’t want you to be disappointed. I know you had your sights set on Ana. And it’s my understanding that they still want to go after her. Just not right now. It just means us waiting.”

“And by then Ana could have made major moves to build up her criminal empire while we were sitting back and doing nothing. This is exactly what Mick Hernandez wanted. We’re playing right into his hands. Don’t you see that?”

“But we’re not sitting back. We’re working one of the top cases of the FBI. That’s huge, Jess.”

She put her hands on her hips. “So this is about career advancement for you?”

“And yours, too. I wouldn’t take this as a negative. We could do some great work here. Ian’s having some files sent over related to Luke today. He wants us to do the deep dive into his life.”

“But what about doing the right thing? Isn’t the right thing to go after both of them?”

He nodded. “And we will. It’s a matter of timing. I didn’t get the impression that the FBI wanted to can the Ana investigation. Just that this Luke thing is so much more important and the connection to Markov has everyone’s hair on fire. Ford said the interest in Luke’s case goes all the way up to the top of the FBI.”

She nodded. “I guess you’re right. I can totally see the FBI perspective here. I just hate leaving things unfinished.”

“We’ll come back to it when the time is right. But for now, we need to move full speed ahead with the other investigation. This is an opportunity for us to play a key role on the evidentiary investigation and make a difference in this case.”

“What are we going to be looking for in the documents that are being sent over?”

“Connections between anything and everything in Luke’s life and Ivan Markov or his known associates. Ford wants to be able to build a rock-solid case.”

“Okay. I’m in.”

* * *

Jessica and Zach had multiple laptops open on the table in the workroom at the safe house. The FBI had a vendor print out thousands of pages of electronic evidence for them to review. Plus they had multiple electronic files to go over. The task was a bit daunting, but Jessica had felt a wave of adrenaline kick in when the banker boxes of documents had started to arrive.

Zach was right. This was big, and she should want to be a part of it. What if she found the smoking gun? She had to be careful to balance her career agenda with the larger goal at hand—finding the truth and apprehending those that are guilty. But she was determined to figure out what was going on here.

“How’s your stack going so far?” Zach asked. He had a huge pile of documents in front of him that he appeared to have cut in about half from the time he started.

“Nothing that interesting so far. The financial records I’m reviewing look pretty standard. Luke wasn’t living a fancy lifestyle by any stretch of the imagination. You would think that if he was dirty, he would at least indulge in some expensive purchases.”

“Yeah, but remember, we’re looking at everything. Just because one account comes up clean doesn’t mean Luke is clean. We have to analyze each one of the accounts.”

She smiled. “Zach, you convicted Luke from day one. You and I both know that. You didn’t even need any physical evidence to form your opinion.”

“Okay, I’ll give that point to you. I have never trusted that man. But you can’t deny the evidence that Mick brought to you. We’ve run down everything and concluded that there’s no way that Luke was working with any sanctioned government operation. So you give me a plausible explanation for those pictures.”

As he challenged her, she readied her comeback. “I don’t have a good explanation at this point. I just hate to believe that I could’ve been wrong about him.” One thing she felt good about was her ability to determine people’s true intentions. That’s a big reason this whole thing bothered her. If she was wrong about Luke, what else was she wrong about in her life?