Incriminating Evidence (4 page)

He admired her conviction. The more time they spent together, the more he grew to really like this woman. But it couldn’t be more than that.

He looked down at his phone where the GPS was directing him. “We’re almost there,” he said, changing the subject.

“Good. My head is pounding.”

“You need to rest. Once we’re at the safe house, you can lie down. It’s perfectly normal considering the concussion and other trauma your body suffered.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Hang tight. We’re less than five minutes out.”

* * *

Jessica had crashed right after they’d arrived at their new location. They were in the middle of an upscale Coral Gables neighborhood about fifteen minutes from downtown Miami. The upstairs bedroom she was in was half the size of her apartment. The two-story Old Spanish–style house was nicer than any Jessica had ever been in. She’d expected something more low-key.

She looked at her watch and realized she’d slept for a few hours. It was time to venture out of her room and see what was going on with Zach.

As she walked out of the bedroom and toward the stairs, she heard male voices. It took her a second to realize that Ian Lopez was there. This couldn’t be good.

She was careful to hold on to the railing as she quickly made her way down the stairs. She hated to admit it, but she was still far from 100 percent.

She followed the voices and walked into the kitchen, where Ian, Zach and Brodie were seated around a large table. Each man had a coffee mug in front of him. And by the serious tones of their voices, they weren’t having a casual conversation.

“You’re up,” Zach said. “How’re you feeling?”

“Better than I did before, but still sore.” She wasn’t going to let on to the group that her head still hurt pretty badly. “What’s going on here?”

Ian looked at her. “Jessica, I was so worried about you when the FBI called and told me about the car accident. Which I understand now wasn’t an accident in the least bit.”

“I’m fine, though. I’ll be okay, and I’m ready to move forward with my job.”

“That’s what I’m here to talk about,” Ian said.

She needed to try to get out ahead of this before Ian went all the way down a path that would be difficult to walk him back from. “Before you say anything, you need to know that I’m able to try this case, Ian. I’ve been working around the clock the past two months to prepare.”

He nodded. “Jessica, I’m not questioning your abilities, but I am worried about your safety. We can’t have your body washing up on the beach.”

She cringed, thinking about Denise. “I can finish preparing out of the safe house. Then we can have additional security for the trial. We can do this, Ian.” She changed to the word
we
to make sure he felt invested in this, as well. If she was able to get a conviction, he’d look good. And if not, he’d just say it was her fault. It was a low-risk proposition for him.

“This is against my better judgment, Jessica,” Ian said. “Let’s proceed as if we are going to trial. I reserve the right to pull you if this thing gets out of control. As long as you think you can adequately prepare out of here, then I will try to give this another go. It’s important that we don’t let criminals think they can dictate how we prosecute people.”

She nodded. “You’re right, Ian. I’ll just need to get access to a few paper files, and the rest I have electronically and can access from my laptop. One of the paralegals is working on the exhibit list, and that’s almost complete.” She looked over at Zach and Brodie, who had been incredibly quiet. “What do you guys think?”

“We’re going to protect you,” Zach said. “I don’t like you being a direct target, but you two make a good point. We can’t let a criminal organization determine who is going to be prosecuted or not. The legal system has to continue to function.”

“Zach’s right,” Brodie said. “You have the full support of the FBI. We’ll make sure security is airtight so you can push through and try this case.”

“Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate it.”

The doorbell rang, and the three men shot up out of their seats.

“Were you expecting someone?” Ian asked.

“No,” Zach said.

“I’ll go see who it is,” Brodie said. “Zach, you stay here with Jessica.”

Jessica could feel the tension mounting in the room. Was the person at the door there to try to finish the job? How would anyone have found her?

After a few moments she heard voices but couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying. A few more minutes passed, and then Brodie returned to the kitchen with a man in a gray suit by his side.

He was tall and dark-haired—and looking directly at her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d seen him before, but she couldn’t place him.

“Hello, Ms. Hughes. We haven’t met, but I needed to come here to talk to you.”

“And you are?” she asked.

“I’m Detective Luke Hernandez.”

FOUR

Z
ach couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. Why was Luke Hernandez standing in the kitchen in the middle of the safe house? And how had he found out the location? His mind immediately went to a possible security breach and the implications that would have for Jessica’s safety.

Zach didn’t trust Luke one bit. He protectively took a step closer to Jessica. “How did you find out about this location?”

“I talked to Will Lang,” Luke responded calmly. As if it were perfectly normal for him to have received that type of sensitive information.

Zach shook his head. “What’s the point of a safe house if everyone on the Miami police department knows the location?” A security breach like that was unthinkable. He supported the Miami PD, but they needed to get their act together quickly.

“This is completely unacceptable,” Brodie added.

Zach was thankful that he and Brodie appeared to be on the exact same page.

Luke held up his hand. “I didn’t come here to argue with any of you. And I can see that I’m not welcome. But I felt I had to speak up.”

“About what?” Jessica asked.

Luke looked at Jessica, his dark eyes focused solely on her. “You obviously know that you’re in danger or else you wouldn’t be here.”

“Right,” she said.

“But I don’t think you realize how intent my father is on making sure my brother’s trial doesn’t move forward. He’s not going to stop until he brings this prosecution to a screeching halt. And his methods have no boundaries. He’ll persevere until his goal is reached no matter what the cost or the collateral damage along the way.”

“And you needed to come here in person to tell us something we already knew?” Zach asked. He wasn’t buying any of this coming from Luke. There was something else going on here.

“No. But I did want to tell you that it’s only a matter of time. I give it forty-eight hours max before the people that work for my family find this house. You’re not safe here for long. You need to go off the grid.”

“I’m not going to do that,” Jessica said, her voice louder than normal. “I’m going to move forward with this case.”

Luke nodded. “I figured you’d say that, but I thought the more information you had the better. And that maybe the FBI could be more cautious given the circumstances.”

“What’s your angle in all of this?” Ian spoke up.

“It’s no secret that I’m the only member of my family who hasn’t chosen a life of crime. And I hate to see innocent people hurt. It’s one of the reasons I became a cop. If there’s something I can do to help Ms. Hughes, I intend to do it.” He paused and looked directly at Zach. “Even if my assistance isn’t wanted.”

“Thank you, Luke,” Jessica said. “I think it’s an admirable decision you made to go against your family and get into law enforcement. And since I’m the target here, I’m happy to have your help.”

Luke nodded. “If there’s anything I can do, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Brodie took a step toward Luke. “I understand that you think you’re helping the situation here, but from now on it would probably be better if you let the FBI handle it.” Brodie handed Luke his business card. “You can call me if you have any pertinent information to relay.”

Zach was relieved that Brodie had stepped up. Zach didn’t like how Luke had taken a special interest in Jessica.

“I can see myself out,” Luke said. It was clear he wasn’t interested in engaging in any arguments.

After Luke walked out of the room, silence remained until Brodie spoke up. “Even if he
is
law enforcement, I don’t like the fact that Will Lang divulged the location of the safe house to him. Unfortunately, we don’t have a better alternative right now. I’m going to have extra security posted outside just in case there is any further breach of protocol. We already had an on-call team, so I’ll have them come over now.” Brodie pulled out his phone to text the team.

Zach nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Then we can reevaluate our options tomorrow.” Zach could tell by the frown on Jessica’s face that she was still bothered by the Luke situation. He turned toward her. “I’m sorry if that seemed rude with how we handled Luke, but we aren’t in a position to be taking chances right now.”

She looked up at him. “You have absolutely no evidence that Luke isn’t one of the good guys. He took a risk just by coming here to try to help me. So I think all of you should just cut the poor guy some slack and back off. He’s not the enemy we’re facing. Let’s not forget that.”

Zach looked at his watch. “I’m sorry to have upset you, but we’re trying to do the job to the best of our ability.”

“I understand that,” she said softly.

“I know you must be hungry.” He made an effort to change the subject and defuse the tense situation. “We’ve got an agent bringing food in about half an hour.”

“That would be great. Now that you mention it, I’m starving.”

“Jessica, I think you have your marching orders,” Ian chimed in. “The plan will be to start the trial on schedule. You’re well on your way with all the prep work you’ve done. Let’s push through and get this thing done.”

“That won’t be an issue, Ian,” she said. “Thanks for bringing me a laptop to work on.”

Jessica would be able to access her files and prepare her case from the remote location. Zach’s main concern was what was going to happen once the trial started. He felt that he could keep her out of danger in the cocoon that was the safe house, but outside of it was another story.

“If you need anything, you know where to find me,” Ian said. Then he turned and looked at Zach. “I’m entrusting her security to you.”

“I understand,” Zach said.

Brodie stayed with them until he got the confirmation that the protective detail had arrived. “I’ll head out, too,” Brodie said. “Everything should be all set here.”

Between the complex high-tech security system and the extra security posted outside, Zach was confident they were well protected. Much better than he would’ve felt at Jessica’s apartment. This was the first time he’d ever done this type of work, but he was catching on quickly and having Brodie’s confidence in him helped build his own.

It wasn’t long before one of the agents delivered their dinner, a combination of Thai food that he and Jessica had no trouble putting away quickly. As they sat at the kitchen table after the meal, he took a moment to assess how she was doing.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Besides the headache that won’t seem to go away, I’m doing all right.”

It was obvious to him that she was still in pain. “Maybe a good night’s rest will help.”

“Tomorrow’s Thursday. I need to get in a full day of work. The trial starts Monday.”

“What can I do to help?”

She pushed her hair behind her ear and leaned back in the chair. “As long as you’re focused on making sure no one attacks us, I can handle the legal work.”

“I’ve got the security element covered.”

“Good. Now I have to figure out how to make this case against Simon with only the limited video deposition testimony from Denise. And if the judge disallows the recorded testimony, then I’m really in a world of hurt.”

“You always need a backup plan.” Something they had drilled into his head from day one at Quantico.

“In an ideal world, but unfortunately my backup plan is flimsy and purely circumstantial evidence. Any defense attorney who knows what he’s doing will tear that apart. And Mateo Tyson is one of the best. It’s tough preparing for a battle that you feel like you don’t have the ammunition to fight. And knowing that the reason for that is because the Hernandez family got rid of my main witness. It seems so wrong to me, but I can’t bring up the fact at trial that my star witness was murdered. The judge won’t allow that because it’s too prejudicial to the defense. I won’t be able to explain to the jury why the witness isn’t testifying in person.”

He could see that she was at a low point, and it bothered him that he couldn’t just fix the situation. “You can’t feel defeated before you even start. There’s always a way, Jessica. You just have to find it.”

“Aren’t you the optimist?”

“I believe that half of our battles in life take place in the mind. If you psych yourself out, you’ll set yourself up for failure. You have to believe that a jury will convict Simon. If you walk in there with your tail between your legs, the jury will sense your lack of confidence from day one. I don’t want to see that happen.”

She leaned back in her chair again. “I understand your point, but I think it’s better to be realistic. I’m going to do my absolute best to get a conviction, but I have to go to trial with the evidence I have. I can’t change it. No amount of positive thinking will bring Denise back. The type of testimony she could’ve provided as one of the top accountants for the Hernandez family would’ve been invaluable. She had access to all the financial records.” She paused. “She was a nice woman. A brave woman who was taking a stand against them. She most certainly didn’t deserve this. If only I could’ve done more to protect her.”

“I’m sorry.” He thought for a minute. “Why wasn’t she under some sort of security detail?”

Jessica looked down and then back up at him. “I tried to talk her into it. But she refused. I don’t think she thought that they’d actually hurt her. Scare her maybe, but not this. It’s awful. I should’ve been more insistent with her. If I hadn’t given up on trying to convince her to take the security detail, then she’d still be here.”

“It was ultimately her choice, Jessica. You can’t put that burden on yourself.”

She nodded but didn’t say anything.

“It’s a stark reminder of the threat that you’re still facing.”

She rubbed her temples as she stood up from the chair. “I’m going to turn in. Tomorrow will be a busy day of trial preparation.”

* * *

Loud screams woke Zach from his sleep. He’d decided to get a few minutes of shut-eye because the house was totally locked down, and he knew he needed rest to be able to function at the highest level possible. But now he was wide-awake and was rushing up the stairs. What if someone had gotten inside? And he’d been asleep, leaving Jessica defenseless? The recriminations would have to wait for later.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he took the steps two at a time and then launched toward the second room on the right where Jessica was staying. She was still screaming as he threw open the door and drew his gun—ready to face whatever threat was lurking.

He flipped on the light and saw that no one was there. Jessica sat up in the bed, her eyes open and staring at him wildly.

Zach lowered his gun immediately. “Jessica, are you okay?” he asked.

He saw that there was sweat around her hairline and her skin was flushed. She was taking in shallow breaths, and she didn’t immediately respond to him. He became even more concerned. He took a step toward her, and she recoiled. He stopped. He could tell she was in a state of shock, but the psychological stuff wasn’t his strong suit. Zach would almost rather it have been a physical threat. That he could’ve handled. He’d aced the physical stuff at Quantico, but not so much the behavioral psychology classes.

Still, he hated feeling helpless in the situation. He wanted some way to be able to help this strong, independent woman he’d come to admire.

Slowly he took a step toward her. “Jessica, I think you were having a bad nightmare. But you’re totally safe now. Do you understand?”

Her shoulders visibly relaxed. “A nightmare,” she repeated softly.

“Yes, it was just a bad dream. There’s no one here to harm you. It’s just us, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

She ran her fingers through her tousled hair. “I’m sorry. I feel so embarrassed.”

He took another step toward her and knelt down beside the bed. “You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. If you didn’t have any reaction to all that has happened to you over the past couple of days, then I’d think something was wrong with you.”

She smiled. “You and I both know that this is about more than just the past couple of days. I’m messed up. You understand that there’s more going on with me than meets the eye.”

“One second.” He stood up and went to the bathroom that connected to her room and got a cool washcloth. He thought she might want a second to collect herself. For that matter, he needed a moment, too. When he walked back into the room, she no longer had a look of fear in her eyes.

“Here you go.” He handed her the washcloth. He knew better than to try to touch her. Especially after the nightmare. He was beginning to understand just how deep her issues went.

“Thank you.” She took the washcloth and patted it against her face. “Well, I’m making your first assignment as an FBI agent pretty interesting.”

He smiled. “You’re doing great. I can deal with the nightmares.” He didn’t want her to think that he couldn’t handle the situation even if it did push him out of his comfort zone.

“How many psych classes did you take at Quantico? Because you probably need those the most when dealing with me. I’m not your normal case—that’s for sure.”

She was trying to make light of the situation, but he could tell how deeply this all bothered her. And he wanted to be able to help in some way. “Do you want to talk about the dream? Would that help or make it worse?”

“I have recurring nightmares. That’s nothing new. But this one tonight was more sinister, and it felt so real. I couldn’t see the man’s face, but he cornered me in a dark alley. And he was literally squeezing the breath out of me. I could feel the life slipping out of my body. Death seemed so certain.”

“Well, that sounds directly connected to the first attack against you. I don’t think that’s strange at all for you to be reliving that experience.”

“You’re right. It’s probably reasonable, but the visceral reactions aren’t. I can tell you’re a smart guy. You’ve figured out that I have a problem being touched. Physical contact often bothers me. Imagine trying to go through life like that.”

He had noticed and had connected the dots that it had to be related to the abuse she had faced as a child. He couldn’t even fathom what she’d gone through. “Have you talked to a doctor about it?”