Love & Redemption (15 page)

Clearing her throat, she gazed around the full room. “The men we’re dealing with aren’t exactly stable. The leader goes by the name of Paul Billings.”

All around, officers pulled out notepads and scribbled things down. Jenessa tapped her tablet and Paul appeared on the screen. The jovial, silver-haired man pictured was very misleading. It spoke nothing of the cold criminal who casually commanded that Carlie be tortured to the extract information she had. The grandfatherly man also had no hesitation when he ordered Shelley’s death.

“I never figured out what motivated Paul.” She fidgeted with her hair self-consciously. Truthfully, she never even attempted to find his motivation, thinking almost the entire time that he was the good guy. It wasn’t until the last hours of their association that she discovered the truth. “Considering the jobs he took, it mostly seems to be money. His main two cohorts go by the names of Stephen Chance and Terrance Couch.”

More tapping and a picture of Stephen came up on the screen. It was taken at the karate dojo they had both attended last year. Back before she knew Stephen was an enemy and Carlie truly was a friend. Back when she’d been so naïve and desperate to make a difference in the world.

Shelley sighed and turned to the assembled officers. “A few months ago we almost caught Paul and brought down his organization, but he escaped with a few of his more vicious people. Now, it appears they’re back.” She nodded Gavin’s direction. “My partner, Agent Hart, witnessed Stephen and Terrance murder Sierra Valentine at the opera last week over a diamond sale gone bad.”

Surprised murmurs broke out at this news. No doubt, the officers wondered why Shelley and Gavin hadn’t come forward sooner, rather than letting New York City’s finest waste time on an investigation into Sierra’s murder.

“After that,” she drove on, “they tried to kill Gavin and I in a parking garage the next morning. We’ve been in hiding since then, without the ability to get in touch with our...” Shelley glanced at Jenessa, uncertain what rank her boss would have in the FBI, “...commanding officer.”

Sergeant Ken Travers stood, leaning forward against the table. “You hid out instead of reporting this, giving them time to mount an even more horrendous attack than those bombs? We were lucky people didn’t die in that garage. They came back and killed children this time.”

“I know.” The accusation in his blue eyes made her want to run in shame, but Shelley took a deep breath and kept her head up. “We had reason to believe this was a personal vendetta against Agent Hart. I didn’t know about the knockout gas, or that they would go after a shopping center.”

Ken’s lip curled. “Tell me you have some plan to catch the bastards.”

Jenessa tapped her tablet again, and a picture of a jewelry shop appeared on the screen. “As you know, they were selective about what they stole,” she said. “The good news is, we have what they really want. From the small amount taken, jewelry stores don’t carry the quality of diamonds needed to fulfill their purpose. Now they know that. They need what we have.”

Ken plopped into his chair, folding his arms across his broad chest. “And what, exactly, is their purpose?”

Shelley held her breath, hoping Jenessa had some sort of official answer. She was sure President Sharp wouldn’t want the 110th precinct hearing a twenty-year old secret about a clandestine anti-terror organization. She was even less sure they should hear a crazy story about terrorist bracelets that no one even knew for sure would work yet.

Chapter Fifteen

Gavin sat attentively, as curious about the answer as the officers. While Nick had somewhat offered him a job in the organization, Gavin still didn’t entirely know what they were up against.

Jenessa puffed out a breath, the breeze blowing her hair away from her face. “Truthfully, they’re a home-grown terrorist organization, but their leader used to work for us. This makes them doubly dangerous, because they know the ins and outs of our investigative techniques, they have access to most of the computer programs I have access to, and they think like cops and FBI agents.”

Shelley’s eyes widened slightly, and Gavin had the feeling she didn’t expect Jenessa to say that. From the little bit Shelley had told him, it seemed Jenessa had been candidly honest with these officers.

“But what is it that they want?” Sergeant Travers sounded more impatient each time he spoke. Before Jenessa could even answer, he turned to Gavin. “What do you have? Why would this be a personal vendetta?”

Gavin gulped uncomfortably and met Shelley’s eyes across the room.

She shrugged. Absolutely no help.

“I stole the diamonds they actually wanted,” he said loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear. “The ones they killed the opera singer to get.”

“And they didn’t just grab random diamonds from the jewelry store,” Ken clarified, raising an eyebrow at Jenessa. At her nod, he went on, “Then what’s special about Hart’s diamonds, and how do we use them to lure these perps out so we can arrest them?”

Jenessa launched into a lengthy discussion about the bracelets she thought S.A.T.O. planned to make. Somewhere between her boring explanation of why the microchips embedded in the bracelets would be more effective than a regular hacker and the technical difficulties of placing a microchip beneath a substandard diamond, Ken turned to Gavin.

“She’s quite the looker, isn’t she?” he whispered.

Gavin tilted his head sideways, trying to look at Jenessa in another light. The blond streaks in her hair were rather nice, and her face was pretty, but he wouldn’t call her a knockout. “She’s okay, I guess. Seems nice enough.”

“You don’t know her well?” Ken’s eyebrows drew together. “I thought you were a super special agent who knew everything and everybody.”

“I’m new to the department.” That excuse sounded lame, but why did Ken care so much about what Gavin knew?

His curiosity was concerning. If Ken decided to pull Gavin’s name up in the files, he’d learn the truth pretty quick. All the information about the embezzlement scandal was sure to be on the books, even though Crystal and her father kept it from the media.

To Gavin’s relief, Ken’s confused look cleared and he nodded. “That explains it. They brought you in because you could get those diamonds, but you haven’t had time to get to know your fellow agents.”

“Yes, something like that.”

The sergeant smiled. “Good news for me. The way you looked at her, I thought you had something going on. Once we finish here, I’m going to ask her to a late dinner with me. It’s been a long day, and I need to unwind.”

Gavin looked at Ken’s left hand, noting the gold band there. He couldn’t keep the disgust from his voice as he asked, “Like a date?”

“Shhhh...” Ken smiled and pulled the ring off, slipping it into the pocket of his slacks. “Maybe more than a date, if you know what I mean.”

Looking to where Jenessa continued explaining the finer points of terrorist bracelets that could hack computer files and steal government secrets, Gavin knew he had to find a way to warn her. Ken might be someone they had to work with on this investigation, but Jenessa seemed like a nice woman. He couldn’t let her be taken advantage of.

***

Jenessa finally wrapped up the meeting, though Gavin barely heard any of what she said. All he could think about was reaching her before Ken did. Maybe he could invite her to dinner first, thus solving the problem. Gavin didn’t want to shame the sergeant in front of his entire squad room, but there had to be some rule against what the jerk planned.

Gavin leapt from his chair before Ken even fidgeted, approaching Shelley and Jenessa. “Hey, Jenessa.” He gave his most winning customer service smile, interrupting the ladies’ conversation. “Shelley’s told me a lot about you.”

Jenessa grinned back. “And you’re the man of the hour. As horrible as it is about those people in the mall, I can’t imagine what Paul will do if he gets his hands on those diamonds. Shelley said you have them hidden in the trunk of your car?”

He nodded.

Jenessa made eye contact with one of the feds sitting at the table, nodding her chin to the doorway. The man quickly stood and left the room.

“I need you to come with me, so we can get them locked up.” Her eyes darted around the room. “It’s not that I don’t trust people here, but we know Paul’s history of convincing people they’re working for a good cause.” She leaned in close to him and Shelley. “This goes no further than the three of us, but Nick thinks there’s a good chance he hired someone in this precinct to get inside information. Stay on your toes.”

Shelley’s eyebrows narrowed. “If that’s the case, why tell them everything you told them today?”

Gavin grimaced. “Yeah, I kind of wish I hadn’t shared so much information with Ken Travers.”

Jenessa glanced around and leaned in even closer. “Paul needs to believe we don’t suspect anyone, if someone here is, in fact, working for him. I didn’t reveal anything today that Paul doesn’t already know. Now, he’ll believe anything else his agent tells him if we want to...slip Paul some new information. If you know what I mean.”

“That’s a good idea,” Shelley agreed. "Get him feeling comfortable in the belief that we aren't on to anyone."

She smiled over at the sergeant, who watched their party from his seat at the table. No doubt he waited for a chance to get Jenessa alone.

“I don’t think Paul could corrupt Sergeant Tavers, though,” Shelley said. “He’s quite passionate about this town and protecting the people. He’d never go along with a scheme that included killing them.”

Gavin struggled to stuff down the twinge of jealousy that twisted his stomach. She sounded in awe of his dedication. It made Gavin want to blurt out that he was also a married scumbag looking to bed Jenessa, but decided that might make him look petty. Instead, he nodded. “You’re probably right.”

Jenessa shrugged. “Doesn’t matter how dedicated he seems. We have to be suspicious of everyone.”

Gavin tried to hide his automatic smirk from the women. It sounded like Ken might have a harder time duping Jenessa than Gavin feared he would.

“Now that we have that covered...” Jenessa handed a manila envelope to Shelley and then gave one to Gavin. It had his name written across the top.

“This is all the information we have so far on the case, plus room keys to the hotel Nick paid for us to stay at,” she explained. “He arranged fresh clothes and everything in your guys’ rooms, so it’s all ready for you.”

Shelley flicked the edge of her envelop with her fingertips and stared at Gavin. “Guess this means you get a bed tonight.”

He didn’t know how he felt about that. Even though the floor was increasingly more uncomfortable, it also meant sleeping in a different room than Shelley. “I guess so.”

“The rooms are real nice,” Jenessa chimed in happily. “King-sized beds and jetted tubs. Extra amenities in each room. You guys will like it after being stuck out in the boonies. Enough about that, though. Come on, Gavin. Let’s get those locked up.”

He started following her from the room, but Shelley didn’t move. “Are you coming?”

Shelley’s eyelashes fluttered and she flipped her hair over her shoulder, not looking at him. “You go ahead. I want to talk with Sergeant Travers—see if he has leads that Jenessa doesn’t know about.”

“Wouldn’t they have told us at the meeting?”

Shelley smiled, but directed it at Ken. “Maybe.” She waved him away. “Jen’s waiting for you. Hurry.”

Dumbfounded, Gavin watched her walk to Ken’s table. The sway in her hips, the way she flipped her hair again, the soft giggle she let out when Ken shook her hand, all led to one conclusion—Shelley was flirting with the sergeant.

The small flame of jealousy from earlier erupted into a full-blown inferno. Why would she do that? Ever since they walked into the station, she’d pushed him away. At first, he thought she didn’t want to mix their personal life with their professional life, but there was no question about her flirtatious nature now.

Ken ate it up, eyeing her with obvious interest. It dawned on Gavin he hadn’t meant Jenessa earlier. He intended to ask Shelley on a date...a date and maybe more.

“Shelley.” Gavin walked behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

She shrugged him off, giving an exasperated sigh. “Gavin, get out there. Jenessa’s waiting for you.”

Ken laughed and winked, his gaze never leaving Shelley. “Newbies, huh? You just can’t find good help these days.”

She joined Ken’s laughter as Gavin exited the room.

***

By the time Gavin returned to the war room, the officers had all dispersed. Only the federal agents remained. Both Ken and Shelley were gone, too.

Jenessa chatted away, not seeming to note Gavin’s tension. “So you can head to the hotel for tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll brainstorm ideas to use you and Shelley to draw them out, but I’m sure you want to clean up and rest. We upped surveillance and posted officers at all major targets. Plus, I have everything under digital observation.”

“Where’s my partner?” Gavin asked the first agent they walked past.

The man looked up from his laptop. “She left with the sergeant a few minutes ago. They talked about getting some food.” He rubbed his neck. “She said to tell you Ken would bring her to the hotel later and not to worry.”

“Damn it.” He didn’t even have her cell number programmed into his phone. “Jenessa, give me Shelley’s number.”

She hurried to do as he asked, finally seeming to sense his agitation. “What’s wrong?”

He just shook his head, dialing the number. After four rings, it went to voice mail. “She’s not picking up.”

Quickly typing a text message, Gavin hit send.

Married, wants u in bed. Don’t trust him. If u need me call.

Almost as soon as he sent it, Gavin second guessed that decision. Would Shelley feel like he didn’t trust her not to sleep with Ken? After spending all that time with her father, the last thing Gavin wanted to do was imply he thought she’d sleep around. Then again, he did know it was something she struggled with, and she
had
flirted with Ken.