Ring of Lies (15 page)

Bald
and
a few
pounds overweight,
Mike
was head of the Miami field office.
He’d
exchange
d his normal work outfit of a
three-piece
suit for
black coveralls
.
With twenty years service under his belt he was counting the days to his retirement when he planned to buy an RV and travel the c
ountry with his wife, Chrissie.

Jack watched
the older man
take aim and fire
, hitting the target dead
centre
every time.
When
Mike
paused to reload,
Jack
walked over to talk to him
.

‘
Hi, Mike.
Nice shoot
i
ng.
’

‘
Thanks,
Jack.
I’m surprised to see you here.
I thought you’d be busy with your new baby daughter.
’

‘
I
decided
I’d get
some
practice
in
before
my leave
’s up
.
’

The SAC
smiled.
‘
More like you wanted
to get away
from all that crying.
I remember what
it’s
like
.
Chrissie went months without a decent night’s sleep
when our two were babies.
The endless round of feeding and
changing
diapers
, you
r
life stops being your own for a
while
.
Another
week
and you’ll be be
gging me to come back to work.

Jack nodded.
‘
Mind if I ask you
a question
, Mike
?
’

‘
Sure, go ahead.
’

‘
You’ve got kids.
’

‘
And two grandkids,
don’t forget.
David’s seven and Angie’s
nine.
’

Jack dragged a hand t
hrough his hair.
‘
I wondered, a
fter
they
were born
did
…
did
Chrissie lose interest in the
m
?
’

Mike snorted.
‘
Hell, no
. H
ey, what kind of a question is that?
You got problems at home?
’

‘
Rosa—
she
doesn’t
pay much attention to
Emilia
.
Doesn’t want to feed her, hold
her
or
do anything
for her
.
It’s not natural.
’

‘
You spoken to
her doctor
?
’

‘
Not yet.
’

‘
I’m no expert, but I know what Chrissie went through
giving birth,
and I’m telling you
,
I’d rather face a bullet than that kind of pain.
May be that has something to do with it.
’

‘
Rosa had all the pain relief
drugs
known to medical science.
’

‘
Then
I dunno.
Maybe it’s that post-partum
depression
you keep hearing about
.
It happens sometimes.
’

‘
Maybe.
Thanks for the advice,
Mike.
I’ll
make sure Rosa gets it checked out.
’
He patted the other agent on the sh
oulder and turned to walk away.

‘
Aren’t you going to practice some more?
’

‘
No, I’ve left Rosa with
Emilia
for long enough
.
B
etter head back.
’

‘
Wait up.
I know you well enough to know t
here’s something else bothering you
.
’

Jack
frowned
.
‘
You’re right.
You ever heard of an attorney by the name of Parous,
Zachary
Parous?
’

‘
N
ever heard of the guy.
What’s up with him
?
’

Jack shrugged.
‘
I’m not sure
.
A friend
has an appointment with him tomorrow, and I said I’d ask around, that’s all.
’

‘
M
ake sure that’s all it is
, Jack
,
’
Mike said curtly
.

‘
Don’t worry.
I have no intention of getting involved in anything
you don’t sanction.
’

‘
Glad to hear it.
Any chance you could cut short your leave
and come back to work
?
The office is short-staffed since
Hayes
and Santos transferred to Chicago.
’

‘
Sorry, Mike.
But with things they way they are
—
’

‘
That’s okay, I understand.
Just thought I’d ask
all the same
.
’

Jack returned his gun and ear defenders to the range manager
, then left
.
R
ather than take the freeway back to his condo in Coral Gables, he drove downtown
.

The central business district was a mixture of high-rise luxury condominiums and modern office blocks,
and
home to
the tallest building in the State, the Four Seasons Hotel.
According to the card Grace had shown him,
the
office
s of Parous and Associates
were
located
on South Biscayne Boulevard.

He pulled into the kerb
, and rolled down the driver’s window.
A blast of sultry air filled the vehicle.
He read the building directory etched into the wall at street level.
Apart from
Parous and Associates, the steel and glass skyscraper
housed a
bank, a
collection
of brokerage firms, international financial advisors and a public relations c
ompany
, as well as a number of luxury apartments.

One thing was certain; Parous was no
two-bit
lawyer to afford offices in such prime real estate.
Jack’s gut tightened.
Whatever Elliott had b
een involved in, it was bad news
.

He put the
car
into gear and drove home.

Rosa was waiting for him when he opened the door of the condo.
The first thing he noticed was the stain on her shirt.
The second was that her generous full lips were compressed into a tight, thin line.
He bent to kiss her che
e
k, but she deft
ly turned her head to one side.

‘
You’re late.
You said you’d be home by five.
’

‘
My meeting took longer than expected.
And then I bumped into Mike from the office.
’

Rosa’s husky voice took on a sharp edge.
‘
What meeting?
Damn it, Jack.
You’re supposed to me helping me with the baby
, not working
!
’

‘
Her name is Emilia.
She’s not just ‘the baby
,
’ Rosa.
’

She clicked her tongue.
‘
Okay,
Mr
.
Metrosexual, Emilia.
Are you happy?
That little monster’s been screaming since you left.
Driving me nuts.
And who were you meeting, anyway?
Out with some other girl?
’