Trouble With the Law (31 page)

“Most likely
,” Trace said with a short laugh.  “I think Leland forked out a bundle to make sure I got put under the jailhouse.  Then he spent more trying to make sure I didn’t make it out alive.  Dead men tell no tales.”

“Well,
your father is going to be the one under the jailhouse when this is over,” Lou Ellen, who she thought was sleeping, piped up from the back seat.  She leaned over the middle.  “Your mother and I knew something was going on.  We never could put our finger on it though.”

Trace looked into the rearview.  “Aunt Lou you need to stay out of this.  You’re along for the ride here.  I don’t want anyone getting hurt, because of me.”

She snorted.  “Honey, you’ve known me your entire life.  Have you ever known me to stay out of anything?”

“No, ma’am,” Trace said with a huffed breath and shake of his head.  “But this time you need to do that.  Just watch out for Mama, and stay away from Leland.  If we tip him off, we won’t find anything.  And someone will end up hurt.”

“Don’t worry, kiddo.  This dress I have on is short, but Bruno is strapped to my thigh.  He always takes care of me.”

Trace’s eyebrows shot to his hairline.  “Bruno?”

“My forty-five,” she clarified with a laugh.

Trace hit the brakes to slow the car.  “Do not go Dirty Mary on me Aunt Lou,” Trace growled.  “Promise you won’t create a problem tonight, or I’m turning this car around.”

“I’m not making any promises, son,” she said with a cackle as she sat back against the seat.  “I’ll try to be good tonight, but you know how hard that is for me.”

“Do it for Mama…” Trace said then glanced over at Ronnie.  “And for Red.  They don’t need to have to fight their way out of there.”

“Doesn’t that Dave Logan carry?” she asked.

“He does, but if ya’ll are smart and quiet tonight, you can get out of there without having to use your guns.”

“Have you ever known me to be quiet?  Quiet is not a word people use to describe me.  Ever,” Lou Ellen said with a chuckle.  “We’ll just leave it at good.  I won’t try to stir up anything.  Does that work?”

Trace sighed.  “Yes, ma’am.”

Ronnie drifted off into her own thoughts as she watched the miles tick off to their destination.  With every mile they got closer, she could feel the tension in Trace inch up.  By the time he pulled into the parking lot at the big box store where they agreed to meet Dave, he was practically vibrating with it.  He drove slowly up and down the aisles looking for Dave’s van, then she spotted it parked at the side of the store. 

“Over there,” Ronnie said pointing.
 

Trace made a right and slowly
drove over there.  He stopped beside the van and put the Cadillac in park then turned in the seat to face her.  His eyebrows pinched together, as he said gruffly, “Be careful tonight, Red.”

Ronnie slid across the seat and put her hand on his face.  “You be careful too.  Make sure nobody sees you.”  He was the one she was worried about.  She wished he would have just stayed at the lodge until this was over.  It sure would make focusing on what they were doing tonight easier.  Instead she’d be worried about him in the van parked near the mansion.  She leaned toward him and he met her in the middle for a short kiss.

Dave knocked on the driver’s window then opened the door.  “We need to get moving,” he said stepping back. 

Trace looked very worried as he pecked her lips once more, before he slid out of the car.  Dave shut the door and he and Trace had a short conversation, before he opened the door again and got inside.
  He reached inside the breast pocket of his tuxedo and pulled out four very small black devices.  He handed one set to Ronnie.  “Put this in your ear, it’s a listening device.  The other is a voice transmitter you’ll clip somewhere discreet. That way we can all know what’s going on tonight,” he said, then offered the other set to Lou Ellen over the back seat.

“I feel like Mata Hari,” Lou Ellen said with a giggle as she took the device.

Ronnie pushed the receiver in her ear, then clipped the transmitter on her shoulder and tucked it under the strap of her dress.  She jumped when she heard Trace’s voice in her ear as she watched the black van take the lead.  “Red, you better not do anything stupid tonight.  You either, Aunt Lou.”

“You just keep that pretty face of yours hidden, handsome, and we’ll take care of the rest,” Ronnie said with a laugh.

“I have a bad feeling,” Trace said gruffly.

“So, you’ve said,” Ronnie replied with a glance at Dave. 

She was starting to have a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach too.  She was an attorney, not a spy.  Leland Rooks was a dangerous man who was connected to other dangerous men.  Some of those men could be at this party tonight.  They would have to be very careful, or things could go south.

“We’ve got this.  Stop worrying,” Lou Ellen said with a confident snort.

Ronnie sighed and crossed her arms over her chest to stare out the window.  She sure hoped they did.  She hoped Trace’s feeling wasn’t right.  The same feeling that was starting to make her have doubts this was a good idea.

It took them thirty minutes more to turn into Leland’s neighborhood. 
Trace kept driving down the block when they turned off, because he wasn’t going to be able to get past the guard shack.  They checked in at the guard shack of the gated community.  Using Lou Ellen’s name, the guard let them through.  Dave drove slowly down the street, which was lined with massive estates locked behind brick and wrought iron fences. 

Ronnie’s father’s estate was much the same as these.  Even though he wasn’t home much to enjoy the fruits of his labor, his wife, her mother, didn’t have that problem.  She threw lavish parties there, and lived in her ivory tower.
  Her daddy deserved his lavish lifestyle, even though he couldn’t enjoy it.  He worked for his money.  Leland Rooks was another story.  The man lived well off of the sweat of others.  The blood of others.  It was time he got what he deserved.  Ronnie used that thought to shore up her confidence when Dave turned into his driveway and stopped at the security post.  He pushed the button, and when he announced Lou Ellen’s name the gate swung inward.

He pulled up to the front of the house, and stopped at the steps where a uniformed valet stood.  The valet opened her door and cool air rushed inside the car.  Ronnie smiled at him and eased her legs out, then stood.  He opened Lou Ellen’s door and she got out too.  Dave stood on the other side of the car and handed
the valet the keys when he made it to the driver’s door.  “Keep those handy, and don’t park us too far away.  We may need to leave quickly.  I’m a doctor and I’m on call.”

That was pretty damned smart of him, Ronnie thought
, letting out a small relieved breath.  The young man nodded, and Dave palmed him the keys and a twenty dollar bill.  He walked around the front of the car and offered her his arm. 

“Let’s get this over with,” he said under his breath.  His voice sounded as tense as Trace’s had earlier.  He must have that feeling too.  Like shit was about to hit the fan.
  Ronnie’s tension notched up again too as he led her to the front door and it was opened for them.

Soft laughter and music mixed with the tinkling of glasses and plates as they stepped into the high-ceilinged foyer.
From the orchids on the lemon-polished mahogany table in the center of the massive entry, to the mixture of expensive perfumes and colognes floating on the air, money and wealth surrounded them.  Ronnie was practically blinded by the sparkle of diamonds in the soft lighting once they entered the large ballroom to the left.

Her eyes immediately tracked around the room until they landed on Leland Rooks standing near the far wall talking to a group of men.  Holding court.  The handsome and smarmy King of Texas society was on stage, she thought nastily. 
Talking those men out of their money.  Convincing them to support him in this style.  Using them to remain king.

Trace might have gotten his pretty boy looks from the aging bastard, but thank God he hadn’t inherited his personality.
  She looked around the crowd once more trying to spot Allison, but she was nowhere in sight.  Since she left the lodge and they dropped her off at the airport, Ronnie hadn’t talked to her.  Unlike them, Allison didn’t have an earphone and radio.  She was flying solo, until they could connect with her.  Finding her was going to be Ronnie’s first priority.

Ronnie didn’t realize she was staring, until Leland glanced in her direction, did a double take, then his eyes fixed on hers.  He patted the man next to him on the shoulder and excused himself, before picking his way slowly through the crowd toward them.  Ronnie’s heart did a somersault in her chest.  “He spotted me,” she whispered to Dave.

“I saw that,” he replied.  “Stay cool.”

“Kind of hard when I’m sweating like a pig.”

Dave looked across the room, he waved wildly, then his face broke out into a wide smile.  His hand on her arm tightened and he dragged her quickly through the crowd.  “Who do you see?” she asked as she tried to keep up in her stiletto heels.

“Not a damn soul, but we need to postpone our meeting with Leland for a bit to buy Allison some time.
  Making Leland chase us around the room will do that.  Let’s make some new friends,” he said with a chuckle.

“Did you see her?” Ronnie asked quietly.

“Yes, she was headed up the stairs.”

Ronnie discreetly glanced back over her shoulder and saw Leland had cornered Lou Ellen and they were talking.  “Oh, Lord…we should have just talked to him,” she said with a groan. 

Dave’s steps faltered, then he stopped.  “Why?”

“He has Lou Ellen cornered.”

Dave tucked his chin and spoke into his lapel.  “Keep your cool, Lou Ellen and keep him occupied,” he said quietly.

Dave flinched as Lou Ellen laughed loudly then said, “Always!”  The volume of her voice in their ear piece was deafening.

“You don’t have to talk so loudly, Mata,” Dave said and slapped his ear.

Ronnie’s eyes snagged on Seemus Nichols and his dour-faced wife across the room at the long buffet table.  “Crap,” she said quietly.

Dave’s head swung her way, and she heard Trace in her ear.  “What?” both men asked quickly.

“Seemus is here.  I’m still on leave.  I guess I’ll have to just say I
’m feeling better and can come back to work on Monday.  He’ll insist if I’m well enough to come to a party, I’m well enough to be back in the office.”

Ronnie just hoped they would have something worked out by then.
  If Allison could get her hands on those diaries and calendars, they probably could at least have something.  She had uncovered enough against her senior partner to take to the prosecutor for a search and arrest warrant, but she wasn’t ready to do that yet.

And Lord help her if he asked why she thought Conner had pulled those files.  No, he probably hadn’t connected her to that, but
Seemus knew they were friends.  Ronnie was a good lawyer, she could keep things close to her chest, but she wasn’t a good actress or a good liar.  There were enough people in the room, maybe she could just hide.  She grabbed Dave’s hand and took a step to the right and ran right into Talmedge Bartlett’s out-of-date ruffled tuxedo shirt.  She stumbled back into Dave and he steadied her with his hands at her waist. 

“Talmedge, how are you?” she asked sticking her hand out to him. 
She hoped Leland’s campaign manager didn’t notice the tremble in her hand, or that her palm was damp when he shook her hand.  She pulled it back and wiped it on her dress. 

“
I’m glad to see you’re feeling better, Ronnie.  I heard you’ve been sick,” he said smoothly.  Ronnie listened intently for any sign of sarcasm, but didn’t find it.  She was relieved, but then tensed up again when his eyes traveled over her shoulder to Dave.  “I don’t believe we’ve met,” he said extending his hand to Dave.  Dave reached around her to take his hand in a firm shake.

“Dave Logan,” he
replied, surprising Ronnie that he gave the man his real name.

“Nice to meet you, Dave.  What business are you in?”
Talmedge asked not beating around the bush.  Ronnie knew what was coming next, and so did Dave evidently, when he added, “Leland always appreciates having new supporters.”

Ronnie almost choked when Dave replied, “I’m an investment banker, and I appreciate how he votes on financial issues in the state
.  The man seems to be brilliant where money is concerned.”

Talmedge evidently missed the sarcasm in Dave’s tone, because he smiled widely.  “That’s good news.  Yes, I’ve been with Leland for thirty years.  He is a very smart businessman, and represents his constituents well in Washington.  Texas is very fortunate to have him there.”
  He glanced around the room, and his eyes locked on Leland.  “Come, let me introduce you to him.” he said putting a hand on Dave’s shoulder as he walked around him.  Dave slipped an arm around her waist and turned her to follow Talmedge across the room toward Leland.  Ronnie’s feet felt like lead weights on the end of her legs. 

Dave squeezed her waist and leaned close to her ear.  “Relax,” he whispered then kissed her cheek.

“What’s wrong?” Trace growled in her other ear.