Authors: Karen Rose
You don’t need the list
, she told herself, knowing that what she really needed was for him to have kept his promise. What was he hiding? Or . . . Her gut tightened as a new worry presented itself. Was it possible that whoever had shot Tala had realized Marcus was still alive and come back to finish the job?
It had been hours since Tala’s body had been taken to the morgue. It had to have hit the newsfeeds by now. She did a quick Internet search, and seconds later her phone screen was full of hits. Clicking on the first link, she felt the breath seep from her lungs in the weariest of sighs. It was the
Ledger
’s website, the headline cleverly spinning the tragedy to focus on Marcus.
Local philanthropist shot attempting to save woman’s life
, by Stone O’Bannion. The article had been posted online only minutes before.
Now she knew what had kept Marcus so busy that he hadn’t been able to send her that damn list. Or return her calls.
Well at least he’s not dead
, she thought bitterly.
The story was true. All the facts were there. And even though the byline was Stone’s, the voice she heard in her mind as she skimmed the article was Marcus’s. It included what she’d told him he could, leaving out what she’d requested he hold back. He hadn’t disclosed that he’d seen her in the park or that he’d heard – and recorded – her last words. He made it sound like he’d happened upon her as she lay dying and that he’d been shot while giving first aid. By the end of the article, Marcus had somehow diverted the readers’ attention away from the fact that he’d been in the alley to begin with, making it clear that he was nothing but an innocent bystander, a Good Samaritan shot in the back for his efforts.
I make my living digging for news.
At least he hadn’t lied about that. He’d told her he would print the story. But it didn’t change the raw burn of anger in her gut, irrational yet undeniable. Before her, in black and white, was the stark reminder that, no matter how much she wished for him to be different, the real Marcus was not the man she wanted him to be. When all was said and done, he was still a reporter. A man who made his living off the misery of others.
She heard the main door open and close behind her. A few seconds later, Deacon came to an ambling halt at her side. ‘You okay, Scar?’
The concern in his voice sent another wave of emotion crashing into her, the sudden stinging in her eyes making her slam them shut. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ she gritted out, her voice harsh and gravelly. Barely recognizable as her own. ‘Just because I took off like an insane bat out of hell?’ She clenched her jaw to keep the tears at bay. She would not cry. She would not. ‘Shit,’ she added in a mutter. ‘It’s just hormones. Ignore me.’
Deacon lightly bumped his shoulder against hers, a silent gesture of support. Then he cleared his throat. ‘Well, I’ve been thinking about the tracker capability.’
She swallowed the lump in her throat, surreptitiously wiping her eyes to clear them before meeting Deacon’s gaze. His bi-colored eyes no longer bothered her, but the compassion she saw in them now did. Another wave of emotion threatened to pull her under. She looked away, focused on the traffic crawling by. ‘Okay. What about the tracker?’
‘It can transmit sound, just like a telephone.’
‘I thought Vince had to take it apart to determine that.’
‘He did. Didn’t take him more than a few minutes to figure it out, but you’d already left.’
Fled
. She pressed her fingertips to her temple, trying to think through the headache that invariably came with her tears. Which was one very good reason not to cry. Ever. ‘What was the range of the listening part of the device?’
‘There isn’t one. It’s digital, runs off the satellite, same as the GPS. Like a Skype line,’ he added when she frowned up at him in confusion.
‘Oh.’ Now she understood. ‘That means there wasn’t any place she could go where she couldn’t be heard. My God. That poor kid.’ And then she really understood and she sucked in a hard breath. ‘They wouldn’t hear just her voice. They’d hear anyone she talked to. Like Marcus. In the park and in the alley last night.’ And if they had heard Tala in the alley? Scarlett’s heart began to beat harder. They’d know that Marcus had heard her last words. ‘Could they record or would they have had to be listening at that moment?’
‘I’m sure they could record if they had the right equipment.’
‘I’m sure they had all the bells and whistles,’ Scarlett said grimly.
‘Not all,’ Deacon said softly. ‘The device didn’t have a camera.’
She frowned. ‘So?’
‘So, they could hear her in the park and they could see where she was on the map, but they couldn’t see her. She walked that dog all by herself, along the paths, through the trees, for at least a few weeks. Maybe longer. Invisible to them.’
‘You think she left some kind of message in the woods? Something someone might use to rescue her and the baby?’
He shrugged. ‘Maybe. It’s worth taking a walk through the park to check it out. We don’t have our meeting with Agent Troy at the field office for several hours. We have time.’
Scarlett considered it. ‘While we’re at the park, we can see if the uniforms have made any progress. They’ve been out since sunup, canvassing the houses in a mile radius of the park with photos of Tala and the dog. Last update I got, nobody had recognized either of them. If they still haven’t found anybody who remembers them by the time we get to the park, I’ll move on to the list of groomers.’ She hesitated, then decided it would be better to check on Marcus and feel like a fool when he was safe and sound than the alternative. ‘On the way to the park, let’s swing by the
Ledger
’s office.’
Deacon’s brow furrowed. ‘Why?’
‘Because Marcus O’Bannion’s called attention to himself as being the last person to see Tala alive.’ She held up her phone, showed him the article.
Deacon read it with a groan. ‘And I thought I had a flair for drama. He’s made himself a damn hero.’
Scarlett rolled her eyes. ‘If anyone was listening to Tala’s last moments, Marcus has made himself a damn target.’
‘The tracker. Shit. They’d know he knew that Tala was a slave. They’d believe he knew about Malaya.’
‘And if that tracker was still transmitting when I got there? Whoever was listening got the prologue in the park too. So they’d know this wasn’t a chance meeting the way he insinuates in the article.’
‘Did you call him?’
Scarlett huffed in frustration. ‘I’ve been calling his cell phone all morning and he hasn’t answered. I called his office and the young chickie who answered the phone said that Mr O’Bannion was in conference and could not be disturbed. I called his mother’s house, but the maid hadn’t seen Mr Marcus for several days and his mother was sleeping and couldn’t come to the phone.’
Deacon sighed. ‘That means she’s either doped herself up or she hit the bottle too hard again. I feel really bad for the woman, losing Mikhail like that, but she’s well past the point of concern. She needs help, but no one in the family will admit it.’
Scarlett’s heart hurt for Marcus’s mother. But her priority right now had to be keeping Marcus alive so that the poor woman didn’t lose another son. ‘Be that as it may, Marcus wasn’t there. I even called Jeremy, but Marcus wasn’t there either.’ She’d been hesitant to make the call, worried that Marcus’s stepfather would hold a grudge against her for what had gone down nine months ago. If he had, he would have had good reason. But he’d been pleasant, helpful even. ‘Jeremy called Marcus’s apartment for me, but just got voicemail. He even went over there and checked the place out, but Marcus wasn’t there and hadn’t slept in his bed.’
‘Let me try. Maybe he’ll pick up if it’s my caller ID. What’s the number for his cell?’
Scarlett read it out to him. ‘That’s the disposable he used to call me this morning.’ She waited quietly, her worry increasing when Deacon’s call got voicemail too. She knew she was being irrational. Marcus was probably simply busy. But she had a nagging feeling in her gut that he wasn’t safe, and long ago she’d learned to listen to her gut.
‘He’s probably working,’ Deacon said, ‘but if it’ll set your mind at ease, we can split up. You go by the
Ledger,
and I’ll meet you at the park.’
‘Hey,’ Scarlett called when he turned to walk away. ‘How will you know where to start looking? We don’t know which bench Marcus was sitting on, so we don’t know which direction Tala came from.’
Deacon looked over his shoulder. ‘Ask Marcus when you see him,’ he said, then disappeared into the CPD building.
‘Yeah,’ Scarlett muttered. ‘I’ll do that.’
Ten
Cincinnati, Ohio
Tuesday 4 August, 9.15
A.M.
Demetrius closed Ken’s office door behind them, having followed him back from the conference room. Ken sank into the chair behind his desk and waited as Demetrius settled into one of the wingback chairs, looking far more comfortable than Decker had a few hours before. Physically comfortable, anyway. There was tension in his friend’s face. Ken knew his own face reflected the same tension.
‘Did you know that Reuben’s wife left him?’ Demetrius asked without preamble.
Ken managed to control his blink of surprise, both at the news and that Demetrius would have known it before he did. ‘No. When? Why?’
‘Yesterday. He didn’t tell me, by the way.’
Ken’s mind was racing. An angry wife, a sudden trip coinciding with the disappearance of both Reuben and one of his trusted men . . . Ken didn’t know how or if it was connected, but none of this boded well. Especially if Reuben’s wife had found out what he really did for a living.
‘How did you know then?’
‘His wife showed up on my doorstep last night, crying. Demanded to know who else he’d been screwing.’
Ken rubbed his forehead. ‘Who else? What does that even mean?’
‘Remember I told you this morning about the wife of the Brazilian?’
‘The one with roving hands who Reuben was supposed to protect you from?’ Dread was a sudden vise squeezing his heart. ‘Because Reuben liked the attention? Did Miriam find out about the Brazilians?’
‘No, but she did find out about the Indians.’
Ken slumped back in his chair. ‘Reuben was screwing our Indian supplier too?’
‘Not the supplier,’ Demetrius hedged. ‘Just the guy’s daughter.’
‘Holy shit.’ Ken closed his eyes, wishing he had Reuben in front of him right now. He’d beat the hell out of him. Each one of the four founding members had their proclivities, but they’d all learned to control their baser instincts for the greater good of the business – or at least to not get caught if they indulged elsewhere. Reuben’s job was to identify security threats from within the company and without, but it was Demetrius and Ken who dealt with those threats.
If an example was required, Demetrius would beat the hell out of the person and leave his body to be found by others who dared challenge their territory. If information was needed, Ken would carve the person up like a Thanksgiving turkey until they spilled every secret they knew.
Unfortunately, Joel and Reuben’s special needs didn’t do anything to help the company. Joel had a taste for very young boys, but was smart enough to hunt far from his own backyard. Reuben liked young girls, but he wasn’t as discriminating – or as careful – as Joel. Ken thought they’d dealt with Reuben’s carelessness years ago, but apparently their intervention hadn’t taken.
‘At least tell me that the girl’s eighteen,’ Ken muttered.
‘Barely, but yeah, she is. The supplier brought his wife and daughter to New York City last year to visit colleges while he did business with us. We met with him in his hotel suite and the daughter came in at one point. She was in the suite with us for maybe three minutes, just long enough to say hello and get more cash from her father. I don’t know how Reuben managed it, but the daughter apparently had a fling with him later that night.’ Demetrius rolled his eyes as he shook his head. ‘Then believed herself to be “in love”.’
‘God save me,’ Ken muttered. ‘How did Miriam find out?’
‘She found a note in Reuben’s pocket from the girl – on hotel stationery. Miriam managed to persuade someone at the hotel to alert her when the girl checked in again, which happened last week. Then she hired a PI to get pictures of Reuben and the girl together at the hotel.’
Ken ground his teeth.
Reuben, you fucking idiot
. ‘Did the PI get pictures?’
‘Oh yeah.’ Demetrius winced. ‘Reuben has tattoos in places I never wanted to see. But that’s not the worst part. It was a hotel near the airport, the same one where Reuben’s car was found.’
Ken leveled him an annoyed look. ‘You knew Reuben went to that hotel this morning?’
‘Hell, no.’ Demetrius looked offended. ‘I would have told you when you called. I didn’t put it together until Burton told us where Reuben’s car showed up in his tracking program. I didn’t want to tell everyone else about the girl, or that Miriam knew about her. We might have to deal with Miriam, and that’s not going to be an easy thing for any of us.’
‘Shit. I want to kill that sonofabitch Reuben.’
‘Stand in line behind Miriam. I’d say you’d be wise not to get in her way right now.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me last night?’
‘I should have. I wanted to talk to Reuben first. Get his side of things. I was worried when you said he’d gone missing, but I didn’t want to raise the alarm until I had all the information. Before I got you all riled up, I wanted to make sure he wasn’t puking his guts up like Jackson. I didn’t put it together until Burton told us that he’d tracked Reuben’s car.’
Ken’s frown deepened. ‘What is Jackson’s connection to all this?’
Demetrius sighed. ‘Miriam’s PI told her that Jackson was the lookout while Reuben was fucking all comers. Miriam may have gotten to both of them.’
‘Oh for God’s sake.’ Ken rubbed his eyes. ‘You mean the fact that Jackson passed out on the floor of his office was Miriam’s doing?’
‘Given that Decker found Jackson passed out in the middle of his shift makes me think that he consumed something just before he left home or when he first got here. It’s possible that Miriam drugged them both, especially since she was always sending in cookies and snacks for the guys in Reuben’s group. I’ll check the security video, see if it shows him eating or drinking.’
‘I already checked,’ Ken said. ‘I wanted to verify what Decker told me. Jackson drank nothing but coffee, but he mixed in his own creamer. He had it in a little silver bottle that he kept in the break-room fridge. Looked like a hip flask, so I can see why Decker thought he might be under the influence.’
‘I’ll have it analyzed.’
‘So where is Jackson? If he’s not home, then where is he?’
Demetrius shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Miriam might have poisoned him, but she isn’t strong enough to physically remove him from his home.’
‘She could have had a gun. If Jackson was as sick as Decker said, then he wouldn’t have been able to fight back.’
‘Maybe,’ Demetrius said. ‘Or Reuben might have stopped by Jackson’s house on his way to the airport to pick him up, just to make sure his wife didn’t get her hands on him. Miriam was really pissed off. I think she actually would kill them both if she caught them, especially if Jackson was too weak to fight back. I can check with the neighbors again, see if anyone saw either Reuben’s or Miriam’s car in Jackson’s driveway this morning after the cab dropped him off.’
‘Hopefully she hasn’t killed either of them. Or both,’ Ken said grimly. ‘But if she hasn’t, and if Reuben’s got Jackson because he knows his wife is on to him, he might run.’
‘They might have already left the country,’ Demetrius said with a scowl.
Ken sighed. ‘Sean and Burton are looking for him. If anyone can find Reuben, it’s Sean. Okay, damage control time. What was in the photos that Miriam got from her PI?’
‘Just fucking. But very creative fucking. Reuben is far more limber than I would have expected.’
Ken grimaced. ‘Not a picture I want in my head. What else could the PI have?’
‘Nothing,’ Demetrius said decisively.
Ken sat up straighter. ‘You paid him a visit?’
‘I sure as hell did. Right after Miriam left my house last night.’
‘Is he dead?’
A single nod. ‘And disposed of. I have his camera, all of his photo files and his backups. I’ve got his laptop so that Sean can see if he uploaded the photos anywhere.’
‘Smart.’
‘I thought so,’ Demetrius said mildly.
‘What about Miriam?’
Demetrius hesitated. ‘I don’t think she knows anything else. We’ll keep an eye on her. Make sure she doesn’t have any meetings of her own. If we need to take her out, we will, but we should wait if we can. It would be too suspicious if she disappeared too close to the PI.’
‘This is why I wanted all of us to be single,’ Ken growled. ‘Damn wives fuck it all up.’
‘I know, I know.’
Both Demetrius and Joel were long divorced, and Ken had been dumb enough to marry – twice. He’d had to deal with his own mess when Sean’s mother got too curious. Since then he’d played it smart. He liked a woman warming his bed from time to time, but had never let anyone else too close. But Reuben had been married before he’d joined them, and he’d always insisted Miriam had no clue what they really sold. Reuben had been a cop, after all. For him to join forces with drug and sex kingpins was not an option she’d ever even entertained.
‘We should have forced Reuben to divorce her before we let him in.’ Ken glared at Demetrius. ‘Like I told you we should.’
Demetrius’s eyes narrowed. ‘Are you really going to play “I told you so”?’
Ken considered it, but knew it wouldn’t help the current situation. ‘What do you know about Burton?’
‘Not much more than you do. He was trained by Reuben back in Tennessee. Was his partner for a year when they were Vice. He testified at Reuben’s hearing, said he had not taken bribes or stolen coke from the stashes they seized. Then got axed about six months after Reuben did. He’s extremely loyal to Reuben, but I think he was a little worried too. Otherwise he would have come and told you that he’d tracked Reuben’s car as soon as he found out, instead of trying to find his boss first.’
‘I can’t believe Reuben’s been tracking our cars,’ Ken muttered.
‘
If
it was the way Burton said it was, with all the password protection and layers of security, then I guess I can’t be too mad about it. You did hire him to keep us safe, after all.’
‘I should have hired someone to make sure he kept his pants zipped.’
‘True that. Have you heard from Alice?’
Ken’s brows shot up. ‘About what?’
‘About whether Reuben’s car is parked where Burton said it was.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Come on, Kenny. I’ve known you how long? You were texting in a meeting. You never do that. And when we left the conference room, Alice was gone. She hasn’t taken her lunch hour in the four years since she finished law school and came on full time.’
‘You know a lot about my secretary,’ Ken said coldly.
Demetrius narrowed his eyes again. ‘Don’t even suggest it, Kenny. She’s my goddaughter, for Christsake. And even if she weren’t, I don’t go for skinny white girls.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Ken said quietly. And he was, because he knew Demetrius loved Alice like she was his own daughter. ‘I’m stressed out about Reuben and took it out on you.’
‘It’s okay. Just never say it again. What about Decker?’ Demetrius asked, and Ken knew that the subject was closed. ‘What do you know?’
‘Only that he saved my life, risking his own.’ Ken’s lips curved wryly. ‘I can’t argue with his priorities.’
‘Joel doesn’t like him.’
Ken shrugged. ‘Joel sees him as a threat. Kid’s got wizard accounting skills.’
‘Well I don’t trust him,’ Demetrius said flatly. ‘That kid doesn’t want Joel’s job. He wants yours. Or Reuben’s.’
‘That might not be such a bad thing. I don’t want to do this for the rest of my life. Alice will take over for me, but we’re gonna need to hire a replacement for Reuben, ASAP. Even if we do find him, I don’t want him here. He’s become a liability.’ Ken went quiet for a moment, thinking about the ramifications of that statement. They couldn’t let Reuben simply walk away, regardless of how this turned out. He knew too much. They’d have to kill him.
Ken pushed that thought away with a shrug. He’d cross that bridge when he got there. ‘Regardless of Reuben, we’re pushin’ fifty, brother. We need to start thinking about retirement.’
Demetrius grimaced. ‘You’ve been listening to Joel again. Are you gonna start talking about 401ks now?’
‘Nah. But I don’t want to be working my ass off and dodging bullets when I’m sixty.’
Demetrius frowned. ‘Then what do you want?’
‘My own island, with naked women bringing me drinks in coconuts.’
Demetrius snorted. ‘Coconuts? Shit, man. You had me going there for a moment.’ He pushed himself out of his chair. ‘I gotta requisition a wire transfer from Joel. We’re getting a new shipment in from the Brazilians.’ He waggled his brows. ‘Pretty girls. Very pretty.’
‘How old?’
‘Oh, they’re all eighteen,’ Demetrius said with mock seriousness, which told Ken that most of them were far younger.
‘You got a buyer?’ Ken asked, because Demetrius wasn’t into young girls like Reuben. Demetrius looked at their younger acquisitions and saw dollar signs, not sex.
‘Better than
a
buyer. I got bidders, buddy. Plural. We’re having an online auction. I’m tellin’ you, these girls are
pretty
. We are going to be raking it in, hand over fist.’
‘What about Gupta?’ The Indian was a major supplier of their labor market. He recruited quality stock. Strong backs and quick minds. ‘Is he going to cut us off if he finds out about Reuben and his daughter?’