Authors: Heather Lowell
Hollywood, California
Thursday evening, March 11
“I
’m not sure if I’m comfortable with the solution you’re proposing,” Ricky Hedges said. He was locked in his office on a private call. Despite the air-conditioning, a line of sweat was forming on his upper lip, and his custom-tailored shirt clung to his body.
For some reason, he always started sweating when his secure cell phone rang.
“The problem is too big to deal with in the usual way, Ricky.” The voice on the line was low and pleasant.
“It’s being taken care of as we speak. Papa won’t be bothered by these stories again,” Ricky assured the caller. “Nothing has happened since the girl came back. The people investigating the charges will be forced to drop the case and move on to something else.”
“Ah, but what we’re asking you to do is more than a way to eliminate an annoying problem. Think of it as a test. Or maybe it’s like earnest money, to ensure that you don’t walk away without thinking it over real hard.”
Ricky set his newly lit cigar in the ashtray without taking a
single puff. He knew a setup when he saw one, and he was being set up. Papa Ianelli’s right-hand man wanted Ricky to personally get involved in a serious crime so that he would be less inclined to betray his business associates in the future.
Turning on his old boss in New York had been both the best and worst thing he’d ever done in terms of his career. Yes, it had gotten him out of the city with enough money to start a new operation. But it also was something his new business associates never let him forget—the fact that he’d betrayed his old colleagues and walked away with a fat wad of cash in his pocket was something of a liability to them.
He supposed he couldn’t really blame the Ianellis for wanting to ensure that it didn’t happen again. But somehow that thought did nothing to provide comfort. In fact, it made his stomach clench uncomfortably as he sensed just how deeply he’d have to get in the shit in order to satisfy his business partners.
“Ricky? Do you want to continue to be a real estate developer and expand your operations?” The voice was chiding.
“Yes, of course.”
“And do you want to get your casino license in Vegas someday?”
“You know I do,” Ricky said. “That’s been my goal all along.”
“And we can help you achieve that goal. All you have to do is prove your loyalty by getting personally involved here. Then we know you’ll do whatever it takes to protect our future investment in the Club Red empire.”
“But I’ve got a lot more to lose than you do,” Ricky pointed out. “So far your involvement in my club has been small, but I’ve spent the last ten years building this business. My stakes are much higher at this point.”
“And so are the profits you get out of the arrangement. But don’t worry, we’re willing to expand our investment and spread the risk around. You just have to prove you’re committed to the partnership first.”
“So you sit back in your Las Vegas mansion and ask me to commit the kind of felony that will get me on the shit list of every cop in California.”
“Think about how much the others involved have at stake, Ricky.” The caller laughed lightly. “Consider how very lucrative politics can be for some of our common friends. You’re not the only one with everything on the line.”
“I want to continue working with you, but this is such a personal risk—”
“Oh come off it. Surely there’s a way to set up someone else to take the fall for this. Show a little creativity, Ricky. But however you do it, we want the job done.”
“And if I don’t?” Ricky asked.
“Then the money people and influence makers will melt away at the first sign of trouble. And we’ll use our political connections to crush your empire-building plans. Your Vegas and Reno casino license applications will go to the bottom of the pile.”
Ricky cursed. He’d poured all of his profits into saving up for Reno and Vegas branches of Club Red. If the license applications got buried on some bureaucrat’s desk, he might as well set fire to the seed money for his expansion plans, because it would never happen.
“So you’ll find a way to take care of this?”
“Sure. I guess it won’t be that hard. I’ve got a lot of loyal people working for me. But I’ll need at least ten grand from you to make it happen.”
“We’ll send it out tonight with a courier.”
The caller hung up, leaving Ricky Hedges to ponder how he was going to arrange a murder without getting his own hands bloody.
Santa Monica, California
Friday evening, March 12
“T
hanks for coming over,” Luke told Tessa as he closed the door behind her. “I’ve been putting so many hours in at work that I let the house fall apart. Since this is the first day we’ve had without appointments, I went in to the office early and came home after lunch. I spent all afternoon cleaning and dealing with repairmen, mail, and garden stuff.”
“I need to clean my apartment this evening, too. But you said you had some new information from MacBeth, and I didn’t want to wait until Monday.” Tessa looked around Luke’s comfortable home. It certainly didn’t look like a typical bachelor pad.
He lived in a cozily chic neighborhood on the beach. Wood frame houses were mixed with modern buildings set on tiny lots, giving the area an eclectic style and feel. Tessa had stopped to admire Luke’s front garden on the way in; the sprawling, free character of the plants and wildflowers suited his personality.
So did the house, with its comfortable and masculine furnishings. A leather couch sat between two recliners, and she
could see a TV and small home theatre system perched in an entertainment center that was the focus of the living room. A low wall separated the kitchen and dining area from the rest of the main floor, and carpeted stairs led up to the bedrooms.
“This is a great house. How long have you had it?” Tessa asked.
She would have killed for his home. When she first moved to California, she’d wanted more than anything to live in a vintage Santa Monica house like this one. But the prices were outrageous, so she had to be content with renting her postage-stamp-sized apartment several miles away.
“This place belonged to my grandmother. She was doing winters here long before ‘snowbirds’ ever became part of the California vocabulary.”
“Where is your family from?” Tessa asked as she walked around admiring the artwork and furnishings. Luke trailed behind her.
“Chicago, originally.”
“I never would have guessed from the accent.”
Luke laughed. “I came here when I was twelve, so the accent is gone. I loved this house from the first time I visited my grandmother, so she left it to me when she died. My siblings all had their own places already, so no one complained. I had to mortgage a good chunk of the house to pay the taxes, even fourteen years ago, but the value has continued to increase every year. It’s one of the best investments I ever made.”
“Oh, my God. You have a deck. This is so great—can you see the water from here?” Tessa craned her head to look out the sliding glass door.
“When it’s not dark, yeah. There’s another deck upstairs, off the master bedroom. You can see the beach better from there. Hey, you’re getting drool marks on the carpet.”
“Sorry. I’ve wanted a house like this for so long, but as you once pointed out, I’m on a public servant’s salary.”
“I’m sure your father and stepmother would…” Luke’s
voice trailed away at her fierce look. “Right. Feel free to visit whenever you want.”
Luke left her staring enviously at the small, well-organized backyard beyond the deck. “Can I get you a glass of wine?”
“I don’t think so. I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and it would go straight to my head.”
“Then stay for dinner. It’s what I had in mind when I asked you over to talk in the first place.”
“You didn’t say that on the phone.” Tessa’s stomach had been rumbling since she’d walked in and smelled fried chicken, and it chose that moment to growl out loud.
“I know. If I had, you would have found some excuse not to come over. Here’s your wine, Swiss. We’ve got fried chicken in the oven, along with mashed potatoes, bread, fruit, and a salad.”
“A great house, and you can cook, too? Why hasn’t some woman snapped you up yet?” Tessa teased, the everyday words falling out of her mouth before she’d thought them through.
“I told you, I’ve been working hard to build my business. And cops don’t make good domestic partners.”
“Sorry, that came out rude. I was just joking—”
“What about you?” Luke asked.
“You mean why hasn’t some woman snapped me up yet?” Tessa asked. “I have this thing for guys.”
“Oh, I think we’ve already established that you’re deliciously heterosexual. I meant why aren’t you married and happily populating the suburbs with little Tessas?”
Tessa took a big sip of wine and ignored the verbal pass. “Same reason as you, I guess. I’m busy with work, and it’s hard to focus on a relationship when you have crazy hours and even crazier cases.”
“Don’t you want kids?”
“Sure I do. After I hit thirty-six I figure my career will be well launched, and I can focus on the home front.”
“And until then you live in a cloister?” Luke asked.
She blushed. Just about, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “Of course not. I’ve had a couple of long-term relationships since college, but it wasn’t really right to prolong things when I wasn’t ready to get married.”
“Especially when they were?”
“Something like that. I guess I haven’t found what I want yet, and I really won’t let myself look until I have more time and energy to give to a relationship. So I do the test-drive thing—that way no one gets hurt when it doesn’t work out.” She caught his look. “It’s a good system—at least it’s worked for me.”
“What you mean is that it’s enabled you to keep men at bay and have a safety net.”
“Maybe. It just wouldn’t have been fair for anyone to get too attached when the relationship wasn’t going anywhere.”
“Because you wouldn’t let it,” he pointed out.
Feeling cornered, she shrugged. “I would never want to have my marriage and family compete with a demanding law career. I’ve been there, and I know it’s not good for the children, or the spouse. Since I have certain goals for my job, and I plan on achieving them in the next few years, it make sense to hold off on the family front. That way, no one gets hurt.”
Luke was silent as he refreshed the wine she’d been steadily drinking during their talk.
She mistook his silence for criticism. “I know it sounds cold—God, don’t think I haven’t considered that,” Tessa said.
“You’re not cold—far from it. I think you were badly hurt as a child by a father who placed his job above everything and a mother who died young. Then your father and stepmother had other…priorities once they got married. The way you interact with people today is colored by your childhood experience.”
“Thank you,” Tessa said quietly. “No one has ever understood
why I refuse to have a husband and family until I can give them everything. I hurt two very nice men who said they were willing to go along with my plan to put family on hold until thirty-six. After several years together, they demanded to change all the rules because they suddenly wanted to get married. Never mind what I wanted.”
“Which was?” Luke asked.
“Depends. In the short term, I wanted a comfortable, monogamous affair based on respect and affection. I’m not into flings—I wanted stability and caring and companionship.”
It sounded like she was looking for a dog, Luke thought, but he simply nodded. “And in the long run?”
“For once, I want to come first in someone’s life. Just as they will in mine. My family will be my top priority once I have one, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask that I be allowed to concentrate on my career for a while. Just until I get everything in order and build financial security to have a husband and kids on my terms.”
Luke wanted to pull her into his arms and hug her. His organized, logical, and analytical Tessa clearly didn’t understand that love seldom waited for those involved to get everything lined up in an orderly fashion. Obviously, no man had ever explained that to her.
Their loss, his gain.
But he’d have to be careful how he approached the whole topic. Before he’d met Tessa, he hadn’t been looking to settle down and start reproducing, either. But that time wasn’t far off, and she was certainly the most intriguing woman he’d ever met. He wanted a chance to see what would develop between them, while she was equally determined to prevent that from happening.
“So now you understand why I’ve been uncomfortable with…us,” Tessa said, gesturing between them with her half-full wineglass.
“Maybe. But I don’t agree. What if I’m looking for the
same thing you are—caring, companionship, monogamy, and the added bonus of fantastic chemistry?”
“Well, there’s the case we’re working on,” Tessa pointed out.
“I’m still not buying it. I do understand your position. All I ask is the right to change your mind. Or do you think I’m so irresistible that you won’t be able to stop yourself from jumping me?” Luke nudged her in the ribs and invited her to share a joke on him.
Tessa laughed, then handed him her wine for a refill. “I hope dinner’s soon, or you’re going to have to call a cab for me to get home.”
She wouldn’t be going home that night
, Luke thought. But he didn’t see any need to argue about it at that moment.
He showed her to the dining area and let her help set the table. He pulled warming dishes out of the oven, and soon they were seated at the table enjoying a home-cooked meal.
“So what information did you have from MacBeth,” Tessa asked as she pulled the skin off her fried chicken. She allowed herself only a tiny bite of the fatty treat before setting it aside to work on the meat.
“I don’t want to ruin your appetite,” Luke said. “Maybe we should wait.”
She gave him what he was quickly recognizing to be the Look. “It can’t be any worse than what I’ve been imagining for the last few days. Sometimes it’s better to know for sure than to wonder. We already know she didn’t call from the bus station. What else is there?
“It’s nothing we didn’t already suspect. MacBeth found a missing persons report from Kansas that matched Kelly’s description. Then he confirmed it was her by faxing the local police a picture and talking to the parents. It turns out she’s a runaway from Hays, which is right on the interstate and the Greyhound bus line.”
“He actually found Kelly’s family?” Tessa asked as she put her food down.
“Yes. Her last name is Maarten, which is Dutch. It’s spelled differently, but pronounced the same way as ‘Martin.’ That’s why she didn’t pop right away.”
“Just close enough to the truth to be convincing—Kelly’s a smart girl. No wonder she passed that section of the polygraph. She was telling the truth about her name.”
“Yeah, but not about much else. I don’t know any easy way to say this, but Kelly
is
a minor.”
“We thought she might be. Just how minor is she?”
“Fifteen. She’ll be sixteen next month.”
“Jesus.” Tessa closed her eyes and imagined being nearly sixteen and alone in Los Angeles.
“I know it’s hard to accept, but does her age
really
matter in terms of what she’s been through? It would be traumatic no matter how old she is.”
“I know,” Tessa said. She was silent for a moment, thinking about how to use the new information. “Well, her age will help us nail Sledge Aiken, for starters. He’s acknowledged a sexual relationship with Kelly, which puts him up for statutory rape. I won’t need to prove a thing in court.”
“I hate to play the devil’s advocate for that piece of dog shit, but what if she lied to him about her age?” Luke asked.
“That would muddy the waters a bit, but correct me if I’m wrong—wasn’t Sledge known for liking young girls? I could argue that not only did he suspect Kelly was a minor, he was counting on it. I think if we dug into his background, we’d find a pattern of this type of behavior.”
Luke stroked a finger down her soft cheek. “That’s my girl. Instead of freaking out over the news, you’re already planning a new strategy.”
She ducked her head for a moment. “I’ve already done plenty of agonizing over Kelly’s situation, and look where it’s gotten me. I want to pour that energy into getting her away from these people and back to her family in Kansas. Hey, did MacBeth say if the parents were coming to California?”
He shook his head. “They couldn’t afford to stay for more
than a few days. MacBeth told them that we knew where Kelly was and that we believe she’s safe for now. He convinced them there was nothing they could do by being here. The father said it was just as well, since Kelly ran away to get out from under their strict rules. They’re afraid she’ll rabbit again if she sees them or hears they’re in town.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t run away. Even strict parents must look pretty good at this point. God, how did a fifteen-year-old kid from Kansas hook up with Jerry Kravitz and company?”
“I think the FBI agent who dealt with sex crimes had it right—Kelly was probably picked up at the bus station, befriended by someone her age who wasn’t threatening, then turned over to Jerry. Her first few weeks here might have been quite pleasant until it came time for her to start earning her way.”
Tessa began shredding the roll she’d been eating. “I’m going to look forward to locking Jerry up for a long time. Maybe he can make some new friends in the prison showers.”
Luke winced. “Ouch. You’re not supposed to know about stuff like that.”
She shot him the Look again. “I’ve interviewed inmates from prisons as far away as San Quentin. Believe me, I understand what goes on behind bars. In some cases, I think it might even be divine justice for people who would take advantage of others.”
“Don’t worry too much about Kelly, Swiss. She strikes me as a tough kid—hell, she has to be a survivor to have made it this far. She’ll get out, and you’ll help her.”
“I know she’s a survivor, that’s why I like her so much.”
“Ditto,” Luke said. He reached for Tessa’s hand and brought it to his lips. “You missed a crumb.”
“Did I? So what is this, you feed me, then make the moves? I thought you said I was safe.”
“I said I reserved the right to change your mind. Besides, I want you to stop worrying for one night. Look at these circles under your eyes,” he said as he tenderly rubbed one with
his thumb. “Why don’t we sit on the couch in the dark and listen to soft music for a while. You set aside the case—”