by Robin Mahle
“Detective Montoya is putting a team in place to raid the house where we think the Mercedes owner is. He thought it would happen by around 7am. What’s the time now?”
“It’s 5:30. What do you want to do?” Milo asked.
“You’ve tried to contact him?” Shane asked.
“Of course we have. The call went to voicemail. Your patrol car is on the way. Man, we’re standing on his boat, for Pete’s sake.”
“Milo!” Franklin shouted from the deck. “Milo! Get the hell out here.”
“Damn. I have to go. I’ll call you back.” Milo ended the call and rushed up the stairs. “Where are you?”
“The stern.” Franklin’s voice came from the back of the boat.
Milo hustled toward him. “What is it?” But he didn’t need to be told. It was in front of him, plain as day. “No.” His shoulders sank.
Franklin shook his head. “He’s gone, man. Someone got to him.”
Allison set down her cup of coffee on the kitchen island. “What happened?”
“That was Milo. They were expecting to meet Carlos Diaz. I don’t know what happened, but he said Diaz wasn’t there as planned,” Shane replied.
“Should we tell Montoya?” Allison asked.
“What good would that do?” Charlie asked.
“Charlie’s right,” Shane said. “His priority is to bring in the driver of the Mercedes. Let’s give Milo a chance to work this out first.”
Allison peered through the kitchen window as if considering a plan. “You know, there’s one person who might know where Carlos is.”
“And who’s that?” Shane asked.
“Laura Young.” Charlie looked at Allison. “She does seem to have an inside track on Carlos Diaz.”
“She’s mentioned multiple times that she was certain Carlos had a hand in Tracy’s murder. Then there was her odd behavior at the funeral. I don’t know. Something about her has been gnawing at me for a while,” Allison replied. “I have no doubt Laura said those things to me for a reason.”
Shane nodded. “To shift blame? She’s the only one, so far, whose hands have remained clean where the Diaz’s are concerned.”
“I don’t know if she was trying to shift the blame. I think it was more like she was trying to point out that Carlos’s business ties were worth looking into,” Allison said. “I don’t know how she would’ve known that without having seen first-hand what those dealings were. Maybe Tracy let her in on some of it, but there could be more. I say it’s worth talking to her again. Right now, she’s the only other person who knows about any of this.”
A text message buzzed on Shane’s phone and as he viewed it, his mouth fell agape. He turned the screen to Allison. “You can talk to Laura Young until you’re blue in the face. It won’t matter. We’re too late. Carlos is dead.”
Allison closed her eyes. “Clay Sadler must be getting desperate. He must know his time’s up and now he’s cleaning house.”
“That would mean he knew Carlos was meeting with Milo and Franklin Perry. Who would’ve told him that?” Charlie asked.
“Laura?” Allison asked. “If you wanted to get back at someone, what better way to do it?”
“It’s starting to make sense.” Charlie peered at them. “How else would Sadler have known about Tracy Diaz meeting with Harlan Goodfellow the night of their murder? We all know Carlos had insisted he wasn’t responsible for their deaths. Is it possible Laura Young tipped off Sadler?”
“She’s the only connection I know of,” Allison regarded Charlie and Shane. “I say we get to her before anyone else does.”
Carlos Diaz was the obvious loose end in Mayor Sadler’s plan. The only reasonable deduction Allison could muster was that Laura Young had a hand in it. Now she wondered just how close Laura had been to Tracy Diaz. Because it was starting to look like she’d cozied up to someone else and now Carlos was dead. “She lives here.” Allison pointed to the high-rise just ahead.
“Is it just a coincidence that she lives in the same building at Carlos Diaz?” Shane asked.
“A coincidence, maybe,” Charlie said. “But it would explain how Laura Young came to know the Diaz’s.”
“She said she knew Tracy since before she married Carlos,” Allison began. “It’s possible Tracy helped her get a place in here. I don’t know, but it doesn’t look good for Laura.”
They walked toward the lobby.
Shane stopped and turned back to them. “Let me do the talking, okay?”
Allison and Charlie nodded.
“Good morning.” Shane approached the reception desk and held out his badge. “I need to see Laura Young. I understand she lives in one of these units?”
“I’m sorry, but is she expecting you?” The slim man in the three-piece suit eyed them. “We have some follow up questions regarding the murder of a friend of hers. I’m sure you must know. Tracy Diaz? Wife of Carlos Diaz, who I believe also resides here if I’m not mistaken. It’s imperative we speak to her.”
“And you two?” He eyed Allison and Charlie. “Also police officers?”
“They’re with me. Both are assisting in the investigation.”
“Shall I call up to Ms. Young and let her know you’re here?” The man asked.
“You could, but I wouldn’t,” Allison said.
“Well that didn’t take long,” Shane muttered before regaining control of the situation. “Ms. Young could be in danger. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, would you?”
“No. Of course not. She’s in unit C-335 on the 3rd floor.”
“Thank you.” Shane walked to the elevators and pressed the button.
When the doors parted, Allison stepped in and held the doors for Shane and Charlie. “I didn’t mean to overstep back there, Shane. It’s just…”
“You didn’t, Allison. Don’t worry about it. Although, I am starting to think you should look into a career as an interrogator.”
As they stepped off the elevator on the third floor, Allison led the way to unit C-335 and knocked. “I don’t know if she’s home—or sober.”
“It’s like 8 in the morning,” Charlie said. “Who the hell’s drunk at 8 am?”
Laura opened the door. “Emma. What on earth are you doing here? Were we supposed to meet this morning?” And before Allison could answer, Laura’s eyes shifted to the others and her brow furrowed. “Charlie. Nice to see you again. I’m afraid I don’t know your friend.” She peered at Shane.
“Laura, can we come in and talk?” Allison asked.
Shane leaned into Charlie and whispered. “Why did she call her Emma?”
“It’s a long story,” Charlie replied.
Laura’s teeth clenched and her stance firmed. “What’s this about? What happened, Emma? Why are they here?”
Allison remained poised, almost indifferent. “We need to talk about Carlos.”
Laura flinched and tried to recover. “Why would I care what happens to that man? Is that why you’re here?”
Allison signed. “Laura, he’s dead.”
27
Detective Montoya secured his tactical gear while surrounded by his hand-picked team of four others who were doing the same, including Alvarez. Conducting raids were usually outside of their periphery. It was a task generally left to the specialists, SWAT, and other trained officers. However, Montoya wasn’t going to hand over the reins entirely. Two of the four were SWAT members.
“It’s time to head out.” Montoya placed his gun in its holster. “We bring the men in and have the Forensics team tow the car as soon as possible. Any evidence we can get from that car will only firm up our case.” He spotted Milo Nash and Franklin Perry in the distance. “What are you doing here?” He aimed his sights on Milo. “As you can see, I don’t have a lot of time right now.”
“We found Carlos Diaz dead on his boat,” Nash replied. “It was called in only minutes ago, and by the look on your face, I can see you haven’t heard about it. An officer met us out there and he’s the one w
ho called it in. I assume others are headed to secure the scene.”
Montoya turned straight-faced. “What were you doing on his boat?”
“We had a meeting with him this morning,” Nash replied. “When we arrived, we found him already dead. He was shot in his chest.”
“You gotta be shitting me. Carlos Diaz held all the cards. Christ, what if word already reached the men responsible for the other murders?” He looked at Alvarez. “If we don’t do this right now, it’s game over.”
“If they were the ones to kill Carlos, we’ve already lost,” Milo said.
Montoya returned his attention to Alvarez. “Let’s contact the responding officer and have him pull surveillance from the marina. Get a forensics team out there and scour the scene.”
“They’re still reviewing the footage from the day Boyce was murdered,” Alvarez said.
“Then they’ll have more to examine.”
And the raid?” Alvarez asked.
“It’s our last hope at finding them.” Montoya started toward the lobby. “We’re doing this and we’re doing it now.”
Milo stood by as the team of officers filed out of the building and disappeared.
“This was what you wanted, right?” Franklin asked.
Milo looked on. “Sadler’s cleaning house. If the men in the Mercedes aren’t dead yet, they will be by day’s end.”
Laura Young perched on her sofa, still and beautiful like a figurine. “I just can’t believe it. Who would do that to him?”
“You didn’t seem to care much for him the other night,” Allison said.
“Maybe not. But I know he didn’t kill Tracy or Harlan. He didn’t deserve to die.”
“And how do you know he’s innocent?” Shane sat down next to her. “It’s time for you to be honest with us. What is the nature of your relationship with Clay Sadler?”
Her brow creased and her lips raised in a tenuous smile. “What? The mayor? You think I have a relationship with the mayor of Tampa?”
“Alli, we don’t have time for this. She’s going to need to speak to Montoya. We’re wasting time here,” Charlie said.
“Who’s Alli?” Laura asked. “You?” She pointed to Allison. “You said your name was Emma Stone, like the actress.”
Allison dodged her gaze. “I needed to get close to you. And I couldn’t risk you finding out I was working with Tommy Boyce.”
“You lied.” Her eyes narrowed with anger.
“Ms. Young, I need you to come with us.” Shane held out his badge. “We’re going to need to know where you were this morning and last night.”
“Oh, wait. You think I killed Carlos? Are you crazy?”
“If you don’t come to the station, I will have officers escort you. I’m sure you won’t want to make a scene in front of your neighbors,” Shane said.
“Fine.” Laura surrendered. “But you’ll hear from my lawyer and you’ll realize you’re making a colossal mistake. If anyone should be taken to jail, it should be her.” She pointed to Allison. “You lying bitch. I trusted you!”
“Let’s go.” Shane picked her up off the sofa and led her to the door. “You might’ve had a better chance if you didn’t live in the same building. And your friendship with the victim makes it all the more plausible.”
Allison and Charlie followed behind and waited while Shane loaded Laura into the car. When he closed the door, Allison approached him. “Can we search her place?”
“Not if you want to use anything you find in court. Allison, let me take it from here. If she was responsible for Carlos’s death, Montoya will get it out of her.”
“What should we do in the meantime?” Allison continued.
“Go home. I’ll call you later after I hear how the bust went.” Shane opened his car door and peered at them one more time. “Go home. It’s the best thing you can do right now.”
Allison and Charlie stood on the curb and watched as Shane drove away.
“He could’ve offered to drop us off,” Charlie said.
“I don’t think we should leave right now,” Allison replied.
“How did I know you’d have a plan? Just know that you’re risking your relationship with Shane. You need him to trust you.”
Allison eyed the doors leading back inside the building. “I saw something. It was on her side table. I don’t know if she realized I noticed, but I don’t think so. Otherwise, she would’ve done her best to hide it.”
“Why didn’t you say anything to Shane?”
“Because I didn’t want to alert her. We had no warrant. I guess I have learned a thing or two hanging around the station.” She watched Shane’s car disappear around the corner. “Look, it’ll only take a minute and I have a feeling, after watching her get hauled out of there, the guy at the front desk will let us back inside.”
“Five minutes. Then we do as Shane said and go home, and wait by the phone,” Charlie replied.
“Sure. We’ll do that.” Allison started back inside the building and approached the man who stood behind the desk. “I’m so sorry, but I left my phone inside Ms. Young’s apartment. Could you let us back in for just a moment so I can grab it?”
He gazed at her with reluctance. “I suppose that would be okay. Seeing as how Ms. Young might not be back today.” He walked around the desk and led them back to the elevators. “Just for a moment, though, I’m afraid.”
“Of course,” Allison replied.
The man opened the door to Laura’s apartment. “Please, go inside. I’ll wait here.”
They entered the apartment once again and Allison made a beeline for the item that she was sure would give them the answers they needed. She swiped the burner off the table. “See?”
“Oh my God.” Charlie hurried to her side. “How did I not see that? How did Shane not see it?”
“I had a chance to walk around the place. Shane didn’t. He moved in next to her right away. We’ll take this to the station and hand it straight to Montoya when he returns. There could be calls on here about or to Carlos Diaz.”
“I think you would’ve made Tommy Boyce proud.”
“I hope so.” Allison led the way out of the apartment, holding her cell phone. “I got it. Thank you very much for your help.”
“Glad I could be of assistance.” He started into the hall again. “I do hope Ms. Young has nothing to do with Mr. and Mrs. Diaz. That would be a genuine shame and especially after all the trouble that has befallen Mr. Diaz. Poor man.”
“Yes. It’s been an unfortunate situation,” Allison replied. “Thank you again for your help, sir. You have a good day.”
“The car’s in the driveway. That’s a bonus.” Montoya peered through the windshield of the van that now sat outside the home of Victor Esposito, the lead accomplice of Clay Sadler. “At least we have something breaking our way this morning.”
The SWAT officer, Lieutenant Hoffman, was in the driver’s seat of the tactical van and he pressed on the radio. “Let’s get into position. Our target’s in sight.” He turned to Montoya. “You and Alvarez need to hang out here until we secure the scene and have the man in custody.”
“You got it. This is your show,” Montoya replied.
“Then let’s do this.” Hoffman jumped out of the van and the other officers surrounded the home.
Montoya and Alvarez looked on.
Hoffman gestured for his team to move into position. He pointed to the front door and two men with a battering ram appeared. There would be no talking, no negotiating. That Mercedes had been identified at multiple locations near where the murders had taken place. The time for pleasantries was over.
The front door burst open, falling off its hinges. Hoffman, gun at the ready, yelled. “Victor Esposito, Tampa Police. We have your house surrounded.” He motioned to his team to search the rooms.
A man emerged from inside the hall closet with his hands in the air. “Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot.”
“Victor Esposito, you’re under arrest for fleeing the scen
e of the murder of Tracy Diaz and Harlan Goodfellow.” Hoffman approached him with handcuffs. “Where’s your partner?”
“I’m sorry, who?”
“Don’t get cute. We know you were both in the car.”
“I have no idea who you’re talking about, man.”
Hoffman sneered. “Whatever you say, pal. We’ll find him. But you’re coming with us.” He led the way outside.
“I see one of them.” Montoya drew up in the seat and peered through the windshield. “That’s Esposito. Where’s the other?”
“It was a longshot to think he’d be here,” Alvarez said. “We’re going to have to track him down before he learns that we have his buddy in custody.”
Montoya watched as the lieutenant led Victor to the rear of the van. He jumped out to meet up with them.
“Who the hell are you?” Victor asked.
“The man who’s going to put you behind bars for the rest of your life.” He smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “Now be a good boy and tell us where we can find your boyfriend.”
Victor pulled back and lunged with a mouthful of saliva that splattered across Montoya’s face.
He wiped it away and smiled. “I do hope you’ll be more cooperative at the station.” He turned to Hoffman. “Will your men stay here until the forensics team shows up for the car?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Then we’ll ride back with you.”
The cab pulled up alongside the front of the station. “Thanks for the ride.” Allison closed the passenger door and helped Charlie out of the back given her broken toe that still caused her pain. “I want to see Shane before we take this to Montoya.”
