Clint Wolf Boxed Set: Books 16 - 18

by BJ Bourg

  I fixed him with cold eyes and he averted my gaze. I continued to stare at him and was about to ask another question when he suddenly stabbed at the typed statement with an index finger.

  “This statement is all bullshit. She said I killed Frank because I was jealous of him and wanted to pursue her. That’s not true. She pursued me. I was minding my own business when she came into my life and screwed everything up.”

  “Did she know you were a felon?” I asked.

  He nodded slowly, as though it was starting to dawn on him that she had been using him from the very beginning.

  “Well,” I began, “we have enough probable cause based on your statement to arrest her, but no DA would ever take a case to court solely on the word of a felon. They would need evidence to corroborate your statement.”

  Saul scratched his thick black hair aggressively as he stared down at the desk. Finally, he lifted his head. “I don’t trust cops.”

  “I don’t trust murderers.”

  “How will I know you won’t screw me over?”

  “What’re you talking about?” I asked.

  After a long moment, he sighed heavily and then leaned back in his chair. “The phone you guys seized at the bunkhouse—that was the phone I used to communicate with Gabe.”

  “The 666 number?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Yeah, it was a burner phone.”

  “The number was pretty coincidental considering you were operating in the Devil’s lake.”

  “I got to pick the number,” he admitted. “I thought it would be cool that the number matched the lake.”

  He grinned, but I didn’t.

  “Anyway,” he said quickly, “I used a different phone to stay in contact with Nelly, and I still have that one.”

  I sat a little straighter. “Is there evidence on this phone connecting you to Nelly?”

  “There’s lots of evidence on that phone.”

  “Where is it?”

  He hesitated, glancing over at Amy and then back toward me. “This was my ace in the hole. I was going to give it to my lawyer for the trial, but I’m afraid someone will find it before that happens.”

  “Where can we find it?” I pressed when he paused for a long moment.

  He let out another long sigh. “It’s at the bunkhouse.”

  “It’s not in your sleeping quarters,” I said. “We tore that place up.”

  “No, it’s in the kitchen.” He formed a circle with his hands. “It’s buried in this big round rice container in the cabinet above the stove.”

  “You hid your phone in a rice container?”

  “I only put it in there when we’d leave for a dive. I didn’t want anyone finding it while I was gone.” He grunted. “If I would’ve known I’d get stabbed and arrested on that last dive, I would’ve buried it behind the bunkhouse.”

  “Why didn’t you hide the phone that you used to speak with Gabe?”

  “Oh, I would wipe that one clean every time I used it. I couldn’t wipe the other phone, because it was all I had to protect me if Nelly turned on me. I’ve seen a lot of Dateline shows, so I know how people turn on each other when they get pinched.”

  “What will the phone reveal?” I asked.

  “Everything.” He looked me directly in the eyes for the first time since I’d met him. “I’ve got hours of audio with her telling me how I was supposed to kill Frank. She never said anything in text messages, but she talked a lot on the phone.”

  “Is there a pass code?”

  “Yeah, it’s 0666.”

  “You’re obsessed with that number, aren’t you?” I didn’t wait for him to answer. Instead, I asked, “So, why’d you record her? In doing so, you also recorded yourself.”

  “This ain’t my first rodeo. I was hoping I could trust her, but I knew I needed to protect myself just in case I was wrong. After all, she was turning on her own husband, so…” He let his voice trail off and shook his head. “She made me kill those people, and I’m not taking the fall for her.

  “Oh, you’re taking a fall all right,” I said, rising to my feet. “But if you’re being honest about your phone, you won’t go down alone.”

  “Wait, I thought this would change things!”

  “It does.” I stared down into his wavering eyes. “Thanks to this new evidence, the jury will now only deliberate for about fifteen minutes before sentencing you to death.”

  CHAPTER 49

  Two days later…

  Amy and I followed Detective Paul Combel around the outdoor swimming pool at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi. A short and stout man, he walked like a bulldog through the crowd and, although he was a plainclothes detective, everyone who saw him could guess his profession.

  It was a warm night, but the breeze blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico was cool. A live band was playing soft music and the mood was relaxing. I searched the faces of the women as we walked. Some were lounging in the pool, a dozen or so were dancing under a canopy, and others were walking around holding cocktails.

  Combel stopped near the large and well-lit guitar erected at one end of the pool.

  “Do you see her?” I asked.

  “No.” He surveyed the crowd around the pool. “It’s crowded for a Sunday night. Want to split up?”

  I nodded. Amy and I headed in one direction while he went the opposite way. On Friday evening, we had located Saul’s cell phone in the rice container and transported it to the Chateau Parish Sheriff’s Office, where they conducted a mobile forensic investigation. It wasn’t until late Saturday night that the technician had completely “dumped” the phone and the external hard drive was in our possession. Once we began accessing the digital files, we were able to prove that Nelly Martinez had, indeed, ordered the hit on her new husband.

  We had disturbed a judge early this morning and requested a warrant for Nelly’s arrest. After he signed it, we had coordinated with a detective from Pass Christian and later accompanied him to Nelly’s last known address. The house was empty. A neighbor said that Nelly had moved in with Frank a year earlier.

  Next, I had called Mr. Jones and he provided the address to Frank’s mansion in Biloxi. I explained why I needed the address and told him what we knew so far.

  “That evil woman!” he had said, his voice shaking with anger. “I always suspected there was something wrong with her.”

  I asked that he keep the information quiet. “We want to catch her by surprise,” I’d explained. “I’m afraid if she decides to run she could afford to leave the country before we have a chance to catch up to her.”

  He had agreed to keep it quiet and we’d talked for about twenty more minutes before I finally told him I had to go.

  “I need to contact Biloxi P.D. for their assistance,” I’d said, about to end the call.

  “Wait,” he had said quickly. “If she’s not at my son’s home, she’ll be in one of the casinos along the coast. Frank once told me she loves to gamble.”

  I had promised to update him as soon as the arrest was made and ended the call. Amy and I had then driven from Pass Christian to Biloxi and met with Combel there. We had followed him to the mansion, which was a massive, two-story square-shaped home built across the highway from the beach. It was constructed of white brick and topped with a brown metal roof. There were large double doors on the main level and on the balcony above, and large windows lined the front of both levels.

  Combel had approached the home alone so as not to invoke suspicion, but no one had responded to the ringing of the doorbell. Heeding Mr. Jones’ advice, we had then begun checking the casinos along the coast. We had checked the gambling halls, the restaurants, the shops, and the pool areas, but had come up short.

  Now, as we were checking the last casino on the list, I was starting to doubt we’d find Nelly. Had she somehow gotten wind that we were searching for her? Had she taken a large portion of Frank’s money and fled the area? With as much money as Frank was reported to have, she could go anywhere in the world and
hide out.

  I was making mental notes to check airports, train stations, and bus stations when Amy grabbed my left bicep and squeezed.

  “There!” she hissed, indicating the opposite side of the pool. “Nelly’s the one standing at the bar with her back to us.”

  I glanced in the direction she’d indicated. “The one with the red bikini?”

  “Yep!”

  A tall man had his hand pressed firmly against her buttocks and they were facing each other laughing hysterically. She wagged a finger at the bartender and the young man quickly brought her another drink.

  As we made our way around the perimeter of the pool, I scanned the faces, searching for Combel. I spotted him just as we rounded the other end. We were still twenty feet from Nelly and she was between us and Combel. I made eye contact with him and pointed toward our suspect. He shifted his eyes and nodded.

  Pushing through the crowd of sparsely-clad people, we converged on Nelly from two different directions and were soon surrounding her. She was sucking on her thin straw and had casually turned around when her eyes locked with mine. In a flash, she threw her drink in my direction and shoved her companion toward Detective Combel.

  I batted away the drink just in time to see Nelly throw a right roundhouse kick toward Amy’s head. No slouch in the fighting department, Amy instinctively lifted her left arm to shield the side of her head as she simultaneously shot a straight right punch that clipped Nelly’s chin. A befuddled expression washed over Nelly’s face as she collapsed to the concrete.

  People in the vicinity had immediately scattered when the fracas first began and I could clearly see Nelly on the ground. Her eyes were wide as she stared around, dazed and confused.

  “What…what happened?”

  “You got knocked the hell out.” Amy reached down and jerked Nelly to her unsteady feet. “You’d better get your money back for the kickboxing classes.”

  Combel stepped forward and advised Nelly that she was under arrest for two counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted first degree murder by the authority of a warrant from Mechant Loup, Louisiana.

  “Murder?” she asked, slurring her speech and swaying slightly as she was being handcuffed. When she spoke, blood sprayed from her mouth. “I’ve never hurt anyone. I…I wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  I advised Nelly of her Miranda rights and we headed for the gate. I figured it wasn’t every day that a woman in a red bikini was arrested at the casino pool, because everyone stopped what they were doing and stared in stunned silence as we escorted her away.

  “I told you that was Frank Jones’ wife!” I heard someone say in a hushed whisper. “I knew she killed him!”

  I didn’t hear the murmured response, but it was then that I realized why people were staring. Frank had been a big deal in these parts and his untimely death must’ve caused quite a stir around town. And now that his grieving widow was hanging out at the casino pool with some strange man, I was sure the rumors would start circulating immediately.

  We had just pushed through the gate to the pool when I sensed someone approaching from behind. I turned and saw the man who’d had his hand on Nelly’s butt earlier.

  “What do you want?” I asked, blocking the egress point. Amy and Combel continued escorting Nelly from the property.

  “Um, where are you taking her?”

  “She’s going to jail, where she’ll probably remain until her trial, which won’t be for another year or so.” I studied his face, which appeared soft and pampered. “What’s she to you?”

  “I just met her. We were making plans for tomorrow.”

  “Sorry, but you’ll have to cancel those plans.”

  “What’d she do?”

  “She convinced someone to murder her rich husband on their honeymoon.”

  “Wait, they were on their honeymoon when he died?”

  “Yep.”

  He scowled. “I got the impression from her that they had been married for a while. She didn’t mention if they had kids or anything, but she told a lot of stories about the husband. Frank, I think she said his name was.”

  “Did she say how he died?”

  “She claimed he drowned in a boating accident.”

  “Yeah, well, she lied.”

  CHAPTER 50

  Other than complaining about a headache and asking for something with which to wipe her nose, Nelly refused to talk. She even refused to sign the rights form when Combel advised her of her rights again.

  “Wait until my lawyers hear about this,” she said. “You clearly don’t know who you’re messing with. I’m a prominent member of this community and that no-good piece of shit Saul is a convicted felon. No one will believe a word that comes out of his mouth.”

  “Who said anything about Saul?” I asked.

  She gasped, clamped her mouth shut, and then shoved a thin index finger in Amy’s direction. “As for that bitch, I’m going to sue her ass off. She’ll have to pay for the surgery to fix my nose.”

  “You’ll have to sue her from prison,” I said, removing a digital recorder from my pocket. I placed it gently on the desk in front of her.

  “What’s that?” she asked, gazing upon it as though it was a rattlesnake about to strike.

  I had previously transferred the audio files from Saul’s phone to the recorder. I now accessed one of the recordings and set it to play. Nelly’s eyes grew wide when she heard her own voice begin blaring from the tiny speaker, and the color drained from her face as she described to Saul exactly how she wanted Frank to be murdered.

  “This is entrapment!” she blurted, reaching for the recorder. None of us moved as she snatched it up and flung it across the room, where it crashed into the wall and broke into dozens of pieces. She stared wildly at us, confused by our lack of emotion.

  “That was only a copy,” I said, standing to my feet. I gestured toward Combel, who was filling out the arrest report. “You’ll be booked into jail here and then transported to the Chateau Parish Detention Center, where you’ll be held while you await trial.”

  “I’ll bond out and you’ll never see me again!”

  “The bond’s five million dollars,” I said.

  She grunted confidently. “I’ve got that in my checking account and even more in my savings account.”

  “When’s the last time you checked your bank accounts?” I asked with more confidence than she had displayed.

  The color that had returned to her face with the destruction of the digital recorder began to fade once again. “What do you mean?”

  “While you have access to Frank’s bank accounts through his online dashboard,” I said slowly, leaning on the back of a chair, “your name has never been added to the accounts. But do you know whose names are on the accounts?”

  She blinked, but didn’t say anything.

  “His father and mother are listed on his accounts.” I straightened and glanced at the time on my phone. “About two hours ago, after learning that you killed his son, Frank’s father transferred everything from Frank’s bank accounts to a joint account Frank shared with his parents. They had created the joint account so Frank could handle their affairs in the event of their deaths. As it turns out—and sadly for them—they’ll have to use it to handle his affairs. So, really, the only thing Frank left to you was an exorbitant house note that you’ll never be able to afford.”

  “But…but I’m his wife!” she protested heatedly. “That money belongs to me!”

  “Good luck making that argument from prison.” I thanked Combel and led Amy out into the night air. We were about two blocks from the Gulf of Mexico and I could taste the salt on the cool breeze that blew in off the water. “Let’s go home. I miss my family.”

  As I drove my truck along Old Highway 90, which was now named Beach Boulevard, I called Frank’s dad and let him know about the arrest.

  “How’d she react to the news that she’s a poor woman now?” he asked.

  “She was angry, that’s for sure.�
�

  “Good.” There was a long moment of silence and I could tell he was weeping softly on the other end. Finally, he came back on and thanked me in a hoarse voice before abruptly ending the call.

  I understood and called Phillip Burke to let him know his son was not responsible for any of the murders. He thanked me profusely, but I told him it had nothing to do with me. I also apologized for suspecting his son and for what had happened.

  “I wish I could go back and change things,” I said, frowning in the darkness.

  “I love my son and I hate that he’s gone,” Phillip said in a choked-up voice, “but he shot at the police. You can’t shoot at the police and expect to survive.”

  I only nodded. When our conversation was over, I next called Mayor Cain and let her know about the arrest.

  “So, it wasn’t for fear after all,” she mused.

  “Nope, it was just a greedy and hateful woman looking to take advantage of a good man.” I stopped for a traffic light and shook my head. “And she almost had us fooled. Had she not over-thought it and sent Saul after those college kids, she might very well have gotten away with it.”

  “Nah, you would’ve sniffed it out.”

  I grunted and didn’t respond to her unrealistic vote of confidence.

  “Is Regan still doing well?” she asked after a moment.

  “Oh, yeah, she’s back at work already,” I said. “She wants to patrol the bayous and lakes as much as possible now. She loves it on the water.”

  “Well, she’s come to the right place, considering large chunks of our land keep turning to water every year. Before long, we’ll be like Venice.”

  “Venice, Louisiana?” I asked, knowing full well she meant Italy and not the small community located at the southeastern tip of our state.

  She laughed and we talked briefly before ending the conversation. Finally, I called Susan. I could hear Grace’s voice yapping excitedly in the background. I was surprised she was still awake at this late hour.

  After telling Susan I was on my way home, I asked why Grace sounded so excited.