“Please listen to me, Brandon,” she said to him, as he pulled back onto the road. “That’s your name, right? Brandon?”
“Don’t try to make a connection with me, lady,” he said, his eyes remaining straight ahead. “I’ve been working for the Mob for too long to let anybody talk me out of anything.”
“I don’t understand,” she said. “I thought you were a good guy. You captured Marty Foster, didn’t you?”
He laughed, loud and prolonged. “After I managed to get you outside using the dummy in the pool, I went into the hills to help Marty target you. I thought he could use a hand, considering you were managing to stay below the water for so long between breaths. But then the SWAT team turned up and caught me with him, so I had to pretend I’d just arrested him. What else could I do?” He shrugged. “Marty went along with it for a while, before he realized that I couldn’t help him escape the charges. He wanted to cut a deal and spill his guts to Agent Phillips.”
“So you murdered him?”
“It wasn’t easy, I can tell you. Marty was a big guy, strong, and he fought like a horse.”
Goldie put her head in her hands, thinking of Officer Moss lying on the ground, shown no respect or mercy by his ruthless colleague, cruelly eliminated just like Marty Foster.
“Did you let Marsha into the house?” she asked. “On the first day I arrived.”
“Of course I did. I’ve been working for Mr. Volto for about eight years. He’s a good man, and very discreet. I’m sorry to see him in jail because my money is drying up like a hot riverbed. Mr. Volto got a message to me saying that Marsha would be visiting Louisa for a little chat, and I needed to help her get inside. I cooked up some story about a big man overpowering me, but I let Marsha tie me up in the garage and wear my shirt.” He shook his head. “I stole an FBI schedule from my boss’s office, but I didn’t know it was an old one, so Marsha got the name of your partner wrong. That was a stupid mistake. I should’ve been more careful.”
“What did Marsha want to chat to Louisa about?” Goldie hoped that she might be able to make a connection through conversation. She just had to keep him talking. “It seems a little odd not to kill her and stop her from testifying, don’t you think?”
“You think Mr. Volto is a total monster, don’t you?” He took a sharp turn onto a dirt road and the car bumped and rattled. “Mr. Volto would never hurt his wife. He forgave her for turning on him, and all he ever wanted in return was news on the baby and some sonogram pictures. But Louisa gave him nothing. She cut him from her life like a piece of trash, and that hurt him badly. His unborn baby means everything to him.”
Goldie could see that there was a deep bond between Brandon Diaz and Leonardo Volto, one that had kept the officer loyal for eight years. And continued to keep him loyal now.
“I guess you want to pocket that two-million-dollar reward,” she said, wringing her hands. “But you’d better have an escape plan, because there’s no going back after this, you know that, right?”
He eyeballed her through the rearview mirror. “I’m not the mastermind behind the plan to kill you,” he said with a laugh. “I never was. I got Marsha into the house and I piloted the drone to spy on Louisa, but—”
She interrupted him. “That first drone was controlled by you?”
“Sure. Mr. Volto wanted to see his wife and her big baby belly, so I said I’d try to get him some footage. But that crummy agent went and spoiled it, so I didn’t get anything at all. I hated to let Mr. Volto down like that.”
“Did you pilot the second one?” she asked. “The one with the bomb?”
“Nah.” He seemed to be happy to talk freely, to expose all his secrets, and she knew why—she was going to be killed. “I never wanted to kill you. That was all Willy’s plan.”
Goldie’s stomach fell away, as if an elevator had just stopped abruptly. “Willy? All this time, it was Willy trying to kill me?”
Diaz laughed heartily, as if enjoying her shock. “Willy’s a devious man. Why else do you think he’s the Mafia’s favorite lawyer? He wanted that two million bucks, and when he saw my drone spying on Louisa, it gave him an idea. Instead of killing you with a bullet, he thought he could do it with a bomb on a drone instead. Except it didn’t really go according to plan because you just refuse to die, no matter what he tries.”
“How do you know it was Willy trying to kill me? Did he tell you?”
“Aside from Mr. Volto, Willy’s the only other person who knows I’m on the Mafia payroll. He guessed that Mr. Volto was using me to spy on his wife, so he decided to also retain my services to help him kill you.” He whistled through his teeth. “That man will do anything for money, I can tell you.”
The road became bumpier and Goldie reached up to hold the handle above her head, being jerked in every direction.
“Willy must’ve realized that you let Marsha into the house,” she said. “He knew you were placing Louisa in danger, and he did nothing about it.”
“I already told you that Mr. Volto would never hurt his wife.” Diaz’s voice contained a note of anger. “He just wanted updates on her pregnancy. And why would Willy care about Louisa anyway? He just cares about money.”
She leaned forward. “Willy and Louisa are having an affair. I caught them together.”
Diaz flicked his eyes between the road and Goldie. “You’re a liar,” he said finally. “Just trying to stir things up.”
“I’m not lying,” she protested, hoping that this piece of information would buy her some time. “Willy was terrified that Mr. Volto would find out about their affair and have them both killed. That’s why the drone scared him so much. Your camera almost caught them in bed together.”
“Really?” Diaz’s interest was piqued. “Are you serious?”
“I’m telling the truth,” she said. “How do you think Mr. Volto would feel if he knew that his pregnant wife was having a relationship with a crooked lawyer? It would certainly make him question whether the baby is his. And you wouldn’t want to help Willy claim the reward money when he’s betrayed your boss, right?”
Diaz narrowed his eyes. “That baby is Mr. Volto’s,” he said emphatically. “The only reason I’m doing this is so I can deliver you to Willy and Mrs. Volto. Then we split the reward money, and I disappear with Mrs. Volto to help take care of the baby on behalf of her husband. I promised to supply him with regular pictures and updates on the little guy’s progress.” He tapped the side of his nose. “Mr. Volto also wants me to keep an eye on his wife if you know what I mean. Sure, she betrayed him, but she’s the mother of his child and if she does right by the kid, he won’t hurt her. He doesn’t want her running around with other men, so I’ll make sure she stays faithful.”
This news about Mrs. Volto’s involvement was even more devastating than the news she had heard already. “Mrs. Volto is part of this?” She watched the industrial warehouse come into view, huge, gray and derelict, well-known in law enforcement circles as a favorite place for drug dealers to complete transactions. “I thought we were friends.”
Diaz laughed again. “Boy, you really are slow on the uptake, aren’t you? Mrs. Volto broke the air-conditioning, she enticed you outside by sitting by the pool late at night, she planted the bomb in your room and she even tried to get the details of your next safe house. She’s as crafty as her husband, which is why he loves her so much.” He shook his head with a chuckle. “A woman like Louisa would never be romantic with Willy Murphy. That’s a crazy idea, and I ain’t falling for it. They’re just business partners and nothing more.”
“They’re more than business partners. They share everything, including a bed. And they’ve fooled you into cooperating with them.”
“That’s enough!” Diaz shouted. “Willy warned me you’d try to pull the wool over my eyes, but he’s one step ahead. He respects Mrs. Volto, and her only involvement with him has been to help him imp
lement the plan to kill you.”
Goldie began to panic as the car stopped outside the vast and imposing building. “Why would Mrs. Volto need to disappear if she’s got nothing to hide?” she asked quickly. “Why doesn’t she stay in Gladwyne and raise the child there?”
“Because she wants to go someplace nobody knows her.” He opened his door, stepped out and walked around the car. “We’re going to Europe. Mr. Volto agreed to sell the house, and Mrs. Volto transferred all her money overseas.” He grabbed Goldie by the hair and dragged her onto the dusty ground. “With the split two-million-dollar reward, we’ll have more than enough to give the baby a chance of a good life.”
She screamed as he dragged her along the ground by her red curls, her heels kicking up hot earth. “What if I’m right? What if the baby is Willy’s? You’d be doing all of this for nothing.”
“Shut up. You talk too much.”
Officer Diaz unceremoniously yanked her up several cast-iron steps and into the building, where he threw her onto the concrete floor.
“Hello, Goldie.” Mrs. Volto was standing over her. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
* * *
Zeke raced along the dirt road, his headlights illuminating the dark road while Karl navigated in the passenger seat. He was desperate to reach Goldie, praying he wouldn’t be too late.
“We’re almost there,” Karl said, pointing to an abandoned and derelict warehouse up ahead. “Backup won’t be here for at least five or six minutes, so we’ll have to go in alone. You okay with that Zeke?”
“Absolutely, sir,” he replied, killing the lights before stopping the vehicle next to Officer Diaz’s parked patrol car. “I’m not wasting a second.” He pulled his gun from its holster. “You ready?”
“Don’t let your heart rule your head,” Karl said. “You’re emotionally involved in this, so you need to remember to keep calm.”
“I am calm, sir.” Zeke’s chest was pounding like a freight train, but he was a master at maintaining a cool facade. “I won’t do anything to jeopardize Goldie’s life, I can assure you of that.”
He exited the car, looking up at the huge building jutting into the starlit sky, knowing that Goldie was somewhere inside. Walking silently and quickly across the baked ground, he stopped, raised a hand to halt Karl in his tracks and brought a finger to his lips. Voices were floating from somewhere inside the decrepit building, close by, both male and female. And one of them was Mrs. Volto’s.
Zeke pointed to the entrance, indicating he was going inside, and Karl nodded. They approached with caution, flattening their backs against the side of the building before sliding around the wall, making their way to the sounds of activity, of anger and raised voices.
“We had a deal!” Officer Diaz was shouting. “We agreed that I’d travel with you to Europe. I promised Mr. Volto that I’d take care of his child.”
“You let Marsha into my home!” Mrs. Volto yelled in response. “She almost killed me, and it’s your fault. Why should I ever trust you?”
“Let’s all calm down and take a moment to breathe.” This was Willy’s soft and measured tone. “Officer Diaz had no idea what he was doing, Louisa. He thought he was simply helping Leonardo check on his baby. He doesn’t know that there is no baby.”
“What do you mean?” Officer Diaz was now confused, with a note of fear in his voice. “There’s no baby?”
Zeke reached the edge of a huge room, most likely where factory machinery would’ve once been housed, but which was now crumbling and moldy. He peeked around the wall to see Goldie standing in the center of the room, Officer Diaz next to her. A few feet away were Willy and Mrs. Volto, both holding handguns, their figures dimly lit by the moonlight shining through a glassless window. Zeke steadied himself, ready to launch into action. But first, with Goldie in no imminent danger, he watched and listened, waiting for an opportune moment.
Mrs. Volto smiled, slipped a hand beneath the shoulder of her dress and seemed to unclip something. As soon as she repeated the process with the other shoulder, a large false belly fell from her skirt and landed with a thud on the concrete, where it lay in an oddly-shaped heap. Then Mrs. Volto smoothed the fabric of her dress, laughing.
“Look, Willy,” she said scornfully. “I just gave birth.”
Officer Diaz appeared to be struck dumb as he stared at the beige lump on the ground. Finally, it was Goldie who spoke, her voice wavering.
“You lied about your baby,” she said. “It was never real.”
Mrs. Volto pointed to the false belly. “That was the only thing keeping me alive until I could escape,” she spat. “As long as I was the mother of Leonardo’s child, he would never hurt me. But he wanted updates and sonogram pictures and doctor’s reports, and I couldn’t provide them.”
Now Officer Diaz was catching up. “That’s why he sent Marsha.”
“As soon as Marsha started asking questions, she knew I was hiding something,” Mrs. Volto said. “She pushed me against the wall, discovered the false belly and went crazy. If she’d managed to report back to Leonardo, I’d have been dead by sundown.” She walked a little way along the concrete, her heels echoing in the dark and open space. “But every cloud has a silver lining, and now Goldie is going to provide me with an extra two million dollars for my escape fund.”
“I thought we were friends, Louisa,” Goldie said in a small voice. “I trusted you.”
“Well, then, you’re a fool,” she shot back. “Because I was only doing what was necessary to get you where I wanted you. You’re a member of law enforcement, and that makes you scum as far as I’m concerned.”
Zeke brought his gun to shoulder height. He needed to strike soon.
“Did you just say you’re keeping the two million dollars?” Officer Diaz asked. “Willy and I agreed to share the reward money. Even if there is no baby, I can’t go back to my old life now. We made a deal.”
“I lied,” Willy said matter-of-factly. “Because Louisa and I need that money to make a life together, far away from Leonardo and his cronies and anyone else who can hurt us.”
Officer Diaz turned to Goldie, openmouthed. “You were right,” he said. “They’re together. They double-crossed me.”
“Of course they did,” Goldie said. “They don’t care about anybody but themselves.”
Zeke watched as Goldie then turned to Mrs. Volto. “I can’t believe I was ever concerned for you, Louisa. You’re despicable.”
Mrs. Volto’s laugh echoed off the concrete walls, bouncing back at them. “I may be despicable but I’m also very rich, and you’re about to make me two million dollars richer.” She looked across at Willy. “Kill Diaz first. Then the agent.”
Officer Diaz wasted no time in reaching for his weapon in response to the command, but he was too slow. Zeke leaped out from behind the wall and ran toward Goldie just as a bullet left Willy’s gun. Officer Diaz yelled out in shock and pain before crumpling to the ground, clutching his chest, blood seeping through his fingers. Goldie screamed, turned to flee and ran straight into Zeke’s arms, fighting him at first, until realizing that he was her safety. She clung to him as he took her off her feet, swung her around and positioned her body behind him. Then he raised his gun toward Willy and Mrs. Volto, noticing Karl in his peripheral vision edging his way into the hall.
“It’s all over, Mrs. Volto,” he said, his feet planted firmly in front of Goldie. “If you give yourself up now, you stand a chance of making it out of here alive.”
Both Willy’s and Mrs. Volto’s weapons were raised in response to the unexpected appearance of two FBI agents riding roughshod over their perfect plan of escape.
“If you give us Goldie, we’ll let you live,” Willy said, enunciating carefully. “She’s the only thing we want.”
“No deal,” Zeke said, backing slowly toward the exit, gently pushing Goldie. “I’d rather die.”
“He’s in love with her, stupid,” Mrs. Volto hissed to Willy. “He’d never give her up.”
“He would if I shot him.” Willy smiled, aiming his weapon. “Should I go for the head or the chest?”
“Stop!” Karl yelled from his position at the back of the atrium. “You take one shot and you die.”
“Nobody else has to die,” Willy yelled back. “All we want is Goldie. Just give her to us, and we’ll leave without any trouble.”
Zeke felt Goldie tuck her fingers into the belt on his jeans and cling on tight, her breathing rapid and shallow. If he needed to sacrifice his life for her, he would do it gladly.
“It’s okay,” he said to her quietly. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m in this for the long haul, all the way to the end.”
“We’re not making any deals with you, Willy,” Karl called. “Backup is almost here. Can you hear the sirens?”
Willy lifted an ear to the air, the faint sound of police sirens ringing in the distance. “Don’t be a hero, Agent Miller,” he said to Zeke. “Be sensible and step aside.”
“I already told you, Willy,” Mrs. Volto said, beginning to retreat to an exit on the opposite side of the hall. “He’s in love with her. He’d rather die than let us have her.” She pulled on Willy’s sleeve. “Come on, we gotta go. There isn’t much time to get to our plane.”
Willy resisted. “I want that two million dollars.”
“We already have enough.” Mrs. Volto was panicking, her eyes darting to the window to try to catch a glimpse of the approaching cars. “Let it go.”
“Think of the difference that two million dollars would make to us, Louisa,” he said. “Europe is expensive and we want to live the high life, right?”
“Listen to her, Willy,” Zeke said, the combined heat and tension causing sweat to pour down his temples. “You’ll never get to Goldie because I won’t let you.”
Hunted by the Mob Page 17
