"He didn't use the chopper to unbury the safe," Nate countered. "If he had control of the chopper in the first place, he wouldn't need to tear it apart to turn it on Kingston."
"So who was in control of the chopper? Why would they blow up the warehouse if not to unbury the safe?"
"To stop us from retrieving the evidence, of course," Blake interjected.
Jo shook her head. "There are still too many unanswered questions. Why would he use the chopper to blow up the limo and then not finish Kingston off? If he wanted so bad to stop Kingston, he would have killed the fucker when he had the chance. Instead, he made sure Kingston survived. He stopped Kingston from getting away, but he didn't kill him. Kingston says the Dark Avenger tried to kill him, when in fact, the Dark Avenger did exactly the opposite. I don't get it."
"One thing is certain," Nate continued. "There is no way in hell Kingston can wriggle out of this one. The whole damn FBI is on his ass now. He's going up and no mistake."
They emerged on the street and headed for the Lord Henry Hotel. Jo's mind still tumbled in a thousand questions. She didn't want to believe Ryder Mackenzie really was the Dark Avenger, mainly because that would mean she had to arrest him.
She had come full circle from her first encounter with him. She considered him a dangerous criminal then. Now she didn't want to think about charging him with anything. He was on their side. She believed that with all her heart. She didn't see how anything could convince her otherwise.
He still was a dangerous criminal. He proved that at the docks yesterday when he used the chopper to blow up Kingston's limo. Chief Bates was right about that. The Dark Avenger, whoever he was, operated on the wrong side of the law. He had to be stopped.
Not even knowing that could change Jo's feelings toward him. She wanted to protect him. She wanted to make a bunch of moronic excuses to justify what he did and to get away with it.
That would never happen, she was a cop to the bone. Nate and Blake and Kat were, too. They dedicated their whole adult lives to enforcing the law, and they wouldn't stop now. They would spend the rest of their careers tracking this guy down if that was what it took.
She hesitated on the sidewalk outside the hotel. She gazed through the open doors to the bar where she and Nate met Ryder Mackenzie just two days ago. She took a deep breath to steel herself for the inevitable.
Nate saw her reaction and scowled at her. "You okay? You ready to do this?"
She nodded, too dejected to answer. The four friends climbed the steps, and Nate flashed his badge at Misty Swanson at the lobby podium. "We have a warrant for the arrest of Ryder Mackenzie. I'm gonna need you to get a key to his room."
The woman's eyes widened, and she checked her tablet screen. "The doors are all keyless entry. I can unlock it remotely when you get into position."
"Is he here?" Jo asked. "Is he in his room?"
She nodded at her device. "According to the log, he entered his room at ten o'clock last night. He came out at seven o'clock this morning for breakfast and returned there at eight-fifteen. He hasn't left since."
Nate dipped his chin. "Let's go."
Misty picked up her tablet, and the group rode the elevator to the sixth floor. She escorted the friends to a random door. Nate flipped back his jacket and put his hand on his sidearm.
He rapped his knuckles with the other. "This is the Soledad Police Department! We have a warrant for your arrest. Open the door, Mr. Mackenzie."
No one answered.
"Open the door or we'll be forced to enter!"
Nothing.
Nate nodded to Misty. "We're coming in!"
She tapped her screen and the door latch clicked. Nate pulled his sidearm. Jo and her friends did the same, and Misty bolted. Nate depressed the latch, and the door swung open. He lunged through it sweeping his weapon everywhere.
Jo, Kat, and Blake charged in after him, but no matter where they searched, they found no one inside. The room was empty.
Nate holstered his weapon. "Shit!"
Jo's shoulders slumped. "This was a really bad idea. We don't have any evidence that he is the Dark Avenger."
Blake waved around him. "Open our eyes, sweetheart. If he's so innocent, why isn't he here? Why would he make it look like he was in his hotel room when he had vanished instead? This proves he is the Bat if you ask me."
Kat laughed. "Bat! Good one, babe."
They high-fived each other, but that didn't make Jo feel any better. She knew she should want to arrest the Dark Avenger even though she didn't.
"Well, we're standing around here like idiots while he thumbs his nose at us." Nate stormed away. "Let's get out of here."
"So, what's our next move?" Blake asked. "Where do we look for him after this? If he knows enough to blow town, he'll be halfway to Acapulco by now. I sure would be if I had his kinda money."
"He won't be halfway to Acapulco," Jo murmured. "He's still in town."
"How do you know?" Kat asked.
"Because he still wants revenge against Kingston." She couldn't explain even to herself how she knew this. "He didn't go to all this trouble to run away."
"But Kingston is going to prison," Blake countered. "Isn't that enough?"
"Not for this dude." Jo wandered over to the table. A notebook of local attractions and business promotional material sat next to the water glasses. "He won't leave until he knows for certain that Kingston is finished."
"Wesley Falkner knows the guy. We can ask him about Mackenzie." Nate frowned at Jo. "You all right, babe?"
She flipped the notebook open. Why did it fascinate her? If Mackenzie was smart enough to lead them on this wild goose chase, he wouldn't leave any incriminating evidence lying around for them to find.
She furrowed her brow at a page of business cards. All the slots had cards in them, all but one on the second page. The first, third, and fourth pages were all full. Something was missing.
Nate migrated to her side and peered over her shoulder. She checked again, the business cards followed in alphabetical order. The missing card was between the Ds and the Fs.
"What is it?" Nate breathed in her ear. "What did you find?"
Jo's blood burned in her veins. "Edmond."
"What?" Blake called from the other side of the room.
She slapped the notebook closed and rotated around to face her friends. "Edmond. Charlie Edmond. He owns the martial arts studio where we first saw Mackenzie practicing. He's one of Chief Bates's best friends. They train together."
Blake frowned. "Isn't the business called 'Fighting Arts' or something?"
"The official business name is 'Edmond Fighting Arts'." Jo headed for the door, shoving her sidearm into its holster. "Most people don't know that because the sign out front only says 'Fighting Arts'. Either way, Mackenzie must have gotten Charlie's permission and possibly the keys if he was in there practicing by himself. Either way, it's another lead."
She barged out of the hotel, and the friends reconvened on the sidewalk. "So.... are we going to visit Bruce Wayne now?" Blake asked.
"How about we interview Bruce Wayne, and you go see Charlie Edmond?"
"No deal, pal," Blake countered. "We go together or we don't go at all. Homeboy could give us the slip any time."
"I agree with Blake," Jo interjected. "Let's do it together. We might not cover as much ground as fast, but at least we'll be together in case.... you know."
Nate spread his palms. "I live to serve."
He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen again. Kat narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing? Can't you go talk to him at his house?"
Nate grimaced. Jo had to laugh. "He isn't allowed to show up there in the Mustang. Falkner would probably start crying if he had to see that damn car again."
Nate studied his device. "He's at City Hall. He'll talk to us there."
Blake looked around. "The Mustang isn't here."
"Good. Maybe he'll be able to think straight enough to answer our questions." The friends headed off.
They trotted up the steps to City Hall, and Wesley Falkner met them in the lobby. He shook Nate's hand and peered around behind him. "Good to see you again, Detective. How's my car?"
Nate laughed. "It's fine. Thanks for asking. It's running a little rich at the moment. I need to adjust the fuel mixture, but it's nothing you need to worry about."
"It almost got blown up a few weeks ago," Jo remarked.
The cheery smile evaporated off Falkner's face. "Christ, don't tell me that! You'll give me a heart attack. Don't you know I'm too old to handle a shock like that?"
"You're in luck," Nate went on. "I took the bullet instead."
Falkner clapped him on the shoulder, beaming into his eyes. "That's my boy. What can I do for you?"
"We need to ask you some questions about your business dealings with Ryder Mackenzie," Jo told him. "We understand Mackenzie came to town to meet you."
"Yeah?" Falkner asked. "So what?"
"Can you tell us what the deal was all about?"
Falkner frowned. "He tried to convince me to buy one of his shipping lines. He wanted to set up an import channel from Asia, and he needed a shadow investor."
Jo scrutinized him. "You told us you don't deal outside the country."
"I told him the same thing. I told him I couldn't help him out, and I didn't have the disposable funds to invest in that kind of thing right now anyway. I had to turn him down. It's too bad, too, 'cuz he's a good guy. I would invest in him if I could, but I follow my own protocols when it comes to selecting investments."
"That sounds like a pretty short conversation for two reasonable guys to have," Blake remarked. "He couldn't just email you with the proposal, and you send him a one-line reply? He had to travel all the way out here and stay at the Lord Henry for over a week? Sounds suspicious to me."
Falkner fixed his blazing blue eyes on Blake. "Cartwright, isn't it?"
Blake blushed and bowed from the waist. "The very same."
"Well, you're right. Mackenzie wouldn't tell me the specifics over the phone or via email. Most times, when some heavy-hitter wants to make me a proposal, it's his executive assistant who contacts me first with at least a rough outline of the plan. Mackenzie wouldn't do that. He contacted me himself and said he wouldn't accept anything but an in-person meeting. He wouldn't even tell me what it was about. If it had been anybody else, I would have refused to meet him. Under the circumstances, I was willing to indulge him."
"Even then," Jo went on, "he could have told you what he wanted over a cup of coffee. We're talking about an hour max, so what's he still doing in town?"
Falkner whipped around to stare at her. "Is he still in town? I thought he would be long gone."
Jo and her friends exchanged knowing glances. "We don't know if he's in town. We're trying to find him."
Falkner stiffened. "Let me guess. This is about your Dark Enemy, isn't it?"
Jo cringed, but Kat interrupted. "Dark Avenger. Yes, it is."
"How did you guess?" Nate asked. "It wouldn't have anything to do with your shared interest in martial arts, would it?"
Falkner shrugged. "I wouldn't call it shared. That dude has some weird ideas about the martial arts."
"You mean like how he doesn't follow any particular art but goes his own way and does his own thing?" Blake asked. "Is that what you mean?"
Falkner inspected his fingernails. "Something like that."
"Did you ever train with him?" Jo asked.
"Nope."
Jo raised her eyebrows. "You say that like it's a hard limit or something."
His eyes sparked blue fire. "I wouldn't set foot on the mat with Ryder Mackenzie—not for all the tea in China."
"So what makes you say he's such a great guy?" Blake asked.
"In business," Falkner corrected. "He's a great guy in business. I'd like to get into business with him. Forget martial arts training. I train with real martial artists—emphasis on artists. I don't go looking to break my neck with mavericks who don't know what they're doing."
"So, he doesn't know what he's doing?" Jo interjected. "He looked pretty skilled to me."
"I don't mean he isn't skilled. He's skilled, all right. He might be the most skilled guy out there. I don't know about that, but I do know he doesn't follow the rules. He's a loose cannon, and I don't risk my spine for people like that. If I can't trust someone to pull their punches when it's called for, you won't catch me in the same room with them during training. He could put a man in his grave without trying too hard."
Jo nodded. This conversation only completed the picture she already developed about what kind of person the Dark Avenger would have to be. He wouldn't go so far over to the other side of the law if he cared about principles and safety the way Falkner did.
"One more question," Kat chimed in.
Falkner grinned at her. "Only one?"
"Two, actually," Jo added.
Falkner spread his palms. "Fire away."
"When did Mackenzie contact you about this deal?" Kat asked. "When did he first arrive in Soledad to meet you?"
He cocked his head and peered at the ceiling. "Let me see. It must have been a couple of months ago."
Nate punched his palm. "Son of a bitch!"
Falkner bristled. "Excuse me?"
"Not you!" Nate exclaimed. "I'm just thinking out loud."
"Did you meet him more than once?" Blake asked.
"Sure. I must have met him four or five times. We spoke the same language, and once we broke the ice, we had a lot to talk about. We have a lot of the same interests, and we talked about projects we might collaborate on in the future. That kind of thing."
"Did you talk about cars?" Nate asked.
Falkner stared at him. "You mean like the Mustang?"
"No, like the Lamborghini. Did you show him your collection?"
"No, I can't recall ever talking to him about cars." Falkner cracked another grin at him. "I reserve that little addiction for you, Detective."
Nate blushed. "So when you say you met him four or five times," Jo went on, "was that a couple of months ago, too, or was it scattered over the subsequent weeks?"
He scowled at her. "What is this really all about? Do you really think Mackenzie is this Shadow Warrior of yours?"
Jo shrugged. "Just checking."
"Yes, it was scattered over the subsequent weeks. He didn't tell me what brought him back to town. I didn't flatter myself, he was coming back to see me. My head isn't that swollen."
"He didn't," Kat muttered.
"Who did he come back to see?" Falkner asked.
"Gabriel Kingston," Blake replied.
Jo rounded on him. "We don't know that. We don't even know if Mackenzie is the Dark Avenger."
"He is," Blake snapped.
Jo shook her head, but Falkner cut her off. "So, what's your second question?"
Jo had to laugh. "That was it. I don't have any more questions."
"I do," Kat cut in.
He turned to face her. "I'm listening."
"Can you think of any reason Mackenzie might hold a grudge against you? Can you think of anything you might have done to rub him the wrong way, any reason he would want to get you into trouble?"
Jo, Nate, and Blake all rounded on her gasping out loud. "Kat! What the hell are you getting at?"
"Isn't it obvious?" she replied. "The Dark Avenger spent a lot of money renting a black Lamborghini for the attack on the graveyard. Why would he bother to do that if he wasn't trying to implicate Falkner?" She faced Falkner. "Sorry, Mr. Falkner."
"Are you fucking serious?" Blake exclaimed.
"How do you explain, him bringing such an obvious car to the graveyard?" Kat pointed out. "The Dark Avenger goes to great lengths to conceal his identity. Why would he run up a flag like that saying, "Hey, everybody! I'm super rich and I drive a black Lamborghini. Come and look at me!' It makes no sense unless he was trying to point the finger at someone we all know that has a black Lamborghini."
Jo
blinked first at her and then at Falkner. He studied Kat with his direct gaze. "Interesting theory, but since you ask, I can't think of any reason Mackenzie would want to implicate me. As I said, we never talked about cars, and I never met the dude before he contacted me about the deal."
"As you say, though," Nate remarked, "a lot of people know you have a black Lamborghini."
"He might have a beef with you for some other reason," Blake added.
"Or he might have wanted to divert our attention in your direction to cover his own tracks," Jo put in. "He would choose a decoy with some notoriety, some wealthy local celebrity who fit the whole Bruce Wayne archetype."
Falkner exploded with laughter. "That is the second time you've flattered me in front of your husband, Detective. We really have to stop meeting like this."
Jo bit back a grin. He really was a great guy. "In that case, I better leave before we both wind up in the doghouse. Thank you for meeting us. You really helped us."
He shook hands with everyone and squeezed Nate's shoulder. "If you need someone to take another bullet to protect the Mustang, give me a call."
Chapter 6
Jo and Nate halted in the entrance to the martial arts studio. Charlie Edmond surprised them by meeting them at the same moment, but he didn't seem to notice them. He frowned at his phone and collided with Nate.
"What's up, Charlie?" Nate asked. "Do you have a second to talk to us about something?"
Charlie scowled up and down Main Street. "Well, I'm not sure. I might."
"What do you mean, you might? Do you or don't you?"
Charlie checked both ways again. "I was supposed to meet someone, but they didn't show." He glanced at his phone. "I guess we could talk, but do you mind if we do it here? If they show up, I want to be on hand."
"Sure. No problem."
He looked up at Nate for the first time. "So, what do you want to talk to me about? Is this about renting the studio for the rookie hand-to-hand combat class? Ian will be around later tonight. He said he would discuss the details with me then."
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