Shadows of Deceit (A Series of Shadows)

by Mell Corcoran

  “Want me to set up a meet?” Dillon prepared to dial.

  “Yeah.” Vinny confirmed as he got up from his chair. “As soon as possible.”

  “Will do boss.” Dillon started dialing as Vinny headed out.

  Vinny had debated on whether to call Lou first or get in to see the captain. In the end, he opted for the captain first and spent ten minutes updating him about the identity of the victims and the possibility of other law enforcement agencies getting in the mix. To Captain Davidson’s credit, he could have cared less about any other agency. He instructed Vinny to proceed with the investigation in a normal fashion and if they got any calls from the outside, they would deal with it then. Davidson was on his way out to some administrative meeting but he did pause to ask Vinny how Dillon was working out.

  “So far so good.” Vinny admitted.

  “Really?” Davidson was surprised.

  “He’s sharp, polite, knows how to handle himself.” Vinny ran through the list in his head and was a little taken aback at how well Dillon was fitting the bill.

  “You’re going to need to make a decision pretty quick. I got a call from Lou’s doctor this morning and her paperwork should be on my desk by lunch.” Davidson gave him a steely glance as he put on his raincoat. “I’m thinking you three can work this case together but after that, either you pick or I pick. I need you as a lieutenant not a homicide detective now. You’ve had time here DeLuca. I know this is tough but I’ve given you plenty of leeway.”

  “I understand sir.” Vinny knew he had run out of rope. Davidson had extended him a huge courtesy in letting him screen his replacement.

  “I hope you do. Barring some paperwork snafu, Lou will probably be calling for you to pick her up in the morning. Knowing her, she’ll sprout wings and fly here herself as soon as those medical releases are filed.” Davidson grabbed his briefcase and headed for the door.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if she was sitting at my desk when I get back!” Vinny chuckled as he opened the door for him.

  “You better hope she and Cole get along.” With one last admonishing glance in Vinny’s direction, Davidson headed down the hall.

  As Vinny closed the door behind them, he knew he was indeed out of time. Even though he had only been able to observe Dillon for a very short period, he was oddly confident that his search was over. Now it was up to how Lou and Dillon worked together and the only way to know that was to get her back and working on the case with them. He wandered into an empty office and hit speed dial on his cell.

  “Yo, Vinny.” Lou answered the phone in her usual teasing Bronx accent as was tradition. He was well aware that she had set the theme to the Godfather as his own personal ringtone. It made him smile every time.

  “Yo yourself kiddo. We got I.D.’s on the victims.” Vinny sat down behind the vacant desk and began relaying all the new information he had. As suspected, Caroline had copied Lou on the files and she already had the bulk of it memorized.

  “So the captain’s take on outside law enforcement is to cross that bridge if we come to it?” Lou verified.

  “Exactly.” Vinny confirmed. “He seems to think I’m gonna have to pick you up in the morning. You know anything about that?”

  “Really?” Lou didn’t even try to hide her excitement. “You sure?”

  “He said it, so it must be a done deal as far as he’s concerned.” Vinny had never known the captain to be misinformed. “By the way, your guy at Aegis International came through. Dillon is setting up a meet as soon as possible.”

  “Good deal.” Lou already knew that Niko was going to be contacting Vinny. She was glad he had gotten to it so quickly. “Is Arcano still missing?”

  “And his little dog too.” Vinny jested in Wizard of Oz fashion, albeit morbidly so. “We have a nationwide B.O.L.O. out but he is nowhere.”

  “I got a bad feeling about that guy.” Lou had talked to Jane herself and all indications were that the man was a very nice, jovial fellow who cared more about serving the right wine with potato salad at his bi-weekly shindigs than any covert ops. “I’d start checking the animal shelters for the dog. Odds are you will find her before you find Arcano. We’ll probably find Arcano in an oil drum in Carson or something.”

  “That’s not a bad idea. I’ll put Rochelle on that.” Vinny snickered.

  “No! I would rather do it. Poor dog deserves better.” Lou clearly didn’t trust Rochelle.

  “Really?” He wasn’t sure if she was joking.

  “Absolutely!” Lou was emphatic. “I’m just sitting on my ass here. I’ll call Jane and see if she has a picture. I wouldn’t doubt it since they had play dates.”

  “The dogs had play dates?” Now he was sure she was joking.

  “Yes, they had play dates.” She could easily picture the befuddled look on Vinny’s face as he contemplated animals having play dates, like children did. “I’ll call you if I get anywhere.”

  “OK kiddo. I’ll leave you to it then. Let me know as soon as you hear anything on coming back, in an official capacity.” Vinny got up from the vacant desk and stretched.

  “I’ll call you the minute I get the notification.” Lou was tempted to call the doctor rather then wait for his call. “Say hi to eight for me.”

  “Will do.” Vinny ended the call and headed back to his own desk.

  It was going to be awesome to have Lou back in action, even if it was only to finish this case. He needed his Lou fix. He was going to miss being out in the field working with her but he needed to remember he was only going to be a few desks away. Taking the lieutenant spot was also going to help create a buffer for Lou. Putting himself between her and the captain which, if truth be told, was something he had already been doing for some time now. It was going to be a new chapter in Vinny’s life and he was slowly but surely getting OK with that. Barring any major screw ups in the next few hours, Dillon was going to be an excellent replacement and Vinny’s gut was telling him he would have her back. Now it was going to be up to how their personalities meshed. At this point the only way of testing that was to get them together and working on the case. Vinny mentally crossed his fingers as he headed back to his desk.

  The bruised gray light of morning would have anyone thinking it was the dead of winter despite the fact that spring had officially started over a week ago. A storm had rolled in not long after midnight and it had been raining buckets ever since. Lou unintentionally worked through the night, going through the crime scene photos and preliminary reports. Sometime around 4 a.m. the cold and damp had started to seep into her bones so she lit a fire and sat reading over Vinny’s notes in the cozy warmth of the hearth. She never even realized she was dozing until the smell of Joe’s fresh brewed coffee stirred her awake and she saw him looking down at her.

  “Looks like the old Lou is back.” He teased.

  “Hey, good morning.” Lou un-wedged herself from the chair. “Wow that was an uncomfortable position.”

  “I don’t know, you sleep like that a lot. One would think you liked it.” He snickered.

  “I do not.” She looked at him curiously. “Do I?”

  “Every time you work on a heavy duty case that has you up most of the night.” Joe sat down in the chair next to her and passed her the cup. “If I had a buck for every time I’ve found you crashed out like that, I would be one rich man.”

  “You are one rich man.” Lou smirked and gratefully accepted his magical elixir. “You are rich enough to be ten rich men.”

  “Good point.” He propped his feet up on the coffee table. “So what’s the case? Or am I not allowed to know?”

  “The case is a minefield is what it is.” Lou scooped the papers into a semi-neat pile. “It could have Sanguinostri ties and I need to find out before I’m officially back on duty. Talk about Principate by fire.”

  “Anything I can do to help?” He refrained from looking at the documents on the table although he was itching to take a peek.

  “Maybe.” Lou thought for a mom
ent. “Your shipping companies, do you do any business with Arcano Imports?”

  “Off the top the name doesn’t sound familiar but I have people that run that division. I’m more hands on with the real estate.” Joe got up from his chair. “I’ll check. It’s quite possible. Let me go make a call and I’ll be back.”

  “Thank you.” Lou loved her step-father very much and appreciated how supportive he had always been.

  If Joe’s shipping company had anything to do with Arcano Imports it would be a huge bonus to get some insight into their shipping patterns. Lou had been thinking about it while she was looking for some sort of connection between Arcano and the three victims. The tip British Intelligence received that Esterhuizen was trying to sell some sort of ‘biological’ on the black market and the fact that he was found decapitated in the home of a man whose business is import-export was significant. Add to the mix the two brothers who had been doing some sort of nefarious operation up and down Latin America and Lou smelled trouble. The big question besides where the hell was he, was whether Casius Arcano was directly involved or if he had somehow stumbled upon something inadvertently. That was the subject of Lou’s all-night paper chase but she needed more data on the nuts and bolts of shipping before she could go any further. She needed more data period.

  “My operations manager is going to dig but it looks like we did handle import into the U.S. for Arcano up until this past January.” Joe told her as he came back in the room. “Their contract was not renewed with us.”

  “Why not?” For some reason the timing seemed suspicious to Lou.

  “That’s what he’s doing the digging on.” Joe obviously was thinking something was off too. “He’s back east and at a lunch meeting but he’ll call me when his assistant has pulled the details. He did say that we had been working with Arcano for ages up until then which is why he knew the name right off the bat when I asked.”

  “Normal people ages or Sanguinostri ages?” She snickered.

  “Normal people, silly girl.” Joe grinned at her. “I have to go get ready for a meeting but as soon as I hear back from my guy, I’ll give you a call.”

  “Thank you for your help.” Lou had a feeling this new bit of information was going to be critical. “Have a good meeting.”

  “Thanks. Try to get a nap in if you can.” Joe blew her a kiss. “You need to pace yourself young lady.”

  She smiled as her step-father walked out the door and disappeared. Something about what he just told her was key and she needed to figure out why. The timing of the contract termination, the intel from the Brits, they all fit together one way or another but Lou still had the puzzle in pieces, scattered all over the floor, so to speak. She needed more before she could fit it all together. It would be another half hour until Vinny got to the office and she would be able to call and pick his brain. Normally, Lou would have been with him while they did interviews which were crucial. Seeing people’s reactions, how they answered, specific terminology they used and of course body language. Everything fed the gut instinct and there was no way of putting that into logs or reports. Lou wished she was back on duty more than ever. She felt like she was blind in many ways, depending on second hand information and written words was simply not good enough.

  Lou got up and stretched, trying to force the frustration from her mind and the stiffness from her bones. Her chest still hurt but it was only a mild nuisance now as apposed to the constant teeth gnashing pain of several weeks ago. She had rejected the pain medication prescribed to her as soon as she could and opted for simple ibuprofen despite the objections from both her doctors. Lou hated the way the pain killers made her feel, muddling her mind to the point that she felt flat stupid. Now, despite the dull ache and occasional stab here and there, she actually felt good. She was getting stronger every day and almost had full range of motion back in her shoulder. All the hard work in physical therapy and training with Niko was paying off.

  Lou walked over to the glass doors of her terrace and looked out at the pouring rain. She could barely see the railing of the patio let alone the construction of Max’s house off in the distance. She wondered how the inspection had gone yesterday and if it was even possible for them to get anything done in this weather. No doubt it was a good thing they had finished the framing and there was some semblance of a roof before the storm had rolled in. It had been a relatively dry winter. To Lou this meant there would be about a solid month of rain ahead of them before any real spring set in. She didn’t mind really, she liked the rain. It meant that the meadow would be green and laden with all sorts of wild flowers by the time May came.

  “Morning sugar!” Shevaun snuck up on Lou without a sound.

  “Momma!” Lou chided. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

  “You must have been deep in thought. I was humming the whole way in.” Lou’s mother gave her a kiss on her cheek which was quickly followed by a disapproving glance as she noticed all the papers on the table. “I see you worked all night. So much for waiting for the doctor to sign off.”

  “I’m just getting familiar with the case is all. Getting a head start.” Lou noticed her mother was dressed and holding her coat. “Where are you going so early?”

  “Marta and I are going grocery shopping, while there is a break in the weather.”

  “A break?” Lou looked out the doors and was sure the rain had gotten worse in just the last five minutes. “What break? It looks like we need to start building an ark.”

  “I just checked the radar and it looks like this cell should be passing in the next ten minutes. Marta is digging out our wellies then we are heading out.” Shevaun pulled a bucket hat from her coat pocket. “I want to do traditional Irish stew and brown bread for tonight. Doesn’t that sound yummy in this weather?”

  “Momma, it’s business, not a dinner party.” Lou refused to admit it did sound good.

  “It’s just stew and bread, not canapes and champagne.” Shevaun stuffed her head into the hat. “Don’t spoil my fun!”

  Marta, their housekeeper, emerged from the hallway bundled up tightly in a bright orange rain coat and a scarf that made her look like she had no neck. She handed Shevaun a pair of multi colored polka-dot rubber rain boots and smiled brightly at Lou.

  “Good morning Miss Lou.” Marta’s own neon orange rubber wellies squeaked even when she stood still. “You look a little tired this morning. Did you not sleep well?”

  “Morning Marta.” Lou smiled back at the rubberized woman. “I just stayed up a little too late is all. You look very water resistant this morning.”

  “It’s very wet out there! We’re going to be soaked in no time. Best to be prepared.” Marta did a little wiggle to make herself squeak even louder. It made both Lou and Shevaun laugh. “I have a pot of oatmeal on the stove with fresh cranberries. You make sure you eat before you work anymore.”

  “Ready!” Lou’s mother had finished stuffing herself into the boots. She stood up and mocked Marta by doing the same little dance she had done only moments ago, although she didn’t squeak so loudly. Let’s get a move on, shall we? You need anything while we are out?”

  “Can you pick up some Kona blend for me if they have it?” Lou remembered Niko saying she was out. “And some Earl Grey too? Please?”

  “You bet.” Shevaun gave her daughter another kiss before heading out to brave the elements with Marta. “Now, if we are not back in three hours, send a search party.”

  “Make sure your phone is on so we can locate you with it’s GPS.” Lou grinned but was only half kidding.

  “We’ll be fine.” Marta insisted as she headed for the door. “I am driving.”

  “Hey!” Shevaun protested.

  “I feel better already.” Lou snickered as her mother huffed and followed Marta down the hall.

  Once the women were gone, Lou looked at the clock to see if enough time had passed for Vinny to be at his desk yet. It had been less than fifteen minutes since she last checked so Lou contemplated what she coul
d do to pass the time. Marta’s mention of food came to mind and as if on cue, Lou’s stomach growled so loudly it embarrassed her. That settled that.

  After consuming nearly half the pot of oatmeal in record time, Lou recalled her earlier conversation with Vinny. She called Jane and sure enough, she said she had dozens of pictures of Casius Arcano’s dog given she puppy sat for him frequently. Jane was horrified at the thought of Luna being in a shelter so she wasted no time sending pictures via email and insisted that she help Lou with the search. They split up the areas so Jane was looking at all the facilities close to Arcano’s residence while Lou began checking shelter websites in the metropolitan areas. Many of the shelters post pictures of pets that are brought in so the task was a little less brutal on the animal loving women. Lou followed up with a phone call to each facility regardless. She wanted to avoid having to actually go to a shelter at all costs. Lou knew if she went, she was going to come home with a dog or a cat or quite possibly both. She would bring them all home if she could, they broke her heart.

  Finding Luna was important to Lou for a couple of solid reasons. First and foremost was the strong possibility that where the dog was, Arcano couldn’t be very far away because Jane had told them he went nowhere without her. Second, the dog may hold trace evidence in her fur or on her paws that could help them figure out where she and Arcano had been taken. It was a crap shoot but Lou was feeling lucky and she had seen it happen in cases before. Criminals can think they are being oh so careful in the commission of their crimes but more often then not they completely forget about the pets when covering their tracks. The previous year a would be mastermind criminal was arrested, tried and convicted primarily on the forensic evidence of cat hair. The man had picked up the hair and brought it home with him directly linking him to the crime scene. His major screw up was that he adamantly insisted from the get-go that he had never stepped foot in the house nor did he ever have any contact with the victim. The cat was a rare mixed breed which made the odds of him coming in contact with a different feline with the same genetic properties about as likely as him winning the lottery and being struck by lightening on the same day.