Shadows of Deceit (A Series of Shadows)

by Mell Corcoran

  “I get it.” Niko finally understood. “He’s one-thousand percent right Abby. If we are a constant security blanket for her, Lou will never get her balls back.”

  Abby hadn’t considered the situation from this angle and it was the most important angle of all. Max was definitely right. “So, I shouldn’t have contacted our guy at the National Police huh?”

  “She would have gone there eventually.” Max tried to be gentle. “Passing her the data that you got on Salvatore Rojas and his family tree may prove helpful to her, but it also clouds the situation. This was working back to front, not front to back the way Lou needs to work in order to make her case. She has to do things the way she always has. If she needs our help, she will undoubtedly ask for it. Rojas being a criminal the Sanguinostri is a complicating factor and will draw her focus. She’s going to assume that is what this whole case is about and quite possibly miss the actual target.”

  “Wait a minute.” Niko stopped Max there. “When a cop is looking at a suspect they look at their prior history to see if they pulled something similar in the past.”

  “Exactly my point!” Max tossed up his hands. “Three decapitated bodies that have no Sanguinostri ties other than we knew that they were thugs. Arcano burned to a crisp in his ex-girlfriend’s beach house with her next to him. That’s what she should be working from. How do Salvatore’s crime’s actually help Lou with her suspect profile in this instance?”

  “It just stirs more into the pot.” Abby acknowledged. “Confuses things. If they identified the woman on her own, they would have followed her identity to find the connection, then a reason for the crime. Not take a connection and fit the crime to work with it. This is about as hard as finding a dress to match a pair of shoes, instead of the other way around.”

  “Only you would come up with a shopping analogy to make sense of this.” Niko chuckled at her.

  “But she’s right.” Max gently tugged on one of Abby’s pigtails. “Now you understand why I am bothered?”

  Abby sighed and nodded. “I do.”

  “We agree we need to let Lou have room to work all of this out on her own terms?” He asked her.

  “We agree.” Abby got up from her seat and started to head inside.

  “Are you mad at me now?” Max didn’t like that he had driven the spunk out of her.

  She stopped and turned to look at him. “No, I am mad at myself. I’m going to go take it out on Frank and explain this to him.” With that, Abby turned around and left.

  “I know you are right, as usual.” Niko admitted as he lit one of his signature cigarettes. “It’s just with everything that’s going on. Lou’s rehab, going back to work, her getting a new partner, Vinny and all, it just seems like it could be pretty overwhelming for her.”

  Max grinned at Niko. “You getting soft in you’re old age?”

  “No. I just like her. A lot.” Niko admitted.

  “Do I have competition here?” Max raised an eyebrow.

  Niko laughed at him. “Not like that! She’s kind of a cross between you and Abby. Not girlie like Abby but not a straight up dude like you. You know what I mean? She’s become a good friend. I want to keep her is all.”

  “As do I.” Max agreed as he sat back down. “Which is why I don’t want to give her any reason to look at us in a bad light. I realize everyone has their ups and downs but we are held to a higher standard, especially where Lou is concerned. Understand?”

  “Yeah, I do. I got it.” Niko looked out over the city and finished his cigarette without another word to Max.

  It was indeed a complicated situation for them and it was easy to forget that Lou had only been a part of their family for a short time. Taking things for granted and assuming that Lou would just go with everything without a hitch was neither realistic nor fair. It had to be on her terms, not theirs.

  It is no accident that the first definition that pops up in the World English Dictionary for the word sanguine is cheerful and confident; optimistic. For the most part the definition summed up every Sanguinostri Lou had met so far. Who wouldn’t be cheery and optimistic if they were virtually indestructible and a genius to boot? However, for Lou, there was far more to it than that. Elegant, thoughtful and fierce were words she was adding to her own definition.

  She could have slept in until 10 a.m. if she wanted but Lou had gotten up at 7:00 a.m., showered, dressed and then got to work. Abby had emailed her a file and it had her mind reeling. Trying to sort out all of the information about Salvatore Rojas, his sons Juan and Manuel, then his daughter Magdalena was just confusing the situation. Lou set the file aside and grabbed hold of the one thread she could grasp. The female body they had thought was Angela Boone had a familial DNA match to the owner of the resort that she and Casius had stayed at. That was all Lou needed for now and that was where she was going to tug. She would leave the identification to Caroline and the lab while she looked deeper into Costa Rica, the resort and her headless Salazar brothers. That was where she smelled a serious break coming. If she could place Esterhuizen in Costa Rica too, she would be golden.

  It was 10:20 a.m. when Lou’s phone rang and she saw by the caller I.D. that it was Caroline.

  “What have you got for me girlie?” Lou answered.

  “We have a positive identification. Our girl is Adrianna Vargas, without question.” Caroline informed her.

  “Alright. We have Carlos Vargas’ niece and the owner of the hotel’s niece as one in the same. What are the odds Carlos Vargas had no idea Angela Boone was really his niece?” Lou could hear Caroline sigh on the other end.

  “Well, two months ago I might have said slim and none but with everything I know now...” Caroline chuckled. “Plus the fact that she had all that plastic surgery done? Maybe he was clueless. I honestly don’t know, Lou.”

  “Yeah but you and I both know there are no such things as coincidences.” Lou’s head still hurt from thinking. “You send off the results to Dillon already?”

  “Yeah, while I was waiting for you to answer the phone.” Caroline lowered her voice. “You keeping him?”

  Lou grinned. “Yeah, I told Vinny yesterday to go ahead and make it official. He’s trainable.”

  Both women laughed for a few minutes before Lou caught a glimpse of the clock. Vinny was due to pick her up any second and although she had been dressed and ready to go for a couple hours, she wanted to get her things together and formulate how she was going to suggest they proceed with the case.

  “I’ll catch up with you later, OK?” Lou asked.

  “You bet.” Caroline answered. “I gotta get all this paperwork done. We matched all the heads to the bodies so I have to coordinate with Interpol on what I am supposed to do with them.”

  “That sounds like fun.” Lou wondered if there was next of kin to claim the bodies of Esterhuizen and the Salazar brothers. “See ya later.”

  It only took a few minutes for Lou to get her things and head downstairs. Her mother and Joe had been gone since 8:00 a.m. and Marta had errands to run so there was no one but Angus to say goodbye to. After setting the alarm and locking the door behind her, Lou waited on the porch for Vinny to arrive. She marveled at the magnificent morning after two days of nearly non-stop rain. Everything was fresh, crisp and green. The sky was a brilliant robin’s egg blue with only a few puffy white clouds floating by, making the sky all the more vibrant. Lou loved the Spring and expected to start seeing baby bunnies and squirrels popping up any day now. It was that time of year again.

  Vinny pulled up a few minutes later and they were on the road. During the drive to Homicide she filled him in on the identification of the fake Angela Boone and her relationship to Carlos Vargas. What their next move should be was the topic of discussion for the remainder of the trip. They needed to find out what Carlos’ relationship was like with his father and brother. It seemed a little far fetched that Carlos Vargas didn’t know his own niece if he was even remotely close to his brother Ernesto. It also seemed odd that Carlos’ f
ather, Francisco Vargas, a known drug smuggler who had already been deported once, was able to purchase such a high profile piece of property in Malibu and not raise any flags with the DEA. There were so many questions and holes that both Vinny and Lou were praying that Dillon had come up with some answers when they finally pulled into the parking lot of the bureau.

  “Lou...” Vinny stopped her halfway to the door. “Are you sure Dillon is a right fit? I need you to be sure because I have to tell the captain this morning.”

  She gave him a reassuring smile. “I meant what I said yesterday. Go ahead and tell Davidson.” She tugged him by the lapel of his jacket. “Now let’s get to work you worry wart!”

  “Alright.” Vinny sounded relieved. “You head in and see what Dillon’s got and I’ll catch the captain before he heads to some ass-kissing event.”

  Lou snorted. “Watch it. The way you’re moving up in the world you’re going to need to start carrying some lip balm yourself!”

  “Very funny.” He frowned at her. “I’m not planning on climbing that high kiddo.”

  “You say that now.” She poked him in the ribs as they came to the fork in the hall where they would split ways. “But you could get a taste of that power thing and turn into a monster!” She turned right, leaving him standing there with his hands on his hips. Lou couldn’t help but laugh.

  Dillon was waving at her as soon as she walked into the office so she headed straight for him. “Got something?” Lou asked, plopping her bag down on her desk and taking a seat.

  “Francisco Vargas was killed five years ago in an explosion in Bogota.” Dillon started referring back to his notes. “One of Barnes’ contacts at the DEA called me this morning and told me that Francisco and Ernesto were estranged after a falling out several years ago. While Francisco was pretty much retired after years of working his way up to a pretty top level position in the Jacinto drug cartel, Ernesto was still struggling to make his bones. It sounded like daddy was stifling Ernesto’s advancement opportunities and Ernesto was not liking it one bit.”

  “Anyone think Ernesto had something to do with the explosion?” Lou asked as she found this new information very interesting.

  “There were some rumors but if he did have something to do with it, that probably got him the advancement he had been looking for. Cartels reward ruthlessness after all.” Dillon flipped the pages of his notebook and continued. “The house in the Colony was paid for, in cash ten years ago, by Francisco Vargas but the Social Security Number he used was fabricated. The fact that he paid cash though, they never had the need to look into it. Plus, he had a couple of bank accounts that had balances in the six figure range so no one involved in the sale raised any eyebrows.”

  “What happened to the assets when he was killed?” Lou considered out loud. “No one bother to tell anyone here that the guy was dead? Why did we just find that out now?”

  “I was wondering the same thing. His death is barely a blip on the radar but people were told.” Dillon smirked. “In fact, Francisco had a few high priced lawyers on retainer here in the U.S. who immediately went into action when he died. They made sure his will was followed to the letter and in record time, if you ask me. Carlos inherited everything north of the border but I can’t see what happened down south. We would need a copy of the will and that was never made public record.”

  “Interesting.” Lou spun around in her chair as she listened.

  “Very interesting, especially since the word around the DEA water cooler is that Carlos cut all ties with his father and brother six years ago, when he was made lead corporate counsel for Arcano Imports’ U.S. division.” Dillon waggled his eyebrows. “You think daddy dearest and big brother did something to piss Carlos off?”

  “And then daddy tried to make up for it by leaving him a sweet house by the beach and a few million in cash?” Lou liked that she and Dillon were on the same page.

  “I bet big bro was pretty pissed at that too.” He drummed his pen on the rim of his mug. “You think they were trying to use Carlos to get access to Arcano shipments? Carlos’ loyalty to the Arcano family ran a hell of a lot deeper than it did to his own. He doesn’t seem the type to risk everything he’s worked his whole life for on a father and brother he only established relationships with after his mother died.”

  “I think that’s the closest we have to a real reason for Casius Arcano getting set up.” Lou told him and furrowed her brow, wishing Vinny would hurry up with the captain. “But why target Casius? That’s taking a big risk. Why not target someone lower on the food chain with easier access to the shipments?”

  Dillon tried to make sense of it. “Give me a few minutes to look something up.” He started typing away.

  “Carlos is married, right?” Lou asked but got no response.

  After twenty minutes of waiting for Dillon to speak, Lou saw Vinny and Captain Davidson walking in to the office with serious expressions on their faces. She tried to think if she had done something wrong but since Lou had been back she had kept completely out of trouble. At least that she could remember.

  “Crap.” She muttered under her breath, causing Dillon to look up from the computer screen.

  “Shit.” He said when he saw the captain and Vinny heading towards them. “I’m sorry.” He said to Lou.

  “For what?” She asked him.

  “For letting you down.” Dillon pulled all of his papers together in a neat pile. “It was an honor working with you, Lou. Thank you for the opportunity.”

  She snorted. “You think they’re coming for you?”

  “They have to be. They don’t look happy.” Dillon stood up and straightened his tie, waiting for his superiors to address him.

  “Fifty bucks says I’m the one who’s busted.” Lou said quietly as she stood up.

  “You’re on.” He stuck his hand out and they shook on it before Davidson and Vinny stepped in front of them.

  “Afternoon Captain.” Dillon greeted the man and offered his hand but the Captain just looked down at it then looked back up at him with a scowl. Dillon cleared his throat then whispered out the side of his mouth to Lou. “I only take cash.”

  “What’s that detective?” Davidson demanded.

  Once again Dillon cleared his throat. “Nothing, sir.”

  “By the smirk on Detective Donovan’s face I don’t think it was nothing.” Davidson was practically yelling and the entire room fell silent.

  “Sir.” Dillon stood stick straight. “Detective Donovan and I just made a wager on the subject matter that would have you coming down here.”

  Davidson took a stepped closer to him. “Is that so?”

  “Sir, yes sir.” Dillon replied as if he were a military cadet.

  “So I gather from the fact that you only accept cash, you think yourself the winner of said wager?” Davidson leaned in a bit more.

  “Sir, yes sir.” Dillon noticed that Vinny’s face was a tad on the ashen side which to his mind meant he was in deep shit and there was no way out.

  “Please enlighten me as to what won you this bet, detective.” Davidson demanded.

  “Sir...” Dillon swallowed hard. “I bet Detective Donovan that I was in trouble. She insisted that it had to be her, thus we wagered.”

  Davidson leaned back and glared. “Is that so?”

  “Sir, yes sir.” Dillon knew it was coming now. He braced himself for it.

  “Well then today is your lucky day detective.” Davidson reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “Do you know what this is detective?”

  “Sir, no sir.” Dillon desperately wished he could skip over the dressing down from his captain and just head home.

  “This is an email I received this morning. A very surprising email from a very surprising person, regarding you.” Davidson unfolded the piece of paper. “Then, I get Detective DeLuca coming into my office, telling me something that I wasn’t quite prepared to hear. Would you like to know what is in this email and what Detective
DeLuca told me?”

  “Yes sir.” Dillon’s mouth was so dry he could barely answer the man. He wondered what he had done and to whom. What would warrant emailing his captain with a complaint and then what had he done that pissed Vinny off on top of everything.

  Shaking the paper out for apparent dramatic effect, Davidson began to read the email out loud for everyone in the room to hear. “Please allow this email to serve as my formal evaluation of Detective Dillon Cole. I have been pleasantly surprised by his efficient and forthright work ethic as well as his polite and accommodating manner.” Davidson looked at Dillon to see if it has registered yet before he resumed. “Although there will never ever be anyone sufficient to replace my current partner, Vincenzo DeLuca, Detective Cole runs a close second and I would be honored to have him permanently assigned.”Dillon blinked, unsure of what he was hearing as his captain continued. “Now we come to Detective DeLuca here.” Davidson folded the paper and stuffed it back into his pocket. “He tells me that after seven seriously unsuccessful attempts at finding a suitable replacement, he has determined that you, Detective Cole, are his requested choice and that I should not delay in making it official. Do you understand what I am saying to you?”

  Dillon realized that everyone in the room was now staring at him, and smiling. “Sir, I think...”

  “You think?” Davidson shouted at him. “Well no wonder they approve of you! You think! Let’s keep it that way shall we?” Davidson finally cracked a smile and offered his hand to Dillon. “Congratulations Detective Cole. Welcome to Homicide. Now don’t piss Lou off.”

  “Sir?” Dillon was stunned though he was able to take Davidson’s hand. He looked at Lou and Vinny and both of them were laughing.