Velvet Mafia

by Lydia L Watts

  “So, he did create an antidote? But does it work?” Eli asked.

  “I thought you said you had only one more question to ask, Mr. Edelstein,” the Elder said, now visibly impatient. “But I’ll indulge you. Yes, he did. He and his colleagues are on record exposing the conspiracy and the weapon’s mutating capabilities through a publication called The DaKira Papers. So far, two papers have been released and the third one should be coming out soon. Our goal is to get the antidote and all the supporting research and documentation and make sure that the third and final paper never becomes public.”

  Recognizing that he was treading on thin ice, Eli pushed again. He still hadn’t been instructed as to what to do with his captive and he couldn’t leave without asking, even if it meant a sanction.

  “So what about his wife?” he asked. “What does she have to do with all this? And what would you have me do with her?”

  “Eventually, you will kill her; but not now. Her death must be emblematic.”

  “Symbolic! Eli replied forgetting that he had already been warned.”

  “Yes, symbolic!” The Elder replied as he stood directly in front of Eli in a silent effort to protest his insolence.

  “At this point, she is more valuable to us dead than she is alive.”

  No longer fearing the outcome, Eli continued his questioning. “What do you mean she’s more valuable dead than alive?”

  “Well, Mr. Edelstein,” the Elder replied condescendingly, “in order for you to get the antidote and the research material and dispose of all parties involved, you will need help from the inside. And the only person who can help you is her husband.”

  “I’m not following,” Eli said. “Why do I need Lance St. John?”

  “Haven’t you been secretly recording his home?”

  “Yes, Elder, I have,” Eli said.

  “Well then, it should be obvious. Based on your own recordings, you know that Lance knows that his wife betrayed their marriage by having an affair with your favorite agent. Correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “And ever since his encounter with Agent Alexander, Lance has struggled with his faith and his trust.”

  “That, too, is correct,” Eli said.

  “Then we agree that at the very least, Lance is very fragile. Once Lance finds out his wife is dead, he will be completely distraught. And for you, that is a good thing because he will be in a position where he can be used. Your job, Brother, is to keep his anger focused. By doing so, you should be able to get him to steal the antidote and all the research and give it to you — as well as convince him to kill Alexander. Then, of course, you must kill him.

  “So, you see, Brother, you must kill Kennedy first and then you must garner St. John’s trust. And since Lance is an associate of the Brotherhood, you must go to him as a Brother. Your fraternal affiliation and Lance’s eagerness to avenge the death of his wife will bond the two of you. To summarize, everything and everyone associated with the antidote must be destroyed, starting with your captive so our efforts can move forward.”

  “I mean no disrespect Elder. Your plan is impeccable but you left one thing out. Why must her death be emblematic?”

  “The anniversary of Dr. Cardosa’s death is coming up soon. Kennedy’s death will be a reminder.

  “So where can I find Lance?” Eli asked.

  “Best question thus far, Brother,” the Elder said, realizing they had finally reached the level at which they should have been all along. “Right now he is in Maryland at a safe house. There you will also find the antidote, as well as Teddy Alexander and Dr. Rhodes.”

  As Eli listened to the Elder list all those involved and in need of disposal, he noticed Blake Jones was not mentioned. Convinced that Blake was involved somehow, Eli was surprised the Elder hadn’t included him. Could Yeager’s assignee have misspoken? After all, he was more concerned with the unsanctioned hit and the disposal of Taylor’s body; perhaps he inadvertently added more weight to Yeager’s obsession with Jones than was actually warranted. Eli knew that in the midst of doing the work for the Others, he still had to find out what Blake had on Yeager, even if it meant he would break the Order’s protocol — an act worthy of death.

  “Oh, and one more thing, Brother Edelstein,” the Elder said. “We believe your mark, Councilman Guy Yeager, has breached the Order. You must confirm our beliefs.”

  “And then what?” Eli asked. “What do you want me to do with him if I find your belief is correct? Should I dispose of him?”

  “No,” the Elder said. “We have other plans for him.”

  By the time Racine reached his office and sat down at his desk, he had received more calls from the council chair, the city administrator, DC’s Congressional representative and surprisingly, some other members of Congress closely involved in DC politics. Yeager had made his rounds and he had wanted everyone to know — especially those who owed him — that he didn’t appreciate being violated the way he felt he had been. As a result, Racine was being questioned by anybody who was somebody, but he held his ground. He knew he had real evidence, the kind that would warrant a grand jury. He had the rug and now he could identify its owner. He had splatters of blood in the councilman’s den near where it looked as if an object of some sort, most likely a chair, had once stood. He knew the councilman had lied about talking to Taylor the day she’d disappeared. Indeed he had the phone records to prove that not only did they speak the day she went missing, but at his home. And now he had Taylor’s missing cell phone, found in the hem of a curtain in the councilman’s den.

  To pull this off, Racine knew he had to play his cards close to his chest because too many people had ties to Yeager. He also knew that if he was going to charge Yeager for the murder of Taylor DuBois, he had to protect his evidence, find the missing chair and figure out who the accomplice was.

  With the unexpected find of Taylor’s cell phone, the crime scene technicians could focus on her messages. Racine believed they would give him a better understanding of what had been going on with her before she went missing. He was convinced Yeager was integrally involved in her death — if not solely responsible for her demise — and he wanted to know why.

  It took about an hour for the technicians to access Taylor’s messages. Not surprisingly, several messages had not been answered.

  Hello, Taylor, this is Soledad. I just want you to know that your reservation has been confirmed. You have the Sugar Bay Club Resort Villa for the entire month and it includes your own personal chef, maid, laundry service, and transportation.

  Also, I did as you asked and scheduled a luncheon with the island’s top realtor. And guess what? The property you are interested in will be available for you to tour when you arrive next week. In fact, they dropped the price from $1 million to $900,000 — a steal for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom oceanfront property in the heart of St. Kitts.

  But, please remember, Taylor, the owner of the property will only entertain cash purchases. So call me when you get this message.

  Racine now knew Taylor had been planning on leaving DC, and she was about to come into some real cash. Since he had already checked her financial records, he knew she had recently withdrawn one hundred thousand dollars, her entire inheritance from her mother. He also knew she had used six thousand dollars of this to pay off Stan Lewis the night he was murdered. But nothing in her portfolio suggested she had an additional nine hundred thousand or even access to that amount of money. So how was she going to purchase the property in St. Kitts?

  Taylor’s phone messages were proving to be valuable. Racine found several from Adrienne Tenney, Taylor’s assistant, all of which had been included in Ms. Tenney’s statement to the police. She’d also had a few calls from a college friend who seemed just to be checking in. But it was the call she had made from Yeager’s house that made him believe he had Yeager by his balls, his most valuable possessions. In the background, you could hear the councilman going off.

  After listening to all her new messages, Ra
cine went to those that had been saved. The first he listened to turned his murder investigation upside down.

  Hello Taylor. I know you know who this is. You should know, young lady that despite my indictment, we still have a deal. I still want to know everything you find out about Yeager and his obsession with Eli Edelstein and Blake Jones. I hope I am making myself clear. Remember, Taylor, I still have influence and if you betray me, I will use what I have to destroy you.

  Racine knew he had to take special precautions to protect this new evidence, evidence that now potentially linked another elected official to the murder of Taylor DuBois. In an unprecedented move, Racine called in one of the stenographers to transcribe the message. With the recording documented, Racine placed the phone back into a sealed envelope and personally signed the evidence into the evidence room. He then placed the dictation, with a signed affidavit by the stenographer as to where and when the record had originated, in another evidence package and stored it in the evidence room. With the cast of characters increasing, Racine didn’t want to take any chances. Taylor’s murderer or murderers were fast becoming a list of who’s who in DC political circles. And the list included someone he knew personally.

  Hours later, Commander Racine was still in his office trying to put the pieces together. Obviously, the animosity and the tension between Yeager and Jeffries had reached a point at which they were both trying to bring each other down. And Taylor must have at one point jumped ship and established a partnership with Jeffries. But why? What would make Taylor join forces with Jeffries?

  His musings were interrupted by one of his new crime scene investigators. “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you’d left for the day,” the CSI said. “I was about to leave a message on your desk.”

  “No,” Racine replied, finding himself now suspicious of everyone in the department. “I’m still trying to put some of the pieces together. This case is more than what it seems and I’m determined to get to the bottom of it.”

  “Well, maybe what I have will help shed some light on some things.”

  “Oh?” Racine pushed his chair back from his desk in anticipation.

  “I found two latent prints, one on the rug and — get this — one on the body. I was just about to send them to be scanned to see if we have a match in our database.”

  Racine knew this was the break he’d been looking for, but he didn’t want to risk losing the opportunity by having the latent prints identified by District police. If the prints belonged to one of the suspects identified in the message on Taylor’s phone, chances were the news would be leaked.

  “No, I have another idea,” Racine replied. “Let me have the prints. I have a good friend in the bureau and we may need to broaden our search to include a national database.”

  “Whatever you say, boss,” the CSI replied. “I’ll have the prints transferred to you within the next few minutes.”

  “Great. And listen: I don’t want anyone to know we had this conversation. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, sir. Very clear.”

  Once the news came out that Taylor’s murder had deep political roots, Racine knew there would be few people he could trust, especially within the department. So, with the two latent prints in hand, he contacted his old friend at the bureau. If anyone could help him, it would be Charlie Henderson. Plus, Charlie had a stake in the case; Blake had been mentioned by name on the murder victim’s phone.

  “Hey, Charlie, this is Miles.”

  “Hey, Miles,” Charlie said. “What’s happening, man? I can tell by the news that you got your hands full.”

  “That’s why I’m calling you, Charlie,” Racine said.

  “How can I help you, Miles? You know I’m on leave from the bureau.”

  “I know, but — trust me — this is something you’ll be interested in. This case will rock DC’s political and business community, and it already includes politicians, homosexuals and a double murder.”

  “So why should I be interested in it?”

  “Blake may be involved in some way.”

  “I’m listening,” Charlie said. “Go on. And start from the beginning.”

  “Well, by now you know that Councilman Guy Yeager’s assistant, Taylor DuBois, was murdered. We’ve now found two latent prints, one on the rug used to wrap her body and one taken from her body. With there being so many possibilities as to who could have killed her, I want to run the prints through the bureau’s database. If my theory is correct, Yeager killed Taylor at his home, but he needed help in disposing of her body. I believe his help was either Eli Edelstein or Grey Jeffries.”

  “Councilman Grey Jeffries?”

  “Yes, Councilman Grey Jeffries. Or should I say, the-recently-in-dicted-and-heading-to-prison-soon Grey Jeffries.”

  “So why Edelstein and Jeffries? Why these two?” Charlie asked. “What’s the connection? And how does Blake figure into all this, other than the fact that Edelstein is his business associate? And one more thing: is this line secured?”

  Once Charlie had heard Guy Yeager’s and Eli Edelstein’s names, he knew there was a slight chance Blake could be inadvertently involved. But he couldn’t let on until he knew the identity of the person or persons who had left the prints. He had to make sure it wasn’t some sort of a setup and more importantly, he had to make sure their conversation wasn’t being traced. If his hunch was correct, there might be a chance that this was the break he’d been looking for.

  “Yeah, it’s secure,” Racine replied.

  “Good,” Charlie said. “And from here on out, let’s keep it that way. Now, what were you saying?”

  “I was making the connection for you,” Racine replied. “This is my theory. First, the morning before we served Yeager, Jeffries dropped by to see him at his house. Which, as you know, is unusual because they hate each other. Jeffries claimed he went by to see how Yeager was doing in light of the fact that Taylor had been killed.

  “Second, the day the warrant was being served, I received a call from Jeffries claiming he had information that might be beneficial to the case. He told me he recognized the rug that was used to wrap Taylor’s body and that it belonged to Guy Yeager. When we searched Yeager’s place, there was a visible ring on the floor where something, probably a rug, had once belonged. Then, when I followed up on the information Jeffries provided about the rug being a gift to Yeager, it all panned out. There was even a picture of the rug on file.

  “Third, I found Taylor’s personal phone in Yeager’s den, stuck in the hem of the curtains. When I checked the messages, there was a threatening voice mail from Jeffries.

  “Finally — now get this — on the same day the warrant was being issued, Eli Edelstein came by to see Yeager. He said he was there on business, but there was something about what he said that just didn’t feel right. I don’t know what it was, Charlie; I just had that feeling.” “I understand,” Charlie said. “And you and I both know that when we get that feeling, we’re usually right. But what does all this have to do with Blake?”

  “Remember the message I told you that Jeffries had left on Taylor’s phone? Well, apparently, Taylor had made a deal with Jeffries to tell him everything she found out about Blake and Edelstein and why Yeager was so interested in the two of them.”

  Charlie knew Miles didn’t need to explain anymore. He could understand his concern and why he had called him for assistance.

  “Interesting! Listen, Miles, there might be a connection between the two cases but if so, it’s bigger than you think. The case I’m working on may be related to yours and if so, you need me just as much as I need you. But, if I am right, you have to slow down your investigation and ease up on Yeager. We can’t afford to spook him”

  “Slow down the investigation! Ease up on Yeager! Right now, he is my prime suspect.”

  “Trust me Miles, you have to slow it down. I promise it will be worth the wait and there will be more sharks to catch. The next time we talk, let’s do it in person at the DC safe house. I will call
you and let you know when. Until then, send those prints to Agent Tei Lee in my office. I’ll let her know they’re coming.”

  Chapter 15

  BASIL AND LANCE had spent the last week reviewing Isabella’s work and were now at the point of reconstructing the flow charts. Basil marveled at the depth and brilliance of her work, and could not believe that at such a young age, she’d had the intellectual capacity the work displayed. It was becoming more and more obvious why she had been selected for the Future Scientists program. In fact, both she and Lance displayed the intellectual fortitude of Einstein. If only they had known what they were getting themselves into. But how could they have? If it had been him, he’d have done the same thing. He too would have jumped at the opportunity to do groundbreaking research at their age. It would have been just too hard to say no.

  Reconstructing the antidotal flow charts had not been easy and Basil was glad Lance had decided to join the team. After all, Basil’s entire career had been ruined as a result of his believing that HIV did not cause AIDS and now, with Lance’s help, he was in the position to expose the truth unequivocally.

  Basil also couldn’t help but marvel at Lance’s genius. He clearly had a mind for science and if he had stayed in the field of biological engineering, he would have been one of the most brilliant scientists known to humanity. Not only was Lance smart, he was also imaginative. Basil could tell that Lance, unlike many scientists, was more like he was, with a knack for deliberately creating obstacles in an attempt to discover new things. Basil admired this about him.

  Recreating the antidote was complex. In essence, they had to determine what compounds were needed to decompress and then deconstruct the accelerants interfacing with the weapon. The antidote had to take into consideration the impact the weapon had on several immune-compromising variables like cancer, lupus, pregnancy, sickle cell, and drug-resistant toxins, all of which damaged and/or changed the weapon’s DNA structure.