The driver finally assented, and shortly they were in her car, heading out of the woods. Their problems were solved temporarily, but Jake knew that Mackenzie wouldn’t be safe until Lager’s schemes were exposed. Jake was anxious to find out the rest of the story and put both Lager and Taylor behind bars, where they both belonged.
SEVENTEEN
“Ready?” Mackenzie asked, her hand wrapped around the TV remote. She glanced around Jake’s living room and got a thumbs-up sign from Chris and an encouraging smile from Whitney. Suddenly, Dominic entered the room, a large grin on his face. He was holding two gift bags, one pink and one blue.
“Before we get started, I just have a little gift for Jake and Mackenzie, our wayward deputy marshal and videographer.” Chris and Whitney clapped and laughed. Jake, who was standing by the kitchen door frame holding a bowl of popcorn, raised an eyebrow, apparently not sure what to expect.
Dominic handed one of the bags to Jake and another to Mackenzie. “Just in case you decide to go hiking in the woods again, we all chipped in and bought you a few items to make your trip more memorable.”
Mackenzie peeked inside and started laughing. She reached into the bag and pulled out a fitness activity watch, a power bar and a compass. A little deeper in the bag, she also found a small can of tuna.
“You guys are too much,” she said jovially as she put on the watch. She looked over at Jake, who had also donned his new timepiece. Apparently, they had both been preprogrammed and were ready to start tracking their activities. He shook his head with a laugh and then reached over and punched Dominic in the arm. He also pulled out the power bar and compass, but instead of tuna, he found a stack of bandages at the bottom of his bag. He pulled those out and handed them back to Dominic. “You’d better hang on to these. You might need them yourself someday.”
Dominic laughed. “Not hardly. When I go hiking, I don’t get lost in the woods...”
Jake threw a handful of popcorn at Dominic and then handed Mackenzie the rest of the bowl as he sat down beside her on the couch. “All right, folks. Thanks for the gifts. Now let’s take a look at this movie.” The doctors had released Jake from the hospital after a night of observation and a few tests, and meanwhile, his team had resumed taking turns guarding her at Jake’s house. They all agreed that she was still in imminent danger from Lager and his group and that Lager would probably step up his attempts to eliminate her since the US Marshals had found the copy machines, discovered the links to Taylor and the warehouse, and were investigating the entire operation. Based on what Taylor had said during the abduction, Lager’s team was apparently on some sort of time frame, so it was imperative that Jake and his team quickly figured out what was going on before the evidence disappeared completely.
The group had been talking through various theories about the case with her almost constantly since breakfast, and she had enjoyed getting to know them a bit better. The conversations had been lively and had also given her fresh insight into how to make her movie an even better representation of them and the work they did. Her admiration for them had grown exponentially, and although the time in the woods had been terrifying, it had also been a great way to introduce her to the agency’s work firsthand and fill her with inspiration.
Jake had returned right after lunchtime and appeared to be well on his way to recovery. The doctors had been able to use skin adhesives to close his head wound, and although he still had a variety of bruises and scrapes, his demeanor was good. He had obviously regained his energy and strength of purpose. He had been ordered to rest, but Mackenzie could tell that his injuries weren’t going to slow him down in his zeal for solving this case.
He handed her a glass of ice water to go with the popcorn. “What you said as we were walking down the road made a lot of sense and really got me thinking. Someone shot that maid and damaged your hotel room after we had Beckett in custody. That means, even though they knew we had made the connection between your film and Beckett, they still wanted to harm you and get their hands on the remaining copies of your films. It also means we missed something. I’m hoping that if we all watch your homeless children movie a few more times, we’ll catch whatever it is, which will give us a new lead in the case.”
Mackenzie smiled. “I’m game if you are. And as you’re watching, if you see something that you think will improve the US Marshals video, don’t be shy. I’m always open to a new perspective or idea.”
Jake nudged her. “Be careful what you ask for. This team is never shy about giving their opinions.” His comment was met by several groans and denials, and Dominic even threw a handful of popcorn at him.
They turned on the movie and didn’t see anything relevant until Mackenzie stopped it and showed everyone where they had seen Beckett in the background. They watched about ten more minutes of the movie before Dominic asked her to stop it again. There were two men in the background now as another teenager was getting interviewed. It was hard to recognize the faces, but once they blew up the image, they could tell one of the men was Lager. The identity of the other person remained a mystery. After a few minutes, another unidentified man went into the building Lager had exited only moments before. “I was doing interviews at the various homeless shelters around town, which are located in low-rent districts,” Mackenzie explained. “Apparently, Lager works in those buildings. These two sections of footage were taken on different days and in different locations, so he must be storing his merchandise in less expensive areas of the city.”
Jake leaned forward. “I can’t believe we missed this. We must have stopped the film too soon last time.” He ran his fingers through his hair, avoiding his injury, before pushing on. “What if Lager is running a new instant credit fraud scheme? He gets the personal info he needs from the copiers and then makes fake driver’s licenses. He gives them to his associates, who use the counterfeit licenses to apply for instant credit accounts. Then they go out and buy big-ticket items like flat-screen TVs, jewelry, laptops and the like. He has to store the merchandise somewhere, right?”
Whitney snapped her fingers. “Enter Bryson Taylor and his warehouse buddies. They store the merchandise and hang on to it until Lager finds a buyer. They resell the stuff for about half the retail value and then pocket the cash.”
Jake leaned forward. “They probably even have someone choosing the identity theft victims based on their credit scores. It’s easy enough to look up the victims and see whose identity is worth stealing and whose isn’t. Also, I’m sure these men coming in to meet with Lager in the documentary are his buyers. He must have seen you filming and wants the movie destroyed so his buyers won’t jump ship and get the merchandise from a different supplier. Without the movie, there’s probably very little that ties these buyers to Lager.”
“So how do we stop them?” Mackenzie asked.
“We start by going after these buyers. Let’s take a closer look and run them through our facial recognition software. Once we figure out who they are, we start digging into their finances to see if we can link them to Lager.”
“That still doesn’t seem like enough to kill over,” Mackenzie said softly. “Maybe we should watch the rest of the movie as well, just in case there’s even more that we’re missing.”
The deputies agreed, and they all leaned back to watch the rest of the film. They didn’t see anything else that looked suspicious, so after watching the entire thing a second time, Mackenzie turned it off and turned to the group. “Some of the kids I interviewed were pretty vague about how they were earning enough money to eat. I mean, I really listened to their comments that time through the movie, and the interviews made me start wondering. What if some of the older kids are working for Lager, too? What if we’ve stumbled upon something even bigger here?”
Jake nodded slowly. “If they look believable enough, Lager could be using them as the ones that actually take the fake licenses into the stores, apply for the credit accounts and make
the purchases. Those kids would probably do the crime for barely any compensation. I mean, they’re living in poverty, right? A hundred bucks to them would be a fortune.”
When Mackenzie nodded, he pushed forward. “If Lager is using the homeless and poor to get the fake credit accounts, then we’ve stumbled upon something even bigger than I originally thought. Even though he’s not normally a killer, I can see Lager coming after you to make sure that both you and your movies get destroyed. He must have seen you filming or talked to some of homeless and heard about your production. This movie could destroy his entire enterprise, not to mention putting his buyers at risk. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. Maybe even more.”
There was a light of excitement in his eyes and he gently put his hands on both sides of her head and met her eyes. “I think you figured it out, Mackenzie. We’re going to make a detective of you yet.”
Electricity sizzled between them and for a moment, the room seemed empty but for the two of them. Jake leaned a bit closer, and Mackenzie wondered if he was going to kiss her, right there in front of the team. Their eyes met, and Mackenzie actually found herself leaning closer in anticipation. The excitement of the moment had her yearning for a kiss, despite the group of witnesses.
Dominic cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable, yet with a smile on his face. “Ah, okay then. I think it’s time we spent some time on the computer, finding out how much of this we can actually prove.” He stood and left the living room, followed by Whitney and Chris.
* * *
Jake suddenly noticed their departure and let his hands drop, even though his eyes never left Mackenzie’s face. He could feel the excitement in the air. He hadn’t been looking for a woman in his life, but suddenly, Mackenzie was sitting right in front of him, her lips parted. He moved forward a few small inches and placed a kiss on those beautiful lips. They were soft and sweet, just as he had anticipated.
Mackenzie responded and raised her hands to gently touch his cheek. The movement warmed him from the inside out and made him feel both special and cherished at the same time. He moved to kiss her again, but before he could do so, she pulled back, her eyes filled with wonder and consternation at the same time.
“So how do we catch these guys?” Mackenzie asked, her eyes finally breaking contact. She suddenly stood and moved a few feet away, as if distance could erase the feelings that were bubbling between them. Her hands moved nervously, and she ended up crossing her arms as if protecting herself from unwanted emotions.
Jake just sat there for a minute, still surprised by the feelings of attraction he was sensing. He hadn’t been looking for a relationship, but he could no longer deny the feelings growing inside of him. He tilted his head a bit and studied her. She was definitely attractive, and he suddenly remembered the excitement that had radiated from her countenance when she had removed the door hinges in the shack. The memory made him laugh in delight.
“What?” Her brows drew together in question.
“Oh, nothing. I was just remembering how you got us out of that shack in the woods.” Jake shook his head as if that would erase the sentiments he was discovering.
“So, I was thinking the best way to catch these guys would be to use me as bait. They want me and my movies. Why not use the media to advertise that I’m back and my movie on the homeless is about to be released for the premiere viewing at a certain place and time? They’ll want to be there to stop it and stop me. You guys wait in the wings, and we take them all down in one fell swoop.”
Jake stood abruptly and put his hands on his hips. Was this woman crazy? “There is no way I’m using you as bait, Mackenzie. It’s too dangerous. It’s amazing you’re still alive as it is.”
Mackenzie matched his stance. “Look, it makes sense, don’t you think? We’ve found one of their warehouse sites but don’t have any idea where they are stashing the rest of the merchandise, and like the bad guy said, time is of the essence. They wanted us out of the way so they could move the goods in the next day or two. If we don’t move fast, we’ll lose our opportunity and the evidence will disappear. Without more, all we have right now is conjecture. We need proof and maybe a confession or two to bring this fraud ring down.”
She was making sense, but he didn’t want to admit it. After just discovering his feelings for her, the last thing he wanted to do was put her back in the line of fire. True, he had no idea if the feelings would develop into something more, but his basic urge to protect her didn’t waver. He hedged, not wanting to make her mad, but also not wanting to agree to put her in danger. “We’ll think about it as a last resort. First, we’ll do some legwork and see if we can make the arrest a different way.”
Mackenzie raised an eyebrow but must have decided not to argue. Instead, she dropped her arms and shrugged. “Okay. You win. What can I do to help?”
“Open your laptop,” Jake said with a smile. “And see if you can help us discover who the buyers are and where they’re hiding the rest of the merchandise.”
* * *
Mackenzie’s head was spinning with ideas as she watched Jake go back to his desk. The team of deputy marshals had great theories but still no proof of illegal activity that they could use to stop the monstrous fraud that they had stumbled upon. Sure, they could arrest Taylor for kidnapping and battery once they caught him, but Lager was the one they wanted—the mastermind of the entire scheme.
She thought back to her video and the interviews she had just watched. Maybe the key was really with the kids themselves. She pulled out her laptop and attached the hard drive with her files. She then sorted through them until she found her notes on the various kids that had appeared on film. Despite their troubled lives, every one of the kids she had met had always carried a cell phone. Most were just pay-as-you-go phones with untraceable numbers, and she was sure that many of the numbers she had were no longer valid, yet if she could convince one of the kids to talk to her, she might be able to get the evidence she needed to blow this case wide-open.
She glanced at Jake again. He had buried himself behind his computer screen and was again swamped with paperwork and lost in his sea of forms. Her secure cell phone had been destroyed by Taylor, so she grabbed Jake’s cordless house phone off the hook and disappeared back into her room with her computer and the files. It was time to make some calls and see if she could make a break in this case.
EIGHTEEN
“Max?” Mackenzie peered down the alley, but the shadows didn’t reveal her quarry and a shiver of apprehension swept down her spine. She checked the fitness activity watch that Jake’s team had given her. It was the right time and place, but she didn’t see the homeless teenager anywhere. Had she made a mistake? She’d only been able to find one of the kids she’d interviewed for the movie, and Max, the seventeen-year-old who had been willing to meet with her, had imposed strict conditions. He would only meet with her if she came alone and only if he got to name the time and place. She had wanted to tell Jake about the meeting, but in the end had opted not to. There was no way he would have agreed to let her go, yet she was convinced that talking to Max was the only way she could make headway in this case. Jake had already made it clear he was against anything that might put her in the slightest danger, but she hadn’t anticipated any problems when she’d set this meeting up or when she’d snuck away from Jake’s house through the bedroom window and borrowed his car for the trek into the western side of town. Now, though, since she was alone in the alley, she was beginning to have second thoughts.
She took a few more steps. “Max?”
A skinny young man suddenly stepped out from behind a dumpster. He was wearing threadbare jeans, a black T-shirt with an advertisement for a local car repair shop and a dirty red baseball cap. He pushed some buttons on his phone and then stuck it in his pocket as he looked around nervously.
“Hey, Ms. Weaver.”
Mackenzie smiled, hoping to put him at ease. S
he didn’t remember him being this jumpy when she had met with him before, but his life wasn’t an easy one, and there was no telling what had transpired since she had interviewed him. Her notes had reminded her that Max’s parents had abandoned him at the local bus station, but he hadn’t liked his foster parents and had run away at about the age of twelve or so. He’d been on the streets ever since.
“Hey, Max. It’s good to see you.”
He tilted his head and scratched at his neck. His movements were still jumpy, and she speculated again at the cause. “So what do you wanna talk about this time? I thought you finished your movie.”
“I did,” Mackenzie confirmed, “but I’ve been working with the US Marshals on a case that I think you might be involved with, and I’m wondering if you can help me figure out some of the missing pieces. Will you help me?”
Max shrugged. “Sure thing, but ah...do you have any cash?”
Mackenzie laughed to herself. Max had always been about the money, but she understood and didn’t hesitate. She pulled out forty dollars and handed it to him. He quickly pocketed the money she held out but then took a few steps back. “Do you know a man named Derek Lager? He’s about average height and has brown hair. He makes driver’s licenses and other documents on the side.”
Max rubbed his ear. Apparently he couldn’t keep his hands still, and he kept looking around behind him.
“Are you expecting someone to join us?” Mackenzie asked, alarm once again making her edgy. Maybe it really hadn’t been a good idea to come here on her own, despite Max’s demands.
“Nah,” Max said softly. He met her eyes. “I’ve heard of Lager. He’s around sometimes.”
“I’m around, too, princess.” The new voice came from behind her, and despite her shock, Mackenzie instantly recognized Taylor’s raspy tones. Before she could even react, Taylor grabbed her arm and pulled her around. “Well, what do you know? I knew you’d miss me and come lookin’.”
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