by Ali Vali
“How could his superiors not have known?” Peter said, both his hands around his coffee mug.
“He was smart, and he was getting results. Roth Pombo was a big fish, and the arrest went over well here and in Mexico.” Wiley forced herself to concentrate and not think about Tanith and Aubrey. “It’s genius if you really consider it. He brought down a major player, but only after he was ready to fill the void. Top that with the surrogate he put up as his front man, and he became invisible. If it hadn’t been for Roth Pombo’s need for great record keeping, he’d still be at it.”
“It’s a good lesson in greed,” Buckston said as the phone rang.
“General,” Wiley said, since it was the secure line.
“The particulars are in your in-box, Wiley. It didn’t take long for the council to see the national-security issues. Their main concern is location, so call me if you can’t keep this quiet.”
“Any other fallout?” She’d uncovered this, but Washington would’ve taken her information and expanded on it.
“Not yet, but you know stuff like that has a tendency to springboard into something no one’s expecting. Right now, start with your green light and I’ll communicate through Don if there’s anything else.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“We’ll leave you to it,” her dad said as he stood.
Don retrieved the papers from the fax and dropped them on the desk. Every bit of Walter’s life was outlined in the document, from his education to his lines of credit. The house where they’d found the land mine wasn’t on here, but she gave him more credit in separating his dual life.
“It’s great we can eliminate the problem, but for once there’s no map to the target,” Don said as he read over her shoulder.
“Walter’s going to provide that.”
Don laughed. “He has to know how the Agency’s going to handle this.”
“We’re going to override his fear of bullets and jail by giving him what he desires most.”
“And that would be?” Don held his hands up and away from his body.
“The money he’s already killed to get.”
“He’s not falling for that.”
“You bait a trap with enough honey, and a bear will come out in the dead of winter to get it. Walter’s hibernating but he can’t go back to the life he had, so he can go only in one direction.” She glanced at her board again, trying to find the angle Walter would more likely go for. “He can’t run back to his job, so he has to embrace Emray Gillis. Without a bankroll, though, he’ll be dead outside two months.”
“So you’re betting he’ll believe you?”
“I don’t usually put this much into the front end of any operation. You know better than anyone that I’m the exclamation point the government uses after whatever statement they’re trying to make.” The only way to get to Walter was to use Natalie Naquin. If she reversed herself and hung Aubrey up as fair game, he’d know she was lying. Natalie was the answer, and not that she wanted her and her family harmed, but if it played out correctly, they wouldn’t come close to danger.
“You were here the day Walter first dropped into our lives like a sack of horseshit. Does he strike you as the kind of person who works to get what he wants?” she asked as she stood and pushed the paperwork aside. The only pertinent thing in there was the green light to kill Walter. “He likes to cut corners more than a miter saw, so Roth’s hidden treasure trove will draw him out.”
She dialed Walter’s number and waited. “What will it take to get you out of my life and, more important, out of Aubrey Tarver’s life?”
“You’re dramatically overrated if you think I’m falling for this shit.”
“You’ve got one shot at this, so try to pay attention. Whatever you did to incarcerate Pombo is your business, but I’ve got my priorities. To ensure what’s important to me stays safe, I’m willing to give up what’s not.”
“I see an acting job in your future.”
“Okay, you’ve made up your mind, so don’t contact me again.”
“Wait, you can’t take a fucking joke?” This time, wherever Walter was it was quiet. “What can you tell me that’ll close Roth’s case for good?”
“Maria Ross was a middleman for Roth, but the woman he entrusted all the money to was his lover, Natalie Naquin.” Wiley’s eyes went from Natalie’s picture to Maria’s.
“Natalie was involved, but not with Roth,” Walter said.
“If you mean Maria again, they only planned to take off when Roth went down. Maria sold the merchandise Roth brought in, but she gave the profits to her lover, Natalie. If you’d broken Maria, that’s who she’d have given up. Not Aubrey.”
“Sad fucking story, but what does it mean?”
“You’re interested in talking to whoever has the money, and I know where Natalie is. Do you see the benefit of meeting now?” In her mind she saw the bait hit the water.
“When and where?” Walter asked after a long pause.
“Same place as before. The bar in the W Hotel, and we don’t need to go through all the particulars of coming alone, do we?”
“Ten o’clock,” Walter said, and disconnected.
“What happens if he shows?” Don asked.
“I’m counting on him showing up, but that’s only the first part.”
“What’s the second?”
“Walter will come, that I’m sure about, but such a public killing where I’m planning to live isn’t a good idea. Once he sees me, he’ll know I’m not bluffing, but I need him to know it’s a trap.” She moved Roth Pombo’s mug shot down next to Walter’s picture. “I need Walter to run for his life.”
*
Nunzio stretched out his fingers before making another fist. After they’d left the hospital, Freddie had asked to be let out close to the French Quarter so he could finalize that night’s events. That he’d agreed, and actually believed what Freddie said, made Nunzio question his sanity. His grandfather would doubt his IQ once he found out.
“There he is,” Nunzio said to the two guards with him. “Wait here.”
He adjusted the pistol tucked into the back of his waistband and walked slowly to where Freddie stood outside the Hilton. The bar was the only logical conclusion, which made him a sucker. The police had to have collected anything of value.
“Thanks for coming,” Freddie said as he led him into the building.
“That police crime-scene tape means there’s nothing in there,” he said, and pointed to the still-dark bar.
“Maria didn’t mix Pombo’s shipments with her regular inventory, but Mitch didn’t figure that out until she was dead. We went through the stockroom before the cops. There wasn’t anything, and according to word on the pavement she hadn’t moved a speck, so we went looking after we found this.” Freddie held up a room key out of Nunzio’s reach.
“You really found it?”
“Come on,” Freddie said, talking slow, he guessed, because of the pain.
The tenth-floor room was a simple setup with two queen beds, but you could only see the foot of both. Stacked on them, between and around, were boxes of tequila. Dozens of them.
“I don’t know how you turn all this shit back to powder, but this is what a lot of fucking coke looks like,” Freddie said as he lifted a bottle up. “Never met this guy Pombo, but Emray fucked him. Since he was this smart, I can’t believe Emray even got the chance, but this was the last shipment he got in.”
Nunzio had heard of liquid cocaine, but only in doctors’ offices. He had never heard of Roth Pombo, but Freddie was right. He was a fucking genius. He took the bottle Freddie held out to him and studied the top. It was sealed and marked like a real bottle of booze. The port authority or customs wouldn’t have any reason to think it wasn’t.
“The bar took a shipment about once a month, from what Mitch said Emray told him. That’s a lot of money, and Emray spent a shitload of his own trying to find it,” Freddie said.
“Did he?”
“The ni
ght Mitch first met with you, he’d hired some guys to hack up the bitch who owned the place downstairs.”
“And?” Nunzio asked, quickly losing his patience.
“A whole lot of body bags came out of there, and Emray never got shit. It drove him crazy, and he kept threatening us cause we didn’t find Pombo’s stash.” Freddie leaned against a stack of boxes and held the bottle by the neck. “That’s when Mitch decided we needed to split, using this as our way out.”
“How long is the room paid for?”
“Mitch checked, and we got it until the weekend. Maria paid for it by the month.”
“You want the job or your cut more?” Nunzio asked. He had no way of knowing exactly how much all this was worth or how much powder it’d yield, but it was what he needed at the moment.
With this he could blow off Hector, Emray, and any other arrogant asshole who wanted him to beg for his cut. Finally his luck had turned. Not only had fate dropped this in his lap but given him an idea that’d assure a profitable future. This simpleton had in a way provided him something tangible to work toward. If he could set up the same operation Roth Pombo had, he’d be bigger than his father ever dreamed of.
“You offering now?” Freddie said. He’d had to put the bottle down so he could place his hand over his wound. From the grimace, his pain was back full force.
“If you’re willing to come to New York with me. New Orleans will be our starting point like this Pombo guy’s, but I don’t want to live in this hot hellhole.”
“I don’t know nothing about New York.”
He took his phone and ordered his guys to get a rental truck and some dollies. He had to get this out before anyone else knew it existed. “We got to start with this, but not here. Let Emray waste time with the money, but he’s not the only one trying to do business in the city. The longer this sits, the more we have to worry about someone trying to take it away from us. You get that?”
“Who’d be whacked enough to try that?”
“Ever hear of Hector Delarosa?”
“If you’re leaving, I’m coming. The job’s more important.” Freddie moved closer and held his good hand out. “I got your back, Mr. Luca.”
“Good,” Nunzio said, and shook his hand. “We’ll be back eventually, and when we do, we’ll own this town. That means I’ll be able to settle every score, even if I got to blow this place to hell to make it happen.”
Chapter Twenty-two
“Are you sure about this?” Aubrey asked as Wiley put on a bulletproof vest under her T-shirt.
“The vest or the plan?” When the last Velcro strap tightened over her shoulder, Wiley’s breath quickened from the sense of claustrophobia. She rarely used a vest even in the worst of situations because she thought it threw her aim off. Tonight it was just another prop in the charade she was trying to run on Walter.
“Are you sure this guy doesn’t recognize our fathers?”
“I really wanted your dad to stay here, but he refused.” She opened her arms to Aubrey and cursed the vest again. Not only did it stop bullets, but it blunted the warmth of Aubrey as she pressed against her. “I promise this won’t take long.”
“Please don’t think I asked because I don’t trust you.” Aubrey leaned back so she could see her face. “In so many ways I believe I don’t deserve you.”
“Why say that?”
“Because even if you haven’t said anything, I know, like you do, that Maria was a huge betrayal to what we had. I should’ve waited since I knew you’d come back.”
“You don’t owe me anything now, and you didn’t back then.”
Aubrey shook her head and shut her eyes tight. “Don’t be so self-sacrificing, Wiley. It’s okay to be honest. Every time you go out to try to get me out of this mess, it scares the shit out of me that I’ll lose you. I can’t let that happen without saying anything.”
“You want the truth?” She put her hand at the back of Aubrey’s neck and gently brought her head toward her shoulder. No matter how many medals for valor and bravery the military had awarded her, they’d never make up for the cowardice of walking away from Aubrey. In time she’d realized it was the easiest solution, but not the right one. Walking away had been a mistake that she had compounded over the years by not coming back. There was no forgiveness for that.
“Maria wasn’t a betrayal, but a gift.” Aubrey tried to look her in the face again, but she held her in place. “I walked away to keep you safe, that was true, but I’d convinced myself that I had no choice. In reality I panicked because I didn’t know what to do. Leaving was the last thing I should’ve done.”
Aubrey relaxed against her, but she’d have to let her go eventually. If she walked because she was finally being honest, she’d have to beg to make her stay. “Now, though, I’m getting another chance to get it right, and what you see as a betrayal isn’t the way I see it. If you’d loved Maria, if she’d been perfect for you and Tanith, I would’ve always had to live with the regret of what I’d done. I can’t blame you for finding someone to fill the void I dug for us, and I sure as hell won’t ever hold it against you. Because Maria wasn’t the right fit, and because she made you miserable, I get another shot.”
“But there are mistakes, and then there’s this mistake. I couldn’t have gone out of my way to make it bigger than this.”
“Did Maria tell you she dealt on the side?”
Aubrey laughed and shook her head. “Give me more credit than that.”
“I’ll be happy to if you’ll do the same. Maria was a convenience, I know that, so forgive yourself. I never met her, but she strikes me as the kind who would’ve acted any way and said anything to get what she wanted. And she obviously wanted you.” She kissed Aubrey’s lips lightly. “The drugs weren’t smart, but I can’t fault her for wanting you.”
“You’re a generous grader.” Aubrey hugged her and laid her head on her shoulder. “Be careful tonight, and keep an eye on my dad. My mom’s starting to really like you, so I don’t want anything to derail that,” she said, and laughed.
“No problem.” She rested her head against Aubrey’s. “If this works we might see the end of this soon. I’m sure you’re tired of being cooped up in here.”
“Being inside has its advantages.”
“I talked with Tanith.” She didn’t mean to change the subject from Aubrey’s flirting, but it was almost time to go.
“She told me.”
“I know it might take time, but I’d like to try for a future that includes all three of us.”
“You may not realize it, but you won Tanith over from the very beginning. I think she’s been starved for someone other than me and my parents in her life, and you showed a genuine interest in filling that gap.” Aubrey lifted her head and looked at her. “She’s gravitated to you because you want a relationship with her, not pretending because you want one with me. Does that make sense?”
“It does,” she said, and kissed Aubrey again. “We’ll try not to be too late, but no phone calls tonight, so don’t worry that something’s wrong if you don’t hear from us.”
“You are coming back though, right?”
“Yeah, no more disappearing acts. I promised Tanith my running days are over.”
“Good,” Aubrey said, dropping her hands to her chest. “And the reason you need this is?” she asked about the vest.
“Walter wants two things right now,” she held up two fingers, “the money and his freedom. As important as the cash is, his freedom is paramount since he figures as Emray he can make more. Getting caught, considering what he did for Uncle Sam, doesn’t necessarily mean jail time. If his superiors fear what he knows, and what he can do with that knowledge, they’ll clean up their mess.”
“Okay.” Aubrey dragged out the word.
“The vest is part of my cleaning costume. At least that’s what I want Walter to think.”
“You’re planning to kill him?” Aubrey asked, but didn’t appear disgusted.
“Not tonight.”<
br />
*
“Where’d they find him?” Tracy asked the patrol officer that her contact in the police department had led her to. From the moment the guy sat down he’d looked at her chest and the fan of hundreds under her hand. One of Miguel’s men sat close by but feigned disinterest. When she snapped her fingers the guy broke out of his titty trance.
“Here’s the report.” He handed over an envelope. “It gives a few addresses because he was parked on the street with someone named Fred Buhl. Freddie got shot too, but before we could question him he vanished from the hospital.”
“The department didn’t have him under surveillance?”
“We don’t have enough guys for that.”
“What else is in here?” she asked as she tapped the envelope against the top of her hand.
“The detectives who worked the call said the weird thing was Freddie got shot through the windshield, but his buddy Mitch bought it at close range from the backseat. They thought different at first, but the trajectory indicates shots from two different directions. Whoever ordered this sent a killing team.”
She slid over five bills and kept five. “Nothing on Emray Gillis?”
“We’ve picked up some punks in the last few months who mentioned that name, but no one’s ID’d him yet. I’m beginning to think he’s like Bigfoot. Plenty of people claim to have seen him, but there’s no proof he’s real.” The guy put the money she’d given him in his breast pocket and laughed, obviously at the analogy he’d made. “Stop wasting time chasing this guy down. He doesn’t exist.”
“Mitch Surpass was his front man, and someone killed him. Because you didn’t think Freddie was important, you lost the only link you know of to this guy you don’t think is real.” She folded the remainder of the money and pocketed it. “Brilliant.”
“How much is Freddie worth to you?”
“You’d be surprised,” she said as she stood. This guy was a dead end.
Even if Hector had given her a year, her time would have been up. Emray Gillis was in the wind after someone made a move on his organization. Tracy figured he’d disappear until his house was in order again. Who was the new player? The storm might have decimated the city’s population, but it was getting crowded with gunslingers trying to mark their territory.
