“Okay.” She took a deep breath as an idea formed. “Okay, I think I know how to get the ball rolling, but I’m going to need your help, Eden. You’ll have to be my eyes and ears on this. My go-between.” The system, her system, had failed Jason Sutton, just as Vince had always believed. That she was in any sense culpable tarnished anything and everything she’d done before and since. She wouldn’t—she couldn’t—let this stand. “I can’t guarantee all of this is going to be aboveboard, but it might be the only shot we have. You good with that?”
“What do you want me to do?”
* * *
“You’re awfully quiet.” Vince reached over and took her hand, the midmorning traffic busy enough to keep them distracted as Cole and Jack drove them in Cole’s SUV. “Everything okay?”
“There’s a lot at stake.” She looked down at the signed affidavit in her lap. “I can’t help but think that meeting with Paul Denton went too easily.”
“Element of surprise. The last thing he expected was for you to show up with a plea offer. WITSEC for him and his family in the town of their choice?” Vince said. “Then you almost gave Poltanic a heart attack when he saw you standing there? Come on. That had to give you a little satisfaction.”
“It wasn’t the worst way to spend a few hours at county.” She squeezed his hand before pulling free. “They’ll keep him in solitary until I get things sorted with the marshal’s office. Turning Denton over to the Feds should help break whatever hold Babin believes he has on our office through Wakeman. Cole? Are we good with the FBI?”
“Oh, they’re thrilled.” Cole’s voice dripped sarcasm. “Nothing like finding out two of your undercover agents were killed by a state senator. They’re planning on throwing a party. We’re not invited.”
“As long as they do it in the DA’s office, should be fine,” Jack said as his phone rang. “McTavish. Yeah. Sure. We’re en route now.” He handed his phone to Simone. “Your boss.”
Simone winced as she accepted the call. “Hello.”
“I didn’t know what to say when the Feds called me last night. You’re okay? You’re really okay?” She knew Ward well enough to recognize he wasn’t faking his relief or concern.
“A little crispier than I was a few days ago.” She looked down at her bandaged hand and flexed her fingers with a bit more effort than she liked. “But I’m good. Is everything in place?”
“I’m reading over the deal you cut with Denton before I sign off on it. And we just received confirmation that the Los Angeles police have taken Lance Wakeman into custody. They’ll be transporting him up to us in the next few days depending on how our meeting with the senator goes. You sure about all this, Simone? You know what this can cost you if you’re wrong.”
“I’m not wrong.” But yes, she knew. If it cost her her career, so be it. She just needed to hang on long enough to finish what she and Eden had begun early this morning. “Going over all the evidence Mara collected along with the statement from Denton, we have a definitive connection between Alik Babin and Senator Wakeman through her son, who appears to have been one of Babin’s top dealers in both illegal drugs and in his prostitution businesses. Whether we can get her for Mara and Cal’s death will remain to be seen.”
“I have every faith in you, Simone,” Ward said. “You’ll make it happen.”
“I appreciate you letting me take the lead on this.” As if she’d expected anything less. If this backfired, someone was going to pay and he wasn’t about to take the hit for her. “We should be in the office in a few minutes.”
“Senator Wakeman is on her way up as we speak,” Ward said. “I’ll keep her in my office until you’re ready. And Simone?”
“Yes, sir?”
“It’s good to hear your voice.” He clicked off before she could respond.
“Thanks, Jack.” She handed the phone back to him. “I don’t suppose we’ve got any solid forensics linking the senator to Mara’s crash or Cal’s shooting.”
“No,” Cole said. “The blood found on the crystal shards in Mara’s apartment belong to a male of Mediterranean decent. We’ve run the sample through all known US databases but haven’t gotten a hit. Tammy’s working on international as we speak.”
“The blood we found on the chain of her necklace matches the blood from her apartment,” Jack added. “So there’s a bit of good news.”
Good news. Simone managed a shaky smile. Right now she couldn’t imagine any news being good.
“Before I forget.” Vince leaned over so he could keep his voice low. “I managed to get our meeting with Jason changed to tomorrow afternoon. Figured you might be up for a break by then.”
“What?” Her ears rang as she turned alarmed eyes on him. “Oh, sure. Yeah.” Her throat tightened as she lied to him. She couldn’t step foot in that prison now. And she couldn’t tell him why. Not if her plan was going to work. “Sounds good to me.”
Vince’s eyes narrowed. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” She collected her bag and papers as Cole turned into the DA’s office parking lot. “Tomorrow. Should be fine.”
“Text from Lawson,” Jack called over his shoulder. “He says we’re clear to the conference room.”
“Last chance to change your mind and let the Feds take the lead, Simone.” Cole looked at her in the rearview mirror. “Say the word and I’ll turn around now.”
As rational a choice as that might be, she’d promised Mara. She owed it to Hobard to end this herself. “Park in the far west corner, Cole. We’ll take the stairs.”
* * *
Granted Vince understood Simone had a lot going on, but he’d never known her to flat-out lie to his face. Sure his brother’s situation might seem like a side note at this point, but she’d better keep her word. The pressure she was under would ease as soon as the meeting with the senator was behind them. After that, there wasn’t anything in her way where Jason was concerned. A ball of unease began spinning low in his gut. Was there?
Cole and Jack stopped at the door as he and Simone climbed the last stair. “Looks like it’s pretty clear.” Cole looked over his shoulder. “You good?”
“Ready.” She tugged on the hem of the short, white belted jacket and matching skirt Kyla had retrieved from her loft, shifted in the bright red heels that fed into his fantasies from last night. “Let’s do this.”
Cole opened the door and Jack took the lead to the conference room. Keeping a hand on her back, Vince steered her clear of her gasping coworkers who went into instant gossip mode. Kyla, a beacon of support in her brilliant pink dress, nodded to them as they passed.
Doors opened and slammed. He could hear running and pounding and distinct cries of “You’ll never guess” and “Simone’s alive!” echoing through the halls.
Simone didn’t balk. She didn’t hesitate. She looked straight ahead and, as always, kept her eyes on the goal. Because nothing ever got between Simone Armstrong and what she wanted. And right now Vince knew all she wanted was Senator Wakeman’s confession.
They were greeted by four men in the conference room, their dark suits identifying them as FBI faster than their voices could.
“Agent Fitzhugh, ma’am.” One of the men, the youngest as far as Vince could tell, stepped forward to offer his hand. “Cal Hobard was my immediate superior and Natalie was...” He cleared his throat and in a flash Vince understood. “She was very special. I want to thank you for helping us close this case against Alik Babin once and for all.”
“We haven’t closed anything yet,” Simone said. “I’m very sorry for your loss. She was an extraordinary young woman.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” He gave a short nod. “We’ve already started the process of getting Paul Denton and his family into witness protection. We should have them locked down in the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours. Meanwhile, we’ve moved all of them to
a safe house well out of the city limits.”
“Preparing for the worst?” Vince asked.
“Better to prepare than not, sir.” Fitzhugh turned slightly amused eyes to him. “From one marine to another.”
Vince grinned. “Good to know, Special Agent.”
“That’s code for something, I’m sure,” Simone mumbled. “What about Babin himself?”
“Alik Babin’s been under constant surveillance for the past two years, ma’am. We know where he is and we know where and when we plan to take him. All our agents are waiting for is our go.”
“That means it’s all on you, honey,” Vince translated.
“Yeah, thanks.” Simone squeezed his hand. “That I got. Okay. Let’s get this over with. Jack?”
“Let me pop my head in and see how the senator and the DA are doing.” He left the room as Simone took a seat, Vince on one side of her, Cole on the other.
“Eden said to tell you she’s here in spirit,” Cole said as the FBI agents lined up behind them.
“Thanks. That helps.”
Vince wasn’t so sure. Aside from the night she’d walked into his bar last week, he’d never seen her look this nervous. “This should help, too.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out Mara’s—Natalie’s—photograph from her file. “She’s one of yours. You’ll do her proud.”
“Here they come.” Cole sat back.
Vince did the same.
Simone inched forward to the edge of her seat, set Natalie’s picture on top of Paul Denton’s signed affidavit and waited.
When the door opened, not even three decades as a stalwart politician could prepare the senator for the sight of the two people who had uncovered her dirty secrets and those of her son. The two people she’d believed to be dead. But Vince had to give her credit for a quick recovery. She appeared to pull herself together and moved into the room.
“Miss Armstrong.” The slight tremble in her voice was all that gave her away. “I’m so happy to see you’re alive and well. Ward, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I suppose I wanted to see the look on your face when you saw her for yourself.” He nodded at her and pulled out a chair. “And that would be the one. Please.” He motioned for her two body men to join them. “May I introduce Vince Sutton, a private investigator who’s been invaluable in breaking open the Denton case for us.”
Vince got to his feet, stretched his arm across the table, not to the senator, as she seemed to assume, but to the larger man to her left. A man with an olive complexion, jet-black hair, equally dark eyes and... Vince looked down before shaking the man’s hand. A large angry red welt slicing across his palm. “I didn’t get your name.”
“This is Dimitri Soukis,” Senator Wakeman said as she tried to size Vince up. “He’s in private security.”
“Former Greek Army?” Vince asked.
Soukis gave a sharp nod.
“Bet you have some interesting tattoos.” Vince looked over his shoulder at Jack. “Apologies,” Vince said to the senator. “It’s a military thing. We can identify one another from vast distances.”
Ward closed the door.
“Am I to assume that since you’re back at the office there’ve been some developments in the Paul Denton case?” Senator Wakeman sat in much the same position as Simone, poised, and ready to pounce.
“The Paul Denton case is officially closed,” Simone said. “We offered him a plea deal early this morning in exchange for his testimony.”
“That’s wonderful news.” Even beneath her carefully applied makeup, Vince could see the senator’s face pale. “I look forward to hearing about the results.”
“I’d be happy to share his statement with you right now if you like.” Simone opened the file in front of her, turned it around and pushed it across the table. “Please. Take your time. Read it carefully. While you do, however, allow me to bring everyone else up to speed. Eight years ago your son Lance attended a party at his fraternity house, a party, it turns out, where a high school senior named Tandi Crawford was last seen. We have photographic evidence that places your son at that party, Senator, so please don’t waste anyone’s time by denying it.”
The senator lifted her eyes from the file and then closed it. She sat back and peered at Simone for a good few seconds. “I wasn’t going to. My son attends a lot of parties.”
“What that photograph also shows is that your son was in the company of a man named Alik Babin. Now I’m not going to waste anyone’s time by explaining who that is because everyone in this room, yourself included, Senator, knows already. Since that night, your son has been arrested at least seven times for various crimes including possession with intent to sell, soliciting of prostitution, illegal gambling and statutory rape. All these charges, as you well know, have never made it past an initial arrest.”
“My son has problems,” Senator Wakeman said, the pulsing in her jaw her only giveaway that Simone was getting to her. “I’ve tried to help him when I could.”
“Except he wasn’t helping you very much, was he? Because Alik Babin knows something about your son. Something not even you could protect him from. And it’s my belief Mr. Babin has been using that information ever since to make certain his criminal operations across this country have gone unchecked for the most part.”
“I’d like to see evidence of these accusations, please.” Senator Wakeman shifted her stoic attention to Ward. “Or do you let your lackeys run with wild accusations all the time?”
“Personally, I’m finding this story fascinating,” Ward said. “Please, Simone, go on.”
“It must have frustrated you to no end,” Simone said, “when I wouldn’t cut a deal with Babin’s money man. A man who had full knowledge of your son’s illegal dealings with Babin. A man who could literally identify the money trail. Maybe if I had, maybe if I hadn’t let the press pressure me, Mara—Natalie—would still be alive. You couldn’t let that trial go ahead, could you? Once those books went into evidence and your son’s name, the sole owner of LW, Inc., became part of the public record, there’d be no stopping the avalanche of trouble that was going to land on your head. So Mara had to go. And you had Dimitri there take care of her for you.” Jack reentered the room, nodded once and stood with his back against the door.
Dimitri went stone-still.
“Looks like a painful scratch on your hand,” Simone said to him. “About the size of a gold chain around a young woman’s neck. Never mind. Now that we know where to look for you, we’ll deal with you later.”
No reaction.
“Ever the good soldier, right?” Simone’s voice conveyed her annoyance. “Mara was good, too. Senator, she had your son dead to rights. And she was onto you. She found out about all of your, what was it you called me? Oh, right. Lackeys. You’ve got them everywhere, don’t you? Even this office. Yes, we know about our intern who, until five minutes ago, worked as your spy. You had ears everywhere so you’d know when someone was getting close to Babin’s operation, close to your son. And as the chairwoman of the committee on law enforcement, you had an open door to all the information you needed. What you didn’t count on were those agents and officers with integrity, who would consider it an affront that a sitting senator would be in bed with a scumbag like Babin.”
“As I said, my son has problems.” The senator was shaking now. She lifted a trembling hand to smooth her already perfect hair. “One does...what one must to protect one’s family.”
Was the senator slurring her words?
“If that’s an admission of guilt, it’s not enough,” Simone said.
“It’s the opening salvo to a conversation, young lady,” Senator Wakeman said. “What is it you want?”
“What I want.” Simone’s knuckles went white as she clenched her fists. Vince reached over, touched her arm and, in an instant, felt her rela
x. “What I want is for Mara Orlov to walk through those doors and live the life she’d planned. What I want is for Cal Hobard to be the one to lock Alik Babin away for life. What I want is for the woman I’ve spent most of my life looking up to, to tell me I’m completely wrong and that you haven’t betrayed a lifetime of work. But I can’t have any of that.” Whatever despair had been in Simone’s voice disappeared as she turned cold eyes on her one-time idol. “So I’ll settle for your son.”
“Given what I’ve already done to protect Lance,” Senator Wakeman said with a snort that belied her reputation, “do you really think I’m going to allow that to happen? Lance is already out of your reach. I’ve made certain of it.”
“Have you?” Simone smiled. “Because as of forty-five minutes ago the Los Angeles Police Department detained Lance while he was boarding a flight to Venezuela. He’s in custody and is being brought here even as we speak. But I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty, Senator, that as much pleasure as this conversation we’ve been having has given me, I can’t wait to talk to your boy.”
Senator Wakeman licked her lips, her pallor slightly gray as she touched a hand to her throat. “I, um. I’m afraid I’m not feeling very well. Perhaps we could continue this at another—” She pushed herself up from her chair and wobbled, but even before she reached for the edge of the table, Vince shot to his feet.
The senator’s eyes rolled back. She slid to the floor.
“Call 9-1-1!” Vince bellowed as her other body man dropped beside her and started CPR. “Simone?” He looked over the table at her. She stood and stared down at the scene as if from some great height. Cole slipped an arm around her shoulders.
She looked back at Vince with what he could only describe as dead eyes. “I guess there’s no ridding myself of that stupid avenging angel moniker now, is there?”
She turned and walked out the door.
Chapter 20
Simone glanced away from her office window when the knock sounded on her door.
“Simone?” Kyla poked her head in. “Can I get you anything?”
Reunited with the P.I. Page 22
