“Dwayne?” she recoiled from me. “You mean you know him?”
“No. Not know. He tried to kill me once. He’s not in the kitchen and even if he’s looking at the monitors, he won’t see you. You get out of here. Go to a neighbor. Someone way up the street. Call your mom and tell her what’s happened. She’ll get you home safely. Can you do that?”
“Yes. You’re sure he’s gone?”
“I’m sure that if he’s not gone, he won’t see you.”
I led her down the stairs and saw that she got safely away. I went back to my hiding place in the stairway and called 911. Then I made calls to the numbers Kroy had given me. Finally, I ventured back into the kitchen, stepping carefully to avoid the blood drops and smears. I moved slowly down the hall to the foyer. Jeff’s body lay where he’d fallen. A few feet away lay Connie’s body, his gun a few inches from his lifeless hand. I could see two blood trails on the stairs. Dwayne had gone up and come down again. I stepped into the monitor room and switched off the monitors the way Mike had shown me. Kroy wouldn’t see the cops when they came in the house and know he was safe. Then I followed the trail of blood drops to the open front door and in the dim dawn light I followed it all the way to the sidewalk, where it stopped. He must have gotten into a car.
At last I could make the call I’d wanted to make for hours and hours. But when Rico answered the phone, I couldn’t speak for the tears that choked me.
Chapter Eighteen
I sat on the curb in the dim dawn, huddled in my cape, the phone clasped in my hand like a life line. Only I couldn’t be sure that I’d be pulled to safety. Dwayne was gone—for the time being. It was clear now that he was after Elizabeth and had been all along. And Elizabeth had already made her getaway. I hoped that he’d figured that out by now and was chasing after her. I could only wish I’d never see him again, because it didn’t look like the cops were ever going to stop him.
The vehicles arrived in a constant stream, lights flashing. Cop cars, ambulances, and unmarked cars one after the other. The street and sidewalk were soon flooded with people, some in uniforms, some in blue nylon jackets with FBI in yellow on the back, some in street clothes with badges on their belts. Lights came on in the houses up and down the street. A uniformed cop approached me. “Watch out for the blood,” I said as he nearly stepped on the trail of droplets Dwayne had left on the sidewalk.
He halted, looked down, and stepped over the red marks. “Did you make the 911 call reporting a homicide?”
I nodded. “They’re just inside the front door.”
Rico came running toward me. He was still wearing his tuxedo but had a blue nylon jacket over it, with a yellow insignia and TEA on the left front. I got shakily to my feet.
“Valentine, are you okay?” He took me in his arms.
I opened my mouth to reply but my throat closed up and tears started again. I wasn’t okay and didn’t know when, if ever, I would be again. I’d done what I had to do, but once I told Rico, he wouldn’t want to hold me so gently. So instead of telling him, I asked. “What’s TEA? Some kind of political statement?”
“It stands for Treasury Enforcement Agency. It’s who I work for. I’ll tell you about it later. I have a lot to tell you, but let’s deal with this situation first.” He released me from his embrace, but kept one arm protectively around my shoulders.
The uniformed cop had stood aside when Rico came up, but now stepped forward. “Sir, this lady made the 911 call and we need to ask her some questions.”
“Special Agent in Charge Williams will have to speak to her first. This is an FBI investigation.” Rico told him. “But you can find whoever Homicide sent and bring him over.”
“Where’s Carl?” I asked. “I need to talk to him, too.”
The officer turned to do as Rico had asked. Rico pulled out his phone and made the call. “Carl, why aren’t you here yet? I know octogenarians who drive faster than you.”
I sensed a change in the scene and immediately saw why. Williams had arrived with two agents in tow and was barking orders left and right as he strode in my direction. Vehicles were reparked to clear a lane. A crew of uniforms began to unroll yellow crime scene tape. Onlookers, mainly neighbors in bathrobes and slippers, were herded a good distance away. Finally he reached me and gazed at me with concern. “Ms. Hill, are you all right?”
***
I didn’t know how to react to this version of the Special Agent in Charge, so I just blurted out. “Dwayne did it. It’s Elizabeth he’s after. He killed Connie and Jeff.”
“Jeff?” Rico broke in. “You mean lover boy Jeff who stole your money? What the hell was he doing here?”
“It’s a long story. They’re just inside the front door. I’m pretty sure that Connie wounded Dwayne. There’s a trail of blood all over the house and it leads out to the curb.” I pointed to the blood on the sidewalk. “He must have had a car here, or someone picked him up. It looks like a lot of blood, so maybe he’s gone to a hospital.”
Williams pointed to one of the two agents who’d accompanied him. “Check all hospitals.” The agent immediately broke away and gathered a crew of agents and cops around him. “Anyone else hurt?”
I shook my head.
“What about Kroy and Ashley?” Rico asked.
“I helped Ashley escape out a back way. Kroy’s in his panic room. That’s why I need to talk to Carl. I turned off the monitors. He doesn’t know you’re here. You can’t let Kroy know it’s safe to come out until I tell Carl everything. I have all the information he’ll need to put Kroy away for life.”
“What are you talking about? You inserted yourself into an FBI investigation?” He turned to Rico. “You permitted this?”
“Reports were submitted daily, sir. You may not have had time to review them since the Kroy investigation took a backseat to the agents’ murders.”
Williams gaze hardened. Much more the expression I was used to. But I didn’t want Rico to be at the receiving end.
I stepped in front of Rico. “I got myself into this situation and then offered to give the FBI information. Special Agent DiSera tried to discourage me, but I didn’t know he was Special Agent DiSera because he was undercover as a taxi driver, but actually as a gangster and as a CI for the FBI. Only he doesn’t work for them. He works for TEA, whatever that is.” I paused to take a breath.
Williams put up his hand palm outward. “All right, hold it right there. Let’s just stick to what happened tonight.” He gestured to the other agent who’d accompanied him. He pulled out a cell phone and turned on the video function. I recounted what had happened from the time of my return from the gala with Kroy to my 911 call. Only I left out the part about the phone calls. I’d wait until Carl arrived for that confession.
They let me talk without interruption. When I’d finished, Williams said, “I might have some questions for you once we view the scene. Do you have some place safe you can go? Got to figure this Dwayne will still be looking for you as a way to your mother.”
“I’ll make sure she’s safe, sir,” Rico said. “I know the investigative focus is on Dwayne and whoever’s working with him, but could you appoint a team to detain Kroy and keep him isolated until Special Agent Carter and I can review the evidence that Valentine has gathered? The Treasury Department will be very grateful.”
“Of course. It’s an important joint-task force operation. I’ll be glad to see it successfully completed.”
Rico nodded in acknowledgement.
***
I looked at Rico out of the corner of my eye. He sounded different. Authoritative. He even held himself in a different way. He looked at me. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
He raised an eyebrow as if he didn’t believe me. I spotted Carl, wearing a blue jacket with FBI on the front, making his way toward us. I waved and distracted Rico’s attention away from me and toward
Carl.
“Finally,” Rico said when Carl drew near. “Where are you parked? Let’s get Valentine out of here.”
“I’m down the street,” Carl said and led the way to his car.
I didn’t exactly drag my feet, but I didn’t hurry either. The moment I’d dreaded had arrived. I couldn’t stand the tension and started talking before we reached Carl’s car.
“I know everything about Kroy’s dealings. I’m on the board of directors of the Kroy Foundation, and I’m director of BK Trading. You know, the onshore shell company that sends the money offshore and no one can track it?”
Carl and Rico stopped in their tracks and stared at me. Then Rico grabbed my arm and hurried me into Carl’s car. He got into the backseat with me while Carl climbed into the driver’s seat. “Okay,” Rico said. “Back up. When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It happened yesterday, and I couldn’t tell you because Kroy took my phone away.”
“Damn it, Valentine, you know what this means?” He ran his fingers through his hair. “You’re criminally culpable for every crime that can be traced to the shell company.”
“That’s what Elizabeth said. She was the director, but Kroy had her resign and named me. But it’s okay because I’m a CI now. Like you. Or like you pretended to be. And I have all the numbers. Phone numbers, account numbers, addresses. Up here.” I tapped my head. “That’s why Kroy wanted me, because the numbers aren’t on his computer. And here, “I reached to the back of my neck and unfastened the chain and handed the crystal and gold heart to Carl. “I didn’t get to use this, but it doesn’t matter now because you have his computer, right?”
“What do you think, Carl?” Rico asked. “Will they have to include her in the case against Kroy?”
“Let’s all just take a breather,” Carl said. “I picked up some coffee for us. The good stuff too. That’s what took so long.” He handed me a lidded paper cup and passed another to Rico. I held the cup in both hands and let the warmth seep into them. I hadn’t told them the bad part yet. The part that would make Rico really angry at me. I slanted a look at Rico.
“What is it Valentine?” Rico asked. “Come on out with it.”
“I don’t want you to be angry with me.”
“I’m not angry, just concerned. And don’t worry. Carl and I will sort it out. You won’t be prosecuted.”
“Not angry about that. About what I did.”
Silence fell in the car. Rico and Carl’s eyes were riveted on me.
Finally, Rico asked, “What did you do?”
“I sent the money from the black market drug dealers to my offshore account. So you can recover the money and trace it backwards to them. Kroy had already sent the foundation money to pay for the real drugs, but I changed the shipping address to the real AIDS relief organization. And…” I paused.
“Go on,” Rico said.
“I sent the fake drugs to the black marketers.” I said softly and ducked my head.
Carl’s deep laugh greeted my admission. In a second Rico joined in.
“You’re not mad at me? I know you needed all the drugs for evidence, but the children need them more.”
“Who could ever be mad at you?” Rico said. “Exasperated, sure. Terrified for you, definitely. But not mad.”
“Thank you. Thank you.” I threw my arms around Rico’s neck and hugged him as tight as I could. He drew me close and put his face next to mine.
“Tell me what I did,” he said with a laugh, “so I can do it again.”
I nestled my face in the crook of his neck. “I was just so scared you’d never even speak to me again.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Carl said, “but we have work to do.”
I pulled away from Rico, but he kept one arm around my shoulders.
“Right,” Rico said. “Let’s get the information from Valentine and we’ll decide which part is yours and which is mine. You still have that voice recorder, Carl?”
“Right here.” Carl pulled a little device out of the glove box and passed it back to Rico.
“First, you said you had Kroy’s phone. Why don’t you hand that to Carl. He’ll get traces out on those numbers. And then let’s start with the phone numbers and addresses, then you can give us the bank info. Okay?”
I handed the phone to Carl, and Rico spoke into the voice recorder giving the date and time and identifying himself and Carl by their titles and me as the confidential informant. He gave me the recorder and I did as he asked. When I finished I gave a big sigh and let my head fall back against the headrest.
“You okay?” Rico asked.
“It’s such a relief that it’s over. No more secrets. No more lies.”
“You were amazing, Valentine,” Rico said. “You definitely have the thanks and recognition of the Treasury and of the FBI. Okay, Carl, let’s agree on how we’ll proceed from here. It looks like you have enough information to pull a raid on the black marketers when they take delivery of the drug shipment. I have to get to the office to follow the money trail.”
“I don’t understand. You’re going to follow the money yourself? I thought you were like an action-type agent. Undercover and all that.”
“I was recruited to work undercover for this operation. But my usual assignment is as a forensic accountant.”
“You’re an accountant?” I was stunned.
“A forensic accountant. There’s a difference. I’ll explain more later. We have to go now.”
“Valentine going with you?” Carl asked.
“Yes, I’m her protection detail. Come on, Valentine,” Rico said. He got out and held the door open for me. The crowd had increased while we’d been talking. The neighbors, curious about the police action on their block, were heavily outnumbered by news crews. Someone from the crowd called out, “There she is,” and in seconds a wave of news people with microphones, cameras and other paraphernalia shifted from the edge of the crime scene-tape barrier to me.
Rico put one arm around my shoulders and held the other out like a traffic cop. “Stand back,” he said in his new persona as an authority figure. Voices yelled my name and shouted questions at me. Cameras flashed in a crazy pattern of light. I pulled my cape tightly around me and put my head down. I wasn’t prepared for this. We made our way to Rico’s car and he stowed me in the passenger seat while maintaining a stony face in front of the cameras.
“Sorry about that,” he said as he slid behind the wheel.
“How did they know who I was?”
“You did perform at the gala last night in that very outfit.” He slowly edged the car past the news crews. We had to wait a few minutes while police moved cars that had arrived after Rico and parked at all angles. Photographers continued to take pictures of us through the windshield.
“It’s really creepy,” I said through clenched teeth so no one could read my lips.
“I’ll keep them away from you as soon as we get out of here. But you’ll have to face them again when you testify in court.”
“I’ll be better prepared. Maybe I’ll work up a little magic show for them.”
“But now that you mention it, since they know that both Treasury and the FBI are involved, they’ll probably stake out the Federal building.”
“Is that where you need to go to track the money?”
“Yes. I need a secure, encrypted computer. Let me think. Would you mind going back to i-systems with me? I could use one of those computers.”
“No, I don’t mind, just as long as I don’t get trapped in the elevator.” I smiled to show I was kidding.
He glanced at me, his face serious. “That is not going to happen to you again, if I have anything to say about it.”
“Do you want to have anything to say about it?”
He didn’t answer me. He pulled the car over to the curb and turned to face me. “
Valentine, we have a lot to talk about. I need to tell you some things. Important things. But right now I only have time for one of them. I’m crazy about you. Since I met you, it’s taken all my willpower to keep my hands off you. So, yes, I do want to have something to say about everything that happens to you.”
“You’re crazy about me? Really?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Prove it.” And he did for several heart pumping, body melting, mindless minutes.
When he pulled away and gazed at me with smoldering brown eyes, I smiled and said, “Okay, I think I believe you. And know what? You’re the most amazing kisser. Undoubtedly the best I’ve ever kissed.”
He pulled me into his arms again and showed me again just how amazing he was. He kissed me until I was completely breathless and wanting more, much more. He drew away slowly. “We can’t do this now, or here.”
“And you have to find that computer and get the evidence to nail Kroy and everyone else he’s had dealings with, right?”
He drew a deep breath. “Right. But after that, watch out.” He started the engine and pulled into traffic. I smiled to myself and snuggled into the seat.
We arrived at the back of the building just as before when he’d been playing cab driver. We walked up the loading dock, Rico pulled out some keys and unlocked the back door. “I don’t think anyone’s here.”
He flipped on the lights, illuminating the large workshop and the woodworking equipment.
“Mike’s going to miss all this.” I followed Rico to the doorway where he flipped a few more light switches for the hallway ahead.
“Hold it right there,” said a familiar voice from the doorway behind us.
I turned to face Uncle George and Dwayne. Both holding guns pointed at us.
“Uncle George? You?” I was stunned.
“What the hell?” Rico said. “How’d you find us? I know we weren’t tailed.”
“Tracking devices aren’t difficult to affix to a vehicle in a crowd of people,” Uncle George said.
“But I don’t understand, Uncle George. You and Dwayne?”
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