“You’re amazing, sweetheart,” Chaz said quietly after a long silence. Stephanie had known that he was processing what she’d said and had been patiently waiting for him to speak. She couldn’t know that, once again, he was thinking about whether or not he could keep the undercover team safe.
“There’s something else, Chaz.”
“Yeah?”
“There’s a connection between you and that woman, right?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I’m not saying this out of jealousy. It’s just that I feel a strong sense of protectiveness coming from you right now, and it isn’t related to me.”
“Stephanie—”
“No, Chaz; just listen. Whatever your instinct says about her, you need to trust it.”
“All right. I will.” They were both silent for a long time before he softly said, “Baby, I miss spending my evenings with you, being reminded when I wake up in the middle of the night that we’re perfect together, and feeling beyond a doubt that nothing can intrude on what we have.” He hoped she could hear how much he missed her. “The nights should be ours, and I promise that this will be over soon.”
“I’m planning something special for Sunday dinner. I expect you to be home by then.” Her light laughter made him smile. “Goodnight, Chaz.”
“Goodnight, sweetheart.” He took a breath and allowed a few moments to wrap himself in the memories of special moments with his wife. He let the breath out slowly and reminded himself that he had work to do.
As Chaz walked down the stairs, he was trying to figure out what to do about Vanessa. He couldn’t let her handler know that she might be in danger when he didn’t have any verifiable information to support that concern. He couldn’t contact her directly. And he couldn’t tell Austin to keep a closer watch over her without exposing her true identity, which he wasn’t willing to do, even though he was certain Austin was trustworthy.
Sydney took one look at her team leader’s troubled expression and turned back to the monitors. Whatever was on his mind was none of her business. She had been paying attention to him over these past couple of weeks and wasn’t surprised when he filled a glass with miniature ice cubes and poured Pepsi over it, drank slowly, chewed ice even more slowly, and then settled onto the seat next to her before speaking.
“We’ve been watching the same video feeds. If you had to trust Damien Granger to protect Vanessa no matter what, would you?”
“You’ve seen the way he looks at her, right?”
He had seen it and had thought about it the previous night. Damien looked at Vanessa the way Chaz looked at Stephanie. Chaz nodded and the tension melted out of his shoulders. Damien Granger was going to be devastated when everything was over and he found out the woman he’d fallen in love with, the woman he would probably give his life for, was assigned by the FBI to infiltrate his organization and help send him to prison. But, until then, he would keep her safe.
Chaz thought about that.
If Stephanie had seen Paul Watkins’ men making a threat against Damien Granger’s woman, what would Damien do about it? Maybe that was the point behind the dream. That was speculation Chaz needed to process out loud with someone he could bounce ideas around with. In the morning, he would call Steve McDaniels to get his input on how best to prepare for whatever Granger’s response might be. In the afternoon, Chaz was scheduled to meet with the Kentucky State Police and federal prosecutors to coordinate the details of the raid that would be carried out on Saturday night.
When the club closed and the building was mostly empty because the prostitution activities ended early, Chaz headed upstairs to turn in for the night. He could probably get five hours of sleep that he would need in order to be as alert as possible for all of the conversations that would occur the next day.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Steve McDaniels listened carefully while his unofficial protégé outlined all of the things that didn’t add up along with the details brought out by Stephanie’s dreams.
“From what I’ve read about Granger,” Steve began with his input, “he’s not a hothead but Watkins has shown himself to be impulsive and dangerous. Let’s assume that your wife’s dream will happen today or tomorrow. If Watkins sends a message that is in any way disrespectful, Granger will take time to figure out a subtle assault in retaliation for the disrespect and audacity. Since Saturday will undoubtedly be his busiest and most significant night, he probably won’t want to act before then. He’ll want to confront Watkins at a time when the fewest people can get hurt.”
“Stephanie seems especially worried about Vanessa.” Chaz took a sip of the coffee he’d bought from a nearby Tim Hortons and looked around the parking lot to make sure no one was watching him. Habit.
“Maybe that’s because you’re connected to her since she’s FBI. You did tell Officer Marks that, if necessary, he should risk his mission to keep her safe.”
“True. The Bureau’s objectives have to supersede the State Police.”
“Of course. So, let’s assume that our agent is safe. What do you want to do if we’re wrong about Granger and he acts against Watkins before we conduct our raid?”
“I’m not sure. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Yep. Do nothing.” Steve gave a slight chuckle. “If he goes against Watkins and fails, we might be able to add attempted murder, or at least assault, to his charges. If he succeeds, we charge him with murder or conspiracy, if he has someone else do it. He gets more jail time and we’re rid of Watkins.”
“That’s a little cynical, my friend.”
“Think about it, Chaz; the Bureau has been collecting data against Watkins for a couple of years. We know most of it could be stronger—which is why we continued the multi-regional effort after Erie. We’re almost at the point of bringing it all together to see what complements another investigation, but his death would be a perfect solution. Justice for all the dirt he’s done. His minions would be disorganized, making a perfect time for us to swoop in and make the arrests we know will stick.”
“Wait. You never handed the case over to Cleveland?” Chaz had sent his analyses to that other Ohio office.
“Cleveland has it, but so does Chicago, Detroit, Erie, and now Cincinnati. My fingers are still in it; at least they will be when I return.”
“Hmm.” Chaz nodded even though Steve couldn’t see him. “How’s that going?”
“The radiation treatments? They’re a pain in the ass, but at least I haven’t been as sick as expected. I’ll definitely be back to work as soon as they’re over.”
Chaz was glad to hear that and made sure the other man knew it.
CHAPTER 10
“He loves you more than anyone on this planet, so I’m sure that being away from you isn’t easy.”
Stephanie smiled warmly at Phailin before turning her attention back to the rack of baby clothes and wondering whether her instinct that she was carrying a daughter was correct. The women had met for a couple of hours of shopping before having dinner at a casual vegetarian restaurant that Phailin liked.
“I miss him, too,” she finally said. “But, it’s not as difficult for me as it is for him. I have déjà vu to reassure me that we’re exactly where we are supposed to be at this moment in our relationship. He only has our daily phone calls, when they’re possible, and a few text messages to remind him of our connection. I know he feels it, but he can’t dwell on us too much.” She smiled before adding, “I’m a distraction.”
Phailin laughed and dropped a pack of three bibs into her carrying basket.
“There’s something I need to ask.” Stephanie looked directly at her friend. “Is it possible for my gift to change into a new gift?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, when I met Chaz, I primarily had déjà vu and dreams centered on the details of a specific event. The dream about him was the first time I’d ever been so connected that I had physical reactions. A while ago, I began sensing his emotions—and also the vibe in the room. That has expanded to sensi
ng the emotions of his undercover officer. Then, when I spoke with him a couple of days ago, I could tell that he was feeling protective of someone. It was as strong as if he was sitting right beside me, but my impression was during the conversation, not during a dream. Then there’s the whole matter of actually seeing auras, which I’d never been able to do before.”
Phailin studied her for a few minutes.
“So, you think you’re developing a new gift and not just expanding the ones you already have?” Her brows wrinkled as she watched the other woman nod. “I can’t think of any reason why you wouldn’t begin to develop a new gift. I’ve never heard of it, but anything is possible.”
The women continued browsing through the racks and shelves in the baby section of the department store. Each was deep in thought about what was going on with Stephanie.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
At the same time that Stephanie was having her discussion with Phailin, Chaz was in a meeting with Austin, Chris, Sydney, Jesse, and Sergeant Keith Wallace, the supervisor from the Kentucky State Police.
“We don’t have much time before Chris and I need to be at the club to check that everything is set before it opens tonight.” Austin talked around a mouthful of coleslaw.
“Right.” Sergeant Wallace looked at Chaz. “Since we haven’t involved the local police much in this operation, we’ll have the FBI’s S.W.A.T. team lead the assault at the club. Agents and State Troopers will follow the initial entry. Local police, led by FBI agents will conduct simultaneous raids at associated homes and businesses. Louisville FBI will also conduct their seizure of Granger’s property and organization there.”
“That’s right,” Chaz concurred. “Chris will give me a three minute warning before he disrupts the security cameras and alarms so that we can get everyone in position. At exactly three minutes, he will jam the radio communications between the body guards. S.W.A.T. will enter as silently as possible on my order. Special Agent David Cross will lead the rear entry while Special Agent Jeff Franklin will lead the frontal assault with personnel designated to proceed to the upper floors. KSP cars and vans will arrive on scene from their staging locations to assist with the arrests. Patrons need to be quickly separated from our targets, so make sure that photos are part of the briefing.” Sergeant Wallace nodded. “Austin and Chris, you’ll be arrested along with everyone else and get sorted out when we separate everyone for questioning. Any questions?”
“Do you want me to stay in the control room until S.W.A.T. arrives upstairs?”
“Yes. Try to make sure that everyone in that room is busy trying to find the cause of the disruption.”
Chaz made eye contact with each member of his team, his gaze finally landing back on the KSP supervisor. “We’ll have another briefing on Saturday morning with the agents. I just mentioned, my supervisor, and your lieutenant. So, if there’s nothing else, we’d better let these guys get back to their work.”
Minutes later, after everyone had left except Chaz and his two technicians, he turned to them for their assessments.
“Nothing to worry about,” Jesse commented as he settled onto a stool with a can of soda in his hand.
“Austin and Chris seem comfortable with what’s going to happen,” Sydney added. “I’m not so sure about the sergeant, but he’ll follow through if he takes his job seriously.”
“My feelings, exactly.” Chaz nodded in agreement. “Since today is Wednesday, we have two days to make sure everything is in place. I’ve talked to Roy, and we’re all on the same page about what needs to happen. The Kentucky State Police can have all of the locals but we keep Granger, Austin as the man running the club, Chris as the man in charge of the security systems, the woman in charge of the girls, and all of the people who came from Louisville. If we find out we need someone else, we’ll try to get them from KSP later.” He reached for his glass of Pepsi before continuing.
“After the earlier problem with the cameras, Chris rigged the system so that we’ll still be able to monitor the cameras even though they’ll appear to be offline to the people at the club. I’ll need both of you here watching carefully to make sure we don’t overlook anything.”
Both technicians nodded. Then, Chaz turned to Sydney.
“Vanessa has decided to break her cover. Louisville thinks the best strategy is to reveal that she’s an agent in order to send a message to Granger and his men. She knows enough to bring them all down, so they may as well cooperate. Hopefully, that will encourage them to start coughing up information without too much coercion. No one is under the delusion that Granger will be unable to pay his bail, so her handler thinks she’ll be safer if he isn’t trying to keep her by his side. Knowing that she’s law enforcement should also keep Paul Watkins away. I need you to watch her at all times.”
“Hold on a minute. Vanessa is FBI?” Both Chaz and Sydney said “yes” at the same time. “And I didn’t know this because—”
“Because the original plan was to leave her under. I don’t know why that changed.” Chaz shrugged. “Maybe she’s tired; that wouldn’t be unreasonable. A year under in such an intimate situation isn’t easy on an agent.”
They all understood. The room was silent except for the quiet humming of the computers.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Sydney said to Jesse, “no one told me about Vanessa. I happen to know her from the Academy.”
“Oh. That does make me feel better. I thought my buddy was holding out on me.”
“Naw.” Chaz grinned. “Even KSP doesn’t know she’s one of ours.” He looked at the monitors and then at his watch. Activities should be picking up at the club in another hour.
With an agreement in place between the two agencies, the undercover officers aware of how the raid would go down, and a final meeting scheduled to reiterate the plan on Saturday, Chaz was feeling better than he had since taking this assignment. Although he’d spend the next month wrapping up paperwork and participating in interrogations, he’d be home. He’d could make love to his beautiful wife and wake up with her in his arms every morning.
Just a few more days.
Stephanie’s dream came true the following night. What she didn’t see was Damien Granger returning to Vanessa’s side after the confrontation and the startled look the Special Agent gave in response to whatever he was saying. While Granger disappeared into the offices at the back of the building, two guards joined Vanessa in the VIP area. They stayed with her until Granger returned half an hour later.
Chaz and Sydney watched the monitors as two more guards arrived. They spoke to their boss briefly before those two, and the two who had been stationed with Vanessa, escorted the couple out of the building. Again, Stephanie was right: Damien Granger was very protective of his girlfriend.
Chaz also thought about what Steve had said and was relieved that the dream had happened on this night. There wouldn’t be much time for Granger to retaliate before the raid.
On Saturday night, just before 11:00, the assault on the jazz club and brothel went exactly as planned. No gunfire. Not much resistance. The criminals were isolated quickly and moved to the secure room behind the bar along with several FBI agents. When Vanessa and Damien Granger passed by Chaz, he reached out to touch her arm. She stopped walking. Granger was instructed to take a seat.
In a moment that Chaz could see was emotional, the Federal agent accepted her credentials from him and hung them around her neck. The black folder was a stark contrast to the pale pink cocktail dress she wore. When she turned to look at the faces of the men she’s spent months with, the shock and confusion was evident on their faces. Then she looked at the man who had been her lover for nearly a year.
He was crushed. His defeat was personal. She walked to where he was seated and stood just out of reach. She held up the black folder displaying her badge and photo ID.
“Damien William Granger, my name is Special Agent Vanessa Long of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and I am placing you under arrest for the crimes of operating
an illegal place of prostitution, coercion of individuals to participate in the illegal trade of prostitution, interstate transport of persons involved in illegal prostitution, money laundering, and wire fraud.” Vanessa’s eyes filled with moisture that she refused to let fully develop into tears. She took a breath to steady her voice.
“Damien William Granger, you have the right to remain silent. If you choose not to remain silent, everything you say will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you free of charge. Do you understand these rights?”
Damien stared at her with pain-filled eyes.
“Do you understand these rights as I have stated them to you?”
“Yeah, I understand.” Those words said so much that had nothing to do with the charges against him that Vanessa took a moment to swallow past the lump in her throat. “I’d like to contact my lawyer.”
She nodded slightly before adding in a softer tone. “If you think about the things that I know, you’ll agree that it’s in your best interest to cooperate when you’re interviewed.” She took another deep breath, squared her shoulders, and walked out of the room.
Chaz wasn’t sure that Vanessa had wanted to be the person to read Damien his rights, but she knew it was expected of her. This was her case. She had sacrificed her independence and gone along with his criminal activities in order to bring this resolution. There’s no way she could have avoided becoming emotionally attached. Still, no matter what her personal feelings were, she was proud of being a Federal cop. She would sit in a courtroom and help convict the man she’d lived with for nearly a year of a long list of crimes, many more than were related to the prostitution charges.
He watched her walk through the jazz club, stopping halfway to look over her shoulder toward the room where Damien Granger sat with his criminal cohorts before composing herself and continuing to the foyer. Chaz clearly saw the pain in her eyes. He also saw determination.
Loving Night: Dream Catcher Series ~ Book 2 Page 11
