Mack stood. “Well what are we still sitting here for? Let’s take a little trip to Downey.”
Amour stood as well and grabbed her purse. “But we don’t know who he was calling?”
Jason put his arm around her waist. “We’ll find out.”
CHAPTER 35
Mack and Jason stood in front of the receptionist at Charter Medical Center as she studied the phone number they’d given her. When she looked back up at them, Jason knew that she was going to give them a hard time at some point. She swiveled slightly in her chair and typed the number in the computer system. After a few seconds, she looked back up at them.
“This is Adam’s number.”
Adam. Why does that name sound familiar? “Adam who?” Jason asked.
“Adam Romero our lab tech,” the woman responded.
Jason thought about it for a few seconds, and then it dawned on him. Adam was the name of the man in the photo with Carly. It had also just dawned on him that he’d decided at that point to carry the picture around with him just in case some knew him and that time could very well be now. He grabbed the photo out of his wallet and handed it to the receptionist. “Is this him?”
She looked at it for a second. “Yes…This is a very old photo though.”
“I know it is but that’s definitely him?”
“Yes.” She handed the photo back to Jason.
“Is he here now?” Mack asked.
She looked at Mack and smiled. “No, he’s off already but he’ll be in tomorrow morning.”
Jason pocketed the photo. “I’ll just call him then.”
“Unless you just want to leave a voice mail, you won’t get him on that number,” the woman said.
“Why?”
“Because that’s the number to his work cell. They give all of us cell phones here but we don’t use them personally.”
“Do you have his personal number?”
The woman hesitated. “Yes…but I can’t give it out.”
Mack leaned in closer to her. “Come on sweetheart, you can help us out this once can’t you?”
Jason snickered because knew what Mack was up to. It was very obvious that she was attracted to him.
The woman smiled twirling her blonde hair and looked down at her desk. “I don’t know…”
Mack cocked an eyebrow. “Come on…” He looked at her badge. “Stephanie. You know you want to.”
The smile on her face remained as she looked back up at Mack. “Alright but I’m not supposed to be doing this.”
“We won’t say anything.”
She typed a few strokes on her keyboard before grabbing a pen and jotting down the phone number on a pad in front of her. She ripped the top piece of paper off and handed it to Mack. “He you go.”
Mack slid his finger across her chin. “Thank you Stephanie.”
“No problem.”
“You have absolutely no shame do you?” Jason said as he and Mack walked toward where Amour and Chandra were sitting.
“Nope,” Mack said handing the piece of paper to Jason.
Jason folded it up and put it in his pocket. “I’ll call him when we get out of here.”
After Amour had fallen asleep, Jason decided to call that Adam person and asked him a few questions and hoped the guy would be cooperative. After sitting on the sofa, he grabbed the number out of his pocket, picked up his cell phone and dialed the number. After a few rings a man with a strong Latin accent picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hello, may I speak to Adam Romero?”
“This is Adam.”
“This is Jason Kincaid, I’m a private investigator and I have a client who is looking for any information she could find on her mother. She found a photo of her posing with you when she looked through her things.” Adam remained silent. “I was wondering if you could possibly provide me with any information about her.”
“Who is her mother?”
“Carly Graciette.”
Adam hesitated again. “Okay…”
“Did you know her?”
“Yes, she was a very good friend of mine. She died years ago, why are you asking about her now?”
“My client has reason to believe that she was murdered.”
“I see.”
Adam didn’t seem too surprised by what he’d just heard which made Jason very suspicious. “Something tells me you already knew that.”
“I don’t want to talk about this over the phone. Can we meet somewhere?”
“Sure. Do you know where Jake’s Bar and Grill is?”
“That’s downtown right?”
“Yep, we can meet there now if you want.”
“Let’s make it in the morning. I have to get home to my kids now.”
“Fine, meet me there at ten tomorrow morning.”
“Please come alone,” Adam said quietly.
“I will as long as you keep your end of the bargain.”
“Of course.”
“Great. See you then.”
Mack had agreed to keep an eye on Amour at the house while Jason met up with Adam at Jake’s. She’d taken a sleeping pill when she went to bed because she’d been having a hard time sleeping and he didn’t want to wake her. He pulled up to the bar and parked in one of the spaces in the lot and went inside. From what he could tell, Adam had not arrived yet. There were only two people in the joint besides the staff so he sat at one of the tables towards the back and waited patiently.
Shyla approached him and tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey! What are you doing here? In the mood for a drink?”
“Oh…hey Shyla!”
“Where’s Amour?”
“She’s with Mack at my place.”
Shyla smiled. “Lucky girl. Want anything because I’m about to go on break.”
“No thanks sweetie, I’m just waiting for someone you can go ahead.”
She frowned. “Who?”
“Some guy that knew Amour’s mother.”
“Oh, well I won’t keep you. I hope you find out something good.”
Jason smiled back at her. “Thanks!”
“Let me know how it went okay.”
“I will.”
Shyla gave him a quick hug then walked towards the back and disappeared into a small room. Where was this guy? He better not had stood him up or he would be among all the others who have gotten their asses kicked. Just as Jason was about to give up and leave, a rather short Hispanic man with shoulder length dark hair entered the bar. Even though he was quite a bit older than he looked on the picture, Jason recognized him instantly. Adam finally caught eye contact with him after looking around the room several times. Jason raised his hand slightly signaling for Adam to come over to him. When he did, he sat down across from Jason and looked him in the eye.
“You’re Jason?”
“Yes I am. What have you got for me? I don’t have much time.”
Adam adjusted himself in his seat. He seemed nervous. “You were asking about Carly.”
“Yeah, how did you know her and what do you know about her death?”
“Well, she was one of my best friends. I met her when she gave blood at a drive we did back in the eighties.”
Jason raised his eyebrows. “We?”
“I used to volunteer for the Red Cross.”
“And?”
“It was during Senator Harrington’s campaign when he was running for mayor. She told me that she convinced him to give blood at the drive because it would look good to the public so they both did.”
“So she was working for him then?”
“Yes but that wasn’t all she was doing with him.”
“Yeah I know about their affair. What else do you have?”
“She told me that she wanted to know what it was like to be sleeping with such a powerful man. I told her she was crazy for being there with him because of all the press but she didn’t care because there was another more important reason why she wanted Senator Harrington with her that day.”
> Jason leaned in closer. “I’m listening.”
Adam glanced away for a second and then looked back at Jason. “Leverage.”
Jason had a pretty good idea what that “leverage” was. She’d be able to expose him to the press if he acted up. Instead of pointing that out to Adam, he decided to let him finish what he was saying. “Which was?”
Adam reached in his back pocket and pulled out a letter sized envelope and slid it across the table. “This.”
Jason looked at the envelope. “What is this?”
After a moment of hesitation, Adam looked down at the table. “Information that I wish I never had.”
There must be a reason for that otherwise it’s doubtful that he would be sharing it anybody. “Has anyone been threatening you?”
Adam looked back up a Jason. “Yes. Angela Marx called first and told me to keep my mouth shut or else she’d make sure I regretted it.”
He didn’t know her last name but he was pretty sure Adam was referring to the Angela at the lounge. “Yeah I figured out that she was involved in this a while ago. You said that she called you first? Who else did?”
“I don’t know. It was some guy that sounded really evil.”
Marcus. “Yeah, I have a pretty good idea who that was. Do you have somewhere you and your family can go for a while?”
“Yes, I have family in Vegas.”
“Take your family there and lay low for a while if you can. These people are very ruthless and they apparently don’t care who they kill.”
“Alright, I can do that.”
“Good. Thanks for the info.”
“No problem.”
After Adam had left, Jason said goodbye to Shyla after filling her in on what had just happened and then headed to his car. He would find out what’s in the envelope later. Right now he wanted to get back to Amour and relieve Mack of his duties. His cell rang as soon as he got into his car. He retrieved it from his pocket and hit the answer key. “Hello?”
“Hey man, it’s Alex.”
“What’s up?”
“You’d better get your ass down here. Ace is pissed.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re supposed to come back to work tomorrow and he’s found out what we’ve been up to.”
“How?”
“Westfield told him we stopped by his house last week.”
“Shit!” Jason exclaimed.
“That didn’t go over too well with him.”
“This has nothing to do with work.”
“I know but he doesn’t think so. Just get down here.”
“Okay I’m on my way.”
After hanging up with Alex, he called Mack to let him know what was going on and to make sure that he could stay with Amour a little while longer. Damn it! This was the last thing he needed to be dealing with right now. He was already in hot water with Ace enough as it is. He started the engine and drove out of the parking lot furious at Ace for having to deal with this bullshit. He had to find a way to rectify this immediately because what he was dealing with at the moment and Amour’s safety was what mattered now and if that meant getting a longer suspension from work or possibly losing his job, then so be it.
“What is this about the two of you questioning the captain Kincaid? I heard Demarco’s side of the story now what’s yours?” Ace asked Jason as he rose to his feet and walked to the window of his office.
“We just needed some information that’s all.”
“He told me that you came to his home, lied to him about needing some cops to help you out or something and when you got face to face with him, you started questioning him about a case that was closed almost thirty years ago. What the hell were the two of you thinking?”
Alex raised his hand. “We knew he wouldn’t talk to us if we came legit.”
“So you lied to him?” Ace asked.
Jason stepped closer to the desk. “I asked Alex to help me get information for a friend of mine that I’m helping out while I’m off.”
“You’re not using company equipment and money for this “friend” are you Kincaid? This better not be on my dime!”
“Of course not Ace! I wouldn’t do that!”
“Well you just make sure you wrap up whatever this is you’ve got going on with this friend by tomorrow because I have a job for you to do.”
Fuck! He had to get out of this. “Can someone else do it? I just need one more week off so I can finish this job I’m doing with her.”
Ace laughed. “Her? You’re jeopardizing you job over some pussy? This had better be a mighty hot piece of ass you’ve gone all stupid for!”
Jason was starting to get angry but he held back. “It’s not like that Ace! She’s not just a piece of ass! She’s actually paying me for my work. I’ll give you your cut; just let me have more time off.”
Ace turned towards the window and looked out. He seemed to be giving it some consideration. He tapped his index finger on his chin when he faced them again. “Okay, one more week. That’s all.”
Jason took a sigh of relief. “Thanks boss.”
“Don’t thank me; I just happen to be in a good mood today and I’m getting money out of this deal but you’re treading on thin ice Kincaid. You’re my best guard but don’t let that fool you, screw up again and I won’t hesitate to toss you out on your ass so fast your head will spin! Got it?”
“Got it.”
“That goes for you too Demarco!”
“Alright sir,” Alex said.
“Good. Now get the hell out of my office!”
When Jason and Alex walked out of Ace’s office, all they could do was stand there in shock. Jason knew for sure he’d be fired; Ace was a major hard ass. Maybe he was in a good mood after all. “That was intense.”
“I’ll say,” Alex said as they started to walk. “Now let’s get out of here before he changes his mind.”
CHAPTER 36
Mack sat on the sofa in Jason’s apartment with his eyes glued television. The women’s Brazilian volleyball Olympic team was playing America’s team so he thought he’d tune in to see who’d win the match. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He was mainly watching it because of the skimpy uniforms the girls wore during the game. When one of the girls one the Brazilian team bent over to pick up the ball, Mack smiled and bit his bottom lip. “Oh, hell yeah…” Just as she was about to serve the ball, the television suddenly went off. Mack rose up on the sofa and turned to find Amour sitting next to him holding the remote in her hand staring at him with an angry expression. “Hey! What the hell did you do that for?”
“Because I want to talk to you!”
Exasperated, he took a deep breath. “About what exactly? I thought you were asleep.”
“Well I’m up now and I wanna talk about you prying into my life that’s what!”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you checking up on me and reporting you findings to Jason!”
“Oh…” Mack said quietly.
“Oh? That’s all you have to say?”
“What? You want an apology?”
“That would be nice but I also want an explanation!”
“I wanted to make sure Jason wasn’t dealing with some kind of nut job. He barely knows you Amour. I was just looking out for him that’s all. There’s no need to get you panties all in a bunch.” Crap! He probably shouldn’t have said that to her because now she looked really pissed.
“Boy and I thought Jason was the asshole of the bunch. It looks like he’s got some serious competition!”
Mack laughed. “No I think I’m the bigger one.”
Her lips thinned. “I am really itching to slap the shit out of you right now!”
He looked at her with a surprised expression. “Alright, let’s not get psycho chic here. It’s really not that serious.”
“Maybe not to you! How would you like it if someone pried into your past like you were some kind of criminal?”
“Proba
bly not too happy.”
“Exactly.” She faced him and then pointed her finger in his face. “You are so lucky I like you and you’re Jason’s friend. Because of that, I’ll hold back but if you ever do anything like that again, I’m gonna kick your ass!”
Before Mack could respond, she got up and walked into the bedroom and slammed the door. Wow. That was deep. He supposed he could’ve been wrong in this situation. That was in fact a violation of her privacy and he shouldn’t have done it but at the same time, he had to look out for his friend. He’d be damned if he was going to let some chick screw Jason over. But of course being a female, she’d never understand that. There was absolutely no reasoning with them especially when it came to brotherly love, but he supposed he should go and apologize anyway. Amour was a cool chic; she just was a little wild that’s all. He was just about to get up and go to the bedroom to talk to her when he heard Jason’s key in the lock. “Hey man! How’d it go?” he asked Jason as he stepped inside.
“It went okay. Mr. Romero had some interesting things to say.”
“Oh…hey man, what did Ace want with you and Alex?”
“He’s pissed at us for questioning Westfield. I’ll tell you about it later. Where’s Amour?”
“Also pissed. She in the bedroom.”
Jason rolled his eyes. “What did you say to her?”
“Nothing. She just came out and started yelling at me for digging into her background.”
Jason laughed. “Oh well. Did you really think she wouldn’t be upset?” Jason asked.
“No but I didn’t think she would actually threaten to slap the shit out of me and kick my ass!”
“She said that?”
“Yes.”
“That’s so hilarious.”
Mack rose from the sofa. “It’s not funny man! Anyway, I have to go. Chandra’s waiting for me.”
Jason and Mack exchanged a pat on the back and then Mack exited the apartment.
Jason walked to the bedroom to check on Amour but he realized she wasn’t in there when he’d heard the bathtub running. Good. A bath meant that she’d be occupied for at least a half hour giving him time to collect his thoughts and see what Adam had given him this morning. If it was something bad, he’d have time to figure out how to tell her. Her mind was fragile now so he had to be careful about how he approached every situation with her. After grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge and taking a few gulps of it, he slid the envelope out of his pocket and sat on the sofa. After tearing it open, he removed the folded up piece of paper out of it and read its contents. Jason’s heart skipped a beat and he blinked several times. He couldn’t believe what he’d just read. Holy fuck…this was not good.
Love's Protector: A Maverick's Shield Novel Page 25
