by Paris Morgan
They might even punish him for not stopping the raids or giving them a heads-up. John Reed and the type of people who traded in other humans didn’t have much regard for life. Unless they were covering their own backs, they didn’t let anything stop their climb to power and money.
“Where do you want to start today?” Adam asked as we approached the FBI building.
“I don’t feel like doing anything, but I can’t let Kevin’s death just go without trying to get justice for him. We need to set up a meeting with this woman and see if we can get a lead on the Zodiac Master.”
“Agent Watson won’t sign off on anything like that right now. You saw the condition he was in, and he won’t let us do anything that might jeopardize things for him.”
“We don’t need him to sign off if he doesn’t know it’s happening.”
“Yeah, you see where it got Kevin by going around him,” Adam warned, knowing it wasn’t going to make any difference to me.
“Yes, but I don’t think we’re going to have to worry about Agent Watson for much longer,” I grinned. In fact, he’s going to be out of commission for most of the day, and probably tomorrow as well. “Living with that kind of guilt can be a terrible thing.”
“I think he’s still pretty new to this double agent stuff, and if we’d have been on his team a few years from now, then he would have become hardened. If we play our cards right, his sense of self-preservation may kick in and he’ll help us catch these people,” Adam noted.
The paperwork from Saturday still had to be finished up, and I was curious about the woman that Adam had interviewed. I wanted to find out who she was and why Ryan had been certain he’d seen her before.
Adam wasn’t going to let me call Kevin’s killer, so I was going to have to work on other stuff until he wasn’t watching me.
Her name was Didra Beauregard, and I plugged her name into the system.
She was the only daughter of Asher Beauregard, and would inherit his billions one day. Most of his money had come from the oil fields, and then cattle, but his father and grandfather had invested well, climbing up the social ladder.
Her name was mentioned in the society pages, but it was always in passing as to what she was wearing or which fashion shows she was attending. There was nothing to explain who she was or why she would have been at a place like that.
I mean, women enjoyed a good evening out, and she might have been there on a date, but I don’t think I’d want to date a guy who wanted to go to a place that exploited trafficked people.
The interview she gave mentioned that she was the guest of Noah Preston. He’d been called out only ten minutes before the raid had begun. Someone had alerted him, but why hadn’t he taken his date with him?”
We’d made sure that Agent Watson couldn’t call anyone, but there was no way that his absence just before a large sting operation went down was a coincidence.
“Adam, we have another leak. Someone managed to sneak out before we got there. He was warned.”
“Who was it?” He looked up for just a second.
“Noah Preston.”
“Seriously? That’s the guy that you thought was involved back in January. We know that it’s a club he frequents, though, so maybe he just left. You think he was given the heads up? If that’s the case, why wouldn’t he have told anyone else?”
“Well, sometimes self-preservation is more important than protecting those around you. He might have been using it to get rid of some competition so that he could rise a little higher in the ranks.”
I frowned. “Maybe. I just don’t see anyone that conceited leaving unless he knew what was coming. It bothers me.”
“What about the woman you were checking out?”
“She was his date, which also doesn’t explain why he didn’t take her with him. He left her to be arrested?”
“Now, what if he knew they wouldn’t arrest her? She is pretty much off-limits. I mean, some of the guys are important as well, but she wasn’t a member. Otherwise, she’d be sitting in a jail cell with rest of them.” Adam chuckled. “Or out on bail because they have more money than they know what to do with and can afford it.”
“I hate that, but it’s how justice works. It’ll take months for them to get all of these cases processed and determine the guilt of all these parties.” I sighed and started looking through the papers again, trying to determine if I’d missed anything.
“That is one of the downsides of working with law enforcement. Even if we get the bad guy, it doesn’t always mean that we can keep them in jail,” Adam commiserated.
On my second pass through, I noticed her birthday. OMG, she’s the killer! I thought to myself. She was born on October twentieth. How could a Dallas socialite end up as the Libra killer?
Now came the question: Did I tell Adam, or try to find her on my own?”
I picked up my phone. I needed to meet with Barbie and find out what else she had that could help us.
“Adam, I’m going to find our anonymous helper. I think she can help me find the Libra killer. I’ve got an idea, but I want her to verify it for me, and if her computer skills are anything like Kevin’s, she can save me a lot of time.”
“Make sure that you use your other phone,” he advised.
“I will.” I jumped up, almost cheerful at the thought of finding her. This could lead me straight to the Zodiac Master.
***
Barbie answered my call and told me to meet her at one of the local shopping centers.
“Hi, you must be Leslie. I’m going to have to ask you to leave your phone in the car,” she directed. “I’m also going to scan you for any active bugs or tracking chips.”
“Tracking chips?” I frowned as I held my arms out for her to scan.
“Yeah. You know, like they do with dogs or cats. Some people put chips in people to keep track of them all the time. Where I’m taking you blocks all that kind of stuff, but that doesn’t mean I want them knowing the area I’m taking you to.”
“Got it. Thanks for meeting me. I know that Ryan really wanted to be able to have a part of this, but with his baby due any day…”
“It’s okay. I completely understand, and I know what you’ve got planned,” she stated as she got into her car.
“You do?” My shocked expression made her laugh.
“Yep. We’re going to find out a little more information, and then you’re going to try to meet up with this killer. I may let you, but then again, I might not. Depends on what we uncover.”
She threw the car in gear and we took off. We drove around for quite a while, getting on the highway and then off. Doing a U-turn only to go back the same way minutes later.
“Are we ever going to get there?” I hated asking like a little kid, but we’d been driving in circles for almost an hour.
“Yep.” She pulled up to a garage type warehouse and the door opened for us to drive inside.
“Fancy,” I commented as I looked around. The outside looked rundown and abandoned, while the inside was completely state of the art.
“Well, it’s my place now that Kevin is gone. There are a few others, but most of them aren’t around long enough to use what we’ve put together.” She wiped at the corners of her eyes.
“I have a friend that would have loved a place like this to work. He always had to do whatever the police department issued him, but oh, he could make those mainframes sing.”
“Well, let’s get started. How familiar are you with this kind of thing?” She offered one of the chairs as she got the equipment turned on.
“I’m not as good as Kevin or Mac, but I can find my way around.”
“Mac? Not Farmer MacDonald?” Her head whipped around toward me in shock.
“It’s one of his screen names. Why?”
“Uh, you don’t need me if you’ve got access to him. He’s amazing. We all look up to him, and the things he can make a computer do are just out of this world. I’ve never been able to get him to meet with us, but one
day…” Barbie got a dreamy look in her eye.
“That’s kind of the problem. He’s gone.”
“Gone? Did they kill him?”
“I don’t think so, but I think we’re supposed to assume that. I don’t want to speculate…”
“Whew!” She placed a hand over her heart. “I couldn’t bear it if I lost both Kevin and Farm M.”
“Were you two a thing?” I asked, curious about her vested interest.
“We’d managed to flirt a lot, but it hadn’t gone past that. Yet.” She grinned at me. “Maybe if we find him alive, you could introduce us one of these days?”
“Yes, ma’am. I believe that can be arranged. Sort of a blind date?”
She nodded and took a seat. “Now, who is this witch that killed our friend?”
“I think her name is Didra Beauregard. She goes by the name Zesty when she’s killing people.”
“Didra Beauregard?” Barbie whistled. “She’s rich stuff.”
“What I need to do is find out if and where she’s traveled in the past month. She’ll have flown on regular flights because she can’t take her private plane to kill people.”
Barbie tapped a few keys and then hit a button triumphantly.
Zesty’s photo appeared in front of me on her ID.
“That’s her. She’s the one I saw in my vision,” I exclaimed in awe.
“And,” Barbie hit a few more keys, “here is Didra Beauregard. Identical, aren’t they?”
“It does appear that way. Do you have a phone number for her?” I asked, eager to get this done.
“Yes, I do. As well as her home, and a few other places that she frequents.”
I wasn’t paying attention because I was dialing her number.
“Didra Beauregard? This is Detective Leslie Boxe, and I was hoping that you could answer a few more questions for me that didn’t get taken care of when you were at the FBI headquarters the other night. Is there any way we could get you to come in?”
No harm in asking nicely.
“Ah, Leslie, it’s so good to hear from you. I have been waiting for your call. Did you like the message I left?”
“Well, Didra, or should I call you Zesty? I’m afraid that I didn’t see it because, you see, I wasn’t going to look at my friend in that state.”
“So you know about both of my identities. No matter, it won’t change what the Zodiac Master has planned of you.”
“I don’t always like to do what men plan for me, and I’m guessing you don’t either. Honestly, now that I know who you are, it’s only a matter of time before he tries to kill you, and I really want to talk to you before that happens.”
“You surprise me. I wondered what made you so special that he would focus all of his energies on you. I’m willing to meet you, but I want it to just be you and me. There’s a warehouse about five minutes from where you’re sitting. I’ll be there in just a minute if you want to come play?”
“You got it,” I growled, hanging up.
“How on earth did she know that I was here? Is there a radar that sends my presence throughout the world to alert all the bad guys?”
Barbie laughed. “No, but I underestimated the kind of chip the Zodiac Master must have put somewhere in your body.”
“Don’t worry about it now. Go meet her, and I’ll let Adam know and find out what kind of tracking they’ve got on you. We need to get it out so that you can actually get the bastard she’s working for.”
“Thank you.” I put a hand on her shoulder. “Let them know all of this when they get here.”
“Oh, I’m not bringing them here. I’m sending them to you.”
She looked my way. “There’ll be time for all the other stuff once you’ve taken the threat away.”
“Done.” I checked my bullets and walked out with my gun held to my side.
Chapter 11
Leslie
I knew it could be a trap, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that. I was ready for this to be over. No more games. Just me and a killer, who sounded like she might just give me the information to take down the Zodiac Master.
The silence of the warehouse made the hairs on the back of my neck stand out.
My finger twitched over the trigger, ready to use it if I saw anything that moved.
“Hello.” A voice from above echoed loudly in the empty space.
“Come out where I can see you,” I called out, suddenly unafraid.
She moved out of the shadows behind one of the large metal beams.
“It’s nice to meet you.” She tilted her head to the side, as if trying to get a read on me.
“Why am I not killing you right now?” I questioned, aiming my gun at her.
“Because I don’t want to die, and the Zodiac Master is so intent on wiping out each of his recruits, he never thought one of them might turn the tables on him. If I give you everything you need to find him, I’ll disappear, and you won’t hear from me again.”
“How can I trust the word of a killer? You’ll just be back doing the same thing only somewhere else.”
“Well, you really can’t. Although, I don’t really want this Zodiac Master to win. He’s got a hard-on for you, and I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. I could just disappear and go somewhere you couldn’t reach me, but I’m pretty sure that he will come for me, and being protected by the law isn’t really going to do me much good.”
Without lowering the gun, I ordered, “Start speaking.”
“He’s someone who’s been close enough to monitor your habits. He has information on all of your people. The scope of networks are so impressive that it’s going to take the FBI years to unravel it.”
“Nope, nothing I didn’t know. Try again.” I moved my finger over the trigger.
“Agent Watson doesn’t work for the Zodiac Master. He works for…”
Zesty’s voice trailed off as a katana sliced through the air, severing her head from her body.
“Tsk, tsk, poor Zesty. She didn’t know when to shut up, did she?” A man with a mask covering his face was standing there as her body fell to the ground. “Never send someone to do your dirty work if you aren’t willing to do it yourself.” He chuckled as he leaned forward and wiped the katana on Zesty’s clothes. “Guess you weren’t expecting to see me. I thought it was time we got to know each other a little better.”
“I don’t want to get to know you. I want you dead or in prison, but dead really works for me.” I pulled the trigger and hit him in the chest.
He just smiled and rubbed the spot.
Crap, he’s got body armor on.
“Not going to be as easy as you thought, huh?” He laughed at me. “Don’t worry, you’ll have other chances.”
He threw something on the ground that blew up into smoke, like a magician would use.
As I raced forward, I knew he was gone.
“Son of bitch!” I yelled.
“Leslie? Where are you?” Adam called from the front entrance.
“Back here by the body.” I bent down and closed her eyes.
“Sorry, that karma wasn’t kind to you. At least Kevin got some justice,” I whispered as Adam and a few other agents joined me.
“It’s all over, she’s dead.” I stood up and straightened.
“We heard a gunshot.” Adam surveyed the room, looking for anyone who might take a shot at us while we were distracted.
“That was me shooting at the Zodiac Master after he killed her. He had on a bulletproof vest.”
I knew there were tears streaming down my face, but they weren’t for Zesty. They were for all of us who were still alive, because this wasn’t over yet.
The rest of the team started calling in backup and getting things sorted out.
Adam didn’t say anything as we walked outside.
“I’m going to need a ride to my car. It’s in the shopping center.”
He held out his arms and I let him give me a hug.
Seconds later
, I pushed back away from him. “I’m good. Let’s go so I can give my statement and forget this day ever happened.”
“There’s been a lot of those lately,” he sympathized. “What happened at your meeting with Barbie?”
“She’s going to help us. All of Kevin’s information is with her. I also have some sort of tracker. She scanned me, and I appeared to be clean, but Zesty knew exactly where I was at.”
“Crap, that’s not good.” Adam hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand.
“Barbie said she had a few ideas. We’ll give her a day or two. Right now, I just want to go home and take a shower.”
“That makes sense. Another killer bites the dust.”
“Right now, that isn’t really a consolation. He’s just toying with us. I feel like I can’t take much more of this, and then two minutes later, I’m ready to take on the world and kick his ass.”
Adam chuckled as he pulled up next to my car. “I think we’ve all been on a rollercoaster lately, and could use a few good things in our lives.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” I got out and unlocked my car. As I sat in the seat, my phone beeped.
Digging in the console, I pulled it out to see three missed calls from Ryan.
Voicemail rang out over the speaker as I started the car. “Hey, Leslie, its Ryan. We’ve taken Shea back to the hospital. They’re going to let her have the baby this time. Anyway, if you can, we’ll be at the hospital when you get this.”
I sat there with my car running as I laughed, with tears streaming down my face again.
This could be considered a good thing, and I was going to go get a shower because a Godmother couldn’t meet her future charge with the smell of death and gunpowder all covering her.
***
I held little Hope Ivy in my arms for the first time and couldn’t imagine anything sweeter.
Ryan and Shea looked exhausted, but were both simply glowing.
“She’s precious.” I kissed her forehead as she reached a hand up toward my face. “I think she looks a lot more like you, Shea, than she does her daddy. It’s a good thing he carries a badge because it’ll make the boys think twice before they take her out on a date.”
