Tough Justice: Countdown Box Set

by Carla Cassidy

  “First of all, I did and always have done my job within the boundaries of our law. Anything less and I would have already lost that job.”

  “Unless it was covered up or kept a secret,” Jennifer pointed. It riled the man’s feathers in an instant. He turned a brilliant shade of red. Which is how she knew, without a doubt, that he was guilty of exactly what Victoria had said. A man who had made a career out of remaining calm in intense situations shouldn’t have been so affected by a few words. Yet, there he was. Sitting in his plush leather desk chair looking like a version of the Hulk, minus the green. And the muscles.

  “I have built my career—and my life—on honor and integrity. I will not have you sit here and tear all of that down.” Mathers practically seethed. He pushed back his chair and stood. Ty kept his seat. Jennifer wondered why until she noticed his hand. He had two fingers up.

  “Secondly?” Ty asked, wagging his fingers at the man. It earned a raised eyebrow from Mathers. “You said ‘first of all’ before you got sidetracked. You know, when you became way too defensive at what Agent Gulden said. Which means she hit one hell of a nerve, which probably also means there’s more than a little truth to all of this. And now I’m wondering what that second thing you were going to tell us was before you almost completely lost it.”

  Jennifer held back her smile. It seemed she and Ty were on the same page. Something he would never have admitted, but still it was nice to know she was on the same wavelength as the seasoned agent.

  Mathers, on the other hand, must have finally realized flying off the handle was having the opposite effect on them. Instead of pushing them away in fear, it was pulling them closer in curiosity. He took a second to compose himself and sat back down. When he spoke again there his clear, clipped words revealed an attempt to appear calm.

  “I was going to say that, secondly, if I had played the role you say I did in helping Victoria Russo, why would I tell anyone? Just the whisper would run the risk of getting out to the public and once it got there my career would be over. Every case I was ever a part of would be torn to shreds trying to find any trace of corruption. Not to mention falsifying evidence is illegal. With that alone comes several waves of consequence and complications. Two things I would never want to deal with. So, I ask you again, who in their right mind would tell anyone that secret? Because I sure as hell wouldn’t.”

  * * *

  Xander wanted to fly across the table and wring Oscar Mackworth’s neck.

  He knew James was on the same page. Probably struggling with the impulse to do damage to the smug asshole in front of them more than him. He knew James well enough to recognize that the junior agent had two reasons to try to keep Victoria’s information from getting exposed.

  The first and most obvious was to save their boss while taking down the bad guy. It was the right thing to do, it would save people and justice could be served.

  The second reason, and maybe a stronger one at the moment, was a bit more irrational. This was as close to the bomber as they had gotten. The secret had been the reason behind the bomb that took the lives of so many. The bomber had taken the secret and the bomb and killed William, even if William had created the secret and in the end taken his own life.

  Oscar sat across from them in his prison jumpsuit, wearing a smirk that hadn’t left since they’d first walked in. The killer represented the physical incarnation of a secret that had caused William’s death.

  And, like Xander, James wanted to destroy that secret so no more lives would be lost, Victoria’s included. It was something James hadn’t been able to do for his brother.

  “And why do you two fine FBI gentlemen want to talk to me in the middle of the night?” Oscar asked. His lawyer, a fiery redheaded woman sat next to him, alert. Assigning him a female lawyer had been an attempt to show he wasn’t some monster that preyed on the opposite sex. Though Xander doubted the man had ever fantasied about raping and killing the lawyer anyway. His preference was nice. And that wasn’t the woman currently shooting daggers at Xander from across the table.

  “We just want to know your opinion on why you ended up in here,” Xander said. “In your own words.”

  Oscar’s smirk faltered. His eyebrow rose. “A piece of evidence was supposedly found in my shed,” he said. “Despite me telling the truth—”

  “That my client, Mr. Mackworth, was in no way involved with the abductions, rapes and killings of those five women,” the lawyer jumped in. “And subsequently was not in possession of Melanie Martinez’s ring.”

  Xander felt his jaw clench. He hated lawyers.

  “So how did it get there then?” James asked. Though they knew the answer they weren’t about to tell Oscar or his lawyer that the ring had been planted. What they needed was for him to admit to the theory that he had been set up and then if he’d told anyone his theory.

  They didn’t have to wait long.

  “Since it wasn’t me, I don’t know,” Oscar said. His smirk had faded but in the next moment it was back, full force. A look of excitement widened his eyes. Xander didn’t like it. Not one bit.

  “Unless you know how it got there,” the man said, with a tilt of his head. Before they could say anything he turned to his lawyer. “Make sure you pay attention, Nancy. I think these agents might hold the key to me getting out of here.”

  “Like hell,” James snarled.

  His flare of anger only fanned Oscar’s excitement at possibly seeing a way out of his sentence. Staying any longer might help his case, too. They needed to leave.

  Because, as much as he hated coming up to a dead end when following a lead, Xander knew that Oscar hadn’t been the leak.

  * * *

  “I’ve seen a lot through the years,” Greg Byrne said. “Bad, evil, worse. You name it. The only way to cope with it all is to deal with it and then move on.” He leaned back in his chair but kept his gaze between Lara and Nick. “But some things gnaw at you until you’re raw.”

  Lara felt herself lean in a little, transfixed by the man’s words.

  She definitely understood them.

  “There’s only two ways to get rid of those things. You either drink them away or confront them.”

  “And which did you do?” Nick asked.

  “A little of both.”

  Greg glanced back at the hallway that must have led to his bedroom where his wife was sleeping. Lara thought he might be gearing up to tell them something he didn’t want his wife to know but, he surprised her.

  “Thank God for my wife. She saved me from my own head.”

  When he turned back to them there was steel in his resolve. “One night I finally realized what had been gnawing me so much. I figured it out after a few glasses of scotch.”

  “You helped falsify evidence against Mackworth,” Nick supplied.

  There was no hesitation as Greg nodded. “I helped Russo, knowing without a doubt that that son of a bitch did exactly what he was put in prison for,” he said.

  “Then why did it gnaw at you?” Lara couldn’t help but ask. “If you knew what he’d done—tortured, raped and killed innocent young women—then why would you let what had happened torment you?”

  Nick didn’t like the question. That much Lara could tell by the subtle change in his body language. It was probably due to the emotions that had sprung from between her lips as she spoke. But she couldn’t help it. Like background music, she heard Victoria retelling the story behind the women and their deaths. She felt the pain and despair of senseless death and then the pain and despair of losing her boss and friend. How Nick could remain emotionless in the moment was a goddamn miracle, if you asked Lara.

  Greg thought a moment before answering. There was sincerity behind his words. “Because I lost the line,” he said, simply. Lara felt her eyebrow rise.

  “I don’t understand.”

&n
bsp; “I became bitter at the abuse of power I saw on the force. Even before Mackworth, I used to see it everywhere. Small things, big things, important things, insignificant things. You name, I saw it. And I hated it. I still do. When you become a part of the system where you are given a job that’s sole purpose is justice, sure, there’s the area of gray that some cases have. But just because there isn’t an easy answer doesn’t mean you have to cheat to find one. Sometimes there isn’t easy or even hard. Sometimes there’s impossible and you have to meet it with your head held high. Because, no matter what, there is always a line you aren’t supposed to cross.” Greg fisted his hands. “And I made a promise to myself that I would never lose that line.”

  “And then you did,” Nick finished.

  Greg nodded, tight. “And when you lose that line once who’s to say you can ever really find it again?” he added.

  The room became quiet. Heavy. Painful.

  Lara knew the line. So did Nick. Crossing it, though? Losing it all together? Would that ever happen to them? Or had it already happened?

  “You told someone,” Nick prodded. It wasn’t a question.

  Lara knew then with certainty that they were looking at the leak. Greg nodding only underlined that fact.

  “I remembered my daughter talking about how easy it was to vent on the internet. Especially on blogs,” Greg said. “So, in the moment, it seemed like a good idea. I made up a username, redacted our real names and Mackworth’s, and told complete strangers what had happened.”

  Nick pulled out his phone, already texting. “We need you to come with us to give a witness statement,” he said, eyes on his phone. “Now.”

  Greg nodded, more resigned than the man who had originally answered the door and invited them into his home.

  “Let me tell my wife and change,” he said, getting up. Before he left the room, however, he gave them one last piece of advice. “You don’t understand now why I had to tell someone, why it gnaws at me even though I know he’s guilty. And, hopefully, you never will understand. Just keep your eye on that line. There’s a hell of a lot more to lose if you cross it than if you just stayed on the right side of it.”

  Chapter Five

  Greg drove his own car and not once deviated from their route. When Lara came over after they parked to walk him in while Nick went ahead to talk to Christina, he stood tall. No grumbling. No complaints.

  It wasn’t until he and Lara were in the elevator that he said anything. “I could lose my pension over this, if it gets out and they investigate.”

  Lara kept her eyes off his, tracing the glowing buttons on the panel across from her instead as the doors closed. “And Oscar Mackworth will most likely go free,” she said.

  Out of her periphery she saw him dip his head low into one, solemn, nod. Frustration, pure and true, bounced around beneath her skin. She tried to keep her mouth shut but everything that had happened seemed to hit her all at once. And maybe because she could no longer keep quiet. The car ride over had been filled with silence and now she couldn’t do that anymore.

  Lara knew Greg saw the change in her demeanor. The way her entire body tensed all at once. When the doors slid open to the CMU, she didn’t move to get out.

  Neither did Greg.

  “Say your piece,” he said.

  Lara turned and faced the retired cop. In the florescent lighting of the elevator, wearing an everyday man’s shirt and jeans, and balding, Greg Byrne looked smaller. Or, maybe Lara felt bigger. Righteous even. All she could think about was Victoria losing her career and a horrible man being freed to rape and kill as he pleased. All while another crazed man sat in wait, ready to blow up and kill hundreds without hesitation.

  “You lied about the ring because when you thought about Oscar, you thought about what he would do to your two daughters if given the chance.” Lara didn’t stop when the man tensed. Anger coupled with her frustration. “And then you vented because of what lying did to your personal code.” Her voice became sharp, low. “In my opinion, all you really did was violate that same code by trying to redeem it. To make yourself feel better you risked the very real possibility that Oscar would get out of prison. And if he gets out, you know he’ll kill again.” Lara leaned a fraction closer, her words nearly vibrating around them in the small space. “And it won’t be people like us—jaded, corrupted men and women constantly trying to fight our way out of the gray areas in between—that he’ll target. No, he’ll torture and kill young, innocent women. And, it’ll be then that you’ll finally realize that in trying to restore your sense of honor—your code, that little line that keeps your world neat and orderly—that you broke that same code to protect the innocent. All because you lied and felt bad about it.”

  Greg opened his mouth to defend himself. However, a few seconds went by and no words came out. Instead he just stared at her. Slowly, his eyes widened. And then the rest was twisting into an expression Lara more than recognized.

  Hatred. But not for her or Mackworth or even Victoria.

  No, it was for himself.

  Lara turned and hit the door open button. She was done. The flow of anger and frustration hadn’t been dried up but it had been plugged.

  The doors slid open showing them the CMU for a second time. This time Nick was waiting. He took a second to look between Lara and Greg but kept his observations to himself.

  “Come with me,” he said to the retired cop. Then to Lara, “Wait for me in the conference room.”

  Lara nodded. She got off the elevator and never saw Greg Byrne again.

  Instead of going to the conference room, Lara took a detour to check on Christina. The tech analyst’s gaze was stuck to her various monitors and her fingers skimmed over her keyboard, Lara knew she was focused.

  “How’s it going?” Lara asked with a knock on the door frame.

  Christina didn’t look up. “I’m hunting through the blog that cop guy gave Nick,” she answered, no hesitation in her hands.

  “What do you hope to find?”

  “A breadcrumb. A clue. Any suspicious users or posts that could link to our sadistic, megalomaniac friend.” She let out a sigh and paused to look back at Lara and then to the clock on the wall. “But I need more time.”

  “Then we’ll try to give it to you.”

  Lara almost jumped as Victoria appeared at her shoulder. Christina raised her eyebrow and, in answer, Victoria held up her hand in a stopping motion.

  “You just worry about finding a link through that site and we’ll worry about the rest,” she said.

  “You got it,” Christina said. She turned back to her keyboard. Lara and Victoria walked out to the sound of fingers slapping keys.

  “How are we going to get more time?” Lara asked as they headed to the conference room. “Did we find something we could use as leverage against this son of a bitch?”

  Victoria shook her head. “We’re just going to have to ask for it,” she said. They walked into the conference room. It was empty. Lara turned to face her boss.

  “He’s not just going to give us more time to try and catch him,” she pointed out. Victoria rolled her eyes.

  “Which is why I’m going to ask him to meet and talk in person instead.”

  “But—”

  This time Victoria used her hand to stop Lara’s comments in their tracks. “I highly doubt he’ll say yes, first off,” she said. “But if he does, then that opens up an entirely new avenue of opportunity for us to catch and stop him.”

  “Or gives him the perfect opportunity to kill you,” Lara had to add.

  Victoria smiled. “Which is the very definition of an occupational hazard for this particular job.”

  Lara had to concede to that. She took a seat at the table. Victoria didn’t follow suit but she did hover next to the chair at the head of the table, a protective h
and on the back of it.

  “You know, it was Greg Byrne,” Lara had to say. “He was the leak.”

  A range of emotions flashed across Victoria’s face. Among them Lara picked out betrayal and anger, two emotions she was more than familiar with herself. But then Victoria’s expression softened into a state of emotion that Lara often grappled with.

  Understanding.

  “Nick already told me but, to be honest, I assumed it was Greg before that,” Victoria admitted. “As much as I’d hoped it wasn’t. If this thing does go public and we can leave his name out of it, I would like that.” She must have seen the anger that flared up again within Lara. “Don’t be too harsh on Greg. A conscience is a hard thing to battle.”

  Lara opened her mouth to bring up the points she’d made to Greg in the elevator but Nick flew in.

  “I hear you’re buying us more time?” he asked.

  Victoria nodded. Pulling out her cell phone she began to type, saying the words out loud as she entered them. “I was waiting for you.”

  Nick looked confused so Lara explained. “She’s asking to meet him in person.”

  Instead of arguing with the decision, he crossed his arms over his chest and waited. It made Lara wonder if she was too emotionally close to what was happening. Then again, their perp had targeted their leader. No matter how you sliced it, that was personal as hell.

  “‘Can we meet in person to talk this out?’” Victoria read. Nick and Lara approved the message and so she sent it, leaving the three of them to wait in silence.

  It wasn’t a long wait. Her phone vibrated no more than a minute later. She read it in silence and then, in a burst of aggression that seemed to come out of every pore, Victoria threw her phone across the table.

  Lara was fast and grabbed the cell before it could slide off. She read the text out loud.

  Ticktock goes the clock.