There was no doubt backup would be needed. She would have to check out every member of the squad in even deeper detail to pick those who could absolutely be trusted.
The biggest problem was, she had to do it all without anyone knowing. Not even Captain Wells. How they would get even one member of the squad to agree to this and keep it on the QT was going to be a real challenge.
She was a few minutes late getting to her desk.
Dwanda walked over. “You’re late, girlfriend.”
Gina chuckled. She liked this woman more every day and prayed she passed the smell test.
“Traffic,” Gina said. The lie fell easily.
“I hear you. But you missed the big announcement.”
“What?”
“Callahan is throwing a backyard barbecue Saturday. We’re all invited.”
“Sounds like fun. What’s the occasion?” As if she didn’t know.
“You.” Dwanda chuckled. “It’s kind of a welcome to the squad thing.”
She looked over at Darin.
He grinned. Her heart did something crazy.
What was wrong with her anyway? Gina knew only too well how men could hurt you. Even good men. She turned away.
“Since you’re the guest of honor you have to be there,” Darin said as he sauntered over.
“How nice of you. What can I bring?”
“Not a thing. You’re the newbie. The rest of us will take care of it,” Dwanda informed her.
Darin handed out assignments. Dwanda and Ernie were taking to the streets to see if they could get info on Chavizi’s operation. Hank and Leya would check out Ramiro’s, Joe and Melanie would cruise the streets, check with a snitch or two. At this point, any bit of information would be good.
Only he and Gina were left. “I want to go back to Hunter’s place. I was pretty upset the last time I searched it. I could have missed something.”
“Did you check his computer?”
“I didn’t. I’ll do it today.”
“Good.”
They were in his pickup and on their way in less than ten minutes. “What do you think we’ll find?”
Darin shrugged. “Anything would be better than the nothing I have so far.”
“You’re right.” She studied him a minute. His expression was serious, his eyes on the road. All business. “Have you given any more thought to what we talked about last night?”
“I have. You’re probably right about needing more help than the two of us. I just don’t like the idea of someone getting hurt because of my obsession to find Hunter’s killer.”
“You have to remember that they want him as well. They’ll be eager to help put him down. But we can’t do much until you or I have vetted them thoroughly.”
“The barbecue Saturday will get that started.”
“Will they come alone or with their families?”
“Families are invited.”
“Good. I want to see them in a casual setting and in a situation that doesn’t pertain to work. By the way, I have a friend in Dallas who can get us new identities. If it’s okay with you I’ll get him started on them.”
“Sounds good. How long will it take?”
“About as long as it’s going to take us to check out the squad members and get our story lined up.”
Darin nodded.
Okay, he was going along with the plan just as she expected. It was time to spring the big one on him.
“I’m going to have my connection set us up as husband and wife. It’ll be easier to pull this off. Also give us a better excuse to be together.”
The pickup wobbled for a few seconds before he got it under control again. “You’re not serious.”
“What? You don’t think we can do it?
“I don’t want you there at all. But husband and wife? It could cause more problems, not solve them.”
“It’ll work out fine, Darin. We just have to get our story down pat.”
“Damn!” he said under his breath.
“I hear you.” She laughed.
He glared.
Chapter Seven
When they turned into Hunter’s driveway, Gina made an effort to hide her smile. Darin was fighting the idea of going undercover as husband and wife big time. She could see it in the way he gripped the steering wheel and the set of his jaw. She had the feeling if she weren’t sitting here, he’d hit something.
She didn’t think he would take to the idea easily. She wasn’t that sure about it herself. But the boss thought it would work, so she’d make it work.
“Do you have a key?” she asked.
“Haley gave me a spare.”
He opened the door, and they stepped inside. It had the musty odor a house gets when the occupant is gone.
There were boxes everywhere.
“Someone’s clearing out his things.” Darin’s jaw set even tighter. He was taking his partner’s death hard. She fought the urge to go over, pat his back, and tell him everything would be all right. He wouldn’t appreciate the gesture. But the look in his eyes told her how upset and angry he was.
He hurried to one of the spare bedrooms where Hunter kept his computer and exercise equipment. “Computer’s still here.”
“Shall I?”
At his nod, she sat at the desk and turned the PC on. “You wouldn’t happen to know his password, would you?”
“Sure I would. It’s Narc8.”
“Of course it is.”
While she filtered through the computer files Darin searched through the desk drawers as well as the drawers in the bedroom, but was finding nothing that would help.
“Anything?” he asked after they’d spent an hour searching.
Gina was checking the last of Hunter’s e-mail messages. A partially composed one caught her eye. “Listen to this. It’s addressed to you. ‘We have a dirty cop in our midst. No proof. Yet.’” She looked at Darin. “Did you have any idea your partner was onto someone?”
Darin’s expression gave her the answer. “Nothing from what he told me. Since then I’ve put a few pieces of the puzzle together.”
“We need more.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Did Hunter think I was involved?”
The look of incredulity on Darin’s face showed how much the thought hurt. Of its own accord her heart went out to him. “The e-mail wouldn’t have been addressed to you if that were so.”
“Hope not.”
“He probably didn’t want to point his finger until he had enough evidence to prove his charge.”
“Sounds like him. And he knew I couldn’t be involved.”
“So who is the person involved in all this?” Gina asked. She ignored the look on Darin’s face and asked the hard question that had to be asked. “It has to be a member of the squad, but which one? Or is there more than one?”
“Dammit! I don’t know.”
He ran a hand through his hair, which had to be a nervous habit of his. For a fleeting moment she had the urge to do it for him. The thought sat her back on her heels. Something had come over her since she came to Houston.
“We have to find out.”
“Are you through?”
“Give me another few minutes. I want to look through everything one more time to see if I’ve missed anything.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen.”
****
But instead of the kitchen, which had already been packed up, Darin went to the garage. Hunter’s car was gone. Everything else was there: a barbecue pit, lawnmower, gas can. A shelf full of cleaning products for the car and some gardening tools were all that was left. He examined each item, looked under every can. Nothing. Where would he hide something he wouldn’t want anyone to find?
Darin stood there, thought of all the times they had discussed cases, laughed at the bizarre places where they’d seen drug dealers hide money.
He suddenly realized where Hunter would hide something he wouldn’t want found. Darin’s heart raced as he went back into the house and
to the living room. Most of the stuff was in boxes. He started opening them one by one, dumping everything on the floor. “Where is it?”
“What are you doing?” Gina asked from the doorway.
“Look through every box. Hunter got a commendation and a plaque for one of the busts we were on. I need to find it.”
“Why?” she asked, already on her knees and opening the first box.
They had two left when he found it. “Got it. Let’s see if I was right.”
The plaque was thick, at least two inches. Darin turned it over, peeled off the glued felt bottom. Cellophane wrapped papers fell into his hand. He stuffed them in his pocket without looking. “Are you through with the computer?”
“Yes. I couldn’t find anything else.”
He stuck the bottom back to the plaque as best he could and buried it in a box of framed photos. “Let’s get out of here.”
“We’re leaving this mess?”
“Yep.” He took her arm and hurried her to the door. When he got there, he opened it carefully, then looked outside to see if anyone was there. His paranoia was back, full blown.
They hurried to his truck and were out of there in seconds.
“What did you find?”
“Don’t know. We’ll check it out at my house.”
It was the one place Darin knew was secure. No nosy neighbors, no one to overhear their conversation, no one to know what they’d found.
He drove in circles in case they were followed. By the time they got there Darin’s nerves were doing the boogie. What had Hunter left him? Because he’d sure as hell left the papers for Darin to find. Who else would know where to look?
“Nice house,” Gina said as he walked through the front door and headed for the kitchen.
His mouth felt like the Sahara. Nerves. He took out a pitcher of iced tea and poured two glasses.
Gina accepted the glass he handed her and took a sip. “Thanks.”
Taking the papers from his pocket, he went to the table and sat down, then waved for her to do the same. For a moment he sat there taking silent breaths. Doing his best to keep his hands steady, he looked at what Hunter had hidden.
“What is it?” she asked.
“A hand written note.”
“And?”
“Read it yourself.”
“Surprise, surprise,” she read aloud. “Our stalwart captain is having an affair. Wonder if Dorothy knows? Don’t know who it is. But guess what I think? The captain is gay. After a few stakeouts the only person I see going into his motel room is a guy in a baseball cap. Working on finding out who he is.”
She turned the paper over. Nothing else.
“There’s a photo.”
It was bleary, but you could see the figure going into a motel room. He had on a baseball cap and a man’s shirt. “Who is he?” she asked.
Darin shrugged, looked closer. The person looked familiar. He sat back, his head whirling with possibilities. Could their captain be involved in this whole mess? The drugs? Hunter’s death?
Impossible.
Picking up another note Gina read, “I’m getting close. I’ve been documenting everything I find for after the takedown. There’s a mole in the squad. Don’t trust anyone but you, Darin. Haven’t figured it out just yet. Whoever he or she is gives Chavizi, or maybe it’s Ramiro, information. Little wonder we can’t catch anyone in the act. But we will when this comes down and then we’ll celebrate.”
“Shit! Shit! Shit! His investigation got him killed. Why didn’t he tell me? It would make more sense than all of this secret shit. And he wouldn’t be dead.” He looked at Gina. She was being all cop as she sat there and examined every scrap of paper. Not once, but over and over again.
“Can I see the photo?”
She handed it back. “This looks like the guy I saw the night Hunter was shot. Surely, Captain Wells isn’t involved.”
“I know how you feel about the squad. You’ve worked together a long time. But right now we have to assume everyone is guilty until we check them out. Even the captain.”
****
Darin sat there with his head in his hands. For some unfathomable reason, Gina found herself wanting to comfort him. He had taken the loss of his partner hard. That was bad enough, now he was faced with the truth. There was a mole among his friends. The possible connection between his boss and the drug busts gone wrong had to be devastating. Or was he just a damned good actor? Of course he wasn’t. He was Detective Darin Callahan, a man hell-bent on solving his partner’s murder and not liking what he found on the way.
“Is this your partner’s handwriting?”
“Yes,” he said, his voice low and tortured.
They finished their tea in silence.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said.
“What are you going to do with those?” She pointed to the picture and notes.
“I’ll put them in a safe place,” he answered and disappeared into the part of the house she presumed were the bedrooms.
He was back in a few minutes. “If anything happens to me you’ll find them in the same commendation plaque as Hunter’s.”
Her heart kicked up a notch at the statement. It took a concerted effort to tamp it down.
She watched him carefully; the hard line of his mouth, the determination in eyes so green they were almost black. Her heart hitched up another notch. From now on she’d have to watch herself as well as Darin. They had a job to do. Together. She couldn’t allow her weird feelings to interfere.
By the time they were on the road again she was a bundle of nerves. “Where to now?”
“Headquarters. Let’s see if anyone has anything for us.” He looked over at her. “Not a word of this to anyone. Get busy on our fake backgrounds. I want to be ready to go when we get the papers for our new identities.”
His voice was harder than before. More determined. He was holding in his anger and projecting it onto the job. That was a good thing.
“You’ll need a disguise. Everyone in the warehouse saw you the night your partner was killed, plus if we have a mole...?” She shrugged. “It will have to be a good one. We’ll need a photo of both of us in our disguise for our new ID. Can you do it?”
Darin gave a quick nod. “You work on the background and your disguise. Together we’ll check out the squad. Once we find the mole this whole thing will be over. Or close to it.”
No if’s, and’s, or but’s. Darin was on a mission.
“About the money?”
“Where will we get the amount we’ll need? For a minute there, I thought we could get the captain involved. That’s out now.” He looked at her. “I didn’t really think you had a rich uncle.”
She grinned. “I was kidding. But I’m working on it.”
“You need to work faster.”
The chief had promised about a million in cash. It wouldn’t do.
“You realize if the guy the captain is seeing is the one you saw the night Hunter was killed it means he’s involved.”
“Maybe. But more than likely he’s just screwing around on Dorothy. I doubt it’s the same guy. There’s nothing more to it.”
“Even if the guy isn’t the same one you saw, do you think what he’s doing is okay?”
Darin’s mouth thinned even more. “I didn’t say that. It’s not okay. He took a vow. If he wants out he should get a divorce.”
“I agree,” she said softly.
From what she’d learned of the Callahans, they were a close family with high morals. His mother had been married to their father until the day he was killed in a tractor accident. She hadn’t remarried. All of Darin’s siblings were happily married. On paper they had values and a closeness she envied.
Her own background wasn’t as nice and tidy.
Darin broke into her thoughts. “Since you’re new, what’s your first impression of the squad?”
“Good. Professional. On a personal level they act as if they care about each other. Like a family.”
&nb
sp; “There’s a bad apple in there somewhere.”
“We’ll find the rotten one,” she promised.
“I asked my brother-in-law to look into their backgrounds. He checked them and their bank accounts.”
“This the one you told me about?”
“Max has a computer genius on the payroll. He can get information we can’t.”
“Handy person to know,” she commented. She knew all this, of course. But would this genius turn up more than she had?
“Bernie looked at each one of them, at their backgrounds, their lifestyle. He checked their finances. All of them could use more money. I guess if you get right down to it, everyone can. But when I look into their eyes, I don’t see any one of them capable of the treachery it took to have one of their own shot and killed,” Darin admitted. “Hunter was somewhere he shouldn’t have been. Maybe he recognized the mole and whoever it is either killed him or had someone else pull the trigger. We won’t know until we ID him or her.”
“I agree. We’re just speculating. Not good. There are six people we have to check out, plus the captain. Most of them are innocent. I’ll keep that in mind when I do my research.” Except she’d already been over everything out there and found nothing.
She was going to have to dig deeper and she was going to have to add Captain Wells to the list.
Somebody was hiding something.
“The captain can’t be involved,” Darin said, his voice low. “He’s the one who sends us on our calls. We trust him—we make busts every day of the week at his request. How can he be guilty?”
“Anything is possible.”
“All I can see is the image of the guys loading the truck that night. All wore baseball caps. Only one wore his shirt out and over his jeans.” He looked over at her. “Just like the photo.”
“Can we be sure it’s the captain in the motel room?” she asked.
“If Hunter said he was, we can be sure. He was the best investigator on the team.”
She watched Darin. His face was pale, his hands clenched on the steering wheel. This investigation was taking its toll. Could he handle the pressure? Going undercover was never easy. This operation would be a bitch in more ways than one.
Added to the mix, she was attracted. The attraction frightened her more than the part she was playing now or the one she would play later.
Promise Renewed (The Callahan Series Book 5) Page 8
