Rising Tide (Coastal Fury Book 5)

by Matt Lincoln

  Alice had to think back, way back. It was a blur, but it was there.

  “We opened one of the restaurants to homeless people on Christmas, and I had to give out napkins and spoons. That’s what I remember.”

  “We did a lot more than that, but the younger bosses didn’t like sharing,” Thelma told her. “They really didn’t like that it was for homeless people of any color, and because Christmas isn’t a holiday for us. John had to end the tradition or else face something of a mutiny.”

  “Didn’t that make him look weak?” Alice couldn’t imagine her grandfather bowing to lower-level demands.

  “Not in the way he framed it.” Thelma shook her head with a chuckle. “He made it sound like it was his idea. What they didn’t know was that he sent a catering truck to a local shelter every year after that.”

  That was a version that Alice rarely saw of her grandfather. Yéyé had been a lot more complex than she realized.

  “If I tell everyone that I’m not going to take Yéyé’s place, I’ll be out of danger, right?” She hoped her older cousin would say something reassuring, but Thelma was quiet. “Cousin? All I have to do is make crystal clear that I still want to be left alone, right?”

  Thelma sighed. “I wish I could answer that. It depends on who knows and who wants you out of the way. As it is, there’s discontent over your father’s ascension to the head of the family. It’s always been assumed that John would appoint him to take over. People wanted it to come to a vote this time around, but John forbade it before he even knew he had cancer.”

  “He knew he was getting older,” Alice pointed out. “That was enough to make him plan.”

  “Yes.” Thelma turned to look behind them and then smiled. “Carol, you are the belle of the ball.”

  “Or the fake of the wake,” the silver-haired woman laughed.

  “For shame,” Thelma scolded with a grin. She stood and held a hand to Alice. “We’re flying home tonight,” she said. “Carol and I live in San Francisco now. I have a ridiculous amount of money, and I’m using it to help with the homeless epidemic. When it’s down to a comfortable retirement, we just might move into your neighborhood.”

  Alice grinned and hugged Cousin Thelma. “I’d love that.”

  “In the meantime, be careful,” Thelma warned. “Most of the family believes you have no intention of returning. The ones to look out for are those who don’t believe that an ambitious single woman would voluntarily step away from the amount of money you could earn by running the business.”

  Alice could list a few people under each category. At this point, there was little she could do other than go day by day and prove her lack of interest… if someone didn’t kill her first.

  CHAPTER 21

  Holm passed a bag of breadsticks around as everyone settled in for the evening task force meeting. Diane preferred to hold these during the workday, but in time-sensitive cases, these meetings could happen at any hour.

  “While you two were chasing other leads, Sylvia and Lamarr spoke with people involved with Dragon Tide,” Diane told us. “You met Felix before he was transported to the hospital. Before the building fell, they spoke with him and a few others.” She nodded toward Birn, and he promptly choked on a bite of pizza. “Ooh, bad timing.”

  Birn cleared it out, sucked down a Pepsi, and picked up his tablet.

  “Felix Jones was the security guard who saw your guy James and his girlfriend…” He squinted at the tablet and shook his head.

  “Terry Schwartz,” I supplied. “I don’t think they did anything to trigger the collapse. It was worse timing than you and that pizza.”

  Birn cleared his throat once more and gave me an exasperated look.

  “Right. James and Schwartz,” he continued. “We spoke with Felix yesterday during the interviews. He told us that Michael James showed up a few times with his camera. He was barely trespassing, and Felix let it go because the only time he confronted James, the guy looked frail. He would’ve been able to get the same photos from the street but with a little more work.”

  That explained why James got away with it until the run-in with Zhu.

  “Michael James is dying from lung cancer,” I informed everyone. “He’s in the hospital now because of the stunt he pulled trying to dive this morning. They aren’t sure he’ll survive.” I winced at my words. “I mean, survive what happened today.”

  Diane shook her head. “Zealots don’t listen to reason.” She met my eye. “Tell me about this dive they took.”

  “He wanted to look at something, but he couldn’t handle it. Schwartz had to help him back to shore.” I gritted my teeth. “It was stupid, and they both knew it. She couldn’t get him to change his mind.” I turned to Diane. “Speaking of Schwartz, how did that go?”

  “Detective Rucker failed to get the order he wanted to get custody of Terry Schwartz. I worked a deal with her to come in later.” She left the rest unspoken and turned to Muñoz and Birn. “What else did you find?”

  “Not a whole lot,” Muñoz admitted. “They didn’t keep TNT on the site at any point. We’re waiting on the preliminary report from the structural engineers who were there yesterday. It’s going to take time to get the whole picture, but they suggested there might be early findings.”

  “I wonder if any of Zhu’s sites or companies carry TNT,” I mused. “I’d like to find the source.”

  “We have a few tiny samples,” Bonnie spoke up from the far end of the table where she and Clyde had been discussing something in whispers. “The water washed away most of it, but if we can get a picture of the formulation, there’s a chance we can trace it to the producer and then check their records to see if there are any sales connected to people involved in this case.”

  She went back into discussion with Clyde. I was tempted to butt in and see what was so interesting, but if it had been useful, they would’ve said something.

  Diane tapped at something on her laptop. “I got an email from the hospital. Zhu’s security guard Danny Wong tested positive for illegal steroids. He had surgery last year and wasn’t healing the way he wanted, so he went on steroids to be able to work.” She frowned. “This person who disappeared from the scene after starting the fight at the protest hasn’t been identified, but they got a still of him from one of the building’s cameras.”

  The man who instigated the fight seemed to know the camera’s location. One useful color image was all we got, and that was slightly blurred. He had medium-brown skin, black hair, and dark, hooded eyes.

  “Is that the bodyguard from Alice Liu’s house?” Holm blurted out.

  I looked closer. “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Why would he pick a fight at a protest?” Muñoz asked as she fished her second breadstick from the crinkly bag.

  “Maybe he blames Zhu for his boss’s death,” Holm suggested.

  I picked chunks of pineapple off of my ham pizza as I thought about that guard’s actions. It could explain why he seemed uncomfortable when we went to Alice’s house. If he was the one who was at the scene, he’d easily recognize us and worry that we did the same with him.

  “It’s possible,” I answered after I had a bite of pizza. “We need to keep our minds open to other explanations.” At Diane’s arched brow, I continued. “If one or more of the Lius were involved, this guy could’ve been there to deliver a message to Zhu.”

  Diane groaned. “I hope not. We really don’t need a pissing match between the Bamboo Dragons and Zhu with all his connections. Look into it.” She looked up. “Bonnie, Clyde, do we have anything on the attacker at the botanical gardens?”

  Clyde shook his head. “It’s going to take time to check all of the databases. No hits in New York or Florida. The national is bigger, so…” He shrugged. Like Bonnie earlier, he went back to their whispered conversation.

  “Okay, what are you two gabbing about?” I asked them.

  The lab rats looked up in unison. Bonnie nudged Clyde, and he gave another shrug.

  “W
e’re looking at those photos from your environmentalist,” Bonnie told us. “There’s something off about the early ones where they’re doing the foundation, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

  “We’re not architects.” Clyde scratched at his scraggly, dark blond beard. “Whatever this is, I think we should have those experts look. They might get some ideas.”

  “Make it so,” Diane ordered as she looked down to consult her laptop. “Get those photos to them ASAP.”

  “What about Alice?” I asked. When Holm groaned, I caught his eye. “Why not? She’s an experienced architect. It wouldn’t hurt to get more eyes on those photos. Besides, if there’s anything out of order, she’s more likely to see with a critical eye. Her grandfather died in there, for crying out loud.”

  Diane tapped her finger on the table while the others shifted in their seats. I’d gotten help from people close to cases before, but Alice was closer than usual.

  “We have impartial experts on hand to do the work.” Diane regarded me with a steely glare. “If she happens to know anything relevant to this building, she can share that with us. However, under no circumstances can she be involved as an expert witness.” She blinked and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Watch your step, Ethan.”

  “Look, she needs extra security right now anyway,” I reminded everyone. “Until we know who may be targeting her, I don’t like leaving her safety to her parents’ bodyguards, especially given her mother’s animosity. Considering one of their guards is who got into it with Zhu’s guy, I like it even less.”

  “He has a point,” Holm conceded with a long look at me. “She seems more comfortable around our personnel than with her mother.” He looked at Birn and then Muñoz. “How was Alice when she was with you two?”

  Muñoz’s slow nod confirmed the notion. “Alice talked to us about some of her work while we drove her home. She seemed relaxed until we pulled in.”

  “She got her hackles up when we got there.” Birn frowned. “A lot of people get tense around family, but this was a bit more than I’d see as normal.”

  “If my family was full of mafia types, I’d have my hackles up, too.” Diane leaned back and crossed her arms. “We’ll go with the plan to have agents accompany Alice at all times once the wake is over.”

  “Even inside with her family?” Muñoz asked with a raised brow. “I know she has suspicions about her mother, but she didn’t seem all that afraid. Her father and those guards are thick as thieves.”

  “Maybe because they are thieves?” I asked with a smirk as Muñoz winced at her word choice. I turned to Diane. “Sylvia has a point, but we still don’t know if that guard at the protest acted on his own or on orders. I’d feel better having someone inside.”

  “Let her decide that,” Diane instructed. “If she wants someone in her home to keep her safe, she gets it. If she wants help getting her family, especially Mei Liu, out of the house, she gets it.” She pinned me with a steady look. “I suppose you want to be one of those agents.”

  Hell, yes, I did, but I had other duties. “Only when necessary. I want to talk with her about going over the building’s plans and the photos Michael James took during the early construction.”

  Diane uncrossed her arms and leaned forward to type on her laptop. “I’ll allow it.” She pointed at me. “If she finds something of relevance, bring it to me so I can pass it on to our experts. They can determine if what she comes up with is worth pursuing. That way we cover our asses in case it comes up during court proceedings later.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I agreed.

  Diane went back to typing her orders as she spoke. “Lamarr, Sylvia, you two choose a few agents to take point on Alice’s security detail away from the house. Everyone, if she feels the need for an agent in the house, it’ll be one of you at any given time. You’ll be outnumbered four to one by the Lius’ bodyguards, so we’ll take extra precautions.” She caught my eye. “Ethan, where are you and Robbie at with Patrone and Watts?”

  “We’re talking to Watts tomorrow morning,” I answered. “Patrone has some family stuff during the day, so we’re meeting him tomorrow evening.”

  Holm grinned. “Yeah, after we fly out to that shipwreck,” he added.

  Diane arched a brow. “Oh?”

  I shrugged. “Robbie’s dad got a lead on the Dragon’s Rogue. It’s not too far out, so we’re going to take the plane and see if there’s anything to it.”

  “Sounds fun,” Birn said in a wistful tone. “Wish I was taking the day off.”

  “It’s half a day,” Holm reminded him. “It’s also an excuse to get my dad out of the house. My mom’s not taking things so well, and it’s getting to him, so… yeah.”

  Everyone there knew about the situation with Holm’s sister and the threat to his family. Our close-knit team considered Linda and Ben extended family, so they understood.

  “Let us know if you find anything,” Diane said with a smile. “If you need help digging for treasure, I think you’ll have a few volunteers.”

  Bonnie and Clyde looked up from their conversation, which had only grown more animated, and both of them grinned.

  “We’ll be happy to test anything you get in for authenticity,” Bonnie informed us as Clyde nodded. “It’d be a great change from decomposing bodies and mud clumps.”

  “Back to the task at hand,” Muñoz led, “we need to work up a schedule for Alice’s protection. When we get close to the unsub, they could get a lot more serious about targeting her.”

  I swallowed a sigh of worry mixed with relief. It looked like my team no longer considered Alice a suspect. Considering the players involved, though, I knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as accepting her innocence. The hard part was going to be keeping her alive when the enemy could be in her own home.

  CHAPTER 22

  Marlin Watts’s office was buried within the building permits department, which occupied half of a strip mall. His door was open when we arrived. With a manila folder in hand, I knocked on the jamb.

  “You must be the agents from MBLIS,” he commented with a frown as he bade us to enter and sit. Boxes of paper were strewn about the space, and one of the chairs was covered in books. Holm moved the stack to the floor in order to have a seat. “I have a lot to do today, so let’s get this over with.”

  If he could be blunt, then so could I.

  “We’re finding irregularities at the site of the Dragon Tide hotel,” I informed him. The crease between his eyebrows deepened, but he kept his expression otherwise neutral.

  “I went there myself,” he said firmly. “Everything went according to plan.”

  “Except it didn’t.” Holm leaned back, crossed his legs, and then pretended to study his fingernails. “It seems to me that if the building had passed inspection, it shouldn’t have fallen.”

  “It was attacked by an eco-terrorist,” Watts said with a scoff. “The explosions caused flooding of the entire lower level. Not only that, but a critical support was damaged. That is why the building collapsed, not because of poor design or execution.”

  “What makes you so sure this was done by an eco-terrorist?” Holm put his palms on his knees.

  “Who else would care?” Watts sneered. “Shawn Zhu had funding from Dubai and New Delhi. If anyone wanted to destroy that building, it wouldn't have been jihadist. Those jackasses would’ve waited until the place was full of visitors and then pulled a stunt like that.”

  “I’d call it more than a stunt,” Holm protested. “It killed people and destroyed a multimillion-dollar property.”

  “There you have it,” Watts snapped. “Are we done yet? I have a full day ahead of me.”

  “Just a few more things,” I told him.

  “What?” Watts’s voice lowered to a don’t-screw-with-me tone.

  “One of our experts examined the plans and the site.” I pulled a single sheet of paper from my folder. “The pilings were placed too far apart to support the hotel. Once that column was taken out, there wasn’t enou
gh stability to support the high rise.”

  Watts snorted. “The pilings were fine. I don’t know where you got your experts, but they’re wrong.”

  “We need copies of your reports and the building’s schematics,” I told the pasty man. “If our experts are wrong, those documents will show it.”

  He waved as if to shoo us from his presence. “File a Freedom of Information request. I have too much to do to play your stupid little games.”

  “I’d rethink that if I were you.” I stood and slapped the folder on his desk. “A warrant will go faster, and your lack of cooperation won’t help your case.”

  “Excuse me?” His eyes widened. “You have no case with me.”

  “Are you so sure about that?” I tapped the folder as Holm rose behind me. “I have reports going back for years implicating you in taking bribes from builders—”

  Watts surged to his feet. The paunchy man stood no more than five-six, but he did his damndest to project a larger presence as he jabbed his finger toward the door.

  “Those claims were dismissed,” he growled as his nose and cheeks turned red. “Every single one was proven false. Unless you have a warrant, you can leave. Now.”

  I was in no hurry, and neither was Holm.

  “You and Shawn Zhu got pretty close during the Dragon Tide’s construction,” I said without moving from my seat. “I have copies of an interesting photo series. Are you sure you don’t want to talk?”

  Before driving over with Holm, I’d taken another look at the photos, and a blurred area on one of them got my attention. Bonnie and Warner hadn’t had a chance to enhance it yet, but I had a hunch.

  “What photos?” Watts narrowed his eyes but did not sit.

  “They showed you on the site while the pilings were being set,” Holm told him. He’d taken a look as well and agreed. “After taking measurements, you two went over to his livery car.” He held his hand out. “Shawn Zhu had something for you that day.”

  I mimed taking an item from Holm’s hand and stuffing it into my lightweight blazer.