Playing with Fire (Judah Black Novels Book 4)

by E. A. Copen

  “How magnanimous of you.”

  Hector shrugged. “He is only worried about Tamara. I understand they once cared a great deal for each other. As a prospective member of our temple, Tamara has been struggling daily with severing her connections to the outside world, that one most of all. However, I assure you that she is there of her own free will.”

  Hector gestured to the lawyer, who swung his briefcase up onto the table and began to sort through it. “I have several signed and notarized affidavits that will attest to Ms. Speilman’s voluntary participation. You will, of course, understand that any further attempts to contact her may mean legal action, up to and including a restraining order.”

  The lawyer brought out a handful of papers and slid them across the table to me.

  Right about that time, the door to the interrogation room opened again and Espinoza stepped in, a folder tucked under one arm and a coffee in each hand. He all but stumbled forward, only barely managing to hold onto the coffees. “Oh, geez,” he muttered and then rushed forward to place both cups in front of me. “Anything else I can get for you Agent Black?”

  I raised an eyebrow and nodded to the folder tucked under his arm.

  “Oh yeah, right.” He placed it on the table beside me.

  Hector eyed the folder with a frown but he didn’t betray the same nervousness the lawyer did when he tugged on his tie. I put a hand over the folder and slid it in front of me, placing the papers the lawyer had handed me on top.

  “Thanks,” I said to Espinoza. “You mind hanging out a while?”

  Espinoza, God bless him, played his part well and beamed like a shark in a fish tank. “Sure thing,” he said and fell back to stand near the door.

  The lawyer leaned forward. “What’s in the folder?”

  “We’ll get to that in a minute.”

  “If you have evidence against my client—”

  My eyes snapped up to meet his and he clamped his jaw shut. “I said we’d discuss it in a minute. First, I want to hear about what the Adventists do. What do you guys believe? Are you a peaceful organization?”

  The lawyer leaned in to whisper in Hector’s ear, but Hector brushed him off. “I have kept my end of the bargain, Agent. I have come here to speak with you. I have not pressed charges against your friend. Yet you treat me as if I am the perpetrator and not the victim. The building that burned down was our property. Now, it is your turn to tell me what you know. And don’t tell me you know nothing. If it was nothing, you wouldn’t be so adamant to avoid the topic.”

  I lifted the pen and pressed the point into my finger and tilted my head to the side. “I think you know exactly where this is going and it’s not a good place. You’re old enough to remember Waco. I don’t want that. Neither do you. But if we don’t stop talking in circles, things could easily go that way.”

  Hector narrowed his eyes. “Are you threatening me and my people, Agent?”

  “I don’t make threats.”

  He stared at me for a long moment before leaning back in his chair and folding his hands on the tabletop. “This is about the rem.”

  His lawyer put a hand on Hector’s shoulder. “Stop right there, Hector. You don’t have to tell them anything.”

  “If I want them to stop hounding us, I do,” Hector snapped back and picked the lawyer’s hand off his shoulder. “The source of your complaint is the suspicion that we keep rem on the compound. I assure you that there is no drug abuse among people of our faith. It contradicts everything we believe in. Our doctrine teaches that, to be pure of spirit, you first must be pure of body and mind. That is not possible if people have a strong connection with anything on Earth. That goes for romantic entanglements as well as a love of drugs and alcohol. A love for Christ must always come first.”

  “So you deny having any rem on your compound?” I asked, even though I already knew that’s what he meant. I needed to have a clear yes or no answer and watch how he said it. Hector was smart, I’d give him that much. But everyone’s got a tell.

  Hector smiled. He said nothing in his defense and yet his reaction spoke volumes.

  “You’ve got nothing,” the lawyer said. “Nothing except threats and wild accusations. What is it you think he knows?”

  “I think he knows something about Gideon Reed and the rash of arsons all over the county. What I’ve got, Sloan, is a non-compliant supernatural who is clearly in violation of several statutes, the least of which is failing to register a status change.” I pointed at Hector. “And until I clear up who you are, what you can do, and document every penny in every tax return you ever filed, you’re going to sit right here.”

  “Habeas corpus says you can’t hold him without arresting him if he wants to leave.”

  I stood, gathered the papers, piling them all inside the folder. “Common sense tells me Hector doesn’t like the idea of being arrested. But the ball’s in your court, Hector. I can arrest you, force you to stay until we get all this cleared up, and put you through the system. That could take a while. Days, weeks, months even, depending on how fast the IRS decides to be. Or, you can plant your rear in that chair and tell me all about your little cult, how you’re growing rem, and everything you know about Gideon Reed. I know you know something. But if you’re really dead set on going to prison and playing the martyr…” I shrugged. “Of course, while you’re gone, your people will be on their own.”

  Hector reached out and wrapped long fingers around the lawyer’s arm. “I will stay for now. I’m sure you’ll find I’m compliant with all your laws as they apply. However, should this stretch on more than two or three hours, I’ll have to excuse myself to lead the afternoon prayer service.” He smiled. “After that time, should you find the proper warrants, you’re welcome to come and arrest me as your conscience demands.”

  I tapped the file folder on the tabletop once to straighten the papers inside and then turned. Espinoza, who was still waiting beside the door, straightened. On my way out the door, I slapped the file against his chest and he grabbed it awkwardly. “Keep an eye on him while I go make some phone calls, sergeant.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  I didn’t go back upstairs as promised. That was coming, but I needed to see how the next phase of questioning panned out first.

  In the interrogation room, Espinoza walked to the table, shuffling the file under his arm. He pulled out the chair I’d just left empty. “Man, these feds are such a pain in my ass,” he muttered. “Let me tell you. You’re lucky it was her and not the other one.”

  The lawyer adjusted his suit jacket and sat down again, leaning toward Espinoza. He still wore a wary face, but it was a good sign. Interrogation is all about body language. People tend to lean toward things they like and, by the subtle change in the lawyer’s demeanor, he liked Espinoza a whole lot more than me. Hector didn’t seem fazed by any of it. He’d seen Espinoza’s performance before. But their interactions had been brief before. Maybe he could cut through Hector’s defenses with the buddy act one-on-one.

  “Can you believe this? She made me go get these coffees and then didn’t even touch them.” Espinoza tipped one of the cups up and frowned at the contents.

  “I don’t blame her,” said the lawyer. “Station house coffee is second only to prison coffee as far as disgusting goes.”

  “Actually, this stuff’s not bad. I just got in one of those that brews from the little cups. I keep it in my office. Don’t tell anybody, now. I don’t want to get swarmed by rookies. This stuff is good. I figured I’d win a few brownie points with the feds by raiding my personal stash but, man. You saw how she was.” He cast a longing glance down into the cup again. “What a waste.”

  The lawyer licked his lips. “I don’t suppose I could, uh… I mean, since she didn’t want it.”

  Espinoza pushed the cup at the lawyer. “Hey, man, be my guest. Better than wasting it.”

  Score. The lawyer was clearly now going to be more open to anything Espinoza put forward. Not only had Espinoza trusted hi
m with a secret, which created an instant bond of trust, but he’d given him a gift. Now, if he could pull the same thing off with Hector.

  He offered the other cup to Hector. “You want the other one?”

  Hector turned his head aside. “No, thank you.”

  “Yeah, I’m not much of a coffee guy, either.” Espinoza pushed the cup away. “By the way, you mind if I ask you about your little group of people? Off the record, I mean. Out of personal interest. Seems like you guys are actually onto something.”

  “What would you like to know?”

  Espinoza put his forearms on the table and leaned forward. “I was raised Catholic. Maybe you know and maybe you don’t, but I got a little magick talent myself. And you can guess how well that went over with my Catholic family when they found out.”

  Hector turned back to face Espinoza. “The church isn’t universally open to the idea that different isn’t necessarily evil.”

  “Right, right. But from what I gather about you Tribulation Adventists, you still consider yourself part of all that, right?”

  Hector’s jaw flexed and his eyes narrowed as he searched Espinoza’s words for the danger in his question.

  The lawyer took another sip of the coffee and then placed it on the table in front of him. “Mmm. That is good coffee.”

  Espinoza leaned forward more and dropped his voice to just above a whisper. “Look, man, off the record. Help me understand, one former Catholic to another, what’s the difference between you and them?”

  “What makes you think I was ever Catholic?”

  Espinoza shrugged. “I’m not really allowed to ask that.”

  “And you don’t have to answer,” the lawyer reminded Hector and sipped at the coffee.

  “I’m interested on a personal level,” Espinoza continued. “I don’t do the whole God thing anymore, but I know what it’s like to have the church turn their back on you like that. I just can’t figure out why you’d still be a part of that. I mean, what kind of God lets stuff like the Revelation happen? The riots? All those people?”

  I chewed on my lower lip. Hector wasn’t buying Espinoza’s good cop act, but he didn’t have to. Any info we got was more than we had before.

  Hector lifted his chin. “For then shall be a great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, nor shall there ever be again. And, if those days had not been cut short, no one of the flesh would be saved: but for the chosen, those days will be shortened.” He flattened his palms on the tabletop. “What you call the Revelation, Sergeant, was the beginning of the end. It was the birth of the Great Tribulation and we few, those who are called into our order, are the elect, destined to be spared the extended suffering of the rest. God allows events like the Revelation to occur because of the fall of mankind. Because of sin. All flesh answers for its sin, Sergeant. All flesh is tainted. Our Earthly bodies are cages and, soon, we will be free of them.”

  Espinoza frowned. “You’re not one of those suicide cults, are you?”

  “God alone determines the time and place we will leave our bodies. Suicide is a perversion of God’s will. So, no. We are not.”

  “So, what?” Espinoza pressed. “How does one decide they’re one of these chosen?”

  “They are called by God.”

  “And if they decide to be un-called? Can they be un-chosen?”

  Hector frowned.

  “Like this Mara girl,” Espinoza continued. “By all accounts, she was messed up. But you were trying to save her, right? The feds want to call it kidnapping but, let me tell you, you probably helped more than you hurt. This kid—” He opened the file folder and took out a picture of Mara. “—she was homeless. She had nobody. Just because she’s a runaway or whatever doesn’t mean you ought to turn her out. She was chosen. It was your job to help her, right? I get all of that. You’re doing good work, better than most mainstream churches.”

  He pulled another page from the file, this one with Gideon Reed’s picture on it. “But the feds think you know something about this guy. He’s hurting people. One of the fed’s friends is in the hospital right now and this guy is on the loose. He took a bullet to the chest and just kept on going. They want to know what he is, but they don’t want to admit they don’t know. Now, I don’t know why they think you know something, but they do. Do us all a favor. Give me something, anything, that I can use to get the feds off my back, Hector. I don’t like them anymore than you do.”

  “I don’t know what I can give you that I haven’t already.”

  “Access,” Espinoza said with a definitive nod. “Let someone into the compound so we can put the feds’ fears at ease. That’s all they really want, Hector. This fire, it was probably an accident or it’s unrelated. Either way, if you give us access to check things out, we can clear you from any wrongdoing. Everybody wins. And I promise, nobody will hurt any of your people. Not you, not Tamara, not Warren…”

  At the mention of Warren’s name, something flashed through Hector’s eyes. It was the wrong thing to say. “I have nothing else to say to you. I’ve done nothing wrong here and I’d appreciate it if you would let me pass the time I must wait in silence.”

  “Just one more question, Hector. Your people, are they all human? I don’t see any fangs. Didn’t see any last night, either. No vampires allowed in the Tribulation Adventists?”

  Hector sneered. “Any creature that subsists by stealing life from another is an evil creature. Vampires are welcome among us, but only if they prove they can deny their baser instincts. So far, not one has proven that. We are a peaceful organization of non-violent believers. Creatures that prey on the flesh and blood of innocents have no place among us.”

  “Right, right. And what about women? Do you let them lead? You practice equality in your organization, Hector?”

  “Women must be subservient to men, just as beasts are to all humans. Those are God’s words, not mine. When the world began to place the rights of the lesser above those of God-fearing men, that is when we chose to exclude ourselves from the world. So, no, although I assure you everyone, male or female, who is part of our temple understands and obeys this. I cannot ask someone on the outside such as yourself to understand.”

  Espinoza stole a quick glance at the window we stood behind before gathering the papers and exiting the room. He came to stand with me in the viewing room.

  “You knew in advance their position on vampires and women,” I said with a frown.

  “Well, yeah. Says right on their website.” He shuffled the folder under his other arm and pulled out his cell, showing me the webpage. “But the point isn’t that it’s a no vamps allowed club. The point is how he said it. Did you hear it in his voice? It’s personal. Humans only. That’s something, isn’t it?”

  When it comes to interrogation, the goal is to find the truth. And Hector had lied. I couldn’t prove it yet, but make him repeat his story enough times and hopefully he’d slip up somewhere. Suspects are more likely to make a mistake when emotions run high. Making him mad, getting him talking about something he was passionate about, neither of those had worked. The one thing Hector had reacted to was the idea of a woman challenging his position as a leader. Given how much Hector seemed to like to be in control, putting him in a room with someone else, a woman like me who might back him into a corner, I might be able to shake him if I got a little more aggressive. I could use his sexism against him. It was time to see if we could crack him under the pressure.

  “I’m going to give him another try,” I announced and passed by Espinoza.

  “Can I assume you are finished validating my registration?” Hector asked, crossing his arms as I re-entered the room. “Otherwise, I have nothing else to say to you or anyone else with a badge until I’ve been read my rights.”

  I crossed the room and pulled out the chair, bumping against the table as I did. One of the two cups of coffee still sitting there tipped over and landed on its side. Steaming, light brown liquid splashed over the table
and into the lawyer’s briefcase. The lawyer gave a yelp and jumped up. He grabbed at the pile of napkins Espinoza had left on the corner of the table and spread them over it in a panic.

  I restrained a smile. Served him right. “My bad.”

  “Do you have any idea what…” He continued mumbling as he flipped open the briefcase, but it was incomprehensible. The papers inside were soaked in coffee. “Every last page, darn it. How am I supposed to work with these?” He pulled out the sopping pages and shook them at me.

  “Whatever paperwork you need, you’ll be able to print it upstairs, free of charge,” I said.

  The lawyer exchanged glances with Hector. “If they decide to hold you, I’ll need some of this paperwork.”

  Hector pressed his lips together and glared at me. I had taken a huge gamble with that move, spilling the coffee. Hector was probably onto the tactic, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Since I hadn’t yet pulled his paperwork and verified his status, I could still arrest him. Even if I couldn’t make the charges stick, it would buy me time. But Hector didn’t want to have to go through that process. That’s the thing with bad guys. They always think they’re going to get away with it.

  Hector nodded and the lawyer stepped toward the door, grabbing more napkins along the way. “I’ll be back soon. No more questioning until I’m back. And don’t talk, Hector. My client’s invoking his right to remain silent.”

  As the lawyer reached the door, I gave Espinoza a motion with my head through the mirror, telling him to go play interference. Anything he could do to stall the lawyer would help. I hoped he caught my meaning.

  Meanwhile, I stood and followed the lawyer to the door. As soon as he was gone, I clicked the lock on the door and gave the handle a gentle pull. It came off in my hands. I pitched it at the camera in the corner. Hector twitched as the doorknob smashed into the camera. I’d have to pay for that and probably get an earful from Tindall, but it was worth it if Hector finally talked.