Rules of Engagement (Lexi Graves Mysteries, 11)

by Camilla Chafer

  "Just that he and Anastasia were at the hospital. No one's seen Damien but they're looking for him. We need to think of someplace Damien would go."

  "There isn't anywhere. He doesn't have any friends here that I know about, and there's nowhere that he frequents. He's staying at my parents and aside from the hospital and police station, there's nowhere else I can think of where he could be. Unless —" I paused, realizing there was one other option. "Maybe he's at my house."

  "If he's desperate, he's probably looking for cash. A lot of it."

  "My parents don't have any cash lying around. Mom is thrilled if she finds a ten-dollar bill in the laundry basket."

  "What about Anastasia? Does she have money?"

  "I don't think so. Not the kind of money we're talking about."

  "Solomon, then? He's done pretty well in life."

  I thought about the uncashed million dollar check again. "He keeps some money in the gun safe and there's some petty cash here at the agency. Sometimes, it's a few thousand for payoffs and expenses but I don't know how much is here right now." I turned back to Solomon's desk. There was a cash box in the bottom drawer. I pulled it open. "The lock's been smashed," I said as I pulled the heavy case onto the desk and opened it. "It's empty!"

  "Did you tell him about the secret compartment at the house?" asked Maddox.

  "No, but Solomon could have told him. I don't remember seeing any cash inside. Could he want what's inside?" I asked, while avoiding telling Lucas what I found in Solomon's closet.

  "Maybe to sell on the black market," said Maddox. "Would he know how to get inside?"

  "He would need keys and the access code to the house."

  "Where are your keys and Solomon's?"

  "Mine are in my pocket. Solomon’s are at the hospital. Damien could easily have lifted them," I realized with a gulp.

  "Would he guess the alarm code?"

  "Solomon's keys have a fob that can be tapped against the alarm keypad. It switches it off without any need for the code. Lucas, you stay here and do everything you can to find Damien. Get everyone looking for him. Maddox, we need to get over there. Now!"

  We parked at the end of the street, jogging to the house. Nothing looked different. The drapes hadn't moved, and the windows remained shut. No one had scribbled "maniac brother hiding inside" on the door. Yet my nerves fizzled uncomfortably as I took the steps. This time, however, it wasn't because the shadow of that terrible night still lingered.

  "What if he's not here?" I said to Maddox.

  "Then we have to find him."

  "What if he is here?"

  "Then I'd go back in time and not answer the first question."

  "Very funny."

  "Yeah, I thought so." He shifted his jacket back and reached for his gun. "Let's go inside. Stay behind me. If Damien's here, I don't want him to panic."

  I readied my keys and decided I really didn't want to go inside. I really didn't want to find Damien rummaging in my home or turning it over in the hopes of finding cash. If I saw him doing that, it would be so awful. It would mean every horrible supposition we had was real, which made me feel terrible. I didn't want to believe it could be true, and I hoped it wasn't, but the facts were real. He was suspended from the force and connected to crimes both here and in Boston. Damien hadn't returned to the police station and his still switched-off phone went directly to voicemail. Wherever he was, he didn't want anyone to know about it. There was no denying that wasn't normal.

  "Let's go get some cheeseburgers," I decided.

  "Cheeseburgers?" Maddox raised a questioning eyebrow.

  "A nice, fast food meal, somewhere across town. Maybe a milkshake."

  "Are you hungry?"

  "I'm procrastinating."

  "We could have picked up food on the way."

  "We decided it was imperative we came here immediately. Plus, I was nauseous on the way over. Now I realize I'm hungry." Hungry and nauseous. It wasn't my favorite combination.

  "We can get cheeseburgers after."

  I stuck the key in the lock. "Okay," I said. "But it has to be super-sized and I need fries." The door opened without my turning the lock and my stomach lurched. "And I want some donuts after," I decided. If this was going to be a terrible day at the end of a terrible week, I might as well indulge.

  "I will take you to every fast food joint in town," said Maddox. "You can go nuts."

  "The door was unlocked," I said, pushing it. We stepped into the lobby and I kept my eyes up so I didn't have to see the site where Solomon was slumped. Would I ever not see it? I wondered, or would I think about that moment every time I walked in the door? Would Solomon mind if I bought new paint? Or ripped up the floor? Or burned the house to ashes?

  "Let's do this quietly," said Maddox. "Remember, we don't want to panic him."

  A loud thud came from upstairs, then another one, and a ripping sound. "It sounds like someone's tearing down the drywall," I said before I gulped. "Solomon's secret closet?" I whispered.

  "I hope not." Maddox crept forward, stepping onto the first stair. "Any creaks I need to know about?" he whispered.

  "No." I followed him as he moved stealthily, keeping low as we reached the top. He bent on one knee and took a quick look before moving back to where we were both concealed. Banging came from my bedroom, then footsteps that moved from the bedroom into the guest room. I listened to the sound of someone rifling through the closet and opening up all the drawers. There was a grunt of frustration and the feet began moving again, returning to the bedroom.

  "It's just one person," I whispered and Maddox nodded.

  "Stay here," he said, holding his gun up. "I'm going to confront him. Anything happens, you run and don't look back."

  "But..."

  "No buts. You don't have a gun and I do." He waved for me to be quiet then stepped up, straightening as he walked onto the landing and raised his gun.

  I edged up two steps and, with my head close to the ground, watched his progress. He made it three steps before he stopped.

  "Don't move," said another male voice. "What are you doing here, Special Agent Maddox?"

  "Looking for you, Damien," said Maddox. "What are you doing here?"

  "This is my brother's house."

  "Put down the gun and let's talk."

  "What is there to talk about?"

  "Let's start with why you have a gun in your hand that you're pointing at a federal agent?"

  "You're pointing a gun at me. I'm defending myself from a trespasser. Not exactly a strange thing to be afraid of since my brother was shot here only days ago."

  "You know that wasn't me, and we both know you're involved in that shooting. Your own brother? That's cold, Damien."

  "No, what's cold is my brother not bailing me out when he knew I was in trouble. Are you here alone?"

  "Yes," said Maddox without missing a beat.

  "Where's Lexi and Garrett?"

  "Back at the police station, interviewing the guy that was previously suspended from the flagpole."

  "Huh?"

  "You didn't see that when you left?"

  "A guy on a flagpole? I’m sure I would have remembered that."

  "A few minutes after you left, someone dumped the shooter from the hospital in front of the police station. We considered that great news. Garrett went to interview him with Lexi watching. Then I spoke to someone from Boston PD who said you were suspended. You didn't come back so I came looking for you."

  "Did you drive here?"

  "Yes."

  "Good. Toss me your keys. Slowly."

  Keys hit the floor with a jangling thump. "That's your idea?" scoffed Maddox. "You're going to steal my car?"

  "That's right. I need wheels unconnected to me."

  "Do I even want to know what you think you're going to do with me?"

  "That depends on how well you behave," said Damien.

  I gently backed down the stairs, careful to ensure my feet hit every tread so I didn’t slip. I didn't ne
ed to hear anymore of Damien's plan. It was obvious he would come downstairs at some point and Maddox had been careful to say I was somewhere else. With the two men pointing guns at each other, and me without a weapon, there was nothing I could do. Except, I knew where the gun safe was. Two against one sounded like good odds to me.

  I counted the steps, listening to Damien's cool voice as well as Maddox's. Neither sounded agitated but it could only be a matter of time before one of them decided to end the standoff. As my foot hit the floor, I pushed myself up and tiptoed across the lobby and into the kitchen.

  It didn't look like Damien had been in here. The cabinets were all closed. I popped open the false front concealing the gun safe, entered the code and reached inside for a weapon. My gun was with Delgado at the hospital but Solomon left his gun inside the safe. I used it before with Solomon at the firing range and there was a fully loaded clip. I wasn't completely comfortable with it yet but I felt more secure than not having it. I slid the clip into the gun and pressed the safe door shut, looking around for the best place to conceal myself until Damien came downstairs. If I could catch him unawares, perhaps I could end this.

  Instead of a hiding place, I spotted the house phone. I grabbed it and dialed Garrett's cellphone. "Pick up, pick up," I whispered into it, hoping he was out of the interview. After ten rings, he answered.

  "It's Lexi," I whispered.

  "Why are you whispering?"

  "We found Damien."

  "Where is he?" asked Garrett, his voice suddenly sharp.

  "At my house. He's got a gun and he and Maddox are having a standoff. He's talking about taking Maddox's car. Send everyone."

  "On our way," said Garrett. "Do not engage. Lexi. Do you hear me?"

  "I can't hear you," I said.

  "I mean it. This could get ugly. Let Maddox handle it. He's trained for this."

  "Okay," I agreed. "But if he can't handle it, I'm stepping in."

  "Do you really want to risk shooting Solomon's brother?"

  "More than I want him to shoot Maddox," I said, not even taking a second to decide. "They're coming down. I have to go."

  "Lexi..."

  I hung up and pressed my back against the wall as two sets of footsteps moved down the stairs and hit the lobby. Something dropped onto the floor.

  "Lexi must have told you if Solomon kept more cash in the house," said Damien. "Where is it?"

  "If there is any money here, I don't know about it. Lexi didn't tell me. What are you planning to do anyway? Steal as much as you can, sell it to some creep you know is up to no good, make a payoff and all will be okay? Or are you going to live your life on the run, looking over your shoulder every single day?"

  "I have to make a payoff or my brother is going to die. I got two warnings and the next one won't be just a warning. They'll kill Solomon, or me, or my sister. Maybe even Lexi. I have to do this."

  "No, you don't. I can help you."

  "No one can help me! I owe too much."

  "We can help. We can take down the people you owe the money to."

  Damien laughed. "You think going to jail will stop these people? I pay, my brother lives. I sell them out, we all die."

  "Put down the gun," said Maddox.

  "I can't."

  I took a deep breath and stepped out from the kitchen, quickly finding my target. Damien had his back to me, his gun aimed at Maddox. Maddox stood at the front door with his hands on his head and his gun nowhere to be seen. "Do what he says, Damien," I ordered. "Or I will shoot you and then it really will be all over."

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  "Why didn't you ask for help?" I inquired. I kept my aim steady, not for a kill shot, but definitely to do bodily harm if he dared to hurt Maddox.

  Damien didn't turn around. "I tried. I asked my brother for a loan but I guess he got sick of bailing me out."

  "Did you explain what the situation was?"

  "I couldn't. How was I supposed to tell him that I'd gotten into a major mess?"

  "You should have just said it. Having Solomon mad at you had to have been better than leaving him so exposed and vulnerable he got shot."

  Damien's hand wavered. "I didn't know that would happen! I swear I didn’t!"

  "I believe you, but when it did happen..."

  "When it happened, it was already done! I thought I'd be able to get the money together. I begged for more time, but I only have a few more hours before they promised to kill John or Anastasia."

  "That's not going to happen." Not least because there was no way anyone was getting near either of them.

  "No, it's not, because I'm going to get them the money I owe them. I know John has more than enough to pay them off. Where is it?"

  "You already cleaned out the petty cash in his desk," I pointed out.

  "Yes, I did, but that's not enough."

  "He doesn't keep the kind of money you need lying around the house," I told him, "but we can go to a bank, and I’ll get it transferred to you; then you can move it wherever you need to."

  "You think it's that simple?"

  I connected eyes with Maddox, hoping that he understood from my look that I needed to know if he was okay. He stood there, his hands still on his head, and not a trace of panic on his face. Me, on the other hand? My sense of panic shone brighter than lip gloss on my face.

  "You think I can ever get away from this?" asked Damien. "They will chase me forever. They know where my family is now. Anytime they want to threaten me again, or make me do something for them, they will use that as leverage. Do you think I want that? For all of you to be unsafe and in perpetual danger?"

  "We can take them down, if you help us," I said. "You can tell Garrett everything you know and get your job back. They'll all be doing time behind bars and we'll all be safe."

  "My job's already gone. I'm suspended, thanks to the gang. It's only a matter of time before they redirect their investigation on me and realize how deep I’m in. As soon as they found out I was a cop, they made me do all kinds of illegal stuff to work off my debt but I could never manage to get out of it. I only fell deeper into it," he said, his voice breaking.

  A shot of sympathy surged through me at witnessing his stupidity and the grim inevitability of being used by criminals, but it soon evaporated. Damien was in a vicious circle of his own making and Solomon's life hung in a cruel state of limbo all because of it. Now Anastasia was being threatened too. "We can end the cycle," I said, hoping that I could persuade him. "Garrett is a reasonable man. If you have intel that can bring down Eric Dutka and the Copleys, he'll work tirelessly to ensure that happens. We know all about them and their money-laundering business."

  "I'll go to jail. Do you know what happens to cops who go to jail?"

  "You might not. We can help you. We can call Garrett now and give him Lucas's research and you can tell him everything else he needs to know in order to bring them down. We can all work together and make sure Solomon and Anastasia stay safe."

  Damien was silent for a long minute. "No," he said, shaking his head. "We need to get the money first. You, on your knees." He waved the gun at Maddox.

  "Don't forget, I have a gun aimed directly at you," I said. "Maddox isn't going to do anything."

  "He's going to get on his knees and you and I are going to walk out of here, get into your car and go to the bank. You're going to get me the money like you said, and I'm going to make the payoff. Then, and only then, I'll help you; but only after we have more time."

  "You already said that no matter what you did, your debt continued to increase. Do you think this meager payoff will really stop everything?" I asked. "You're still suspended from the PD. You're still going to be investigated. You need to think about your future. The only way out for you is to take down the whole gang, the Niners here and Dutku's business in Boston."

  "And go to prison," Damien added.

  "Or into the witness protection program," I suggested. "You could have a whole new life, and be freed from all of this."
r />   "What? And never see my family again? Never know if my brother and sister are truly safe?"

  "It’s better than burying them," I said bluntly. "Plus, if that happens, and you haven't done everything you can to stop it, I will personally kill you myself."

  Damien stepped back, swinging around so that he could still see Maddox but aiming the gun now at me. I steadied myself, getting prepared for the inevitable moment he shot me. Over his shoulder, I could see into the living room, and the silent police cars arriving on the street, streaking past one after the other. Damien's chances of escape were already lost but I didn't want him to feel cornered or that he had to shoot his way out. Somehow, I didn't think his debt would end with his death. I worried the Copleys or Dutku's men would still come after Solomon and Anastasia to collect all of the payments. Undoubtedly, I would become leverage.

  "Look at me, Damien," I said. "I'm telling you the truth. You have an attractive option. You can make a deal for immunity and tell Garrett everything. You can go into witness protection and take this whole gang down like a good police officer. Don't you want that?"

  "More than anything, but they're like a hydra. Cut off one head, and two more heads grow back."

  "Fine! Then we take down everyone. You know what they do, don't you? You must have plenty of inside information."

  "I know a lot. I know how Dutku launders his money and the Copleys' money too. I’m also familiar with their gambling rings, and I know how they ship their drugs from Boston to Montgomery and beyond. Hell, I even know where they bury their bodies! I know how the Niners got involved and that Dutku pulls all the strings, and I know that I'm implicated in a bunch of it."

  "Is that what was in Lucas's file?"

  "There was a photo I saw and it wouldn't take long for someone else to figure out it was me."

  "You'd already tried to influence Garrett's investigation," I said.

  Damien nodded. "They had so many ideas at first and none of them were right, then things started coming together. Dutku called me. He told me to make sure it didn't come back on the Niners because if any connections were made to him, we would all be worse than dead," he said, sounding utterly defeated.