‘But your dad is right. You do have a soft heart, and cases like Tala’s tear it open. So you do that long-blink thing and shove it all down. How long will you be able to keep that up?’
‘For as long as I can. For as long as it takes.’
He sighed. ‘I figured you’d say that. I also don’t figure I’m in any position to tell you any different.’
‘Pot meet kettle,’ she said in resignation. She pulled into the CPD parking garage, started to take the keys out and stopped cold as her mind snapped back to the case. ‘Wait just a minute. The Feds brought that suspect in from Constant Global Surveillance yesterday. They could have brought him in this way, through a protected parking garage, but they took him in through the front, where he became a target.’
‘You’re right.’ Marcus folded his arms over his chest. ‘When we asked how they knew the shooter was on the roof, Coppola said they got a tip.’
‘They set it up,’ Scarlett said. ‘Made the tracker guy bait. Not that I’m complaining, but it was risky.’
‘They must have really trusted that tip,’ Marcus said, watching her carefully.
Scarlett considered what she was about to say and decided he had a right to know. ‘They have a man inside.’
‘The Feds?’
‘Yeah. I don’t know who. Don’t know where. Don’t know how they contact him. All I know is that I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.’
His expression went carefully blank. ‘I would have guessed eventually. But thanks for telling me now.’
He said it so stiffly that she was certain ‘thank you’ was not what he was really thinking. ‘I didn’t ask you about Diesel.’
‘True, but this is different. This impacts my life.’
‘I didn’t know for sure that it would, not until just now. They were watching more than one trafficking group – which is what they do. They’re the human trafficking task force. That’s not news to anyone. I didn’t know that the undercover Fed was watching the same people who want you dead. I know now. And so do you.’
He relaxed. ‘I’m sorry. You’re right.’
‘Damn straight I’m right. But now you have to act surprised if someone tells you.’
He feigned a shocked look. ‘How’s this?’
She snickered. ‘Don’t give up your day job. Come on. Let’s go meet Alice Newman.’
Thirty-three
Cincinnati, Ohio
Wednesday 5 August, 6.00 P.M.
Ken found Decker sweating and shirtless in the bedroom where Demetrius had died. The younger man had a circular saw in his hand and was cutting up the last of the bloody mattress into strips. The room was stifling hot, largely because Decker had opened the window to air the place out. The air conditioning simply wasn’t keeping up.
Decker turned the saw off when he saw Ken standing there. ‘Almost done, sir,’ he said, pulling a hand towel from the back pocket of his jeans and wiping the sweat from his face. ‘I’ll haul it out and burn it.’
‘No. The smoke will attract attention. Just bury it.’ Ken was glad to see the mattress go. Killing his oldest friend had been far harder than he’d thought it would be, even though Demetrius had betrayed him.
‘Will do.’ Decker started to turn the saw back on, but hesitated. ‘Anything else?’
‘Where are Burton and the Anders girl? I just checked the basement and it’s empty.’
‘I did what you said. They’ve been taken care of.’
‘Already?’
‘Like I said, I like working the woodchipper.’ Decker frowned. ‘Please don’t tell me you changed your mind.’
Ken laughed grimly. ‘No. I thought I’d have a last chat with Miss Anders. She was . . .’
‘A bitch,’ Decker muttered. He turned to show four deep claw marks down his shoulder.
‘Wow. I guess that teaches you to wear a shirt.’
Decker glared. ‘I was wearing a shirt. She grabbed me, up under my sleeve. Those nails of hers were fake. She’d been sharpening them on the concrete foundation of the cage.’
Ken wished he could have seen it. He wished more that he could have gotten to her before Decker had killed her. A good fuck always cleared his head before he went hunting, and thinking of Stephanie Anders clawing at Decker made him even harder than he’d been when he’d gone to the basement looking for her.
‘Make sure your tetanus shots are up to date,’ he said.
‘They are, luckily. Between that bitch and her mother.’
‘Oh, that’s right. Marlene bit you.’
‘Give me a male prisoner any day of the week,’ Decker grumbled, then shook off his bad mood. ‘When I’m done here, I’m going into the office. With Burton and Reuben gone, the work is piling up. You’ll need to hire new security personnel. I thought I’d start compiling a list of ex-military that I know would be interested and trustworthy.’
‘Yes, do that,’ Ken said, but he was thinking no so loudly his teeth ached. He was done, his leadership team decimated. Alice incarcerated. And as much as he wanted to believe she’d be stalwart under questioning, he knew she’d give him up in a heartbeat if she thought it was her best option. He’d be out of the country before she decided on that course of action.
He already had a first-class ticket from Toronto to Papeete, Tahiti, leaving tomorrow night. From Papeete he’d take a charter to Bora Bora, where he’d rented a small bungalow. All under the false ID that he had arranged for himself a long time ago – just in case of an emergency such as this. No one knew about it, not even Alice or Sean.
Ken hadn’t yet decided if he’d send for Sean. He’d always had a more hands-off relationship with Sean than he’d had with Alice. Sean had never liked getting his hands dirty. Alice thrived on it. Damn, I miss her already. But he wasn’t willing to trap himself trying to bust her out of jail. She had access to assets. She was a lawyer, for God’s sake. She was better equipped to get herself out of jail than he was.
Decker and the others who were left could do what they pleased. If they wanted to take the contacts Ken and his team had built over the last decade, they were welcome to them. Joel still had the accounting records, after all. Joel might even end up as the leader of the group after Ken was out of the picture. He was welcome to that too. Not that Ken thought Joel would last too much longer. The young pups would either eliminate him or Joel’s heart would simply give out. Either way, Joel was a big boy. He’d have to be fine on his own.
Ken had a singular focus – kill Marcus O’Bannion, then get out. O’Bannion was the type to follow him across the world if he put enough of the puzzle together. I’ll snip that loose end so that I don’t have to be looking over my shoulder for the next thirty or forty years.
He’d start hunting at the Ledger’s office. Many of O’Bannion’s employees had been with him for years. There had to be someone there he’d want to get back were they to be borrowed. And if he didn’t find what he was looking for at the Ledger, he had a plan B.
He’d found photos on Demetrius’s iPad of O’Bannion and that homicide detective sitting in the detective’s car outside an animal shelter. Ken had forgotten that Demetrius had tracked them there until he’d seen the photos. It seemed that O’Bannion and the detective were in some kind of very personal relationship. He didn’t want to tangle with a cop if he didn’t have to, but the pretty homicide detective would make the perfect bait.
‘Um . . .’ Decker said, and Ken realized he’d been standing there too long. ‘Is there anything else you want me to do?’
‘No, no. The list of potential hires would be fine. I’ll let Sean know to expect you down at the office.’ He gave a last, mournful look at the bedroom, falling back on nostalgia to excuse his wool-gathering. ‘Demetrius and I had a lot of good times over the years. I’ll miss him.’
The look Decker gave him was warily sympathetic. ‘I understand, sir.’