Blown To Pieces (PTO Murder Club Mystery Book 2) (24 page)

Ben took a moment to sift through the information. He slipped the cuffs back in his belt and sat back down. He turned to me. “Start from the beginning.”

I told him everything I knew.

“Okay, you want me to believe that Big Tommy kidnapped Haley, killed Edna Miars, and then had a heart attack?” Ben looked at me like I’d just told him that the moon was made out of Round Rock Donuts.

God, I really wanted a donut.

Haley sat back in her chair. “He grabbed me when I stopped by Mustang’s house to leave something for her.” She turned to me. “Shoe delivery.”

“Really?” I clapped. “I’m so excited.”

Slowly, all of the men at the table turned to look at me.

“What? It’s a girl thing.” I smiled at Haley. “Moving on...so Big Tommy grabbed you. Were Stormin’ Norman and Stumpy Gregg with him?”

“No, just Big Tommy. He walked up behind me, stuck a needle into my shoulder, and it was lights out for me.”

“What about Edna Miars?” Ben laced his fingers together on the table and listened intently.

I looked down at the table. Her death was on me.

“When Mustang tried to deliver the gold and the dye packs went off, Big Tommy was so mad. He was yelling and throwing things. Then he grabbed his chest and fell over. I called for Norman, but he didn’t hear me. Stumpy Gregg was out picking up Edna. I guess they were dating or something. I don’t know. I don’t think they kidnapped her, because she kept talking about what she was going to do with her cut. When she came down to the basement and found Big Tommy, she wanted his share too. Stumpy made the last call.” Haley took a deep breath. “He killed Edna.”

“I thought it sounded different. It was the same Mike Tyson spoofer, but the syntax was different.” I still felt bad about Edna...sort of...maybe. She had been a piece of work. I didn’t want to break Haley’s concentration, but I had to know...“How did Stumpy get his scooter down those stairs?”

Okay, it wasn’t a matter of life or death, but it was a mystery.

The corners of Haley’s mouth curled up. “Edna put a sheet of plywood down as a makeshift ramp. It slid down, and then after he killed her, he couldn’t get it back on the stairs. He didn’t want to untie me because he knew I’d overpower him, and Norman couldn’t get his walker down the stairs.” Haley shook her head. “If anything, it proves that nothing was planned.”

“If that’s true, we might not be able to charge Stumpy with murder one.” Ben sounded like he was making a mental note. “What about Norman?”

“I shot him.” Bautista leaned forward and put a hand on Monica’s arm. “They insisted that Mustang deliver the gold, but I was right behind her.”

Damn it, Bautista was a good guy.

“That’s odd, because Stumpy said Monica was with Mustang.” Ben looked from me to Monica and back at me.

I shrugged. “Just me and Bautista.”

“I have five men who all saw me go in after Mustang.” Bautista’s tone said that the matter was final.

Ben’s hands fisted on the table. “Come on, I’m not buying this bullshit for a minute. Big Tommy worked for Cervantes?” He turned to Daman. “He’s Cervantes.”

All eyes went to Daman. He sent Bautista a look, and the butler stood, walked to the double kitchen doors, closed them, and came back to the table. He pulled a small, black box out of his right front khaki pocket and flipped the metal toggle switch on the front. It must be another device detector and disruptor. Daman’s house was bugged too?

Daman reached behind him, pulled something out of his pocket, and tossed it on the table in front of Ben. It was a gold DEA badge.

Ben stared at it for what felt like a whole minute. “No way.”

“I’m DEA and I’ve been tracking Cervantes for almost two years. Mustang’s ex-husband, David, was my friend and called me when strange things started happening in Lakeside.” Daman didn’t look like he really wanted to tell Ben anything. “David didn’t run off to Grand Cayman—I’ve been looking for him for the last six months. I don’t think he made it out of Lakeside alive.”

Ben glanced at me. “You knew...you knew he was DEA?”

“Yes, and I couldn’t tell anyone.” I knew that Daman thought David was dead, but he also thought David was a good guy. I knew different. My ex was a bastard, but trying to convince the world of that wasn’t worth the trouble.

I glanced at Haley. She looked a little disappointed. I guess her bad-boy crush on Daman was over; then again, he was still hot as hell.

Daman gave Bautista an almost imperceptible nod.

Bautista reached into his back pocket and pulled something out. It was a badge. “I’m with MI6.”

“God, I knew it.” Monica winked at him. “James Bond but better looking.”

“She’s beautiful and smart.” Bautista returned the wink.

Ben looked like his head was about to explode. “This is lunacy.”

“You can’t tell anyone.” Daman rocked his chair back onto two legs. “I’m going out on a limb just telling you. Cervantes owns the Lakeside PD—”

“That’s ridiculous.” Ben pounded a fist in outrage.

“Who had you bug Mustang’s house?” Daman shot daggers at Ben.

He turned to me. “You told him?”

“No, he was the one who told me that my house was bugged.” I crossed my arms and watched him. The bugging was a very sore subject, and Daman knew it.

The verbal arm wrestling continued.

Ben looked me in the eye. “The chief. Chief Stanford had me bug your house.”

“Why?” I slapped my hand down hard on the table. I still had no idea why anyone thought they needed to bug my house. What was I supposed to know?

“I have no idea.” Ben shook his head. “Just following orders.”

“Yes...exactly...orders from Cervantes.” Daman waved his hand like Ben had just made his point.

“Has anyone ever seen Cervantes?” I watched both men for signs that they were hiding something. “I sure as hell would love to know why he thinks I’m a threat.”

“So would I,” Daman and Ben said in unison.

“She’s moving in here with me, permanently.” Daman glared at Ben like it was decided.

“No, she’s moving in with me.” Ben returned that glare and added another fist pound to the table.

“She is going to continue to live in her little house.” I jumped up. “This is nuts. I can take care of myself.”

It was a wonder both their egos could fit in the same room.

“There’s way too much testosterone in this room. I need some fresh air.” I stomped out of the room. Two alpha males couldn’t exist in the same space. It was the law of the land. I wasn’t ready to kick them out, but I also wasn’t ready to invite them both in.

Monica and Haley followed me out.

Daman called after me, “What do you want me to do with the gold coins?”

“Keep them. They’ve only caused me pain.” There went Max’s college fund...then again, he might not reach college age if I hung onto those coins.

“Let’s go pick up our kids.” I looped an arm around each of my best friends. “Today’s been one hell of a day, and I’m ready to hug my kiddo, watch a movie or two, and drown myself in chocolate mint ice cream.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Haley hip bumped me.

“You had me at chocolate mint ice cream.” Monica’s hand slipped down, and she lightly popped my bra strap. “I know you’re mad at Ben and Daman, but I’m still going to sleep with Bautista. Learn it, live it, love it.”

“God, I hope you do it soon. I want details.” Haley inspected her manicure. “My nails are atrocious. I’m calling Kim-Li. She can pamper our hands while we’re gorging on ice cream.”

“I knew there was a reason we rescued you. Kim-Li is the best manicurist in the world.” Monica blew Haley a kiss.

“I can’t imagine a better way to end a terrible day.” My life wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without these women in it.

Who the hell knew what tomorrow would bring, but it didn’t matter, because I knew these women had my back and I had theirs.

The next day, I was vacuuming up a storm when my doorbell bing-bonged. It was Sunday, and I loved me some late-morning housecleaning. Tidiness might be next to godliness, but it was really all about control. Lately, I hadn’t been able to control much in my life, but right now, I could control everything in my house...except my new TV. The remote control looked like something NASA had dreamed up to land the space shuttle. Thank God Max was a kid and had it figured out ten seconds after touching it.

I opened my front door to find an Amazon box.

I’d forgotten about the tape player that I’d ordered. I picked up the box and took it inside. I ripped it open, and sure enough, the huge box held lots of that plastic-pillow packing stuff and one small, boxed cassette player.

I pulled out the box, opened it, pulled out the player, and plugged it into the wall.

I reached over to my work bag, which was hanging on a kitchen chairback, and unzipped it.

I’d thought the mixtapes Big Tommy had in the safety deposit box were in my murder cabinet, but I’d found them yesterday in my work bag. I slipped a grayish-clear cassette tape out of its clear plastic box and into the tape player. This one was titled ’85 Love Mix. I hit play.

Wham!’s “Careless Whisper” rocked out of the speakers. I can’t believe that anyone ever thought George Michael was straight. Wham! finished up, and Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” was up next.

I filled a bucket with hot water and Pine-Sol, grabbed my mop, and went to town on the kitchen’s travertine-tile floor. Although I enjoyed the music, I couldn’t see why Big Tommy had felt the need to keep it under lock and key.

Chaka Khan belted out “I Feel for You” while I mopped my heart out.

Just before the end of the song, the music paused. I checked the tape player—it was still running.

“The product is moving out tonight.” The voice was male and somewhat familiar. I knew I’d heard it before, but I couldn’t place it. “It leaves the warehouse at seven and will take the usual route. Shouldn’t be hard to add a few more seats. The girls have all been drugged, so no problem there. When they get to Austin, they’ll be cleaned and dressed up. So we can get top dollar.”

“When does the auction begin?” It was another male voice—Big Tommy?

“Tomorrow at midnight. We have buyers coming in from all over.” Man Numero Uno again. “Standard stuff. The youngest go first, and then the teenagers.”

I clamped a hand over my mouth. Were they trafficking...children...little girls?

OMG. What had Big Tommy been into?

“Do you have to wear that tape player on your belt all of the time?” Number One sounded bored instead of mad. “The eighties died a long time ago. You need to retire your Sony Walkman.”

Big Tommy must have used it to record instead of play.

“Is Cervantes flying in for the auction?” Big Tommy sounded so casual...like this was just another day at the office.

“No, he’s staying in Mexico. There are too many people here who want him dead.” Number One rustled some paper. “Here’s a list of the girls. If some of them don’t make it, we want you there for body disposal.”

Body disposal...yuck.

I pulled out my phone and texted Daman and Ben with “911—Come Over NOW!”

My heart ran sprints around my chest.

I picked up the tape case, looking for a date. Was it too late to find and help these girls?

“Natasha said something about adding a couple of new girls to the house. Which ones does she have her eye on?” Big Tommy sounded way too eager.

“BT, don’t mix business with pleasure. You know the rules. If you want to have some fun, go into Austin or San Antonio, but keep it in your pants in Lakeside. We can’t risk exposure. The house makes a tidy profit, and Cervantes doesn’t tolerate mistakes. Think about what he had done to Marks. I’ve never seen a man cut into so many pieces.”

Why was this man telling Big Tommy? I bet he was the one who’d done the cutting.

“Just interested is all.” Big Tommy couldn’t pull off nonchalance. “Cervantes doesn’t have any problem mixing business with pleasure.”

“Yes, but you’re not him. He’s in charge. He can do whatever he wants.”

Was “the house” a whorehouse? Did we have a whorehouse right here in Lakeside? Where was it?

My front door was thrown open, and two men—both with guns drawn—fought to both get their huge shoulders through the doorway first.

Ben won and made it into the room a millisecond before Daman.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, but I found these.” I held up the tapes. “Come and listen.”

“Natasha tells me that you spend a lot of time at the house. You need to stay away.”

“Who’s speaking?” Daman looked like he’d heard the voice before too and couldn’t place it.

“No idea. So far, it’s just him and Big Tommy.” I motioned for them to sit down at my kitchen table. I propped the mop against the wall and joined them.

“The cash should all be deposited by tonight. Since I can’t stop you from going to the house, tell Natasha that the girls need to be ready tomorrow night to greet the auction losers. They’ll need some sort of consolation prize. The congressman will be there, and you know how he hates to be outbid.”

There was a clicking noise, and then REO Speedwagon came in with “Can’t Fight This Feeling.”

Ben hit stop. “What are they talking about? What are all of these tapes?”

“They’re mixtapes we...um...” I hadn’t told them about the tapes. I hadn’t been purposely withholding information, I’d just forgotten about them. “Haley and I found them locked away in Big Tommy’s office.”

I thought it was best to keep my head down and not make eye contact.

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Daman was trying to keep calm.

“Or me?” Ben sounded hurt.

“Honestly, I forgot about them. They’re mixtapes. The first part was music, and then it sounds like Big Tommy recorded over some of the songs.”

“What’s the auction?” Ben picked up the empty, clear tape case and studied it.

“I think they’re auctioning off girls—little girls. They said the youngest go before the teenagers.”

I choked on the spit in my mouth.

“What’s ‘the house’?” Ben sat back and watched me.

“I don’t know. I think it’s a whorehouse. Do we have a whorehouse in Lakeside?” I watched him right back.