Duty Bound (1995) (32 page)

"Why . . . why they burn his face like that?"

"They used a handheld propane blowtorch to make him talk, Mrs. White. The people who did this wanted information, and you can be sure he gave them what they wanted.

Take a good look, Mrs. White. The people responsible for this are still out there. We need your help in finding them.

Please tell us everything you know about the woman who is missing."

Halley wiped away a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. "She ain't missin' . . . she's probably with Mr.

Teddy."

Ashley exchanged looks with Faraday, then turned on the small tape recorder. "Please start from the beginning, Mrs.

White."

.

8:10 P. M., Residence Inn, Miami, Florida.

Eli stood holding the phone to his ear, listening to Ashley brief him on what Halley White had said. He let the information sink in, then asked: "You said Bonita Rogers had a visitor almost every night?"

"Yes, Mrs. White called him Mr. Teddy. She said he was a private investigator, but we checked and there's only two P. I.'s within four hundred miles with a first name of Ted, and none of them fit his description: Caucasian, six-two or -three, mid-forties, and muscled up like a weight lifter.

We don't think he was a P. I. We've got a description of his vehicle, and Mrs. White remembered a partial on his license.

Ed is checking with the state vehicle registration office. We'll have something pretty soon."

"We're too late, Sutton. You can bet this Ted guy and the others have already left the country with the money."

"You're probably right. Just so you know, Tanner, you, Ed, and me are out of it. We're done."

"What d'ya mean, we're done?"

"We're done, as in we're out of the investigation. The SAC thanked us for our efforts this evening but now it seems he doesn't need us anymore."

"Sutton, are you messin' with me? I haven't been told to pack up and go home yet."

"Tanner, protecting Miss Glamour News isn't part of the investigation. You've still got the job until you convince her to come home. And guess what? You're soon going to have some help. Just so you hear it from me first, Ed and I got a new assignment. We're coming down to help you. I volunteered us for the duty. Ed and I will be catching the early bird tomorrow and will be there by seven."

"You volunteered? Sutton, I thought I taught you better than that."

"Couldn't help myself, Tanner. Since my job was done up here, I couldn't stand the thought of you pulling such horrible duty all alone. Since Miss News is from Georgia, I talked the SAC into having Ed come along to help you convince her to go home. I knew you'd appreciate it."

Eli sighed. "Yeah, I'm sure Ed really appreciated you volunteering him. Guess I'll see you two in the morning, then, huh?"

"Yeah, Tanner, you will. You missed us?"

"Yeah, kinda . . . my temp partner doesn't bitch enough. I really miss that, you know?"

"Are you sayin' you miss me, Tanner?"

"See you in the morning, Sutton."

"Tanner, I've kinds missed you, too. See you in the morning."

Interstate 95, northern Florida Ted sat behind the wheel of the conversion van, his attention focused on the road ahead. Seated beside him in a captain's chair, Bonita unwrapped a Big Mac. "This sure is comfortable. I've never been in a van like this before."

Ted glanced in the rearview mirror at the dog on the back of the folded-down rear seat. "Looks like the hunter likes it."

Bonita handed Ted the hamburger. "You still upset at me for coming back?"

"I'm not upset, Bo. I'm worried about you is all. Those guys back at the score site have told Mendez about you by now. He won't rest till he finds you."

Bonita popped a french fry into her mouth. "It doesn't matter, Teddy. He would have looked for me even if I hadn't gone on the raid."

Ted took a bite, chewed awhile, and swallowed. "I ... I missed you, Bo."

Bonita reached over and patted his leg. "It's nice, isn't it?

It's like we're on a vacation and heading for Disney World, just like regular people."

"We're not goin' on vacation, Bo."

"I know, but we can pretend for a while. You and me and Baby, the family getting away for a while. It's a nice thought. Don't spoil it, Ted. Let me pretend for a while, okay?"

"I always did want to ride that Space Mountain ride and the jungle cruise . . . and see that castle up close, you know, the one where Sleeping Beauty stayed."

"It's Cinderella's castle, Ted."

"Yeah? I'll be damned. What ride we gonna take the hunter on?"

"We'll find a nice place for him to stay, and just you and me will go. I want to do it all. See everything, Pirates of the Caribbean, Frontier land, Adventure land, and the new places they built . . . We'll stay in one of those ritzy hotels right there in the park . . . eat at the nicest restaurants, make love in the morning, and go see everything during the afternoon."

"What we goin' to do in the evening?"

Bonita leaned over and put a french fry in his mouth.

"We'll go dancing and look at each other in the candlelight.

Make eyes at each other and get ourselves all worked up."

Ted nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Then I'll take you back to the hotel and we'll stand on the balcony and look at the fireworks and the Tahiti canoes on the lake and we'll slowly undress each other, and then we'll ..."

Ted kept his eyes on the road and kept nodding, but he was no longer listening. He was thinking about Carlos Mendez.

Chapter 16.

9:10 A. M., Monday, Miami airport.

Eli slowed his steps and motioned ahead to the waiting area for Delta's Gate 19. "Her plane should be here any minute."

Ashley rolled her eyes after taking a sip of coffee from a plastic cup. "I bet you can hardly wait, Tanner."

Eli gave Ed Faraday a consoling look. "I told you Sutton was a joy to work with in the mornings."

The detective nodded. "You were sure right about her not being a morning person--she's been actin' bitchy since we left Atlanta this morning."

Ashley glared at the two men through her unbandaged eye. "You want to see me really bitchy, just keep it up, you two."

Eli motioned to the waiting area. "I think it's time I broke the news to Miss Lopez. Both of you follow me."

Eli strode into the waiting area and approached an attractive woman seated in the smoking section. "Excuse me.

You're waiting for Miss Stacy Starr, aren't you?"

The dark-haired woman lowered the magazine she was reading. "Who are you?"

Eli took out his ID. "Special Agent Tanner, FBI, ma'am.

You are Miss Rita Lopez from Channel 2, correct?"

Rita's eyes narrowed. "What is this?"

"This is a request, Miss Lopez. I need to talk to Miss Starr. It has to do with an investigation we are running. I will be picking up Miss Starr when she arrives and you can follow us to the hotel. You have her checked in at the Coral Gables Hyatt, right?"

"Big Brother is watching, is that it?" Rita said, snuffing out her cigarette. "How did you know we had Stacy checked into the Hyatt?"

"Your station manager told us, Miss Lopez. We know you are going to be working with Miss Starr in a cooperative effort on the story."

"What if I refuse your 'request'?"

"I was being nice; it's not really a request. It's going to happen just like this: When Miss Starr arrives, me, my associates here, and you will escort her to the baggage area.

Once she's got her things, she goes with us. You can follow us in your van to the hotel."

"That's it? There's nothing I can do about it?"

"That's it, Miss Lopez."

Rita motioned to the plate-glass window where, outside, a DC-9 was approaching the gate. "She's not going to like this."

Minutes later Stacy stood in front of Eli. She slowly shifted her gaze to Faraday then Ashley and shook her head.

"I don't believe this is happening."

Eli wrinkled his brow. "Believe it, Stacy. We'll talk in the car and I'll explain everything."

Stacy turned to Rita with a frown. "It's all right. I'll ride with them. I think they're holding all the cards right now."

Stacy sat in the backseat with Eli beside her as the rental car came to a stop in front of the Coral Gables Hyatt Regency. Stacy's eyes were locked on Eli. "You've certainly done a good job of scaring me, but it would help if you could be more specific. Do you have a suspect or don't you?"

"I can't tell you that, Stacy. The SAC's instructions were to tell you what we were up against in the hope you would back off of your investigation. It doesn't matter who the suspect is; these players are all the same when it comes to their privacy. They don't like people asking questions about them, especially the media."

"Are these men so powerful that they can't be touched?"

Eli thought that maybe his past twenty-minute update was having an effect. "Some of them are, Stacy. One of them I know for sure is very smart. He's mostly legit now, and the way he's organized, with others doing all the actual dirty work, we can't get to him."

"Unless one of his people talks," Stacy said. "If somebody inside his organization talks, then you'd have him, right?"

Eli frowned. "That's not likely. There's probably no more than a half dozen inside people who actually talk to him.

And they're all very loyal and tied to him by blood. In ninety, when I worked the case, I found out pretty quick that over half of his employees had never actually even seen him. Think of him as the CEO of Ford Motors--he makes the major decisions but others actually make the cars. One division makes Thunderbirds; another makes Escorts. In his case, one division handles all his legit business and another is the dirty division that launders his money. The dirty division is made up of subdivisions spread out throughout the southeastern United States. The Yona Group could have been just one of many of his subdivisions. You have to understand, Stacy, this guy in particular isn't like the players in the movies who wear flashy clothes and go out dancing and partying every night. He's all business and controls his operation with an iron fist. When we picked up his people, they never said a word to us. . . . They knew if they said anything they'd be dead, and so would their relatives. That's how this guy worked. He went after the families as a lesson to others. You asked if the players were that powerful-- remember, one of them had Senator Goodnight and his family murdered, and we're not even close in trying to prove it."

"Isn't it frustrating for you, Eli?"

"It's more than frustrating; it's maddening. These guys have big money, and money can buy you anything, including people inside the Miami Police Department and most likely even in our government agencies. It's the only explanation for why some of them know so much about how we operate or when we're getting close. Look, Stacy, that's strictly off the record, as is everything else I've told you about these people. Now I think you understand why we want you to. Back off the story--it's too dangerous."

Stacy shook her head. "I can't do that. I have a duty; the people have a right to know."

Seated in the front passenger seat, Faraday turned in his seat. "Jesus, Miss Starr, Tanner just told ya why ya gotta drop it. These guys kill people. If you start asking questions, none of them are goin' to think twice about having you knocked off."

Stacy's face was set in determination. "Our system of justice has failed us, Detective. I heard what Eli said. He said, in effect, the Justice Department doesn't have the necessary tools to bring the one responsible for the senator's death to justice. Doesn't that bother you? It does me. What is wrong with our system, that it allows such men to stay in business?

Don't you think the people have a right to know their system has failed?"

Seated behind the wheel, Ashley spoke, trying to contain her anger. "Is it worth risking the lives of Miss Lopez, the news crew, and possibly us? Is getting your story out worth that much?"

Stacy returned Ashley's glare. "The truth is worth the risk, Agent Sutton. The system has failed us all. Perhaps when the truth is known, people will demand changes to our laws." Stacy shifted her gaze to Eli as she reached for the car door. "Tell Donny, no deal. I'm doing the story, but I won't use anything you just told me. I'll get what I need on my own."

Eli took hold of Stacy's arm. "If you do this, the three of us are going to be with you every step of the way. Our job is to protect you."

"What if I refuse your protection?"

"You're too smart to do that, Stacy. We're the reason you're refusing to back off your crusade. You figure if we're protecting you, the players won't try anything. Maybe you're right. Then again, maybe you're wrong. You're betting your life and the lives of others on your chance to tell the world what you think the truth is.'

Stacy held his gaze a long moment before lifting her chin.

"Let go of me, Eli. I have work to do."

Eli kept his grip. "Fine, but there's rules to play by. First, you'll never be alone. One of us will be with you at all times. Second, you'll tell us your schedule to give us time to have backup wherever you go. Third, no secrets. We hear everything you hear, and that goes for telephone conversations. Fourth, you will heed my advice and do whatever I say is necessary to ensure your protection. That means you don't question me or balk when I tell you to do something; you just do it. That's how this is going to be played. You understand?"