Easy Target (19 page)

Chapter Nineteen

“H
OW DO YOU
know that’s Elizabeth’s ring?” Bryan asked.

“I was with Trey when he bought it,” said Sassy, her eyes never leaving the monitor. “It’s a one-­of-­a-­kind estate piece. Where did you get it?”

Bryan watched as Jennifer pulled her hand back from the computer screen and her eyes filled with equal parts surprise and sadness. “A young girl at the brothel gave it to me. Her name was Mia. She died in the ambush. She said I was kind to her ‘like the other
guera
’ there had been. I assumed it was costume jewelry. I had no idea.”

Bryan’s gut clenched remembering the little girl and how scared she’d been when he’d met her. He’d given her his shirt so she’d have on more clothes than the sleazy lingerie the madam had dressed her in, and he’d almost gotten her out of that place. Hell, he’d thought she was out and safe, until he’d met Jennifer and Nick behind the house and learned the child was dead. One more person who’d died on his watch.

The parallel to Sassy’s experience after he left Mississippi that long-­ago summer was too painful to think about for long. At least he hadn’t gotten Sassy killed . . . yet. He mentally pushed those unproductive thoughts away. He couldn’t brood over that right now, or he’d completely lose focus.

Jennifer gazed at the ring on her hand before looking up again. “Rivera noticed this ring, too, when Nick and I were in the café in Skikda. What would your brother’s engagement ring have been doing with a child in a Mexican brothel?” She reached to take it off as she looked at Nick. “I can have it sent to you.”

Sassy nodded. “Yes, thank you. But not for the reason you think.” She was way ahead of both of them. “Don’t you see? That’s the proof Elizabeth was alive after Trey was arrested. She was there at that brothel, and she was alive. Trey gave her that ring the night she disappeared. He told me about it when I saw him at the prison.” Sassy squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember exactly what Trey had said.

“He proposed to Elizabeth the night they rented the boat, but she wanted to think about it. She was still upset about their argument over the Peace Corps. He convinced her to put the ring on anyway, especially since they were out on the water. That was part of the reason the Mexican authorities were so sure he’d killed her. They were convinced he’d flown into a rage because she’d turned down his marriage proposal after their argument earlier.”

Bryan was shaking his head. “Sassy, just because her ring was there doesn’t necessarily mean that Elizabeth was at the brothel. An argument could be made that whoever killed her would have taken valuable and identifying jewelry off her body before dumping it. It could be that one of the murderers involved went to the brothel later and perhaps paid for ser­vices with the ring.”

“But the girl who gave it to Jennifer said she’d been kind to her ‘like the other
guera.
’
Guera
can be a reference to a fair-­skinned Latino, but it can also mean a blonde woman. Elizabeth is blonde.”

“Sassy, that’s a stretch.” Bryan worried she was twisting the facts to fit the story.

“No, that’s reasonable doubt. Combined with my source who claimed they saw her board a boat in Venezuela.”

“A source that’s notoriously unreliable,” argued Bryan.

Sassy ignored him. “She’s alive, or she was after Trey was arrested. This is exactly the kind of evidence we need for the judge.”

Bryan heard the determination in her voice. There would be no changing her mind. He recognized that set of her chin.

“But how can we prove it? I understand this is the right evidence for reasonable doubt. But no judge is going to take our word for it, particularly now that AEGIS, and you and I in particular, are under such suspicion,” he said.

“I’m afraid he’s right,” said Nick. “None of us are considered reliable witnesses at this point.”

“Don’t worry about that. I can get traction for this if I write a story putting it all together like we’ve done here.”

“I hate to point out the obvious, but you’re wanted for murder right now,” said Nick.

“And what editor wouldn’t want that kind of an exclusive? They’ll title it something outrageous like ‘Why I Did It’ or some such nonsense. I can get this story out. I know I can. But I want to make sure I have more detail. Can we go over it again?”

Bryan sighed inwardly but listened carefully as everyone talked through the details once more. He didn’t want to rain on Sassy’s good news, but he didn’t think this was going to work. Leland hobbled back into view on his crutches as Nick was recounting the sniper attack at the Grand Hotel du Niger. His expression was more intense than Bryan could ever recall and rivaled Nick’s at this point.

“What is it?” Nick asked.

“We’ve got to get out of here, now. There was a bug in my phone.” Leland’s voice, normally smooth and calm, sounded ragged and weary.

Nick stood, pulling Jennifer with him. “What kind of bug are you talking about? Where’s the phone?”

Leland reached for Anna’s hand as he spoke. “It’s the efficient kind. And the phone is now at the bottom of the lake. I tossed it from the pier in a plastic bag with a brick. I couldn’t get any further away on these sticks. I don’t know if the person on the other end listening realizes what’s going on yet, but we need to leave. They could have been tracking us before this video chat started.”

“Who could have bugged your phone?” asked Bryan, understanding—­possibly better than they did—­the eminent danger. Without a word, Nick disappeared from the screen, taking Jennifer with him.

Leland turned to the computer as he tucked Anna to his side. “Several ­people have had access besides you and Nick.”

“Who?” Bryan pushed and heard the dread in his own tone.

“Gavin, Marissa, Anna, and Zach.”

Police sirens suddenly echoed in the background, and on screen everyone froze for a moment.

“Oh my God,” murmured Anna, looking away from the computer. There must have been a window just out of sight of the camera. “Six police cars are in the driveway!”

Leland shook his head, the expression on his face so sad. Running with Anna was not an option for them with Zach there, too. The boy’s health was still fragile after his heart transplant in November. Leland kept talking as if the inevitable wasn’t coming. “The only person in this scenario that makes any sense to have bugged me is my old boss at the DEA, Ford Johnson.”

“The man in charge of the AEGIS investigation?” asked Bryan.

Leland nodded as his eyes hardened. “The man I couldn’t reach the day of the Colton bust.” All hell was about to break loose, but Leland was incredibly calm.

Nick came back into view with Jennifer, and Bryan knew. They were all going to surrender. There was no other way, with their women there and the boy with them. Giving Bryan all the information they could before they were taken was the best option.

“The Colton bust?” asked Sassy.

“This must have started back then,” said Leland, talking faster. “Staring at that phone outside, some things clicked into place for me. Juan Santos was the informant for that Colton bust that went so horribly wrong. The location was wrong, the supposed perp was wrong. I told my immediate boss at the DEA not to believe Santos, but he wouldn’t listen. When I tried to reach Ford Johnson to talk with him about the situation, he wasn’t available.”

“Juan Santos,” echoed Sassy. “Santos was my informant on the trafficking routes in Africa and the Venezuela connection.”

Leland nodded unhappily. “Doubtless he was working both sides. Santos has always gone to the highest bidder. It follows that Ford Johnson was working with the cartels. It all makes sense in a way. With his position within the DEA, Johnson had insider access to know when each and every bust was going down. He could easily have played both sides.”

In the background, Bryan heard the doorbell ring and someone shouting, “Police! Open up.”

“There’s more we could piece together, but we’re out of time,” said Leland. “Be very careful. Ford Johnson’s connected in a huge way.”

“Get in touch with Gavin if you can.” Nick was typing on his phone as he talked, never looking up. “I’m texting him now, but he’ll need the details from you. Don’t forget what else I told you about at the café in Skikda. About my father. There’s a link there.”

“I remember,” said Bryan, reeling to take it all in.

Could this really have had something to do with Reese Donovan’s murder ten years before?
Suspecting
a DEA officer of being dirty wasn’t the same thing as
proving
it. They were a hell of a long way from proof.

“You really think it reaches back that far?” Bryan asked.

“I don’t know, but if Vega was to be believed, someone else was calling the shots when Reese died. It would make sense if that someone calling the shots was playing both sides.”

The pounding on the door became louder. Bryan nodded. “We’ll get you guys out of jail as soon as we can.”

Nick looked up then and shrugged. “Oh, I think we’re about to be there for the duration. Just get word to Gavin and Risa.”

“Of course,” said Bryan, hating the inevitability of what was to come. “I’m . . . I’m sorry. This is some vacation I set you up for.”

Nick shook his head and smiled. “Not your fault, man.”

“Bear! Bear!” called Sassy at the same time. “Can you make this thing record?”

Bear jogged over from the kitchen and leaned over Bryan to hit a ­couple of keys before straightening. “It’s recording now.”

Out of sight of the screen, they heard the sound of splintering wood as the door burst open. Nick and Leland didn’t move.

“What do you need, Officers?” asked Nick. “We’re happy to cooperate.”

Bodies filled the screen as multiple officials poured into the room and started barking orders. Bryan counted eight different officers and an alphabet soup of agencies, if the navy-­colored windbreakers were any indication—­DEA, FBI, even ICE. Several ­people were shouting, but Nick and Leland remained calm. Bryan could see Nick being handcuffed and heard Anna’s protest as Leland’s crutches were taken away.

“He needs those,” Anna cried. “He recently had surgery and can’t put all his weight on that side yet.”

“Well, he’s shit out of luck today,” said one of the ICE officers, pushing Leland away from her.

There was a scramble as Leland stumbled against the sofa and fell forward. Without his hands to catch him, he headed down like a felled tree, straight toward the coffee table.

Anna screamed at the officer. “Help him, plea—­” The sound was cut short as the computer was knocked from its perch and Bear’s monitor went black.

Jesus.
Bryan clenched his hands and gritted his teeth as feelings of helplessness and rage swirled inside him.

Sassy sat watching the screen with tears running down her face. “What’s going to happen to them?”

Bryan shook his head. God only knew what would happen to his friends. They’d been arrested because they’d been trying to help him. He and Sassy were wanted for murder, and the man they suspected of framing the entire AEGIS team was in charge of the investigation.

December 28

Africa

G
AVIN SAT IN
the hotel room, staring at the text message from Nick. This was the cherry on the cake of his shitty day. He and Risa had found Elizabeth Yarborough . . . or rather, what was left of her.

She’d come damn close to making it out of Africa alive. At least he assumed that was the case, if the location of the mass cremation gravesite was any indication. Witnesses from an aide organization in Sierra Leone reported that a young white woman matching Elizabeth’s description had been in their village before she had succumbed to Ebola.

But no one could confirm seeing her body after she’d died. That wasn’t unexpected. She’d most likely been cremated, along with fifty other villagers who’d died the same week. Forensics testing wasn’t going to be possible.

Hell, at this point travel wasn’t even possible, but Gavin was working on it. He wanted to speak with the aide workers face-­to-­face.

The entire continent of Africa was in a justifiable white-­hot panic over the Ebola outbreak. There was no way to get the proof Sassy Smith needed to save her brother. But even without Yarborough’s body, the circumstantial evidence was compelling. There just weren’t that many young white women missing in Africa who would have been wearing a Peace Corps T-­shirt along with University of Texas gym shorts.

He needed to let Sassy and Bryan know what he’d found out, despite the fact that the current evidence was only hearsay and assuredly not proof enough to bring the Yarboroughs closure or to help Trey Smith with anything other than further heartbreak in his court case.

Then there was the message from Nick:
Need help from Risa.
About to be arrested at your cabin with Leland, Anna, Zach, and Jenny. Bryan wanted for murder.

Jesus. When had it all gone to hell?

Before Kat had died or after? The last time Gavin could remember sleeping through the night had been what, three months ago? No, maybe six. He couldn’t recall. It was sometime during Kat’s last remission, before the long slide into the horror show of her last two months.

God, he was tired, and he had been for so damn long. What was he doing here? How did he think he could possibly help?

He had no fucking idea. He just knew that he had to do something. If he stopped moving, the grief overwhelmed him. So Gavin made sure he never stopped moving.

And despite his efforts, his life and his livelihood were simultaneously circling the bowl. He was struggling with major depression. There was a warrant out for his arrest in the U.S., and he was on the verge of sleeping with the woman who’d been his lover before he married.

So here he was, at one of those major fork-­in-­the-­road points of life. Was he going to make the hard choice or take the easy way out?

He knew what he should do. And he hated it. He strode to the adjoining room to show the text to Risa.

“Hey. What’s up?” She was wrapped in a barely there robe, and her hair hung in dark wet ringlets all around her face and shoulders.