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Authors: Taylor Lee

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BOOK: Every Breath You Take
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Lexie agreed. “No, right now I don’t. But I have an idea. How would you like to stay with me for a few days?”

“You mean here? I could stay here? I wouldn’t have to go home?”

Lexie nodded. “Eventually you would. But for a couple of days, you could stay with Ming in her quarters.”

“We could have a sleepover?”

Lexie smiled. “Yes, you could have a sleepover and you and Ming could get in some extra practice. Whatever is bothering you is affecting your practice. Maybe after a couple of days, you’ll be ready to talk to me about it. What do you think, Sammie? Does that sound like a good idea?”

The girl snuggled up next to her.

“Yes. I want to stay here. I… I don’t want to go home right now. Will you tell my dad that I’m not mad at him? That I just want to be with you for a little while?”

“Yes, honey. I will tell both your mom and dad that. Maybe in a few days you can tell me more and we can figure out what to do next. How does that sound?”

Sammie’s watery smile was all the confirmation Lexie needed. It was clear. No matter what, she was not sending this child home until she knew what the hell was going on with her father. Her gut told her Tom Roberts had serious explaining to do.

Chapter 19

“Are you suggesting she was abused?”

“I just think… I don’t know, Jake. But I don’t want to send her home until I know more. Jake, we may be on to something and Tom is in the middle of it.” Lexie put her cell phone on speaker to finish getting dressed.

“What about Cynthia? Damn, Lexie, you know as well as I do if there is abuse going on, the mother often knows it. She either ignores it or refuses to admit it. Think Cynthia could be in denial?”

“It’s a possibility. And yes, Cynthia said some things today that were upsetting. None of which implied that she was concerned about Sammie. No, at base, she was concerned about how her daughter’s behavior might affect their
social
standing. She even suggested that she might have to take her out of the Jai Li center because Sammie’s behavior might reflect badly on her and Tom.”

“What?” Jake’s voice was incredulous.

Lexie snapped, “She actually said that we have ‘high class’ clientele here. She implied that she wouldn’t want our
elite
clients getting the wrong impression of their family because of Sammie’s behavior. Wonder if she knows that many of the students in my adult classes are prostitutes or abused women who come from decidedly ‘low class’ or
no
class backgrounds.” She added derisively, “Oh, and I’m not supposed to tell anyone, but Tom Roberts is considering running for governor.”

Jake whistled. “Damn, are you sure? Or is that an ambitious wife’s dream?”

“I don’t know either of them well enough to decide. But imagine the fireworks, Jake, if Tom is our target and Cynthia has him packaged, at least in her mind, as the next Governor of California.”

“Phew! Yeah, that could set off a few bombs. One thing for sure, Cynthia wouldn’t have to worry about her young daughter’s behavior spoiling their family’s
good
name. But that doesn’t ring true to me, Lexie. If Tom is
Mr. E
. and I gotta say there are some strong indications that he may be, the last thing he would want to do is run for office. Hell, the scrutiny would be fierce.”

Lexie agreed. “Which makes the ‘I wanna be the wife of the Governor’ the more likely scenario. You know, Jake, I always knew that Cynthia was a social climber, that money and power mattered to her, but I never realized how icy, how callous she is. She never once indicated that she was concerned for Sammie. It was all about appearances and the effect it would have on the family. She didn’t so much as say goodbye to Sammie or Donny, for that matter. Just took off in that big limo of hers worrying about a political campaign. When I called her to see if Sammie could stay for a few days, she was relieved. Said she thought it would do all of them good.”

“Jesus, Lexie. It’s a good thing you pulled that kid out of there. Something is clearly wrong at that house. Go back to the abuse issue. If anyone knows the signs of abuse, it’s you, Lexie. What does your gut say about Sammie?”

“I’m trying to work that out in my mind, Jake. On one level it doesn’t add up. If her father or one of her father’s friends was abusing her, Sammie would be angry at Tom. Or she’d show signs that she feared him. I can pick up on those kinds of behaviors. Typically a victim will try to hide what is happening, either by pretending that nothing is wrong or choosing other ways to act out. Which may be what Sammie is doing. But it was weird. Sammie seemed more concerned about Tom than she was for herself. And she’s a kid, you know? So there’s no artifice, no conning. It was as though she was afraid the Korean man would hurt her father. She kept saying that her father didn’t know how bad the man was.”

“I’m glad you caught me, Lexie. Peter and I’ve arrived at the Government Center. We’re having breakfast with Spellman in the executive dining room. But, this is important information. We’re meeting with Roberts at ten a.m. I won’t let on that I know what Sammie said, only that she is staying with us for a couple of days. Will that be okay?”

“Yes, Jake, you definitely you should tell Tom that Sammie is staying with us. It will be interesting to see how he reacts, if he acts surprised. Unfortunately if it is abuse, the abuser is usually such an accomplished liar that it’s hard to pick up on. But then, I forgot who’ll be doing the interrogating. Damn, Jake, between you and Peter, the guy doesn’t stand a chance.”

Jake’s soft laugh was audible.

“The only person who could be more accomplished is you, Darlin’. But dammit, Lexie. Let’s face it. Whoever the son of a bitch is who’s running this evil empire, he’s conscience-free. Abusing his daughter or allowing her to be abused wouldn’t register at zero on his nonexistent shame meter.”

He sighed, then continued. “I’ll call you when we’re done. When you and Brady and Tiff finish with Dan, let’s meet up. Maybe bring Dan along. You and Brady make the call. Depends on how Dan takes the news that we’ve got his boss in the crosshairs. No question, it’s going to hit him hard.”

Lexie checked herself in the mirror, not surprised that her smile looked as grim as she felt.

“I agree. Dan’ll be devastated. I know he likes and admires Tom Roberts. Plus, it’s not every day that that we ask a friend to help us set up a sting intended to ice his boss and or the highest level federal official operating in San Francisco. Jesus.”

“Yeah, baby. We’re asking a lot of Dan. We have to make him believe us. And make sure he understands that
we’re
leading this operation and that
our
guys are the foot soldiers. I trust him with our lives, but he and Mark are as far as it goes.”

Lexie raised an eyebrow. “That may be what’s hardest for him. Knowing how fiercely he wants to bring down the syndicate, he’ll agree. But like all of us, he’s used to running the show. At least he’ll get the credit. He deserves it.”

“Rephrase that Darlin’. You
and
Dan will get the credit. Obviously, we will downplay the company and no one will be the wiser that our undercover agents put the final nail in the coffin. But we sure as shit won’t hide your role. This is something you’ve been working on long before I entered the picture.”

Lexie couldn’t hide her concern. “You’re acting as though we’ve already taken them down, Jake. We have a long way to go.”

“Yeah, we do. But I’ll tell you, Darlin’, those assholes don’t know whose weeds they’re pissin’ in, but they’re gonna find out real soon.”

Lexie shook her head and allowed herself a genuine smile. Jake’s corny expressions always made her laugh but also caught her off guard. He was the epitome of sophistication which made his down home trash talk all the more surprising. But Brady and Tiffany were correct. When Jake harkened back to his roots, she knew someone was in trouble or alternatively he was ratcheting up for some serious lovemaking. Mmm. Her heart speeded up at the thought of either one.

~~~

Jake watched the annoying little man carefully cut his whole wheat unbuttered toast into small pieces then delicately chew on one perfect mouthful. After the conversation with Lexie, Jake was more convinced than ever that Tom Roberts was their
Mr. E.
but still he couldn’t let go of the itch on his neck whenever he was around Craig Spellman. How much of that was due to accumulated personal dislike, he couldn’t determine. But Jake was too good an investigator to let personal feelings cloud his judgment.

The major problem he had with Spellman was the Commissioner’s ineffectiveness. They needed a strong powerful voice at the agency in these troubled times and Spellman was the antithesis. It wasn’t surprising that Spellman’s personal fortune had helped him rise through the ranks. There was nothing like significant donations to various political campaigns to get oneself noticed when high level public sector promotions were in the offing. What angered Jake more was Spellman’s incompetence. Truly an example of the ‘peter principle’ that happened all too often in the public sector, Spellman had reached the pinnacle he had merely by staying under the radar. Which meant not taking risks or doing anything that might fail. For example a full scale initiative to bring down the hideous operation blighting his sphere of influence. It was the Commissioner’s cowardliness, his fecklessness in the face of outright illegality that most frustrated Jake.

Fortunately for Spellman, Peter was with Jake. As consummate a politician as Spellman was, Peter’s easy charm disarmed his wary opponent. Within minutes, Peter had the Commissioner recounting amusing facts about his boyhood, growing up the son of one of San Francisco’s elite.

“I’ve heard tales about your father, Commissioner, that I hope are true. Apparently he was one of a kind—a true original.”

Spellman laughed. “That’s an interesting way of putting it, Peter. If being a crazy, paranoid son of a bitch makes him an original, that’s my old Pop. My mother and I spent half of my childhood in the bomb shelter he built in the basement of our house. He was convinced the Ruskies were coming and our family was their primary target. He just knew that the Commies would go after the most visible capitalists. Somehow he managed to contain his paranoia at the water’s edge. At least we never had to institutionalize him. And he never let his obsessions stop him from concentrating on the real interests in his life—making money.”

“He was primarily an investor?”

“Yes, Pop could sniff out a financial opportunity the way a dog could find a bone in a mountain of shit.”

Both Peter and Jake laughed at the expression. Jake raised a brow and gave a little shrug. “Careful there, Commissioner. You keep talking like that and I might start to like you.”

All three men laughed at that.

Spellman stopped laughing and sighed.

“Look, Colonel. Do you think I don’t know that
you
think I am a lily-livered coward, afraid to make waves? That I prefer to keep my damn head down rather than having it blown off?” He shrugged, “I don’t need to make excuses to you, either one of you. And, you’re right. I didn’t fight in the hellholes of the world like you did, Jake. Instead I went to Harvard like all the children of their hallowed alumni do. And then I went to the Kennedy School just to cover my bases and finally to Yale for a law degree. That’s what sons of wealthy men who don’t much want to work do while people like you are out ridding the world of evil.

“The last thing I wanted to do was follow in my father’s footsteps. Instead I chose a government job with a guaranteed promotional track and all you needed to ‘get along’ was to ‘go along.’ But being head of this department in times like these isn’t a picnic and there’s nothing cushy about the job. Ultimately it’s a political football. We’re getting hammered by the right
and
the left. It’s bad enough we’ve got the illegals determined to come in and out as they damn well please and the right wingers just as determined to recreate the Great Wall of China around our country to keep the riff raff out. Now we have the goddamn international human traffickers determined to make my District their showplace. Christ, I wonder on a daily basis why I don’t just pack it up and go live on what my old man left me.”

Peter’s nod was sympathetic. But not his next words.

“Not to be indelicate, Craig, but my understanding is that your wife, Margaret, also has significant financial wherewithal.”

Spellman snorted.

“Go ahead and be indelicate, Councilman. Are you saying that Margaret Spellman nee Patterson, granddaughter of one of the most despicable robber barons that ever raped the West has financial wherewithal? And that perhaps my father considering his ne’er-do-well son, saw the bloom on the rose and arranged a ‘love’ connection between our family fortunes?”

The surprisingly candid Commissioner dragged a weary hand across his brow.

“Fortunately Margaret gets off on financial highs as much as her father and my father did. I prefer to spend money, not make it.” He gave a resigned shrug. “Being blunt, Margaret and I have an agreement. She keeps us on the social and financial registers and I don’t embarrass her. A job with a big title and political connections does the trick. It’s how I keep my end of our bargain. The only problem is that now that the issues facing my department are in the limelight, my incompetence is showing. It’s getting embarrassing. And as I said, Margaret does not suffer embarrassment gladly.”

Spellman turned to Jake. “Which is why, Colonel Gardner, I not only put up with your dismissive and entirely justified poor impression of me, it is also why I welcome your help. I don’t mind telling you that we’re drowning here, Jake. Of course it helps that you already know it.”

Turning to Peter, the Commissioner put his hands up in a gesture of defeat.

“I don’t know who the hell
you
are Councilman, or how you got mixed up in this god awful mess but the fact that Gardner trusts you is good enough for me. And I’m not saying that just to get on the good side of this arrogant son of a bitch. If he has one.”

BOOK: Every Breath You Take
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