Scarcity (Jack Randall #3) (42 page)

“Did we have a nice nap?” Dianne kidded the senator. She was obviously afraid of no one, whatever their title may be.

The senator, to his credit, took the abuse with a smile.

“Yes, Dianne, I did.”

Dianne straightened a sheet and ogled the pump before stepping aside and giving Dr. Fong the floor. She hovered near the door, a polite distance, yet still close enough to hear anything she needed to.

Dr. Fong set the thick chart on the foot of Tessa’s bed before sitting next to it.

“Tessa’s labs are good. I’m happy to report that her body’s showing no signs of rejecting her new heart, which appears to be functioning well. I see the drains are showing little output, so I think we’ll schedule to have them removed this afternoon. Stephanie will come by and do that right here in the room. It only takes a few minutes.”

“Any idea when she might wake up?”

“There’s no telling, really. I would expect her to any time now, but she was under sedation for some time, and some patients just take longer than others. I’m told that she’s been moving around some? Even talking?”

“Yes, a little.”

“All good signs. Be patient.”

“What about the after care?” the senator asked.

“It’s involved, but manageable. We have a woman named Milli who will be coming to see you. Very smart. She’s been a cardiac nurse for over thirty years now and has probably forgotten more than Matthew and I can remember. She’ll give you a class on the proper care and feeding of Tessa’s new heart. I’ll warn you now, though, Tessa’s not going to like some of the restrictions. But they have to be followed. Be strong, Dad.”

“I . . . we will.”

“Good. If she follows the plan, there really isn’t any reason that she wouldn’t be able to lead a normal life.”

“. . . oud”

Dr. Fong stopped his lecture and they all turned to the girl on the bed.

“Tessa? It’s Mommy. Can you hear me?”

“Loud.”

“What? What did you say?”

“Loud . . . too loud.”

Dr. Fong smiled and translated.

“She says we’re too loud.”

Rita couldn’t help crying. “We’re sorry, honey. How do you feel?”

Tessa opened her eyes, but quickly shut them against the sunlight. Dianne was across the room in a second and pulled the blinds shut. The girl slowly opened them again and looked around. Her hand naturally moved to her chest and rubbed the dull ache there.

“Tessa? I’m Doctor Fong. You were in an accident, do you remember?”

Tessa slowly processed the question and Dr. Fong held up a finger to silence her parents, giving the girl time to figure it out.

“A truck.”

“Good. Can you tell me how you feel?”

Tessa cocked her head as if contemplating her answer.

“Hungry,” she decided.

Dr. Fong shared a smile with her parents.

“I think she’s going to be just fine.”

He retreated to the doorway with Dianne, and they watched for a few moments as the family reunited. Eventually they realized they were intruding and made their way down the hall.

“Something in your eye, Dianne?”

“Watch it, Shorty.”

•      •      •

Jack listened while Lenny either grunted or spoke rapid-fire Spanish into the phone. After a brief effort to keep up, he quit trying and reread the two secure emails on the screen in front of him. The view out his office window revealed a dark overcast sky that perfectly matched his current mood. They were leaving it up to him. Jack had to weigh out the repercussions before he made a decision.

Lenny ended the conversation and flipped the phone shut with his bandaged hands. Judging by the look on his face, they were more than just tender, but with the help of some quality pharmaceuticals, and his own tenacity, he was enduring the pain.

“Good news?”

“Yes and no. They got him and a few of his henchmen through some eavesdropping help from the NSA. He was loading up a suitcase full of cash. Evidently some form of down payment on the total ransom. He was good, the parents were completely fooled.”

“Okay, so what’s the bad news?”

“Looks like the kidnap victim may have been Oscar’s heart donor. The bastard had her fingers in his car in a cooler. He showed one of them to the parents and that’s what produced the cash. He probably had a plan to milk them for all he could get before disappearing. The AFI is rolling up the network now. He’ll talk. They won’t give him a choice. They’ll be raiding a vet’s office in an hour or so. Evidently that’s where the harvests are taking place.”

“Evil.”

Lenny just nodded his head in agreement. Some things had only one word to describe them. He sat back in the chair and planted his elbows on the arms before raising his hands. It served to ease the pain. He wished he and Jack could get out the scotch, but it wouldn’t mix with his meds. He noticed that his friend was deep in thought.

“How old?”

“The daughter? Fifteen,” Lenny answered.

Jack played with the pen in his hands while Lenny watched. He had no jurisdiction in DC, and it was Jack’s decision to make. He didn’t envy him. He just watched silently while Jack read and reread the computer screen in front of him.

“He give any numbers?” Jack broke the silence.

Lenny took a deep breath before replying.

“Yeah. I see one big problem. The number we got from the kidnapper is twice the number we got from Angel. I’ll find out more when I get to Mexico City. Either there’s another source of organs somewhere, or one of them is lying.”

“Maybe both.”

“Maybe both,” Lenny echoed. “Either way, I’m gonna be a busy man for the next few months. How about you? Make a decision yet?”

Jack couldn’t help but make a face. Lenny only knew about one of the problems Jack was struggling with. The second was worse, and he wasn’t ready to share it with his friend just yet.

“Yeah. I need to leave in a few minutes.”

Lenny lowered his arms and pushed himself up with his elbows till he was out of the chair. He carefully picked up his hat from Jack’s desk and placed it over the bandage and singed hair on his head. Tomorrow he’d see a barber and get it evened out, but right now he was too busy.

“Good luck, Jack. I don’t fly out till tomorrow, so give me a call if you need anything.”

Take it easy Lenny. You earned it.”

Jack watched as Lenny struggled briefly with the door handle before disappearing through it. As it shut with a click, he turned back to the computer screen. He had the two emails side by side. Both of them cell phone intercepts from the NSA. One was from Oscar’s brother Rico to Luis the kidnapper. The other was from Pablo to Senator Lamar’s wife.

He picked up the phone and called the District Chief of Police.

“Are you ready?”

“Whenever you are, Jack.”

“I’m on my way.”

Jack opened his desk drawer and pulled out a stack of search warrants that had been delivered only an hour ago. After holstering his Browning, he gathered them up and placed them in his coat pocket. He paused long enough to make one quick call on his cell phone before rising to leave his office. He got as far as the door before stopping. Returning to his desk, he pulled out the bottom drawer. The expensive bottle of scotch went into the waste basket before he turned and left.

•      •      •

Jack and his crew pulled up to the side entrance of the Capitol Building. He had Larry and Sydney with him and they had just been briefed on what was about to happen.

Larry squirmed in his seat before voicing his opinion.

“This is gonna cost a lot.”

Jack just nodded. Larry didn’t mean in terms of money, he meant politically. Jack had been both a hero and in the doghouse with the current administration. But he had some cover that Larry didn’t know about. And after what he had just learned in his office, there was no way he couldn’t do it.

“This is right, Jack,” Sydney voiced her support.

Jack nodded a thank you in her direction before returning his gaze out the window. They were stopped on the curb outside watching the last of the tourists leave the building. The chief exited the patrol car in front of them and gave them a signal. Jack followed, with Sydney lugging her case of equipment behind her. They were quickly inside and their collective footfalls on the hard tile echoed down the vast hallway. Heads stuck out of offices on both sides, but Jack ignored them as he was led through the crowd. After a flight of stairs and a couple of twists and turns they stopped outside an office door. A capitol guard outside it nodded in the affirmative to the chief’s questioning look. With that, he stepped aside and Jack opened the door.

“Can I help y—” the young secretary spoke before looking up and cutting herself off.

“The congressman?”

“In his office, but he’s in a meeting. You can’t—”

Jack was already moving toward the door as Larry laid a hand on her intercom with a smile. She had no choice but to watch as the parade of officers rounded her desk on both sides.

Jack opened the door and stepped through to find the congressman sitting at his desk, talking with a lobbyist. He rose to his feet at the intrusion. Jack stopped in front of his desk and reached into his coat. The congressman automatically took a step back as Jack produced the warrants and laid them on the blotter in front of him.

“Mr. Randall? What’s all this?”

“Those are warrants to search your person, office, and car.”

Jack watched his face closely and saw the tick. He had him. The man quickly covered by smiling his politician’s grin and spreading his hands.

“Whatever for?”

“Narcotics.”

The Congressman placed a look of outrage on his face and offered it to the lobbyist. The man wisely said nothing before closing his briefcase and leaving the room.

“This is outrageous!” He attempted to watch everyone at once as they began searching his office. “Stop right there, I haven’t read this warrant yet.”

The Chief of Police chose that moment to speak. “It’s a valid warrant, Mr. Foster, I can assure you. I’m afraid I need you to step outside your office . . . please.”

The congressman looked from Jack’s stoic face to the chief’s impassive one before finally seeing the wisdom of not making a scene.

“Fine, fine! We’ll straighten this out later, I can assure you!” He grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair.

“Excuse me, sir, I’ll need you to leave that here,” Sydney voiced.

Congressman Foster hesitated and another look of panic briefly crossed his face. He set the jacket slowly on the chair, and with a burning look at Sydney left the room. He stepped outside with his secretary and a few capitol guards. He made an attempt to look relaxed, but couldn’t help but glance back into his office every few seconds.

Jack and the chief watched carefully as Sydney laid the jacket out on the desk. With gloved hands she emptied the front pocket first. A nice Montblanc ballpoint and a handkerchief were placed in the first plastic bag before she moved on to the inside pocket. There she found a small metal pill box and a glass tube. Larry stopped searching the man’s briefcase for a moment to follow Sydney’s progress. The box was opened to produce a small plastic bag with several small gray rocks. It was obvious what it was, but she still needed to test it. She opened the bag and removed the smallest rock with a pair of tweezers. Producing a small vial of liquid from her kit, she dropped the rock in before securing the cap and shaking it. The liquid went from clear to a dark blue within a few shakes. She held it up to the light.

“Positive for crack.”

Larry shook his head before returning to the briefcase. He pulled a piece of paper free from a pouch in the lid. It was folded several times.

“Syd?”

“Put it on the blotter.”

They all watched as she slowly opened the paper to reveal a white powder. She scooped up a sample and dropped it in another vial. A few shakes produced an even darker blue than the first vial.

“Cocaine. Good stuff.”

Jack had seen enough. He spun on a heel and walked out to the hallway followed by the Chief. He nodded to the officer babysitting the congressman.

“Congressman Foster, you’re under arrest for narcotics possession. This man will read you your rights. I suggest you listen to them carefully.”

“Now wait a minute. I have no idea what that is there!” the man began to protest.

“Congressman!”

They all stopped and looked at the secretary. She glared at her boss, and he wisely shut his mouth.

Jack just watched as the man was cuffed and led away. The flash of a camera blinded them as they rounded the corner and Jack looked to see the grinning face of Danny Drake looking back. He offered an innocent shrug before moving off with the congressman and his police escort. Their footsteps on the tile and the practiced recital of the Miranda warning echoed off the walls as the man made his walk of shame out of the building.

Larry stepped up to join Jack as he watched them leave. He pointed with his cell phone.

“Isn’t that your reporter buddy from the
Post?
”

“Who?”

Larry ignored the answer. “They found some more powder in his car outside. Looks like a good bust, Jack. You should feel good.”

“I should.”

“Yeah . . . me either.”

They watched the congressman being led down the hall past a few of his colleagues who had been drawn out of their offices by the noise. Eventually he was gone and the building became silent once again.

“Larry, I need you to come with me tonight. I have a meeting to go to, along with the Director.”

“What kind of meeting?”

“It’s with Senator Lamar and his wife. Short version is, she’s coming to work for us. I’ll explain on the way.”

“Okay, anything else?”

“Wear your civvies, and keep it to yourself.”

That was odd but Larry knew better than to question Jack now.

“Okay.”

5 Arrested In Kidnapping and Murder of Boy
September 9, 2008—New York Times
 
 

—EPILOGUE—