The Veiled Cage (Lady Lawyer Series Romantic Suspense Novels Book 1) (32 page)

“
Yeah. Mahowald transferred out
.
”

“
Sounds like someone did her research
.
”

“
I knew my file better than he did. I
t’
s not adding up. Why did they come after me?
I’
m a nobody. Low-level
.
”

“
Whe
n’
s the last time you heard from Anthony
?
”

“
He called after he picked up the necklace. He was blazed about it. Could
n’
t wait to show it to me. We were still on for coffee
.”
She dabbed at her eye, careful to not stab it with a sharp nail
.“
He said he was a new man. I pressed him, but he would
n’
t crack. He told me
I’
d have to see it to believe it
.
”

“
What did you think about him getting out
?
”

“
I doubted it was legit at first. You want out, you flee and hope both the cops and higher-ups do
n’
t find you. Blood in, blood out. But he swore it was
n’
t like that. He was in on the ground level so h
e’
d get rewarded
.”
She slammed her fist on the table
.“
I keep flopping between worried and pissed, ya know? The cops are
n’
t doing anything about some single guy tha
t’
s been gone for a few days. A spontaneous vaca, they said. He would
n’
t do that to Lizzie. He pays all her bills. If he does
n’
t come back, sh
e’
d really be in a jam. And now
I’
m crunched and ca
n’
t help her out. He better show up soon
.”
She clenched her jaw.

“
Anything else make you think he would
n’
t just disappear
?
”

“
Our buddy Cheeze went rabbit. His real nam
e’
s Francis. He vanished. No word to any of us. I did
n’
t put it past Cheeze, but no way would Tony not tell us. Not if he could help it
.”
She raised her eyes to meet Rub
y’
s
.“
Tha
t’
s the part that worries me
.
”

Colin knocked and entered
.“
Paper and pencils
.
”

“
Where did you dig those up
?
”

“
You have no idea wha
t’
s behind the front desk
.
”

“
Anto
n’
s
?
”

“
No, we devoured it
.
”

“
Damn it
.
”

“
Anything else
?
”

“
No, thanks for the speedy delivery
.
”

“
Any time
.
”

Rebecca watched him leave
.“
H
e’
s cute
.
”

“
He would
n’
t be interested in you
.
”

“
Why
?”
Rebecca stood, eyes blazing
.“
Because
I’
m nothing but a two-bit, drug dealing whore
?
”

“
No, because h
e’
s madly in love with his co-hab Charles who is the perfect specimen of a ma
n—
ask Colin
.”
Ruby said, amused.

“
Oh
.”
She sat, and compressed her lips.

“
Want to know what I think of you
?
”

“
I do
n’
t care
.”
Her captive gaze belied her words.

“
I think you feel let down by your parents. You got the grades, went to an elite school on scholarship. The other kids got free rides, fancy stuff. You had to work hard for everything you got, and still you did
n’
t have much. You wanted nice thing
s—
designer dresses, handbags
.
”

Her eyes popped a bit before she looked away
.“
Maybe I dealt to pay for my siste
r’
s operation. Did you consider that
?
”

“
The sister you do
n’
t have? Yo
u’
re an only. And yes, I noticed your poor excuse for clothing is
n’
t off-the-rack. It makes you look cheap, though. You chose this world of quick cash and brand names. Has it made you happy? Has it given you the status you wanted
?
”

“I’
m not here for a lecture
.
”

“
Neither am I.
I’
m wondering if you understand wha
t’
s important to you, or if yo
u’
ve fallen for your own front. Wha
t’
s been the best night of your week
?
”

“
Fridays
.
”

“
How many purses, designer clothes, and piles of cash would you give up to find your friend
?
”

“
All of it
.
”

“
You have
n’
t been building a life, Rebecca. Yo
u’
ve been building a lie
.”
Ruby held up her hand when Rebecca tried to respond
.“
Think about it later. Does Anthony have unusual smarts in the chemistry fiel
d—
like one of those untrained tech whizzes
?
”

“
Yeah, right. He barely passed our chem class, and that was only because I was his lab partner
.
”

“
How organized have you been with your illegal business
?
”

“
Very
.
”

“
How so
?
”

“
I kept notebook
s—
all my drops, all my connections. I kept records for Tony, too
.
”

“
Excellent. You have the notebooks with you
?
”

“
No, I gave them to a friend for safekeeping
.
”

“I’
ll need that info. Your case hinges on the drugs. They were found in your truck. If the search was legal, they stay in and i
t’
s an easy case for the state to win. If it was illegal, the drugs are suppressed and poof, the case goes away. The legality of the search was decided. You lost. The drugs stay in
.
”

“
So
I’
m screwed
.
”

“
Yo
u’
re not walking away from this. Now we do damage control
.”
Ruby caught a flash in her eye
.“
You pay attention to details. Did the big fed bust six months ago disrupt supply
?
”

“
Yeah, it did. The higher-ups changed. Tha
t’
s when Tony got in on the ground
.
”

“
Notice any change in quality when the supply stream commenced
?
”

“
Yeah, it was prime. Not like the shit we were selling. I
t’
d do the job, but not like the new stuff
.
”

“
You use your own product
?
”

“
No,
I’
m no addict
.
”

“
Good, saves me from talking you into treatment. What kind of training do you think yo
u’
d need for that caliber of product
?
”

“
Any idiot could find the recipe and basic cooking instructions. But this stuff was pure, refined. Tha
t’
d require creating a new formula, top-grade equipment, and deep know-how of the process
.
”

“
Could you do it
?
”

“
No way in hell
.
”

“
Or yo
u’
d already have done it, and cut out the middle. More profit for you. Yo
u’
d be queenpin of your own organization
.
”

“
Yeah, I would have. I
t’
s the kind of thing I thought I wanted once
.”
She studied her nails.

“
A chemist could do it
?
”

“
Yeah, definitely. A good one
.
”

“
We have our work cut out for us. We have to convince the prosecution yo
u’
re worthy of a chance at redemption. We may have some bargaining chips to work with. Anthony was going straight. He wanted to give himself a better life. Do you want the same for yourself
?
”

“
Yeah
.
”

“
I like that you did
n’
t hesitate. Are you willing to work for it
?
”

“
Yeah
.
”

“
Welcome to your own legal team, Rebecca
.”
Ruby tapped the sketchbook with a pencil and held it out
.“
Her
e’
s your first assignment
.
”

They locked gazes.

Satisfied by what she saw, Rebecca nodded and grabbed the pencil.

“I’
ll give you some space, Rebecca
.
”

“
Becky
.”
She started to draw with a flourish, and paused to give Ruby a sassy grin
.“
Go team
.
”

“
Tha
t’
s the spirit
.
”

✧

“
Le
t’
s get this meeting started
,”
Ruby said
.“
Emilio
?
”

“
Colin and I deployed Jaspyr to the farm property of Susan Combes. The farmhouse itself has fallen into disrepair and appeared to be in disuse. The main barn was a different story. We obtained access through the hay loft and captured footage of the activity on the main level
.
”

Ruby posted stills on-screen
.“
These images show this unidentified man working in the lab. Its setup is peculiar. Patient beds line one area. Elsewhere, ther
e’
s piping and glassware, and bulk chemicals on shelving units. What was Jerald Combes doing in this lab? And what is this man doing in the lab of Jerald Combes
?
”

“
We had to look closer
,”
Emilio said
.“
At the tools, the setup
.
”

“
Come on, you two
,”
Colin said
.“
Enough with the suspense
.
”