Everyone looked wide-awake and eager to go. Probably none of them ran eight miles this morning. “Let’s get right into the main topic. I’ve decided to suspend the company’s active search for Isabel Delgado.”
Everyone looked at me with puzzled expressions. I hadn’t explained this decision to anyone-even Toni. Last night, as usual, she had stayed at her apartment, and we hadn’t had a chance to talk about it.
“It’s unfortunate, but the reality is, we have a paying job that can start on Monday at Ferguson and Sons. They’re expecting us. The job is too big to let go and, frankly, too important for our firm. As much as I hate to pull back from any job-especially in a case like Isabel’s, we don’t have any choice. So-starting Monday, the focus around here will be with Ferguson.”
“Kelli’s going to be upset,” Toni said. “I’ll have to call her and tell her.”
“I understand,” I said. “Tell her this: say, ‘Danny’s had to reassign everyone to a job that pays in order for us to continue to exist as a company. But he’s decided that he’s not going to take a paycheck for a while, and he himself is going to continue to hunt for Isabel.’”
Toni looked at me. “What-you mean in your free time?”
I shook my head. “No. I mean full-time. I talked to the people at Ferguson, and I told them that you would be managing their job, that I was still tied up with the last job-Isabel. They were cool with that.”
“Wait a minute-,” she started to say.
“What? You don’t think you’re ready?” I asked.
“It’s not that, it’s-,” she said.
“You don’t want to be in charge of Kenny and Doc?”
“Shut up,” she said. “You know it’s not-.”
“Oh-you need me to hold your hand?”
She gave me a look. “Okay. Fuck you. I’ll do it.”
I smiled. “I knew you’d see it my way.”
She flipped me the bird from across the table.
“Still leaves us today, though, right?” Doc said.
“And the weekend?” Kenny added.
I smiled and nodded. “That’s right. And if you guys are willing to put in the hours, there’s still a fair amount of work we can do.”
Toni’s phone chimed-indicating she’d just received a text message. She pulled it out of her purse and read the message. A serious look formed on her face. She stood up. “I need to step outside and make a call,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
I watched her walk out. I wondered what that was all about.
“Anyway,” I continued, “there are still things we can do today and over the weekend if need be. First off- Kenny, I took a shitload of pictures in the boys’ house. They’re all on my cell phone.” I slid it over to him. “I’d like you to pull them off and have a look. Enhance them if they need it. Take another look at the pics from the first house, too. Then, when you’re ready, let’s all sit back down here and go through them.”
“Got it,” he said.
“I didn’t see anything that looked like it might have belonged to Isabel, but who knows? I was moving fast, and it’s very possible I could have missed something.”
He nodded.
“Doc-where are you with the reports on the property titles and the DMV info for Nancy?” I asked.
“They’re done. I finished yesterday. I’ve got full ownership reports on everything. Names and addresses.”
“Good. Hopefully, they’ll be useful when it comes time to convince Nancy that they need to raid each of the three houses and do a full search for Isabel.”
Richard said, “So what we really need is a circle that links the houses, the vehicles, and the bad guys together on the one hand, and then, another connection that links Isabel to the same circle. That might give Nancy the ammunition she needs to be able to get her warrants.”
“She won’t move without warrants?” Doc said.
“Not unless she knows for certain that someone is in immediate danger,” Richard said. “That, she couldn’t ignore. Short of that, she’ll rely on a warrant. Her bosses would insist on it.”
Doc nodded. “We don’t have much,” he said. “What about more surveillance?”
I thought about this for a few seconds. “It might come to that, but for now, let’s hold off. Let’s have another hard look at what we already have first. Maybe there’s an angle we’ve missed.”
Toni walked back into the room. She looked at me, and I could tell at once that something was wrong.
“What is it?” I asked. “What’s the matter?”
“Kelli’s gone,” she said.
“Gone? What do you mean?”
“That was my mom. Kelli was gone this morning when she got up. Mom said she left a note. It said ‘I’ll be gone for a couple of days-I’m going to look for Isabel.’”
PART 3
Chapter 20
It was quiet for a few seconds as the words sunk in.
“Son of a bitch!” I said, looking down at the table and shaking my head slowly. I looked up at Toni. “It’s my fault. She was in here yesterday, right?”
Toni nodded.
“She sat right here in the conference room yesterday afternoon and overheard me moaning and groaning in my office about having to pull off this case because of money. That’s why she was gone when we came out.”
“Or perhaps it was the discussion about Toni going undercover to aid in the hunt for Isabel,” Richard said. “She may have decided that that was a good idea.”
“Damn!” I swore again.
I looked back at Toni.
“I’m sorry, Toni.” She had a look on her face I’d never seen before-a mixture of fear and anger. I could only hope that the anger wasn’t directed at me. Yet, as I watched her, her expression quickly gave way to a look of steely resolve.
She shook her head. “It’s not your fault,” she said after a few seconds. “It’s nobody’s fault.” She paused and then added, “Well, maybe it’s Kelli’s fault. This is a world-class dumbass thing for her to do. She didn’t like what she overheard, so she got pissed and decided to go do it herself.” She paused and then added, “She’s a little hothead. Always has been.”
“Well, I don’t know about that, but I do know that now we’re going to have to go find her before
Toni nodded.
I looked at her. “We will find her. You know that, right?”
Toni thought for a second, then she nodded. “I know.”
“It’s what we do, right?”
She nodded again. “Right.”
“Good.” I thought for a second and then said, “How’s your mom?”
Toni pursed her lips, then looked up at the ceiling. She said nothing. I could tell she was trying hard to keep her emotions in check. She can be hard as a diamond in tough situations, but she’s always had a soft spot for her mom-and for her little sister. When her father died sixteen years ago, Toni appointed herself as the family’s designated protector. She takes her job seriously. She fought hard and brought her emotions under control, and then she looked back at me. “Mom sounded alright. Worried, but okay.”
“She’s home, right?”
Toni nodded.
