Annabel never took her eyes off Muriel’s face, and she carefully formulated her answer before opening her mouth. The last thing she needed was another fiasco like Kyle, but Anthony Curtis had been up to that point an exemplary field agent. Even if he had gone to see Cain with no one’s knowledge, she was going to trust his reasoning since he hadn’t given her a reason not to.
“I know it’s your job to represent your client in the best possible way, Ms. Casey, but I’m going to fight any complaints brought against Agent Curtis.”
“Because you’ve seen his evidence and find it incriminating enough to allow him to constantly meddle in my family’s affairs?” Cain asked. She signaled Muriel not to interrupt. Cain was confident that Muriel would keep her from saying too much, but she needed to buy some time and space, and Curtis was her ticket. It would be much harder to finish her business with the Bracatos if the stepped-up surveillance continued.
“I’ll do it because Agent Curtis is an important part of our team, a man above reproach when it comes to his job.”
“What Agent Hicks is trying to tell you, sweetheart, is she hasn’t seen Anthony’s little envelope either,” Emma added. “Makes you wonder. If you had become an informant, would he have shared that information with Agent Hicks?” Emma looked first at Hicks, then at the wall of mirrors. “Ambitious people awe some people and terrify others. I think Cain awes those who associate with her. Can you say the same about Kyle and Curtis?”
The same agent who’d originally come for the Caseys sidled in and whispered something in Hicks’s ear, and overhearing a snatch of the conversation, Cain figured they’d now found Agent Curtis.
“This conversation isn’t about Barney Kyle, so let’s stay on point.” The calm exterior was still in place, but Hicks’s facade was starting to show fractures around the edges. “I know I’ve taken more than enough of your time, but I’d like your indulgence a bit longer.”
“Take all the time you need, Agent Hicks, but I’d like it if you’d resolve this today.”
Unlike Annabel’s, Cain’s hands as well as the skin around her eyes were relaxed, even though for her the stakes were much higher.
“Did you two really need me to be here for this?” Muriel asked after Annabel left the room.
“Hot date you aren’t telling us about?” Cain countered.
“Maybe. Women do find me somewhat attractive, you know.”
“Because you lie on all those Internet dating questionnaires.”
Shelby snorted on the other side of the glass at Cain’s teasing. Muriel didn’t need to use a dating service any more than her cousin did. She felt a small pang. After Joe and Lionel had showed up at the Piquant the night she and Muriel had met for drinks, Shelby had never heard from Muriel again.
“If you want my advice,” Cain continued, “you should go for the girl behind curtain number two.” Both Casey cousins had noticed the number of the interrogation room on the way in. “Just make sure you don’t talk in your sleep.”
Before Shelby could give another thought to what Cain had just said, the door to the room opened and Annabel asked, “Where is he?”
“He’s just going through security now, ma’am,” one of the agents responded. “I left word that he was to report here before attending to anything else.”
As Anthony went through the security measures set up in the building, he never took his eyes off the envelope he’d shown Cain that morning. It was going to be the center point of his defense if the direct order he’d gotten to report to Agent Hicks meant trouble.
Anthony walked through the door, aware that the conversations had stopped, and he could feel everyone’s eyes on him. He glanced at the collection of agents first before he noticed who they were monitoring. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Cain Casey sitting in the room joking around with her cousin and her partner and obviously calling his bluff.
“Hand it over,” Annabel demanded. “And before you think of asking ‘what,’ let me inform you of the surveillance report sitting on my desk. The report I read before meeting with the charming Cain Casey and her entourage.”
“I was on my way in to show it to you.” The envelope came out of his pocket. “After they left the restaurant last night, and the rest of the team lost them, an informant called and told me they were at Jatibon’s place.” Pictures of Cain and Emma sitting with Ramon were passed along to the rest of the group.
“Did you lose your phone on the way to Jatibon’s Club?” Shelby asked.
“There was no time to waste, and I was afraid if too many agents showed up, Cain would notice us.”
“Well, these prove Casey and Jatibon are friends,” Joe said, holding up the best in the series of shots. “Wait a minute…didn’t we know that already?”
“It’s the next shots that show what your friend is up to.” He tapped the pictures Annabel was looking at. “From the customs report, we knew Rodolfo Luis and his nephew Juan were in town looking to expand their business in Louisiana and Mississippi. But we didn’t know who they were going into business with. From the amount of product these guys move, it had to be someone well connected, with an established distribution system already in place.”
“And from these shots taken this morning,” Shelby opened the folder in her hand, “it’s more likely that Cain is telling the old man to call off his nephew.” The images of Juan and his goons surrounding Emma were clear, and the man’s intent was just as crystal. “If Juan Luis saw Emma Casey last night and behaved the way he did this morning, then her partner’s conversation with Rodolfo probably had nothing to do with smack.”
“Is that true?” Annabel posed the question to Anthony. “How long did the meeting last?”
“Long enough.” Anthony collected all his pictures and shoved them back into the folder. “If none of you want to do your job, fine, but don’t expect me to just sit back and let that tall bitch get away with one more thing.”
“Your job is to follow my orders, Agent Curtis.” Annabel walked up and took the evidence away from him. “At this moment I’m inclined to agree with Ms. Casey’s attorney that these photos show little more than a personal vendetta on your part. Wait for me in my office. I’ll be there as soon as I finish with our guests.”
Annabel muted the sound on the monitor before she walked out, unwilling to share her apology with more
