The decision made Cain raise her brows. “She must’ve really made an impression.”
“She did, but that’s not why. What Dallas paid me was a fraction of what you offered, and your money finished burying who Dallas was and whatever she did. If anyone finds out what I told you, it won’t have come from me.”
“Still,” Cain said tapping her finger on the briefcase where he’d put his book of potential blackmail, “sometimes the money’s hard to pass up.”
“That’s true, but let me play the devil’s advocate.” Nathan picked up his gold case and lighter and slipped them into his front pocket. “What happens if I renege on our agreement? No amount of cash is worth gambling my life. Your friendship guarantees her past stays buried.”
“It’s been a pleasure,” Cain said as she shook his hand. “If social security doesn’t cut it for you, give me a call.”
“I’ll do that. If you’ve got the occasional job it might be good to stay in practice, in case I get bored out of my mind playing shuffleboard.” Before Cain opened the door Nathan had one more thing to say. “If Dallas finds out I told you, could you apologize for me.”
“Because of you I’m going to wield whatever power I have to wipe her slate clean. Instead of requesting an apology, she’ll probably want to send you a thank-you card.”
“You’re an interesting woman, Ms. Casey.”
“It’s the romantic in me I didn’t know existed until my wife came along,” she said, making him chuckle before she disappeared behind the door.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The walls of the third-floor conference room in the Federal Building were plastered with crime-scene photos of the first-floor bathroom located in the airport. Rick resembled a large broken doll as he sat with his eyes and mouth open, his hands crumpled on his lap.
Annabel Hicks came in and sat at the head of the long table and waited for everyone to follow suit. “A few months ago we thought we had a war on our hands when the Bracato and Casey families squared off. What we ended up with was a stealth operation conducted by Cain Casey, resulting in the disappearance of Bracato and his four sons. A lot has changed in a few months, but what we avoided then I’m afraid will soon be a reality, considering how many players we’ve added to the game.”
Shelby used a laser pointer and aimed it at the picture of the stall. “The death of Rick Greco yesterday might be the fuse that starts it.” She then gave a brief history of Rick’s work record. “Because of where in the airport this happened and how exposed it was, none of us had someone inside. The closest team was Mark Pearlman’s from DEA. Mark.” Shelby turned it over to him.
“We’re mostly assigned to major players in the city but are reassigned whenever Rodolfo Luis is in town. The street vendors are one thing, but Luis is one of the big heads of the snake. Cut him off from moving his crap in and we put a serious hurt on supply.” He turned on the projector connected to his laptop, and one of his guys dimmed the lights. “Yesterday we followed four of Rodolfo’s men to the airport. When security sounded the alarm, we started to move a group in to pick these guys up on their way out, since video from their exit shows one of them in different clothes that are too big for him and a bundle under his arm.
“But that’s not the only thing we captured on surveillance after the pandemonium that this caused.” Mark advanced to the next picture. As soon as it came on the screen, Annabel and the rest of her agents leaned forward. Anthony Curtis and Juan Luis were getting into a car on the lower level of the airport.
“Anthony was in there when this happened?” Shelby asked.
“If he was, we didn’t pick him up with the other four, but we weren’t really looking for him,” Mark said. “We spotted Anthony and Juan seconds before security called for help. Having Juan come back so soon leaves us with more questions than we have answers.”
“Like what?” Joe asked.
“The name Juan Luis appears nowhere on the manifest from the flight he took, he hasn’t gone anywhere near his uncle since he came back, and neither have the four idiots who probably did this. I don’t think Rodolfo knows his nephew is back. I just don’t know why, so we let everyone go and stepped up the surveillance on them.”
“He’s splintered off from Rodolfo, that’s why,” Shelby said.
“There’s no way that’s true,” Mark said. “Rodolfo runs that family with no tolerance for dissension in the ranks, and Juan will be lucky to keep control once the old man goes down.”
“But Rodolfo sent him home why?” Shelby asked.
“From what we could gather,” Mark said, “because your guy’s gotten in the way.”
“Rodolfo, probably for the first time, hasn’t given in to Juan’s whims, and because of Anthony he feels emboldened to defy his uncle,” Shelby said. “You’re right. Rodolfo doesn’t know he’s back, but it’s only a matter of time before Juan does something to announce his arrival. When that happens, Juan and everyone who helped him will get off easy if all that happens to them is a bullet in the head.”
Mark turned off the projector and the lights came back up. “You’re doing a lot of guessing, and we can’t afford to be wrong. You may know your subjects but we know the Luis family. After watching this guy, we’re positive Rodolfo won’t put up with anything from anyone, especially his nephew.”
“Juan may love and respect his uncle,” Joe said, “but something stronger is pulling at him now.”
“Since you two have all the answers, how about you share with the rest of us,” Mark said.
“His hatred of Cain Casey, that’s why he’s back, and in Anthony he’s found the perfect ally.”
“Find Anthony and bring him in. If he was there yesterday and stood by while this went down, that’s his ass,” Annabel said. “And Shelby,” she added as the meeting started to break up, “make sure your team reads him his rights as soon as you find him.”
