Twin Peril (14 page)

When the conductor announced the stop near the Milwaukee airport, Jonah nudged her. “Time to go, Mallory.”

She rubbed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. She hadn’t so much as touched makeup in days and knew she probably looked terrible. When the train came to a stop, she followed Jonah down the metal steps and through the crowd at the terminal.

“Do you have any idea what this Logan guy looks like?” she asked in a hushed tone.

“Yeah, I do.” Jonah took her hand in his, drawing her out of the way of people trying to get past. She did her best to ignore the frisson of awareness at his touch. “Over there, the tall dude wearing a cowboy hat, frayed jeans and boots.”

She saw Logan the minute Jonah described him, mostly because he stuck out like a sore thumb. He looked as if he’d ridden his horse into town for a rodeo. “I thought FBI agents all wore suits and ties,” she whispered as they made their way toward him.

“Apparently not.” Jonah held out his hand as the cowboy approached. “Hi there, thanks for meeting us. I’m Jonah and this is Mallory.”

“No problem.”

She thought it was odd that Logan didn’t offer his name.

“Let’s get out of here. I have a hotel room secured right across the street.”

Logan Quail had impeccable manners, opening doors for her and constantly calling her “ma’am.” She wanted to tell him to stop it—“ma’am” made her feel old.

It wasn’t until they were settled in a huge three-
bedroom suite that Logan took off his hat, ran his fingers through his wheat-blond hair and faced them. “So, I hear you’ve gotten yourself in a bit of trouble.”

“Yeah, you could say that.” She listened as Jonah briefly summarized the events from the moment she’d run from Caruso to the latest victim being fished out of Lake Michigan. “We need proof that Caruso is dirty, but we don’t have anything solid,” Jonah finished. “Which is why we desperately need help.”

Logan didn’t say anything for a long minute. “Well, then, it’s a good thing Rafe sent you in my direction. Because we already have Salvatore in our crosshairs, but we didn’t know Senator Caruso might be involved. That bit of news takes the investigation to a whole new level.”

Hearing Logan actually believed them made her dizzy with relief. “I’m so glad,” she said, speaking up for the first time since Jonah had told their story. “Please tell us you have a plan.”

“Well, ma’am, now that you mention it, I do have a plan. But it’s risky.”

“I don’t care,” she said stubbornly, ignoring Jonah when he began to shake his head, disagreeing with whatever Logan had planned. “And I think I already know what your plan is. You want me to call Caruso to set up a meeting with him, don’t you?”

“No. No way. That’s not happening,” Jonah interrupted hotly.

“That’s one idea,” Logan said as if he hadn’t heard Jonah. “But there are others to consider—”

“None as good as that one,” she interrupted. “Let’s go with what we think has the best chance of working.” She held Logan’s gaze, refusing to look at Jonah. He didn’t understand that she needed to do this. Needed to end this nightmare once and for all.

Even if it meant putting her own life on the line to get it done.

ELEVEN

J
onah couldn’t believe Mallory was making plans with Logan as if he weren’t sitting right next to them. As if he weren’t the cop leading this investigation.

Enough was enough.

“Listen up!” he yelled. Pain shot through his chest and he put a hand to his cracked rib as the two of them fell silent, staring at him in stunned surprise. He lowered his voice to a normal level. “Mallory is not going to call Caruso to set up a meeting, got it? There’s no point when we don’t have anything against him. He’s too smart to talk in front of Mallory.”

Logan’s piercing green eyes seemed to look clear down into his soul. The agent might give the impression he was laid-back, but Jonah suspected his intense keen gaze didn’t miss a thing.

And right now, he could tell Logan was wondering just how involved Jonah was with Mallory. An unspoken question he didn’t want to answer.

Because he was already in too deep.

“If Salvatore was on your radar screen, Logan, then let’s focus on him for the moment,” he continued in a calmer tone. “Maybe once we have something solid against Salvatore, we can link him to Caruso.”

“No,” Mallory argued, the stubborn tilt to her chin all too familiar. He wanted to tear out his hair by the roots in frustration. “The last time we tried to investigate Salvatore, an innocent girl turned up dead. Caruso wants me—it makes more sense that we tap into him first.”

Logan tipped back in his chair, glancing between the two of them with an amused expression on his face. “I’m not sure why y’all bothered to get in touch with me,” he drawled in his exaggerated Southern accent. “Sounds like y’all got everything all figured out.”

Jonah sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands, silently battling the pain in his chest. The thought of Mallory being in danger had made him forget momentarily about his cracked rib. He shouldn’t have yelled, shouldn’t have put up his arms. He took several slow deep breaths before speaking again. “You’re right, Logan. Let’s back up a minute. You mentioned Salvatore being on your radar screen. Rafe told me you’re involved in a special task force investigating organized crime. Is there any way to link Salvatore to Abby’s death?”

Logan dropped the chair back down on all four legs and leaned forward. “That’s a good idea, Detective. I don’t know what evidence they found on the girl because I’ve been in Chicago for the past few weeks. Only came up to Milwaukee today for a meeting with my boss.”

“You’re not going to call your boss, are you?” Mallory interjected in alarm.

“No, ma’am, I already gave you my word on that.” For a second a flash of anger darkened the agent’s eyes and Jonah realized that for all his cowboy charm, Logan wasn’t a man to cross. “But as I was saying, we have a contact inside Salvatore’s restaurant.”

“Kate. Your contact is Kate, right?” Jonah asked.

Logan slowly nodded. “Yes, Kate Townsend. She called me last night, after the two of you left.”

“Is she a cop, too? Was it Kate who convinced Abby to talk to us?” Mallory asked.

“No, ma’am,” Logan said. “Kate isn’t a cop yet. She’s still in college studying criminal law. She contacted us when she first started working there, when she realized she’d stumbled into a haven for organized crime. We tried to convince her to quit, but she refused. She’s been feeding us information ever since.”

Jonah could tell Logan wasn’t entirely thrilled with Kate being a source of information, but he also wasn’t going to turn his back on whatever insights the young woman could gather. He remembered the pretty blonde waitress and had to admit the girl had guts. She was young—too young—to be putting her life in jeopardy like that.

“You need to get her out of there, Logan,” Mallory said urgently, as if she’d read his thoughts.

“I’ve already made the call,” Logan said slowly. “But she’d reported in for her shift tonight, so she’s going to stick it out.”

Jonah could see the stark fear in Mallory’s eyes. “She needs to get out of there now,” she urged. “She needs to walk away and never go back.”

“Walking off the job in the middle of her shift would cause more suspicion,” Jonah pointed out. “She’s probably better off finishing.”

Mallory still didn’t look convinced. “But what if Bernardo Salvatore finds her after she quits?”

The flicker of fear in Logan’s gaze was so brief, Jonah wondered if he’d imagined it. “Trust me, Mallory, we’ll take care of Kate,” Logan reassured her.

“What exactly did Kate tell you?” Jonah asked. “Did she uncover any details related to Claire’s death?”

“Well, now, the waitresses don’t talk about Claire much,” Logan said. “And it took several months for Abby to confide in Kate at all. But when the two of you showed up last night, Abby told Kate that Claire was dead, and warned Kate not to mention the subject again unless she wanted to end up like Claire.”

Disappointment stabbed deep. Jonah ground his teeth in frustration. “Is that all she said? We knew that much already.”

Logan’s expression turned grim. “No, that’s not all. Claire’s body hasn’t been found yet, so we can’t prove it, but according to what Abby told Kate, Claire Richmond was about three months pregnant.”

* * *

“Pregnant?” Mallory stared at Logan in shock. She remembered the photos she’d found on the internet of Claire standing next to Caruso.

Jonah’s expression was grim. “Pregnant? Do you really think that’s true?”

Logan shrugged. “Why not? A pregnancy would be a really good reason to make sure her body doesn’t show up somewhere.”

“Unbelievable,” Jonah muttered.

“So it’s likely Caruso was the one who killed her,” Mallory murmured. “The reason for the delay was because that’s when he discovered she was pregnant. Maybe she threatened to go public with the news.”

“Certainly one theory,” Jonah agreed. “Although if that’s true, then her death may not have had anything to do with Caruso’s money-laundering scheme.”

“Maybe not, but murder is still murder, regardless of the motive,” Logan said. “We get him on murder and we’ll likely uncover proof related to his money laundering.”

“But how are we going to prove it, considering we don’t have a body?” Jonah asked.

“Good question. Caruso either destroyed the body somehow or buried it so deep we’ll never find it,” Logan pointed out.

The very thought made Mallory feel sick. She was appalled at the idea she’d gone out with a murderer. How could her instincts have led her so far astray? She was ashamed of herself, for the way she’d acted over these past ten years. She’d made the same mistakes over and over again. Why hadn’t she seen Caruso for what he was? Why had she allowed herself to get involved with him? All he’d done was make her feel humiliated and betrayed.

Now she wanted more than anything to make things right.

“Maybe we should try to get a search warrant?” Logan asked.

“On what grounds?” Jonah demanded. “Abby is dead. Kate’s statement at this point is nothing but hearsay. I doubt that will be enough to convince a judge that a well-respected senator murdered a possibly pregnant woman.”

Logan didn’t look at all fazed by the prospect. “Search warrants have been issued for less.”

“Not against a senator,” Jonah argued. “We absolutely have to do this by the book.”

“Which takes us back to square one,” Mallory murmured. “We don’t have any other options than for me to contact Caruso. Jonah, let me confront him about Claire’s pregnancy. He might be surprised enough to let something slip.”

“No way,” Jonah said again. “I already decided against you contacting Caruso as bait.”

Logan pursed his lips and stared down at the toes of his cowboy boots. “I can tell you’re not going to budge on letting Mallory help,” he said finally. “You obviously don’t want her in any danger. So what should our next step be?”

“I think we’re better off using that plan as a last resort. Hey, what about Caruso’s ex-wife?” Jonah asked, completely switching the topic of conversation. “Mallory, you met with her—what will it take to convince her to work with us?”

“Ironclad protection for her and her son,” she answered without hesitation.

“We can offer her witness protection,” Logan said.

Mallory shook her head. “That’s not going to work, Logan. She’s the vice president of a successful company. Why should she give it all up to testify against Caruso? Her wealth and position of power are the only things keeping her and her son alive.”

A long silence hung heavily between them.

She leaned forward. “Jonah, listen to me. Allowing me to contact Caruso is our best option. Logically, you know it, too. I understand you don’t want me in danger, but you’re the one who told me to have faith. Well, I’m asking you to have faith, too, Jonah. I’m asking you to have faith in me.”

“I’m not agreeing to anything until we’ve exhausted all options,” Jonah said. “I still believe there has to be another way.”

He hadn’t agreed, but she suspected that he would if they didn’t come up with anything better.

She didn’t feel an overwhelming sense of relief. Instead, her stomach churned with turmoil. She gripped her fingers together, so he wouldn’t know how deathly afraid she really was.

Fear didn’t make her any less determined, though. She was the one who’d blithely gone into a relationship with Caruso. It was only right that she should be the one to help bring him down once and for all.

* * *

Jonah unrolled Logan’s map, racking his brain to come up with an alternative to using Mallory as bait to lure Caruso.

Okay, maybe he was too emotionally involved. So what? If it meant keeping Mallory safe, he was perfectly fine with that. This time, he didn’t intend to make any mistakes. And he knew allowing Mallory to set up a meeting was a mistake.

Especially when he wasn’t exactly in top physical form to keep her safe.

“My source tells me these three warehouses are abandoned,” Logan said, pointing to them on the map. Jonah was irritated at the way Mallory’s gaze clung to Logan as she listened intently. “The property was purchased by a company called Green Speak, with the intent of leveling the warehouses to make room for a new structure they planned to use for building wind turbines. But after the real-estate market crashed a few years ago, they put their plans on hold. We could easily get a team in place prior to the meeting between you and Caruso.”

“Okay, so we need some reason for Caruso to agree to a meeting at an abandoned warehouse,” Jonah said with a heavy sigh. He wasn’t agreeing to Mallory being the one to set up the meeting, but hadn’t yet come up with another way to get Caruso there.

Logan opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by his cell phone. He glanced at the screen with a frown. “It’s Kate,” he murmured before bringing the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”

Jonah glanced warily at Mallory as they listened to Logan’s one-sided conversation.

“Okay, listen, we’ll be there in an hour.”

“What’s going on?” Jonah demanded.