Treacherous Intent (17 page)

“Do you know his last name?” Liam asked.

“No, sorry.” Gina opened Faye’s bedroom door. “Just let yourselves out when you’re done, the door will lock behind you. It’s my bedtime—my shift starts at eight.”

Elisabeth winced. “I hope you didn’t stay up just for us.”

“No, I always have a hard time sleeping during the day when I’m on night shift. It’s only for another week.”

Gina disappeared into the other bedroom, and Liam and Elisabeth looked around Faye’s room.

There were a couple religious pictures on the wall that were identical to those in her mom’s house, but Faye also had a concert poster and some framed photos of herself with friends. A wall calendar was filled with Faye’s appointments. Her bed was a rumpled mess, and her dresser drawers were all half-open, their contents spilling over the edges.

“It looks like she packed in a hurry,” Elisabeth said.

Liam looked through her trash while Elisabeth went through Faye’s small desk, but the drawers were filled with innocuous things like nail polish, nail files, nail polish remover, cotton balls and makeup. There was a filled check register but no checkbook, and a few bills stuffed into a bottom drawer.

Her closet was jammed to the brim with evening dresses, conservative office-appropriate clothes and some casual sportswear. Liam sifted through her nightstand while Elisabeth pulled some Christmas cards that Faye had stuck in the frames of her photos.

The cards were all simply signed with people’s names except for one. It had a printed sheet inside that gave a summary of the family’s year, and it was signed, “Love you, Faye! Solidad.”

The name was familiar. Elisabeth went back to Faye’s wall calendar, and saw that she had “Solidad, 1:00 p.m.” scattered regularly throughout the calendar. When she flipped through the entire year, she saw that Faye had that appointment every third Thursday.

She scanned Solidad’s family letter and saw that Solidad was a manicurist.

And today was Thursday.

“I know how to find Faye.” Elisabeth showed Liam the appointment in the wall calendar. “She gets her nails done like clockwork every three weeks, and she’s close enough friends with Solidad that the woman sent Faye a family letter. I think she’ll be there today for her normal appointment.”

Liam looked at her blankly. “Even though she’s hiding from the Tumibays?”

“It’s one place I guarantee you that Faye’s boyfriend never went. Women can get very close to their hair stylists and their manicurists.”

Liam nodded in understanding. “And Faye doesn’t realize that any skip tracer would look for her through her interests. She wouldn’t know to abandon all of them in order to stay off the grid.”

“Let’s go.”

They exited the apartment, making sure the door was locked behind them, and headed downstairs. Once they reached the door to the parking garage, Liam hesitated with his hand on the doorknob. “Let’s walk out casually. The Tumibay might still be asleep, or he might not yet know that his gang is after us.”

Elisabeth nodded. Liam opened the door.

The Tumibay was not asleep. In fact, he was several yards directly ahead of them, with a cup of coffee in his hand, obviously freshly returned from a coffee shop. He glanced casually at them first, but then did a double take, his brows drawing low over his dark eyes. Then a slow smile spread across his mouth. “I know someone looking for you,” he drawled.

Liam tossed the car keys at Elisabeth. “Run!”

Then he launched himself at the gang member.

TWELVE

E
lisabeth sprinted for the car, jamming the keys into the lock and diving inside. She unlocked the passenger door but didn’t open it. She started the engine and, with a desperate look behind her, shot backward out of the parking stall.

Tires squealed as she cranked the wheel left. The taillights illuminated Liam’s form grappling with the gang member.

She didn’t want to fire her gun because she wasn’t sure she would hit the man and not Liam. Instead, she had a crazy idea.

She revved the engine and then gunned it, backing the car straight into the struggling men.

They both turned, their eyes wide in the light from her taillights. The gang member jerked backward, releasing Liam.

She slammed on the brakes inches before hitting them. The Tumibay scrambled away while Liam darted toward her, sliding over the back corner of the trunk to land on the passenger side. He pulled open the door and was barely inside before she put the car in Drive and zoomed out of the garage.

Elisabeth didn’t realize how tightly she was gripping the steering wheel until, several blocks away, Liam put his hand over hers. “We’re okay.”

She realized how fast she was going and slowed down. His thumb rubbed over her knuckles once, twice. The sensation calmed her. When he removed his hand, she immediately wanted him to touch her again.

“Nice driving back there, in the garage,” he said.

“It was the only thing I could think of to make him let you go.” She gave him a guilty look. “I know that was kind of crazy.”

“It worked. I can’t complain.”

Liam looked up the address for Solidad’s nail salon. It was in a small market square, each store alike with dark brown shingles on the roof and slightly dingy stucco walls. Solidad’s Hair and Nails flashed in neon pink above the store.

They were careful to check for any Tumibay members who might have been watching the salon, but they saw no one.

“It probably wouldn’t occur to Daniel that she’d keep her appointment even when she’s in hiding,” Liam said. “I’m still not entirely convinced she’s here.”

“I’ve known women like Faye.” Elisabeth opened the glass door to the shop, peered inside, then gave Liam a triumphant smile.

The shop was very narrow, and Faye sat at a station near the back. Her shoulders drooped, and she looked worn and tired. Solidad was massaging Faye’s hands and nodding as Faye seemed to be unburdening herself.

Liam gave Elisabeth a rueful look. “I stand corrected.”

“I’m just glad she’s still all right.” Elisabeth entered the shop and went straight to Faye.

Joslyn’s cousin stopped midsentence to gape up at Elisabeth. But rather than curiosity or surprise, there was fear in her brown eyes.

“It’s all right,” Elisabeth said quickly. “Your mother sent me to help you.”

Faye’s lower lip trembled, and then she burst into tears.

“Now see what you’ve done?” Solidad glared at Elisabeth and Liam even as she grabbed handfuls of tissues from a box on the table next to her and thrust them at Faye. “Sweetheart, you need to stop crying. You don’t want your nose to turn red.”

Faye’s sobs calmed into hiccups within a few minutes. “Who are you? What do you want?” she asked.

“I’m Elisabeth Aday, a private investigator, and this is Liam O’Neill, a skip tracer. I helped your cousin Joslyn when she came to a women’s shelter where I volunteer in Sonoma.”

“Is she all right?” Faye’s earnest tone and wide eyes made it obvious how much her cousin meant to her.

Elisabeth didn’t want to lie to her, but she didn’t want to worry her more. “I think so, but I also need your help to make sure she stays that way.”

Faye’s eyes darted around the tiny shop, and she licked her lips. “They’re after me,” she whispered.

“We can protect you,” Liam said, and the solid confidence in his tone seemed to instill some courage in Faye.

Faye turned to Solidad. “Can we use your office?”

“Yes, yes.” Solidad gestured impatiently to a small door at the back of the shop. “You don’t even need to ask.”

Solidad’s office was barely a closet, but Elisabeth and Faye managed to squeeze inside, with Faye sitting in the chair behind the desk and Elisabeth in a metal folding chair she found propped against the wall. Liam stood inside the doorway with the door ajar, watching the shop and the street outside the front windows.

“You spoke to my mother?” Faye’s fingers massaged her knuckles.

It occurred to Elisabeth that she ought to reassure her that they had indeed met Mrs. Torres, so she reached into her laptop case and pulled out the small plastic container of
paciencia
cookies that Faye’s mom had given to her.

Faye’s eyes lit up, then filled with tears as she saw the cookies. “I was supposed to come help her make cookies this weekend.”

“We went to see her because she helped Joslyn on her way north to Sonoma,” Elisabeth said.

“Did Joslyn make it to Wings?”

“Yes. That’s where I met her. But she was so afraid of Tomas that she took off in the middle of the night.”

“You saw her? He really hurt her.”

Elisabeth nodded. “Tomas came to Sonoma looking for her. He found out I helped her and now he’s after me.”

Faye grew white. “Oh, no.”

“Faye,” Elisabeth said gently, “we’re looking for evidence that can put Tomas away for your uncle’s murder. Then Joslyn will be safe.”

Faye began to tremble violently. “You don’t understand. It’s not just the murder. It involves the Tumibays, too.”

“How does it involve them? Why are they after you?”

The girl took a deep breath and she began to cry again. “My boyfriend—Daniel—said he’d help Joslyn. He knew her boyfriend was a Bagsic captain because
I
told him when I found out a month or two ago.” She squeezed her eyes shut, and the tears trickled down her cheeks. “I thought Daniel would offer Joslyn protection from Tomas because she’d obviously broken any Bagsic ties.”

“So you took Joslyn to Daniel?” Liam’s voice was gentle, nonjudgmental.

Faye let out a sob. “They tied her up in the back room of their club—it’s just a warehouse where they hold raves—and they threatened to kill her if she didn’t give them some useful information about the Bagsics. It’s my fault.” The sobs were coming hard now, and Faye had difficulty speaking. “I begged her to give them something. I was so afraid they’d kill her.”

Elisabeth reached out to clasp Faye’s hand.

“So...she told them about the Bagsics’ next ephedrine shipment from the Philippines. Joslyn had overheard Tomas talking about it with one of the other captains because he was in charge of the shipment. Then I heard Daniel planning with the other Tumibays to steal it.” Faye looked at Elisabeth and Liam with wide eyes. “I knew Tomas would kill Joslyn for telling the Tumibays. I also started to suspect that Daniel might use Joslyn as leverage and offer her to Tomas in trade for something. So I helped her escape. There was a rave at the warehouse that night, so it was easy to sneak her out. She looked like any of the other girls there.”

“That was pretty brave of you,” Liam said.

“Not really. I thought no one knew about it. But then about a week ago, one of the girls who was at the rave that night mentioned to Daniel that she’d seen me with Joslyn. Daniel came after me. I was at a coffee shop and he tried to grab me, but I got away from him. I went home to pack a bag, I got my paycheck at work, and I’ve been hiding out, staying at hotels.” Her shoulders heaved. “I knew I couldn’t live like that forever, but I didn’t know what to do.”

“We’ll take you somewhere safe, where the Tumibays can’t get to you.”

Faye gulped in a breath. “Really? Oh, thank you.” The relief seemed to pour off her in waves.

“Faye.” Liam went and crouched down beside her chair. “What do you remember about that shipping container?”

“Um...it was off the
Pansit.
It was due to arrive the day after they captured Joslyn, so that’s two days after her dad was killed. She told them the number of the container, but I don’t remember it. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Is there anything else you can tell us about it, or what the Tumibays did?”

“They made some sort of plan to transport it by truck up from the Port of Los Angeles to the Bay Area. About a week after they’d taken the shipping container, I overheard Daniel saying it was safe to keep it at ‘Norris’ indefinitely because no one knew the company was connected to the Tumibays. I think he was talking about IRF Norris, a pharmaceutical company. If what he said is true, then the container is still there.”

Elisabeth’s breath hitched. She met Liam’s gaze and knew they were both thinking the same thing.

She turned to Faye. “We’re going to take you somewhere safe. The Tumibays are still looking for you.”

“Let me say goodbye to Solidad. She’s been so helpful to me.”

While Faye was with her friend, Liam and Elisabeth talked in low voices several feet away.

“So Tomas lost a shipment of ephedrine from the Philippines,” Elisabeth said. “I should have guessed this all had something to do with the Bagsics’ meth dealing.”

“And the Tumibays stole it after they forced Joslyn to tell them about it.” Liam blew out a long breath. “No wonder Tomas wants Joslyn so badly. He can’t let her get away with spilling Bagsic secrets. Tomas’s bosses must be livid.”

“And like Faye said, the Tumibays probably want Joslyn as leverage against the Bagsics.”

“But this simplifies things,” Liam said. “If we find that Bagsic shipping container on the property of a Tumibay-owned company, we can give that information to the FBI. They can eliminate the Bagsics’ ephedrine supplier in the Philippines—just like they did to the Tumibays a few months ago—and put some heat on the Tumibays for possessing the container.”

“If Tomas hadn’t murdered Felix Dimalanta, none of this would have happened.” Elisabeth watched Faye hugging Solidad.

“Shall we take her to Wings shelter?” Liam said.

“That’s what I was thinking.”

Liam captured her with his dark blue eyes, brilliant like sapphires, intense with a fire of determination. “And then we pay a visit to IRF Norris.”

* * *

Liam and Elisabeth crouched in the bushes bordering the edge of the business complex in Marin. With the darkness of night, the temperature had dropped dramatically, and even with gloves on, his hands were cold. They had to be careful, or else the condensation from their breath would give them away.

IRF Norris. Liam had done the internet research and discovered it was a Nevada-based pharmaceutical company, but with a laboratory here in Marin, just across the bridge from San Francisco.