ZERO HERO (The Kate Huntington Mystery series) (27 page)

            At lunchtime, Kate called Rob’s house. Manny answered.

            “How’s it going?”

            “Not bad so far. Having cable TV is helping.”

            “Is Pete handy?”

            “Sure. Lemme put him on.”

            After they had greeted each other, Pete asked, “Is it really necessary for me to be in a safe house now, with Samuelson arrested?”

            Kate could hear a slight whine in his voice. Not a good sign. Addict Pete had not been completely quelled by just one AA meeting. “Skip thinks you should stay out of sight until our other bad guy is under wraps as well. But I had a thought about something you could do in the meantime.”

            “What’s that?”

            “The stuff we talked about on Saturday, was that what got you worked up?”

            “No, I felt real good about all that, and I slept the best I have in ages Saturday night. But Sunday I just started feeling restless. I don’t deal well with boredom. Never have, even before all this started.”

            Kate digested that. Yes, he felt good about their discussion of career options but it still may have exacerbated the restlessness.

            “Getting tired of having your life on hold?” she asked.

            “Oh yeah.”

            “Here’s what I was thinking. You could borrow Liz’s computer to do some research. Find out what other kinds of jobs are available in the fire department, and what credentials you’d need to teach at the fire academy. And you might look for a meeting near there as well. You can’t go to your home group just yet, but I think you could go to one where nobody knows you, as long as your guards go with you.”

            “I like both of those ideas.”

            “Let me talk to Manny again for a minute. I’ll touch base with you this evening.”

            When the guard came back on the line, Kate said, “I think he needs a meeting. Today. He’s going to look on the computer for one nearby that he hasn’t been to before. Would one of you guys be willing to go in with him and pretend to be a recovering addict? You don’t have to share anything obviously. But I don’t think you should let him out of your sight just yet.”

            “Not a problem. I could use a meeting myself.”

            Kate stared at the phone for a beat, then she heard Manny saying, “I’ve been a member of AA for a long time.”

            “I never would’ve known.”

            “Thanks. That shows how far I’ve come.”

            “I’m honored that you shared that with me, Manny, and I will consider it confidential information.”

            “No need. Skip and Rose know. That’s how I got kicked off the force and ended up a bodyguard.”

            That gave Kate pause. Heavy drinking was not that unusual amongst cops, when they were off duty. Which was not surprising considering the stresses of their jobs. One would have to be a hardcore drunk to get fired from the police force.

            A low chuckle came over the line. “Someday I’ll tell you about it, over a Coke.”

            Kate laughed. “I’m buying.”

            Manny dropped his voice. “Uh, I think I owe you an apology. I should have seen the signs in Pete and kept a closer rein on him.”

             “Don’t take that on yourself, Manny. He’s a grown man.”

            Another low chuckle. “You sound like my sponsor. I’ll see that he gets to a meeting today, and I’ll let him know I’m in recovery too. Might make it easier for him to ask for support if he gets shaky again.”

            “Thanks. You’re a gem, Manny.”

~~~~~~~~

            Skip never did get his afternoon nap. Tyrell called a meeting to make sure everyone knew their roles during the sting the next day.

            While driving to the meeting, Skip called Rose, then put his cell phone on speaker and dropped it in his lap. Damn, he missed his truck!

            “How’s Mac doing?” he shouted when she answered.

            “He’s stable. They’re probably sending him home either today or in the morning.”

            Rose sounded unusually tense. But then again this was the second time in two weeks she’d come close to losing Mac.

            “Can Dolph borrow your car tomorrow?” Skip asked. “I’d feel better if he had the advantage of bullet-proof glass and steel-reinforced doors, for as long as he’s in the car at least.”

            “Yeah, but I’m gonna be there.” Rose’s angry voice reverberated inside the Explorer.

            “Uh, I thought you’d want to stay with Mac.”

            “He’s fine. Just weak from blood loss. I want in on this.”

            “You sound pretty pissed, partner.”

            “We’re gonna bring this Donati bastard down. He’s behind Mac’s shooting and he sent Samuelson after
mi familia
.”

            Rose sounded more upset about the invasion of his home than he was. He felt mostly relief that Samuelson was behind bars. “Okay. I’m headed for a meeting with Tyrell Cooper now. I’ll tell–”

            “Where?”

            “Judith’s precinct.”

            “I’ll meet you there.” Rose disconnected.

            When Skip walked into the conference room, he did a double take. Dolph had cut his hair into a buzz cut. He hadn’t shaved off the mustache but he’d tamed it considerably. His normal rumpled dress shirt and slacks had been replaced with a pale green polo shirt and crisply ironed black Dockers. Wire-rimmed sunglasses completed the makeover.

            Tyrell was grinning at Skip’s reaction. “Doesn’t he look the part of an elderly wuss?”

            “Hey, I’m not that old!” Dolph protested.

            Skip smiled in spite of himself. “No, but you do look like a wuss.”

            Once Rose arrived, they quickly covered the basics.

            “I’ve been undercover with some of these women,” Rose said. “Pretending to be a hooker new to town. I’ll wear my get-up just in case I need to be out on the street at some point.”

            “Good idea,” Skip said. “Where will your people be, Tyrell?”

            “I’ll have a half dozen men, in plain clothes, nearby, but they can’t get too close. The hookers know their faces, know they’re cops.”

            Skip turned to Rose. “We got anybody who could help out?”

            “All our guys are too big and beefy,” she said. “They’d look like cops to these ladies.”

            “Manny’d fit in,” Skip said. “Some of Freddie’s men have seen him with me but the ladies haven’t.”

            Rose nodded. “I’ll put somebody else on Pete for tomorrow. Free him up to help with this.”

            Tyrell placed a plastic bag on the table in front of him. He pulled out a brown leather wallet and tossed it to Dolph. “Driver’s license, three credit cards, all in the name of Charles Bevins. Pictures of his grandkids. One hundred and two dollars in various sized bills. A Social Security number has been established in Mr. Bevins’ name as well, but of course he doesn’t carry that number on him.”

            “Of course,” Dolph said. “Don’t want to be too obvious.”

            Tyrell reached in the bag again and brought out a fistful of tiny electronic gadgets. “Miniature radios.” He turned to Dolph and Rose. “You two will have to skip the earpieces. But the wireless mics look like a shirt button.”

~~~~~~~~

            Rose tried to get comfortable. She was scrunched down in the passenger seat of her own car. They wanted anyone who might be watching to think Dolph, in the driver’s seat, was alone, as they cruised down The Block.

            “We’ve got a problem,” Dolph said.

            “What?” Skip said from his own scrunched-down position in the backseat.

            “Roxie apparently didn’t leave town.”

            Rose peeked up over the dashboard. “Go on down another block or two.”

            After a couple minutes, Skip–the only one with an earpiece–said, “Tyrell’s shifting his people over.”

            Rose pointed to a group of women on a corner half a block away. “I talked to them before. They’re Freddie’s.”

            Dolph pulled over to the curb. He reached into the pocket of the navy windbreaker he wore over his green polo shirt.

            Rose felt a quiver in her gut. She was starting to share her partner’s bad feeling about this operation. “I’ve got an idea. Let me approach them first, Dolph, then you stagger up.” She pushed her sweat pants off to reveal her hooker costume. “I think we can play this out so you don’t actually have to go with any of them and then fake falling asleep.”

            Dolph had taken a small swig from the pint of whiskey in his hand. He nodded as he swished it around in his mouth. Dribbling some whiskey on his fingertips, he mimicked a woman applying perfume to her wrists and behind her ears. “Do I smell bad enough?”

            Rose leaned over and sniffed. “Nope. Rub some on your chest, under your shirt.”

            Dolph lifted his shirt and did as suggested. The odor of cheap booze filled the car. He glanced up at the rearview mirror. “Lighten up, son. I’ll be fine.”

            Rose looked back over her shoulder. Skip’s expression was far from light.

            She exchanged her sneakers for the high heels and wiggled out of her sweatshirt, then donned the white lace jacket. She touched the button mic to make sure it was still secure. Leaning down, she removed her ankle holster and palmed the small gun it held. Then she slid out of the car.

            Turning away from both the car and the ladies on the corner, she slipped the snub nose .32 into the only spot on her scantily-clad body where it wasn’t likely to show. Adjusting her tube top, she looked down, checking for bulges. Satisfied, she headed down the sidewalk.

            Once she had the women engaged in conversation, Dolph got out of the car and moved in their direction, weaving a bit.

            The older, busty woman said, “Here comes that guy who likes ’em tan.”

            Rose’s gut clenched. She’d thought Dolph’s disguise was good but this gal had spotted him from half a block away. She hoped Freddie’s men weren’t as astute as his hookers.

            She rolled her eyes at the older woman. “Last time he couldn’t get it up, and then he passed out.”

            “Did he pay you?”

            “Sure. I told him he was wonderful.” Rose flashed a grin. The other woman smiled back.

            Dolph staggered into the middle of the group. “Hey there, aren’t you a hot tamale?” he slurred. He extended his arm to throw it around Rose’s shoulders and missed.

            She grabbed him to keep him from falling.

            Slouching against her, his head lolled onto her shoulder. He licked her skin through the lace of the jacket. “Ya tastes good.”

            Rose narrowed her eyes at him and made a mental note to dock his pay for that. Then she caught the movement she’d been hoping for. The older woman was deftly sliding the wallet out of Dolph’s back pocket.

            Catching Rose watching her, she mouthed, “I’ll split the cash with you.”

            Rose flashed her a grin, then said to Dolph, ”Come on, sugar. Let’s find you a cab so you can go home and sleep it off.”

            “But I wanna sleep with you,” Dolph whined.

            “I know. Next time.” Rose started to turn him around to lead him away from the group.

            “Oh, ya wanna dance first. S’okay wid me.” Dolph tried to grab her hand and started into a drunken waltz.

            Rose more forcefully dragged him down the sidewalk.

            Luck was with them. An off-duty cab was parked at the curb. Rose opened the back door and made a show of stuffing Dolph inside.

            “Hey, I’m eatin’ my lunch here,” the cabbie protested.

            Dolph pulled a twenty from his front pocket and handed it across the back of the seat. “Drive around the block and pull over when I say. Then you can finish your lunch.”

~~~~~~~~

            Kate had also caught a case of the worries from Skip. She was hoping her lunch date with Rob would distract her.

            Not sure her nervous stomach could handle the richness of a crab cake, she’d ordered the Maryland crab soup instead. They made small talk while they waited for their food. When the soup arrived, its mixed bouquet of tomatoes, celery, crabmeat, and Old Bay seasoning smelled heavenly. Kate took a small bite. It burned her tongue.

            Waving her hand in front of her mouth, she watched with an indulgent smile as Rob piled extra pickle slices on his sandwich. He’d also ordered sliced tomatoes, no doubt in deference to Liz’s nagging that he eat more fruits and vegetables. He added them to the wobbly pile and jammed the top bun down to hold it all together.

            “So are you really okay with having Pete and his guards at your house? We kind of sprung that on you out of the blue.”

            Rob swallowed a bite of his sandwich. “It’s okay for now. It’s a big house.”

            Kate dipped her spoon into her soup and took a small sip–still hot but bearable. She watched Rob as she took another spoonful. He didn’t seem inclined to elaborate.

            “Are you sure you’re okay with it? The boundaries in this case have gotten awfully blurry.”

            Rob shrugged and took another bite of his sandwich.

            Was she imagining things or was he avoiding eye contact? A thought popped into her head.

            “Rob, remember what you said awhile back, about a jury maybe being harder on Pete
because
he was a fallen hero?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Okay, so putting aside for a minute the fact that he’s sleeping in your guest room, how would you feel about Pete if he were your average recovering-addict client you were defending on drug charges? Would you be all that surprised or upset that he’d had a near slip?”

            “I’m not upset,” Rob said.

            “You’re not?”

            He looked down at his plate and muttered, “Sometimes it’s hell being friends with a shrink.”