Biloxi Blue (The Biloxi Series Book 2) Page 4

  His heart thudded. His breath came in short puffs. Time to go. Now. If she came face to face with him, would she recognize him?

  Subtle changes had been necessary. He shaved his head to show his tattooed scalp and added more tattoos to the gallery. Colored contacts changed his eyes. And who knew that weight loss could change the landscape of a face so dramatically? He hadn’t. The weight loss had been necessary, to help him look the part.

  At first, he’d gotten odd stares from some of the men that he worked with. Even Maestro distrusted him, because of the faint similarities to someone that had fooled them in the past. Ultimately, though, the differences were enough, because not only was his appearance altered, but so was his voice and his attitude. The man he was now was a criminal, and no one that crossed his path would doubt that.

  His cover would hold under the closest scrutiny. The power, and budget, of the DEA made sure no one would learn his identity. Even Maestro hadn’t been able to find a pinprick through which he could push any doubt. He’d given up everything with one goal in mind – bringing down Locos Mamoncetes. He wasn’t ready to blow it just yet.

  At the edge of the crowd, he glanced back the way he came. Kate stood in the same spot he’d just left. She searched the crowd. Had she seen him? Did she recognize him? If anyone was going to, it would be Kate.

  He tried to remain casual as he walked toward the restored 1979 Monte Carlo that was his “ride.” It was a boat. In this economy, it drank gas like some of his men consumed beer. But money was of no concern. Mamoncetes pockets were deep, and he was well compensated. He had no problem spending the money. They owed him.

  It was a beautiful car. Pearl black and chrome everywhere. Sunroof, which he had one of his buddies at the chop shop add. It was from a time when cars had curves like women did, and this car reminded him of Annalise. Rises and swells in all the right places. Sometimes he called the car Anna. On those nights, he drank more than he should. He could see Anna lying on her side, her curves swelling in the low light as he touched and kissed every inch of her skin.

  The memory always started the same. Making love to Annalise. Remembering how she made his soul feel complete, especially in those dark days when he no longer had Kate for support. Then he remembered how John Juarez had killed her. It wasn’t fast. Juarez was cruel, and Annalise had suffered.

  Since then, rage was a constant companion to the guilt he already carried, and which was now amplified. He had stayed alive, made the decisions he’d made, for the pure pleasure of killing that heartless snake. Then someone else did it for him.

  He pulled into the morning traffic on Beach Boulevard and shook his head. Too many memories were competing for his attention, threatening to dull his senses. He needed time to think. He needed to find out what had happened to Beth Martin. What happened to all of the intelligence she was gathering? What about the shipments she was tracking for Mamoncetes? Had someone on the inside found out about her? If they had, then they knew about him, and he needed to watch his back, because it was just a matter of time before there was a bounty on his head big enough to bring all the whack-jobs out of the woodwork.

  He wanted to know more about Kate, too. Why was she in Biloxi? What was her life like? Did she ever fall in love? Did she have kids? The years felt like they had passed as minutes, and yet it all seemed like another lifetime long ago. He’d hated lying to her. Hated seeing the look of devastation in her eyes that day she thought he died. But he had no choice. In this operation, he could trust no one, they said. Especially not Kate Giveans.

  SEVEN

  Jack dropped the phone handset back onto its cradle and leaned into his leather chair. What in the name of all that lives made him think a desk job would work for him? He found the politics of the job alone beyond frustrating. And the politics in this specific situation were so much more difficult.

  Charles Chatley, a longtime detective and a 15-year veteran of the Biloxi PD was next in line for the chief’s position. The fact that the job had been given to Jack hadn’t gone without notice and since becoming Chief, Jack spent a lot of time dealing with the fallout. That phone call was a good example. For weeks, he’d been trying to track down the footage from the precinct security cameras. It felt like he’d been stone-walled at every juncture and that call confirmed there was no footage. No one could locate it. The footage from the day before and the day after was there, but somehow, the one day he needed – the day Darnow died – was gone. Nothing. It just didn’t exist. Frustration burned in his stomach and he reached for a bottle of antacids. Lately, he’d been eating them like candy.

  Jack knew this would be difficult, but he had no idea how difficult. It had taken almost three months to get the internal investigation rolling. Thank goodness he had James Tradewell in his corner. Without the favors Tradewell called in, Jack would still be trying to get a copy of the letter, and he might never see help from Internal Affairs.

  He longed to go back a few months. To be a detective in the field. Every time he sent a team out, he wished it was him looking for new clues and chasing criminals. What he was doing now was far more important. Chief Darnow had been murdered and someone went to a lot of trouble to make it look like a natural death. The letter Jack had so much trouble tracking down was found on Darnow’s computer. It was unfinished and unsent, but in it, Darnow admitted directing others in the department in criminal activity that led to a number of deaths, many of which were still classified as unsolved homicides. Darnow didn’t include names or specifics and it wasn’t even certain which cases had been tampered with. The only real certainty was that something corrupt was happening in the Biloxi Police Department. Something that needed to be stopped.

  Mayor Tradewell made way for Jack to become chief so he could lead the investigation into Darnow’s death, and the corruption that was outlined. Quietly.

  Jack and Tradewell had history. They served in the military together, and Tradewell trusted Jack to handle the investigations. Neither of them realized the kickback they would cause by moving Jack into the chief’s position ahead of Chatley.

  A knock on his door frame pulled Jack from his thoughts. When he looked up, a pair of thick shoulders blocked his view of the bustle in the main area of the precinct where desks were shoved together and all the detectives worked. Those shoulders were attached to an equally thick and muscular body.

  “Captain Roe? I was told to see you for a partner assignment?” The deep voice rumbled across the small room, and for a second, the commotion from the pit fell in intensity. Everybody was interested in the new blood. The fact that it happened to belong to a person who looked like he could take on half the county by himself made it even more interesting.

  Caleb Castille. Jack didn't expect the new detective – an internal affairs liaison – to be so… large. No doubt women in the department would think he was attractive. Kate, too, probably. The thought made him bristle. Things had been awkward with Kate lately. He couldn’t talk to her about his new position and after a while, she just quit asking. The distance between them felt as if it had grown into a divide the size of an ocean. Was there distance enough that Kate would entertain thoughts of someone else?

  Pushing down the unwanted jealousy, Jack stood and crossed the room with his hand extended. “Welcome to the department.” He made a show of greeting the new detective, then ushered him into the office and closed the door. “Have a seat.”

  Caleb sat in the chair Jack pointed to.

  “So, what made you take on this assignment?” Jack returned to his seat behind the desk. He already knew the answer to the question, but he wanted to get a feel for the man who would be working not only as an undercover IA detective in the department, but also as a homicide detective. And as Kate’s new partner. That gave Jack a vested interest in his past, and everything about him.

  “New Orleans,” he said it N’awlins, “isn’t a bad place. I liked it well enough there, but it’s not a challenge anymore. When I heard you needed a new detective here, I was
all for it. Fresh scenery, different thugs. Looks like ya’ll are doing good work here, and I want to help that continue.” Caleb crossed his ankles and leaned forward.

  Caleb played his cover story perfectly. He’d come from Jackson, Mississippi, but as far as anyone in the department knew, he’d been a detective in New Orleans his whole career. If anyone considered that, they would find plenty of evidence to support it. They would also find that Caleb had been into a bit of trouble in New Orleans. Excessive force, suspected of planting evidence, and other activities that hinted at him not being a perfect cop. Records can be faked. Snitches and informants paid off. The cover would hold under scrutiny.

  “How is Detective Giveans, anyway?” Caleb continued. “I heard she was hit in that firefight a couple of months back.”

  “She’s fine. Today is her first day back,” Jack lowered his voice and propped his elbows on his desk. “Giveans isn’t going to be thrilled about having a new partner, but that’s something we’ll just have to deal with. Putting you with her is the least suspicious move we can make.” Jack kept his voice low. “We need to wrap this up as quickly as we can. It’s waited long enough already.”

  Jack didn’t try to hide the frustration over it taking three months and lots of pressure from Tradewell to get an Internal Affairs detective to come help with the Darnow investigation. He still didn’t understand what the holdup had been, but Tradewell had convinced him not to make too much of it. “I’ll handle this,” Tradewell said. “Just be patient, Jack.” Patience had worn thin two and a half months ago.

  “No problem.” Caleb ignored the comment, but didn’t break Jack’s stare. “I know how to do this.”

  “I’m not sure you know what you’re getting into with Giveans,” Jack let the frustration over the delay subside. Caleb was here. Now it was time to get to work.

  Kate knew Chief Darnow died suddenly of an apparent heart attack. She didn’t know that after finding the unfinished letter on his computer, the crime scene investigators realized everything might not be what it appeared to be. They alerted the medical examiner’s office who went back through the autopsy, and with the knowledge that they were looking for a possibly unnatural cause of death, they found it. Hemlock.

  Hemlock is poisonous plant that grows in marshy areas. A lot like what you find all over Mississippi. It’s also easy to disguise in a drink if the drink has a strong enough taste, like whiskey. It’s also hard to trace if you don’t know what you’re looking for because it mimics the symptoms of a heart attack, which was exactly what the medical examiner first found. It wasn’t until he knew the heart attack might have been caused by something other than a family history of heart disease that he tested for unknown substances and found the poison. It was that confirmation that set Jack on the path he traveled now.

  When Jack made the short list of choices for his replacement, he’d discussed it with Kate and they agreed it was a good choice for him, because it got him out of the field. Since he was taking care of his niece, Lisa, after her mother had been murdered by the serial killer, Dana McNally, last year, he and Kate often talked about what was best for Lisa. They both agreed, taking the position made sense.

  Kate wasn’t aware that the only name on the short list was Jack’s and that he’d been asked to take the position to find out what happened to Darnow and what was going on in the department. Jack had to keep all of that from her. He didn’t like it, but he didn’t have a choice.

  It all proved harder and more convoluted than Jack expected it to be. The delay in getting IA involved. The shock that reverberated through the department when Jack was chosen over Chatley for the position. Mayor Tradewell was only marginally helpful. He wasn’t willing to push too hard. This investigation could turn into a media storm. It was an election year. He didn’t need that kind of coverage. So, they kept it quiet and stayed patient, but now, Jack hoped they’d finally get some resolution.

  “I understand. I’ll manage Giveans,” Caleb said, bringing Jack back from his thoughts. “All that really matters to me is that we figure out exactly what’s happening here, with the fewest casualties possible.” Caleb’s tone was serious. Jack understood this wasn’t Caleb’s first internal investigation, but seeing that he understood the sensitivity of the situation put Jack at ease.

  As much as you could be at ease when someone, or multiple someones, in your department feels they are above the law.

  “How do you feel about having a woman for a partner?” Jack leaned back and allowed his voice to return to its normal timbre.

  “She wouldn't be my first.” Caleb mimicked Jack’s actions.

  Jack raised his eyebrows. That, he didn't know. “I thought your last partner was David Alexander.”

  “Oh he was.” Caleb cleared his throat. “But my first partner was a woman. Kelly Myers. She was a good officer.”

  “Was?” Jack didn't like being taken by surprise. Jack had talked to David Alexander when he found out who they were sending. He got the impression David and Caleb had been partners for Caleb’s entire career. Jack tamped down frustration. He had enough on his mind without surprises being thrown at him. Next time he spoke to David he would mention it.

  “She retired when I’d been with the department for a couple of years. The job…” Caleb cleared his throat again. “Well, it got to be too much for her. She didn't like the risk. She got out. That's when David and I became partners.”

  “I didn't realize you'd had any other partner other than David.” Jack flipped through Caleb's file. There was no mention of Kelly Myers anywhere in his history. Jack made a mental note to pull Caleb’s full personnel file. “So, how'd you and Kelly get along?”

  “We were good partners. Eventually.” Caleb leaned forward. “It took some time. But I'm good at my job. And I'm persistent.” He flashed a million-dollar smile at Jack.

  With Kate, that could be a good quality or bad one. Especially right now.

  “Be prepared for a little kickback. Kate's not going to be thrilled about getting a new partner.” That was a major understatement.

  “You mean she doesn't know?” Caleb ran his tongue over his front teeth, and stared hard at Jack.

  “Not yet. I intended to fill her in this morning, but she got called out on a case. She hasn't even been into the office yet.” Jack wasn't going to apologize for not announcing Caleb’s arrival. He'd find out soon enough what he was up against. Besides, it served Jack better to wait to tell Kate. She wouldn’t be happy, but at least she wouldn’t have time to brood over the decision.

  “Great.” Caleb shifted in his seat. “So, what can I expect?”

  Jack weighed his options. He figured that Caleb already knew about him and Kate. Their relationship wasn’t a secret, and they weren’t hiding the engagement, but they also hadn’t made a public announcement about it yet.

  Jack wasn’t sure that it mattered, but under the circumstances, honesty was probably the best policy. If Caleb was as good at his job as what Jack was told, he’d figure it out sooner rather than later, anyway.

  “You already know Kate used to be my partner and that she and I are in a relationship.” Jack waited for Caleb's reaction.

  Caleb remained silent, his features passive.

  “She and I recently got engaged. It’s not a big deal, and we don’t have any intention of bringing the relationship into the department, but I thought you should know.” Jack watched for response from Caleb. Seeing none, he continued.

  “She's a good cop. Had a rough start. Lost a partner in a drug bust gone bad. And she’s against getting a new partner. We’ve talked about it a couple of times, but I thought it best not to bring it up until we had to. She’ll be angry at first, but she’ll come to terms with it. Faster when she’s face to face with you.”

  “I’ll do what I can to win her over,” Caleb said, flashing that smile again.

  It irritated Jack, but he was also relieved to have Caleb here to help with this whole Darnow corruption investigation. Whatever was goin
g on inside the department should be their own mess to clean up, but Jack was smart enough to know that wasn’t always the best way to handle it.

  Sometimes you need a person who can look at everything without the history of having worked in the department. It was hard to accept when people turned out to be someone other than who you thought they were, and even though most cops were good people, there were a few bad ones, too. When it came to ferreting out the bad ones, Jack was happy to have IA on his side.

  “I trust Kate with my life, and you can too. She's not going to be easy. Not about a new partner,” Jack took a deep breath. “Not about anything for that matter.” He closed the file on the desk in front of him. “She's not going to like this, but she doesn’t have a choice.”

  “So basically, you're tossing me into a small pit with a big gator?” Caleb cocked an eyebrow, a sly smile pulled in one corner of his mouth.

  “That's about the size of it.”

  EIGHT

  Kate swung the Dodge Charger into a parking spot behind the precinct and slid out of the car. It had been a fruitless day so far, and just when she was headed to find the security guard Usry released from the scene, dispatch called and said she needed to get to the precinct as soon as she finished up at the scene.

  Irresponsible security guards and no security cameras left Kate nothing to go on. She was still furious over Usry’s dismissal of Brandon Causey. She could get him fired if she really wanted to. His actions were against protocol and not only sloppy, but dangerous. Still, she dealt with enough distrust and general dislike from everyone else in the department. Getting Usry fired would only make it worse.

  Not a great way to start a case. Also, not a great way to come back after three months’ medical leave. Already, Kate wished she’d just stayed home, and this day was barely getting started.