Chapter 20
The gunfire ended seconds later, though it felt like an eternity had passed.
Uncle Chris, bent low, scrambled for the door and darted outside while Lionel called someone.
Lionel prevented Jane from following her uncle, handing her a pistol. “Take this. I need you to clear the upstairs while I do this floor and the basement.”
She nodded and moved up the stairs, slowly and methodically clearing the second floor. After searching every room and closet, she met Lionel and her uncle at the base of the stairs. “Clear.”
“I didn’t get the shooter,” Uncle Chris growled. “The bastard was fast.”
“I called a few friends as well as a contact in law enforcement. No one will be bothering us here.”
Jane just watched the pair of them. “You don’t want the attention?”
“Not for what’s only a warning. If they’d wanted us dead, they wouldn’t have missed.”
Her uncle didn’t look pleased with Lionel’s assessment. But Jane silently agreed. Shooting at them through the window from outside and not hitting any of them took skill and deliberation.
“Spit it out, Lionel. What the hell was that?” Chris glowered. “With the number of enemies you’ve collected over the years, it could be anyone.”
“Not quite.” Lionel sighed and led them into his living room, where he sank into a comfy looking leather sofa.
“My guess? August Kaminski is telling me to stop looking into him. I’ve been intentionally not being as stealthy about my inquiries as I maybe should have been. But I wanted to shake some trees.”
Jane snorted. “Consider them shaken.”
“He knows I know he’s involved. And he wants to keep this quiet.”
“How much do you know, exactly?” she asked, sitting across from Lionel while her uncle paced away his nervous energy.
“I’ve been keeping my ears open about August for years. But after the Mazzuca case and Dan Simmons getting killed, I stepped up my surveillance. Nothing official, mind you.”
Jane nodded. “Because August has connections in high places.”
“In law enforcement, the Bureau, the CIA.”
“NSA too,” Chris muttered. “I’ve heard rumblings. But then, I have Hal monitoring for his name.”
“And Rook?” Jane asked.
Lionel and Chris shared a look before Lionel said, “From what we gather, Rook is one of August’s top men.
The strategist behind August’s secretive organization.
He has plans in place that are ten moves ahead of us.
Mostly because August keeps vital information private, his contacts hiding what we need to know to move on him.
Much of what I know or suspect I can’t prove. ”
“Not in a court of law,” Chris rumbled. “That’s why you get my team involved.”
“Yes, but not yet. I don’t need bodies dropping every five seconds around here.”
Her uncle shrugged. “Might be a welcome change from needing your windows replaced.”
Lionel’s phone rang. He answered. After a pause, he said, “Come in. Make it fast and keep it quiet.”
A moment later, a knock at the door preceded a team of four individuals dressed in black.
Jane didn’t recognize them, but she made a note of body types and faces—what she could see of the four men not covered in ballcaps.
They disappeared into the kitchen, and she heard glass being swept. Another vehicle sounded in the drive.
“That’s my replacement window,” Lionel explained. “Don’t ask. This has happened before.”
Chris slowly grinned. “Nice to know you haven’t lost your touch.”
“Huh?” Jane didn’t understand the sudden humor in the situation, still a bit shaken.
“At pissing people off, he means,” Lionel said wryly. “Jane, I wanted you here to explain that you need to be careful about poking into August Kaminski’s business. You don’t know it, but the Collective is his. Not all his network, I don’t think. But they belong to him.”
“That’s a huge group of influence and wealth.” She rattled off the names of the ten families she’d memorized from his list. “Right now, the Duvalls, Coatneys, and Strands are no longer. So is he whittling them down for some reason? Or is someone else attacking them? Aiming at him maybe?”
“It’s not us,” Uncle Chris said. “I’m busy overseas. None of my contacts have been screwing with Kaminski. I’ve been keeping close tabs on him since Jane’s involvement.”
Or rather, Hal kept tabs on Kaminski.
“It’s not us either,” Lionel said. “Trust me. If I could find the bastard, I’d eliminate the threat. But he’s a ghost. Rook is too. The fact that these families are dying has me worried. Because that tells me August isn’t as in charge as he thinks he is.”
“He could be the one killing them.” Jane changed her mind and said, “But he’s not. You think it’s an internal power struggle, maybe?”
“If I knew their endgame, I could tell you. August is slippery. And he’s smart. I don’t know what his ultimate goal is, and not for lack of trying.” Lionel frowned at Jane. “I’m thinking about starting up the task force again.”
Her pulse quickened. “And you want me on it?”
Lionel nodded.
As did her uncle. “You need to be careful, Jane. You’re on Kaminski’s radar.”
“And have been since the Mazzuca case,” Lionel added. “He knows who you are.”
“I don’t care.” She truly didn’t. That only made Kaminski more challenging prey.
Uncle Chris smiled. “That’s my girl. You’ll get him.”
“I will. But first I’ll find out what his exact tie to the Collective is and what they want. Do you have any idea?” she asked Lionel.
“I wish I did. They’ve got businesses with government contracts. Intelligence players, tech giants, and a lot of money in secret accounts.”
“But it’s more than the money. I think he’s after whatever is stored on those hard drives. It’s about data.” Jane couldn’t have said why, but that felt right. Kaminksi had always been about power. Yes, he’d amassed wealth by stealing from his many victims over the years. But this felt different.
“I can tell you one thing,” Uncle Chris said. “He’s not killing the families. That’s someone else.”
“One of his goons?” Jane offered.
Lionel shrugged. “Maybe. But the killings are too loud and public. That’s not August’s style. Which leads me to think he’s got some housecleaning to do. Someone in his organization is making a mess.” Lional smiled. “Which is bad for him but good for us.”
Jane wondered if she should mention Matthew hearing about Rook and Kaminski and decided not to. Not yet. She needed to talk to him again. He might be a lot of things, but he was loyal. And he’d intentionally kept quiet about Rook and Kaminski for a reason.
“Does Haversham know anything about this? Aside from already working the case when he was in Vegas?” she asked, wondering how much Lionel knew.
He nodded. “Like me, he’s paying attention. But he’s just monitoring and keeping me apprised. We keep hearing Kaminski’s name, but nothing’s solid yet.”
“I figured because Haversham was so involved in the Mazzuca case he’d still be poking around.”
Lionel pointed at her. “And that’s why I want you back on the task force. You make the connections I’d have to spend unnecessary time explaining to others.” He turned to Chris. “She’s a sharp one.”
“Of course she is. She’s my niece.”
Jane wryly said, “So Lionel wants me because of you and not my amazing detective skills.”
“Well, you did inherit them from me.”
Not through any genetic legacy. Jane loved the man like a father, as her official uncle and legal guardian. But they both knew she wasn’t related to him through blood, not like Raine.
Uncle Chris had never cared. Neither did Jane. To him, family was made by bonds of solidarity and loyalty. Love and affection mattered more than genetics. Hence the crazy band of Team Ten, Raine, and Jane, who would always have his back—as he’d have theirs.
He winked at her, and she winked back and stood. “Well, this has been fun. But I’d better get home. I have a lot to do tomorrow. Starting with a visit to our cyber expert. I have more questions now that I know what to look for.”
“Sounds good.” Chris wrapped an arm around Jane, and they watched the people who’d arrived leave quietly past them through the front door.
They walked into the kitchen, only to see the window completely replaced, nothing littering the floor, and the table and chairs only a little scuffed from being thrown around.
“Nice work.” Chris nodded.
Lionel had followed them and looked over the scene with approval. “I only work with the best.” He eyed Jane and gave a grunt. “Get this case solved. I’ll have that task force ready to go soon.”
“I haven’t said I’ll do it,” she said just to needle him.
Her uncle tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile.
Lionel sighed. “She gets this attitude from you. Jane, you won’t be able to help yourself. You’re on his scent now. You need to see him put away. Or at least put down.”
She wished she could argue that, but August Kaminski was a menace. Letting him run rampant while he pulled the strings of the rich and powerful would be nothing but a mistake.
“I’ll think about it,” she conceded, knowing very well she’d jump at the chance to go after Kaminski again with a hundred percent focus.
“You do that.” Lionel rolled his eyes and walked them out the door.
As Jane drove with her uncle, she didn’t protest when he insisted the hour had grown too late to head back to Bainbridge.
She nodded absently, lost in thought, wondering again what Lisa had to tell her about what she might have found.
Eager for more answers, Jane couldn’t wait.