Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
The door to Kyle’s boss’s office was open. Jack and Deke were already there. Jack wore jeans and a sweatshirt, but Deke was dressed to party, Hawaiian shirt and all. The second he grabbed a seat opposite the desk, Mike punched in a number on his cell phone and put the call on speaker.
“I am getting closer,” the CI said when he answered. That’s why Mike had called Kyle earlier. His CI had texted, saying he had information on the accountant. “Word is he left Chicago around the same time Yuri was arrested.”
“How do you know this?” As much as he wanted to believe everything the man said, he was skeptical. CI’s could be the key to cracking a case wide open, but they also had their own motivation. Money.
“After the Kolbyev trial, Nikki reached out to Sergei Karamazov.” Karamazov had slid into Novikov’s role as head of the Chicago Bratva after Novikov went to prison.
“Nikki was pissed at Yuri for not taking out Kolbayev’s wife before she could testify.
He thinks Yuri did it intentionally, so he could take Kolbayev’s place.
Nikki doesn’t know if he can trust him anymore.
If Yuri goes down, he worries he’ll blab about the kidnapping scheme they had going on. ”
Kyle leaned closer to the phone. “What does this have to do with the accountant?”
“Nikki told Karamazov it’s Yuri’s fault for not knowing you—Alex Tarankov—were an FBI agent, and for the FBI taking all his money. So Yuri owes him. He wants him to give up half his share from the kidnappings, and he thinks he knows who has it.”
“The accountant,” Deke said.
“Yeah, but I still don’t have a name,” the CI said. “What I do have are rumors that Yuri and Nikki bought property somewhere outside Chicago. There’s a lake on the property, and that’s why they bought it.”
“Sounds like a good place to dispose of bodies,” Kyle said. “Any idea where this property is?”
“You’re kidding, yes?” The CI chuckled. “Illinois. That’s all I got. Look, Nikki and me go way back. Not as far back as Yuri, but let me work on it. I’ve been thinking of taking the wife to New York City for a little sightseeing. Nikki might talk more in person.”
“Get on a plane first thing tomorrow,” Mike ordered. “If this pans out, we’ll make it worth your while.”
“I’ll get back to you.”
The line went dead.
“Think he’ll come through?” Jack asked.
“He’s motivated.” Kyle sat back. “He’s already made a lot of FBI money over the years. If this works, he’ll get even more.” And both Yuri and Nikki would be back behind bars. This time, for life.
“Illinois is a big state,” Jack said. “Lotsa water.”
“Yeah.” Kyle nodded, mulling over possible strategies.
“Even if we had an address, we’d still need a warrant, and we don’t have probable cause.
We couldn’t even do an infrared flyover without a warrant.
Not only is it too invasive, those bodies would be nothing more than skeletons after ten years of being submerged.
They wouldn’t emit heat signals anymore. ”
“Then we’ve still got nothing,” Mike said.
“That it, Boss?” When Mike nodded, Deke stood. “Gotta go.”
“Make good choices, bro,” Jack called out as Deke headed for the door.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Deke held up his hand before disappearing around a corner.
“He plays hard.” Kyle envied his younger brother for being able to flip a switch and turn off the job at the end of the work week.
“He’s also a hard worker,” Mike said. “Did you know he was here until midnight almost every day last week?”
Kyle looked at Jack, and they both shrugged. Neither of them had known that.
“Things are heating up in Little Poland,” Mike continued. “He’s worried it will be a blood bath with a lot of innocent people caught up in it.”
“No wonder he’s partying like there’s no tomorrow,” Jack said. “If The Crew goes to war, Deke’s partying days are over.”
Kyle stood. “I’ve got work to do.” Like figuring out where in Illinois Yuri and Nikki disposed of their kidnapping victims’ bodies.
If Mike’s CI came through with the accountant, he’d still need to find those bodies. Without them, all he’d have was the money. Whoever the accountant was, they couldn’t assume he’d have personal knowledge of where the money had come from, let alone where the bodies were disposed.
Two hours later, he was still staring at an online map of Illinois, searching for what, he had no idea. Jack and Mike had long since gone home.
Thinking back to his days in Chicago, he knew in his gut Yuri and Nikki had personally transported the bodies. It was unlikely they would have driven them far. There would have been too much risk in getting pulled over. They’d have stuck close to home but not too close.
He zoomed out on the map. There was State land, Federal land, suburbs, and some private undeveloped land. If he were Yuri, he’d want those bodies to remain undiscovered forever. The only way for that to happen would be to bury them on property he and Nikki controlled or even owned. Smart of them.
More online research got him nowhere.
Illinois had over 2,900 lakes, some natural, some man-made. As if that weren’t enough, the state also had around 84,000 ponds of varying size.
His phone vibrated, and he opened up the incoming text from Victoria.
Sorry I missed your call. I went next door to help Father Sergei with something. I’m going to take a hot bath and go to sleep early.
Rather than text back, he cued up her number but stopped and set the phone on his desk.
An hour ago, he’d called her twice but she hadn’t picked up.
Then he’d reached out to the security guy he’d hired—ironically, the guy’s name was Guy—who’d informed him Victoria had gone next door to the church.
Guy had also let him know the moment she’d returned to her apartment.
Considering he’d called twice, he’d expected a return call, not a text.
He smiled as the image of her naked body half submerged in bath water brought to mind other images. Ones of her lying beneath him as he’d thrust into her slick warmth and watched her come.
It occurred to him that, since she’d come back into his life, he’d been tortured less and less by thoughts of the past. His past. Now he had the future to think about. Like, could he really have one? With Victoria.
Their reunion had been rocky, to say the least. They’d come a long way in such a short time, but there were still issues to figure out.
Being with her meant they couldn’t have children of their own.
As it always did when he thought about his child, his gut squeezed with so much sadness it still hurt.
But the idea of living the rest of his life without Victoria in it was unimaginable.
Ten years ago, he’d started falling for her.
He couldn’t lose her now. They could always adopt.
He looked at his phone, tempted to call her again or at least text back.
Today was October 17. Tomorrow was Victoria’s birthday.
Her real birthday, not the one he’d seen in Victoria Kelly’s background check.
The year was the same but not the month and the day.
One more layer of secrecy to her new identity.
Kyle had lost count of how many times he’d thought about her over the years. Especially on her birthdays. He’d wondered where she was, hoping she was finally happy and hating the nameless, faceless man she’d celebrated with.
He cued up another phone number.
“Hi, Kyle,” Gina said after two rings. “What’s up?”
“Who is that?” he heard Jack say in the background.
“Your brother. Kyle,” she said in a muffled voice, as if she had her hand over the phone.
“Tell him to get a life,” Jack shouted loud enough to hear.
“He says to get a life.”
“I heard.” He chuckled, admiring the humorous love his soon-to-be-sister-in-law and brother had. “I could use your advice.”
“I love giving advice.” She laughed. “About what?”
“I need to buy a gift. For a woman,” he added.
“Ahh, this is getting juicy.” He could practically hear her rubbing her hands together. “Would this be for anyone I’ve met? Someone perhaps with coppery-brown hair and blue eyes?”
The woman’s powers of perception were scary-accurate. “Yeah. I don’t know what to get her. I thought you could help.”
“Happy to. Okay, so, I know who this is for, but I’ve only met her once, so I don’t know her. Tell me about her. What does she like? What does she do for a living? Does she have any hobbies? What are her favorite colors? Does she wear jewelry? Why don’t you get her a fancy piece of jewelry?”
“Uh, well…” He felt like he was being interrogated under the hot lights by Elliott Ness. “She’s not the kind of woman to wear expensive jewelry.”
“Are you sure? Every woman loves a pricey bangle.”
That night when he’d escorted her to the New Year’s Eve party, she hadn’t wanted to wear a pair of earrings Yuri had given her.
In fact, he doubted she’d want any reminders of him at all.
“I’m sure. No jewelry. She’s more of a practical person.
” Living on a budget, as he suspected she’d done all these years, she wouldn’t think of lavishing herself with something that wasn’t absolutely necessary.
“Okay then. What does she need?”
A lightbulb went on. “A new briefcase.” To replace that ratty old brown one that was on its last leg. Or strap. Come to think of it, the straps were gone too, and she’d had to tuck it under her arm.
“Perfect! Now we’re getting somewhere. Does she work in an office?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I recommend something chic that can be worn with any outfit. Go to a high-end department store like Nordstrom’s and look for a Gucci or a Liz Claiborne briefcase, preferably in black, because black goes with everything.
And don’t bother to look on the regular or sales racks.
Go right to the display cases for the latest top-of-the-line designs.
It will cost more, but you can afford it. ”
He could afford it. With no one to spend his salary on all these years, money wasn’t an issue. “Thanks for the help, Gina.”
“You’re welcome. Be sure to let me know how she likes it.”
“I will. Bye.”
“Wait!” Gina shouted. “Have you heard from Lance? The wedding is only two months away, and Jack said neither he nor Deke have heard a peep from him. We need to know if Jack has to find another groomsman. Kinsey, Margo, and Annabelle are my bridesmaids, and the wedding party can’t be lopsided.
Do you know if he even got the wedding invitation? ”
“I have no idea.” His youngest brother often went dark for months without a word to any of them or their mother. He never communicated via email, which told Kyle the dangers of working for the FBI paled in comparison to whatever government work Lance did. “If I do, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Thanks, Kyle.”
He could hear the exasperation in her voice. Out of the four Gates brothers, Lance had always been the troublemaker and still was. He set the phone on his desk. Talking with Gina about hers and Jack’s wedding made him think of another wedding. His. And the final conversation he’d had with his wife.
He’d been on a mission in Iraq and could only manage a brief call home.
There’d been a time he could remember every word she’d said, every subtle nuance, even the lilt of her voice.
For the longest time, he’d clung to those words, refusing to let them go.
Those memories had begun to fade. Not gone, just receding.
Not because they didn’t matter; they always would.
He also realized it was okay to start making new memories, and he was.
With Victoria.