Chapter Seven
MARS
“’Ey, boss,” I said, nipping outside in the Vegas heat so I could speak to him privately.
“Clifford,” Candy said in a clipped tone. “I hope you have an update for me. I told Mickey to call me as soon as you were finished watching Demarco steal a car.”
I nodded to myself, knowing he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, uh…’e’s done. ‘E pulled it off like clockwork…really knows what ‘e’s doing.”
“Okay. Did he deliver it to Josiah Sterling?”
I stopped pacing. “’E’s doing that tonight, boss. Apparently the tosser’s got some kind of rule about delivering a stolen car during the day.”
“I suppose that tracks. So, what’s he done with the car? Please tell me he’s not driving a stolen vehicle around Vegas in broad daylight.” From Candy’s tone, I had no doubt he was rubbing his hands over his face in frustration. He had that “give me the details right fucking now” tone in his voice.
“Not yet, boss,” I rushed to say. “’E’s storing it in a mate’s garage for a couple of hours. We ‘ave to wait ‘til after dark. I ‘ave a feeling this Sterling guy is bad news, though.”
“What makes you say that? What has Mr. Demarco told you about Sterling?”
“Not much to be ‘onest, boss. It’s just the way Cam talks about ‘im. I get the idea ‘e’s scared of ‘im.”
“He sounds like a bastard.”
“Yeah, ‘e does. Is there any more news from Lincoln?” If the agents in Vegas had already scooped him up, having Cam deliver the car was redundant.
“I’ll bring you up to speed. Lincoln’s team is working hand in hand with our motor vehicle theft unit now.
SAC Clara Bowman is the head of the unit.
She filled Lincoln in on an investigation they’ve been running into a group who’re trafficking in high value automobiles across not only state lines but also our borders.
They’ve been investigating Josiah Sterling in relation to that case for a long time, but so far, they haven’t made big inroads.
Once Lincoln brought her up to speed with his team’s case against the drug trafficking ring, she agrees Josiah Sterling has to be the same man they’ve been after. ”
If this Sterling guy was the same character, Mickey and I might’ve just stumbled into something big. But the idea that Cam was wrapped up in a drug and auto trafficking ring felt all kinds of wrong. I really didn’t want to think of the repercussions he might have to face when Sterling got caught.
“Mars?”
I shook myself out of my own thoughts. “Yeah, boss, sorry. I was just thinking. What else did the SAC tell Lincoln?”
“Bowman says Josiah Sterling is also being investigated for murder. He’s a really bad guy, Mars.”
“Blimey.”
“This Cam Demarco person…how deeply is he involved, Mars?”
I shook my head. “If you’re asking whether ‘e knows anything about murder or even drugs, I’d say that’s a definite no.
‘E told Mickey and me that Josiah ‘urts people but never went into detail.
I ‘onestly don’t think ‘e knows much more than SAC Bowman’s team does.
‘E wouldn’t work for ‘im if ‘e thought ‘e was killing folks.”
“Hmm,” Candy said. “It sounds like you trust this person even though you know he’s a criminal.”
“There’s criminals and there’s violent criminals, boss. ‘E’s not the kind of guy ‘oo’s capable of ‘urting someone. It’s just not in ‘im. ‘E works at it because I really think it’s all ‘e knows ‘ow to do, not because ‘e’s a career criminal so to speak. Ya know. ‘Ard core.”
“How would you know that about him? You just met him this morning, Clifford.”
“Yeah, but I ‘ave a good feeling for ‘oo’s really bad, Captain.
I just know ‘e’s not violent. You can ask Mickey about that.
‘E just lives ‘is life, taking care of ‘is sick mum ‘oo lives in a nice place because ‘e pays the bills for ‘er to stay there.
‘Is own flat is just…ya know…like a normal place, no fancy TV or stacks of gold coins on every surface or whatnot. ‘E’s a normal guy with a kind of fucked up past.”
“What do you mean, fucked up past?”
“’E learned ‘ow to steal cars when ‘e was a kid, then ‘is brother died, and ‘is mum got sick. ‘E’s been the responsible party, taking care of ‘er since ‘e was really young, that’s all I’m saying.”
“It sounds like you’re already way too invested in this guy, Clifford.
Don’t forget he’s a criminal and his crimes are serious.
If he’s tangled up in Sterling’s vehicle trafficking ring and somehow knows about the murders or the drugs, he might be looking at years in prison when this all shakes out. ”
I was silent for a few seconds. I needed to convince Candy about Cam, but God knows how.
Candy was right about everything Josiah Sterling was doing, but not Cam.
He hadn’t seen him with his mum. I wasn’t wrong.
How the hell to convince Candy, though, was another story.
“I know, Captain, but ya ‘ave to believe me about Cam. Seriously, ask Mickey. ‘E’ll tell ya I’m right about ‘im.”
“I won’t be asking Mickey since I’m going to be meeting him myself.”
“You’re right, boss.” Cam was going to put up a fight about going back to L.A. with us; I already knew it.
“After he delivers the stolen car tonight, come straight back here to L.A. Agent Bowman and I are going to sit down with him to learn everything we can about Josiah Sterling’s operation. Now that we have someone on the inside, Bowman is really anxious to debrief him.”
“So, you’re planning on using ‘im as an informant?” I wanted to do a fist pump. The best way to keep Cam out of prison was to have the Bureau protecting him, whether he liked it or not.
There was a long pause before I heard Candy huff out an exasperated breath.
“What do you think you’ve been doing with this guy all day, Mars?
Of course, we’re going to use him as an informant.
It’s why I gave Mickey the go ahead with your little undercover auto theft today. What did you think was happening here?”
“Course, boss,” I said, running my fingers through my hair as I paced. Sweat trickled down my back, soaking through my shirt. It was hot as blazes out here. “So, we’ll ‘ave Cam drop off the car, ‘opefully get a look at this Josiah bloke, and then bring Cam back to L.A.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re clear on it.”
“Boss…um…’ow long do ya think ‘e’ll be in L.A.?”
“He’ll be here for as long as it takes to wrap up this case, Clifford. Why?” The suspicion in his tone was clear.
“Because ‘is mum is ‘ere and ya know, ‘e takes care of ‘er, and—”
“Listen, Clifford. Mr. Demarco is going to be in L.A. as long as it takes to bring down Sterling’s trafficking ring.
I shouldn’t think it’ll be a lengthy relocation if what he tells us is helpful.
Make that clear to him or leave it vague.
That’s up to you. Mickey said his mother is in a care home, right? ”
“Yeah, but, boss—”
“He’s not responsible for her everyday care then.
Sorry, but I really can’t be bothered to care a whole lot with how he feels about their separation, even though I agree, he’s in a tough situation when it comes to her.
She’s no doubt well taken care of. Don’t get me wrong, Mars.
I’m sorry for her predicament, but it’s her son the FBI is interested in.
I shouldn’t have to remind you once again that he’s a criminal.
Put aside your feelings about him and don’t feel sorry for him.
He chose this line of work for himself and he’s the one who is ultimately responsible for the outcome of those decisions. Are you clear on that?”
“Yeah, boss, course I am.” But he wasn’t responsible for drug trafficking or murder. Of that, I was almost certain.
“Good. As long as we’re clear. See you back in L.A. tomorrow.”
I nodded, though, he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, boss. Okay, we’ll be there.” I waited a few seconds and hung up, hating that in only a few hours, Cam’s entire life was going to change, probably for the worse.
CAM
Just after eight, I retrieved the Maybach from Gary’s garage and headed for Josiah’s place.
Mars followed in the Camaro, hanging back so he and Mickey wouldn’t be spotted as I drove onto the car lot.
Before retrieving the car, Mars had given me an earpiece so that he could talk into my ear the way they did on all those cop shows I liked.
As soon as I approached the car lot, I spoke.
“It’s this place on the right, guys,” I yelled. “Park on the street out front but stay out of sight.”
“Bloody ‘ell!” Mars cursed. “Lower ya voice, mate. Ya nearly took out me eardrums. That’s wearing a military grade earwig, ya are. It’ll pick up not only your voice but the voices of anyone standing close by. Ya don’t ‘ave to yell.”
I felt kind of sheepish. Of course, he was right.
“Sorry, man.” Mickey had mentioned it, but I’d totally forgotten because it was super exciting being sent to talk to Josiah like some…
undercover agent or something. Admittedly, I felt kind of bulletproof even though that kind of thinking was exactly what could get me hurt if Josiah ever found out.
“That’s okay,” Mars replied quietly. “You’re new to all this.”
I thought back on their instructions. “Just go in there and act normal,” Mickey had said.
“Whatever you do, don’t touch the earwig or they’ll know you’re wearing it.
” I’d nodded, feeling practically giddy with excitement.
Being a part of something good was a weirdly different feeling than I normally had, especially when I was talking to Josiah.
He’d always been a condescending fucker on a grand scale.