Chapter Eleven
RAVEN
I opened my eyes, turning my head on the pillow. Miguel was sleeping on his left side, turned away from me. It was still dark outside but a glance at the clock confirmed it was near dawn. My sleep hadn’t been good, worry nagging at me while I tried to figure out how I was going forward with our responsibilities at work, now that I was being forced to navigate Miguel’s convalescence and our situation. I’d called Judy after everyone except Beth and Kindness left yesterday to fill her in on everything that had transpired since we’d left the hospital.
I asked her to forward the business phones to her cell and close up the office. I wanted her home and safe. The last thing I wanted was to worry about Judy getting a visit from the cartel, so I made the reluctant decision that we wouldn’t be taking on any new clients until this mess was resolved. There was no reason for the doors to be open. Until all these criminals were behind bars, we weren’t going back.
I informed her that I’d be checking in on her every day, however, at least until all this shit was sorted out. Judy was completely stunned by what had been happening and I had a feeling she didn’t quite believe me. I mean…Mexican drug cartels and assassins? It sounded crazy even to me.
I called her later in the evening to follow up. I wanted to make sure everything went okay at the office, but it was really just an excuse to check on her one more time. When I got her on the phone, she’d excitedly told me that Snow and McCallahan had shown up as she was gathering files and her laptop. She was slightly worried when two big guys walked in, but when they’d flashed their credentials, she’d grabbed what she needed, including her phone and computer. They’d said if she wanted to forward the office phones to her cell, that was fine, but then politely asked if the FBI could monitor any calls she received.
She hadn’t agreed to that until she spoke to me. I loved how loyal she was to Miguel and me. I knew it was a horrible inconvenience, but she seemed almost excited to be helping out law enforcement and catching bad guys. I said we trusted these men with our lives and to do whatever they asked. Honestly, I figured she might be able to help. The best thing—Judy told me—was that Lincoln had given her an encrypted laptop to work on. That way, they could monitor all the emails we got on the off chance the killer might try to pass themselves off as a new client needing an urgent recovery. It just made sense.
She was excited as hell, which just made me laugh. My own little sleuth with mad hacking skills. I said the FBI would probably try to hire her away after all this. She told me to bite myself, give Miguel a kiss for her, and then hung up on me as I laughed into the phone.
I listened to Miguel softly snoring for another minute and then carefully slid out of bed. Stanley was once again curled up at Miguel’s feet after I’d found him in the living room, gnawing on the skewer of chicken he’d stolen the night before. I replaced it with a fresh bowl of his favorite cat food and after he was finished, took him off to our room where the litter box was, saying good night to the agents.
Kindness and Beth had taken an extra shift, and another fresh team would replace them this morning. I jumped into the shower and then dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, knowing I wouldn’t be leaving the suite. I might as well be comfortable. I glanced at Miguel’s sleeping form once more before letting myself out of the bedroom.
I smelled coffee before I got halfway down the hall. Someone else was an early riser like me. I was surprised when I found four people in the dining room, sipping coffee. Max Prince and his husband, Dr. Reeves, as well as Kindness and Beth were huddled around pictures spread out on the table. I tried to get a glimpse at all of them before Max swept them into a folder and closed it.
“Good morning,” Kindness greeted. “The coffee’s fresh. I just put on a new pot since the brains of these two don’t work until they have two cups in them every morning.” She smiled warmly at her colleagues and they returned it.
“Thanks.” I glanced at the two men. “How are you?”
Dr. Reeves smiled broadly and stepped forward to shake my hand. Prince did the same.
“Good, Mr. Mathis,” the doctor replied.
“Please call me Raven. All the misters this, and misters that, are going to get annoying.”
“Of course. That goes for Max and me too. Being called doctor all the time can get old,” he replied. “Call me Leo.”
“Thank you.” I hooked a thumb in the direction of the kitchen. “I’m gonna get that coffee. Anyone want a refill?”
“Is there ever enough coffee?” Max grumbled. It was like listening to Miguel.
I chuckled but walked into the kitchen, noticing for the first time that there was also a stove and microwave, and pulled down a mug. I filled it, happy to find half and half in the fridge. It was fully stocked, as promised. I recognized several Styrofoam containers from our dinner the night before, crowding the space. I smiled, knowing Miguel was going to be happy with leftovers for lunch. That Tom Yum soup had been out of this world. After fixing my coffee, I took the pot to the dining room and filled the agents’ cups before sliding into a chair.
“How’s Miguel?” Kindness asked.
“Still sleeping. I know he hates being down for the count, but right now, I think sleeping is all he should do. He needs to rest his brain and just shut down.”
“It happens,” Max said. “I saw my share of concussions when I was in the military. It’ll probably take a few days. I hope that agent gets his ass handed to him.”
I nodded, noticing he had a bit of a southern drawl; I wondered where he was from. “So, what’s going on?”
“Beth and I are going to leave you in Max and Leo’s capable hands today,” Kindness said.
I nodded at both women, whom I was beginning to count as friends. We suddenly had so many in law enforcement. I knew I probably shouldn’t, but at the moment, I felt very safe.
“When Miguel is awake, we’re going to call Snow. He wants to talk with both of you about things,” Leo said.
I frowned. “What things?”
“We’re gonna wait until Snow gets here so we don’t have to explain it all twice.”
A sudden pang of uneasiness shot through me. “That sounds…ominous.”
“It’s…maybe, but don’t worry. Cassidy and Mike are also coming. They should be here in the next hour,” Max said. “For now, have some breakfast. Leo and I stopped for croissants. The box is in the kitchen.”
I patted my stomach. “I saw it. Thank you. That was nice of you but after the feast we had last night, I can’t even look at food. What I really need is a run.”
“Well, you can’t go outside to do that, but we had a treadmill brought up for y’all that you can use after we finish with Snow,” Max drawled. “It sounds like Miguel ain’t gonna be up to it, though.”
“He’s not supposed to exert himself until his head is better. He nearly passed out last night after getting up too fast to chase the cat when he stole food off the table.”
“Yeah, concussions can be a bitch, but he should be feeling a little better by now,” Leo said.
“As soon as the doctor’s office opens, I’m going to give them a call,” I said.
“You can have a virtual appointment on one of our secured laptops, but we’ve been told you’re staying put,” Max said. “At least that’s the plan for now.”
“But that might change?” I was dying from curiosity to know what Cassidy, Mike, and Snow were going to tell us when they got here.
“We’ll wait until Miguel is awake and then call Snow,” Max reiterated.
I sighed. It was clear to me that they weren’t spilling the beans about anything. I sipped my coffee in silence as the others exchanged loaded glances with each other.
“So, your cat stole food right off the table, huh ?” Max asked, changing the subject. I could see the smile playing around his lips . Very handsome man .
I nodded. “Little shit jumped right up on the table, snatched a skewer of chicken satay, and had it on the ground before anyone could do anything about it. It’s kind of a miracle he didn’t drive the skewer through his teeny tiny brain.”
Max glared at Kindness. “Why wasn’t I invited? You know I love Thai food. “Where’d you get it?”
“Good Thai Kitchen.”
“Oh, man, I love that place,” Leo groaned. He glanced at his husband. “We need to go there as soon as we get the chance.”
Max smiled at him and reached over to squeeze his bicep.
I loved how affectionate they were with each other. I got up when I heard the door opening at the other end of the suite. Setting down my coffee cup, I headed to meet Miguel halfway down the hall. He was freshly showered and dressed, looking almost normal as he walked confidently toward me. I stopped him, sliding my arms around him. When I kissed him, he tasted like toothpaste. I studied his face as he pulled back, letting out a huge sigh of relief. The swelling in his face was greatly reduced, the lump was almost gone, leaving only bruises, and his color was back.
“Oh, God.” I sighed, leaning my forehead against his.
“What is it, Sunshine?”
“You just look so much better.” I leaned back, letting my gaze roam all over his face.
“Good genes,” he said, smiling.
I swept my gaze down his form before returning it to his face. “Are you steady on your feet? Any dizziness?”
He shook his head. “No more dizziness. I feel great this morning. I don’t even think I’m gonna need pain meds.” I breathed out another sigh of relief. “I do need one thing, though.”
“What?”
“A pot of coffee.”
I chuckled, hooking my elbow in his as he started moving down the hall. “A whole pot?”
“That’s what I said.”
We stepped into the living room and headed toward the dining room. “Max and Leo are here. Go sit with the others. I’ll grab your coffee.”
“Thanks, Raven.”
I was back at his side a minute later with a chocolate croissant and a huge mug of black coffee. He was sitting at the dining room table with the agents. I slid into the chair next to him, setting his breakfast down. He smiled at me and lifted the coffee to his mouth, drinking several gulps as the agents watched.
“You look a hell of a lot better this morning,” Kindness remarked.
“I agree. Not green around the gills anymore,” Beth added.
“I feel a lot better,” he said. “Didn’t even take any painkillers. It’s amazing what a few nights of sleep will do for a bad concussion.”
“Been there myself,” Max said.
Miguel nodded sagely, sharing the common Marine Corps bond with so many of these agents. I knew it made him feel better when he was reminded of it.
“You said something about calling Snow when Miguel woke up,” I said.
Miguel raised his eyebrows at me. “Kindness just did that.”
“He and Mac will be here with Cassidy and Mike in a few minutes,” she said, as she jumped up from the table. “I’m going to grab one of those croissants before McCallahan gets here. That giant of a man eats more than ten men combined.”
I chuckled as several of the others jumped up and headed for the kitchen. Only Leo remained in the room with us. I decided to make small talk since it was clear that no one was saying anything about whatever prompted a big meeting until everyone was in one room.
“How long have you and Max been married?”
Leo traced over the silver band he wore on his left ring finger as he smiled. “We got married in Vegas a year and a half ago.”
“Vegas? That must’ve been fun.”
“Our next-door neighbor and his boyfriend are drag queens, so they planned a bachelor party in Vegas.” He shook his head, remembering. “It would have been a total clusterfuck if the mountain lion would have eaten us.”
My eyes widened. “What?”
“And then the militia showed up,” he said with a grin.
My eyes widened. “Militia?”
“It’s kind of a long story so we’ll tell you all about it the next time we get together,” Leo said with a grin. “Anyway, we exchanged our vows and…voila, here we are, old married men.”
“That’s so romantic,” I said, looking over at Miguel. “When Miguel and I are done with this crap, we’re taking a trip ourselves.”
“Oh? Where to?”
“We’re taking my nana to Arizona to see the medicine man.”
The others came back into the room carrying plates and mugs of coffee.
“You were saying…medicine man?” Max asked.
“She was born on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. She’s in poor health, so I thought she’d do better back home on the rez, for a little while anyway. There’s nothing like traditional medicine and faith in a medicine man. I honestly believe that faith in something has healing properties all on its own.”
“I’m in total agreement,” Beth said, sipping her coffee. “When I work with kids who’ve been traumatized, I always get a feel for their belief systems and use what they tell me to decide whether what they’ve been taught is harmful or helpful.”
“How so?” Miguel asked.
“Well, for example, if a kid tells you he’s Christian or Muslim, or fill in the blank for whatever religion, but then you see scars from a cane on his back which are obviously the result of child abuse, there’s a possibility an adult was justifying the harsh behavior by using religion to punish. It happens all the time. On the other hand, lots of kids with religious faith take comfort in their belief systems. Sometimes faith is the foundation that helps heal, and sometimes that kid has lived in terror and just the mention of their faith, freaks them out.”
I nodded. “That sounds a lot like you’re working from a psychological point of view,” I said. “Which I’m sure works with kids.”
“Lincoln’s team is different,” Kindness said. She pointed at Leo. “Leo is our profiler, right?” I nodded. “His whole job is to decipher what’s going on in a suspect’s mind. Believe me, a lot of loonies are motivated by what they call their ‘faith.’” She made air quotes.
“I get it.”
There was a knock at the hotel room door and Max went to answer it. A few seconds later, Lincoln, Mac, Perez, Cassidy, and Mike walked into the room. Cassidy immediately walked over and put a hand on Miguel’s shoulder.
“How’re you feeling, Miguel? I heard you had a dizzy spell last night.” He glanced over at Kindness and nodded before looking back down at Miguel. “Mike and I get updates,” he replied to the unasked question.
“I feel much better. No more dizziness and the bruises look worse than they feel,” Miguel said, reaching up to prod the cheekbone under his right eye. “I have a low-level headache but that’s about it.”
Cassidy patted him on the back. “Good.”
Lincoln, Mac, and our detective friends all shook hands with us as the agents cleared away cups and plates from the table.
“I’m glad to hear you’re doing better, Miguel,” Lincoln said, taking a seat at the table and putting down a laptop. “We’ve made some progress on this case, and we wanted to share it with you two.” He glanced at me and sat forward.
“Great.”
He opened the laptop and positioned the screen so everyone could see it. After tapping a few keys, a live feed popped up. I was shocked to see Judy’s smiling face and a striking, black man with long, beaded dreadlocks sitting beside her. He grinned but Judy leaned forward as if staring into a webcam and frowned.
She gasped. “Oh, my God! Miguel! Look at your poor face.”
“Judy, it looks worse than it is,” Miguel said, soothingly.
“I should introduce these two,” Lincoln said. “For those who’ve never met Judy Mendez, Miguel and Raven’s…what’s your title, Judy?”
“Office Administrator for the Trackers Recovery Agency and friend to Miguel and Raven,” she said, sitting straighter.
“Right. Thank you, Judy,” Lincoln said. “And I’d like to introduce Special Agent Noah Burgess.”
The man on the screen waved. “Nice to meet you two. I hope you’re feeling better very soon, Miguel.”
“Thank you,” Miguel replied.
“So, the reason for this meeting and why I asked Judy and Noah to join us is because since last evening, they’ve been working together at our office at the Federal Building,” Lincoln said.
This was news to me. Judy had failed to tell me that she’d been working with the FBI. I knew about the laptop they gave her but nothing else. Personally, I was thrilled that she was involved. She did her best work behind screens. I looked up when there was another knock at the door to the hotel suite.
Lincoln said, “Be right back.” He walked out of the dining room.
I exchanged a look with Miguel who simply shrugged. As far as I knew, Lincoln’s whole team along with Cassidy and Mike were here. When Lincoln returned with Damon Thorne, former CIA operative, I had to honestly admit, I wasn’t surprised in the least. Miguel and I stood and shook hands with the man.
“Sorry I’m late, Lincoln.” He glanced at us. “Nice to see you again.” He smiled and took a seat with everyone else.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Raven, give Lincoln a minute to explain,” Miguel chided.
“You’re right.” I looked back at Snow. “Sorry, Lincoln, go on.” I paid attention to the two people on the screen as Noah began.
“I asked Lincoln to bring in the laptop so we could show you a live feed,” he said.
I could hear birdsong and a whirring sound as the camera—a security camera if I had to guess—slowly panned the long, red dirt road from one side to the other, showing off lush, dense jungle foliage. When the screen switched to a view looking into what appeared to be a residence, I knew whoever lived there had to be worth tons of money. The house itself was as rich as anything I’d ever seen in the movies or TV, because you couldn’t find palatial mansions built to look like old-school, tropical plantation houses on every block.
The structure was painted completely white, set back behind an enormous fountain of three white dolphins. The sculpture of dolphins shooting water through their mouths high into the air and then landing in a round pool was impressive, but the rolling lawns put the houses we’d seen in Beverly Hills to shame. What struck me most, beyond the beauty of the flowers, the bromeliads, the lush landscaping, and palm trees, was the sight of armed guard patrols. In the live feed, I counted no less than twenty patrolling the lush grounds.
“Where’s that?” Miguel said. “What are we looking at?”
“That is what multi million dollars in casino money buys you in the Cayman Islands.”
“That belongs…belonged to Benedict Flores?” Miguel asked.
“It used to,” Special Agent Burgess said.
My heart sank. “Let me take a guess.”
Miguel looked at me. “What? You think this is in the hands of the Sanchez Cartel.”
“It is now,” Judy said, minimizing the screen to a small box as she and SA Burgess came back onto the screen. I noted the small figures of guards continued moving around, confirming we were still live.
“What does that mean… now ?” Miguel asked. “And how did we get this footage?”
Judy snorted and shot up a hand as Noah turned to give her a high-five.
“I hate you both,” Miguel grumbled.
“We’ve been digging into the cartel, Benedict Flores, and the fifty million dollars ever since we talked the other day,” Cassidy said. “We figured we’d start our search with Judy’s help because you guys told Mike and me that she’s the one who found the Cayman Islands account.”
“Wait. Are you saying that Flores used to own this mansion and that after he died, the head of the Sanchez Cartel just showed up and moved in?” Miguel asked.
I looked at him. “How’d you get all that?”
He nodded and pointed to his head. “Brain hurt but still functioning.”
I swatted his arm. “Brat.” I flicked a glance at Lincoln. “So, the head of the cartel—what’s his name?”
“Oscar Castillo,” Lincoln replied.
“Right. So, Oscar Castillo is holed up in the Cayman Islands all by himself and surrounded by a million armed guards,” I said. “Well, this just gets worse and worse.”
“He’s not alone,” Damon Thorne said.
“Who’s he with?” I asked, dreading the answer.
Max opened the folder which had been lying on the table when I first walked in this morning. He pulled out several photos, and I gasped.
“That’s Gregory Aston, Brian Leopard, and Trevor, Leopard’s boyfriend.” I looked up. “What are they doing there with the cartel dude?”
“Oscar Castillo,” Lincoln said.
“Right. What are the attorney and our clients doing with Castillo?” I asked.
“Hopefully not dying,” Thorne said. “Because that would be a real shame.”