Chapter Thirty-Five #2
“You didn’t have to tell Holland where I was when you tracked my phone. You could’ve kept that to yourself.”
“I can see how you’d feel that way, what with you off having an affair while your wife was expecting your fifth—or was it your sixth—kid. Not to mention you were supposed to be at a conference in Philadelphia, not cavorting on the Jersey Shore with your side piece.”
“A real man would’ve had the back of a colleague.”
“A real man doesn’t drug women, beat and sexually assault them. I guess our definition of manhood differs a bit.”
“I bet you’re looking rather paltry to her after she’s had me.”
Archie had to remind himself he wasn’t allowed to kill the son of a bitch. But, oh, how he wanted to, and it was the first time in his life he’d ever felt the desire to commit murder.
“She’s doing great. Doesn’t remember a thing about her time with you, thankfully, so all those extra charges were for naught.
You’re nothing to her. But let me tell you what…
I’ll never forget what you did to her, and you can bet your ass that I’ll be calling my lengthy list of contacts to make sure your time in prison is as miserable as it can possibly be.
Every time someone gives you a taste of your own medicine, I want you thinking of Harlowe’s beautiful face and how she doesn’t even remember you. ”
Archie got up from the floor. “I’ve got to get back to work now. You have a good day, Dylan. Maybe I’ll give your wife a call to see what’s up. She must be getting lonely by now.”
He leaped from the bed and came to the bars, grasping them. “Stay the fuck away from my wife.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Heard there’s a girlfriend, too. You’re a busy guy. Or, well, you were a busy guy. Not getting much action now, are you? I bet they’d love a little attention from someone who isn’t about to spend the rest of his life in the can.”
“If you go near them, I’ll have you killed.”
“Is that a threat, Offenbach? Aren’t you in enough trouble without threatening the life of a law enforcement officer?
Luckily, I’ve got cameras all over this place, so I’ll be making a copy of that comment to send off to the USA as soon as I get back upstairs.
I wonder how long it’ll be before they’re filing even more charges against you.
Watch your back, Dylan. You’ll never know when someone might be coming for you.
I’ll make sure they let you know that Harlowe sent them, and I’ll tell your girlfriend you said hi. ”
“Stay the fuck away from her, you motherfucking asshole!”
Archie laughed as he walked away.
Offenbach was still screaming obscenities at him as Archie took the stairs two at a time, letting out a belch in the stairwell that echoed so loudly, it cracked him up. He went straight back to his office to make a copy of Offenbach’s threat for the U.S. Attorney.
All in all, it’d been a rather satisfying lunch break.
Neveah received a text message from Detective Williams with the Spokane Police IT department.
Hit pay dirt with an encrypted app on the sister’s phone where they orchestrated the plan. You’ve got what you need to execute arrest warrants. Come on in to take a look and plan next steps. I emailed the info about the guys they hired to you to pass on to your team at home.
Thank you very much. Will be there in an hour.
Neveah texted the update to Gonzo, telling him she’d forwarded the message about the hired hit men to his email.
Excellent. Let us know when you have them in custody.
What happens to the kids?
Spokane will have a contact with local CPS.
Got it.
I’ll arrange transport and send you the details.
She felt a little sick thinking of the kids losing both parents so suddenly, but that wasn’t her fault or her problem. Or so she tried to tell herself. As someone who’d lost a parent suddenly, she could attest to the lifelong fallout ahead for the Carver kids.
As she left the hotel room, she took everything with her so she could head right to the airport with her prisoners.
When she was en route to the police station, she received a call from Williams.
“Your targets are packing up the minivan and not even trying to be coy about it. We suggest you go right there to make the arrests. We’ll back you up.”
“Got it. On the way.”
Adrenaline zipped through her veins as she navigated workday traffic in the scenic city on her way to the Carver home.
She crossed a suspension bridge over the Spokane River, noting signs for an upcoming Lilac Festival.
As she entered the Carvers’ neighborhood, she spotted Patrol cars parked a few blocks from the house and parked behind them.
Before she got out of the car, she pulled two sets of handcuffs from her backpack and strapped on her service weapon.
Detective Williams saw her coming and waved her over, handing her a bulletproof vest.
“Thank you.” Neveah put on the vest and tightened the Velcro straps.
“Our SWAT team is surrounding the house. We’re waiting for word that they’re ready. When they give us the go-ahead, we’ll drive you over there to make the arrest.”
“Appreciate all the great support.”
“Wait until you read the messages between the sister and the professional hit men she hired to take out the brother-in-law on her sister’s behalf and how they wanted it to look like a drug deal gone wrong. They weren’t even careful about what they said because they never expected to be caught.”
“They wanted us to see the drugs and jump to that conclusion,” Neveah said.
“The thing is, if they’d killed him in the room with the drugs all around, you might not have investigated further.”
“Exactly.”
“SWAT is good to go, Detective,” one of the Patrol officers said to Williams.
“Let’s roll,” Williams said. “You can ride with us.”