Chapter 16 #2
“Ned works with the Brazilians, but not sure yet if he works for them. Maybe this is a tryout, a bid for a permanent job. But the brothers have grown the family business and are spreading internationally.”
“Captain, what have your men been up to—any sign of Whittier? We need to come up with a plan to get her out without blowing the sting to catch the Brazilians red-handed with something—anything at this point. We need to turn Jean Luc.” He turned to face Shana again.
“We’re watching the house. The cell phone message coming out of there wasn’t enough for us to get a search warrant.”
“We agreed we can’t give them any warning.
We can’t go in there blasting our way hoping to find her and then find that she’s not there.
We need to sneak in like burglars—beat them at their own game—find out if she’s there and then break her free.
” Dane paced in a circle. He was aware of the skeptical look darted his way from Shana.
For their parts, at least Chauncey and Captain Nice listened without critical pusses.
“We need to—”
“Don’t say it again. I know. We need to turn Jean Luc,” Shana said.
“Any reason tonight can’t be the night?
“It’s a big risk if we don’t get him on board,” Cap said.
“So we need some insurance. We need to let him think we’ve got something on him and this is his only way out. We need to let him think we know about the girl and his role in it all and that turning is his only way out,” Chauncey said.
“What we need to do is threaten him. Tell him we’ll let on to Ned that he squealed if he doesn’t. Then turn him over. That ought to scare him into seeing our way,” Dane said.
“Is that really necessary?” Shana asked.
“Getting squeamish? Can’t stand the heat?” Dane said.
“Stop it. I get it. It’s just—”
“What? He’s innocent? He’s really a good guy with a big heart deep down? He really does love all those women he’s bilked for millions?” Dane sneered.
“So what do you want me to do?”
“Bring him home and we’ll be there waiting for him. We’ll take it from there,” Dane said.
“Is that really wise? Shouldn’t we run it by the governor?” Cap asked.
“We’ve got to call him anyway for an update.”
“If he had anything he’d have called us,” Shana said.
Dane’s phone rang. His house phone. He took two steps to his left and answered it.
“Blaise.”
“Secure line?” Governor Peter John Douglas should know better than most what the answer was.
“Do cows have tits?”
“I believe they actually have udders.”
Dane laughed, then brought the phone over to the table and put it on speaker.
“We’re all here and taking your name in vain.”
“We got some confirmation from Interpol that Brazilian money is backing the surfing competition. So far nothing to tie it with any underhandedness. All we have is the unusually exorbitant fee, the recruitment of the young and wealthy amateurs and our missing Susan Whittier who was alleged to have signed up for it. Although her parents checked her account and saw that she wrote a check—which is in and of itself unusual for her—she always uses her credit card, they insist—the check was never cashed.”
“That tracks with Shana’s entry fee—Ruse insisted on check or money order, he even said he’d take cash, but no credit.”
Shana glared at him when he spoke for her, but he didn’t have time to worry about being sensitive to her chip. Not that he ever would.
“All the better to leave less of a trail. Cash all the checks, close the account, pull up stakes and leave town.”
“Any sign of Susan?” The governor had an unmistakable tinge of worry in his voice.
“My men have been keeping their eyes open,” Cap said, “and we’ve checked Ruse’s premises as much as possible without a search warrant.”
“How about an entry under false pretext.”
“You mean like we pretend we’re the cable guys?” Dane asked.
Chauncey perked up. “I’ll do it. I’m famous for that sort of thing back in London.”
“Not so sure Ned would fall for it. Strikes me as a man who runs a pretty tight ship and since we’ve already tipped our hand about the police thinking Susan Whittier is missing, he’ll be looking for something.”
“I could get inside. No subterfuge necessary.” Shana spoke up, staring at the phone as if she could see the governor in the digital dial pad.
“Shana—hello. You think so?”
“I have a date with Jean—Ruse tonight. I think I can manage an invitation.”
“That’s not a good idea.” Dane kept his voice even, though his pulse ratcheted up and he felt like grabbing the girl by the hair and … and he didn’t know what.
“Why not—”
“Don’t listen to him—” Shana cut off the governor, but Dane cut her off.
“We don’t want to end up with two missing women. I have a better idea.”
“I’m listening,” Peter said.
“We need to turn Ruse.”
“And by ‘we’, he means me,” Shana put in.
“No. We ambush him, and by we I mean me, Chauncey and Captain Lynch. Like I said, you get him back to the house and we’ll be waiting for him.”
“What makes you think he’ll cooperate?” Peter wanted to know.
“This is where the plan gets sticky,” Chauncey said.
“We leave him no choice,” Dane said.
“You lie to him—make him think you have him dead-to-rights,” Peter said.
“Except we don’t exactly have a good story to tell him at this point.” Captain Lynch folded his arms. Dane knew he’d side with Shana.
“Maybe. Maybe not,” Chauncey said. “We tell him we got him on aiding the Brazilians with Ned—tell him the surfing competition is a front for smuggling women—probably not far off the truth—we may find out more about it yet. It’s definitely fishy.”
“I’ll go with that,” Dane said. Chauncey nodded.
“Then that’s our plan?” Shana said. “If you want to know what I think—I think he’d be thrilled to turn on Ned. If it wasn’t for his brother. Don’t forget his little brother dragged him into this mess. He’s Jean Luc’s Achilles’ heel. And that means somehow we need to take care of his brother.”
Shana had a point. He’d lost sight of the pesky kid brother. That knowledge stung his gut, but he cranked his mind around it to adjust.
“You’re right,” he said to Shana. “We tell him we have his kid brother linked solid to Ned and his people and if we don’t get his cooperation we’re going to run his brother in for questioning just long enough for Ned to get suspicious about how much he talked.
Long enough for Ned to get good and suspicious, enough to do what Ned does. ”
Captain Nice smiled. “Now that sounds like motivation that’ll work.”
“We’re sure Ruse cares about the fate of his brother?” Peter asked for confirmation.
Shana spoke up. “Absolutely certain. It’s why he’s running the competition and why he’s putting up with Ned, who he’d rather grind under his heel and shove down the nearest sewer drain where he belongs. Those were his words.”
“Thank you for that, Shana. I feel reassured,” Peter said.
Chauncey and Captain Nice exchanged a glance between them when Shana frowned. Dane knew Peter was not mocking her, but the others weren’t sure. He’d let them sort it out for themselves.
“Time to go then,” Dane said. “Keep us updated if you get anything worthy of a search warrant. I’m not holding my breath. They’ve got everyone in town towing his party line about his wonderful and exciting surfing competition. All above board.”
“Nice pun,” Peter said.” I’ll check back in at 0600 one way or another.”
“Give my regards to the mad woman.” Dane snatched up the phone, marched it back to the kitchen and plunked it on the base charger before turning back to the others. ”The mad woman is Peter’s wife,” he said to Shana’s frown.
They rose from their chairs, except Shana.
“You need to get going. You can’t go on your date dressed like that.” Dane didn’t mean to sound harsh. Captain Lynch flashed him a mean glare. Shana kept her face still, but rose from her seat and walked to the door.
“Keep in communication at all times,” he said to her as she passed in front of him, in more of a hiss than a command. She didn’t even look at him. Captain Lynch opened the door for her and escorted her through as if she were his date. They left without a further word.
Chauncey stood in his kitchen, leaning against his counter and contemplating as he finished the last of his beer.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” His words were mild and his look more understanding than scolding.
Dane shrugged, some of his tension gone with the girl, and would have given Chauncey the “what are you talking about?” response, but the man cut him off before he started.
“No—don’t bother denying it. It’s Shana.
She’s under your skin bad and we all know it.
Problem is, my dear man, this mission depends on a clear-minded leader we can all trust to remain rational under pressure—even if thus far it hasn’t been the most dangerous one we’ve all seen.
I sense danger lurks underneath if Ned’s attempt to come after you and threaten you are any indication. ”
“Thanks for the lecture. It’s bound to help.
” Dane swiped a hand through his hair. It was still wet.
His insides still felt twisted. The knifing stab across his shoulder blades reminded him that the reprieve in his tension level had been very temporary.
She was gone from his house, but not from his head.
Chauncey snorted. “If you want me to take the lead—or to back you up—let me know. I’ve been where you are. It’s not easy. I know. Damned painful position.”
“Your wife?” Dane had to know even though he knew already.
Chauncey nodded. Dane flinched and the sting went through him in a wave.
“It’s not like that—”
“Save it.”
Dane wasn’t ready to talk about it, so they stared each other down for a moment before Chauncey gave him a grim smile and slapped him on the back. No words. Dane’s fondness for the man leapt forward.
Then he dragged his mind back to the task at hand.
“I’m going to give Oscar a call to see what he knows,” Dane said.
“He’s an old friend with ties south of the border, unofficially works for the CIA.
Maybe he can short cut the official channels.
Not good intel for a search warrant, but good for Shana’s safety.
Maybe good intel to help turn Jean Luc.” Dane huffed out a breath, then added, “Our girl was right about the man wanting to protect his brother Roger.”
“We’ll need to get Roger off the street. And what about Tamara?” Chauncey asked.
“Her too. Lynch can do it.”
“You don’t like him,” Chauncey said.
“I like him fine. He’s good at what he does.”
Chauncey grunted and nodded in understanding. Dane didn’t know what Chauncey understood, he only knew he wasn’t sure about how he felt on the subject of Captain Nice. He pushed his two hands through his hair as if straightening the damp tangle would straighten the confused mess in his head.