Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
"Oh!" Evan said, jumping to his feet. "Oh, oh, oh!" Each oh went higher than the last as he grabbed the top of his head.
"What is it?" Rochelle rushed across the rental to stand beside him. She scanned the laptops, but there was so much information Rochelle didn't know where to start.
"Oh!" Evan said again, his eyes wide.
Rochelle grabbed his arms and turned him to face her. "Evan, take a breath and tell me what's going on. I have very little patience and we don't have time for theatrics." The temptation to shake him was clawing at her.
"It's the dude," Evan said, pointing at the screen in the middle.
"What. Dude?" Rochelle ground out between her teeth.
"The security dude. The dead dude. The one the stalker killed. That dude!"
"I swear, if you say dude one more time, I'm banning you from the internet for a month."
He sucked in a breath. "That's cold," he said. But the shock of the threat seemed to break his annoying hysteria. "It's this."
He turned and tapped at the screen, which was suddenly filled with only one email. The email was from Elle in the London office.
"Explain this to me," Rochelle snapped, because it looked like Elle had sent through every attachment she could find.
Evan leaned in and tapped the keyboard. "This!" He held out a hand like he was presenting his grand invention.
Rochelle leaned in and read the start of the document Elle had sent. "Damn," she muttered.
"Exactly," Evan said, folding his arms like everything made sense now.
Rochelle scrolled down a bit, scanned the text, checked out the attached photo, then stood. "Is Elle sure about this?"
"She's Elle," Evan said, like that explained everything.
It didn't. "Where did she get this information? Because it wouldn't have been easy to find. Not when people's lives are at risk because of it."
"Dunno." Evan shrugged. "When it comes to Elle you don't ask."
"Can you verify this information?" Rochelle asked.
"No point." Evan tapped the screen again. Document after document opened up in quick succession. "She already did."
''Then we might have the leverage we need to get some help after all." Rochelle pulled out her phone and called her contact at the DEA. The same guy she'd spoken to earlier who'd been unable to help, even though he'd been very apologetic about it.
"Rick," Rochelle said.
Before she could say anything else, Rick interrupted.
"Although it's always great to hear from you, Chelle, nothing has changed from the last time you called.
My hands are tied, I can't put boats in the water on the hunch Damien has a criminal partner he's meeting tonight.
" He sighed. "Plus, have you looked out there?
Nobody is meeting on the water tonight."
Rochelle wandered out into the hallway to get some privacy. "Something has changed," she said, hating that she had to be the one to deliver the news. "You had an undercover agent working security for Damien."
There was a tense silence on the other end of the phone. "How do you know that?"
"It's not important." She took a breath, but Rick spoke first.
"You said had," he said, a sense of knowing already in his voice.
"I'm sorry, Rick. He was killed yesterday."
There was low cursing on the other end of the phone. "He was a good man," Rick sounded strained. "Was it Poole?"
"No, but he was killed because he worked for Poole.
" She'd explain properly when there was more time.
"I have a recorded conversation between Poole and his partner, talking about your agent's death.
And there's mention of a shipment and keeping everything secure in the florist's warehouse.
That's the last location your guy worked, guarding a private room at the back of the warehouse.
I know it isn't a smoking gun, but it might give you some probable cause to go in and find out what happened to your agent. "
There was silence.
"Also," she continued. "By the end of the night, we should have more evidence we can pass your way."
"Do I want to know how you'll manage that miracle?"
"Probably not," she said.
"And what do you want for this information?" Rick sounded resigned.
"I want you to herd Damien's partner to Wedding Island.
I want you to place a DEA presence in the water around St. Patrice that will make it impossible for Damien and his partner to meet away from the island.
I want Wedding Island to look like a sanctuary to these guys, the only safe place they can hole up out of the storm. "
"Why are you so desperate for the meeting to take place on Wedding Island?"
"I have a client," Rochelle said. "He needs to know who the partner is, and this is the only way to make it happen for him. If we miss this chance, who knows when and where the next meeting will be. It's tonight or never. Will you help me?" She held her breath.
"I don't know, Chelle." Rick sounded conflicted.
At least it wasn't a straight out no this time.
"I'm gonna need more than a vague recorded conversation, and a report we lost a man.
Merz wasn't due to check in for another week.
From an official perspective, we don't even know he's gone missing yet, let alone he's dead. We need proof."
"I have his phone, is that proof enough?"
"How the hell did you get his phone?"
"Let's just say it was removed from him shortly before he was killed. Surely, him losing his phone is evidence enough something has gone wrong."
Rick sighed. "You haven't looked at it yet?"
"We haven't had time to hack it. We've been kinda busy trying to force the meeting back to Wedding Island.
" She pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache start behind her sinuses.
Tension, probably. Lord knows she had more than her fair share.
"Rick, we can help each other. I promise you that by the end of the night, you'll have more than enough evidence to blow Wedding Island sky high.
But I can't get it alone. I need you to herd Damien's partner to the island. Will you help me?"
"Fine," Rick said. "But I want that phone and anything else you have. And you better not let me down on your promise of more evidence after tonight."
"When have I ever broken a promise?" she said, relief in her voice.
"Never." There was a smile in his.
Rochelle took another weary breath. "There's one more thing."
"What?" He didn't even sound surprised.
"There are at least two other crime bosses on the island this weekend. It looks like they're there for weddings, but we think they're there to negotiate with Damien and his partner."
There was a heavy pause. "I haven't heard anything about this," he said, sounding worried.
Rochelle had to wonder if his undercover agent had been passing along all the information he should have. "I'm only telling you what we've seen. There's a guy from Romania and another from Paraguay. Midrange crime operations. One deals in drugs, the other guns."
"What the hell is going on over there?" Rick said with exasperation. "And why am I only hearing about this now?"
"I'm sorry, Rick, I don't know the answer to that, but I can promise you that by the end of the night, we'll know a whole lot more."
"I'm holding you to that," Rick said solemnly. "I'll get boats in the water. Consider your crime boss herded to the island. The rest is up to you. Oh, and Chelle?"
"Yeah?"
"You better hope this storm doesn't damage any of my boats or put my guys in danger."
"Understood," Rochelle said before the line went dead.
"Uh, boss?" Evan said when she walked back into the room. "We've got a problem with communication. Cell phone service is cutting in and out and I'm worried we'll lose it all together."
The problems just kept on coming.
Rochelle put her hands on her hips as she tried to figure out a solution to their setback. Her gaze swept over the dead guard's phone on Evan's table. And sitting beside it, was his two-way radio.
She pointed to the radio. "Can you boost the signal on that so we can talk to Wedding Island from here?"
"Sure." Evan grinned. "Good thinking, boss. The island isn't far away, so I should be able to boost it enough to talk to our people, if we need it."
"Great. In the meantime, I’m going to update Rodrigo while the phones are still working." She glanced at the clock in the kitchen. "They should still have enough time to get organized and out to the estate for the meeting. We might manage to pull this op off after all."
Rodrigo lazed back in his chair as he watched Violet's family on the dance floor. They were trying to dance the Calypso while the band played loudly and shouted encouragement, but it wasn't going well. He grinned as Samuel and Rosey stopped dancing because they were laughing so hard.
The largest of the resort's bars was packed for the evening as everyone had come inside to avoid the weather. The hotel was doing their best to keep their guests distracted and entertained, so they wouldn't worry, and the result was a room filled with tipsy people having a good time.
Logan and Harris had arrived earlier that afternoon and had promptly been interrogated by Mrs. Lee as to why they'd missed the wedding, where Evan had gotten to, and what on earth they'd done to their hair.
It had been hilarious to watch the young men tap dance with their answers.
At one point, Harris had declared that his dyed black hair and stick-on beard were an attempt to hide from his brothers.
He insisted it had to be working because Evan clearly hadn't found them yet.
Mrs. Lee had rolled her eyes in disgust then ripped his stupid beard from his face.
Rodrigo had to admit, he looked a helluva lot less conspicuous without it.
As he watched, Harris was currently entertaining a table full of bridesmaids, while Logan was trying to get Violet's gran to dance. If nothing else, the triplets were good entertainment. Even Abasi, who was working the bar, kept getting distracted by their antics.
Rodrigo's phone buzzed in his inside jacket pocket, and he took it out. When he saw it was Rochelle, he signaled to Katrina that he had to take the call. She nodded, aware she was now on Lee family watch
"Hey boss," he said by way of greeting, once he’d gotten to a quiet location in the corridor outside the bar.
"The op is back on." Rochelle launched right into it. "I've managed to get the DEA to police the waters and herd Damien's partner to Wedding Island. He should be there soon, as planned."
"Whoa." Rodrigo straightened away from the wall he’d been leaning on. "How did you manage that?"
"Turns out the guard who was killed is an undercover DEA agent. That motivated them."
Rodrigo let out a low whistle. "Did you tell them who killed the guy?"
"Not yet. It's too difficult to explain over the phone."
And most likely, the explanation wouldn't have gotten them the help they desperately needed. Rodrigo would have made the same decision if he'd been in Rochelle's shoes.
"I'll get Abasi and Violet and we'll head to the estate straight away.
With the information we got from the bugs we placed and Evan's drone footage, we have a good idea where Damien's private dock is located and what route his guest will take to the house.
We should be able to get eyes on this mystery man when he meets with Damien.
Hell, who knows? Maybe the bugs will pick up the meeting too. There are still a few active, right?"
"Yes, but Evan's sure at least one of them is in a bathroom, so no luck there.
How will you get to the estate without being seen?
Damien has an army on the ground, not to mention cameras all over the place, and we have no idea what kind of protection his partner travels with.
You'll be seriously outnumbered and there will be eyes everywhere. "
"Fortunately," Rodrigo said. "We have the storm for cover, and we don't need to get into Damien's house, we just need to be close enough to get eyes, and hopefully ears, on the meeting with his partner."
"You're right," Rochelle said. "I keep forgetting the evidence we need only has to be good enough for Max's story. It doesn't have to stand up in court."
"No, and that makes things a whole lot easier," Rodrigo said. "While we're out there, I think we should take a look at whatever they're doing in the florist's warehouse. The more intel we gather, the better for Max, and for the DEA."
"Only if you’re sure it's safe enough." Rochelle didn't sound convinced. "The priority is Max and his story. That means we go after Damien and his partner first."
"Don't worry, we won't get distracted," Rodrigo assured her. "I'd better go round up the team." There was static on the line. "Rochelle? You still there?"
Rodrigo looked at the screen of his phone. It told him there was no cell coverage one minute, then those precious bars were back the next. His phone rang again.
"Rochelle?" he said answering straight away.
"Cell coverage is affected by the storm," she said. "Evan said it could cut out entirely. I've got him working on the two-way radio Violet got off the guard, hopefully he can boost the signal enough to communicate with you."
"That's good, we'll get our hands on another couple of radios at this end," Rodrigo said.
"Be safe," Rochelle ordered before the line went dead.
Rodrigo immediately dialed Violet, to let her know the op was on and he was heading her way.
There was no reply. So he tried Max. Nothing.
He tried Violet again, but this time his phone said he didn't have cell service.
It was clear the phones weren't reliable anymore. He'd have to tell her in person.
Once back in the bar, he leaned in close to Katrina to talk in her ear.
"That was Rochelle," he said. "The meet is happening on the island as planned.
The partner should be arriving soon. I'm going to round up the team and head out now.
I tried to get ahold of Violet, but she isn't answering, plus we're losing cell phone coverage.
It's cutting in and out. So I'm just going to head over there. "
As he spoke, he scanned the bar for trouble and his eyes found Violet's grandmother, who was staring at him with interest. He smiled at her. She cocked an imperious eyebrow. Oh, yeah, she was suspicious.
"What do you want me to do?" Katrina asked.
"Keep an eye on the family. Harris will help. If there's even a hint of trouble, get them to safety and hole up until we come for you."
"Okay." She nodded, worried now. "What do I tell her family if they ask what's going on?"
"If it gets desperate, tell them the truth." Rodrigo straightened and squeezed her shoulder before striding off to pick up Logan and Abasi.
All the while, he could feel Lian's stare burning a hole between his shoulder blades.