COLLATERAL CASUALTIES (The Kate Huntington mystery series) (13 page)

            Mac’s Place was now run by a manager who came over to Rob’s and Kate’s booth to greet them. “What happened to you two? I thought you’d deserted me.”

            “How’s business, Jack?” Rob asked, without answering the manager’s question.

            “Not too bad, considering the current economy. Being across the street from the courthouse helps. All you fat cat lawyers coming in for lunch keeps things going for us. What can I get you all?”

            Kate and Rob gave him their order and the manager headed for the kitchen door. Even after a year, Kate still felt a small twinge of sadness that Mac wouldn’t be coming out of that kitchen to make some teasing crack.

            “How’s Liz doing?” she asked. “I haven’t seen her in ages.”

            “She’s good,” Rob said. “She wanted me to ask if you had time to go furniture shopping with her this weekend. She wants to redecorate the family room.”

            “You don’t want to go along to help pick stuff out?”

            Rob gave a mock shudder. “Being an enlightened man does not extend to enjoying shopping. I don’t care what that room looks like as long as there’s someplace to sit and watch TV.”

            “Spoken like a true man. I think I can get free for a few hours on Saturday. I wonder if  Liz would mind if I invited Janice Browning along. You remember her from our cookout in August?”

            “Janice is hard to forget,” Rob said.

            “She’ll have a new place to furnish soon. She’s divorcing Richard.”

            “Why am I not surprised?”

            Kate snorted. She told Rob the story of going to the Brownings’ condo on Sunday to retrieve Janice’s belongings. “She’s not fighting him for the condo itself since there’s very little equity in it. She’s staying with us until she can arrange for a new place.”

            Rob opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again as their crab cake sandwiches were delivered by a young waitress they didn’t know.

            “No fries with yours?” Kate asked, as Rob stole her pickle slices to add to his own.

            “I’ve been gaining too much weight lately,” he said, referring to his ongoing battle with middle-aged spread.

            Kate started slathering tartar sauce on the bun of her sandwich.

            “Are you sure it’s safe to have Janice at the house?” Rob asked.

            Kate cocked her head in confusion. “Richard’s an ass but I don’t think he’s dangerous.”

            “No, I mean safe for her, with all that’s been going on lately.”

            “Oh, damn. I hadn’t even thought about that. I guess I’m not...” She paused to look around, making sure no one was in earshot. “I’m not so good at this international intrigue stuff, am I?” she whispered.

            “It’s probably okay now,” Rob said, also lowering his voice. “It’s been almost a week and nothing else has happened, so I guess our insurance policy is working. I sent out supplemental envelopes before coming over, with the ambassador’s name. Did Skip call you about that newspaper article?”

            Kate nodded. “He left me a message. Sorry you have to hassle with making those calls every day. How long do you think we should keep that up?”

            “I’d say give it another week. Then I’ll tell my guys to put the envelopes in a safe place unless they hear otherwise from me. Hopefully, we’ve successfully extracted ourselves from the whole situation.”

            “Amen,” Kate said with fervor.

~~~~~~~

            Rob soon discovered this was wishful thinking. When he got back to his office, a swarthy, bearded gentleman was waiting in the reception area.

            The man stood up, smoothing the jacket of his custom-tailored suit. “Your assistant said you were busy this afternoon but I waited, hoping you might have a few minutes to discuss a very important matter.” His voice was cultured, his Spanish accent mild. “My name is John Smith,” he added, with a small apologetic smile, and offered a manicured hand.

            Rob shook it. “Come on back to my office.”

            Once seated on either side of Rob’s desk, they sized each other up in silence. The man was the first to speak. “We have a mutual friend.”

            “Perhaps,” Rob said. “How did you find me, Mr.
Smith
?”

            Once again the man gave Rob a small smile. “I have an excellent security staff, Mr. Franklin.”

            “Who are now aware of my friend’s connection to the late Mr. Dawson.”

            “Unfortunately, yes. But there should be no further risk to her, as long as she and her husband stop making inquiries into my business. I had thought I had made it quite clear to her how unhealthy that would be.”

            “And we have made it quite clear just how important it is to
your
well-being that she remain healthy.” Rob’s tone was steely.

            “Ah, yes. I assumed that you were her ‘concerned friend.’”

            “Mrs. Huntington and Mr. Canfield have many concerned friends. But I can assure you that they are not investigating you. They have no desire to have anything to do with you or your business.”

            “Nonetheless, it has come to my attention that someone has been making inquiries–”

            “It isn’t them.”

            “Very well. I will take your word for that. But unfortunately I am not the source of the threat.”

            “Who is?” Rob asked.

            “I’m not exactly sure. I thought I had taken care of the source, but more recent events indicate that perhaps the threat is coming from elsewhere.”

            Rob softened his voice. He wanted to get more information out of this guy if possible. “Who do you think it might be? As a lawyer, I’m bound to keep this conversation confidential, by the way.” That wasn’t true, not unless the ambassador actually hired him. But Rob had few qualms about lying to the man at this point.

            The ambassador sighed. “My instincts for self-preservation are telling me I should not answer that question. I liked Mrs. Huntington, however, when I met her. And I do not want any more innocent lives disrupted because of this. Are you familiar with my country’s recent history, Mr. Franklin?”

            Rob nodded.

            “Did you know that the president of my country is coming here for a state visit soon?”

            “That was in the paper.”

            “It has occurred to me that certain parties may attempt to do something to undermine our current government, and the fragile peace we have been able to maintain. And they may intend to use their former association with me to gain my cooperation.”

            “The rebels? They’re still active?”

            The ambassador shrugged. “Some of them are.”

            “So they wouldn’t want your ‘former association’ brought to light then,” Rob said. “Wait, our own president could be at risk here.”

            “I had already thought of that possibility. I have informed the security forces who will be accompanying
el Presidente
that there may be a heightened risk, without giving any details. They will be extraordinarily alert, and they will inform your Secret Service of the heightened threat as well.”

            Rob thought for a moment. He was beginning to understand why Kate felt some sympathy for this man. The ambassador was on a sinking ship, madly trying to patch the holes in the hull. “My concern is for the safety of my friends,” he finally said. “And my own for that matter. You’re coming here has now drawn attention to me.”

            “I am relatively certain that your friends are safe now, but it is imperative that they not make any inquiries into my business.”

            “
I
am relatively certain that they haven’t done so, but I will pass along the message.”

            “As to drawing attention to you,” the ambassador said, “I have let those on my staff–those who are privy to Annabelle Gaston’s role in my life, that is–I have let them know that I felt it more discreet to consult with a Baltimore lawyer on a certain matter regarding her. I would like to set up a trust fund in her name. Should things go awry and I have to leave the country in haste, I wish to be sure that her needs are addressed.”

            Rob’s mind was rapidly processing several things at once. The trust fund for the mistress was a plausible cover story, but only those closest to the ambassador would know about it. What did that mean? He shelved that to dissect later. He didn’t really want to have anything to do with this guy. But then again, what was the saying?
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

            “I’ll take care of that for you, Mr. Ambassador. You can give Fran, my assistant, the details. Her full name, address, the amount you wish to put in the trust, et cetera.” Rob stood up.

            The ambassador took the hint and stood as well.

            “I feel compelled to warn you, sir,” Rob said. “Should this blow up in our faces, the two concerned friends who delivered our insurance policy last week will be highly motivated to track you down. And they have the training to succeed.”

            The ambassador grinned, white teeth flashing against swarthy skin. “Are you referring to the young woman who threatened to skewer me like a stuffed pig?”

            Rob couldn’t completely stifle a grin of his own as he shook the man’s hand.

            After the ambassador left his office, Rob sat at his desk for a few minutes, staring into space. He wasn’t sure to whom he should report this latest development.

            Having finally decided on Rose, he walked down the hall toward his partner’s office. Picking up the receiver of Jim Stockton’s admin’s phone, he said, “May I borrow this for a moment, Shirley?”

            Shirley nodded, giving him a strange look.

            Rose answered with her brusque “Hernandez.”

            “Just had a visit from the gentleman we’re concerned about. Apparently someone is making inquiries into his business.”

            “Not good.”

            “I assured him that said inquiries were not coming from our colleagues.”

            “If they are, said colleague won’t need to worry about other threats. I’ll kill him myself,” Rose said.

            “For what it’s worth, I think this guy’s on the up-and-up, that he’s not the one causing problems. But he doesn’t know who is the cause. He thinks it might be his former associates. Can you get the word out that renewed caution is called for? And maybe get me some of those prepaid phones?”

            “Will do.” Rose disconnected.

            Rob hung up. His partner’s assistant was watching him intently.

            “Thanks, Shirley.”

            “If Fran ever leaves,” she whispered, “could I get a transfer? You’re a lot more interesting than Mr. Stockton, but don’t tell him I said that.”

            Rob winked at her and headed back down the hall.

~~~~~~~

            Rose was on her way to the offices of Canfield and Hernandez, Private Investigations, but she decided this couldn’t wait. She punched the speed dial number on her car phone for Skip’s private line.

            “Canfield.”

            “Partner, you haven’t been making inquiries regarding the gentleman we’re concerned about, have you?”

            “Of course not. Why? What’s happened?”

            Rose started filling him in.

            Suddenly Skip said, “Shh. I just heard something.”

            Rose stopped talking.

            She was pulling into the public parking lot a block down from the agency’s building. From the speaker in her dashboard, she heard the clatter of a phone being dropped on a hard surface. She rammed the car into park and reached for the key.

            Several male voices yelled in Spanish at the same time. Then Skip’s voice dominated. “Freeze or I shoot your
compañero
here.” A gunshot reverberated.

            Rose tore out of the car and ran toward the street. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and punched in 911. “Break-in in progress. Shots fired!” She yelled the agency’s address into the phone.

            “Get out of the way!” Pedestrians scattered at the sight of the gun in her hand. As she neared the building, a dark-haired man in a black business suit ran out the front doors.

            “Stop!” she yelled, but the man kept running, zigzagging in and out of the pedestrians.

            Rose reached the building’s entrance. She shoved through the doors and ran up the fire stairs to the agency’s offices.

            Blood was pooled on the floor in Skip’s doorway.

            Rose doubled over. It felt like someone had punched her in the gut.

CHAPTER TEN

            “Watch where you step.” Skip’s head came around the doorframe. “Did you call the police?”

            Rose’s knees wobbled. “Yeah,” she said, her voice gruff. “What the hell happened?”

            “Two guys. From what I caught of their conversation before they burst into my office, they were specifically looking for me. Hang on. I’ll be right back.” He ducked back inside his office.

            After a few seconds, his foot came through the doorway, stepping wide over the blood on the floor. Rose’s knees wobbled again when she got a good look at him. His arms were splattered with blood.

            “Are you sure you’re okay?”

            “Yeah, the blood’s all the other guy’s. I grabbed the first one who came through the door and held my gun to his head. Yelled for the other bozo to drop his weapon. He shot his buddy instead and took off.”

            “Damn good thing the bullet didn’t go through him.” Rose’s hand shook as she returned her pistol to its ankle holster, then pulled the cuff of her khakis down over it.

            “Yeah,” Skip said absently. He was busy rubbing blood off of one of his arms and smearing it on the gun in his hand.