‘Of course you do.’ The doctor crossed his arms over his chest and gave Decker what was probably the guy’s most serious expression. ‘So here’s the drill, Special Agent Davenport. Once you’re in a regular room, we will put you to work – the work of healing, which is hard. You do your lung exercises, eat your meals, take walks around the ward, and you cooperate. And then maybe you’ll see daylight in a week. But going back to work? Try a month. At the earliest.’
Breathe. Decker’s pulse remained steady, but it was a challenge. A week for fucking daylight? My fucking ass. And a month to return to duty? What’re you smoking, Doc? But he just nodded. ‘That sounds fine, Doctor.’
The doctor stared at him for a second, then snorted a laugh. ‘If you think I bought that . . . A week, Davenport. I mean it.’
Or? Decker managed not to roll his eyes. ‘I believe you,’ he said, with a nod for effect.
The doctor rolled his eyes for the both of them. ‘Whatever.’
‘Doc, wait,’ Decker called out when the doctor turned to leave. ‘I’ve been out of it for a week, right?’
‘Right,’ the doctor said warily.
‘Well, I can read, right?’
The doctor lifted one gray eyebrow. ‘I don’t know. Can you?’
Decker narrowed his eyes. Asshole. ‘I’m allowed to read. Is that correct?’
The doctor nodded. ‘That is correct, yes.’
Now was that so hard? ‘I had a lot of balls in the air when I got here and I’d like to know where they fell. I need access to a newspaper. Please. At least give me that much.’ That way he could get caught up on what the public knew before Kate returned.
‘You are in ICU, Agent Davenport,’ the doctor said, exasperated. ‘You’re breathing on your own for the first time in a week. You’ll be moved as soon as possible. That’s all I can promise.’
Decker swallowed his frustration. ‘Thank you,’ he said, and tried to sound civil.
‘Thank me by cooperating. I really don’t want to see you back in here.’
That makes two of us. Decker glared at the man’s back, drawing a deep breath once he was gone. Okay, fine. He was breathing on his own. That’s a start.
‘I’ll call down for a tray so you can eat,’ the nurse said, and Decker thought he heard sympathy in her voice. ‘Here’s a cup of ice chips. Your throat must be sore.’
‘Your tongue must be bleeding from biting it,’ he said quietly, sucking on an ice chip. ‘I thought they taught the docs sensitivity and respect?’
Her lips twitched. ‘They do. Sometimes it takes.’
He dug deep for his most sincere tone. Unfortunately his throat made everything he said sound like he was a kidnapper making a ransom call. ‘Is there any way for me to catch up on a specific news event? I promise I will eat everything on my tray and not complain even a little bit. Even if it’s gray and nasty. Even if it’s Jell-O with pieces of fruit in it. I will be the best patient you ever had. I promise. But I really need to see the news.’
She chuckled softly. ‘I know who you are, Agent Davenport, and what you were up to. Dr Dani Novak is a friend of mine. We had a chat about you yesterday.’
He blinked, confused. ‘Novak as in Agent Novak?’ Another irritating asshole.
‘Yes. Brother and sister.’
He wondered if that was the second voice he’d heard the day before. ‘Does she have the . . . y’know, the eye thing going on?’
Another chuckle. ‘Only kind of. But she said you were a hero. I’ll see if I can scare up a tablet for you or something. But you can read for a little while only.’ She shook her finger.
He smiled at her. ‘Does this mean I can complain about the Jell-O?’
‘Nope. I’m going to hold you to that one.’
‘Rats. Then I’ll have to hold up my end of the bargain.’ He swallowed a yawn. Damn, he hated getting tired so easily. This sucked. ‘Is Dr Novak one of my doctors?’ He hoped not, because that meant he’d have to be nicer to Deacon.
She looked sad. ‘No. Dr Novak resigned yesterday. I can’t go into details, but the long and short of it is, she got shafted and we’re going to miss her a lot. No, Dr Dani was here to see the other agent who was camped out in that chair beside you. Kate Coppola.’
His chest warmed. She’d camped out here. He liked that. Then a detail clicked. Deacon Novak had thought Dani was exaggerating how tired Kate had looked. His shoulders sagged a little from simple relief that he was remembering things more easily. ‘Can I ask one more favor? Can you inform Agent Coppola that I’m able to speak and ask her to come as soon as she can?’
He looked at the little table next to his bed, then frowned, because the only thing on it was the cup of ice. ‘Someone took a piece of paper from my table. It had Coppola’s number on it.’
‘No problem. She left her number at the desk, so I have it.’
He did, too, because he’d memorized it the moment Kate had written it down. ‘Good. Thank you.’ He maintained a grateful smile until the nurse left the room, then let his lips loose to frown. It wasn’t no problem. He didn’t like people touching his things.
He’d slept after Kate had left that morning. Someone must have come in then and taken it. It was only a piece of paper, but the thought that someone had been in his room, that close to him . . . It left him unsettled.
Get a grip, Decker. You’re in a hospital, for God’s sake. People will be that close to you. Resolutely he pushed the paranoia away and focused on what was important. He’d be able to catch up on the news. And Kate would be coming back soon.
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Thursday 13 August, 9.20 A.M.
Kate studied the faces of the team sitting around Zimmerman’s table as Deacon replayed the clips that Decker Davenport had nearly died smuggling out. She saw revulsion and rage, but also resolve to stop the mystery man who procured children so that he could exploit them for profit.
‘Assets,’ Meredith murmured. ‘That they can speak about human beings – children – as assets so coldly . . .’
‘What else does Agent Davenport know about this mystery client?’ Troy asked.
Kate shrugged. ‘I don’t know for sure. We’ll have to go back to the hospital and ask him. Hopefully they’ll take his breathing tube out today, but he still won’t be able to talk a lot right away. I think this is all he knew, though – what we’ve just heard, I mean. I think we should focus on getting Alice to tell us who this guy is.’
Scarlett’s dark eyes flashed. ‘You really think you can make her talk?’
‘No,’ Kate said with a shake of her head. Both she and Scarlett had interrogated the trafficking ringleader’s daughter, but the woman was not going to crack easily. ‘Not unless we have some leverage. Right now we don’t have anything that’ll either tempt or squeeze her. She’s an attorney, and she’s demanding full immunity because . . . y’know, why not? She’s going to make us show every card in our hand before she makes a move.’
‘So we find a way to peek at her hand even if we have to cheat,’ Kimble said. ‘She’s lived here in Cincinnati for how long?’
‘Three years,’ Deacon said. ‘Ever since she graduated from law school.’
Kate opened her laptop to review her notes. ‘We got her transcripts on Monday – no flares there. Troy and I also interviewed several of her old professors via Skype. Everyone says basically the same thing – she was a quiet student. Did her work, got decent grades, nothing exemplary. She didn’t make friends easily and wasn’t involved in any outside clubs or associations.’
‘Kate’s being too modest,’ Troy said with a mild glare. ‘I was wrapping up my last op in Cleveland most of the last week. Kate did the legwork here – hours of it. Plus listening to the tapes? No wonder you haven’t slept,’ he said in a loud aside.
‘Say it a little louder, Tr
oy,’ she shot back, irritated. Nobody got on the male agents when they didn’t sleep. It was sexist and damn annoying. ‘I think there are a few people in the building next door who didn’t hear you. The point is, nobody in Alice’s academic past knows anything about her. She’s practically non-existent on social media. The only thing we know is that she visited Marcus O’Bannion in the hospital nine months ago, then joined a gym so that she could keep an eye on him after he was released. She chatted him up, asked about his news stories. Pretended to be his friend. She and her father didn’t want Marcus digging any deeper into Woody McCord, his arrest, or his subsequent death.’
Deacon nodded. ‘But what really worried her was the possibility of Marcus uncovering McCord’s partner.’
Scarlett glanced at Deacon, troubled. ‘And now I know why you asked me to come to this meeting. You were right to, of course. You’re going to need to talk to all the guys at the Ledger – Marcus, his brother Stone, and their friend Diesel Kennedy. They discovered McCord’s collection of child porn.’ She looked at Zimmerman, her gaze defiant. ‘I’m going to advise them to have an attorney present.’
Then the Ledger guys had broken a law or two while investigating Woody McCord, Kate thought. Probably hacking, since it involved McCord’s computer. She found herself looking forward to meeting these guys herself.
‘I figured you might,’ Zimmerman said, confirming Kate’s suspicions. ‘For the hacking alone. That’s why I asked Detective Kimble to be here. I want a strong bridge with CPD on this case, especially as this guy appears to be local. Kimble, you know the area?’
Kimble nodded warily. ‘I grew up here. Same as Scarlett and Deacon.’
Zimmerman looked pleased. ‘Good. You may be able to ferret some things out that we transplants might not pick up on right away. Detective Bishop, I value all the work you’ve done, but you’re too close to the case. Given the potential for a conflict of interest, I’m going to have Kimble and Novak work this one. It’s not a reprimand. You get that, right?’
Scarlett’s lips thinned and her cheeks grew red, but she only nodded. ‘I am too close,’ she agreed. ‘I take it that my lieutenant concurs?’
‘She does,’ Zimmerman said. ‘Nobody wants to put you in a bad spot,’ he added kindly. ‘Lieutenant Isenberg was adamant that we protect your career.’
Scarlett smiled at him – a small smile, but it was genuine. ‘I know. I appreciate that.’
Deacon’s eyes had widened with stunned dismay before narrowing to glare at Zimmerman. ‘I didn’t know they were going to pull you off the case, Scar. I would have warned you.’
Scarlett gave Deacon an even warmer smile. ‘I know. Now if it’s okay with you all, I’m going to drive out to the Ledger’s offices and talk to Marcus and Diesel. Stone hasn’t returned to work yet. If you want to interview him, you’re going to have to go up to his dad’s house in Indian Hill. He’s recuperating there.’
‘Tell them we’ll need to talk to them within the hour,’ Kate said. ‘And thank you,’ she added, much more graciously than the last time, when she’d all but barked it. She waited until Scarlett left the room before turning to Zimmerman. ‘There’s one other lead that we can amp up. Right before he got shot, De . . . avenport’ – she corrected herself at the last moment, not wanting her growing familiarity with the agent to show – ‘mentioned the trafficker’s accountant, Joel Whipple. Joel had made noises to Davenport about wanting to get out of the trafficking business. Davenport thought he might turn state’s evidence.’
‘But?’ Kimble asked.
Zimmerman scowled. ‘But when the agents I sent got to Whipple’s house, he was gone. No evidence of foul play. I’ve got a team trying to track him down, but I’m betting the accountant had a Plan B, with a new ID and travel papers all set up just in case they were ever caught. The ringleader did – he had a passport in his pocket when he was taken down.’
‘And a plane ticket to Tahiti,’ Deacon added glumly. ‘I’m sure you’re right about Whipple having a way out. I wonder why he let Davenport believe he’d turn state’s evidence.’
‘Whipple might have suspected him,’ Kate said thoughtfully. ‘Again, this was before he was shot. Davenport said he wasn’t allowed access to any of the good stuff while he was in the accounting department. He did the legit books and Whipple did the real ones. There were no signs of any of either kind of books in Whipple’s house.’ She thought back to the day Decker had been shot. ‘Right before he took the bullet, he said that he’d gotten the data he’d needed, that most of it was stored in his head. He was in a hurry to debrief with you, sir,’ she told Zimmerman.
Zimmerman’s lips curved in a ghost of a smile. ‘Good. Griff’s got an eidetic memory. If he got a chance to look at the real books, he’ll be able to give us a lot of good information.’
‘So we get at what’s in his head,’ Kimble said, ‘and hope that the steady flow of profits that Alice mentions on the tape was recorded somewhere in a way that lets us follow the money.’
‘I don’t know how long that’ll take,’ Kate cautioned. ‘He was still grasping for small details this morning. He’d remember something, but then you could see how frustrated he’d get when it wisped away. It’s the anesthesia on top of the whole physical trauma.’ And God, did she remember that. It had been one of the hardest things to watch when Johnnie— No. Not now. You will not go there now. ‘It wipes the brain cells clean,’ she added quietly.
‘Pull what you can out of him as soon as he’s able,’ Zimmerman said. ‘And ignore the doctors. They’ll want to keep him quiet so he can heal, but you need to push as hard as . . .’ He sighed. ‘That sounds wrong and it’s not what I mean. Hell, I want him to heal, but . . .’
‘He said the clock was ticking on the kids,’ Kate finished. ‘He knows this. I won’t have to push him. He’ll push himself.’
‘You won’t have to push him?’ Troy said, mildly rebuking her, and Kate felt her cheeks heat.
Yeah, she had a partner again. No, she hadn’t forgotten. Not really. But she didn’t picture anyone else sitting at Decker’s bedside. No one but me.
‘We. Me. Whoever debriefs him. Anybody but Deacon, that is.’ She gave Deacon a pointed glare. ‘Mr Congeniality got off on the wrong foot with Agent Davenport. They had words.’
‘I thought Davenport was on a ventilator and couldn’t talk,’ Troy said, amused.
‘Silent words,’ Kate said flatly.
Zimmerman looked surprised. ‘Deacon?’
‘It was nothing, sir,’ Deacon said, returning Kate’s pointed glare and turning it up a few degrees. ‘Agent Coppola was mistaken.’
‘This is gonna be interesting,’ Troy murmured, then chuckled when both Kate and Deacon turned their glares on him. ‘It’s good to see that Old Partner has a flaw. Makes New Partner feel better.’
Kate found she had to laugh, and the tense mood was broken, which was what she suspected Troy had been trying to do. ‘Okay, New Partner. See, you can laugh too. It’s not so hard. Do you know anything about accounting?’
Troy’s pleased grin shrank to a horrified grimace. ‘Hell, no. I joined the Bureau before you had to be all smart and everything.’
‘Bullshit,’ Zimmerman said amiably. ‘But they let you in anyway.’
Troy blinked at their boss for a second before his lips began to twitch. ‘Damn, that was a good one. I did not see that coming.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Old Partner is a bad influence on our boss, Agent Coppola.’
‘Don’t I know it,’ Kate muttered. ‘But seriously, who here – besides me – has an accounting background?’
Kimble’s brows lifted. ‘You do? Really?’
‘Math degree with an emphasis on forensic accounting,’ she confirmed with a businesslike nod, but her heart had started beating harder. She was uniquely qualified to debrief Decker, which meant she got to spend more time w
ith him and do her job at the same time. Kids. She had in no way forgotten about the kids. The assets, she thought bitterly, and cursed every last one of their abusers to a dark hell. ‘I was a licensed CPA when I joined the Bureau, so I’ll work with Agent Davenport.’ She glanced at Troy. ‘You in, New Partner?’
Troy’s lips curved. ‘Yeah. I’d like to meet him, at least. After that, I’d like to dig into Alice’s movements during the years she’s lived here. Everyone leaves a footprint somewhere. She had to have had some extracurricular activities or a lover or something. Somebody has to have some insight into what makes her tick – and what secrets she might have that we can use as leverage.’
Deacon nodded. ‘We also arrested the son of one of the traffickers. He and Alice had some kind of a relationship.’
Kate grimaced. ‘I interviewed him once. He either knows nothing or he’s really good at playing dumb. I’m not sure which.’
‘I haven’t interviewed him yet,’ Deacon said. ‘Let me see what I can get out of him.’
‘I want Woody McCord,’ Kimble said, very quietly. He hadn’t cracked a smile when the rest of them were teasing one another. Kate had noticed. So had Meredith Fallon, who kept glancing at him from the corner of her eye when she thought no one was looking. ‘I know he’s been dead for nearly a year, but with all the notoriety around him, he would have been a topic of conversation among his neighbors and fellow teachers. If he and this guy were partners, somebody might remember seeing them together.’
Meredith drew in a breath. ‘Are you sure?’ she asked, her voice nearly inaudible.
Jaw taut, Kimble nodded and looked at Zimmerman. ‘That’s why I’m here, isn’t it, Agent Zimmerman? You wanted someone who’d worked with ICAC in the past to go through the files found on McCord’s computer, to see if there’s anything that leads to this mystery man.’
Kate flinched. It was the one job that had to be done that she’d avoided even thinking about. Nobody liked to view picture files involving kids. They ripped out your guts and left a deep, mawing hole of black ooze where your heart and soul used to be. That Kimble faced it straight on, even though he was clearly dreading it too . . . Wow. Respect for him tightened her chest.