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Zoe, looking every bit the part of the polished, hard-nosed reporter, smiled warmly as Pyro joined her and Jax and Hunter. “Just keep to the bare facts and leave out any part where you did anything illegal, got it?” she told him brightly. “The rest we’ll handle.”
Pyro gave a curt nod, just ready to get this over with. “You got the recording?”
She patted her purse. “Right here, with a copy stashed at home just in case things get ‘lost.’”
Smart girl. “Let’s do this, then.”
Bronx grabbed his arm to briefly give him a bolster of courage. “You got this, man. Piece of cake.”
“Piece of cake,” he agreed grimly.
They walked into the office and the district attorney, a woman by the name Vena Gregory greeted them with a professional smile with an IA investigator. Both rose as they entered the room. “Thank you for coming. I understand this is a delicate situation,” Vena said, gesturing for them to take a seat. “I want you to know that corruption in our law enforcement is not tolerated. I want justice just as much as you do but we have to do things the proper way to ensure that the evidence isn’t thrown out of court.”
“I’m well aware of how evidence must be preserved, Ms. District Attorney.” She handed over a business card and took a seat. “You may have caught my most recent story on the case of Ronnie Peter, the little boy who was killed by his step-father and buried in the back yard? The one where it was discovered there was an appalling lack of follow through on the part of the investigating officers when there were not one, but five reports of suspected abuse being perpetrated against this child? Does that jog your memory?”
“Yes, I remember quite well. Well-written. Although not exactly a shining endorsement on our law enforcement. I don’t want people thinking that our police can’t protect and serve as they always have. A few bad apples and all that.”
“Are they protecting and serving?” Zoe asked, cocking her head in question. “Here are the facts as I see them. At the very least, three police officers employed by this city were working in tandem with a man named Benton Algiers to steal the children of underprivileged mothers — junkies with a history of abuse — and then selling them on the black market at a premium price.”
“That’s quite an accusation,” the IA investigator said, his gaze narrowing.
“Indeed,” Zoe agreed, handing the IA investigator a card as well. “But no less true.”
Jax and Hunter spoke up with Jax, the calm one, speaking first. “Benton Algiers was cooking up a highly addictive and deadly drug so that he could get rid of loose ends that might tangle up his real purpose — to get his hands on the kids without the authorities getting involved. The cops scoped out the right targets and then Benton supplied them with the drugs. Then, the cops swooped in and took the kids, often times before the mom’s body had even cooled.”
“That’s horrifying,” Vena murmured but said, “without proof, we have no case.”
“I had a feeling our word wouldn’t be enough,” Zoe said, producing a thumb drive. “On this drive is a recording of Benton and Crawford at the very least, confessing, when they thought they were going to get away with it.”
The IA investigator scowled. “That’s not admissible in court.”
“No, it sure isn’t but it’s good enough evidence to write an expose on how corrupt the city department has become and during an election year I imagine, that’s not going to win over voters,” Hunter pointed out.
“Are you threatening me?” Vena asked coldly. “Because I don’t take kindly to strong-arm tactics.”
“Of course not,” Zoe said with an understanding smile. “We need to work together, which is why I’m coming here first. I’m giving you the opportunity to do what’s right.”
“Which is?”
“Open an investigation, make it quick, and root out the evil that’s corrupting your city law enforcement. Take the opportunity to be a hero. And then I can write a different sort of story. A positive one on how the District Attorney, in tandem with IA, were determined to make the city streets safe again, starting from inside the precinct walls.”
“Has a nice ring to it,” Jax said, shrugging.
“Although, might not sell as many newspapers as a headline like, Cops Selling Kids, what do you think?” Bronx put in conversationally. “Everything is so sensational these days.”
“Definitely much better than how the District Attorney turned a blind eye to kids getting sold on the black market. That’s some bad press right there,” Hunter agreed.
“Stop,” Vena said, holding up her hand. “That’s enough. I get the point.” She grabbed the thumb drive and stuck it in her computer. “You really know how to play hard-ball. Perhaps you ought to go into politics.”
“No thanks. I’m a terrible liar,” Zoe said, waving off Vena’s quip. “Once I tried to pose as a prostitute and…well, that story’s probably not appropriate for this visit. Anyway, suffice to say, I prefer to stick to the truth.”
Max and Hunter chuckled at the private joke but remained gentlemen.
The IA investigator looked to Pyro. “And what’s your part in all this?”
“Just a concerned citizen. Plus I was there the night Benton tried to run off with my friend’s baby.”
“I pulled that case file. Benton Algiers died that night. What do you know about that?”
He shrugged. “Nothing much. I was too busy trying to save my friend from dying when he’d gutted her like a pig. Sorry if I was preoccupied.”
“You have no idea how he died? You didn’t see anything?”
“Nope. He was already dead by the time I reached them both.”
The IA investigator didn’t believe him but Pyro didn’t care. There was nothing tying him to the murder of Benton Algiers and considering how many people had been at the factory that night, he wasn’t worried. Besides, the gun used to shoot that fucker in the head, was dismantled into a dozen pieces and melted down at the scrap yard. That gun was history. “Would you mind coming down to the office and giving an official statement?”
“Sure. Or we could do it right here. Save some time.”
“I think that’s wise. While everything is still fresh,” Zoe said cheerfully, then gestured toward the thumb drive. “If you’d like to take a listen…”
Vena compressed her lips as if unhappy about listening to the audio with an audience but she did it anyway. When it was done, her lips thinned with distaste but they all knew there was no way she could ignore that evidence. She looked to the IA investigator. “It would seem these citizens have cracked a case wide open for you and delivered it with a bow.”
“So it would seem.”
“All right, great. I look forward to chatting with you soon.” Zoe stood and her entourage did the same. “I think you’re going to feel so much better once you root out this corruption, don’t you?”
“Of course,” Vena said, but she looked as if a pile of bricks had landed on her lap.
But Pyro had one more thing to add. “There’s a kid named Jazzy Roberts. She’s missing. I’m willing to bet Crawford knows exactly where she is. There was supposed to be a shipment of product and by product, they meant kids. We need to find them before it’s too late.”
Vena nodded. “I’ll make it my highest priority.”
Pyro could only wait and see if the district attorney would do the right thing. Either way, they’d played their hand. Now it was time to see if they’d won.
***
Two weeks later…
Angel walked into her new apartment with Mila in tow, stunned and frankly, speechless. She turned to the man who’d identified himself as Pyro’s friend, Bronx and didn’t know what to say. “I don’t understand,” she said, bewildered. “This is my apartment? All mine? No strings?”
“No strings. Pyro paid the rent for a year up front. He wanted you to be able to relax and regain your strength and not have to worry about where you and Mila were going to live. He’s also set up a fun
d for you so if you don’t find a job right away, your living expenses are paid for.”
“I don’t understand…” Angel swallowed the lump in her throat. “Why didn’t he tell me himself about all this?”
Bronx didn’t have an answer for that, or if he did, he wasn’t saying. Angel’s heart sank. He hadn’t forgiven her enough to come back to her. Had she been stupid to think that they’d connected on a level that was more than sexual? She bit her lip and gently hoisted Mila on her hip, even though her doctor had advised her against picking up her daughter just yet. “Tell Pyro thank you,” she said, nodding through a sheen of tears. “I don’t know how to repay him.”
