“I know you two were working the Kaminski case together. I told Matthew to be careful. That a lot of powerful people would be upset if he tried to lump them into a crime syndicate.”
“You know August Kaminski is a criminal.”
“My dear, everyone with real money knows he’s not someone to cross. But we tolerate him because he grants favors and makes things happen. A bill to lower taxes to mega corporations. A push to lobby for stricter gun control in one state with lesser control in another. Pharmaceutical trial liberties. The list goes on. You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
“So I’m being told again and again.” She leaned forward. “But Mr. Rupert, something you and your friends, those who like Kaminski and those who don’t, might want to keep in mind.”
“What’s that, Jane?”
“That I don’t think any of you know whoyou’redealing with. Once I set my sights on a target, I don’t stop until I bag ‘em and tag ‘em.”
They considered each other, and the old man’s grin slowly grew into an all-out laugh.
Something Jane considered inappropriate for a grieving grandfather who’d just lost his grandson.
“Well said, Jane Cannon. I look forward to talking to you in the future.”
“If there’s nothing more, sir?”
He waved at the door. “Please.”
Before she could leave, the door opened, and she looked up at thelarge, muscular man holding it for her. “Agent Cannon,” he said in a deep voice.
She made note of him, seeing him return her scrutiny.
Sizing up a potential threat.
“Thanks for the water, Mr. Rupert,” Jane added before leaving him behind.
* * *
Nelsonand his attendant watched her leave.
“An interesting woman,” Bishop said.
“Yes. Too bad she and my grandson didn’t work out. I like her attitude. Feisty.”
Bishop nodded. “Did you want to return to the funeral, sir?”
“No. Take me home. And make sure to tell August what transpired.”
Bishop hadn’t realized the old man knew who he really worked for, and it must have shown on his face because Nelson laughed.
“Please, son. I’ve been double-dealing since you were in diapers. Now drive me home.”
With a grudging smile, Bishop took Nelson back to his home and left him alive and in one piece. For now.
He wondered how it would all play out. As he drove away in his BMW and watched the gates of the Rupert estate close behind him, his thoughts remained on the resourceful FBI agent and what the different players in the game intended for her.
Which explained why he wasn’t paying attention to the van stopped by the side of the road or the four men kneeling in front of it with automatic rifles that suddenly opened fire.
Chapter 48
“I would have preferred dinner,to be honest,” Detective Ray Ryan said as he watched Nelson Rupert’s driver being taken away in an ambulance.
Police had surrounded the area. Fortunately, no one in the nearby mansion had been hurt. The family vacationed in Austria this time every year, so the rounds had only impacted nearby trees and some of the windows in the front.
Jane shook her head. “What the hell is going on, Ray? They didn’t attack Nelson Rupert. They tried to gun down his driver?”
