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“We sure do,” Greer said.He tacked two more photographs up on the criminal board. “Lester Grimm served in the Gulf War with Tydell and was recruited into the Vagos by him. Grimm lost his entire troop in a convoy that was bombed and he was left for dead. He had severe brain trauma and lost partial hearing. He spooks at the sound of gunfire, so his weapon of choice is a stainless steel Buck Knife with a nine-inch blade. We haven’t had a sighting of Grimm in more than a year, but I have a feeling he’s close by. Jack and Wolfe are the last kills on their list. Like Doctor Graves said, it’s a competition and they’re in it to win. Our profiler report says that the addition of federal agents and heightened police awareness will only add points to their game.”
Greer pinned a second picture on the board next to Grimm. This one was a formal shot of an officer in dress blues.A handsome man with a serious look on his face as he posed for the shot. “This is Greg Lassiter. He was an illegals detective in LA. Worked undercover for a while, but it went south. His wife and daughter were murdered because of it, and the Internal Affairs investigation discovered there was a leak on the inside in Lassiter’s department and the mole handed over Lassiter and his family to the dealers.
“Lassiter killed the cop responsible and then went off the grid. He was prime pickings for the Vagos, considering his disillusionment for law enforcement. He moved up the ranks quickly and was sent to head up his own territory in Chicago. The .357 Magnum he uses to kill his victims is symbolic. When he was on the force back in the 90s, that was his service revolver.
“Grimm, Lassiter, and Tydell are all gang territory leaders in their cities. This competition likely means there is a position open for a new general, and they’re fighting for it. They won’t takeeach other out, because there’s honor involved here. It’s the law enforcement and military background that makes them want to win above board.”
“That is completely fucked up,” Carver said.
I was a visual learner so I drew a pyramid on my white board and divided it into three sections. At the bottom of the pyramid I put Tydell, Grimm, and Lassiter along with the men they’d killed thus far. In the middle slot of the pyramid I put Caine’s name and mystery woman. At the top of the pyramid I put “Money Man.” Whoever controlled the money was the one we weren’t having any luck finding.
Greer’s phone rang and he frowned as he looked at the caller ID. “Greer,” he said, and then immediately came to his feet. “We’re on our way.” He motioned for his agents to follow him.
“We’ve lost sight of Jesse Tydell,” he said, explaining. “We watched him go into his motel room last night and lock in, but that was the last sighting. The two agents who were watching him are dead and Tydell’s disappeared. Jack, I want you and Wolfe to stay locked up tight here.” Greer followed his agents out of the house, slamming the door behind him.
Fear curdled in my belly and I moved beside Jack, just to be close to him. Too many people had died at the hands of these men, and I was terrified there would be more before it was over. I was starting to think leaving the country for a little while might not be a bad idea. My second thought was even worse.That maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to ask for my dad’s help.
Jack took my hand and squeezed it.“They’re going to be busy for a while. The least we can do is wade through all the paperwork. Let’s talk financials, Carver.”
Carver nodded and moved to his computer, taking a little time to set it up so it projected on the wall for everyone to see.“After speaking with Mrs. Lieber yesterday I started doing some research into that support group she told us about. Wives and Mothers of the Fallen—WMF. It’s a protected organization, similar to abuse shelters, so that names or donors are all considered anonymous. There’s a database, but we’d need a warrant to go through the listing.”
“You’ve got to get me something concrete before I can request a warrant for those names,” Lauren said. “WMF isn’t under suspicion for anything.”
“No, but we know that the Liebers have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to this organization, and they’re under suspicion.”
“It still won’t be enough for me to violate the privacy of all those other women. Keep looking and come up with more and I’ll be happy to take it to a judge.”
Carver sighed and muttered under his breath, “Lawyers.” He moved to a different screen. “See if this does anything for you. Paris Spencer is a member of the same organization. She also makes significant donations, though she’s never attended a meeting or a charity function since they all take place stateside. I need a list of all the members. That’s going to be where we find the connection between friends and family of the victims. WMF’s donations are open records, though they don’t have names listed next to the amounts. This is a billion dollar charity.”
“From what I understand, the money is allocated to those women who were not left with life insurance policies or were denied benefits for some reason or another. Or if they lose their jobs, they can make a claim through the charity like they would for unemployment. Right now I’m having to go through individual financial records of every relative and friend of all of these victims to see if there are similar donations. I need that warrant.”
“With bothSpencer and Mrs. Lieber making considerable contributions I could probably spin it in our favor. Let me see what I can do.” Lauren took out her cell phone and left the room, leaving me, Carver, Jack, and Wolfe to look at the murder boards.
“Let’s check phone records and email from both Mrs. Lieber andSpencer,” Carver said. “We’ll see if they’ve had any contact for the last six years.”
“How the hell did all this happen, Jack?” Wolfe asked. “It was a mission just like any other. No more dangerous than any other job we did. Now I find out Elliott was dirty and he’s the one who shot you? It just doesn’t make sense.”
Wolfe slouched back on the sofa, the white bandage covering his wound peeking out from his T-shirt. Confusion and anger and sadness marred his features.
“He had his reasons,” Jack said. “His actions were understandable, even though there had to be a better way. His child was going to die, Sam. I’m not sure there’s anything he wouldn’t have done to keep her alive.”
Jack paced back and forth in front of the boards and got a look in his eyes I was all too familiar with. He loved the thrill of the chase and the adrenaline that pumped through his veins as the puzzle pieces began to fit together.
“Digdeeper into that charity that Jane Elliott mentioned to us. The one that funded her daughter’s surgery. That money had to come from somewhere. Who’s on the board of directors? Is it private or a public funded organization?”
“On it,” Carver said, heading to his laptop, his fingers flying over the keys.“There are layers here that are going to take some time.”
“Well, we’ve got good news and bad news,” Lauren said, her heels clicking on the hardwood as she came back in. “Wives and Mothers of the Fallen has top notch lawyers. I got a judge to grant a warrant, but they’re blocking it based on privacy laws. We need more information. What we know for certain is that a gang is responsible for the deaths of nine men. We don’t have a suspect for anyone controlling the purse strings, even though we know that’s what’s happening. And the WMF attorneys are using that to block the warrant. We can’t invade the lives of hundreds of women who are basically victims without probable cause. So get me probable cause and I can bury them and all the paper they’re generating while trying to stall.”
“I hope that’s the bad news,” Jack said.
“It was,” Lauren nodded. “The good news is we had an agent on personal leave in France, and he’s going to go back on active duty and escort Paris Spencer back to the United States for questioning.”
“I’m glad it’s not only my vacations that get interrupted,” Jack said.
Lauren smiled but it reminded me of a shark just before biting into its prey. “She’ll be here in a few hours. Greer will want to question her. I’d like to hear what she has to say myself, but I need to stay here.”
“Because the Vagos areyour priority?” Jack asked.
