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“Also, I talked to O’Malley about the cop that was looking into the deaths. Sounds like this guy volunteered to take the case from homicide, made some bullshit argument that it was probably related to the Italians. O’Malley says it sounded like shite to everyone but homicide was happy to have the case off their desk.”
“Why does organized crime care about some dead girls?” I ask, though I have a feeling I’m not going to like where this is going.
“Seemed fishy to me also. I’ll do you one better. O’Malley found this dude sniffing around his office after he ran her prints through the system. O’Malley thinks the bugger was able to see what searches he was running, but says he’s got no idea how. Has no other explanation for why this dude is poking around his office.”
I laugh. “Aside from his association with us.”
Patrick smiles. “Aye, true. But O’Malley’s even more paranoid than you are. And that’s bloody saying something. Anyway, it sounds like after his visit to O’Malley, he saw this guy poking around a homicide detective’s office. Some cat named Hensley.”
“Why does that sound familiar?”
“A while back, there was that corruption scandal over at NYPD? Hensley ended up being the only straight cop there. Got promoted when the dust settled. Funny enough, the whole thing was discovered by some reporter at theTimes.”
“Roxanne?”
“Aye, boss, that’s the one.”
“She’d said she had a contact at the NYPD that wasn’t much help. I bet it’s the same guy.”
Patrick nods. “That would make a bit of sense.”
“What does O’Malley think about this guy?” I drum my fingers on the desk.
“He thinks Reynolds is looking into your girl. He says he’s not sure why, but has a bad feeling about it.” Patrick gives me a dead serious look. “If O’Malley is concerned about it, we probably should be too.”
I rub my temples. “Aye. He’s not on our payroll, I doubt he’s on De Luca’s if he was trying to blame the bodies on La Cosa Nostra. I’ll ask him and see if he tells me to piss off. I think we found Popov’s contact in the NYPD. Organized crime too.”
“What about Roxanne?”
“What about her?” I bristle more than I planned on.
“Easy, brother. She might be in danger.”
He’s right. She’s always been in danger but if Reynolds is on the Bratva payroll and is looking for her, that’s a hell of a boost for Popov. “Aye. Work on a GPS tracker for her.”
Patrick looks surprised. “She going to like that much?”
“Probably not. But I’m not taking chances with her safety.” It’s the gods’ honest truth too. Patrick nods solemnly.
“Next up, the lads found the customs inspector. They’ve had a lovely chat. After some persuasive arguments, he admits that he signs off on the two ships anytime they come through. He’s never heard of Dimitri, he swears, but does mention a Boris paying him off.”
“Isn’t that Popov’s henchman?”
“Aye, sure as shite is. I explained to him that the terms of his arrangement are changing. He’s out of the city. Actually, he left the bloody state.”
“Thank you for handling that.”
“Anytime, boss. By the way, what the bloody hell is going on in your bedroom? I could hear Michael squealing from the front door.”
I laugh. “Oh, he’s just playing fairy godmother for Cinderella and having himself a good time of it.”
Patrick exits, shaking his head.
I fix up a drink and dial Vincent De Luca. He answers on the first ring.
“O’Connell.”
“De Luca.”
