Always Watching (8 page)

Datello froze when he saw me.  Instead
of screaming invectives at me, he walked slowly toward the door,
more of a shuffle really, since his legs were shackled. 

“
What’s wrong?  Why
the fuck are you here, Helen?”

I swallowed a lump that materialized in the
back of my throat.  This was not the behavior of a man play
acting.  He looked genuinely alarmed.

“
Goddammit!  What
happened to Celeste?  I told you people –”

“
Celeste is fine,
Danny.  I think you should sit down.”

Officer Thomas pulled out a chair and nudged
Datello into it with a rough shove.

I chewed my lower lip.  This didn’t
make sense.  If his lawyer knew what was going on, why hadn’t
he called Datello?  Why was he fighting to keep me out of the
investigation as a consultant if Danny wasn’t pulling the
strings?

“
Tell me what’s
wrong.  Or are you here to claim that there isn’t a threat
toward my family?”

I sat down and perched my elbows on the
table.  “Do you trust Carlos Stefano?”

“
What the fuck?  Of
course I trust him.  He’s been my attorney for nearly twenty
years.  This is a new tactic, Helen.  Are you trying to
make me so paranoid that I won’t even trust a man I’ve known most
of my adult life?”

“
Why would he file an
injunction with the court to keep me from consulting on a case we
opened for the express purpose of protecting Celeste?  I mean,
c’mon, Danny.  I know you hate me.  But I suspect that
you love your wife more than you could ever hate anybody, including
me.”

He gritted his teeth.  “Why would I
want someone with a vendetta against my family allegedly protecting
them?”

I leaned forward.  “Because that’s what
Celeste asked me to do.”

Some of the tension bled out of his
jaw.  “She’s very trusting.  When it comes to
understanding people like us, Celeste hasn’t got a clue.”

“
She refused to speak with
the police tonight, Danny.  She specifically asked to talk to
me.  Do you know what she told me?”

Wary eyes impaled
me.  “What?  And why would she
need
to talk to the
police?”

“
She told me that she
wanted my help because there are only two people in the world who
understand your distant kin – us, Danny.  You and
me.”

Panicked breath sucked into his lungs. 
“I thought you said she was fine.”

“
She is.”

Dawning crashed down over his head. 
“Oh God.  The baby?”

“
She’s missing.  I
find it odd that your lawyer is in chambers with Judge Gates right
now trying to bar me from helping the police find your daughter,
Danny.  Can you think of anyone else in this city with more
experience looking for missing children?”

His olive skin faded to the color of almond
milk.  “Get me a phone.”

“
Celeste wants to talk to
you, Danny.”

“
Not yet.  I need to
call Carlos and tell him to knock it off.”

Devlin’s shock crowded me from behind. 
“Are you playing us, Datello?  What’s with the abrupt change
of heart about Helen’s help?”

“
My wife, despite her age,
is a very wise soul, Detective Mackenzie.  Helen and I can
hate each other for reasons well deserved until the stars
fall.  This is my child we’re talking about.  Celeste is
right.  So is Helen.  There isn’t anyone else better
equipped to find our baby.”

I slid my cell phone across the table. 
“Make the call.  Then I’ve got a few questions for you. 
When we’re finished, Officer Thomas will take you to a phone and
you can call Celeste.  As much as it sickens me to say this,
she deserves the comfort you can offer her.”

Stefano agreed to cooperate with Datello’s
order – a moot point as it turned out, since Judge Gates pointed
out the fact that Devlin and I were the ones who recognized that
the threat against Celeste Datello was legitimate.

“
Now,” I stuffed my phone
back into my purse.  “Who in Sully’s organization could still
be hanging around outside the hospitality of my former federal
brethren to be involved in something like this?”

“
Franchetta would be my
first bet,” Datello said.  “But rumor has it, he’s still in
lockup.  I know you don’t believe me, but I genuinely have had
very little to do with Sully’s business interests for more than a
decade.”

“
Hmm,” I nodded. 
“Nice last act you committed, Danny.”  We knew full well what
it had been.  The day he offered my former husband to his
uncle with a nice juicy insurance policy – me, the brand new FBI
agent.

“
He knew what he was
getting into, Helen.  He
wanted
in.  I didn’t hear you
complaining when you were living an affluent comfortable
life.”

I gritted my teeth.  “Are you sure that
this is related to Sully?”

“
You heard that phone
call.  Sullivan’s Boutique?  They were sending a
message.”

Hard to disagree with that one. 
“Still,” I said, “he’s usually far more subtle than that.”

“
And he’s not pulling the
strings on the outside anymore.”

“
Do you know if he has any
operations on this side of the country?” Dev asked.

Datello shook his head.  “We had an
understanding that my mere presence in this city was not a green
light for him to set up shop on the west coast.  There are far
too many existing… well, let’s just say that the west coast has its
own problems.  He didn’t want a territory war.”

I dragged one hand over my face.  “If
you think of a name, anyone at all that you think could be under
Sully’s influence, call me.  Officer Thomas will make sure
everyone knows that I’m at your disposal if you have
information.  I will not accept calls for status
updates.  Are we clear on that point?”

Datello’s eyes narrowed.  “As long as
you’re clear on something from my perspective, Helen.”

“
What’s that?”

“
When you find the bastard
who stole my daughter, you be ruthless.  You be every bit the
cold hearted bitch you were with Rick.”

I didn’t have to respond.  Datello read
the agreement in my eyes.  Seems we had more than a few traits
in common.  It was definitely not ok to screw with kids.

Chapter 7

Darnell called Devlin before we were out of
the parking lot at the jail.  He disconnected the call and
slammed on the brakes.

“
What’s wrong?”

“
We’re supposed to meet
Briscoe at the bay.  Pier 20.”

I gripped his arm.  “Why?”

“
Dead body. 
Female.  A child, Helen.”

“
Fuck!”

“
Calm down.  We don’t
know much.  Bay View summoned CSD.  Maya’s on her way out
there too.  We’re just gonna go check it out before we do
anything else.”

“
They could call us if the
search is off.  Even Briscoe isn’t too dumb to identify a dead
infant.”

Something dark and ominous unfurled in my
belly.  The pain was so intense that everything faded to a
tiny pinpoint of light.  I clutched my stomach and
groaned.  Sweat burst from every pore on my body.

The next thing I knew, Devlin was hovering
above me, slapping my cheeks lightly.  Disorientation hit in
crashing waves.  I gasped for breath.  One hand gripped
his wrist before the hand connected with my cheek again.

“
What the hell are you
doing?” I rasped.

“
You fainted!”

“
Don’t be
ridiculous.”

“
Helen, what’s going
on?  We were talking about going to the bay, you were arguing
about why we shouldn’t be there, and the next thing I know, you’re
slumped over in your seat.”

I sucked breath through my nose.  The
nausea crawled up the back of my throat and choked me.  “Gonna
be sick,” I gasped.

Dev jerked the handle on the car door and
tipped my head toward the ground before my dinner made its
reappearance.  I retched for what felt like hours.  Hair
plastered to my head.  Every muscle in my body quaked.

“
You shouldn’t be out
here,” he murmured.  “Jesus, Helen.  What were you
thinking?  Why didn’t you tell me you were this
sick?”

“
I’m not,” I whispered two
weak, barely audible words.  No telling how he understood me,
but he did.

“
The hell you
aren’t.”

“
Kids,” I rasped.  “I
can’t stand dead kids.”

“
Oh honey.”

“
Let’s just get this over
with.  You’re right.  It’s part of the job.  I’ll be
fine.”

He pulled a bottle of water from somewhere
in the back seat and handed it to me.  “Rinse,” Devlin
said.

“
Sorry about the
mess.”

“
You’re not gonna get car
sick if I start driving, are you?”

I shook my head.  “It’s this
case.  Any cases with missing kids.  When we find bodies,
I have a history of losing it.  Not like I just did, but like
you said.  I’ve been a little under the weather this week, so
there you have it.”

“
Are you sure you should
be out here?”

I shot him a glare.  “Remember what I
told Datello?  Do you think somebody else in this goddamned
city is more capable of finding a missing child than I am? 
They aren’t.  If this child is …” another wave rippled through
me.  “If this is the Datello infant, we lost.  Game
over.  You can find the perp without my help.”

“
Somehow I doubt that,
Helen, but let’s just play it by ear after we see what they found
at the bay.”

He drove much slower than I was used to, no
doubt in deference to my stomach.  It wasn’t pleased no matter
what happened.  The closer we got to pier 20, the harder the
fist tightened where digestion should’ve been the norm.  I
felt pummeled by Mike Tyson by the time the symphony of flashing
lights blinded me.

“
Ready?”

“
Do I have a choice?” I
muttered.  Every dead child I’d ever seen flashed on the backs
of my eyelids.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’ve seen more than
my fair share of dead bodies over the years.  Some were so far
gone that all that remained were bleached bones.  Some were
gooey with an odor that should’ve made me vomit.  Others
looked like they had merely gone to sleep, never to wake
again.  Masks frozen in terror, the look of utter surprise
that this was how it ended, you name it.  I’ve seen
it. 

But the children.

I think it’s the vulnerability, the
knowledge that the living possess that we have a responsibility to
protect those incapable of protecting themselves that gets under my
skin.  Their bodies are too small, too frail to withstand some
of the abuse I’ve seen inflicted.  The innocence lost,
reflected in vacant eyes digs deep into a dark place in my mind
that most times, I’d prefer deny exists. 

“
It ain’t our girl,”
Briscoe said.  He rushed toward us, huffing and puffing around
the tire of lard that cushioned his middle.

Maya waved me over with one hand.

“
If this isn’t our kidnap
victim, I need to get back to the case,” I said.  My heel dug
into the sand on a quick pivot back to the car.

“
Hell no you don’t,”
Briscoe said.  “Winslow’s got concerns, and by God, you’re
gonna see this –”

“
Tony,” Dev intervened,
“it’s not necessary.  Maya can call Helen later.  She’s
here to consult on one case for OSI, not every vic that turns up in
the city.”

“
Oh, so one dead baby
matters, but another don’t?”

It was a hard punch to an already aching
gut.

“
Or don’t we give a damn
‘cause this one ain’t a pretty blonde white baby?”

I saw it happening like an out of body
experience.  A hand that looked like mine, but surely couldn’t
be connected to my body, snaked out and wrapped around Briscoe’s
windpipe.  It squeezed with more strength than I possessed in
my still weak left arm.

His face turned purple.

A voice barked in my ear. 
“Helen!  Let him go!”

I’d seen that grip before.  A little
more pressure, a lateral twist, a satisfying pop, the crunch of the
hyoid bone and this thorn in my side would never antagonize me
again.

Devlin gripped my wrist and jerked my arm
free.  Briscoe fell to his knees in the sand gasping and
wheezing.

“
What the hell is wrong
with you?” Dev bellowed.  “You could’ve killed
him!”

Speaking of death masks, a trembling finger
pointed down at the one staring up at me with hurt and
confusion.  “Don’t ever speak to me again!”

I stomped off in the direction of Maya,
oblivious to the stunned stares that followed me.  “Make it
fast.  This isn’t my case.”

“
Helen, did you just choke
Tony?”  Maya’s incredulous eyes stabbed through the haze of
rage.

“
He said something so
offensive, I think I lost my head for a moment.  I
do
care when children
are found dead, Maya.”  Hot tears sprang to my
eyes.

Her arms hugged me tightly.  “That
fucking troll.  Of course you do, sweetheart.  I only
wanted you to take a look at a mark I found on her arm.”

“
A girl?” I
whispered.  My emotions bounced around like a red rubber ball
on elastic, smacked relentlessly by a wooden paddle.  I
glanced at the tiny body covered by white on the muddy
beach.