Beyond A Reasonable Doubt (15 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

“Thank you, sir.” David Garcia hung up the phone, poured a drink, and signed his resignation. The next morning, Jenna would be appointed the new district attorney. He flipped the paper into the fax machine, dialed the number, and pressed the Send button.

He opened his desk drawer and pulled out his 9mm semiautomatic. Suicide was an unforgivable sin, but he was dying anyway. He turned as the front door opened. “Hello, Gregory, I thought you might be coming by.”

“You planning on shooting me, David?”

David smiled. “Not you.”

Gregory closed the door behind him. “Mr. Dade thinks you might be soft where Miss James is concerned.” He walked slowly into the middle of the room. “Are you getting soft, David?”

David picked up his glass. “Would you like a drink?”

“Got any beer?”

“In the refrigerator. Help yourself.”

Gregory walked toward the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, pulled out a beer, and popped the top. “So, how do you want to do this? It’s a big house. Take me a few hours to search it. You willing to wait that long?”

David waved toward the couch. “No need. There’s nothing here to implicate Marcus or you. Have a seat and enjoy your drink.”

Gregory sat down. “Doesn’t have to go down this way, David.”

David walked to the mantel and picked up his wedding picture. “So, what did Marcus send you here to do?”

Gregory laughed. “Break an arm. Figured we’d run you over to the doc, put on a cast, and nobody would be the wiser.”

David sat down opposite him. “There’s only been two women in my life I’d die for.” He handed the picture to Gregory. “Why don’t you keep that? I think Susan would want you to have it.”

Gregory took the picture. “And the other woman?”

David met his gaze across the coffee table. “Jenna James. She’s a good person, Gregory.”

Gregory finished his beer and crushed the can in his hand. “What do you want me to do?”

David handed him an envelope addressed to Marcus Dade. “Watch over her. Make sure she doesn’t get led down the wrong path for the right reasons.”

Gregory grinned. “Life insurance?”

David nodded. “Top notch policy. He touches her, you make sure it gets served on the right people.”

Gregory stood up. “You sure about this, David? There’s new advances in cancer every day. A few weeks, another month, they could find a cure.”

David stood and held out his hand.

Gregory grasped it and pulled him in for a tight embrace. “You were good to Susan. A good husband. And you’ve been a good brother-in-law. I won’t forget you.” He broke the embrace and held up the envelope. “Nor will I forget my promise. As long as I live, Jenna James will be safe. What do you want me to do with the house?”

“Wait until my body’s found, then burn it to the ground. It’s the only way Dade will believe there wasn’t anything left behind.” David picked up the gun and walked to the center of the room. “Goodbye, Gregory.”

Gregory walked toward him. “I can’t let you kill yourself, David.”

David frowned. “What do you mean, Gregory?”

“My sister went to heaven. If you kill yourself, you can’t join her there.” Gregory grabbed the hand holding the gun and in one swift motion, pulled it to the side of David’s head and pulled the trigger. “Goodbye, David.”

Gregory let go of the hand, allowing David’s body to fall naturally as it would have if he’d actually pulled the trigger himself. He quickly washed the blood from his hands and placed the wedding picture back on the mantel before dialing Dade’s number.

“Good news?”

“Afraid not, boss. Bastard offed himself.”

“That could be troublesome. I hope you tied up any loose ends.”

Gregory glanced around the room, his gaze falling on the empty beer can. “Be better if the police verified it as suicide first. Give me a half hour to rig the place, and then have someone call it in.”

Marcus chuckled. “Sounds like a perfect job for Savior and Redmond. Give them just enough time to check the body.”

~ ~ ~

Jenna settled back into the plush leather of the limo Clifford Beaumont had sent for her. She was itching to get started on the indictment and putting together the list of names of all the people that needed protection. Dade would ask for bail, and the judge would grant it. They needed to be ready before that happened.

She sighed and looked out the window. None of this would have been possible without Clifford Beaumont’s intervention and help. She’d promised Harry and Jake she’d meet them at Beaumont’s. At least she’d get a chance to see Jordan again and give him the good news. It might be the last fun night she had for a long time. Tomorrow, she was going to do her best to convince David to testify against Dade.

The limo stopped, and the driver quickly came around to open her door. “Enjoy your evening, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” Jenna answered with a smile. “I don’t think I’ll need a ride back. I have some friends who should be joining us.”

She knocked on the door, which was opened by the same maid who had let her in a week before although it seemed as if years had passed. “Ah, Miss James, they are expecting you. Please follow me.”

Jenna followed her through the front room and wished she had a moment just to amble around and touch things. Beaumont might have once been a dock worker, but his taste in art and furniture was now impeccable. Her gaze fell on the piano in the corner. “Is that a Steinway?”

The maid stopped for a moment. “Yes, of course. It was a gift for Miss Kamela although I don’t believe she truly likes to play. Mr. Beaumont uses it more than she does. Please, follow me.”

Jenna tore her gaze from the beautiful instrument, her mind trying to reconcile the huge hands she remembered with someone being able to play such a delicate instrument. “I’d love to hear him some time.”

The maid gave her a smile. “You must simply ask.”

They continued through the room and out the patio doors to the pool. Jenna took in the scene and laughed. The day so far had been full of surprises, and that was no different. Beaumont was manning a huge grill filled with steaks, his chef’s hat leaning to one side while Kamela hovered close to Jordan’s side. Tom, or Drago as he’d called himself, was chopping up vegetables with a little more gusto than she felt was probably necessary.

Kamela caught sight of her first. “Jenna!” She rushed forward, pulling her into a bear hug. “Are you okay? Look, Jordan is here.”

Jenna extricated herself carefully but still found her hand grabbed.

Kamela pulled her forward. “Jenna is here.”

Clifford Beaumont pushed up his hat and raised a pronged fork in greeting. “Make yourself at home. Where’s Harry and Jake?”

“They got a call right before we were supposed to leave. They promised to join us as soon as they finished there.”

Jenna allowed Kamela to pull her to the recliner where Jordan sat, propped up with pillows. His face was still unnaturally pale, and he’d lost a lot of weight. “Hey, partner. Grab a seat.”

She glanced to where Tom was still cutting vegetables. “Maybe I should help.”

Kamela pulled up a chair. “You sit. I’ll help Tom finish the salad. Jordan is dying to talk to you.”

Jenna sat and turned her attention to Jordan. “When did this happen?”

He smiled. “Last night. He said it was easier to have all his worries under one roof.”

“I’m glad. I was worried about you.”

Jordan searched her face, his eyes darkening. “Clifford told me what Michael did to you, Jenna. I’m sorry.”

“You warned me. We arrested them this morning for your mother’s murder. I have them where I want them; now, I just have to get the information to keep them there.” She smiled at him. “At least it will be easier now, knowing I don’t have to worry about you getting into trouble.”

He laughed weakly. “I’m afraid I haven’t been able to cause much trouble even without the handcuffs.”

Jenna glanced around at the group again and frowned, something niggling at the back of her mind. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. Who was driving the van in Atlanta?”

“Someone you’ve met but who prefers to stay anonymous.”

Jenna searched his face. “Like a huge black man?”

Jordan shrugged. “Maybe.”

Jenna continued to search his face as she digested the information. It made sense. Agent Starks had known that Michael had called Simms and Treadmore. He must have been watching them and followed them to Atlanta. But how had he hooked up with Drago?

Clifford joined them, placing a hand on Jenna’s shoulder and interrupting her thoughts. “We lost the pilot.”

“When?”

Clifford pulled out a news article and handed it to her.

Jenna read the article quickly. A single-engine plane had crashed the day before in Montana, killing the pilot. “Is this the pilot he used to fly Olivia Elkins’s body back to Texas?”

Clifford nodded. “The sooner we get a list of names, the better off those people will be.”

“If all goes as planned on Tuesday morning, we won’t lose anyone else. As soon as they know they’re safe, I think they’ll all start talking.”

Clifford pointed toward the table. “Do you want to wait for your friends or dig in?”

Jenna laughed. “I vote for digging in. I’m starved.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Harry parked in front of the residence. “Looks like that’s our boy over there near the steps.”

Jake climbed out, stretched, and waited for Harry as the young boy approached at a fast clip.

He started speaking quickly in Spanish.

“Wow, son, slow down. Can you speak English?” Jake asked.

“Sí, señor.”

“Then start from the beginning.”

“I come to clean Mr. Garcia’s pool. I look through window, and Mr. Garcia is lying on floor. I think he’s dead.”

“What’s your name?” Harry asked.

“Antonio Menez. I work for Mr. Garcia for long time. He help me go to school.”

Harry pulled his gun and headed toward the house. “Antonio, would you mind waiting for us at the car? We’re going to go in and check on Mr. Garcia, and we’ll be right back.”

“I’ll take the back,” Jake said.

Harry nodded, moving onto the porch. He knocked on the door and turned the knob. The door opened and he called out, “Police. Mr. Garcia?”

He moved inside, searching the corners and doorways for movement. A body lay in the center of the room, arm outstretched, holding a gun.

Jake strolled in from the back of the house and knelt beside the body. “Isn’t Garcia the name of Jenna’s boss?”

Harry holstered his gun. “Yeah, David Garcia.” He glanced around the room. “It looks like a suicide.”

Jake stood up and walked to the credenza. “There’s an envelope here for Jenna.” He opened the envelope and pulled out the top sheet. “You better read this.”

Harry took the note and read it.

My dearest Jenna, I had a choice. Death or taking the chance that I might once again have to betray you. I chose death. You are everything I once wanted to be. Do not grieve for me, my friend.

I’ve asked that Judge White hear the arraignment. We spoke, and he’ll let the case stand if your arguments are good. Dade will argue that all the evidence you have is circumstantial and that your informant is an escaped convict and vindictive toward his father and brother. The death of the undertaker and his girlfriend helped to convince him to hear your argument. You need to use that.

I’ve also enclosed a list of the names of the staff on the farm in Kentucky. I don’t know how many, if any, know the truth, but you need to get those names into the record, as well as the name of the coroner, Jordan Elkins, the maid, your two police friends, and yourself—anyone even remotely involved in this that has any information that you can use must be mentioned. Otherwise, there will be more bodies showing up soon.

David

Harry folded the note and stuck it inside his pocket. “We’d better call it in.”

“Harry?”

The tone of Jake’s voice was enough to get Harry’s legs moving quickly in his direction. “What?”

Jake pointed at the ceiling. “Do you know how to defuse a bomb?”

Harry glanced up, eyes locked onto the timer slowly ticking down. They had less than a minute. “Nope.”

The two turned, darting for the front door. Outside, they headed for the nearest hill and jumped just as the explosion went off behind them. A second explosion followed the first.

Harry stood and glanced toward the cruiser, where Antonio was huddled, whimpering in Spanish.

Jake whistled long and low, bringing Harry’s attention back to the house, which now lay in a pile of burning rubble. “That makes three I know of.”

Harry dusted off his pants and stood up. “Three what?”

“Bombs. The killer you and Jenna talked about. The feds in Atlanta and now this one. We need to look for an explosives expert, and when we find him, I say we ram a stick of dynamite up his butt and light it.”

“Look on the bright side.” Harry chuckled.

“What bright side?”

“You’re always telling me you want to drive. I’ll let you start the car from now on.”

~ ~ ~

Clifford hung up the phone and glanced across the courtyard at the group gathered around the table—a happy, family-type atmosphere. Jenna was smiling at something Kamela was saying. Drago looked up and caught his eye. Beaumont cocked his head, motioning Drago to join him.

“Something up, Mr. Beaumont?”

“Somebody just blew up David Garcia’s house.”

Drago glanced back at the table. “Was he in it?”

Clifford nodded. “He was already dead. Suicide.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Take Travis and go snoop around. See what kind of explosives were used.”

Drago scratched his chin. “You think it’s Warner?”

“I hope not. That son of a bitch is crazy.”

Drago glanced back at the table. “Kid’s had a lot dropped in her lap lately. You gonna tell her?”

Clifford followed his gaze to where Jenna was laughing with Jordan and Kamela. “Yeah, I get all the good jobs.”

~ ~ ~

Jenna thanked the limo driver again and dug through her new purse for her house key.

“Would you like me to go in and check to make sure everything is okay?”

Jenna glanced at the car parked across the street. Geno and Marko were already climbing out and heading her way. “No, thank you; Geno and Marko will do that.”

The limo driver tipped his hat and closed the door. “Enjoy your evening, Miss James.”

Jenna waved as he backed out of the driveway. Beaumont might have mob connections, but he also had the nicest employees she’d ever met. She handed the house key to Marko. “You really don’t have to do this every time I come home.”

“Just following orders, Miss James. If you’d stand back, please.”

Jenna moved back down the driveway a few feet as he opened the door and glanced inside. “We’ll be right back.”

She waited, tapping her foot as the two checked the house for intruders. They came out after a few minutes. “All clear, ma’am.”

“Thank you.” After going in, she closed the door behind herself and sagged against it. The emotions she’d been holding in since Clifford had told her about David overwhelmed her, and she dropped her purse, covering her face as she sobbed until she felt drained. Balling her hands into fists, she beat them against the wall. “Damn you, Dade. Damn your black soul to hell.”