Jamie Hill Triple Threat (48 page)

Brady thought about it on the way to the parking lot.
Costa's kids are cute
. He'd never thought about it much before. And the guy still considered his wife 'fucking hot' after having two babies—that was interesting to hear. Surprising, but very nice.

He thought briefly about Jack and Crystal. They hadn't been married long, so he could see how their relationship might still be passionate. But they'd adopted the two boys the same day they got married, so they'd never had much time alone. The whole thing had happened quickly. Brady was happy for them at the time, but remembered thinking 'better him than me'. Now, to his utter amazement, he was questioning that concept.

They reached Costa's SUV and he unlocked the doors. "Where to first?"

"Let's see if East Asian Imports is still around." Brady caught a glimpse of the kids' car seats in the back and his stomach quivered with excitement. He shook his head, trying to clear it. Climbing in and buckling up, he tried pushing Gina out of his mind.

He assumed after they'd slept together he'd be less obsessed. Nothing could be further from the truth. All he could think about was her. He gazed out the window as Costa drove. "Your wife
is
pretty fucking hot, man."

"Stay away from her," Costa muttered jovially.

"Don't worry. I've got all I can handle just now." He stared at the people on the sidewalks they drove past. They all looked like Gina. Brady smiled.

* * * *

Despite Brady's presumption, East Asian Imports was still in business when they arrived at the tenth floor offices. The place was still sparsely furnished, and the same receptionist sat at the front desk. "Hello, Jenny."

"Detective." The smile drained from her face. "Mr. Moreno is on an international conference call. He may be a while. If you'd like to make an appointment—"

"We'll wait." Brady dropped into one of the two chairs in the reception area.

Costa sat next to him.

They looked around the small room, shifted in their seats, crossed and uncrossed their feet. After thirty minutes Brady spoke to the receptionist who'd been ignoring them. "Tell Mr. Moreno we're going on over to Mr. Moretti's house. If he finishes his call, he's free to meet us there, if he chooses." He stood.

"Just a moment." She raised one hand and got up from her chair, one eye on her large phone console. "It looks like he's just finished up."

"Imagine that." Brady muttered.

Scowling, she entered the CEO's office.

Costa stood and stretched his legs. "Why didn't you think of that a half hour ago? Might have saved us some time."

Brady bent his neck from side to side and straightened his tie. "They needed us to wait it out a little bit. We'll let them think they have the upper hand."

Costa shook his head. "How am I ever going to figure out all the shit you just seem to know?"

With a slight grin, Brady shrugged. "Give yourself time, Junior. It'll come."

Jenny reappeared in the hall. "You gentlemen can come back now."

They headed toward her and Costa mumbled, "I bet I can change diapers more efficiently than you."

Brady chuckled. "No doubt. I might get some pointers from you some time." He nodded at the woman as they entered
Moreno
's office. "Mr. Moreno."

The dark-haired man sat behind his desk, jacket off and shirt sleeves rolled up. "Come in, detectives. Sorry to keep you waiting. I was on a
scheduled
conference call. If you'd made an appointment—"

"We like doing it this way." Brady smiled and sat.

Costa took the seat next to him. "We're still interested in speaking with Mr. Moretti."

Moreno
flexed his fingers against each other. "Gentlemen, I believe I told you before. I run East Asian Imports now. Mr. Moretti is retired, and frankly, his health is not great. We don't advertise that fact because many of our associates deal with us based on Mr. Moretti's reputation. If they found out he wasn't well, it could hurt business."

"We won't tell a soul," Brady assured him with a touch of sarcasm. "We'd just like a word with the man."

Moreno
' forced smile dried up. "I don't see how I can make this much clearer. Mr. Moretti is not well, nor has he been a decision-making partner of EAI for several months. If you tried to talk with him he'd be confused and no help whatsoever. I'm afraid he can barely remember his own family these days."

Brady raised his eyebrows. "Alzheimer's?"

Moreno
shrugged. "They can't say for sure. His family refuses to put him through a rigorous battery of tests when there's not much that can be done. He's on the latest experimental protocols, but they don't seem to help." He inhaled deeply and expressed the breath. "I have signed documents giving me full control over EAI, and a legal power of attorney. So whatever you wanted to discuss with him, I'm your man."

"Good. So, in that case…" Brady drummed his fingers on the arms of his chair. "The drug running, burglaries and murders that have been attributed to Mr. Moretti are actually your responsibility, then."

Moreno
's face flashed an angry shade of red. "Excuse me? Are you fucking kidding? I know there have been some thefts of shipments and believe me, I've checked out my own staff probably more thoroughly than you have. We run a good outfit, here, and associating us with drugs and murder is akin to libel, in my book. Perhaps we should see what my lawyer has to say about it."

Brady smiled. "I don't think that's necessary,
yet
. Someone is attributing the crimes to Moretti which is why we're forced to come and check it out. You understand. Of course, we don't have anything firm,
yet.
Gianni Macchio's name has also been bandied around. And then there's Richard Allen."

Moreno
waved his hand as if swatting a fly. "Allen is a gnat. He got busted with an illegal shipment so I'm sure he's trying to spread the blame all over
Riverside
. I don't think you need to look much further than his office. I hear his numbers man,
Watts
, talks out both ends of his ass."

"Not anymore," Costa said dryly.

Moreno
looked surprised. "
Watts
is dead? Is he one of the murders you mentioned?"

"Yes, indeed." Brady gauged the man's expression. He was shocked to hear the news, or he was a very good actor. "And then there was the security guard at East End Imports."

Moreno
laughed. "Aw, fuck. That poor sap was probably killed by friendly fire. I heard another of their guys shot some cop in the arm last week."

Brady frowned.

Moreno
stopped smirking. "Shit. One of you?"

Without replying, Brady asked, "What do you know about Macchio and East End Imports? Their offices aren't as fancy as yours, but they've been around a while. What's your take on their reputation?"

"Macchio is an old fart well past his prime. He and Moretti did business ages ago, but there's no love lost between them these days. Gianni with a 'G' is as big a thief as they come, and he raised his son to follow in his footsteps."

"That would be Mr. Morrow?" Costa suggested.

"D. Yeah, he's an asshole."

Brady smiled. "I believe he had similar observations about you."

"Fuck him."
Moreno
snarled.

Costa tried a different tactic. "Any idea why Morrow and Macchio have different last names if they're father and son?"

"If Gianni Macchio was your father and you wanted to go into business, you'd change your name, too. The old man has a mobster reputation."

"Then why follow in his footsteps?" Brady asked. "If Morrow wanted to make a break, he could have started his own business or moved away. He didn't have to take over the family company."

"Why, indeed?"
Moreno
sneered. "Perhaps because things aren't always what they seem, Detective. Morrow might profess to disapprove of his father's interests, but he's profited from them greatly over the years. His whole family has. Money talks, and bullshit walks."

"Right." Brady scratched his head, processing. "So, you're suggesting that Victor Moretti is as clean as a newborn baby's ass, and we should be looking at Gianni Macchio as the culprit here."

"Pretty much,"
Moreno
agreed.

Brady nodded. "Okay, then. We appreciate your input. We'll be in touch."

Moreno
showed them out. "Really looking forward to it."

Brady walked out, past the empty reception desk, straight to the elevator.

Costa stopped beside him and murmured, "You've never seen a newborn baby's ass, have you? They really aren't all that clean."

"Shut up." Brady closed his eyes and groaned.
Babies, again
. All threads of conversation led his mind back to Gina. A comfortable, yet strangely uncomfortable place to be. He shifted from one foot to the other and willed his erection away.

* * * *

Brady instructed Costa to drive to the offices of East End Imports. He wanted one more chat with D. Morrow to see if he could get a better read on the man. As they pulled into the parking lot, Morrow was walking towards a shiny black Lexus sedan.

"There's our man." Brady climbed out as soon as Costa came to a stop. He didn't want Morrow to drive off. "Mr. Morrow." He removed his sunglasses and caught the man's eye.

"Detective," Morrow acknowledged. "I meant to call and see how you were doing. I was shocked when I heard about the accident last week."

"Yeah, it was a surprise to me, too. I assume your man has been reprimanded? Besides spending the night in jail, that is."

"He no longer works for EEI. Whether you choose to believe it or not, we run an above-board operation here. Acts of ignorance and idiocy don't get rewarded."

Brady felt a twinge of satisfaction and nodded. "Glad to hear it. We just had a couple more questions for you. Your father's name has come up several times in our recent investigation. Any chance we can speak with him?"

Morrow shook his head. "Sorry. Pop isn't doing so well these days. He gets confused easily. I'd question the authenticity of anything he has to tell you."

"Really?" Brady feigned surprise. "Is it Alzheimer's?"

"Early stages, but yeah. His short-term memory is shot. He can talk about his life growing up in the inner city, but try to remember what he had for breakfast? Forget about it."

"I'm sorry to hear it." Brady wondered if he was listening to a broken record. The CEO's of EAI and EEI did
not
want the police talking to their elder counterparts about the businesses.

"So you have complete authority over the company, is that right?"

"Absolutely."

Costa spoke up. "There've been some questionable activity in
Riverside
lately, and we're trying to get to the bottom of it. See exactly who's behind it."

Morrow's eyes narrowed and he glared at Costa. "I hope you're not suggesting EEI had anything to do with the drugs you uncovered last week. And that idiot
Watts
—he was playing his boss for a fool. You don't have to look any farther than Richard Allen to solve that homicide."

"Really?" Brady raised his eyebrows. Last week Morrow hadn't recognized
Watts
' name. Now, all of a sudden, he was solving the mystery of the man's murder. "Allen points his finger in other directions. Says if he was going to smuggle drugs, he wouldn't risk his own company. He'd find someone on the inside of another import/export shop and push it through them."

"He would suggest that, wouldn't he? What else can he say when over two million dollars' worth of powder slipped through his hands? If he'd been smart, he'd have saved the money he was making on the side for a time like this, so he could take off to
Brazil
or somewhere. Stupid putz."

"Is that what you'd do?" Brady glared at Morrow.

"I'm a family man, Detective. I've done nothing wrong. Allen and
Watts
were scum-sucking low-life. They deserved everything they got. Don't believe everything you hear from the lips of a drowning man. People have been known to say lots of shit when it's their ass on the line."

"And you'd never throw anybody under the bus that way." Costa stared at Morrow.

Morrow stared back. "Not unless they deserved it. If you gentlemen will excuse me, I'm meeting my wife for lunch. I've already kept her waiting."

Brady stepped back so the man could get into his car. He watched Morrow drive off, then pulled out his cell phone and pressed a button in the memory. "Come on," he nodded his head at Costa, motioning toward their car. They both got in, and Costa drove.