L.A.P.D. Special Investigations Series, Boxed Set: The Deceived, The Taken & The Silent (14 page)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“IT’S JUST NOT A GOOD IDEA, that’s all,” Adam said, keeping his eyes on the road. After they’d finished breakfast in silence and climbed back in the car, she’d folded her arms across her chest and stared out the window.

He glanced at his watch, wondering how long it would last. Ten minutes so far. Pleased with himself, he smiled. It was the first time he’d seen any show of real emotion.

Passive aggressive wasn’t the best kind of communication, but at least he knew she was pissed. Now he needed to find a phone.

He didn’t like the idea of her continuing on with him, but she’d made it clear she wasn’t going home before getting some answers. And that may take a while. No way would Sullivan still be staying in the same place if he knew the law was on his tail. The law, or someone else—and his disappearance four years ago indicated he knew someone was.

But it might be enough to satisfy her, and if it was another dead end, maybe she’d willingly go back to San José.  She’d said if she didn’t get any answers at the address connected to that phone number, she’d find a way to get to the village with or without him. He had no reason to doubt it.

“I know, you think it’s dangerous?” It was more a statement than a question.

“It is dangerous.”

“So do you think it’s less dangerous if we go together, or if I go alone?”

He gritted his teeth. “That’s a stupid question.”

Passing a building whose sign on the front read Tourismo, he jammed on the brakes, shifted into Reverse and stopped in front of the place.

“What are we doing now?”

“I need to do some things here,” he said. He needed to call Rico, but was having a hard time finding any time away from her to do it. He’d tried his satellite phone last night when she was showering—when the intruder paid his visit—but Rico hadn’t answered.

“I’m coming in with you.”

He didn’t respond because what he said didn’t seem to matter to her. She’d do whatever the hell she wanted to do, anyway. But he didn’t want her listening to his conversation with Rico. His partner had been researching at his end and may have found information that could change Adam’s course of action.

“I need a phone,” she said as they got out of the car and walked toward the tourist office. “I didn’t realize I’d have to get global service on my cell, and there wasn’t time for that before I left, anyway.” She stayed close, talking the whole time. “But if there’s a phone here, I’ll call information and if I get an address, we can check it out. And I should call to see how Chloe is doing and how the shops are going.”

During the conversation with herself, she shucked off her safari shirt and tied the sleeves around her waist. She kept in step with him, and he noticed her cheeks and nose were a little sunburned and her freckles more pronounced. She had a healthy glow that made her eyes seem even bluer, if that was possible.

But her mouth just kept on flapping. “So, do you want to make some calls, too? You should probably go first because mine might take a while since I have more than one to make. Come to think of it, I should call Meadow Brook, too, to see how Harriet is. And—”

He stopped in his tracks. “I don’t care how many people you have to call or how many things you have to take care of. I’m here on business and that’s what I’m taking care of. Then I’m leaving. With or without you.”

Her mouth clamped shut, albeit only for a moment. “I need to see how everything is going.”

He shrugged. “I don’t care about that. Not my circus, not my monkey.”

Drawing away as they walked, she looked at him askance. “No, I guess you wouldn’t understand that. But just because you don’t have anyone who might worry about you if they didn’t hear from you doesn’t mean other people don’t.”

He gritted his teeth. He had plenty of people who cared about him. He just didn’t need to call them every twenty minutes. She’d been gone for what…two frigging days?

“The people in my life know how to manage their lives on their own. And they do it just fine without me checking up on them. If they need me, they know how to reach me.”

It was true. Those who needed to know did. And he was glad he didn’t have anyone worrying about his every move or getting upset if he didn’t call regularly. It had to be that way in his line of work. Otherwise he’d feel obligated, and that would affect his job. He’d done that once. It didn’t work.

“Well, I don’t manage other people’s lives,” she said, icicles hanging on her words. “I truly care about the people in my life and they care about me. If I want to know how they’re doing and I want to be supportive and do all the things friends do for each other, I have to touch base. Friendships require a certain amount of active participation from both sides. But I suppose if one didn’t have friends, one wouldn’t have any idea what I’m talking about.”

His stomach rumbled. “You’re right. And not only that, one wouldn’t give a damn.” He turned and strode to the desk where a woman sat reading a book. “Buenos días,” he said, tamping down the irritation that suddenly felt like a volcano ready to blow. Even more annoying was that there could be a smidgen of truth to what she said.

“Can I help you,” the woman said in perfect English. Immediately, Jillian piped up, asking if there was a public phone she could use, and then hurried away to use it. Good. He could’ve offered his phone, but then he’d not be able to contact Rico privately.

“Yes,” he said to the woman. Can you tell me if there’s an area where non-locals live?” It was a small town and if there was an ex-pat area where non-locals lived, he might get some answers.

Most ex-pats knew each other or at least knew of each other, so it was a good place to  start when trying to find someone in a foreign country.

The receptionist gave him a local map and drew a circle around the area, and then he went outside to make his call to Rico. He wondered if Sullivan’s house was in the area. Was he that confident in his cover?

It took several minutes to get through to Rico. “Yo, Rico.”

“Hey, bud. Thanks for checking in.” Rico’s tone was dry.

“I was busy.”

“You got anything?”

“Zip. But I’m closing in.”

“You get the widow to go back home?”

When he’d called Rico earlier from San José and told him the problem, his partner had suggested a couple of ways to handle the situation. But Adam hadn’t liked either one. Both would’ve left Jillian out in the cold, and as she’d said, she was going to go ahead with her search with or without him. Knowing that, he couldn’t leave her on her own. She was just stubborn enough to do it. Not to mention all his protective impulses had surged to the fore. It was crazy.

“Nope. But I’m using it to my advantage.”

“How so?”

“She’s able to get information I can’t.” By telling the woman at the restaurant where they’d stopped for dinner that Jillian was the boy’s aunt, they’d been given directions to the hospital. But he could tell by Rico’s silence that he didn’t agree with Adam’s tactics.

“She was going to go by herself, anyway,” Adam explained. “And I figured it’s safer for her to go with me.”

“Uh-huh. So, do you know why you got an inquiry from some guy about her?”

“What?”

“I took a call for you from someone asking questions about her. When I asked for details, he hung up and we couldn’t get a trace on it. My guess is you’ve got company.”

Adam knew the “company” Rico referred to was either someone else trying to locate Sullivan or someone who wanted to know why he and Jillian were looking for him. He’d suspected as much back on the road. He’d been sure they were being followed. Only there was no way to know if their tail was one of the good guys or the bad guys.

It also explained their visitor last night and why he hadn’t taken anything. Someone was on to them. Adam just didn’t know why—and he was glad he’d said Jillian was the boy’s aunt and looking for him. It was the perfect cover.

“Great.”

“I figured you’d want a heads-up.” Rico was silent for a few seconds, then said, “I thought you’d get in touch before now.”

“You worried about me, Mom?”

“No, but I can’t get information to you if you don’t call.”

“I called. You didn’t answer. You have something else?”

“Yeah.”

Adam heard something muffle the phone. Then Rico all but whispered, “Can you call me later—at home?”

“I can’t guarantee that. You got your cell?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, go where you can talk and I’ll call you back in five minutes.” The conversation disturbed Adam. Whatever his partner had to talk about obviously couldn’t be said in front of anyone at the station, which meant only one thing to Adam—and he didn’t like the implications.

Jillian sauntered over just as he was hanging up. He said, “You done already?”

She wrinkled her nose like a rabbit. “No.” She hauled in a breath. “I-I might need a little help with the language.”

He grinned. “Are you asking for my help?”

She waited a moment, her forehead creasing in exasperation.  Finally, on a deep sigh, she said, “Yes. My high school Spanish is lacking in some areas…and I’d appreciate it if you could help me make a phone call.”

“I’d be happy to.” They went inside and after she made a few futile attempts to get through, he held out his hand for the phone. “Give me the number and I’ll walk you through it.” He did and then turned to go, but she grabbed his arm, holding him there.

“Just in case,” she whispered while listening to the ringing on the other end. “Besides, I’ll need you to help on the next calls, too.”

Asking for help bothered her. Just like his ex. That told him how important those calls were to her.

And his was, too. He had to call Rico back, but stayed anyway in case she needed help. He leaned against the wall a few feet away. He didn’t want to eavesdrop…didn’t want to hear the catch in her voice when she talked to her daughter, or the caring she exuded when she talked to her best friend, the enthusiasm when she talked to her shop manager, or the patience she exhibited when talking with her mother-in-law. But he listened, anyway, and wondered again what it would be like to have someone care about him like that.

Wondered what it would be like to have Jillian Sullivan care about him.

He stalked away before she was finished with the last call. He’d helped her. He’d done his good deed for the day.

He went outside and called Rico again.

When Rico picked up, Adam said, “Make it quick. I’ve only got a few.”

“Got it. Your old partner, Bryce, was on a covert job that joined several federal agencies—the FBI, DEA, U.S. Customs Service and the U.S. Attorney’s office, along with bi-national task forces in Monterrey, Juarez and Tijuana on the Southwest Border Initiative.”

Adam knew that already. Bryce had told him the night he left the message.

“SWBI is poised to take down any organized crime syndicate participating in major international drug trafficking. You called it right. Sullivan was part of it, but I don’t know the details. There’s something strange with the whole thing involving Bryce, but I haven’t nailed anything down. I’m still working on it.”

Adam spotted Jillian through the glass doors and looked about to exit. “Thanks, buddy. Gotta go.”

He stuffed the unit into his duffel bag, went to the car, leaned against the hood, casual, arms crossed over his chest. When he’d left her side, she was talking with her mother-in-law. He understood the need to talk with her daughter, and maybe even make sure her mother-in-law was okay, but all the rest was overkill. The woman had control issues. And he wasn’t going to get sucked in by asking about any of it. Except… “Your daughter okay?”

Nodding, she snapped, “She’s fine.”

He turned. “Really? You don’t sound very happy about talking to her.”

“I didn’t. She was busy making s’mores.”

Knowing how much her daughter meant to her, he felt like a jerk. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be back home soon and we’ll have lots of time together.”

The “okay” that came out of her mouth wasn’t reflected in her expression, which indicated something else was bothering her.

Though reluctant to open a can of worms, he had to ask. “Something else happen?”

“Yes. I talked with Harriet and then her nurse at Meadow Brook and learned that a couple of men had been there to visit Harriet. They were asking all kinds of questions about Rob and me.” She turned to him. “I don’t suppose you know anything about that, do you?”

Her tone said she believed he did, but he was as surprised as she. He shook his head. “Not a clue. What did they want to know?”

“They asked if you’d been there to talk to Harriet.” Her frown deepened as she eyed him suspiciously. “You probably don’t know why they’d ask that either.”

He shook his head. “No idea whatsoever.”  Except that someone wanted to know what he was doing.

“When I finished, I got an address for the man in Mirador—the man I called.” Her eyes brightened. “It has to be him,” she said, her mood suddenly more upbeat. “How many Sullivans can there be in Mirador?”