Promise Renewed (19 page)

Darin wrapped an arm around Gina and left the room. They didn’t say a word until they entered the Mercedes and closed the door.

Gina leaned back and let out a long breath. “I thought for sure they could tell how nervous I was.”

“I had a few anxious minutes. But I think we did it. If we can get a face-to-face with Chavizi, we’ll make a few arrests.”

“Have you turned off your mike?”

“Nope,” he said and clicked it off. “I hope they heard it all. I’ll call them in a minute. Did you see the list? How do they get this many drugs past the border? Something’s got to change.”

He gave her a long, lingering look. God she was beautiful. And smart. “You did good. You played your part like a pro.”

His admiration kicked up a notch. Gina Carlson was quite a woman. It seemed she was able to hold her own whether it be on the squad, in a drug bust, and now playing a part he was sure was foreign to her. Added to that she seemed comfortable around his family.

If he didn’t watch out, he was going to fall for her.

Or had he already?

He made the call to Agent Peavy to let him know what was on the list. Peavy told Darin to call him back in ten minutes.

Back at the hotel, Gina asked, “Is the room clean?”

“We’ll know the minute we step inside,” Darin said. “A white vase with a red rose will mean it’s clear. Anything else is suspect.”

****

With a sigh of relief, Gina saw the red rose in a white vase sitting in the center of the table.

“So what now?” she asked. “Do we just sit around and wait? I’m not good at waiting.”

“Didn’t you know? That’s what narcs do best.”

“True, but usually we have something to do in the interim.”

Gina paced the luxurious living area. She didn’t know how she could keep this up. The stress of playing a role she was unaccustomed to, tied with her growing feelings for Darin was making her a wreck. After pulling a gun on him, God only knew what
he
was thinking.

She couldn’t blow it. Not now. They were too close to the source of a goodly portion of the drug trade in the Houston area. She wanted a takedown as much as Darin did. And she wanted to find Tom Hunter’s killer. If for no other reason, to give Darin the satisfaction of putting his partner’s killer behind bars. After she had enough proof to put her findings in writing for the higher-ups, she would tell Darin the truth. She didn’t know how he would take it. This subterfuge made her feel dishonest. She didn’t like the feeling.

Maybe she should opt out of IA. But she liked the work. It was challenging and interesting. She could go back to being a cop though. She had her detective’s badge. There shouldn’t be a problem. But did she want to?

Darin went to the bathroom to make the call. Even in his disguise he was an impressive man. When he stepped back into the room, she waved him over, put her arms around him, and leaned close to his left ear. “Can we speak freely?” Being close felt so perfect she wanted to stay there.

Darin pointed to the desk. “It’s safe.”

Was she?
Her emotions were all over the place. She stepped back. “What did they say?”

Darin grinned. “They’re excited. They gave me a list for the buy and told me they are on top of this.”

“Thank, God,” she breathed. “What else did they tell you?”

Though they trusted the room had been cleared they kept their voices low.

“We’re good to go. The fake bank account is ready. I’m going to call the goons now and set it up.”

Five minutes later, they were scheduled for a three o’clock meeting with the boss.

“I can’t wait for this to be over,” Gina said just as there was a knock at the door.

A valet rolled in a food cart. After another large tip they sat down to eat. “I’m too nervous to enjoy this,” she said, taking a small bite of fruit. Although everything smelled wonderful, she ignored the soup and the colorful salad.

“Eat. You’ll be glad you did.”

“I’ll try.”

She did. But food stuck in her throat and she found herself drinking more iced tea than eating.

Too nervous to do any more than think about how close they were to seeing Zeb Chavizi, she paced the room. This would be the big test. He wouldn’t be where he was if he wasn’t smart. Even a small slip on their part could give them away. And what if he wasn’t the one they wanted? What then?

“Stop pacing, Gina. You’re making me nervous.”

“We have to be really careful, Darin. Chavizi won’t be as easy to convince as his thugs were.”

“Don’t over-think it. Chavizi’s nothing more than a thug on steroids.”

She laughed. “I’ll try to remember that.

Finally, it was time to leave.

Once more the Mercedes with the FBI driver picked them up. When they were dropped off at a different apartment complex, Darin turned on the mike. “We’re at the meeting place.

“We know Chavizi’s office is in this building. We’ve followed him here often enough to know that much. We’ll soon find out for sure.”

They walked inside arm in arm. Every step of the way they played their parts. At the door they were met by Kamu and escorted upstairs.

Kamu opened the door. Once more they stepped through a metal detector. This one was the permanent kind. A receptionist greeted them. “Would you like a cup of coffee or a bottle of water?”

They declined.

The space was tastefully decorated. Chavizi had taken two apartments and turned them into a first class office. A receptionist area with a heavy maple desk and matching computer station spelled money. The walls were glass, with lots of plants sitting around. Several chairs, a coffee table holding a stack of magazines completed the area.

Down the hall, several closed doors had to be offices.

This office handled his legitimate business. Darin wondered if he handled his drug trade here also.

Kamu told Darin he would have to check him out. Darin put a scowl on Dutch Farley’s face, stretched out his arms. “This is insulting. If I didn’t understand the man’s concern, I wouldn’t be so cooperative.”

The receptionist walked up to Gina. “Would you mind coming with me?”

“I just might, honey, unless you tell me why.”

“Sorry. I have to search you.”

Head high, Gina followed the woman into the next room.

They were back in minutes, chatting as if they had known each other forever. Darin gave an invisible headshake. Gina was amazing.

“Where’s the boss? I’m not good at waiting.” He offered his most evil glower.

“You’re too impatient, sugar. Give the man time,” Gina drawled in a voice all could hear.

Darin made a show of looking at his watch. “Two more minutes.”

As if he heard, a man stepped out of one of the offices. Darin held his breath.

As he came closer, Darin realized the man they’d wanted to arrest for over a year was out of his cage and in the open. All they needed now was enough evidence to put him away.

Zeb Chavizi walked up to them, stretched his arm out to shake hands. Darin sized him up: five foot ten or so, two hundred pounds of muscle, a smile that contradicted the hard look in his dark eyes, and wearing some very expensive threads.

“Dutch and Meg Farley. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“And about you.” Darin didn’t smile, but kept a hard look on his face. He hoped he looked as hard as the man standing in front of them.

“Come. We can talk in my office,” Chavizi said. As he led the way down the hall, he gestured and talked. Every so often he said something in Spanish, to which Darin responded.

“So, you’re in the business.”

“Not the apartment business,” Darin growled.

Kamu followed them in.

“Have a seat.” Chavizi pointed to several plush chairs separated by a cherrywood table and a very expensive lamp. When Darin and Gina were seated, Chavizi did the same. Kamu stood at the door.

Wood paneling and pale plush carpet made the space seem larger. Darin would bet the art work on the walls were originals.

“Coffee?”

“We’re fine.”

They exchanged small talk. Weather. How long had they been married? Kids?

“Let’s get to it. I’ve no doubt my side-business can accommodate your needs.”

Darin took the list out of his pocket. Kamu’s hand flew to his waist, then relaxed when he saw the piece of paper. Darin cautioned himself to be more careful.

Chavizi took the list Darin handed him. Nodded. “Good. Hope you’re flush. This is going to be costly.”

“My money’s good.”

“So I’ve heard. Let’s get down to specifics. When do you want delivery? I can make it as early as day after tomorrow. Not before. Plus, I have to be assured the money will be there.”

Darin leaned back as if thinking. “Should work. I’m anxious to get back to my operation. But this is a lot of money. I want to be sure that every ounce of drugs I pay for is loaded on
my
truck.” He gave Chavizi a look Darin hoped made clear he would brook no argument.

“It’s easy enough to do, sugar,” Gina chimed in. “We’ll be there when they load the truck. Then you can transfer the money right then and there.” She looked at Chavizi with admiration. “This nice man can be there, too. He can make sure everything is done just right.”

“Sounds good, sweet one.”

Darin turned to Chavizi and saw the scowl. He had to be convincing enough to clinch the deal. “There is one thing I want to clarify. I want no interference from the law like you had a few weeks back. If my info is correct, a cop died, and you were almost caught. If you can’t guarantee a clean delivery, I’ll go elsewhere.” Nailing Chavizi for the crime was a risk. It would also nail him or one of his men for murder. If he hadn’t been behind the storage lot fiasco, they were in trouble. If right, the drug lord would think more highly of him for having his facts right.

Chavizi threw his head back and laughed heartily. “You don’t have to worry.”

Darin leaned closer, keeping his relief under wraps. They had their man. He wanted to shout. “I do worry. I have no intention of spending my golden years locked in a cell.”

More laughter rolled through the room as Kamu joined in.

Darin wanted to punch them.

“We’re not thugs. We don’t go around killing people.”

So why was Hunter dead?

“I’m not putting my pocketbook and hide at risk,” Darin warned.

“I’ll personally guarantee your safety,” Chavizi said with a smile.

“How do I know you’ll do better this time?”

Chavizi’s eyes turned to slits. Darin wondered if he’d gone too far.

“There has to be a little trust here, or we can’t deal. Let’s just say that if you have the money, I have the goods, and leave it at that.”

Darin nodded as if he approved. What else could he do but go along? He wanted to pull his gun and make an arrest right now. He had to calm himself before he could talk. “All right.” He looked Chavizi in the eye. “From what I could find out, you run a smooth operation. If you say the deal is a good one, then I’ll take your word for it.” He looked around the room, keeping the scowl on his face, making his eye tick. “You’ll let us know when you have the merchandise?”

“We will.”

They stood. Darin stretched out his hand. “Good doing business with you.”

“If this works out, maybe we’ll do more.”

“Count on it,” Darin said, his voice gruff.
Only you won’t like the business I’m going to give you.

Kamu escorted them to the outside door and watched as they got into the Mercedes and drove away.

Darin waited until they were a mile away before he turned to give Gina a high-five.

“We did it!”

With his mouth fairly close to his Rolex, he said, “Did you guys get everything?”

Chapter Sixteen

“I came close to blowing it.”

“I think you smoothed it over. It was one of those opportunities that doesn’t come along too often, but you stopped the questions in time.”

“It would go a long way at his trial if we had him on tape admitting to having a mole on HPD’s payroll.”

“He admitted the warehouse was his deal. We’ll get the rest when the sting goes down.”

“Hope you’re right. We don’t want a screwup now.”

“There is a mole. There’s no other way Chavizi could be so damned confident.”

“We need proof.”

Gina frowned. “We checked everyone on the squad. I’m as sure as I can be the group we picked is clean.”

“Is it possible one of them fooled us?”

“We’ll be walking into a trap if they did.” Gina shook her head. “I can’t see any one of them being involved. I’ve checked and double-checked everyone. Even the captain.”

Darin rubbed the back of his neck. “What if Chavizi is smart enough to throw us off track? What if the warehouse deal wasn’t his deal at all?”

“I think we’re good on that. But still...I suppose anything is possible.” Didn’t they have enough to worry about? The possibility that one of the team she had personally vouched for could be a mole made Gina’s insides tighten. She couldn’t be wrong. She’d vouch for everyone on the team. She’d checked them too closely not to. If Gina was off base on this, her skills weren’t as good as she thought.

“We’ll have to figure out a way to flush out the mole. So put your thinking cap on.”

“I am. I think I have an idea.”

“Save it until we get back to the hotel.”

“We did good today,” Gina said, relaxing against the soft, leather seat. “We should celebrate.” A glass of wine would taste good about now. Hopefully, it would loosen her nerves a bit.

Darin shook his head. “Too soon. We want to catch them in the act. Once we have the drugs in our possession, the cuffs on Chavizi, and our mole in custody, we’ll throw a party.”

“That’s a pretty tall order.”

He smiled. Even in his Dutch Farley get-up, his smile made her heart beat faster. “We can do it. We make a good team.”

“We do, don’t we?”

By the time they were back at the hotel, Gina had a plan she hoped Darin would approve. They told the FBI driver they would call when they needed the car.

“I’ll be available 24/7 if you need me. For anything,” he reminded them.

“Let’s eat in the dining room tonight,” Darin suggested. “We can make it a small celebration. You’re right. We did a good job today.”