Twisted Justice (18 page)

Rob shrugged. “They're just covering all the bases. Routine, they say, but Lopez did tell me that they knew about Santiago's occupation, so to speak. They're checking him out with RICO, but it's not likely they're going to share anything about that with us.”

“What's RICO?” Laura asked.

“Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. The
focus is on organized crime, and this Mr. Santiago is obviously part of our own Tampa mob.”

“Steve said that Santiago beat Kim up and that she needed help,” Laura offered. “It was his excuse for her being at our house the night I found them together.”

Greg frowned. “Some kind of help.”

Chuck walked back into the conference room. “Things are in motion. I've got a guy on the way to the Nelson house in Traverse City.”

“What will he do when he gets there?” Laura's hand flew to her neck as she turned to face Chuck.

“He'll be discreet, confirm that the girls are there, that they're okay, and wait for instructions from here.”

Chuck's authoritative baritone reassured Laura and she let her hand fall into her lap.

“He'll let me know the minute they make contact.”

“Good,” Greg said. “Meantime, we're talking about this Santiago character. What have you found on him?”

“Francisco Ramiro Santiago. Age forty-two. Born in Cuba. Grew up in Miami. Now in Ybor City runnin' narcotics. The guy looks like a Latino version of Wall Street. Expensive clothes, slick operator. Those in the know — who are willing to talk — say he made his way up the ladder in a nasty way. Also iced a few cops in his illustrious career, including the partner of our own Detective Lopez back when he was on the street.”

“The mob?” Carrie went wide-eyed. “As in
The Godfather
? Here in Tampa?”

“The mob is alive and well in ‘Cigar City',” assured Chuck. “The name Santo Trafficante Jr. mean anything to you?”

“No,” Carrie said.

“Well it scares the shit out of anybody in Mafia circles and aggravates the hell out of the FBI. Feds have been tryin' to entrap him forever.”

“I've read about him,” said Greg. “Didn't he make some big donation to feed the masses or something like that?”

“Yeah, right across the bay in St. Pete. But no way those handouts are gonna compensate for the bad shit. Excuse my language, ladies.”

“You're scaring me,” said Carrie as she reached for the coffee pot. “Anybody else?”

“I'll take a refill.” Greg held out a maroon Buccaneers mug.

“So how does this
Godfather
person relate to Santiago?” Carrie continued.

“Santiago is like a captain or lieutenant to an underboss,” explained Chuck. “A player not far down the feeding chain. There are several Latin factions apparently. Sometimes they work together, sometimes not. That's when you get blood baths. Guy by the name of Carlos Tosco out of Miami runs him. Our boy Santiago may be dapper, but behind that pretty façade, he's a dangerous creep.”

“That is scary,” said Laura. “I wonder how much Steve knows about him and those connections.”

“For his sake, let's hope, not much,” said Greg.

“Steve may be in over his head,” Laura said, cringing at the thought.

“So where's the creep been?” asked Rob. “The cops can't find him for questioning.”

“So Santiago could be the killer?” Laura mused.

“We're still digging for a true time frame,” Chuck said. “The closest lead I have is a friend of Connor's, a Carmen Williams from Ybor City. Says that Santiago was in Miami around the time of the murder. Maybe she's right on it, maybe not. She's got a drug habit. Wants no part of the cops, but she's pretty broken up about Connor. I'll keep pressing her for details.”

“I wonder if Steve knows her?” Laura looked absently toward Chuck.

“I need to talk to him,” Chuck said. “If Connor used him as a confidant, that bastard — oops, sorry, Laura — must know more.”

“I'm sure he does,” said Laura. “But since he's so sure I did it, he won't even talk about looking for who really did.”

“We'll see about that. Rob, anybody see anyone going in or out of the Oregon place?” Chuck asked.

“Police have covered all the neighbors. Nobody saw anything. Kim's Firebird and a station wagon — presumably Laura's — were mentioned, but no other strange cars. The lady upstairs, the one who called in, did see Kim come in at least five minutes before she heard the shot. Couldn't see if she used a key, but none was found. Didn't see Laura come in though or anyone else.”

Chuck nodded. “I'll follow on the heels of the uniforms. The lady upstairs is my first stop. Sometimes, people remember things later.”

Laura looked at him intently.

“Damn. Somebody must've seen something,” said Greg. “It was a Sunday night for God's sake. It was eighty-five degrees, people linger outside.”

“Yeah, only problem, it was raining. Don't worry, I'll be all over this,” said Chuck with confidence.

“That's right, it was raining,” Laura added quietly.

“Now, as for Kim's place,” Rob said, glancing toward Laura. “They have a recording of your call to Kim about an hour before she was killed. We have the transcript.”

Laura winced. “I was so upset I can't even remember what I said.”

Rob read aloud the brief message she'd left. “They're trying to make it out as a threat, you warning her to stay away from your kids. But it's weak.”

“What about the messages I left on Steve's machine? They must have those too, right? I called at least four times looking for the kids.”

Rob frowned. “Actually, Laura, there's a notation from Detective Lopez on that point. It looks like you brought this up in the initial interview, but when they retrieved the answering machine, there weren't any messages on it.”

“What? That can't be. That means Steve — or someone — must've gotten the messages and —”

“Erased 'em?” offered Greg. To Rob, he said, “Is it something to worry about?”

Rob shrugged. “I can double check. But to be honest, the cops — well, they don't tend to believe Laura's story.”

“They think I'm making it up,” she mumbled. “Just another lie.”

“Hmm. Well, anything else at Kim's place?” Carrie asked.

“Boxes. She was ready to move. The movers were scheduled for the next morning.” Rob paused and checked his notes. “That's about it,” he concluded, “although they didn't do much of a neighborhood check in my opinion.”

Chuck nodded again. “I'll be digging in over there.”

“My question is: what was Kim doing at Steve's place to begin with? According to the folks at Channel Eight, she ignored him at the station when he came back to collect his things,” Carrie said.

“‘Cool as a cucumber,' wasn't that the exact quote?” Rob asked.

Carrie concurred. “So why was she at Steve's house that night? The abusive boyfriend is back in town and she goes over to Steve's for safe haven?” She looked around at the ponderous faces.

“So the guy follows her over and he snuffs her,” Chuck offered.

“Whatever happened,” Carrie went on, “he got out fast with out leaving a trace of evidence.”

“Carrie, you're getting good,” Chuck said lightly. “Want to take over my role?”

The lawyers laughed as Greg looked at Laura, his smile waning. “What do you think?”

“I don't know. I really don't know.”

“Well, it seems to me,” Greg said, getting up to stretch his legs, “that we need more information from Steve about this gangster boyfriend.”

“Yeah,” added Chuck, “enough on this creep to convince the State to open up a more intensive investigation.”

“So far the cops have nothing to connect him with her that night,” Rob said. “Uh, Laura, do you remember them taking
fingernail scrapings, at the station? They'd test for signs of struggle to connect you that way,” he explained.

“I…I don't remember that.”

“Good enough. Well,” Chuck said, “I'll start in Old Hyde Park, and then move on to Connor's medical records, including emergency rooms. Could be more abuse.”

“Good, Chuck,” Greg said. “That Connor woman was playing with fire. Wonder if the boyfriend found out about her liaison with Steve. And what about drugs? Chuck, you said she has a friend who's an addict? Could this be about drugs?”

“I don't think so,” said Chuck. “The word in Ybor is that Connor helped Williams with rehab and such. The rumors — not substantiated — are that Connor used to be a user, but she's been squeaky clean now for years.”

“Steve ever dabbled in drugs?” Greg asked Laura.

“Never. Alcohol yes, but usually in moderation.”

Greg nodded. “Well, guys, we've got our work ahead of us. The Mafiosa. Certainly adds another dimension.”

“No question,” Chuck said. “I've got someone in Miami to track 'em down. The big boss down there is a Carlos Tosca. He'd be pulling Santiago's strings. ”

“My bet's on Santiago,” Carrie offered. “But I don't want to go anywhere near him if he's so dangerous.”

“I hear you,” replied Chuck. “In the meantime, I gotta dig up something to show the cops they got the wrong person now.”

Greg started to gather up his notes. “Okay, everyone, let's get to work. Laura, you okay with all this?”

“I want to see my kids.”

For a moment, nobody said a word. “Yeah, I hear you,” Chuck said kindly. “Once we have all the facts, we'll find a way to get them back.”

“It'll be okay, Laura,” Carrie said, leaning over and squeezing her hand again.

“Right,” agreed Greg. “Carrie, what's up with the custody statutes, both Michigan and Florida?”

“I've got local counsel ready to file in Michigan and we'll file in Hillsborough County tomorrow. Since the kids are physically in Michigan, well, we'll see.”

For the rest of the day, Greg, Rob, and Laura sat around the conference table poring over endless details. Carrie had gone off to work the custody angle, and Chuck to organize his contacts working out of Tampa, Miami, and Traverse City. When Chuck returned later, Laura jumped up, anxious for any news of her children. Chuck explained that he'd commissioned a P.I. firm in Grand Rapids to cover the Nelson house in Traverse City without initiating contact. Chuck didn't want to alert Steve until they'd established their legal options.

Meantime, Laura took two calls. The first from her parents who offered to travel to Michigan to see the kids. Laura told them what she knew — that Steve told the boys he was taking them camping, and that the girls would stay with Jim Nelson. The second call was from Roxanne Musing at the hospital. News had already traveled back that Laura had withdrawn as plaintiff witness in the Ruiz case. Laura told Roxanne that she couldn't discuss it just then, that they'd have to talk later. Roxanne tried to object, but Laura cut her off and hung up.

In the late afternoon, Carrie came in to request Greg's participation in a conference call she'd set up with a local law firm in Traverse City. Chuck and his Grand Rapids man would also be on the call to set the strategy for extricating the twins. Reassuring Laura that the girls seemed fine and that nothing more could be done that night, Greg sent her home.

Collapsing in the lounge chair in her bedroom, Laura sipped a cup of ginger tea and ignored the cheese sandwiches that Marcy had left. She drifted into exhaustion and fell asleep, still sitting up. When the doorbell rang, Laura catapulted up and ran downstairs.

Roxanne and a small boy with big black eyes, smooth olive skin, and jet black hair in a neat crew cut were standing at the door.

“Come on,” Roxanne said, “we're going over to Bayside Park.” She leaned over and patted the child's head. “This is Jose Ruiz. He's our kid for tonight. Let's share him and go watch the fireworks.”

Laura looked down into the boy's shining face. “Only after I get Jose here one of my big lollipops. What's your favorite color, Jose?”

“Red,” he said, a wide smile crossing his face. “Mine too!” For an instant, Laura felt her heart lighten as she

followed Jose and Roxanne outside into the warm evening air.

Laura spent the week at the mercy of the civil courts' agonizing pace. Because Wednesday was the Fourth of July, the courts were closed. Then there was the issue of jurisdiction for custody. Was it Grand Traverse County, where Steve was visiting his father? Or as Greg and Carrie argued, Hillsborough County, Florida, the Nelson family's permanent residence? Neither Laura nor Steve had filed divorce or separation papers, so either parent could legally take them anywhere. But because the twins were no longer in the care of their father, Laura's attorneys argued that she could legally retrieve them and bring them home. Except that she could not leave to do so personally, and so far Judge Potter had not ruled to let her do so.

In the meantime her lawyers did not want to serve Steve's father with papers and risk Steve's abrupt return to take the girls. Rather, they wanted everything in place to allow the twins' release to Laura through a legally appointed agent, namely Chuck Dimer.

On Tuesday, through local counsel in Traverse City, briefs had been filed in that jurisdiction in support of returning the girls to Laura in Florida. Late on Thursday, a Grand Traverse County judge ruled that they could be released to the mother or her authorized agent pending notification of the father. If the father filed no dissenting papers with his court within twenty-four hours, Jim Nelson was to release the girls to their mother's legal agent for transport to Hillsborough County, Florida, where that court would then assume definitive jurisdiction.

By the time the court order arrived by courier at the Nelson home in Traverse City, Steve had already left with the boys. Jim Nelson signed for the delivery of the notification because he had no other option — and he had no idea where Steve was. If Steve got in touch with him, it'd be up to Steve to decide if he wanted to try to block Laura. If he didn't, Natalie and Nicole would be free to leave Traverse City at 5:00 p.m. Friday, July sixth.