24
Izzy watched one expensive house after the other flip past her window until they finally pulled to a stop in front of a three-story brick home. “Wow.”
“Yeah.” Lee’s voice was subdued and Izzy hurt for him. To come face-to-face with solid evidence that a man he’d trusted with his life could have been responsible for the betrayal and death of four of his other friends had to be devastating.
“Did you call him?” Charice asked.
“I tried,” Lee said. “All I got was voice mail, but there’s a truck in the driveway. Could be his.”
Charice glanced at Ryan. “We’ll hang back a bit, okay?”
“Yeah.”
Izzy could tell the idea didn’t sit well with him by the tension in his shoulders, the flared nostrils, the narrowed eyes . . . yeah, he was hanging on to his control by a thread.
They climbed from the vehicle and shut the doors. Lee took the lead while Izzy and Charice stayed next to the car with Ryan. They’d let Lee handle this one for now, but all of them wanted to see Reuben’s reaction when confronted.
The front door opened and a man stepped onto the porch. He looked . . . haggard, Izzy thought. It was the one word that instantly came to mind. Deep grooves beside the corners of his lips, stooped posture, gray hair . . . and he wasn’t that old. Maybe midforties?
His eyes landed on Lee and his face lost all color. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Lee Filmore, as I live and breathe. Never thought I’d see you again.”
“I guess you didn’t.”
“You should have called.”
“I did. You didn’t answer.”
“Right.”
“Nice place you got here. I guess the blood money was worth more than Chris’s life.”
For a moment Reuben paused as he looked away. His jaw worked, then he shrugged. “I guess it was.”
Ryan flinched. “Well, that was easy enough. He killed Chris.” He started to walk toward Lee and Reuben, but Izzy’s hard grip on his forearm halted him.
“Don’t,” she said. “Let him talk.”
“I can’t deny it,” Reuben said. “The proof is all around me. All it would take is for someone to go digging around my checking account. But not a day goes by that I don’t regret it.”
Lee’s eyes narrowed. “Regretting it in style, huh?”
Reuben shook his head. “Who are your friends?”
“Just that. Friends.”
“You want to come in?”
“That’s all right. I think I’ll stay out here where the air’s not so tainted.”
Reuben flinched.
Ryan took a stab in the dark. “You sold the warehouse too, didn’t you?”
That seemed to take the man by surprise. “Yeah. But how did you know?”
“I didn’t. Until just now.”
Reuben scowled. “Who are you?”
“How’d you get your hands on the documents?” Lee asked before Ryan could answer. “You had to have the deed to sell it.” Lee’s mild tone made Ryan nervous.
For now, Reuben seemed content to let his own question go unanswered. “I was home on leave, waiting for my second child to be born. I needed some money. I went over to Jonathan’s to ask him for a loan and he went into another room to get some cash out of his safe. I did a little snooping and saw the deed to the warehouse on his desk.” He shrugged. “Didn’t think anything about it at first, just noticed it. He came back in and put everything in the top desk drawer and gave me the cash. Told me it was the last time he was giving me any money. I promised him I’d pay it back.”
“Like the other times you paid it back?” Lee murmured.
The man’s nostrils flared. “I’d only borrowed money from him once before.”
“You’re the one who went in his apartment after he died,” Charice said.
Reuben frowned. “Are you a cop?”
“I am.”
For a moment, Ryan thought the man would clam up. He turned narrowed eyes back on Lee. “You brought cops?”
“Does it matter?”
A sigh slipped out. “I guess not. The minute I saw your number and heard your message, I concluded someone had figured things out. I know I’m done for.”
“So talk.”
“What do I get out of it?”
“I keep Chris’s brother from killing you.”
Reuben raked a hand through his gray hair and studied Ryan. “Chris’s brother, huh?”
“Yeah. Like the man said, talk.”
For a minute, it looked like he might refuse, then he just shook his head. “Why not? All right, I knew where Gill kept the spare key. He’d let me crash on his couch a few times when Patty and I had a fight. Anyway, I just walked in, grabbed the papers from his desk, and walked out.”
“And left a coffee cup in his trash can,” Charice said.
Reuben squinted. “Maybe. I don’t remember that.”
“Who’s the dummy corporation covering for?” she asked.
The man frowned. “Dummy corporation?”
“You’re not using the warehouse, you sold it. Bricks & Sticks is on the deed now, but I need a name behind that. There’s no trail back to you.”
Reuben’s brows dipped. “Then how did you know about the warehouse sale?”
“It was an educated guess. So who’d you sell it to?”
“Why?”
“Because he killed Kevin, you traitor!” Lee said. “Chris’s little brother!” Lee started for him and Charice grabbed his arm.
“Not yet,” she murmured.
Lee settled down. Reluctantly.
And only Izzy’s grip kept Ryan from joining Lee in going after the man. “Keep your cool, Ryan,” she said.
He tamped down his own fury and turned his gaze to Reuben. “Who?” Ryan asked.
Reuben shrugged. “I’m not saying.”
“You don’t have to,” Charice said. “We’ve already figured out it was Tony Bianchi.”
That hit its mark. Reuben swallowed hard and shifted. “Okay, then. Yeah. I wasn’t supposed to know who was buying it, but the guy was in the background while the transaction was going down. I saw him and eventually put two and two together—especially when I overheard someone say his name.”
“So you got in bed with the Mafia?” Lee asked.
“I didn’t know it at the time, but yeah. He had cash. I had the deed. It made for a nice deal. His money’s as green as the next guy’s,” Reuben said without any emotion.
Ryan held on to his temper by a thread. If he went after Reuben, he’d blow the whole investigation. Izzy knew that and he knew she’d put herself between him and the man on the front porch.
“Bianchi didn’t know you stole that deed, did he?” Charice asked softly. “You signed Jonathan’s name, didn’t you?”
Reuben shoved his hands into the pockets of the light jacket he wore.
“Keep your hands where we can see them, Reuben,” Izzy said.
Moving his hands back into view, the man narrowed his eyes at Charice. “Who are you?”
“The question was about you signing his name,” Lee said. “I’ll make introductions later.”
“I signed his name. Bianchi—or rather his henchman—didn’t ask questions.”
“Which is why you had to sell to him. You couldn’t afford to try to sell it honestly on the market,” Lee said.
“Nope, couldn’t do that.”
“But Bianchi would have to file the sale at the courthouse, with a witness and notary and everything in order for it to look legit.”
Reuben shrugged. “I guess. I’m sure that wasn’t a problem for him.”
“No, probably not.”
“And he probably did a whole new sale to Bricks & Sticks so that his name was removed from any of the paperwork and it would just look like a company purchased the place,” Lee said.
Reuben lifted his shoulders again, and Ryan could tell the man didn’t really care.
“So. I guess this is it, then, huh?” Reuben shifted, but kept his hands in plain sight.
“Yeah,” Lee said. “This is it. Answer me this . . . why? Why sell us out? I mean, I almost understand. Two million is a lot of money, but I always thought you were above that. What made you turn?”
Running a hand over his face, Reuben sighed. “Because I promised Patty she’d have her dream home.”
Lee frowned. “Patty wasn’t a gold digger. She didn’t care what kind of house you lived in as long as she was with you.”
“And I felt the same way.”
“So it was just for the money?”
“Yes.” He cleared his throat and looked away. “Patty found out she was sick with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She was diagnosed the day after my father’s funeral. That was six weeks before we were supposed to fly home. After talking to her doctor, and getting a very negative prognosis, I realized the only way I was going to be able to keep my promise to Patty was to do something . . . drastic.”
“Like rat Chris out to Nuristani and collect the money.”
“Yes. It only took a couple weeks to set it all up.”
“Which explains your occasional disappearances.”
“Right.” His hard eyes turned to granite. “I’m making it sound like it was an easy decision. It wasn’t. But I made a choice to sacrifice a friendship so I could give her all this.”
“Sacrifice your friendship?” Lee’s question came out in a scathing spit. “You sacrificed his life.”
Reuben didn’t even blink. “I came home to an account full of money and we closed on the house four weeks later. She lived here three months before she died.”
Lee’s face reverted to its expressionless, rigid stance. “You never talked about it. About Patty. I thought you were handling it okay.”
“I was probably in denial. If I didn’t admit it, it wasn’t real.”
Ryan understood that feeling.
“Was it worth it?” Lee asked.
“You do crazy things for love.” Reuben’s eyes met Lee’s, then jumped to Ryan’s. “Even betraying your best friend and becoming a criminal.” He gave a humorless smirk.
Lee kept his fists at his sides, but Ryan thought they might start flying at any given moment. “You’re under arrest for my attempted murder and for being an accessory to Kevin’s murder and anything else Ryan can think of,” Lee said.
Reuben smirked. “You can’t arrest me.”
“I wasn’t planning on trying. Just helping my officer friends out. Ryan and Charice can arrest you.”
“And so can I,” Izzy said. So far she’d stayed in the background, watching and listening. She stepped forward, nostrils flaring. “It would give me great pleasure.”
Reuben blew out a breath and dropped his gaze. “Part of me never really thought I’d get caught. The other part’s been expecting this from day one.”
Ryan shifted and unfastened the safety loop around his weapon. The guy was making this way too easy and it made him itchy.
“You see that guy back there? You already know that he’s Chris’s brother. What you don’t know is that Kevin Marshall, his other brother, was a rookie cop who died—in part—because you sold a stolen warehouse to a guy who kills cops for a living.”
“I didn’t pull the trigger.”
“But you know who did.”
“I wasn’t even there.”
“Didn’t have to be,” Ryan said, stepping forward. “You stole a warehouse, then knowingly sold it to a murderer. You’re affiliated with the men and the organization that killed Kevin. That’s good enough for me.”
“And me.” Izzy pulled her cuffs from her belt and stepped forward.
Reuben swore, then gave a slight turn and slipped back inside the door he’d left cracked. This time he shut it and Ryan heard the dead bolt click.
“I’ve got the back!” Drawing her weapon, Izzy darted down the walkway and sped to the rear of the house while Ryan palmed his own Glock.
He stood to the side of the door and noted Lee doing the same, his own gun drawn. “Put the gun away, Lee, you have no authority to use it here and it’s just going to cause more problems. Let us handle this. After we break the door down.”
Ryan slammed a foot against the door. Lee joined him, and after several attempts, the door caved and crashed inside to the foyer floor. Charice stepped inside and Ryan backed up and took in the wide-open floor plan. Still plenty of places to hide, though.
“We need him alive, Charice, to lead us to the people who killed Kevin. Remember that.”
“I got that.”
Izzy’s face appeared in the glass of the back door that led to a large deck overlooking the lake. She stepped inside. “He didn’t come out this way.”
Ryan nodded. “Let’s clear this floor.” He was involved now whether they liked it or not. There was no way he was going to remain in the background and chance letting a killer go free. He might get a slap on the wrist from his superior, but he’d risk it.
“I called for backup,” Izzy said. “Yarborough’s not coming peacefully.” She walked to the base of the stairs.
“Good,” Charice said. “Backup is good.”
Izzy disappeared down the hall while Ryan followed to cover her back. “Stay here, Lee, or better yet, get out of sight before backup gets here.”
Ryan ignored Lee’s low growl of frustration. He got it. He’d been betrayed and it had gotten his best friend killed, but they couldn’t jeopardize this arrest and have Yarborough get off on some technicality.
Izzy came back down the hall. “Clear.”
“He’s upstairs then,” Ryan said. He moved toward the stairs and was happy to note Lee slipping out the back door. Ryan took the lead up the stairs and Izzy followed, weapon held ready. Charice stayed close too. They cleared most of the second floor. Then stopped in front of closed double doors.
Ryan motioned for Charice to open them, he had her covered. She did. The doors swung in and she stepped back. Ryan rounded the corner and surveyed the bedroom. He stilled when he spotted Reuben standing at the chest of drawers with his back to him. “Turn around, Reuben, and keep your hands where I can see them.”
Sirens sounded in the distance. Backup was near.
“It’s almost a relief, you know? To have the truth come out. I’ve asked God to forgive me.” He paused and turned slightly to meet Ryan’s gaze. “Do you think your family will be able to do so?”
“Given time, maybe, but right now, I need to see your hands.”
Izzy stepped around him and to the side, giving her a better view of the man and what was in front of him. She glanced back at Ryan and widened her eyes while she mouthed, “Gun.” Then motioned with her free hand, index finger under her chin and wiggling her thumb.
Great, the man had a gun to his head.
“Reuben, put the gun down,” Ryan said. “No one else has to get hurt.”
“No, it’s over for me. I’m ready to be with Patty. I’m a dead man anyway if I’m arrested. Once you start hunting Bianchi, he’ll know I told you the whole story.”
“He won’t care. We’re already looking for him because we have him on video at the time of Kevin’s shooting in the warehouse. We pulled footage from a hidden camera, so we’re going to get him with or without you. But if you testify against him, you can get some time knocked off.” Maybe. He didn’t know that for sure but was willing to say anything that would convince the man to give up the weapon.
Reuben turned, keeping the gun steady, the bullet end pressed beneath his chin. “I can’t. They’ll go after my kids.”
Heart thudding, Ryan shook his head. “Don’t do this, man. Your kids need you.”
“Naw, they’re better off with Patty’s mom. And at least they’re taken care of for the rest of their lives. I’ve already turned the money over to my in-laws.”
Ryan realized the man had been thinking about this for a long time. He wasn’t quite as blasé about his actions as he wanted to appear.
“The kids might be better off with her for now, but once you get some help, life can be good again, man.” Probably not, but Ryan wasn’t about to voice that.
Reuben’s eyes glittered with grief. “Life. What a crock. Life just didn’t turn out the way I thought it would, you know? Patty wasn’t supposed to die so young.”
“Neither was Kevin,” Izzy said. “Or Chris. Put the gun down.”
It was like the man hadn’t heard her. “Man, I’ve been living on borrowed time. This is the way it was always going to end,” he continued. “I think I knew that the minute I gave the location of the convoy to Nuristani’s man.” He laughed without humor. “I ate some tainted meat so I’d be sick enough to have an excuse to stay back. Never been so sick in my life and wondered if I’d actually live through it.” His now empty eyes met Ryan’s. “My kids think I’m a hero. I can’t go to prison.” He lowered the weapon and Ryan breathed a small puff of relief. Then Reuben’s eyes met his once more. “But I just discovered something.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t have the guts to kill myself.”
Reuben’s right hand lowered and Ryan drew in a relieved breath. The man was going to surrender. “Put the weapon down, Reuben.”
“Yeah.” As the man started to lower the gun to the floor, the window exploded.
Izzy cried out as red sprayed the air. She heard footsteps on the stairs and then in the hall. She spun to see backup coming into the room, weapons pointed at her. Displaying her badge, she moved to the two bodies on the floor. “Call an ambulance!”
Someone said, “Do it.”
Izzy dropped beside Ryan. “Are you hit?”
He grunted and rolled away from Reuben. “No.” The shot had sent Reuben flying forward to slam into Ryan, taking them both to the floor—and covering Ryan in blood and other matter. “Is he dead?”
It sure looked like it. The lower half of his face was . . . gone. A red mass of blood and tissue hung from the remains. Her stomach churned, but she ignored it and reached for his wrist. A slow thud hit her fingers. “He’s still alive.”
She grabbed a towel and bolted back to Reuben’s side, where she dropped to her knees and pressed the towel against the missing part of his face. She didn’t know what was medically possible to do for the man should he live, but wanted to give him every option to survive. Stopping or slowing the loss of blood was priority one. She knew officers were searching for the shooter and she prayed they found him. For now, Izzy concentrated on keeping Reuben alive.
Paramedics rushed into the room and Izzy moved away as they took over. She looked around for Ryan and spotted him near the bathroom. He’d grabbed another towel and was wiping his pale face and hands while talking to Justin O’Keefe, another detective he worked with occasionally. Izzy interrupted them. “Bianchi knew we were here. He had a sniper just looking for an opportunity.”
“Looks like he found it.”
“But that means he’s got someone following us.”
“Yeah.”
She touched his arm. “Are you okay?”
He briefly met her gaze. “Physically, yeah.”
“Right.”
O’Keefe patted Ryan on the shoulder—the one that didn’t have blood on it—and walked away. Ryan looked at her and grimaced. “I’d really like to puke right now.”
“That makes two of us. SLED is here.”
He shot her a grateful look and tossed the towel back into the bathroom. “Let’s give our statement, wait on a search warrant, then get busy searching.” He looked at Charice. “Can you get the ball rolling on that warrant?”
“Consider it done.” She walked away, her phone already pressed to her ear.
“What are we searching for?” Izzy asked.
“Anything that might have the names of people that Reuben may have contacted who have ties to Bianchi. We find those, we find the guy who shot Kevin.”
“And I know where to start.”
“Where?”
“When we were clearing the downstairs, there’s a room that he’s using as an office. There’s a laptop on the desk.”
He started for the hallway.
“Out of the way, please. Make way. Let us through.”
The paramedics had Reuben on the gurney and were headed for the door. Ryan and Izzy moved out of the way. Organized chaos reigned as each officer stepped into the role he or she was assigned.
Ryan nodded. “CSU will take the laptop and we’ll tell them what to look for. In the meantime, let’s see what else we can find.” He tapped the shoulder of one of the other paramedics left. “You have some extra gloves?”
“Sure.” He passed a handful over to Ryan, who pulled on a set, then handed some to Izzy. She donned the gloves and together they walked down the stairs and into the office.
“Can’t touch anything until the warrant gets here,” Izzy said. “And you need to remove yourself from this area now anyway. Charice can take it from here. I can help her if she needs me to.”
“I know.” So he paced for the next forty minutes until an officer stepped into the room and slapped the warrant into his outstretched hand.
He handed it to Charice, who waved it in the air. “All right, folks, let’s get busy.”
For the next thirty minutes, they searched—and came up empty. Ryan sighed when she told him. “If he has anything, it’s got to be on the laptop.”
“That’s my guess.” Izzy pulled the gloves off and stuck them in her pocket. “What now?”
Ryan grimaced. “Lee’s probably outside waiting for me.”
“He’s going to want to know what happened for sure.”
“So, let’s grab him. Then I go home and get a shower.”