Chapter Twenty-Six
The phone call was important to William because he needed to know what to expect when he went back to work. He’d dropped out of society long before he returned to the US to rescue his lover. By the time it was all over, he had realized Ronald wasn’t the one who needed saving; it was William.
“I think it’s time we had a conversation about the havoc you wreaked last month.” Renee sounded like the consummate professional.
“I’m not ready to come in yet.” William watched the horizon. The palm trees swayed with the tropical storm that descended on the island. “I’m still in shock.”
“Yes,” Renee said. There was a hint of empathy in her voice. But it quickly faded. “I got a report that said Ronald Hayden committed suicide.”
“Don’t say his name.” It was a knee-jerk reaction. Otherwise collected, news of Ronald’s death devastated William and Renee had no business talking about him.
But she continued. “I thought you and he were done years ago. I thought you’d moved on.” Instead of waiting for a response, she continued. “Just come in, I’ll buy you a drink. We’ll have a few laughs, and when you get back out there, you’ll feel a lot better.”
William didn’t say anything for a long time. The first drops of hot rain splashed on the awning of the bungalow. He stood watching the darkening sky. A storm was evitable. He just needed to know if it was the right storm.
“Did you have anything to do with him?” he finally asked.
“What do you mean?” Renee wanted clarification. “You mean did we know he found out about the cash game between Goldberg and the Ansar al-Sharia? We knew what was going on. We had it under control. You know as well as I do, you can’t catch the bigger fish unless you use bigger bait. Your reporter scratched the surface. It’s not our fault that Goldberg had a nut allergy and took a hot bath.”
“Did you have something to do with Ron?” It was impossible for William to hold back the pain. The raindrops on his face helped hide the tears. “Did you kill him?”
“I want you to know this directly.” Renee took a deep breath. “We had nothing to do with Ronald Hayden. He wasn’t important enough for us to care about. He was an inconvenience.” Then she waited a while. The rain tapped against the mouthpiece on the cell phone. It must have sounded like soft gunshots to her.
“What about Goldberg’s partner?”
“That buffoon did himself in. You know he got arrested for DUI a few weeks ago and tried cutting a deal with the state for information he had on a supposed attempt on his life. I thought you had something to do with that.”
“Wasn’t me,” William said. “I had no reason to kill him. I only know about the guy because I went to Ronald’s funeral. I went to his apartment. I saw the notes on his computer. His mother is devastated.”
“I’m sure she is,” Renee said. She sounded bored by the conversation. “Why not come in. I’ll buy you a few drinks. Maybe even dinner. You get back to work; you’ll feel a lot better about it.”
“I need some time.”
“Are you going to hang up and disappear on me?” Renee asked openly.
“I considered it,” William responded. “But no, I have a little integrity.”
“Well, at least someone still does in this world.” She waited before asking, “Are you still in the States?”
“I’m in Miami. Ron and I were going to take a honeymoon in Miami after we got married.”
Renee didn’t say anything. She was smart enough to know when it was best to leave things to lie. “Call me in a few days.” Renee gave William something to think about. “We need your expertise tracking some of those accounts Goldberg had. That man had more money than God, and we still can’t find all the stashes.” She ended the call.
William stood in the rain. The water soaked through the white cotton shirt and front of the shorts. Barefoot and crying, he dropped to the stoop and let the storm wash over him.
***
The bungalow was a timeshare, and during hurricane season it had an open week when William booked it. The property was well off the beaten path. The kind of money it took to rent a large piece of property in Dade County meant privacy was well worth the price.
The stealth assault team made their way silently across the yard. The heavy showers made it hard to see clearly at night. It was the one problem with night vision goggles. When it rained, they weren’t worth a damn.
A team of five men entered the bungalow. William watched them move through the first floor of the house. They’d disabled the security system long before they set foot on the property. But William had a connection with the DEA. He left a convincing tip that a group of militant heroin smugglers used the timeshare property as a stash house for their crews.
He’d left the area long before the agents descended on the assault team. He left the city of Miami and took a one-way bus out of state. Betrayed, he had only one option left for recourse.