CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
‡
“I give the three of you the simplest of cases, and every single one of you manages to blow up something like a simple protection assignment into a major case where our resources are stretched thinner than ever. I swear I could hire an army of support staff and each of you would run through them like bottled water.” Calvert leaned against the wall of the hospital corridor, monitoring the comings and goings of the staff, visitors, and the occasional patient ordered to walk up and down the hall for rehab or burning off the general anesthetic used during whatever surgery they were recovering from. Brody kept his gaze on Remy through the vertical window of Ralph’s hospital room door. She was sitting on the edge of his bed, most likely explaining what had transpired over the last couple of days. “By the way, is there something you want to tell me? I’ve been to the house.”
“No,” Brody responded, knowing full well that either Keane had made some type of mention over the fact that he’d caught Brody and Remy in an intimate position or Calvert had noticed Remy’s bed hadn’t been slept in last night when he’d surveyed the house. He was sure his teammate hadn’t told him out of turn. It was just another note in the files, as far as any of them were concerned. Relationships occurring under these circumstances could bring complications to the client’s safety, though that wasn’t the case here. “Maybe.”
Brody sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, the exhaustion finally catching up to him. It had to be doing the same to Remy considering their restless night, though she was still as beautiful and poised as she ever was upon leaving the house. Those suits were her battle armor, but it was her intellect that was her primary weapon.
“You do know that I’m not running a dating service for you guys.”
“I’ll let you know if it becomes a problem,” Brody promised, ignoring Calvert’s dig. He pulled out his phone to check on the facial recognition program he’d remotely initiated from a software he’d specifically created for moments like this. He had no alternative than to work on the go. “Varan’s IQ is barely one hundred, yet he somehow managed to avoid every security feed leading out of Remy’s building. I suspect that his previous trip to Sorrento wasn’t just to scare Remy.”
“Are you saying he had help?”
Brody shifted so that he could take up the other side of the door. He leaned back against the wall while his phone connected with his software back at operations. He shot a sideways glance toward Calvert, who was currently peering inside one of the hospital rooms across from them. A news anchor currently held the patient’s interest. The pretty little redhead also appeared to have done the same with Townes.
The loud speaker crackled before a code blue call was issued, causing two nurses and a doctor to rush out behind the main nurse’s station. Another nurse appeared pushing a cart laden with equipment. All four moved quickly down to the other end of the hall.
It was easy to cause a distraction in a place like this, but what would the chances be of Varan making an appearance here on the cardiac floor? Had he truly believed Remy would go to the office, or had he planned for something like this to draw her out to the hospital?
“I’m saying I find it awfully convenient that Varan was somehow informed of SSI’s involvement from the beginning, and then went out of his way to surveil the address on record as our public storefront,” Brody pointed out, wondering when things had gone awry. “Think about it. He was released, stayed the obligatory day with his mommy before moving into an apartment of his own, which he has no ability to pay for. On top of satisfying his release conditions to the letter, he even attended an interview that his case worker had set up prior to his discharge. In all respects, he showed sincere interest in the accounting position that he must have known he never had a snowball’s chance in hell of getting. Why go to all that trouble just to throw it all away after a week on the outside? What made him deviate from his original plan? He had years to plan this scenario, and you’re telling me he throws it all away in order to bum rush Remy’s secretary?”
“I doubt it took that long if Varan stopped taking his meds,” Calvert pointed out, dragging his gaze away from what was on the television screen. Brody scanned the news ticker running along the bottom of the screen and didn’t catch anything out of the ordinary. “Think about it. The man hears voices and carries out their orders, no matter how depraved those orders might be. Denying himself those types of psychopharmaceutical medications would take him right back to the ground floor, when he was nothing more than a mere machine to do the bidding of his overly-active disturbed mind.”
“I’ll escort Remy upstairs to Carol Applely’s room in a few minutes,” Brody shared, noticing an aide walking toward them pushing a lunch tray. She was younger, maybe in her early twenties, and her green eyes were glued to Calvert. It was hard to tell if she was mesmerized by the heavily black-inked eagle, globe, and anchor tattoo on his neck, the bulges of his massive biceps where his shirt appeared stretched too tight, or the full-frame Sig Sauer P220 Elite .45 ACP semi-automatic handgun holstered to his belt. His demeanor was one of impending menace, but he would lay down his life for a stranger. Brody gave her the directive to go in to relieve her unease. “Go on in. I believe they’re almost done.”
Calvert didn’t appear to even notice the girl’s apprehension as he pushed himself off the wall with the heel of his rough side out military issued boots. He certainly wasn’t clean-cut like Keane, or had the appearance of a mama’s boy like Sawyer. Honestly, he was probably used to those types of knee-jerk reactions by women who didn’t favor the one-percent biker types.
The fact that Calvert was wearing his motorcycle vest indicated he was riding his Harley. He had just gotten back to the estate to change clothes before meeting with one of the federal agents on the Moss case when Brody had informed him of this new turn of events. Even though SSI had been called in to help regarding the Moss case, it appeared a few toes were feeling the pressure and not so appreciative of the additional presence.
Certain field agents had taken issue with civilian involvement in a case they deemed as solely FBI and U.S. Marshal jurisdiction. As a matter of fact, those same agents didn’t even care to have the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force involved, but interestingly enough, they actually had primary jurisdiction considering the whole escape from federal custody issue.
“By the way, when did you start wearing cheap Hawaiian shirts? I thought your entire collection consisted of Tommy Bahama or Paradise Found and Diamond Head?” Calvert asked, shooting an appalled look his way that spoke volumes as to his opinion of Brody’s attire. “That cheap piece of shit isn’t even in the same class as your usual livery.”
“I had to buy a shirt from the gift shop located downstairs in the lobby.” Brody glanced down at the overly bright colors, but the shirt would do for now. “I got blood on one of Keane’s white Armani shirts that I borrowed this morning. That should end up costing me in more than one way, but I didn’t want to walk around all day wearing a visual reminder of Remy’s assistant’s encounter with Varan.”
“Speaking of Varan, what’s your next move?”
“I’ll take Remy up to see her assistant before taking her back to the estate,” Brody followed up, finally receiving the results from his facial recognition program. Nothing. Zero. How could Varan have the mental capacity to evade every camera in the entire city? It didn’t make sense. “I don’t like having her out in the open without having any idea of what Varan might be up to or the fact that we have no clue where he’s holed up.”
“Call me if you run into trouble en route,” Calvert directed, taking a step toward the elevator banks that were located toward their right. He did throw out the obvious though, which only meant that he was also reacting to the underlying tension of this investigation—something wasn’t adding up. “Keane and Royce are both close by, so utilize them if you need them. We have backups in place to relieve them for that eventuality.”
“Speaking of utilizing certain services, I put a call into the Florida Fish and Wildlife’s Alligator Management Program. It seems we have a mother together with her recently hatched brood in the lake.” Brody enjoyed the slight surprise that crossed Calvert’s expression. The man was never rattled by anything, unlike the others on the team who were easy to rouse. “I’m getting damned tired of handling this type of household shit. The agency needs some support staff. When are we going to open up a storefront and get an office manager?”
“Why would I go and hire out when you’ve got things covered so well?” Townes asked with a smirk before the door to Ralph’s hospital room opened. Brody didn’t need to even glance that way in order to know that Remy was exiting. The faint fragrance of warm vanilla greeted him first, but it was Calvert’s knowing chuckle that had Brody wanting to leave those baby alligators in the man’s pond just to watch them grow up and cause some mayhem. “You’re so fucking easy, Novak.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Remy said in a low voice as she stepped around the heavy door, her blue eyes widening slightly at Calvert’s presence. He only nodded a greeting in her direction, seeing as she was on the phone, before he continued down the hallway with what sounded like a cheerful Irish tune he was whistling. Brody ignored him as he saw Remy press an index finger against her ear to make it easier for her to hear the person on the other end of the line. What the hell was she doing on the phone? “I’m at the hospital and about to go see Carol, but I’m okay. You don’t need to come over. I’m not going back to my apartment.”
Brody gritted his teeth at the fact that Remy was using someone else’s cell. It obviously belonged to either Ralph or Julia, considering they were the only two occupying the hospital room. The aide had already moved on to the next patient.
He didn’t have to think very hard in order to deduce who Remy was conversing with, or why she was giving out her current location. Why was it so hard for people with a personal security detail to minimize the danger they themselves had somehow gotten involved in?
“It was horrible, Susan,” Remy revealed honestly as she practically melted against the wall, the black three-inch stilettos the only things holding her up. She lowered her head in exhaustion. “I don’t know for sure if he’s targeting people I care about, or if he was angry to find out I wasn’t at the office. Please be careful wherever you go.”
Brody hadn’t had a chance to tell Remy that a policeman was currently sitting outside Susan’s townhouse in Orlando. He’d already covered every angle and had taken precautions. As a matter of fact, a uniformed officer was currently walking in their direction.
“Um, yeah. I’m staying with Brody,” Remy revealed hesitantly as she lifted her blue eyes to meet his. It was clear she wanted to explain to Susan exactly what had been going on this past week, but Remy was wise in keeping her friend out of the loop. The more people brought into the middle of this colossal clusterfuck, the more likely it was someone else would end up hurt. “I know, Susan, and I’m sorry. This all happened so fast, but I promise you that I’ll explain when it’s all over. Just know that I’m doing what I can to keep myself safe, as well as everyone else around me.”
Brody relaxed slightly when it became apparent she wasn’t going into too much detail over the phone or to someone he hadn’t ruled out as potentially aiding Varan—if anyone even was abetting the fucking psychopath.
Susan Kohnle was in her early thirties, lived alone with one Irish Setter and two Aristocrat Savannah cats that appeared to take after the Serval they were bred from. She worked at a financial firm in the heart of the city. Granted, her profession alone could have linked her to Varan, but a background search revealed no contact between the two at any time during their careers.
As for her relationships, the woman had maintained contact with Remy and a few other friends since high school. Susan was also very close to a couple of college buddies, and was currently dating a hedge fund trader at her place of employment. Not one of her primary or secondary acquaintances had any ties to David Varan.
Brody quickly addressed the officer who would be remaining outside Ralph’s hospital room until his release or Varan was taken into custody, whichever came first. Remy wrapped up her phone call, but he was able to divert her before she went back inside to finish her visit with Ralph and Julia.
“Varan hasn’t been taken into custody as of yet, so I think it’s best we head back as soon as possible.”
Brody studied her face and watched Remy’s body language for any sign that her presence here had an ulterior motive. He relaxed slightly when she nodded her agreement, but he wouldn’t feel confident in his ability to keep her safe until he had her back on the estate’s grounds where he could monitor the perimeter for any sign of intrusion.
In addition to the entire perimeter coverage by IR video surveillance, there were GPS-enabled sensor suites layered throughout the property. They included AP sensors capable of detecting a human heartbeat within twenty-five yards, using relational position resolution algorithms on a system that he himself had designed. Brody could locate the exact position of an intruder approaching the house within one meter anywhere on the grounds.
“Let me say goodbye before we make a brief visit to Carol’s room,” Remy said, her fingers closing around the phone in her hand. She gave a cursory look at the uniformed officer before glancing down the corridor, her brows bowed in confusion. “I’m surprised Townes didn’t go in to see Ralph and Julia. He served with their son, Phillip, you know.”
“Calvert has a meeting scheduled with a couple of Supervisory Special Agents in Charge concerning an investigation that couldn’t be postponed,” Brody explained, having already had this conversation with his boss. “He mentioned having dinner with them when things are all cleared up.”
“You’re not talking about David’s case, are you?” Remy asked quietly, her attention solely on him. She’d taken in more than he’d realized this past week, picking up on the fact that Moss wasn’t another random case. “Did Townes lose someone to another psychopath?”
Brody wasn’t sure how to answer that without revealing Calvert’s personal information. He was a very private man, and there were quite a few details about the Moss case that even he wasn’t privy to.
“That’s hard to say for sure,” Brody said, telling her the truth. “It depends on your definition of losing.”
Had Calvert lost someone to Moss? In a manner of speaking, yes.
“Remy, please don’t delay this visit any longer.” Brody reached out and tapped the cell phone still trapped in her hand. “It’s for your safety that we get you back to the house. Using devices that I haven’t cleared are a no-no.”
“I know.” Remy turned and placed her hand on the door, but she had one more thing to say with a small smile of gratitude on her pretty pink lips. “Thank you for understanding that I had to be here, and…thank you for keeping me safe, Brody.”
The door slowly closed behind her as the last of her words sunk in. She hadn’t stayed long enough to see his smile or to realize that he understood her meaning. She’d just thanked him for something she thought she hadn’t needed. Her acknowledgment also meant that she was no longer considering sacrificing her own life in order to destroy that of another.
Who or what had been responsible for her change of heart?