Probably more than his assistant could even begin to imagine.

  “Thanks for your help,” Trey said and laid a hand on Roni’s back to urge her toward the reception area.

  She followed his lead, but once again focused on her surroundings, especially as they neared the glass doors for the reception area and Walsh pushed through, his face set in stone. She shrank back, almost hiding behind Trey as Walsh hurried past.

  He went straight to Santana’s office, entered and closed the door behind him.

  “Just your typical CEO-security guard interaction,” Trey whispered in her ear and shielded her from view as they pushed through the doors to the elevator banks.

  On their way down, she said, “What do you think that was all about?”

  Trey shook his head. “Nothing good from the look on Santana’s face.”

  “Walsh’s car is probably in the parking lot, but we can’t put a tracker on it without a warrant,” Roni said.

  “Maybe it’s time we got one.”

  Chapter Ten

  Trey didn’t know who they could trust, but they had to trust someone.

  He had hesitated at first, but Roni had insisted that their captain was trustworthy. Less than an hour later, he met them in the South Beach Security penthouse suite, and they laid out all the information they had gathered on Walsh. They also provided him with details about Wilson and Santana, making sure they had covered all the bases about what their investigation had revealed so far.

  Rogers glanced between the two of them. “I should read you both the riot act. You for ignoring your medical leave,” he said, jabbing a finger in Trey’s direction. “And you for not telling me someone tried to kill you,” he said, turning his attention to Roni.

  “There’s more, sir,” Roni said and shared a nervous glance with Trey before continuing. “IAD isn’t wrong that there’s a dirty cop in the department. But we don’t think it’s Doug.”

  Rogers narrowed his gaze to peer at them. “I don’t get it.”

  Trey presented the information that Sophie and Rob had gathered on the monies deposited into Doug’s bank accounts and a group of hackers they had managed to identify earlier that day.

  Rogers’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Hackers like those Russian cyberattacks? Or the Chinese? Do you think it’s something like that?”

  “We’re not sure. The hackers could have been working at the direction of someone with the right connections,” Roni said.

  The captain tilted his head, considering her comments. “Someone like Wilson.”

  “Possibly, although we’re leaning more toward Santana. At a minimum, we think he’s providing the locations where the women are being held,” Trey explained.

  “The Terminal Island site?” Rogers asked.

  “It’s owned by a shell company and we’re trying to find the actual owner,” Roni explained.

  “We need a warrant to track Walsh’s vehicle, plus the usual Sunpass tracking, cell phone data and the rest. We’d also like your help in triangulating the cell phone for my CI who’s still missing,” Trey said.

  “I think I have more than enough to ask for a warrant and I’ll get someone to get a fix on your CI’s cell phone location, plus all the rest,” Rogers said and rose from the dining room table. But as they walked him to the elevators, he said, “You mentioned that there was someone dirty in the department.”

  Roni hesitated, but then blurted out, “We’re leaning toward Ramirez.”

  “That’s a pretty serious charge,” the captain said.

  “It is and we have nothing to prove it, but we will,” Trey said.

  With a curt nod, their captain said, “I’ll call you as soon as we have more on the cell phone location and the warrant for the tracker.”

  Once he had gone, they went back to working through all the information they’d gathered so far on Santana and Walsh, but Wilson was still a big black hole in their investigation.

  “If he is grabbing women from these parties, would he be so blatant?” Roni posed the question out loud.

  Trey shrugged. “Maybe he thinks his money can buy him anything.”

  “Exactly, so why kidnap women, especially college students? With that much money I’m sure he could find his share of willing partners,” Roni said.

  Trey had avoided reaching out to Carolina and Mia so far, hoping to keep them out of the investigation, but maybe it was time to ask for their help.

  “If anyone knows more about this Wilson guy and what he does at those parties, it’s the Twins,” he said and dialed Mia.

  “Hola, hermanito. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call,” his sister said facetiously.

  “Roni and I need your help in finding out more about John Wilson. I’m putting you on speaker,” he said, laying the phone on the table. He hit the speaker button.

  “Hola, Roni,” Mia said, and a second later Carolina piped up with her own hello. “Hola, amiga. We hope Trey is treating you well.”

  Roni looked in his direction and blushed. “He’s been the perfect gentleman.”

  “What a shame,” Mia said with a laugh.

  Heat flooded his own cheeks and traveled to parts south as he thought about what he might do with Roni in the very posh and private penthouse, but he fought back that reaction.

  “This is all about business,” he warned his sister.

  “And again, what a shame,” Carolina said, making him wonder if the two of them ever had a different thought between them.

  “We need your help with John Wilson,” Roni said, drawing their attention back to the reason for the call.

  With a sigh, Mia said, “What do you need to know besides that he’s uber rich, fanatic about his privacy, and probably Miami’s most eligible bachelor.”

  “Seems weird that he’s fanatic about his privacy and yet he has these over-the-top penthouse suite parties that end up on social media regularly,” Trey said, unable to align the two conflicting ideas.

  “Except he’s not always at the parties,” Carolina explained. “Makes it a big deal when he actually does show up.”

  Trey shared a look with Roni, and he could see her brain was moving along the same path as his. “And does he leave with anyone when he does show up?”

  “Sometimes, but not always. Like I said, he values his privacy,” Mia advised.

  “Have you guys met him?” Roni asked.

  “We have. He’s kind of odd,” Carolina said.

  Trey wished they had video-called the Twins because he could sense there was more they weren’t saying and he might have been able to see what it was the Twins were keeping from him.

  “Mia. Carolina. You’re holding back,” he said, pressing them.

  “We were invited to go into his private room in the penthouse suite once, but we just got these weird vibes about it, so we made an excuse about having to go to another party. We stopped going to his parties,” Mia said, and her discomfort was clear.

  Trey cursed under his breath at the thought his sister and cousin might have been in danger, but despite that, he had to ask one more thing.

  “Do you think you can get Roni and me into one of those parties?”

  * * *

  “YOU’VE BEEN MADE,” he said and let out a stream of curses.

  “Not possible. I’ve been careful,” the other man said, but doubt colored his voice.

  “Got a call from a friend at the DA who owes me a favor. PD just got a warrant to put a tracker on your car. You need to find other wheels and stay low.”

  “How can I stay low? We’re supposed to be moving the merchandise in four days.”

  “Merchandise is going to have to wait,” he said, thinking that if they couldn’t move the women soon, they were going to have to get rid of them. A shame since they were set to bring in an attractive price, but they might not have any choice. The longer they held them, the more risk of discovery. With Gonzalez and Lopez nosing around, they couldn’t delay.

  “I’ll tell the boss,” the other man said and hung up.

  * * *

  THEY HAD JUST finished with the Twins when they got a text from Rogers that the warrant had been issued and they’d been able to triangulate the location of Eddie’s phone.

  Wasting no time, they headed back to the MCP Enterprises building, found Walsh’s car in the parking lot and attached the magnetic casing for the GPS tracker beneath the wheel well. Sophie and Rob were going to monitor the GPS feed and update them on any activity.

  Armed with the location of Eddie’s phone, they headed down Calle Ocho, driving through the heart of Little Havana and past the many small shops and restaurants along the avenue. They continued on SW Eighth past the iconic Versailles restaurant and toward the airport. Jets flew overhead while they pushed forward along the Tamiami Trail until they were almost at the start of the Everglades and an uneasy feeling came over Roni.

  “This is not good,” Trey said, and Roni couldn’t disagree.

  Turning off SW Eighth, they entered a cul-de-sac of modest but well-kept cinder-block homes. They parked in front of the home where Eddie, or his phone, was supposedly located.

  Like the rest of the houses, the home was nicely tended with a palm tree in the center of the yard for shade and colorful crotons and bright annuals in the beds close to the house. Closely clipped grass was damp from the sprinkler system that had wet the lawn and the pavers leading to the front door.

  They walked up to the door and knocked. A harried-looking and heavily pregnant woman answered. She was probably in her early forties, with short curly hair and beautiful brown eyes that grew puzzled as they flashed their badges.

  “May I help you?” she asked and laid a hand on her swollen belly as if to calm the baby, but before they could answer, the loud shouts of children at play rang out from behind her.

  “Kids, be quiet,” she shouted and raked back her hair in frustration. “I’m sorry. The boys can be a handful at times.”

  “We understand. I’m Detective Lopez and this is Detective Gonzalez,” Roni said as Trey whipped out his phone and showed the woman a photo of his confidential informant.

  “We’re looking for this man,” he said, but the woman’s gaze remained puzzled.

  She shook her head and rubbed her belly. “I’m sorry, but he doesn’t look familiar.”

  The ruckus that they’d heard from another room spilled into the space behind her as two boys chased each other into view. They were beating each other with toy trucks and cars, mimicking crash sounds as they did so.

  “Boys, please! I need to speak to these police officers,” the woman shouted and glared at the children, who quieted and lined up behind her.

  “The police?” the taller one said, glancing at them with a hint of fear.

  His words prompted the younger one to give his brother a shove and say, “See, I told you the cops would come.”

  The mom whirled on them and jammed her hands on her hips. “Luis,” the mother said, glaring at her youngest. “Why do you think the police would come?”

  Luis clasped his hands behind his back and shot a worried look at his brother.

  “Luis,” the mom pressed, but it was the older boy who answered.

  “Because I found a cell phone and kept it,” he said. Reaching into his pants pocket, he hauled out a phone and held it out to Roni. She slipped her shirt over her fingers before she grabbed the phone, hoping she could preserve some kind of evidence.

  “You’ve been using it?” Trey asked and dialed Eddie’s number.

  The phone vibrated in Roni’s hand.

  “It doesn’t have a password,” the older brother said and nervously toed the ground with his sneaker.

  “Raul Alejandro Garcia. You know better than to keep something that isn’t yours,” his mother said. She faced them and apologized. “I’m so, so sorry, officers. He didn’t mean any harm.”

  Roni could imagine the thousands of thoughts running through the mother’s head, so she tried to de-escalate the situation. “We know he didn’t. But we do need his help.”

  Roni knelt so that she was facing Raul and in a calming voice said, “Raul. Where did you find the phone?”

  The boy looked from her to his mother, who nodded for him to continue. In a voice barely above a whisper he said, “By the canal behind the paintball parking lot.”

  “You know you’re not supposed to go by the canal. It’s too dangerous,” the mom said, her voice wavering between anger and concern.

  His small shoulders barely lifted in a shrug. “I didn’t really go near the canal. The phone was by the edge of the parking lot.”

  “Do you think you could show us where you found it?” Roni asked and the little boy peered at his mom again, as if seeking her permission.

  “We’ll do whatever you need us to do, officers,” the mom said and laid a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder. He visibly relaxed with her touch, confirming to Roni that while he might be getting grounded, that was all that would happen for his misbehavior.

  “Great. Can you take us there now, Raul?” Trey asked.

  Chapter Eleven

  The canal was located behind a small stand of trees and the parking lot for a paintball center. A high chain-link fence separated the parking lot from the trees and canal. A big break in the fence appeared to be well-used based on the trampled grass from the fence to the trees and beyond.

  Just past the canal a large swath of wetlands was dotted with sawgrass. The wetlands went for miles, and in the distance, the outlines of mangroves and scrub pines broke up the flatness of the Everglades.

  They found Eddie’s lower arm at the edge of the canal after the boy gestured in the general direction of where he’d found the phone near the edges of the parking lot. Luckily the boys and their mother had not had to witness that discovery since they’d hung back while Roni and he had slipped through the break in the fence to scope out the area and found the remains.

  He’d known it was Eddie from the distinctive tattoo of the Cuban flag inked on the inside of his wrist.

  Now he and Roni stood by the edge of the canal, waiting for the divers to hopefully find the rest of his CI.

  It seemed like hours while the divers brought up Eddie’s remains bit by bit. As they did so, the medical examiner did her job, cataloging the pieces. They walked over to the ME and her assistant, who was photographing the various parts.

  “Any idea on the cause of death or how long he’s been in the water?” Trey asked while he examined what the divers had found in the canal.

  “Can’t decide on COD until we find more of the body. As for how long—there’s a lot of predation that’s gone on. Alligator and small fish. Based on other skin changes, like this sloughing, a little over a week if I had to guess,” the ME said as she slipped Eddie’s arm into an evidence bag.

  It took him only a second to figure out that Eddie had likely been dead since the night Doug had been murdered.

  “We’d appreciate any info you can give us,” Roni said and handed the ME her business card.

  The ME nodded. “We’ll call you as soon as we have anything.”

  “Thanks,” Trey said and slipped a hand behind Roni’s back to urge her from the scene.

  They were supposed to meet Carolina and Mia in a couple of hours to attend another of Wilson’s parties, but in the meantime, there was the issue of Walsh’s car.

  He started the tracking app that Sophie and Rob had installed on his phone. Much as it had earlier, it showed that Walsh’s car was still sitting where it had been for hours.

  “No movement,” he said and showed Roni the phone. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease the tension growing there. His instincts warned him something was wrong.

  Roni shot a quick look at the phone and said, “It’s just past five. He’s probably still at work.”

  “Possibly,” Trey said, but he didn’t have a good feeling about it. “We should head back and see if Sophie and Rob have been able to get anything else for us and get ready to go with Carolina and Mia.”

  They started to walk back to their car, but as they did so, Roni said, “You’re worried someone tipped off Walsh.”

  With a shrug, he said, “Possibly. But you’re probably right that it’s just that he’s at work. I guess we’ll know if it doesn’t move soon.”

  Almost as if on cue, the tracking software chirped and as he looked at the screen, the blip shifted, surprising him. “Looks like you were right,” he said and held up the phone.

  “Time for us to see where he’s going,” she said and hurried to the car.

  They climbed into the convertible and Trey slipped the phone into a holder so they could monitor the tracking software.

  “If he’s going home, he’d head either to Seventh or the Dixie Highway to get to Coral Gables,” Trey said and used his finger to trace the route he’d take. “It’s a short ride. Less than ten minutes.”

  “Unless he’s headed to South Beach. Then he’d shoot over to the causeway, only he’s not going either way,” Roni said, shaking her head as the blip on the phone unexpectedly moved westward.

  “This isn’t making any sense,” Trey said, watching as Walsh drove onto SW Twenty-Sixth and moved farther and farther away from the MCP Enterprises building as well as South Beach or his home.

  “We have time to try and intercept him,” he said, starting the car and driving in the direction of the blip. They were getting closer and closer to Walsh, and he kept his eyes glued to the road, searching for Walsh’s vehicle. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Roni was also focused on locating the vehicle. As their path intercepted that of the blip and they started following it, there was still no sign of Walsh’s car, a late model Audi.

  “I don’t get it,” Roni said and ran a hand across her forehead, obviously puzzled and frustrated, especially since it seemed they were right on the trail of the car, but it wasn’t in sight.