A second passed before she asked, “What’s new?”

  “Uh…” Quinn looked between them but finally gathered his wits. “Um, thankfully, I was able to move the digital footage here so we could look at more at a time. And so far, we’ve gone through most of the footage leading up to Rochelle’s murder. As far as we can tell there are no other pictures of the murderer. The day he did the deed was the first time he’d entered the building.”

  Maggie moved around the room and leaned against her desk. “While Greg searched passports salesmen, I worked on neighboring stores and acquiring their camera footage, but most won’t budge without a court order.”

  All the desks were plain. No one had decorated their workspace. There were no pictures of themselves on fancy vacations. No pictures of family or pets. Previously when they’d been in the same room as the rest of the unit the desks had been covered. The private office should have offered more reasons to decorate but the opposite effect had happened. At first, Greg thought it was because no one could see their displays. Now he believed everything was because of the lack of permanency of the situation. If they were forced to leave or move again, they would be forced to change again. Why have so much to move? That was why it had taken him years to put up a poster on his wall at home. Or put pictures on his table. Or even to buy a side table for his couch.

  “Good job.” Greg forced the words out. He meant them but he was exhausted and distracted. The Heidi thing was driving him crazy. It shouldn’t be, but it was.

  The screen had continued to run. Quinn and the others glanced at it as he spoke.

  “Stop!” Ericka’s voice had Quinn slapping his keyboard in an awkward fumbling motion.

  “What? What?”

  Ericka pointed with her free hand. “It’s Andre Rubert, again.”

  “The first time was very early in the footage. This is getting closer to Rochelle’s death.”

  “What? You found Rubert there before and you didn’t mention it?”

  Quinn massaged his eye sockets. “Yeah, we saw him before. He came in and talked then left. Look now…”

  Andre peered over the counter. Then he leaned back, he might have crossed himself, Greg couldn’t be sure. But then he looked around the room. Perhaps looking for cameras.

  Greg would have done that.

  “If Rubert was there he had a reason.”

  “He needed help.” Ericka’s voice dropped low.

  Maggie continued, “With?”

  “Finding Eliott? Getting free of France.”

  “He was here though.” Quinn continued to squint at the screen.

  “True. They made it across, but they got caught.”

  “Wait.” Ericka leaned in and squinted. She swallowed hard. “That is Eliott’s fake mommy.”

  “What?”

  “Eliott showed Tito and me a picture of his fake mommy. Rochelle. That was his fake mommy. He said something about her taking him places.”

  “Probably to get his picture made for his new I.D.” Greg began to pace across the tiny office.

  “You realize this means—” Maggie started.

  Greg finished, “The White Lily and Rochelle’s death are connected.”

  ****

  Maria watched Paulo. He’d moved to the front porch of the bungalow and held a pair of binoculars to his face. The White Lily would run silent. No radios would be used, or it might give away her position.

  Maria realized that the White Lily would never approach the island. It was too small for the ship to dock. Maria sucked in a breath. Paulo had said she gave him the manifest. She would never have given him the real one. He was a murderer. At first, she hadn’t believed it, but then she’d seen him.

  So, if she hadn’t given him the real one, that meant she gave him the fake manifest. She’d had two on the off chance they were raided. One she kept on the bridge under lock and key to look authentic. The other she had two copies of. One in her room, the other she kept elsewhere.

  Even though one was incorrect, she had created a code in the second one. If she got a good look at the manifest she could figure out where the actual docking place would be, maybe. Captain Regina Shaw would be looking for them wherever she was supposed to be. They had agreed to take another load of prisoners and cut out the middleman. Which was a good thing since according to a recent news update, she’d seen while at the vacation house the middlemen and women were in jail now.

  Shaw didn’t like to lose money.

  Neither did she.

  A bee buzzed by her head. She swiped at it, but it kept coming. Eventually she moved away from the flowers it sought. It kept coming back. Just like her mind kept going back to the past. She couldn’t stop thinking about the past she couldn’t remember.

  That last raid had become like an addictive drug to her. She was comfortable, but she was tired of living with it. That’s why she wanted it over. But Sloan and Roxanne getting busted had ruined that.

  “I think we should ride out there and wait.”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “No. If Regina sees us there, she won’t approach. We have no way to warn her.”

  “Then what’s your idea?” Paulo laid down the binoculars and crossed his massive arms over his chest.

  She smiled. “Let’s get taken.”

  She had the perfect plan.

  Oh, it was going to be so much fun. If her brain could remember the details to execute it.

  Chapter Twelve

  Maggie drove and Ericka peered out the window. Maggie had lucked up and got a business to agree to share their footage without a court order. Before they changed their minds, Greg had suggested they go retrieve the footage.

  Ericka would have loved to have gone with Greg. They needed to talk. But he’d said he was too tired to drive. It seemed to be a true statement. He’d closed his eyes several times while they were talking to him.

  “Thank you for doing the club tonight.”

  “Sure.”

  “I know you really don’t like all the attention.”

  Truthfully, beforehand she did hate it. But during the actual event she was in a different world. She could enjoy it under certain conditions.

  “Who all did Quinn invite? That’s what’s really bothering me.” She wasn’t sure if Quinn or Maggie had done the inviting, but blaming Quinn seemed easier since he wasn’t there.

  “Well, I wasn’t aware he invited anyone. I thought he said it was going to be just friends going out.”

  Ericka wouldn’t add and helping Tristan with his career. But she did say, “He invited Tito.”

  “Oh.”

  “That oh is loaded.”

  She didn’t turn, but she bit her lip. “Well, I think Greg is coming too.”

  “Fantastic.”

  Just what she needed. Two men she liked in the same spot watching her perform when she really didn’t want to. The last time she’d been so uncomfortable knowing that Greg was there, but that didn’t last. However, since he wasn’t really talking to her at the moment, she didn’t know what to think.

  Maggie found a spot, parked, jumped out, and fed the meter. Ericka climbed out a step behind. She put her hands in her pockets and entered the jewelry store.

  Before Maggie or she could speak the woman behind the counter stretched out her arm and handed them a video tape.

  “Here. I pulled everything around those days. Now I have work to do, please leave. I have a buyer coming in and I really want to sell the story and get out of here. This street gets more and more unsafe by the day.”

  Ericka understood, but the rudeness surprised her.

  “Uh, thanks, I guess.” Maggie led the way out. “That was weird.”

  “It means she watched the video.”

  “You think she saw something?”

  Ericka glanced over her shoulder at the window. “Maybe.”

  The woman had followed them to the door and locked a deadbolt as well as another lock. Then she raced back to the counter and began packing items. Jewelry boxes were stacked in bigger boxes all while the lady kept looking out the window.

  “She’s scared.”

  “Really scared.” Maggie had noticed as well. “Let’s get this back to Quinn so he can find out what this has to do with the lady being so terrified.”

  Ericka held the video tape in her hands. Quinn intercepted the text that they needed a VCR without question or comment. She assumed one would be there when they arrived.

  “Do you think you could manage a little Ray Charles tonight?”

  “Uh?’

  “Tonight. Tristian plays the piano, remember?”

  “I do.”

  “So, maybe a little Hit the Road Jack?”

  “I think I can handle that.”

  “Thanks, Ericka. Again.”

  “Glad I can help.”

  She was glad to help. She did wish that it was anywhere but the club. The club was the last place she’d felt normal. The place she’d secretly seen her father before he became some secret something, she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to know what.

  She’d run out of the sanatorium and jumped in Sasha’s car before she’d received all the answers. Learning that her mother had taken the place of a notorious criminal wasn’t something she’d wanted to dwell on. And what had he thought she could do about it? Sure, find her. Everyone wanted her mother or “Maria Petrov” found, but what happened afterward?

  Ericka had taken a sip of the water bottle Sasha had given her and immediately blacked out. Why they wanted to drug her on the way home had been a complete mystery. Again, what wasn’t a mystery about her life?

  Maggie pulled into a parking space. Ericka realized they’d made it back to the office. She’d been daydreaming the entire time. The tape had some moisture built up where she’d squeezed it between her hands.

  Maggie forced her fingers free and took the tape. “We may not get another copy.”

  “Yes, sorry.”

  Maggie took the tape and they both stepped from the car. Ericka attempted to breathe deeply without being noticed but it didn’t work. Maggie probably thought she was nervous about her performance. Part of her wished that was the case.

  They entered the elevator. Maggie started to speak but stopped when other people entered behind them. They rode in silence up to the fourteenth floor. When they stepped off the elevator one could have heard a pin drop.

  The open area was empty. The office doors closed.

  Beta Team’s door was closed. Ericka eyed it as they passed. Tito could be in there learning things about Maria Petrov right now. Like where she was headed.

  At the club she would ask for an update. She didn’t think her father would seek her out for help after drugging her and her running away, but if she had information then she might be able to keep his attention longer. She wanted to talk to him about something other than family drama. Maybe family history. Or why he’d left her outside the hospital alone. But apparently, she wasn’t meant to have those answers.

  She’d have to settle for finding her mother before the others did. It might be the only way to keep her out of prison.

  ****

  Director Manis paced in the Beta Team office. “While you guys were looking around with your thumbs up your rears, Petrov and a strange man managed to steal a boat and escape right under your noses. Fortunately for you, the owner had a GPS tracker and it picked up the signal on Fishers Island.”

  Tito didn’t like the reaming from his father, but it was obvious from Blake’s red face and fisted hands that he liked it even less. Having one’s butt handed to them was never pleasant.

  “I’ve sent the Coast Guard a message to check the area. They will be there faster than we can secure permission to take a boat to the island off the Connecticut coastline. Once Petrov has been located you will be in place to apprehend her. So, grab your gear and go.”

  Blake and the others scrambled to grab their go bags that were stowed against the wall in an unceremonious pile. Tito waited until the area cleared before reaching out and grabbing his own bag.

  His dad looked at him with one brow lifted. Tito didn’t really have much to say. They’d followed every lead they’d been given; they just hadn’t been given many leads. Blake wasn’t big on going and getting things either. He set back and let them do it while he ‘managed’. He wasn’t the best manager either.

  Tito didn’t stop to talk to his dad. The last thing he needed was to look like he was receiving special treatment.

  Blake muttered under his breath for the entire drive. A black van and a driver had been provided so everyone on the team got to be in attendance for the spectacle.

  “I can’t believe he did that. Made me look like a fool in front of everyone. I know how to do my job. I was running my team way before he showed up.”

  Nick elbowed him in the ribs and nodded his head in Tito’s direction, but Blake wasn’t about to shut up. Tito didn’t really need to tell his father anything. The driver was the one that Blake should worry about. Tito had seen the man on several occasions very close to his father.

  Blake kept going and Tito tried to ignore him and do some research on his phone.

  If he’d estimated correctly, it would take them a little over two and a half hours to reach New London, Connecticut. This was where they were supposed to meet up with the Coast Guard and attempt to go out to Fishers Island. If they spooked Maria Petrov or the strange man she was with then they might have a problem, but for now they had the upper hand.

  Finally, Blake grumbled too just himself. They rode over bumps in the road that jolted them off their seats. Tito would have complained, but Blake was doing enough of that for everyone.

  “Hey, tell me about your new girl?” Nick seemed to be trying to distract Blake. Tito hoped it worked.

  “What new girl?”

  “The one you’re with every night. I keep calling your house and your never home.”

  Blake lowered his face and scratched his forehead. From the side of his mouth, but still loud enough for everyone to hear, he said, “It’s not just one girl.”

  Nick’s eyes widened. He lifted his hand for a high five. “Dude!”

  “I know.” Blake swiped one shoulder than the other. “What can I say.”

  Tito remembered that line, although a different action, from an old show called, “Good Times.” He wouldn’t call Blake out on it. At least he wasn’t complaining. Besides, Tito was a bit disgusted by the entire thing. Burle was as well. He wrung his hands over and over and kept his head pointed toward the floor.

  After that the others in the van decided to tout their conquests. Tito rolled his eyes on numerous occasions. It was like a high school locker room, only worse. These men had had too long to perfect their stories.

  “This girl’s skirt was so short when she bent over, I could see her hot pink thong. I was interested. Put myself out there, asked for a dance. Then this other girl showed up and started wailing on her for being at the club in the first place. She pulled her right out of there.” Nick sighed. “It was a sad day.”

  “I can’t wait to see what Detective Stone wears to the club tonight.”

  That made Tito and Burle’s heads snap upward.

  “I heard the last time she wore this slinky little number up top that didn’t have a back. What’s she like Tito? Should I pursue?”

  Tito reared back his arm and sent his fist into Nick’s face. Nick didn’t fight back, he just massaged his jaw and smiled. He’d known exactly how to get Tito’s goat.

  He moved his hand from his face, shifted his jaw back and forth, and then leaned forward. “Thank you for that. I’ve been tired of looking at your smug face this entire time. Now, you may not be here for me to look at any longer.”

  Burle restrained Tito’s arms behind him and scooted them as far from the other two as the van would allow.

  “He did that to you on purpose. The entire thing was a set-up. Now they can get you on assault and your father may not be able to save you.”

  Tito divested himself from Burle and massaged his fist. Burle was probably right. Blake winked at him. Nick leaned his head back and smirked. Even with the large purple area forming he still managed to look like he’d won an important game.

  Tito was going to be sick.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lex was going to be sick. The smells. The sights. The building in general. It was all too much. At first, he thought he could handle it. Sure, why not? He was tough. He’d been through things.

  But now he’d done things.

  Things he wasn’t proud of.

  Things he could never repent of.

  “Hey, Lex. Whatcha doing tonight?”

  Jess had assimilated to the gang practically overnight. Lex was taking more time to accept his fate. He’d fulfilled his enrollment fee, but he didn’t feel good about it.

  They had been required to. They took an envelope. Whatever was written inside was the act they were responsible for. Some had to rob a store. Others had to grab a purse. Some were required to take a life.

  His envelope had required…

  “Dude, are you ready for tonight? I heard we’re having a feast. Like suit and tie kind of thing.”

  Lex would have joked about checking his wardrobe for the proper attire, but Jess appeared genuinely excited.

  “I’ve never even sat at a table for dinner. Ma didn’t have one. Said she didn’t need to waste money on that kind of stuff.”

  Lex had had a family. He’d had large family dinners at his grandmother’s. Then everything came crashing down. He’d been taken in the night without explanation and put into a hellhole someone deemed a home. Now he was here. At first, he’d believed this was better. He had food, clothes, and shelter. Now he wasn’t sure if it was better or just a different kind of torture.

  “So, you dressing up? I grabbed some clothes from a line. I think there might be something to fit you as well.”

  Jess was an expert thief.

  He pickpocketed at events.

  Stole purses from shopping carts.

  Apparently, he also stole clothes from clotheslines.

  “Let me see.”