Lex had no desire to go through used clothes much less wear them. But the glorious leader was throwing a soiree and if he had to attend then he knew he needed to dress appropriately. Enough had happened at Southside for him to garner some of what was expected of him.

  He’d lived in a fine home with a seemingly nice foster family, at least until the doors closed and the neighbors went home. He had the scars to prove it. Scars they’d hidden under fine, fancy clothes.

  He hated nice clothes.

  He hated what they’d done to him.

  He hated who he’d become.

  He looked at his hands. The one started to tremble. The feel of the weapon in his hand would never leave him.

  He’d had to do it, right?

  There had been no choice.

  ****

  Paulo and Maria were on the yacht headed to meet the White Lily. This was as precise as they could get with location and timing. At least from the manifest he’d read over.

  Concern had made his heart skip a beat. Maria had been cagey most of the day. It was as if she had a secret she didn’t desire to share.

  “We should be at the coordinates shortly.”

  Maria’s only response was a nod.

  Maybe she feared him and what he was capable of. He’d seen fear in the eyes of others, and she didn’t seem to be exhibiting it. Honestly, it was odd that she wasn’t afraid.

  He came to the location and cut the motor.

  “What now?”

  Why would Maria ask that? She knew the only way they would survive was by securing another vessel to carry prisoners. She should realize they would need to wait for the White Lily to show.

  Maybe she was losing her marbles. She had been acting weirder than usual. After those people almost caught them on the docks, she’d been going into trances and mumbling to herself. If he didn’t think that she could talk to the captain and get somewhere then he would have left her or done to her like he’d done to the others. But he needed her.

  It was that simple.

  “We wait.”

  “Oh, yes. Wait.” She settled in the chair and folded her hands in her lap. Then she started to whistle!

  The tune was a childhood song, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Even odder than the tune, was her mannerisms. She looked happy! Like super happy. He might have thought it was because she thought they were about to be rescued, but he was almost certain it wasn’t that. Something wasn’t right.

  She’d mentioned they should get caught, that it would be fun. Then she’d gone into the house and packed her back and waited on the bench. He’d asked why and she’d looked at him like he was crazy and said to get on the boat and meet the White Lily.

  He’d let the incident go, because it was too late to do anything else. The captain on the White Lily would want to see Maria before she would give them a vessel, of that, he was sure.

  Again, he needed her.

  Heat caused him to start to sweat. He fanned himself with his hand but that did very little.

  “Where is the ship? It should have been here by now.”

  “Um, can I ask you a question?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where did you get the manifest that you’re carrying around?”

  “Where did I get… you gave it to me. Remember?”

  “From my safe?” She paused and tilted her head to the side.

  “I guess so. Does that matter?”

  “Maybe.”

  “I watched you.” He shrugged. “When the ship went down, I went to my room where I’d placed it for you and got it so that we could find the White Lily.”

  She tsked under her breath. “You know, I should have asked you when you first pulled it out, but I just wasn’t thinking. But now, I have something that you need to know.”

  “What is that?” Extra sweat beaded his brow and ran into his eyes.

  She paced in the small area. She cupped her hand around her mouth and spoke from the side. “You see, that manifest, the one you’ve been carrying, reading, quoting. It is meaningless.”

  “What?”

  “It’s fake.”

  “Fake?”

  “You keep repeating me, I guess this is because of your shock. But the manifest in my office was put there to protect the White Lily in case we were ever raided. If they followed that list, they would never find her. Nope, I’m afraid the real list went down with the Black Dahlia.”

  “Down with the ship?” He knew he sounded breathless. He could hear it.

  “Yes, down with the ship. Poof. Vanished. There was one other copy, but it isn’t here. Captain Shaw and I would plan the route for the entire year and stash one extra copy in a secure location.”

  “Where is that?” He held his breath.”

  “I’m not giving it up so easily. You’ll need to take us back to land and find us a car. I’ll drive.”

  He held his tongue. The only way he was ever going to get to stop running was to find a ship and get away. People would always be looking for him otherwise. He’d done terrible things.

  Terrible.

  He was considering doing another terrible thing right now.

  ****

  Tito fought his urge to lose his lunch on the choppy ocean. If he ever reached land again, he might not leave. They would have to teleport him off Fishers Island.

  “We’re here. This was the last known location of the GPS transponder.”

  They docked in front of the cottage-like house. The light blue wood paneling was accentuated by window boxes full of colorful flowers. It really looked like a postcard setting. It might be a nice place for a honeymoon.

  If Tito ever had a honeymoon. That would imply that he had a date. And then a girlfriend.

  He massaged his face and rubbed his blurry eyes. His stomach rolled. He needed to get off the boat.

  He jumped onto the dock and ran toward the house. He made it to the well-manicured bushes before he lost his lunch. Part of him worried about ridicule until he looked left and saw Nick and Blake in the same position not that far away.

  When he stood, one of the Coast guards gave him a bottle of water.

  “Thanks.”

  He took a good look at her as he drew a long swig of the water. She was petite with brown hair and gold wire rimmed glasses. She kept pushing them up, but he hadn’t noticed them falling. Her brown hair was pinned up under her hat. He wondered how long her hair was.

  He took another swig of the water, swished it around, and spit it out. It’d been a while since he’d noticed anyone other than Ericka. Maybe that was a good thing.

  “This is the house.” She pulled her weapon and approached.

  Tito lowered the bottle and hurried to follow. The guard couldn’t be more than five feet tall and not more than a hundred pounds soaking wet. She didn’t need to be rushing into a house by herself with a potential murderer. Not when there were three buff guys that were with her.

  That was sexist. He could feel it.

  But he liked to protect women. It was in his nature.

  Blake, Nick, and Tito quickly loosened their guns from their holsters and approached the house.

  “Coast Guard, open up.” The officer knocked while bellowing the words.

  There was no reply.

  She tried again.

  Blake tried.

  Nick tried.

  Tito refrained. No one was at the house because no boat was at the house. He gave a cursory glance around the area. In the hedgerow next to the door was a black box. He reached down and lifted it up.

  “The GPS.” The lady sighed and pushed her cap back off her head. Her brown hair was wrapped in an unceremonious bun atop her head. If her hair was released, he could see it reaching her waist.

  He wondered what the strands would feel like between his fingers. Would they be coarse, or would they flow through like silk?

  He heard a noise. She was snapping at him.

  “Earth to agent.”

  “Oh, yes, sorry.”

  “Were you admiring me?”

  He cocked his brow. “I might have been.”

  “Hmm… Honesty. I don’t get that very often, so I’ll allow it.”

  “Well, thank you.”

  She took the box from him. Their fingers grazed. Electrical pulses shot up his arm. He thought it might reach his heart and fry something. She paused in her movement as well. She’d felt it too.

  How could that be?

  He’d just met this lady.

  He might never see her again.

  How could he connect with a stranger on this level?

  “Come on lovebirds. It’s obvious they left before we arrived. The stranger with Maria Petrov no doubt discovered the GPS box and left it here so we wouldn’t follow.”

  “Well, they couldn’t have gotten far.”

  “How do you know?” Tito was intrigued by every word that came from this woman’s mouth. He needed to know her name. Although he felt even that wasn’t important at the moment.

  “I’ll show you.” She took it back to the vessel and plugged in the box. A list of where the vehicle had been popped onto the screen. “See, this was when they arrived here, and this is our time now. There is a two-hour difference.”

  Blake ran his hand through his hair. “They’ve went out to find the White Lily.”

  “The White Lily?” The lady started to flip through a black binder next to the steering wheel. “Does it look like this?”

  “We have no idea.” Tito studied the picture. White Lily was clearly painted on the side. And there were people waving from atop the railing.

  “This has to be it. The White Lily left France three weeks ago and hasn’t reported in despite her return being listed in New York for last week.”

  “You knew about the White Lily?”

  “Of course. It’s a cruise liner that comes from Europe on a regular basis. Honestly, I would never ride on it. I think these people must get discounted rates. Over half the voyages the ship gets raided. Sometimes they lose cargo. Sometimes they lose people. The Coast Guard investigated them on a few occasions, but they could never prove any collusion.” She looked between them. “What?”

  “The man we’ve come to find. He and Maria Petrov took people from that ship. Originally, it was assumed they were operating the White Lily, but an agent in custody filled in some blanks and now we have a different theory. Their ship was lost at sea, and we believe they are attempting to meet up with the White Lily and secure another vessel.”

  The lady laughed. “Good luck with that. The Coast Guard already followed their planned route, and the White Lily has disappeared. Either they went down at sea, or they are hiding somewhere. They are nowhere near where these two are going.”

  Tito sucked in his breath.

  “All the family has been informed.”

  Blake moved closer and made a circle with him, Nick, and Tito. “Do you think they dropped off more people or do we really think they just disappeared?”

  “It’s been a week. They are apparently telling the Coast Guard most of their routes or they couldn’t check up on them.” Nick made a good point.

  “What does this all mean?”

  “I can hear you guys, you know.”

  The agent needed to let them discuss, but then again, she knew vastly more about the White Lily than they did.

  “Maybe we should ask her some questions.” Tito was all for drawing her in. He wanted to know more about her and more about the ship, of course.

  “Fine.” Blake faced her. He squinted his eyes to get a better look at her. “Captain Regina Shaw.”

  She smiled a crooked smile and held out her hand. “It’s so nice to meet fellow officers. I’ll be glad to do anything I can to help.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ericka settled in the chair as Quinn ran the video tape in an ancient player. People had gone in and out of Rochelle’s the entire day. Some left with tiny, dainty bags others had larger bags. There wasn’t a consistency to suggest why Rochelle was taken out.

  The afternoon wore on as they continued to watch. The video tape held many more hours of video than she’d thought possible.

  A man entered. They could see him through the glass. Rochelle handed him an envelope then she had turned away from him. When she did, he held up his finger in the shape of an upside-down L as if pretending to shoot her. When she turned back to face him, he had a smile on his face. He didn’t buy anything. He just exited the store.

  “Zero in on his face.”

  “But he didn’t shoot her.”

  “No, but he pretended to. In case we find him later we need to have the clearest image possible.”

  Greg had a good point.

  Quinn followed the instructions and did his best to blow up the footage and move it to a different screen on his computer.

  The video resumed. A punk looking kid with a black hoodie came into view. He kept touching his nose and sniffing. From the angle it was impossible to tell if he was white or black, or any other color. He flipped his nose. It almost looked like he drew in a deep breath before stepping inside. The flash of a gun going off was seen through the window. When the gunman came back out to the street he looked directly at the camera.

  Quinn zoomed in.

  “So, it wasn’t Rupert.”

  “It seems not.”

  “It was a kid.” Ericka couldn’t stop looking at the screen. The hesitation in the action. The flick of the nose. The style of clothing.

  “It was a gang initiation.” Her voice lowered.

  Maggie looked at the screen then back at her. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I mean, I never worked on gangs, but I helped out a few times. That nose thing. The stopping and looking before entering. We saw kids doing that outside Rochelle’s when we found the cameras. And look. It almost looks like the kid doesn’t really want to do it but doesn’t feel like he has a choice.”

  “Ericka not to sound like a jerk, but you can’t connect to every child you see. Just because you had a rough childhood doesn’t mean that everyone does, and they don’t have a home and they don’t have a place to go without committing murder.”

  The words from Greg stung. He knew her history better than anyone there. Of course, she looked at kids through the lens of her experience. That’s what made her so good at her job.

  She swallowed and nodded.

  What more could she do?

  Maggie slapped him across the chest. He rubbed the area but didn’t apologize.

  Ericka would have walked out. Maybe she should have. But she had a job to do. She needed to solve Rochelle’s murder and that was what she intended to do. If Greg wanted to hurt her feelings then let him. She could take it. She was a big girl.

  She was Detective Ericka Stone.

  “Quinn I’m going to run a list of gangs in the area. See if you can find any kind of insignia on him.”

  “All right.”

  Quinn moved the photo to his computer with a bit of Quinn magic and began to zoom in on various body parts.

  “What should I do?” Maggie was asking. She seemed eager to help or maybe eager to step away from Greg.

  Ericka had many ideas for how she could help. “Maybe call gangs at the local precinct and see if you can get information on escalated crime. I know the area is already bad, but if they got new recruits, it would be even worse.”

  “On it.”

  Greg got a call and lifted his phone to his ear. A frown formed on his face as he left the room.

  “Don’t worry about him. I think that Heidi wants to break up with him.”

  Ericka hadn’t realized they were an item. She wasn’t really concerned about his love life either. If it affected their work, then she was concerned but just because she wouldn’t be talked to like he had just talked to her.

  “As sad as it is that Greg has love life issues, we have a case to solve. That kid there killed Rochelle and we’ve been looking for the wrong person this entire time.”

  Maggie applauded but didn’t make noise before picking up the phone and calling more people.

  Quinn continued watching the footage.

  Ericka peeked at her watch. If she left soon maybe she could visit the sanatorium before the concert at the jazz club. That was if she could remember where it was.

  An alarm on Maggie’s phone went off. She rose. “Time to leave and get ready.”

  “What?” Ericka snapped her head upright.

  “I don’t think I asked, I meant to ask, but I must have forgotten, but I wanted your help dressing for tonight. You looked fantastic last time, and I really want to impress Tristan.”

  “I think he’s impressed enough already. Dude moved across several states for you.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not as glamorous as the music chicks he hangs out with.”

  Quinn and Maggie went back and forth discussing how Tristan felt while Ericka looked on. She bit her bottom lip. If she had to help Maggie, then she wouldn’t have time to go back.

  If she had some time to research the place, she knew she could find it. And what was hidden there. She knew it. Something that she hadn’t seen the first time. The fascination with meeting her father in person after all these years had kept her distracted from what she was good at… detecting.

  Now it would be tomorrow before she could find out anything.

  “So, are we ready?” Maggie looked hopeful.

  “You two go on and I’ll meet you there with Fanny. She’s looking forward to this almost as much as Maggie is. She hasn’t gotten to do very much since she moved here. I’ve been so busy; she’s largely been on her own.”

  Ericka understood, but the pressure to entertain the entire unit and their significant others was a little much.

  She forced a grin. “I guess we’re going shopping in our closets then.”

  Maggie giggled and danced on her toes. “This is so much fun!”

  Ericka would take her word for it.

  ****

  An alarm buzzed on Tito’s phone. The concert at the jazz club would start in a few hours. He’d set the alarm as a time to head home, change, and mentally prepare himself. A video had gone around of Ericka the last time she’d performed at the club. The red shirt and skintight pants had almost undone him. But now, now his emotions were being rivaled by this lady before him. Captain Regina Shaw was confident, brave, and other things he didn’t know but desired to find out.