Waking to her alarm, Elizabeth rolled over and smiled as she looked at Martinez sleeping peacefully. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled back at her. “Well, good morning, hermosa.”
“Good morning, yourself. Are you ready for today,” she asked?
“I guess we’ll find out soon.” He stretched his arms over his head and arched his back before pulling her into his chest and kissing her on the forehead. “Hey, do you mind if I take a shower here?”
She looked up at him lovingly, “Of course not, that’s a silly question. But you don’t have any clean clothes?”
“Honestly, I packed a bag and it’s in the back of my car. I took a chance on you letting me stay last night. Of course, I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had slammed the door in my face either.” He smiled.
“Honestly, I considered it.” Dragging herself from him, she smiled back and said, “You go first. I’ll put on a pot of coffee.”
As the two of them took turns in her small bathroom, she smiled to herself thinking, So, this is what it would feel like to have him around all the time. I guess that wouldn’t be too bad.
Meeting each other in the kitchen to fill their coffee cups, Martinez said, “I think it’s best if we drive in separately. We don’t want to bring any unwanted attention. This needs to stay between you, me, Marilyn, and Holden for right now. Did she text you back?”
After taking a sip of her coffee she said, “Yeah. I told her to meet us in the conference room. That way you don’t have to come through the office and we can be more discreet. Holden meeting us?”
“Perfect. Said he’ll be there at 8:15. Of course, that means we should see him around 8:30.”
“I wish I could hide out for fifteen to twenty minutes. I’m sure Peggy is going to be all over my ass about leaving yesterday. I’ll be lucky if I can get past her.”
“Screw Peggy!”
Elizabeth laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
Shaking her head embarrassed she said, “That’s exactly what China would say.”
“You cannot say a word to China. Liz, this is important, you have to concentrate.”
Seriousness washed across her face. But then she was a tad irritated. “Angel, I’m a little nervous but I got it. Remember, I’m the one who put him away the first time.”
“You’re right. And I’m sorry. I didn’t forget.” He threw his coat on and grabbed his night bag. Cupping her face with his hands, he kissed her hard on her lips and promised, “We’re going to handle this. Together.”
Pulling into the parking garage, Elizabeth started to panic as she was pulled back in time. Once again being the naïve college girl sitting in the passenger seat of her father’s vehicle outside the police station, contemplating whether she had the strength to go in and tell them everything she knew. She found it ironic she was now on the other side of that fence. Pulling in a deep breath of certainty, she got out of her car and slammed the door sending an echo through the cold cement walls.
The lobby was quiet. Shaking the cold from her, she stepped onto the elevator taking it to the fifth floor. Instead of going through the back door, she walked straight to the front where she knew Andrea would buzz her right in. She waved ‘good morning’ and went straight to her office. Flinging her coat and bag on a chair, she sat down at her desk to pull up her docket for the morning and get ready for court. For the time being, she managed to sideline Peggy.
Hearing movement, China slithered across the hall and into an empty chair in front of Elizabeth. Her forehead crinkled with concern. “Hey! How you feeling this morning?”
Laughing at the question, Elizabeth stopped what she was doing and replied in a rude tone, “I really don’t know, China. That is literally the question of the day.”
Raising an eyebrow, she snapped back, “Woah, slow down, sister. You got a hang over? I have some Aspirin in my purse if you need one.”
Placing her head in her hands she swept back her hair. “Wow. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come at you like that. I just have so much going on right now.”
“Liz, what the hell is going on? Did Martinez do something stupid?”
Taking a deep breath, she hesitated. It was difficult keeping her best friend in the dark. She shook her head and said, “I promise you; he didn’t do anything. I really wish I could tell you, but I can’t. At least not right now. There is some heavy shit going down and I’m just trying to keep it together.”
Intrigue took over China’s expression before it occurred to her, “Oh my God, you’re like in some real-life Charlie’s Angels shit, aren’t you?” Excited she added, “What can I do to help?”
“Can you keep Peggy busy this morning? I’m meeting with Marilyn in a few and I need to squeeze past her.”
“Well, that’s not very exciting.” Giving it a second thought, she said, “On the other hand, the look on her face will be priceless once she realizes she’s not included! But what if she asks what’s going on?”
“Tell her the truth – you have no idea. Take one of your files to her and act like you need to pick her brain about a how to handle a victim or something.”
“That’s kind of nauseating but I’ll play along.”
Sympathetically, Elizabeth said, “I know. But you would really be helping. I’m not sure how long it will take but I should be able to get to court on time.”
Standing up, China shook her hair away from her face and said, “Okay then, let’s get this party started, shall we?”
Elizabeth’s lips curled with a devious smile as she watched China strut out of her office. She sat at her desk until she heard the voices coming from Peggy’s office then she swiftly started down the hall. As she passed the doorway, she heard Peggy call out to her. Acting as if she didn’t hear her, she let China do her part and quickly headed back to Marilyn's office, knocked on the door, and let herself in. “Good morning, Marylin.”
“Hey kiddo. Are you hanging in there?” Marilyn asked.
“As much as can be expected, I guess. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for leaving so abruptly yesterday.”
Grabbing her things, the two of them left through the back door and down the hall to the conference room. “It happens sometimes. I’m assuming that’s what this meeting is all about?”
“I’m afraid so. Martinez and Holden should be here shortly.”
As they reached the entry to the conference room, the elevator door opened for Martinez to exit. Meeting the ladies, he followed behind them.
“Good morning, Detective,” said Marylin, as she sat down at the conference table and placed a legal pad and pen in front of her.
Once they were all seated and greetings were out of the way, Chief Holden arrived and walked towards the conference room spotting all of them seated at the table through the window. “Morning,” he said, as he walked into the room and sat at the head of the table.
“Good morning, John. How have you been,” asked Marylin.
Removing his glasses to wipe them down, he grunted and turned his eyes to Martinez. “It’s been a challenge but we’re maintaining. And you?”
Glancing at Elizabeth she replied, “I think I can relate.”
“Enough with all the small talk,” said Holden. “Tell us why we're here, Martinez. I hope it doesn't have anything to do with getting your badge back?”
“You took his badge,” asked Marilyn.
“Another conversation for another time,” Holden bluntly stated.
“Actually, Chief, now that you mention it -”
Elizabeth leaned forward in her seat and placed her hands in her lap. “Daniel DuPont came to see me yesterday. She had a lot of information to share and as you can tell, it was quite disturbing considering I left early without saying much to anyone.” Taking a breath, she continued, “Not only has Steve Robinson been trying his best to torment me since he’s gotten out of prison, he’s now set his sights on Danielle. He attacked her this past weekend. She also advised that he's been laundering money through the casino.”
“Money laundering? Moving up in the world, I see. Even if that’s true, that seems like an FBI issue to me,” said Holden turning to Marylin for confirmation.
“I’m not sure that’s necessarily the case,” she replied.
Martinez spoke up, “Chief, I’m afraid we have a bigger issue. According to information from my CI and from what DuPont told Liz, there’s an SPD cop involved.”
Holden’s voice matched the shock in his face, “What did you just say? You better have more than the word of a CI and a druggie-turned-casino-employee before you go accusing an SPD cop of wrong doin’, son.”
“Chief, you have to give me my badge back. There is an SPD officer working with Steve Robinson. I can’t tell you who it is right now and at the moment, I don’t trust anyone. But, based on the information I have, my sights are set on Lucas -”
“Lu-cas,” Holden abruptly asked. You can’t be serious? That kid couldn’t fight his way out of a wet paper bag!”
“You give me the green light, let me investigate - give me access to personal files for everyone who was involved in the drug task force before it dismantled. I have a feeling Lucas was on that roster somehow. I also I have a feeling that whoever it is, be it Lucas or someone else, they’ve been helping Robinson for the past six years, at least. This same someone, leaked Elizabeth’s involvement in trying to nail Steve back then. They were also somehow involved with everything that happened with Johnny Warren this past spring and I believe they played a part in helping get Robinson out early.”
Holden remembered, “My department did agree to take Lucas in after they lost their funding. But why on earth would you peg him for this?”
“Did you know he was moonlighting at the casino,” Martinez asked.
Becoming more agitated, Holden responded, “I knew he was going to school and picking up some odd jobs here and there to help pay for it. If you hadn’t noticed, he’s not really detective material.”
Martinez became confused, then curious. “And what exactly is he going to school for?”
“He doesn’t wanna be a cop. Never wanted to be a cop.” Rubbing his chin, he tried to recall. “Cyber security, computer forensics maybe?”
Martinez slapped the palm of his hand to his face before wiping away his amazement and asked, “Chief, are you serious? Someone hacked my emails from Investigator McMurphy. Someone kept Elizabeth from testifying at Robinson’s parole hearing.”
A wave of reality crept across Holden’s face before he slammed his fist on the table. “Son of a bitch!”
Pulling her pen from between her lips, Marylin responded, “It sounds to me like we should allow Martinez to look further into this. If what they’re saying is true, John, it’s quite possible the State could build a strong case against Robinson. As far as your officer who is allegedly involved, the FBI would definitely need to be a part of that.” She twirled her pen as she thought out loud, “Give them the bad seed in your department and we get Robinson on charges of money laundering and bribery, for starters.”
Holden rubbed his temples with his hand and rumbled once more. “Elizabeth, tell me everything Danielle Dupont shared with you.”
“Well, after she apologized extensively for not coming forward years ago, she proceeded to tell me how Steve contacted her months before his parole hearing and asked her to give Johnny Warren a job. She thought it was just a favor until Steve asked her to bail Johnny out when he tried to run me off the road and break into my house. She said that’s when she realized he had her on the hook.” Looking at Chief Holden, then to Marylin, she continued, “Not surprisingly, she was able to keep all of this from Richard considering he was under investigation for conspiracy to plot his wife’s murder. And she couldn’t very well share any of this with him -”
Butting in, Holden asked, “Why wouldn’t she tell him? From a prosecutorial standpoint, we had Richard Gardner on conspiracy to commit murder and intimidation of an employee of the State of Ohio, namely you, Elizabeth. All evidence pointed to him in relation to both cases. She was really willing to risk putting Gardner away to protect Steve Robinson? Sorry, doesn’t wash.”
Marylin spoke up. “Now come on, John, you know as well as anyone -”
“That’s the thing,” Elizabeth’s voice permeated with persuasion, “she claims she was going to come forward but then, everything worked out with Richard’s case and she assumed with Johnny out of the picture and in jail, everything would go back to normal; Steve would still be in prison and she could forget about it. She said if things would have gone any further or Richard would have been brought up on charges, she would have definitely come forward. And I believe her.”
Appearing unconvinced, Holden asked, “Okay, so what does this got to do with the price of tea in China? No offense to your friend.”
She smiled. “None taken, Chief. Look, after Steve got released -”
Interjecting, Martinez said, “Mind you, with the help of an SPD officer, I’m sure of it.”
“- Danielle was the first person he could contact in order for him to jump right back in the game. Really, a casino? I know it sounds cliché but come on. What better place to try and get away with anything illegal? Johnnie Warren was able to give him some background on the ins and outs of the casino and Steve already had a grasp on Danielle, so he played on that. He started making drops and giving her a cut. That way, he had even more ammunition if she decided to turn against him,” said Elizabeth. “She really became concerned at her involvement when she began to suspect Lucas was in on it all. Hence, why she came to me. She didn’t feel she could trust anyone else.”
“Sounds very plausible,” said Marylin. She turned to Holden for his reaction to the speculation.
Martinez took his chance before Holden could react. “Chief, we may not be able to get Robinson on a violation of a protection order, I get that. But that’s small time considering everything else. The guys a menace and we need to get control of this situation before someone really gets hurt, be it Elizabeth, or Danielle, or someone else for that matter. Of course, he’s already gone after Liz and he’s attacked Danielle - He’s proven he doesn’t give a shit. Not only that, we have an officer representing SPD that is playing a huge part in this. You really want that getting out?”
Elizabeth added, “This may be nothing, but China had a date this past Friday and they went to the Volstead for a few cocktails. She said Steve showed up and they cleared the place out. Bartender claimed there was a late-night reservation. Could be a meeting place?”
“Christ,” said Holden as he shook his head.
“What about Richard Gardner,” Marylin asked, “What part does he play in all of this? Does he even know what’s going on?”
“According to Danielle, she confessed to him a few nights ago after Tom Smalls, Richard’s security guy, suspected something in viewing their security tapes. For nearly three months, it went unnoticed. This also happened to be right around the time Lucas was hired in. Of course, Richard had the brilliant idea of handling things himself and has already met with Steve. Not getting the result he wanted, she said he took off to Atlanta this weekend. That’s when Steve showed up to the casino Saturday and delivered his ‘warning’ to her. She came to me first thing yesterday morning.”
Holden took his glasses off and rubbed the inside corners of his eyes. Stretching the kink in his neck before putting his specks back on, he let out a sigh and looked at Marylin. “So, what say you, Madam Prosecutor?”
Elizabeth and Martinez glanced at each other before focusing on Marylin.
“First of all, I think Martinez is right. I’m not sure how he lost his badge, it could be of little to no consequence, but I think you two need to put your heads together and look into the personnel files like he suggested. See what you come up with. We need to get on this sooner rather than later. We also need someone to sit on the casino. I’m sorry, Detective, but it shouldn’t be you. You’re too recognized. Elizabeth, you as well; stay away from the casino. We can’t have this getting out and see a repeat of what happened to you six years ago.”
Holden scoffed, “I’m already running low on manpower. Setting up an operation like this is gonna take some time, Marylin. It’s not like we can make an arrest and pull everyone in based on one drop. It could take months to get enough evidence to roll out charges on money laundering.”
“I disagree. If they have video evidence of this past drop, there’s more. I would assume they record everything within 500 feet of that establishment 24/7. And we can’t have any of your men on this, with the exception of Martinez. I’m sorry, John. You understand this is entirely too sensitive.” He nodded at her and she continued, “Martinez, you and Liz will need to get with Richard Gardner and Miss DuPont. Get them on the same page. I’m willing to give both of them immunity once I have more information regarding the facts of the case, however, that will be dependent upon their complete cooperation. Martinez, do you still have a contact with the Cleveland FBI office?”
“I do. Childhood friend of mine,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“Good. We’re going to need someone willing to go to bat for us in making a deal to keep Steve Robinson under our jurisdiction. I don’t believe we’ve ever had an issue with our departments working together. They can have Lucas. But I’ll be damned if I’m giving up Robinson. And if we can nail him on local and federal charges, all the better.” Tucking her legal pad under her arm, she stood and pushed the chair in. “Well, I’ll let all of you get to it. Bring me up to speed by the end of the week?”