31

O’Leary walked into the warehouse and found Winter waiting for him. “Is everything all set?”

“Yup, got seven men. We’ll go down two to a car. Jackie will drive alone in the bus. I figured that will give us enough room to bring the women back with us.”

“Good.”

“There’s just one thing I ain’t figured out, boss.”

O’Leary lit a cigarette. Smoke drifted out of his mouth when he said, “What’s that?”

“What in hell we going to do with these broads once we got them?”

“I’ll figure that out when the time comes.”

_________________

The drive to the Cape was uneventful. The cavalcade pulled into a public parking lot from which O’Leary could see the phosphorescent sparkle of the surf breaking on the beach. He stepped from the SUV, tossed his cigarette to the pavement, and watched the wind carry it away.

Winter got out of the second vehicle and walked over to him. He, too, studied the breaking surf for a few moments. “How you want to do this?” he asked.

“You and I go in the front. We’ll tell them that we want to . . . I don’t know. When the time comes, I’ll make up something or other.”

“Telling the madam we want to get laid might work,” Winter said.

O’Leary chuckled. “You think?”

“Yeah, I think. Where you want the rest of the guys?”

The rest of the assault team gathered around their leaders.

“Chico, you and Dudley go around the back. When the shooting starts—and I’m sure it will—you come in. Dan, you and Scott stay out of sight and cover the front. We get too many people inside, we might end up shooting each other. Jackie, as soon as the shooting starts, you park that bus in front of the door.”

The men nodded.

“We don’t take anyone against their will,” O’Leary said. “Although I doubt they’ll want to stay and answer a bunch of questions when the cops arrive. If I got things figured out right, we’ll find more leprechauns than green cards in there.”

_________________

O’Leary and Winter waited while the men deployed to their assigned positions and then approached the front of the manse. O’Leary rang the bell.

“Away all boats,” Winter said.

“What?”

“That’s the last command troops hear before heading for the beach.”

“Well, let’s hope we have our beachhead established before they figure out what’s going down.”

The door opened, and Ariana appeared in the threshold. “Mr. O’Leary. This is an unexpected surprise.” O’Leary detected suspicion in her demeanor.

“I enjoyed my last visit so much,” he said, “I thought I’d come back for a more leisurely evening.”

She seemed uncertain. “Usually we only entertain guests by appointment.” She peered past his shoulder and studied the yard as if she were trying to see who else was there. She saw Winter and said, “Hello, Mr. Winter.” She peered into the darkness for a moment and then stepped back. “Come in, gentlemen.”

They entered the expansive foyer. Ariana wasted no time expressing her displeasure. “Rarely,” she said, “do we entertain on Sunday evenings . . . even my girls rate a night off.”

“Hell, Ariana, I thought we got rid of blue laws in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” O’Leary reached into the inside pocket of his suit coat. Behind Ariana, one of her security guards tensed, and O’Leary noticed their increased vigilance. “Settle down, boys,” he said, his hand still concealed within his coat. “I’m just getting out my money.” He removed his hand and held his wallet in plain sight. Turning his attention to Ariana, he said, “I fully intend to compensate you for any inconvenience.” He removed several large denomination bills and offered them to her. “I assume you’ll bill me for any services rendered?”

Greed overcame Ariana’s suspicions. She took the money and said, “Oliver, tell Marcus and Willem that we must prepare for a couple of guests.” Turning back to Jimmy, she said, “Will you want Tasha again?”

“I’d really like to look over your entire inventory. I’m certain you have several beauties I haven’t had the pleasure of getting acquainted with.”

“Very well, please have a seat in the sitting room. It may take a few minutes.”

“Take your time,” he said, “I’m in no hurry.”

Ariana gave him a quizzical look. “I must say, Mr. O’Leary, you are full of surprises.”

O’Leary flashed his best smile. “That I am, ma’am . . . you have no idea how full of surprises I am.”

In less than ten minutes, Ariana had all the women lined up in the sitting room. O’Leary immediately looked for Inca. The child was not present.

“Where’s Inca?” he asked.

“She’s no longer with us,” Ariana replied. “She didn’t have the qualities we look for in our girls.”

“Really?” his face turned hard. He looked to Winter and nodded.

Winter stood up and pulled his 9 mm pistol from the holster suspended from his belt. He turned to the security guard. Seeing the weapon, the guard reached under his coat, and Winter shot him in the chest.

Immediately, the women screamed and cowered, many with hands over their heads as if trying to ward off falling debris.

“Get down!” O’Leary cried as he removed a pistol from his belt and turned to the door.

Another guard ran through the foyer, a small assault gun in his hand. When he reached the threshold to the sitting room, O’Leary dropped him with a single shot.

Ariana cursed and ran at him, the fingers of her left hand extended like talons and a knife in her right hand. He had no idea where the knife had come from but saw that the blade was poised to strike. He stood his ground.

“Stop!” he warned.

The enraged madam ignored the terse warning and began shrieking as she ran at him. When she was within five feet and showed no sign of slowing, O’Leary fired. The bullet smashed through her chest. At such close range, it passed through her and slammed into the wall. She stepped back, looked at the spreading red smear on her chest and then at O’Leary. Then, like a circus tent collapsing, she dropped to her knees.

In the sudden silence, he heard two more shots ring out and knew Chico and Dudley had stormed through the back door. More shots rang out.

O’Leary squatted before Ariana, “Where’s the kid?”

Ariana knelt on the floor, her expensive wig skewed to one side and blood soaked her elegant gown. She looked bewildered, as if she could not believe this unexpected turn of events.

O’Leary cupped her chin in his free hand. If not for the blood that trickled from her nose and the corner of her mouth, she would have looked comical with her lips puffed out from his grip.

“Who did you give her to?”

Ariana looked into his eyes.

He softened his tone. “Ariana, you got nothing to lose—you’re dying. Please, stop this now. There’s no fucking sense in letting another young girl suffer.”

“The lawyer . . .”

“What lawyer?”

“Halsey, he took her early this morning.”

O’Leary released Ariana’s face, and she slumped over onto her side. When he got to his feet, he saw that Winter, Chico, and Dudley stood in the room. “Okay,” he said to the women, “you got ten minutes to get what you want to take with you—keep it to the bare necessities, we ain’t got a lot of room.”

Tasha was the first to regain her composure. “You’re taking us away?”

“Damn right.”

“What will we do? We have no place to go.”

“Just get your shit together. We’ll have time to worry about the other stuff later. Now move!”

The women dashed out of the room.

“We may have taken a big bite out of a shit sandwich,” Winter said.

“Not as big a bite as my former attorney,” O’Leary replied. “Now, I want to know who’s behind this operation. There has to be an office around here somewhere. You guys stay here, wait for the women, and keep watch. Gordon, you come with me.”

The office was on the first floor near the kitchen. O’Leary circumvented the large teak desk and immediately went to a line of three filing cabinets. A quick look told him that Ariana kept them locked. He grabbed the edge of one and shook it. “Not too heavy,” he said. “Get the guys to load these into the trucks.”

While Winter went to get help, O’Leary began searching the office. He struck a bonanza within minutes. He found a laptop that Ariana must have been using when they had arrived. It was open to a file that was a ledger containing names and addresses and amounts of money spent. His heart stopped as he scrolled through the files and scanned entries; many of the names were those of well-known men in and around Boston. He opened the desk drawer and found a thumb drive. He quickly formatted the drive and copied the accounting files to it. He picked up the laptop and left.

When O’Leary re-entered the sitting room, Winter was still there. “Forget about the filing cabinets, I found all I need,” O’Leary said.

“I gather we’re going after the girl?”

“You bet your ass,” O’Leary said, “my old friend Halsey is about to learn what it’s like to be tried, convicted, and . . .”

_________________

The convoy raced over the Bourne Bridge. O’Leary looked at the parking lot of the state police barracks for signs of activity; there were none. He glanced to his right at Tasha’s profile. “How long have you been here?”

Tasha turned to him, her beauty amplified in the ambient lights of the vehicle’s instruments. “I’m not sure. I left Saint Petersburg in August . . . 2009. What is the date today?”

When he told her the date, she leaned her head back against the headrest. “I came to this house last Christmas. Before this, I was someplace else, not far from Chicago.”

The implications of the size of the prostitution ring startled him. It could very well span the entire country. He recalled the names in the ledger and thought, There’s big money and power behind this. Maybe Gordon was right; this shit sandwich could turn into a footlong. . . .

“Well, it’s over now. You’re going to be alright.” He saw her smile as if she believed him. He, on the other hand, was not so sure.