Determinant Read online

  The silver cabin of the Coast Guard boat shined and reflected sunlight as it came upon my starboard side. The boat wore an orange belt line that wrapped its hull a few feet up from the water. A silver railing fitted with life preservers wrapped its stern. An American flag fluttered from the top of the antenna mast. The other boat, similar in style, went for the Intrepid. A Coastie stood at the approaching boat’s bow.

  They got within speaking distance.

  “Glen Davidson,” he said with a nod. “You call in search and rescue?”

  “Yeah, I’m Lieutenant Kane from the TPD. We had a fugitive go in right around here.”

  “What was the course you were traveling?”

  “We were headed south out of the Bay. I turned the boat around and came back to where he went in. This area here has to be pretty close.”

  “Any idea how fast you were traveling?”

  “Just under thirty.”

  “What was the condition of the man when he went in?”

  “Shot a number of times. Pretty sure you’re looking for a body.”

  He repeated what I said to the guys in the cabin.

  “We’re going to start making a grid and looking. You want to hop aboard?”

  The TPD boat headed back toward us with the other Coast Guard boat following behind.

  “I’m going to stay with this. We’re going to need to get it back to our Forensic guys. I think a previous homicide occurred on it.”

  He waved. “I’ll leave you to it. I’ll keep in contact with your Marine Unit. There’s another search and rescue boat headed here now with divers on board. We called in the Jayhawk for air support. We’ll find the body.”

  “Appreciate it.”

  The Coasties idled off my stern. I waited for the Intrepid to pull up. They got to the swim deck and tossed a rope. I tied them up.

  “Hey Iler, you want to drive this thing back?” I pointed down referencing the Illusion.

  “Is it operational?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Where is it going?”

  “Back by you. We are going to need Forensics to go over it.”

  He looked at Wolf, who shrugged.

  “I guess I can. Are we heading in now?”

  I pointed to the Coast Guard boats. “You can head in with it. I’m going to ask these guys if there is anything we can do. If not, we’ll head back.”

  Officer Iler stepped to the Illusion to pilot it back.

  “One second, Iler.”

  I went to the cabinets below the boat’s wet bar and found a garbage bag. The Desert Eagle was taken from the love seat and dropped inside. I stepped onto the Intrepid and untied us from the Illusion. The Coast Guard’s Jayhawk helicopter came over our heads. Iler followed us north the few hundred yards to the Coast Guard’s boats before continuing on. Wind from the Jayhawk’s blades rippled the water in the distance.

  We pulled to within fifty feet of the side of one of the stopped Coast Guard boats. I spotted the Coastie I’d spoke with earlier.

  “Glen!” I shouted.

  He turned and looked over.

  “You guys need a hand with anything?” I asked.

  “Unless you feel like diving, not really. We got two boats and the Jayhawk searching the surface. We have divers going down. Nothing so far though.”

  “Alright. Let us know when you come up with something.”

  “Will do.”

  I gave him a wave.

  “Get us back to the yacht club’s marina, Wolf,” I said.

  He turned the boat north and gave it some throttle.

  I sat on the bench seat in the back of the Intrepid next to Hank and Jones.

  Jones looked to me. He raised his voice over the sound of the engines. “There’s no way he could have made it to shore, right?”

  I shook my head and leaned in so he could hear me. “The last I saw him, he was floating face down. It’s a mile to shore east or west. It would have taken him twenty plus minutes to do if he wasn’t full of bullet holes. I got back to where he went into the water in less than a minute. He wasn’t anywhere.”

  Jones nodded and sat back.

  Wolf opened up the throttle when we were at a distance from the search. The temperature was in the upper fifties. The spray from the water hit me in sheets. I was soaked to the bone. I looked back at the search for Ray’s body. If they didn’t find him floating on the surface, he was dead at the bottom of the Bay. It was the only logical conclusion.

  The orange Donzi speedboat sat in its slip at the marina as we approached. Donner stood on the dock. We idled up. Behind him were Bill and Rich from the speedboat. We stepped from the boat to the dock and walked to the guys.

  Donner approached. “Marine Unit found you guys I see.”

  “Yup. Thanks, Donner,” I said.

  “You guys get him?”

  “Coast Guard is trying to fish him out of the Bay.”

  “What happened?”

  I gave him the short version of the story and turned my attention to Jones. “Why don’t you and Donner give me a ride back to the station, and then take off. Hank you can bug out now.”

  Hank looked at his watch. “It’s ten after eight. Our shift is just starting.”

  “Go home, get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  “You’re not going in, are you?” Hank asked.

  “I’m going to talk to Bostok, touch base with Forensics and get whatever I have to get written up done. Then I need to figure out what’s going on with Callie. She didn’t call you did she?”

  He pulled his phone from his pocket. “It looks like you called me twice.”

  “That was her. Can I use it quick?”

  “Sure.” Hank handed me his phone. I took a few steps away and dialed. She answered within a few rings.

  “Carl?”

  “Hey, Cal.”

  “Did you catch him?”

  “I don’t know if catch is the right word, but he won’t be bothering us.”

  I told her what happened.

  “Are you OK?” she asked.

  “I’m fine. Are you still at the house?”

  “No. They took me to their operations office.”

  “The one downtown?”

  “Yeah, it’s just a few blocks over from Lefty’s.”

  “Did they tell you anything?”

  “No. I’m just sitting around. I’m not sure what’s going on.”

  “Alright. I’m heading back to the station to take care of a few things. I’ll call you from my office in a bit. If they still haven’t told you anything, I’ll just come and get you.”

  “You can do that?”

  “They won’t stop me. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “OK. I love you, Carl.”

  It was still weird to hear. “I love you too.”

  I hung up and walked back to Hank. “Thanks.” I handed him his phone.

  “Everything OK?” he asked.

  “I’m good.” I pointed up the dock. Jones and Donner were already standing at the back of the clubhouse waiting. We started walking up.

  We came to Bill and Rich. They sat in the boat inspecting the engines.

  I stopped. “Hey, I’ll catch up with you later, Hank.”

  “Sounds good,” he said. Hank continued on.

  I went to back of the Donzi and got Bill’s attention. “See you guys made it back.”

  He nodded. “We got under the hood after you left. Bullet sent a piece of the hull into one of the fuel lines. It just popped off. We hooked it back up and were back in business.”

  “That’s good. I have to apologize for us getting shot at. It was never my intent to put you guys in harm’s way.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s going to make for one hell of a story with the guys.”

  “Well, I’m not sure we would have caught him before he got out of the Bay without your help. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem.” He stepped from the boat and approached.

  “So I guess I
should just send the bill for my boat to the TPD then?”

  I paused.

  He smiled. “I’m just kidding. If the insurance doesn’t cover it, I’ll take care of it myself. I’m not the suing type.” He pointed at my head. “You better go get those stitched up. I see you got a nice scar underneath that one on the side there. You know, I could probably help you out with that?”

  “Help me out?”

  “I’m a plastic surgeon. I’d give you a card, but they are soaked and stuck inside my wallet. Look me up, give me a call.”

  “I’ll see what the docs can do. If they turn my head into a road map, I’ll get on the horn with you.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “Thanks again for the help, Bill.” I shook his hand, and we parted ways.

  I walked up by Donner and Jones. My feet felt like cinder blocks. My arms hung. I was exhausted, soaked, beaten, bloody, and in desperate need of a shower. The bag with the Desert Eagle inside hung from my hand. I’d turn it over to Forensics as soon as I got to the station. With the gun, we could tie the freezer murders to Ray and check them off as closed.

  Chapter 39

  Ray’s gun was dropped off down by Rick in Forensics. I told him my prints were also on it, he said it wouldn’t be a problem. I let him know the boat was at the dock with our Marine Unit. Rick said he’d call me with an update when he had it.

  I gave Captain Bostok’s door a knock and walked in.

  He looked up from his computer. “Geez, you look like you crawled out of a grave.”

  I took a seat across from at his desk. “Thanks.”

  “Well, what the hell happened?”

  “How much do you know?”

  He crossed his arms over his belly and leaned back. “Start from the top.”

  I let out a breath and proceeded to fill the captain in on the last twelve hours. It took a solid twenty minutes just giving him the bullet points.

  “So Andrei Azarov is dead?”

  “He was floating face down the last time I saw him. I checked in with the Coast Guard a bit ago. They still hadn’t found the body.”

  “And Viktor Azarov was taken by the Feds?”

  “Doubt he’ll see the sky again without barbed wire blocking his view.”

  “Good. Now go get yourself stitched up and go home.”

  “I want to hammer out the paperwork on this and I need to call the families of Ray’s victims first. I’ll need to…”

  The captain cut me off. “Have you looked at yourself? You’re beat to shit and covered in blood. Go to the hospital, get your head and face stitched up and go home. That’s an order.”

  “But.”

  Bostok leaned forward and pointed at me. “If the next words out of your mouth aren’t an OK or yes Sir, I’ll put you on leave. I’ll take care of the paperwork and contacting everyone.”

  I stuck my palm in my eye and rubbed. “Fine.” I headed for the door.

  Bostok went back to looking at his computer.

  I went to my desk and dialed Callie.

  “Carl?” she asked.

  “Yeah, are you still there? Any update?”

  “Can you pick me up?”

  “Sure. What’s going on? Did they cut you loose?”

  “No, I walked out. I’m sitting in the lobby of their building.”

  “Sit tight. I’ll be over in a few minutes.”

  “OK.”

  I hung up.

  In my office closet I found a fresh shirt and pants. I took a ball cap from the top shelf and made for my office door.

  Bostok blocked my way. “You needed a change and hat to go to the hospital?”

  “I need to go see what’s going on with Callie. She’s sitting outside the Federal building. I guess she walked out or something.”

  “Walked out of the Federal building?” The captain looked confused. “Tell me about it later. Just go. If you need anything from me, call.”

  “I will, Cap.”

  “And go to the damn hospital when you’re done,” Bostok said. He turned and walked back to his office.

  I snugged the hat down over the gashes on my head and went to the station’s parking structure. I scooped up the keys for an unmarked cruiser from the board.

  The Marshal’s office was located inside the Federal Courthouse on North Florida Ave. The building was a few blocks up from the station. I found a parking spot on the street out front. I walked past the flying American flag and up the front steps of the gray concrete high rise. The words United States of America were etched into the front of the building overhead. I pulled the handle of the green glass door and stepped inside. I spotted Callie on a bench near the elevators. A man in a Marshal’s jacket sat next to her talking.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  She stood and wrapped her arms around me. “They want to take me away.”

  “Take you away?”

  “I take it you’re Lieutenant Kane?” the marshal asked. He reached out for a handshake. “I’m Deputy Morgan.”

  I shook his hand. “Deputy, what’s going on here?”

  “Can we go upstairs and talk?” he asked.

  I looked down at him. He was under five eight and thin. The crown of his head was balding. He donned a dark blue U.S. Marshal’s jacket over a dress shirt and tie.

  I looked to Callie. “Come on, Cal. Let’s see what they have to say. Who knows, we might be able to figure out something that will work.”

  “I don’t want to leave.”

  “I know.”

  We followed the marshal into the elevator and stepped off onto the fourth floor. Across from the elevator exit doors was a three foot metal badge logo bolted to the wall. We turned right and continued through a security door. The marshal herded us into a small conference room toward the back of the hallway. Callie and I had a seat.

  Deputy Morgan stood at the back of the chair at the head of the conference table. “Chief Deputy Harris will be right with us.”

  “What is it that you want to talk about?” I asked.

  “Let’s wait for the chief deputy.”

  I nodded. Callie reached out for my hands that sat on the table top. “Did they find his body?”

  “Not that I know of, Babe.”

  “You’re sure he’s dead?”

  “Positive.”

  The door opened. A middle aged man in a gray suit walked in. A star hung from his neck over his dark blue tie. He was clean shaved with a gray buzz cut. A folder was tucked under his arm. He slid out a chair, sat and looked to us. He rested his hands on the folder that sat before him.

  “I’m Chief Deputy Harris. Lieutenant, I understand that you apprehended Viktor Azarov?”

  I nodded. “He was transferred to the FBI’s custody.”

  “And his brother, Andrei?”

  “Deceased.”

  He looked to Callie. “Miss Albero, Deputy Morgan has explained to me that you wish to not be relocated.”

  She nodded. “That’s correct.”

  “The reason you don’t wish to be relocated is because you are pregnant, correct?”

  “Even if I wasn’t, I don’t want to be relocated.”

  “Well, with your location being compromised, to remain in the program, you’d need to be relocated.”

  “Then it looks like I’m done with the program.”

  “Well, wait a minute.” He held up a finger. “I believe I have a solution.” He looked to me. “Lieutenant, due to the pregnancy of our witness, we’d be able to accommodate you into WITSEC as well.”

  I looked at Callie. The guy just put me on the spot to choose my life, career, home and family or her. She shook her head no before I could even begin to process everything that would be involved.

  “You’re not doing it,” she said.

  “Cal, do you want to take a minute and talk about this,” I asked.

  “There isn’t anything to talk about.” She looked back to the deputy. “We appreciate the offer, but we’ll pass.”

  �
��It’s the only way we can insure your safety. I’d think that would be something you’d be interested in now that you’re pregnant.”

  She became annoyed. “Yeah, you guys did a great job of protecting me.”

  He rubbed his eyes. “Miss Albero, we plan to conduct an extensive investigation into how you were located.”

  “So unless Carl comes with, he’ll never see me or his child again? Why would I ever agree to that? I’m done. I want out.” Callie clammed up. Her face said she had enough of talking about it.

  The deputy remained quiet.

  “What does she have to do to leave the WITSEC program? What is the process?” I asked.

  “I encourage her not to do so.”

  “She wants to leave. What’s the process?”

  Chief Deputy Harris shook his head. “There isn’t a process. Everything we provided her goes away. She’ll be on her own.”

  “What happens with her identity, financials, etcetera?” I asked.

  “She’d regain her identity. The false one would be wiped. Her financials and credit history weren’t touched. If someone within their organization had realized they were wiped, they would have known she was in WITSEC.”

  “So I can just go back to normal?” Callie asked.

  “Before we get into more of this, let me just reiterate that people don’t leave the program for a reason. These criminals that we provide protection from have a long reach. It doesn’t matter if they are in custody or deceased. There could still be friends, family members or people from the organization that may try to retaliate—even years from now.”

  “I’ll take my chances,” Callie said.

  He was quiet.

  “So she has to testify whenever the court date comes up? And with these new charges that is going to be when?” I asked.

  “I’m afraid I can’t give you any kind of date on that, Lieutenant. The new charges will have to be sorted, and then we’ll have to see where we’re at with the previous ones.”

  “What exactly was the holdup with the previous ones? If the FBI had a witness and there was a counterfeiting machine on their property, why wasn’t an arrest made months ago?”

  “I can’t answer that for you. It’s an FBI matter. They must have needed time to build their case.”