Deborah Brown - Madison Westin 06 - Revenge in Paradise by Deborah Brown Page A

big.”
    “Fine. Just ask her and we’ll do it.” Fab turned and rolled her eyes. Good thing Harder couldn’t see her face.
    “Did I say thank you?” I smiled at Harder. “Probably not!”
    “O’Neill would like to speak with the both of you.” He picked up his phone, demanding the investigator’s appearance.
    “What about Cruz?” I asked.
    “He’s waiting for court to resume, so he’s sending over an associate. In the meantime, he’ll be on speaker phone.” Harder used his desk phone to call him. “This is just a formality,” he said to Cruz. “Once I heard these two were involved, I was certain it was another case of wrong place, wrong time. I spoke with Brick to confirm.”
    O’Neill knocked and stuck his head in, then held the door for another man who introduced himself as Cruz’s associate, Timothy Leeds, and looked fresh out of law school. He nodded at me and passed business cards around the table. He sat between Fab and I.
    “I’ll interrupt when I don’t want you to answer,” he whispered to the two of us.
    Harder took the call off of speaker and handed the phone to Mr. Leeds, who exchanged a few words with Cruz and hung up. Another man in jeans slid in the door and seated himself next to O’Neill.
    “You don’t mind if I start.” Harder glared at O’Neill. “Tell us from the beginning, when you got the call and everything you saw,” he said to me.
    I gave him a detailed synopsis of our morning, from when we left jail visitation to finding ourselves surrounded.
    “Mine’s the same as hers, except that there were two homeless-looking men slumped over shopping carts,” Fab said.
    Harder and O’Neill exchanged looks.
    “We know about them,” Harder said.
    Fab continued. “I kept my eyes peeled and didn’t see a thing. We never went into any of the buildings.”
    “What kind of business was it?” I asked.
    “It was a large rubber company that primarily manufactured tires, merged with a larger company that plucked off the good assets, selling everything else and laying off a lot of employees. The man who owns the property is old and rich and doesn’t care that it’s an eyesore that attracts felons wanting to dump evidence. I’m sure you noticed that there are no neighbors to complain.”
    Fab had her arms wrapped around her body, she’d been eyeing the door and the window. Hopefully she knew we were on the third floor.
    “When can we leave?” she asked.
    “The Hummer is now downstairs in the parking lot.” Harder reached in his pocket and pushed the keys across the desk, then opened his desk drawer and handed over our guns. “You two are lucky these haven’t been fired in a while.”
    “Aren’t you going to tell us why you brought us here?” I asked.
    The lawyer looked completely bored.
    “We apologize for the inconvenience. It’s an ongoing investigation.” Investigator O’Neill smirked. Translation: “None of your business.”
    I’d be annoyed later, once I was back home, floating in the pool. I said to Harder, “If you have questions, call me. We’ll both be available,” and nudged Fab’s foot.
    The attorney finally spoke up. I wondered if he thought I didn’t notice him using the phone in his lap. “Call Mr. Cruz’s office and we’ll make them accessible.”
    “Come on,” Harder said as he stood up. “I’ll walk you out.”

 
     
     
Chapter 11
     
     
    Fab and I rode home, both lost in our own thoughts. It wasn’t until we turned on to the Overseas Highway that Fab broke the silence. “I saw the body,” she said, and shuddered.
    “What body?” I screeched. “What are you talking about?”
    “Someone wanted Gage Banford dead. Blew his face off. Several holes in his chest, blood splattered everywhere. Brick needs a new trunk if there is such a thing, I don’t see how that mess gets cleaned up.”
    I squeezed my eyes shut momentarily. I just wanted to go home and have Creole wrap his arms around me, but it wouldn’t be that simple after