Protector - Laurel Dewey [169]
She got out of the car and dialed the number. The phone rang three times and then, “Hello?”
Chapter 25
“Hello?” the voice repeated. It wasn’t the voice Jane was expecting.
She hesitated, not sure what to do. Her knee-jerk reaction was to hang up, but she stayed on the line. “Hello? Is someone there?”
“Yeah,” Jane nervously said. “It’s . . . it’s Jane.”
“Well, hi, Jane. This is a surprise.”
Jane felt her stomach churning. “Yeah . . .”
“Listen, your brother’s not here. But I’ll certainly tell him you called.”
“Well, the thing is Lisa . . . I was actually calling to ask Mike if he could ask you something.” Jane realized she sounded like some tiresome high school kid.
“Ask me what?” Lisa replied with an ease to her voice.
Jane snapped into her cop mode. “Here’s the drill, Lisa. I don’t know you. I’ve only met you once and you seemed okay.” Jane waited for Lisa to say anything but heard only silence. “Do you love Mike? Or is this some sort of cut and run deal?”
“Cut and run? I’m not following you. Are you okay, Jane?”
“Do you love my brother?” Jane asked pointedly.
“Yes, I do,” Lisa said without hesitation.
“So, am I hearing that you want to be part of our family?” The words seemed foreign to Jane as they came out of her mouth.
“I’d like that very much, Jane. And I’d also like to get to know you better when you’re comfortable with that.”
“I’m going to be straight with you, Lisa. I don’t usually do this sort of thing.”
“What sort of thing?”
“I get to know people very well. At least, I like to think I do. I listen to the change in their voice to see if I can hear a lie . . . Oh, fuck.” Jane knew she was rambling. “What I’m trying to say is that I get to know someone extremely well before I ever ask anything of them. Especially anything that could be dangerous.”
“Jane, I—”
“You have to understand that I would never ask this of you unless I was as fucking desperate as I am right now.”
“Jane,” Lisa said kindly, “whatever you need to ask me, it’s okay. Just ask.”
Jane took a deep breath. “You said your brother used to be a bounty hunter?”
“Yeah, right. My older brother, Jeff.”
“And now, he’s a private investigator.”
“Yes.”
“I remember that you said that he does fraud and adultery cases.”
“That’s right.”
“So, tell me. Does he have the balls for a case that carries more weight?”
“What kind of weight are you talking about?”
“The mafia. The Texas mafia, to be exact. And the Denver PD. And perhaps how those two may be in bed together?”
There was a long, thoughtful pause on the other end of the line. Jane waited. “Gosh, Jane. I don’t know. Are you in some sort of danger?”
“I don’t give a shit what happens to me, Lisa. It’s someone else I’m worried about.” Jane stole a glance toward the Subaru and acknowledged Emily.
“The little girl?” Lisa said with deep concern in her voice.
Jane turned around. “Yes. Look, calling you like this, getting you involved, this is all totally against policy and procedure. But the thing is, I need your help. I need your brother’s help. I need you to talk to him and convince him to check out some downtown businesses for me. Specifically, foreign downtown businesses. Asian businesses. They’re used to paying protection money back in their home country. They’re always the first targets for the mob. He needs to ask around about who’s getting paid and who’s getting favors. He’s gotta work it so he finds a trail and he’s gotta follow that trail to wherever it leads. I’m telling you right now that I think that trail leads to Denver PD and possibly to a man named Weyler. I have to know the truth and I have to know it damn fast. I can’t . . .” Jane choked up. “I can’t lose another kid to those assholes. You understand me? If I have to, I will ditch the car and we will take