Page 35 of Deadly Target
He ignored her question, pushing off the car and holding out a hand to Victor. “Danny Rossiter. How ya doin’?”
Olivia stepped forward. “Danny, this is Director Victor Dupé. Danny is my partner.”
Shaking the man’s hand seemed to make both Olivia and the dog relax. Danny kept up a relaxed posture too, although behind his eyes, Victor saw annoyance. “Right,” Danny said. “FBI Director Dupé. I’ve seen you around, we’ve never had the chance to work together. Nice to meet you.”
His tight tone suggested that was a lie. “The marshal and I are on the way to interrogate a possible informant. What can we do for you, Danny?”
The annoyance in the man’s eyes became even clearer. He smiled through it. “Mypartnerand I need to have a little chat.” He swung his gaze over to Olivia. “Adams called in sick. The boss wants us to handle transportation for Henry Valiant this afternoon.”
Victor signaled Taz. “Come on, boy.” To Olivia, he said, “We’ll be in the backyard if you need us.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Stay. This will only take a minute. Danny, I’ll meet you at the courthouse. What time?”
Danny obviously wanted to talk to her alone and hesitated, looking down the block as if deciding how hard to press her. “Four o’clock. Youwillbe there, right?”
Now it was Olivia who didn’t hide her annoyance. “Of course.”
He scratched at his neck, once again seeming to take in the setting. “Heard about your old man. Think he’ll get out?”
Olivia’s poker face was pretty damn impressive, but Victor saw a tic start under her left eye. “Not if the state of Illinois has an ounce of intelligence. Look, we need to leave if I’m going to be back in time to help you with Valiant.”
Danny wasn’t easily put off. “You know, all these mobs guys you’re trying to put away out here can’t hold a candle to your dad. Maybe you should head back to Chicago or New Jersey or wherever you hail from originally and worry about getting your own house in order instead of chasing Gino DeStefano.”
A tight smile crossed her face. “We haven’t been partners that long, Danny, so I’ll let that obviousnone-of-your-fucking-businessopinionpass.” She took a step toward him, staring him directly in the eyes. “But I strongly suggest you keep your nose out of that business and don’t bring up my family again.”
He stared her down before taking out his keys and opening the door to his car. “Answer your phone once in a while, Fiorelli. I don’t have time to hunt you down every time we have a job to do.”
She stood with feet planted and watched him pull out of her drive.
Victor moved to stand beside her. “Nice guy.”
“Oh yeah, he’s a real peach. Came from Arizona a few months ago and doesn’t like the way I work. Seems to think I need someone to keep me under control and make me follow the rules.”
“Rules aren’t your thing.”
She released a deep sigh. “Oh, I love rules, love the law. It’s something to hold onto when there’s anarchy all around, but sometimes you have to bend a few protocols and procedures to get the bad guys where it really hurts them.”
He wanted to ask about the reference to her dad, but decided she would open up when she was ready. It wasn’t hard to figure out—her father must be close to getting paroled. That would explain the earlier call at the park and her reaction to it.
“You still game to go talk to Molina’s ex-girlfriend?”
“Damn skippy, I am.” She hit the fob for her car and the doors unlocked. “Have you heard from your team?”
“Cooper is stable. The others are working with Roman’s team, following up on leads involving the Suarez Kings and who may have set the bomb. Ronni is tracking down the owner of the building across from the park. So far, it’s a dead end. The former owner was a tax attorney who went bankrupt and disappeared. The bank foreclosed on the loan, but nothing’s been done with the property. We’re trying to get a warrant to search it. If you and I can figure out this shooter angle, we may be able to tie the two together and get a better handle on who’s behind both.”
They got in the car, Taz riding in the backseat. Olivia backed out of the drive. “Our gal is Marquita Lomas. She officially dated Frankie B for three years, enjoying a nice penthouse suite, maxing out several of his credit cards, and getting dumped for his current girlfriend, who by the way, has a ring on her finger and is making plans to marry him later this year.”
Victor thumbed through the file on his phone she had sent him. “And how is it Lomas has information about the shooting?”
“Alfonso Barone, the mob guy I’m pumping for information, is the one who put me onto the hit against an upper level DEA agent. Claims he heard about it through someone close to Frankie. It’s possible Alfie is using Lomas to get information he wants, and he’s slicing that up and giving me a teaser here and there.”
“Why the ex? Why not the current girlfriend?”
“I overheard Alfie talking to a woman on the phone. He was telling her she needed to get close to this guy again, as if they had broken up. He was giving her relationship advice, if you can believe it, but in a manipulative way. Totally using her to get intel. If Frankie still has a soft spot for her, maybe that’s how she’s able to pump him for information without being obvious, and Alfie is using that for his own purposes. I’m not sure, but my gut tells me this informant he refers to is not part of the syndicate itself, so the ex-girlfriend angle works. Pillow talk, and all that.”
“At this point,” Victor said, “I’ll follow any lead, and I trust your intuition.”
She seemed to flinch slightly. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
