Page 21 of 3rd Tango
Mom leans on the table, a shaky smile on her lips. “What cases? Maybe I could help?”
Oh, hell no. “A high-profile cheating spouse, an employee who’s embezzling money from the company, a partner in a small business who’s trying to blackmail the other partner.”
She taps the binder. “You’re the expert on serial killers, right? I think my case is a lot more important than any of those. I’d appreciate your support and cooperation helping me track down every lead I can. You might take a few pointers from Alfonzo. At least he understands the consequences of letting someone like Gayle run around free as a bird.”
“Mom, you have a nose for this stuff. If it weren’t for you, I may have never thought about being an FBI agent. I might not have ever been interested in crime in general.” I move toward the front door. “But try to see things from my point of view. Even with all of the research you’ve done through the years, there’s no physical proof Gayle is a serial killer. The only way a law enforcement officer can act on this is if we have evidence that shows he could be. Everything you have is completely circumstantial and can be explained away.”
“Well, then,”—she puts the strap of her purse over her shoulder, looking grim—I’ll leave you to your important cases. But you should let me help. Like you said, I have a nose for it.”
She picks up her stack. “Maybe I’ll visit your sister.”
This is supposed to be a dig, but I have the feeling Meg won’t be any more excited to see Mom than I was. The laughter I’ve heard coming from her side suggests she and Jerome are having a good night.
I lay a hand on our mother’s arm. “We’re doing everything we can. I know it’s frustrating, but we’re following the clues. It takes time. One of the best leads for you to follow right now is figuring out the identity of the third woman. That’s a giant mystery in all this. Ask Al where the remains are being kept. Let’s see if we can get some info on her. If the two of you work on that, it would be extremely helpful.”
Her eyes light up and the defensiveness eases. “What are you and Meg doing next?”
“Interviewing family members of the identified victims.”
“I thought Alfonzo gave you the notes on the interviews the police did.”
“I’d like to speak to a few of them in person. I have follow-up questions to see if any might know or remember someone fitting Gayle’s description.”
This new direction seems to excite her. She hugs her binder. “Oh. That’s a good idea.”
I gently guide her toward the door. “What we need is a picture of Gayle from that time period. Do you happen to have any?”
“Of course. I’ll look for it tonight.”
“Perfect.” I open the door, the heat and humidity of the night rushing in. “Let’s meet in the morning. You and Meg can call the hardware store while I look into contacting the family members. Bring the picture, and I’ll scan it to send to anyone willing to talk to us.”
“It’s a plan.” She practically skips down the front steps to the car. I stand in the door and wave as she pulls away.
Phew. Another bullet dodged.
When JJ arrives, I’m in the stilettos with the man-eating lipstick in place. I greet him before he can knock, and his tired face brightens as he takes in my appearance.
Dinner is laid out, and he shrugs off his suit jacket, downs half a glass of wine, and rolls up his shirt sleeves before he digs into the meal.
We don’t talk much, and afterward, the robe comes off and the stilettos stay on. Once we retire to the bedroom, he finally tells me what he wanted to talk about earlier.
“You need to be careful with Baez,” he says.
My head is resting on his chest as his fingers toy with my hair. “Why?”
“Eight months before retiring, he was under investigation by the attorney general.”
I rise up on one elbow. “What? That can’t be right. I already looked into his background.” There’s no way I’d offer anyone a job without doing that first. “I even talked to a few friends at the Bureau who were around when he was on the job. Nobody had anything but praise for him. With his close rate on high profile cases, he’s a hero.”
JJ’s eyes settle on my face. “That was part of the issue. It was internal and hush-hush. There was suspicion that he was using entrapment methods, leading to these quick and easy close rates.”
A lump of dread settles in my stomach. I can’t believe this. I’m a profiler, a psychologist. My bullshit radar is extremely touchy—I can pick out bad apples a mile away. “He retired with commendations in his file that make the rest of us look like amateurs.”
“It didn’t go anywhere because there wasn’t enough evidence. The Justice Department had a snitch—someone inside one of these criminal cases that Baez led who claimed to have information regarding the entrapment issues. The snitch didn’t come through, and scuttlebutt claims Baez got to him first. It’s one of the reasons your friend retired early.”
I sit up all the way and shake my head. “Alfonzo was a dirty agent?”
JJ rubs his hands over his face and throws his arms above his head. He stares up at the ceiling. “There’s no proof, but an awful lot of suspicion. That’s enough for me.” His gaze returns to lock on mine. “Be careful, Charlie.”
