An Unexpected Clue

“My guy should be pulling up in front of the theater about now. He was just around the corner when you called.”

Ben sagged against the wall. “Thank God.”

“You want me to come to Vegas?” Tom asked.

“No. I have to get Ava out of here. She’s not safe.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll call and let you know as soon as I get the situation in hand here.” As soon as he got Ava in hand. That would be the day. “By the way, where’s Ortiz? Why did I get you instead of him?”

“Ben, Ortiz is dead.”

“Damn, Tom, what happened?”

“It’s a long story, Ben. When you get here, we need to talk. Maybe you can help us figure that one out.”

Ben’s breath caught in his throat and held, while he tried to wrap his tired brain around that piece of news. He’d reported to Ortiz throughout his undercover mission with Del Gardo. Had Nicky Wayne figured out that Ortiz had sent Ben into the Del Gardo crime organization and killed him for knowing too much? And how much did Tom and Dylan know about his undercover assignment? At this point, did he tell Tom what he’d been doing? No. He needed to be there in person to tell Tom what he’d been working on and why. Anyone could intercept a cell phone call. “Yeah, we need to talk in private.”

“And Ben, Boyd Perkins is dead. We’re pretty sure he’s the one who actually killed Julie.”

Ben’s chest tightened as an image of Julie’s body lying on the hard ground rose in his mind. “Why? Did you find out why he killed her?”

“We think he wanted the medals. Julie had them until she stuffed them in the mail to each of us.”

“I should have been there earlier. I knew she was getting in too deep with the Del Gardo family.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Ben. It won’t bring her back.”

No, it wouldn’t. Julie’s death had been a terrible blow to Ben, Tom and Dylan. They’d gone through the FBI academy together. They had been inseparable. Now one was gone.

“Boyd wanted those medals,” Tom continued. “Someone stole mine and Dylan’s from the criminal lab. Yours is the only one they haven’t managed to steal.”

And Ava had it somewhere, making her a flaming red flag in front of the raging bull of Nicky Wayne’s crime organization. “Nicky knows that Del Gardo’s bank account numbers are inscribed on the backs of all of the medals Julie gave us. Whoever can put them together will have Del Gardo’s fortune.”

“Yeah. My bet is that whoever has mine and Dylan’s is probably pretty anxious to get his hands on the one you had.”

Ben pounded his fist against the bricks on the outer wall of the theater. “Damn. My best bet is that Nicky Wayne has the other two by now.”

A nondescript sedan pulled in front of the theater. “I have to go. The car just arrived.”

“Ben, be careful. Nicky has people everywhere. You’re not safe as long as you’re in Las Vegas.”

Ben had thought of that. Going back to the KCCU might not be such a great idea, either, if everyone still thought he was guilty. All he knew was that Nicky would be very focused on getting his hands on that medal and the inscription on the back.

With a quick scan at the occupants of the lobby, Ben prayed Ava would be all right by herself. Then he stepped to the curb to retrieve the car and cash Tom had promised. He’d only be gone from the theater for a moment. Nothing could happen in that short a time.

AVA TOOK A SEAT in the middle of a practically empty auditorium and stared up at the advertisements for soda and popcorn flashing across the wide screen without really seeing any of it. Other than two couples sucking face in the highest corners of the room, she had the place pretty much to herself. Just what she needed, an empty cavern to think in.

But she couldn’t think. Ben was on the other side of the walls, alive and anxious about her. A sob rose in her throat and threatened to cut off her air. How could she turn her back on him now? He’d been gone so long she’d given up on him and presumed him dead or completely corrupt. Either way she’d gone through all five stages of the grieving process: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. She couldn’t do it again. It had taken a huge toll on her health the first time.

For all she knew, he was still involved in one of the crime families. If not Del Gardo then it was Nicky Wayne. He could be lying about being held captive by Wayne. Working for Nicky Wayne made more sense considering he’d come back for the necklace. Ava had known about the bank account numbers. Jerry Ortiz had tried to get hers. She’d thought he and Boyd Perkins were the only ones after them. After Ortiz’s death, Ava had hidden the medal in a safe location.

If Ben was telling the truth, for once, and only came back to get the necklace but he still didn’t plan on sticking around, she’d be back at stage one. Ava swallowed the sob, her vision blurring.

Through the wash of tears filming her eyes, she saw another couple walk into the theater, a woman holding the arm of man dressed in a black polo shirt and slacks.

That should be her and Ben. Instead he was outside unable to get in because he had no money. Powerful guilt urged her to get up and go check on him. He’d looked pretty thin and hungry. What if he hadn’t been lying? What if he’d really been held against his will by Nicky Wayne?

Ava lurched to her feet and moved to the end of the aisle. She’d just check on him and make sure he wasn’t passed out on the floor from lack of food.

The couple stood at the end of her aisle, blocking Ava’s path.

“Excuse me,” she said.

“Are you Ava Parrish?” the woman asked, her back to the movie screen, her face shadowed.

Ava frowned, the hairs on the back of her neck rising to attention. “No,” she answered, instinct warning her that the couple wasn’t quite right. “Do you mind, I need to use the facilities.” She tried to push her way around the couple, but the man stood firm and the woman closed the gap between her and the backs of the stadium seats.

The man’s hand came away from the woman’s arm, revealing the cold hard barrel of a gun.

All the air left Ava’s lungs and she staggered backward, her legs bumping into the arms of the seats behind her. Her hand rose to protect her baby. “What do you want?”

“Come with us quietly and we won’t hurt you…or your baby,” the woman said, in a low whisper.

It didn’t matter. The couples in the corners were too into themselves to notice what was going on in the rest of the theater.

Ava had two choices, go with the evil couple and look for a way to ditch them, or scream and possibly take a bullet to the belly. Hindsight being twenty-twenty, Ava now saw the benefit of staying with Ben. This wouldn’t have happened had he been in the theater with her. Or better still, she wouldn’t have put her baby in danger if she’d just gone with Ben like he’d asked—no, demanded.

With the barrel of a gun pointed at her unborn child, Ava had no other choice. “Please, don’t shoot. I’ll go with you.”

Chapter Four (#ud6166373-dabb-5c69-a9ad-11cefdf4ac20)

The FBI agent Tom sent delivered the car and cash and left in a yellow taxi, no questions asked. Which was just as well. Ben didn’t have time to spare. Ava sat alone in the theater, exposed to who knew what. Ben parked the car in the movie theater lot, then Ben peeled a twenty off the wad of bills the agent had given him. His mouth watered at the thought of the popcorn he could buy. But, first things first. He had to get to Ava and ensure she was all right.

At the ticket counter, he paid for a ticket to theater seven and hurried past the concession stands, his stomach rumbling angrily.

Once he stepped into the darkened theater, he stopped and waited for his sight to adjust to the dim lighting. The metal clank of a door surprised him, the sound coming from near the front of the cavernous room. Who would be leaving before the movie even started?

Ben’s heartbeat ratcheted into high gear. Had Ava skipped out the back door to avoid him? He scanned the empty seats noting two couples kissing high in the back corners. The rest of the theater was empty.

“Damn,” he muttered beneath his breath and jogged across the darkened theater to the exit door. If the door closing had been Ava leaving, she couldn’t have gotten far. Not in her condition.

In order to keep from scaring her, he eased the door open. With her so close to her delivery date, he didn’t want to add so much stress that she went into premature labor. When Ben peered out onto the nearly deserted employees’ parking lot, he didn’t see anyone moving about.

Now a little more than worried, he ran to the nearest corner, stopped and peered around the edge.

In the dim glow of a parking lot light, the dark silhouette of a huddle of people made Ben’s blood run cold. What looked like the man and woman he’d seen enter the theater flanked Ava and hurried her toward the cars parked near the front of the building.