Undercover Connection

“Hey, mobsters kill mobsters. No one else was injured. Bunch of shots, from what I read, but only the mobster was killed.”

Someone who was apparently a local spoke up.

“Actually, honestly, we’re not that bad a city. I mean, my dad says that most of our bad crimes are committed by out-of-towners and not our population.”

Bad crimes... Sure, like most people in the world, locals here wanted to fall in love, buy houses, raise children and seek the best lives possible.

But it was true, too, that South Florida was one massive melting pot—perhaps like New York City in the last decade. People came from all the Caribbean islands, Central and South America, the countries that had once comprised the Soviet Union, and from all over the world.

Most came in pursuit of a new life and freedom. Some came because a melting pot was simply a good place for criminal activity.

While he people-watched, Jacob replayed everything he had seen the day before in his mind. He remembered what he had heard.

Witnesses hadn’t been lying or overly rattled when they had reported that it seemed the shots had come from all over. From the bar, he’d had a good place to observe the whole room. And then, as Ivan had muttered that they could go closer and see, they had done so.

The shooter hadn’t been close to Josef Smirnoff—Jacob had been near him and if someone had shot him from up close, he’d have known.

He was pretty sure that the shooters had been stationed in the alcoves on the balcony that surrounded the ground floor, just outside the offices and private rooms on the second floor. The space allowed for customers to enjoy a band from upstairs, without being in the crowd below.

When he’d looked up at the balconies earlier, he hadn’t seen anyone on them. The stairs might have been blocked.

Would Jasmine have known that detail? Or would they have shared that information with a new girl?

Jasmine had, beyond a doubt, drawn attention last night. She had been captivatingly beautiful, and she had played the runway perfectly, austere and yet with a sense of fun. She was perfect for the role she was playing.

The band, the models, the excitement... It had all been perfect for the setup. It was really a miracle that no one else had been hit.

He had thought that Jasmine was going after Josef Smirnoff when he had seen her lunge at him—getting close to see that the deed was done, that he was finished off if the bullets hadn’t done their work. He’d never forget her surprise when he had tackled her...

Nor his own shock when she had thrown him off.

He was surprised to find himself smiling—he wasn’t often taken unaware. Then again, while he’d known that MDPD had police officers working undercover, he hadn’t been informed that one of them was working the runway.

A dangerous place.

But she worked it well. She had an in he could never have.

He pictured it all in his mind again. There had been multiple shooters but only one target—Josef Smirnoff. Create panic, and it might well have appeared that Smirnoff had been killed in a rain of bullets that could have been meant for anyone.

Jacob paid his bill and headed out, walking toward Dolphin Galleries.He felt the burner phone in his left pocket vibrate and he quickly pulled it out. Dean Jenkins, his Miami office counterpart, was calling.

“You alone?”

The street was busy, but as Jacob walked, he was well aware that by “alone,” Dean was asking if he was far from those involved with the Deco Gang.

“I am,” he said.

“They’re doing the autopsy now. Someone apparently had a bead on the bastard’s heart. It’s amazing that no one else was hurt. Oh, beyond cuts and bruises, I mean. People trampled people. But the bullets that didn’t hit Smirnoff hit the walls.”

“They only wanted Smirnoff dead. Kill a mobster, and the police might not look so hard. Kill a pretty ingenue, a pop star or a music icon, and the heat never ends.”

“Yep. I wanted to let you know that I’m on the ground with the detective from the City of Miami Beach and another guy from Miami-Dade PD. Figured if I was around asking questions I’d be in close contact, and you could act annoyed and harassed.”

“Good.”

“You met the undercover Miami-Dade cops, right?” Dean asked.

“I did. We’ve talked.”

“Good. The powers that be are stressing communication. They don’t want any of you ending up in the swamp.”

“Good to hear. I don’t think I’d fit into an oil drum. Don’t worry, we’ve got each other’s backs.”

“Have you been asked to move any money for the organization yet?”

“On my way in to the gallery now,” Jacob said. “I expect I’ll see someone soon enough.”

“It may take some time, with that murder at the club last night, you know.”

“A murder that I think they planned. I’d bet they’ll contact me today.”

“You’re on. Keep up with MDPD, all right? Word from the top. Both the cops and our agency are accustomed to undercover operations, but this one is more than dicey.”

“At least I get to bathe for this one,” Jacob told him.

“There’s a bright spot to everything, huh?”

“You bet.”

He ended the call, slid the phone back in his pocket and headed toward the gallery.

The sun was shining overhead. People were out on the beach, playing, soaking up the heat. The shadow of last night’s murder couldn’t ruin a vacation for the visitors who had planned for an entire year.

Besides, it was a shady rich man, a mobster, who had been killed.

He who lives by the sword...

Jacob turned the corner. Ivan Petrov was standing in front of the gallery, studying a piece of modern art.

* * *

MOE, CURLY AND LARRY—or, rather Alejandro Suarez, Antonio Garibaldi and Sasha Antonovich—were upstairs when Jasmine arrived with Jorge at precisely 10:00 a.m. the next day.

Alejandro was at the top of the stairs. Sasha was at the door to what had once been Josef Smirnoff’s office and was now the throne room for Victor Kozak.

Jasmine had made a point of greeting both Alejandro and Sasha. She presumed that Antonio was in the room with Victor, which he was. She saw him when the door to that inner sanctum opened and Natasha Volkov walked out.

The door immediately shut behind her, but not before Jasmine could see that Victor Kozak was seated at what had been Josef Smirnoff’s desk.