A Father's Duty

“We’ve closed the coffeehouses the mob’s used as distribution points, shut down the refining operations for their illegal sex drug, and locked the doors to the plush gentleman’s club where they were drugging the johns and robbing them blind through theft or blackmail. And still we have guys ending up in the hospitals and the morgue from heart attacks brought on by an overdose of Category Five.”

“Ain’t no stopping them,” Mason said.

“We’ll stop them—one way or another.” And that’s what he liked about being an agent for New Orleans Confidential. They played by different rules than agencies like the FBI or CIA. The Confidential agents answered only to Conrad Burke and to their own conscience.

“We’ve slowed them down,” Mason admitted, “which means their supply of Category Five has to be running low. But the head pimp Maurice Gaspard is out on bail and still running his underage girlie show with the help of his heavies.” Mason walked over and dropped the file he was holding on top of Tanner’s desk. “Burke said to give this to you. It’s the autopsy report on that prostitute you found the other night with her skull crushed.”

“Courville said they got a positive ID on her last night,” Tanner said. “Samantha Lincoln, runaway from some town in Iowa. Age sixteen.”

“Sixteen. Those slimeballs. Got no conscience at all.” Mason turned and stared at the framed picture of Lily sitting on the top of Tanner’s file cabinet. “Don’t guess you’ve got any leads on the whereabouts of your daughter yet?”

“No. Hard to get anyone to talk when the price of squealing is death.”

“If she’s out there, you’ll find her.”

The empty consolation did nothing to dissolve the acid pooling in the pit of Tanner’s stomach. It had been two months since Lily had disappeared, and he’d gotten nowhere in his search. He couldn’t go on like this, trying to do his job for New Orleans Confidential when all he could think about was the fact that Lily was out there somewhere, maybe hiding out in some stinking crack house, just trying to stay alive.

He’d thought when they got Tony Arsenault off the street that the mob would loosen its hold. But Jerome Senegal apparently had no shortage of thugs to do his bidding. Tony the Knife and his infamous machete were in custody, but whether a person was sliced by Tony or beaten by another mob enforcer didn’t matter a whole lot. Dead was still dead.

Tanner let the report slip from his fingers, walked over to the file cabinet and picked up the photograph of Lily. It had been taken last Christmas—yet another holiday he’d missed sharing with her….

The intercom on his phone buzzed. He replaced the picture and lifted the receiver. “What’s up?”

“You have a visitor in the main building.”

“Who?”

“Georgette Delacroix.”

Not the best of news. “Did you tell her I was in?”

“No. Thought I’d check with you first, but if it sways your decision, Susie said she’s a knockout.”

Yeah, and an attorney. If that wasn’t bad enough, she’d gone freaky on him the other night, practically passed out in the hospital. Avoiding her was tempting, but on the other hand, if he played this just right, he might pick up some info from her.

It was always advantageous to get a little inside scoop on happenings in the D.A.’s office, especially now that they suspected the corrupt prosecutor was in Senegal’s back pocket. They’d get Sebastion Primeaux when the time came. It wasn’t here yet.

“I’ll walk over,” Tanner said. “Is there an office available?”

“The usual. I’ll tell them you’re on your way.”

Crescent City Transports was a legitimate trucking business that served as a front for the Confidential operation. Confidential’s offices were in the back and security-controlled, supposedly because they handled some hazardous materials as well as a few routine transports.

As far as any of the regular employees knew, the Confidential agents were garden-variety employees like themselves, and while they were aware they drove specially outfitted vehicles, they had no idea that the equipment consisted of the best surveillance technology money could buy. The back building was strictly off limits to regular personnel or visitors.

Tanner grabbed his blue one-piece driver’s uniform from the hook on the back of the door and slipped it on over his jeans and shirt. As far as Georgette Delacroix was concerned, he was just a truck driver.

GEORGETTE FOLLOWED Tanner Harrison down the hall, already feeling an unexplained shudder of apprehension, though so far the images of the blond woman hadn’t returned. He opened an office door about midway down the hall.

“We can talk in here.”

She stepped past him and into a room that, unlike Tanner, was warm and welcoming. There was a highly polished conference table in the middle of the room, surrounded by large wooden chairs with padded leather seats. Framed black-and-white prints of New Orleans landmarks hung on three walls, and a table beneath a row of windows held a coffeepot and white mugs.

“Would you like some coffee?” Tanner asked. “Or I can get you a soda if you’d rather have that.”

“No thanks.” She set her handbag on the table and slid onto one of the chairs. “Crescent City Transports must be a new company. I haven’t heard of them before.”

“We’re new and successful, but I’m assuming you’re not here because you want something transported.”

“No. I have a few questions about the woman you found beaten in the French Quarter.”

“I told you all I know.”

“Could you tell me again how you found her?”

“I stumbled over her like I said. She needed help. I called for an ambulance.”

“I visited the crime scene. It was through a narrow, gated passage between two brick buildings. Seems as if it would be difficult to stumble that far off the street.”

“I heard moaning and checked it out.”

“Most people wouldn’t have in that section of town. They might have called and reported it to the cops, but they wouldn’t have gone down a dark passageway on their own.”

“Guess I’m not like most people then.”

“You said you were looking for someone. Who?”

“I’d hoped to hook up with some friends in the Quarter that night. I didn’t, so I was walking back to my car. End of story.”

“The problem, Tanner, is that this isn’t the beginning or the end of the story. May I call you Tanner?”

“Sure, Georgette. Call me whatever you like. It won’t alter the fact that I’ve told you all I know. Now why isn’t that the end of the story?”

“The woman you found isn’t the first prostitute to die this way.”

“Newspaper this morning said she was number five.”

“At least. Five young women who should still be alive. We have to stop this needless killing, so if you know anything at all, please share it with me.”

“I wouldn’t have any reason not to tell you.”

Unless he was involved in this. She looked into his eyes. They were gray, cold and daunting. Tanner slid into the chair next to hers and her throat constricted, making it difficult to swallow. Even without the images, the man had a disturbing effect on her.

“You want to tell me why you’re really here?” he asked.

“I just did.”

“You’re not a cop. You’re a lawyer, and I’m not involved in one of your cases.”