Billy kneeled next to the tub.
“I can imagine more nights like this, Michaela. You soaking in the tub as I come home from work, missing you so.”
“That would be nice, Billy. Minus the hit man, the bruises, the knife wound, and the Federal agents.”
“Yes. Minus all of that. Instead, just the four of us, happy and making love.”
She closed her eyes. “Sounds perfect.”
His lips touched hers and she kissed him back, enjoying the moments of relaxation, security, and love between them, knowing that shortly, she would be the subject of an interrogation she wasn’t looking forward to experiencing.
* * * *
Solomon felt scared and unsure even as the Federal agents followed the security vehicle to a local police department a few miles outside of town. As the car pulled alongside the back entrance to the building, they prepared to accompany the officers assigned to transporting Solomon into the building. The moment he emerged from the vehicle, he heard the squeal of tires and saw the van coming at them at a high speed. Immediately the officers pulled him down behind the car. With guns drawn and safety taken behind the patrol vehicles, the agents and officers dodged flying bullets as the officers secured Solomon and returned fire. Solomon thought this was it.
Oh God, I’m going to die. Carlucci is everywhere. The Federal agents and the officers fired repeatedly causing the van to crash into two parked patrol cars. Running toward the van as the perpetrators attempted to escape, more shots were fired. The officers tried to pull Solomon into the building as the bullets ricocheted of the car, and through the door. He felt the hit. Solomon cried out and tumbled to the ground. An officer covered him. He could hear yelling. Officers were hit. It was such an eerie feeling as a few extra shots rang out, and then there was silence. Solomon felt his heart racing. He saw all the chaos, the blood, the smoking vehicles, the injured officers and a thousand thoughts ran through his mind. He was frightened, but he was also pissed off. If I’m going to die anyway, I might as well take the asshole with me.
He watched as all the perpetrators were captured. He could also see some dead bodies where he now stood.
As the main Agent Thompson ran toward the officers and agents guarding Solomon, he saw the blood oozing from Solomon’s arm.
“You were shot?” Thompson asked. The other men were all unharmed.
“They were going to kill me. I changed my mind. I don’t need a lawyer. I’ll talk to the detectives and to you guys. I’ll tell you everything. But I want protection. Otherwise, I’m a dead man walking.”
* * * *
The men had an open floor plan in their three-story home a few blocks from the beach. The kitchen and dining room were filled with about a dozen or so federal agents, detectives, and deputies. As Michaela slowly walked into the room, their chaotic chatter stopped. They were silent as they stared at her.
“Aw hell, sweetie, what did that asshole do to you?”
She turned to see Alonso as he gently pulled her into his arms and hugged her.
“I’ve had better days.”
He gently cupped her good cheek and kept a hand at her waist as he looked over her injuries.
“I hope you were able to get a few shots in on the guy.”
“Nope. The sharp knife he had halted me from antagonizing him. My self-defense instructor taught me well,” she teased. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
“Michaela, we have a chair set up for you here,” Jake interrupted, looking angry as usual. He held the top of a large cushioned chair that stood out of place from the kitchen and dining chairs made of wood. It was obvious that he wanted her to be comfortable so he’d pulled it in from the living room.
Then the introductions were made. Of course she wouldn’t remember any of them.
When she sat down, Jake placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently before he took a seat beside her.
When Alonso took the seat on the opposite side of her, Billy and Hal were forced to stand behind her chair and out of sight.
“Michaela, Agent Reynolds, Agent Thompson, and Agent Robertson, have some updates for you. I’ll let them explain,” Alonso told her.
She looked toward the three agents he had directed her attention to when stating their names. One was tall and dark skinned with a fierce expression. The other was very pale looking, smiled kindly, and seemed more approachable. The whole good cop bad cop scenario came to mind. She reminded herself that she wasn’t guilty of anything. The third agent remained quiet, and watched her, probably analyzed her eye movement and body language to see if she were lying. It gave her the chills.
“Last night, while you were at the hospital, Solomon broke into your home.”
“What?” She turned to look at Jake who remained straight-faced. She then looked at Alonso, who gave her hand a pat. It didn’t go unnoticed by Jake.
“He was apparently looking for a key. The one that Clyde Duvall was looking for when he attacked you. The sheriff’s father and his friend were there gathering items for you when they walked in on him.”
“Are Burt and Jerome okay?” she asked Jake, and he nodded. “They were able to restrain Solomon until my deputies and I arrived.”
“In that time, Michaela, he refused to cooperate with our questions and he demanded a lawyer. We had to respect that right,” Agent Thompson continued.
“So what happens now?” she asked.
“Well, when we were transporting Solomon to another department a few miles out of Treasure Town, there was an ambush. A van filled with men with guns tried to kill him. We fired back, causing the van to crash and were able to capture the perpetrators.”
“Don’t tell me that they were successful. Solomon could probably clear up this entire mess. He was the one who ran from the room. The one the hit man had come to kill.”
“He was shot, Michaela. But it was only a flesh wound. It was enough of a scare to get him to drop the attorney thing and cooperate.”
“Oh, thank God.” She looked toward Jake and then toward Alonso.
Alonso covered her hand and looked her in the eyes. “Sweetie, without getting into too many details, there is a key, a safety deposit box, that contains items that could incriminate a few very powerful individuals,” Alonso said.
“Men in political positions who would be destroyed by the information supposedly contained on thumb drives located in this security box,” Agent Thompson told her. “Solomon swears by this. He was going to use the information to stay alive, and to blackmail these politicians. He tried to sell some of the info to a certain political figure. Once that politician got the information, he apparently was dissatisfied and wanted his money back or more info on a competitor.”
Alonso held her hand.
“That was the day that you went to speak with your sister. She didn’t know anything about this deal, from what evidence we gathered as well as from Solomon’s sworn statement. But, he did ask her to keep the key in a secure location. He had no idea where she put it, but after some investigating, he found out about a security box, a key, and some password. We were able to locate the security box’s location, but even with a warrant and the fact that we are investigating a murder, that box cannot be opened except by the owner or co-owner.”
“But Annette is dead,” Michaela whispered.
The agent held her gaze. “Your sister placed your name down as the co-owner of the box,” Agent Thompson explained.
“Me?” She pointed to herself in shock.
“Yes. She also set up a second security box, too.”
“So what does this mean? What do you need me to do? Sign something so you can open the box?”
“They’re password protected. It’s a double measure to ensure security,” Alonso told her.
She looked at him and thought about what they were saying. “How the hell would I know a password Annette set up when we’ve been estranged for so many years?”
“Sweetie, she obviously thought that you could figure it out,” Alonso said.
“Or she thought that it would never come down to this because she told me straight out she wanted nothing to do with me.”
“She could have been trying to protect you. It’s a possibility, but it was too late. Dipero showed up, shot her, and then you before going after Solomon,” Alonso suggested.
She shook her head. “There’s no way,” she whispered, her voice cracking at the thought that perhaps her sister, after all they had experienced as children, was finally protecting her, the way Michaela had always protected Annette.
She placed her hands over her face and closed her eyes.
She felt Jake place his hand on her knee.
“Perhaps it would be best if you wrote down some things that you both liked or knew she liked? Perhaps a pet’s name? A favorite doll?” Agent Thompson asked as he opened up a notepad. She uncovered her face and stared at him.
Her entire mind went blank. She shook her head. “I can’t even think of anything.”
They all looked so bleak. Like without this information, they had no case, just hearsay from some lowlife like Solomon.
“You need to try, Michaela. Without those thumb drives, we don’t have a strong enough case to bring these politicians and the hit man down,” Agent Reynolds added. He was the uptight one.
She felt her stomach ache.