Chapter 18
Neal sat cross-legged on the cold cement floor, holding his head in his hands. He was usually a 'glass half full' kinda guy but in this particular moment, he was disheartened. And exhausted.
He and Mozzie had had their ups and downs over the years, clashes, disputes, disagreements, most of which got worked out with the passage of time and a modicum of good will on both sides. Their friendship had been worth fighting for and neither one of them had ever walked away for more than the time it took to calm down. Oh sure, they'd both had their little hissy fits, storming out during a heated argument when tempers flared. But they'd always found a way to hash things out until one of them came to his senses and if all else failed, they could always agree to disagree.
Since Neal had gotten married, there were some definite lines that were not to be crossed and both of them had been reasonably good about respecting those limits although it had been infinitely harder on Mozzie than it had been on Neal. But despite the fact they no longer collaborated on Mozzie's crazy schemes like they once had, they always had each other's back, that had never changed. For that very reason, as he sat there struggling with what to do next, Neal was feeling as if he'd somehow let his buddy down.
He and Peter had sifted through everything, absolutely everything, leaving no hiding place as minute as it might be, unchecked. One of them would go through a box or a drawer and would pass it on to the other who did a double check. Just in case.
While Neal sat quietly, Peter continued to poke at the stuff they'd already rifled through as if a handful of diamonds might magically appear out of thin air.
'Leave it Peter' Neal said, raising his head to look around. 'They're not here… they never were.'
Peter took a few steps and joined his best friend on the floor. 'We'll figure something out' he murmured although he had no idea how to fix the mess Mozzie had managed to get himself into.
Neal gave him a half-hearted smile. 'Maybe we can head out to the drive-thru at Diamonds Are Us and pick up a couple dozen nuggets.'
Peter joined in with a bitter chuckle. 'What time is it?' he asked.
'We've still got a little over an hour' came the response.
After Mozzie's frenzied plea, some goon had come on the line to lay out the terms of the exchange. He'd given Neal and Peter until midnight to come up with the diamonds at which time Mozzie's fate was up in the air. The mystery man promised to get in touch with further instructions and although no specific threats were uttered, it had been clear that Mozzie's wellbeing was at risk if they didn't come up with the goods before time was up.
'We can't give them something we don't have' Neal bemoaned.
'I can call in some favours, get some manpower.'
'And what? Go in with guns blazing? That's not going to get Mozzie back safely' Neal replied, sounding thoroughly defeated. 'Besides, do you really want to explain to your buddies at NYPD that we've been on the hunt for some stolen diamonds worth several million dollars?'
Peter shrugged. 'It's not like you to be giving up' he commented as he examined Neal's flushed face.
'I'm not. I'm thinking' Neal said, his eyes brightening somewhat. There's always another way, his life credo, began to play on a loop in his subconscious mind.
Peter had his phone in his hands, finally taking stock of those texts he'd been ignoring all night. Three missed calls and three texts. All from Elizabeth.
'El seems eager to get in touch' he commented as he read her texts.
'Call home' the first one read, followed by 'Where the hell are you?' and 'Urgent! Call now!'
Neal was doing the same, scrutinizing his phone and reading through his text messages. One from Caitlin, telling him she needed to talk, another from Liam asking if Cody could sleep over and four from Sara asking him to call her back ASAP.
'No answer' Peter said as he tried calling home. He tried again, El's cell number this time. 'That's weird… she's not answering.'
Neal was about to do the same when Peter's phone rang in his hand - unknown number the screen said.
'Hello?' he said tentatively.
'Peter Burke?' the disembodied voice said. 'Agent Peter Burke?'
'Who is this?'
'I don't know if you remember me but we worked a case together a while back, Officer Joe Merton over at the 43rd precinct.'
Peter searched his memory without success. Who was this guy and why was he calling?
'Sir, I recognized your name from your wife's ID. She's been brought into the station for…' He coughed, clearing his throat. '…solicitation.'
'What?' Peter replied rather loudly.
'Sir, we have your wife here in holding. Do you think you could come down here and help us clear things up? She's with another woman' the man continued. 'Name of…' Peter imagined him checking the arrest sheet. '… Sara Ellis. Do you know a Sara Ellis?'
'I do' Peter replied as he got to his feet. 'We'll be right there.'
Neal stood, waiting for an explanation. 'What? What is it?'
'Looks like our wives have gone and gotten themselves arrested.'
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Ginny was just too pissed to be upset. She'd been read the riot act, the consequences of her actions predictable: loss of her phone for the foreseeable future and quarantine for the coming week. That's no social activities whatsoever, going to school and coming straight home afterwards her moms had explained.
She was beyond angry. Her moms just didn't get it - didn't they remember what it was like to be a teenager? Luckily, she still had her direct line to Logan and she'd spent the rest of the evening texting back and forth, venting about her parents, how unreasonable they were, how she hated them for what they were doing to her.
There was always a way around rules, Logan had replied as they'd discussed options for her to slip away. First off, her moms wouldn't be able to keep an eye on her 24/7 and there were ways of skipping school without being found out.
'Leave it to me' he'd said before hanging up. 'Just don't get caught with your phone.'
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The holding cell Elizabeth and Sara had been led to was reminiscent of the ones seen on those cop shows on TV - Barney Miller or maybe Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The large open space was cold and damp with a cement bench lining three of the four walls. The fourth wall, just like in the movies, was floor to ceiling metal bars that made the most bone chilling sound when the door was slammed shut.
There'd been some comings and goings since the women had been ushered in twenty minutes earlier. Presently, the other occupants of the cell were three ladies of the evening all decked out in their best duds as well as some guy who was sleeping it off in the corner, a pool of vomit at his feet. The foul odour came in waves and Sara gagged once more as the putrid smell hit her nostrils.
'This is ridiculous' she exclaimed, standing by the locked door and giving it a firm - and noisy - rattle.
'We don't look anything like…' She stopped suddenly and glanced in the direction of the hookers who were busy checking her out. One of them giggled and whispered something to her two friends. Sara glowered at them.
El joined her, placing a hand on her arm. 'Sara, they've got my purse' she whispered in her ear.
'What do you mean?' Sara said, distracted by the gawking spectators.
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in response. 'What do you mean 'what do I mean?'… you know…' she murmured as she elbowed her gently.
Sara's face grew taut as she clued into the fact that their loot was now in the hands of the police. 'Ooooh… Are they allowed to search it? Isn't that some kind of violation of our privacy rights?'
She shook the bars, louder this time and the tinny sound resonated in the cavernous space. 'Hey! Still waiting for our one phone call over here!' she shouted. 'We've got rights guaranteed under the Constitution.'
El gave her a puzzled look.
'That's what they always say on TV' Sara mumbled under her breath.
The drunk in the corner came to life, reacting to the commotion. He mumbled something and resettled against the wall, letting his body slide down the bench onto the floor and landing his sorry ass right in the pool of vomit.
The officer who'd welcomed them at the front desk appeared, looking none too pleased with the interruption. 'What the hell's all the ruckus?' he asked.
'We demand our one phone call' Sara said, standing tall and looking the man straight in the eye. She was a woman on a mission and she would not be denied.
'We have rights' Elizabeth added, head held high.
'Oh yeah, then how come you're in there and I'm out here?' the guy said with an annoying giggle.
Sara glared at him.
'Don't get your knickers in a twist lady. I reached your husband and he's on his way.'
Elizabeth's eyes grew. 'You called our husbands? What are we, a couple of teenagers out past curfew?'
'You Mrs. Burke?' he asked Elizabeth.
She nodded silently.
'Well, I noticed your husband's name on your ID and I reached out to him' the man said, sounding cocky. He puffed out his chest. 'We go way back… worked on a case together.'
Sara's face grew red. 'Who said we wanted you to call her husband.'
El dropped her voice and pulled Sara aside. 'Well honey, we kinda did' she murmured.
'That was for us to decide' Sara continued, her voice growing louder. 'We get to make our own decisions about who to call.'
The guy rolled his eyes, a totally inappropriate response as far as Sara was concerned.
'Yeah, yeah, whatever, lady. Just sit tight and I'll let you know when he gets here.'
He turned to walk away but Sara wasn't done yet. 'And you need to clean up this guy's barf!' she shouted at his back. 'These are… inhumane conditions!'
El watched her friend with interest; she was really losing her shit. Add a decisive fist pump and - yikes - Sara was turning into Mozzie.
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Turned out Mozzie's 'hosts' knew how to do things right. There was fine cognac and cigars and Mozzie was taking full advantage of the whole 'hostage' experience. He was up in the last hand of the game, leaving two of the three thugs in his dust - perhaps not the smartest thing to do when you were trying to stay on the good side of your abductors. But then again, this was Mozzie and the smell of success was just too much to resist.
'Put your left hand on the table' Thug number one said.
It was down to the two of them and he'd been salivating at the sight of the Kruggerrand Mozzie had thrown into the pot for collateral.
'Why sir! You wound me' Mozzie declared, pretending to be offended.
Nevertheless, he acquiesced, setting his left hand on the table and tapping his rings on the wood finish in an effort to break his opponent's concentration. The other two men observed the action with interest. Mozzie had been in the lead since round one and none of them could figure out if and how he was managing to cheat.
'You're damn good' Big Burly Guy aka Stan said, envious of the little man's obvious talents.
He eyed the other two men and they seemed to come to some sort of silent agreement.
'You know, we're looking for a fourth guy for a job coming up next month' Stan said as Mozzie's eyes lit up.
'Oh yeah? What kind of job?'
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Another ten minutes passed before the door to the lockup opened again, this time revealing Neal and Peter following close behind Officer Merton.
'The cavalry has arrived' the man declared as he pulled out his bunch of keys and proceeded to unlock the cell door.
Neal and Peter, still confused about what was going on, stood by speechless. Considering the circumstances, they'd been expecting a nice warm welcome but instead, they found themselves on the receiving end of glaring looks from both their wives.
'Oh look Gidget' Elizabeth said in a mocked little girl voice. 'Our daddies have come to rescue us.'
'This is like some bad sitcom from the fifties' Sara added, still livid. 'Let me guess… Ricky and Fred coming to claim your crazy, rebellious wives?'
'Well if we are' Neal said with a smirk, 'I definitely want to be Ricky.'
Sara glared at him, her hand immediately up and her finger wagging wildly in front of his face. 'Don't Neal! Just… don't!'
Despite the fact he hadn't done anything wrong, he gave her that smile - the one he reserved for when he'd messed things up and needed to be forgiven. Once her back was turned, he shrugged and exchanged a confused look with Peter.
The women wasted no time in stepping through the open door and leaving behind the dark and dingy cell. They were directed to an office to wait for the night supervisor who, thankfully, appeared before the men had a chance to ask a single question.
He was a big, gruff looking guy who looked annoyed at having had his beauty sleep interrupted.
'So, what's the story here?' he asked as he glanced down at the report he'd been handed.
'Officer, we were brought here on false accusations' Sara said, her voice indignant.
'Lady…' he said with a frustrated glance in her direction. 'Skip the editorializing. Just… just tell me what happened.'
El spoke up. 'We were walking up Prentiss Street, looking for our husbands —'
'Looking for your husbands?' he repeated, pointing to Neal and Peter. 'On 'hooker alley'?'
'What?' El said earnestly.
'Do you realize that that section of Prentiss Street is…' he stopped, choosing his words carefully, '… known for its nocturnal activities?'
Sara sat on the edge of her chair, ready to go to war. 'We most certainly did not' she declared.
'Well, it is' the man said. 'It says here you were observed by Officers Pruitt and Black, leaning into cars and engaging in discussion with… potential clients.'
Elizabeth jumped in. 'We were asking for directions.'
The man stifled a laugh. 'Directions?' he repeated, incredulous. 'Yeah, like I've never heard that one before.'
'We were looking for a warehouse' El added, trying to keep her cool.
The man did his best to keep a straight face but failed miserably. 'A warehouse…'
'And you can wipe that smirk off your face' Sara barked. 'I'll have you know, we're both professional women.'
The officer chuckled at her choice of words.
'Respectable!' Sara corrected, as prickly as she'd ever been. 'I mean respectable women!'
The man returned his gaze to the report he'd been holding in his hands. 'The officers reported they could smell alcohol on your breath' he stated, looking smug. 'Anything you want to say about that?'
'We had some wine earlier' Sara replied, her voice curt. 'Is there a law against that too?' she asked defiantly.
Neal and Peter stood behind their wives, looking at each other and wishing they could crawl under the carpet and disappear.
'No. No law against that ma'am —'
'Don't. Call me ma'am' Sara rudely interrupted.
Neal rolled his eyes at Peter. His wife hated being called ma'am. Poor sucker behind the desk was about to find out just how much.
'Ever since we were dragged in here on false accusations I might add, we've been treated with a lack of respect and a total disregard for our rights' Sara continued, on a roll. 'We are law abiding citizens and we were going about our business when… those big oafs drove up and accused us of —'
Neal gently placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. 'Honey…' he warned, fearful she was digging a hole for herself.
She turned to scowl at him. 'Don't honey me. You weren't there Neal. The whole thing was totally humiliating.'
The big guy behind the desk looked from El to Sara, shaking his head. This was turning out to be more trouble than it was worth.
Elizabeth stared at the man, waiting for him to acknowledge her. 'Look at us, do we look like a couple of hookers to you?'
The man sighed. 'Well, I did hear that Spanky was looking to diversify, to reach out to a more sophisticated clientele' he offered, trying to lighten the mood.
'You've got to be kidding!' Sara exclaimed, her face now the colour of a well aged burgundy.
The officer shrugged. She sure was easy to wind up. He glanced up at Neal who gave him a shrug that told him he was on his own. The man had dealt with all kinds of crazies during his twenty plus years on the job but these two crazy women were really pushing his buttons. He thought of the bunk in the room next door with the soft flannel sheets and his name on it. Time to bring this shit show to an end.
'Look, Black and Pruitt are both rookies and I can see they might have been a little overzealous in this case' he finally acknowledged, ripping the report in two and throwing it in the nearby garbage can.
'Damn straight!' El said, her head up high.
'And another thing, the conditions in that holding cell are… abysmal. You really need to keep that place clean' Sara added, obviously not knowing when to quit.
The man nodded vacantly. 'Sure, I'll get right on that' he said sarcastically.
He'd finally given up. 'You're free to go' he said, getting to his feet.
'Good luck' he added, directing his comment to Neal and Peter.
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Logan lay on the couch as he spoke on the phone to his contact across the country.
'I'm getting ready to book our flight' he said, his voice confident.
'Some time next week at the latest' he replied to the man's question. 'I just need one more session with her.'
'Yeah, yeah. I think she's ready to cut bait. Her folks have grounded her and she's really pissed off… I know… perfect timing for us.'
The other man asked a few more questions on the other end. 'I don't boss' Logan said. 'I really don't foresee any problems.'
'Right… strike while the iron's hot' he added, echoing what the other man had just said.
'I'll be in touch.'
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The foursome were standing right outside the precinct when Elizabeth finally spoke up. Now that the tension was fading, she was remembering why she and Sara had been out chasing their husbands in the first place.
'Oh honey, I almost forgot. We found them!'
'Who?' Peter asked. 'Who'd you find?'
'Not who, what?'
'What?'
She shook her head dismissively and looked around, spotting a bench on the sidewalk and dragging Peter along with her to take a seat.
'What's going on El?' Neal asked, his mind returning to their situation with Mozzie.
He and Sara stood in front of the Burkes as El reached into her purse and after one quick glance around to make sure they were not being observed, pulled out the baggie from the bottom of her purse.
'Holy shit!' said Neal. 'Are those for real?'
'Honey, where did you get these?' Peter asked.
El glanced at Sara, suddenly feeling smug. 'They were hidden inside the lamp Mozzie gave you.'
Neal let out a loud sigh of relief.
'By the way, where is Mozzie?' Sara asked, realizing for the first time he wasn't with them. 'I thought the three of you were working together at the warehouse.'
Neal brought his hand to rest on her back. 'Yeah… about Mozzie' he began.
TBC