Chapter 18

Jake Harrison watched the car pull away with a frown before getting out of his own and moving up the walk. From all that he had been able to gather so far, Paul Crammer had been involved with more than one crime family. However, the one whose name popped up the most was Santi, and where Santi was. . . well, he certainly knew who followed. Leaning against the wall, he knocked and waited silently for the door to open.

And open it did, forcefully. "I thought we said. . ." the dark haired woman on the other end started angrily, then deflated slightly as she realized who was there. "What are you doing here?"

"Lovely to see you too, Sonia. Mind if I come in?" he asked with an amused smirk.

Rolling her eyes, she stepped back to allow him to enter. "I'm on assignment, Jake," she sighed in exasperation. "I thought we agreed that we wouldn't see each other when I was."

"I'm not here on a social call."

"Then why are you here, and it had better be good."

"I was hired to prove that Natalie Vega didn't. . ."

"Kill Crammer," Sonia finished for him.

"Nice deduction."

"Well, I was wondering when someone would be looking further into it."

"You don't think she did it."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure she didn't."

"Tico?"

"Nah, that would be too easy."

"Yeah. It would've been. But you have an idea."

"Or two."

"Care to share?"

"You know that I can't," she sighed.

"A young woman's life could be on the line here."

"There's more going on here than meets the eye. You know Fitzgerald was murdered right?"

"No. I hadn't heard that. You know I only am around that crowd when we're together."

"Whatever. Anyway. She was pretty far under. But she left some info. Crammer was into something on his own. Something unrelated to the current investigation and that I can't really go into. But, it's apparently something that might have gotten him killed."

"That's all you can give me?"

"I can't jeopardize my assignment, and before you say anything, just because it seems unrelated now, doesn't mean it will be in the long run."

"What about her life?"

Sonia shook her head at him: "what's with you? There's more to this than a normal case for you."

"She's Meghan's sister."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Sonia exhaled and cocked her head to the side: "OK, consider this the favor I owe you for saving my ass in South America that time."

"Which one?"

"Funny," she replied. "Look into his helicopter accident."

"The FAA report. . ."

"Look beyond the report. Look at the people, the dates, situations, rumors," she insisted.

Raising an eyebrow, Jake stared at her: "and where will that get me?"

"A motive?"

"Right, anything else you can give me?"

"Yeah, if I had to make a guess, I'd say that your suspect is blonde."

"His sister?"

"A definite possibility, but I have my bet on someone else."

"Do you have to be so damned cryptic?"

"Why should I do your job for you?"

"Give me time for other things?"

"Where would the fun in that be?"

"Oh, there'd be fun."

Sonia laughed at that: "yeah, there could be. But I have to keep my head on the job and you have to clear your former sister-in-law by Monday morning."

"When you get back?"

"Yeah. You owe me dinner anyway."

"Just dinner?"

"We'll see."

Jake laughed at that: "thanks. I'll see ya whenever," he replied with a smile as he went to leave.

"Yeah, whenever," she agreed, watching him walk out and wondering, not for the first time, if there would ever be a time when he stayed.