Thank you so much to everyone for your kind reviews. It's helping to keep me motivated. This chapter focuses on the case and it wasn't supposed to be so detailed. But the idea caught hold and kind of took on a life of its own, and well – let me know what you think!
This chapter is dedicated to a few wonderful friends from the CJ Coffeeroom: wjobsessed, mecedeme, Miss Katie, lbcjfan and CJobsessed. Thank you for the extra kick of encouragement and for coming along for the ride! And thanks to wjobsessed for spreading the word – you rock, girlfriend!
Disclaimer: I don't own them. I'm just trying to focus my frustrations by creating a complete ending for our beloved characters.
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Chapter Eight – Answers
She awoke to the sound of her alarm going off at 5:58 am. She smacked the snooze button, rolled over to catch another seven minutes of peace.
Three minutes later, her cell phone rang.
She groaned and pulled the pillow over her head to stop the sound from invading her fuzzy brain. The ringing stopped. She had no sooner breathed a sigh of relief and removed the pillow when it started again. Suddenly remembering where she was and what had happened, she threw the pillow across the room and flicked open her cell.
"Cavanaugh," she mumbled. Her mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton.
"Good morning, sunshine!"
"Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Trust me luv, you won't care when you hear the news I've got for you."
That had her sitting bolt upright in bed. "Spill it Nige." She swung her legs over the side of the bed and padded barefoot to the kitchen.
"I've been working the prints we lifted off the four bodies unaccounted for on the ship. It seems our engineer, Zaki Hamberi, had a couple of brothers, Hatim and Fakhir."
"And?"
"Well, I did some digging, and both were supposed to be remanded to a Japanese prison on suspicion of being involved in the Japanese nuclear threat a few months back. Only it seems they escaped a little over two weeks ago."
Jordan just about choked on the milk she was drinking straight from the carton.
"Prison officials checked into it when U.S. Homeland Security contacted them. The two imposters sitting in prison, not only went unnoticed for two weeks, but are also thought to have ties to whatever organization is behind this. They've admitted to knowing about the nuclear threat, but deny being involved in the actual operation."
Jordan wiped her mouth; put the milk back in the fridge. "Okay, so the first mission fails and they get caught. They find a couple of lackeys to impersonate them then worm their way onto their brother's ship and head to Boston. Only they get caught again, this time by their brother's fellow crew men. And it costs them their lives."
"Which raises more than a few red flags. Now they've got the FBI and U.S. Homeland Security looking into their every move and trying to figure out what's what. I'd bet my next month's paycheck those two prison impersonators are dead before the week is done."
"Yeah, and they're probably expecting it. So the question now is who's going to be looking for revenge and what's their next move?"
"My thoughts exactly. You want to call your friend, Agent Haley, or should I?"
"You call. I'll meet you both at the morgue in a half hour."
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She'd showered, dressed and brushed her hair and teeth in under ten minutes. She'd phoned the hospital, realizing guiltily that she didn't even know who was with Garret and that she didn't have time to stop and find out. She promised herself she'd stop as soon as she and Nigel had Haley briefed.
She spoke to Judy, the night nurse who'd shoved breakfast at her the morning before.
"He's holding his own, Jordan. He's not visibly improving, but he's not getting worse. His vitals are still a bit on the weak side. We're a little concerned about a slightly elevated temperature, but he's not showing any other signs of infection, so we're going to continue to monitor him hourly. The doctor is hoping to start running a few tests today to see if he can determine the cause of the coma. I'll let you know if anything changes."
She recited her new cell number to Judy, and double checked that the nurse had the numbers for the morgue and her apartment as well.
"I've got them all, Jordan. You need to rest, too. He's being well taken care of, and one of your friends seems to be here at all times. You just concentrate on taking care of yourself for now."
Jordan didn't dare tell Judy she was on her way to work as she wasn't entirely convinced the nurse wouldn't haul it down to the morgue and force her to go home. "Who's there with him now?"
"A brunette. On the tall side, thin. She was here last night when I got here.
Renee. Jordan breathed a sigh of relief that the D.A. was still there. "Okay, thanks Judy. I'll try and be down in the next couple of hours."
She hung up, grabbed her wallet, keys and M.E. badge and headed out the door.
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Fifteen minutes later, she was pulling into her morgue parking spot. She noticed with a wry smile that Haley's car was there and that this time he'd remembered to park somewhere other than in her spot. She also noticed that Woody's car was not there and wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed at that.
She stopped in the break room and gave a silent thanks to Nigel for remembering to make coffee. She poured herself a cup then proceeded to trace to find out what else Nigel and Haley had come up with.
The first thing she noticed when she entered is they had added more notes to the ones they'd scribbled last night on the dry erase boards. There were pictures taped beside the notes of Zaki Hamberi and two men she assumed were his brothers, Hatim and Fakhir. She wondered idly how long Nigel had been at the morgue, piecing together the puzzle, before he'd phoned her.
Nigel looked up from his computer screen when she entered. Haley glanced her way and gave a terse nod before turning his back and continuing his conversation with whoever was on the other end of his cell phone call.
She focused on Nigel. "What have we got?"
"Right now, I'm cross-referencing the Hamberi brothers' names with the BPD criminal data base. They must have had motivation to come to Boston and the best reason I can think of is someone here made them an offer they just couldn't refuse." He caught her slightly confused look and explained. "Since I talked to you earlier, we've uncovered a few more details about our doomed seamen. Haley's got friends who have managed to get the prison imposters to talk. Seems Hamberi and his brothers are part of a larger organization."
"There's a shock."
Nigel grinned at her sarcasm. "It appears as though Zaki Hamberi was the leader, at least of this operation. He didn't physically take part in the Japanese nuclear threat, but rumour has it he was the mastermind behind it."
"He was probably too busy worming his co-horts onto that ship so they could take control and pull off the Boston Operation."
Nigel nodded to Haley. "He's on the phone now with his bureau contacts to find out if the imposters have given up any names. By the look on his face, I reckon he's getting some interesting information."
He swung around as the computer beeped, signaling they'd gotten a hit on something. "Bloody hell!"
"What is it, Nige?"
Nigel tapped a few keys on the keyboard then ran a hand shakily through his hair as he looked up at Jordan. "This just got a whole lot more complicated that we thought. Look." He turned the screen so Jordan could have a look.
She quickly skimmed through the BPD information he was showing her then stared at him in disbelief. "That's impossible! It's only been two years!"
"That's what a hot-shot lawyer and unlimited finances will do for you."
"I have to phone Woody. He needs to know about this." She flipped open her cell, dialed Woody's. She growled in frustration when she got his voicemail. "Woody, it's me. I'm at the morgue. We've made a connection between the Venezia crew and the Albanian mob. You need to see this. Call me."
She closed her eyes, thinking of the night before when she couldn't find him after their argument. If Albie Samson was lose, who knew what kind of danger Woody could be in. She prayed he was okay.
"Why didn't we know about this? Why didn't Renee know about this? Samson is red-flagged all over Massachusetts. Someone screwed up."
"Or someone was paid to look the other way." Nigel was busy at the keyboard once again. "Wait a minute, this doesn't add up. He was only released two days ago. That means when the Venezia was reported adrift, he was still locked up. He couldn't possibly pull off something like that while behind bars, could he?"
She nodded; her mind racing through the facts. "Albie Samson probably has more connections than you or I can even dream of. He had to have someone on his payroll. Someone who could come and go at the prison without arousing too much suspicion."
"Someone who, by all appearances, wasn't there to visit him."
She and Nigel were both startled by the sound of Haley's voice. They'd all but forgotten he was there. Jordan looked at him waiting for the answer.
"Does the name Blackie Conroy mean anything to you?"
"He's head of the Irish Mob in Boston. Took over for Kevin Cahill a couple of years ago." She shook her head slowly. "That doesn't make sense. Blackie loves this city; grew up here. I can't see him knowingly inflicting the kind of damage a bomb and tear gas would produce."
"You know him personally?" Haley demanded.
She nodded, took a sip of her now luke-warm coffee. "He and my dad were buddies growing up. When they were in their early teens, Blackie turned to a life of crime, my dad became a cop. We've had a couple incidences in the last few years, but nothing major. Nothing like this."
"All right. We've got the names, what's the connection?"
"I think I can answer that for you." Nigel looked at Haley, flicked his eyes to his computer screen. He'd pulled up criminal history on Fakhir Hamberi.
Jordan skimmed through it, frowning. "I don't –"
"His last prison stint. Before Japan."
Understanding dawned in her eyes.
"I'm not sure if the dates match, but –"
"Would one of you please care to explain?" Haley gave her a look, clearly exasperated. This was not a man who was used to being left out of the loop.
Jordan looked at him then, and Haley didn't think he'd ever seen her so serious. "Two years ago, we came across a mass grave here in Boston. Turns out it was a mob dump site. Further investigation showed the Albanian mob was behind it. Bug was assaulted and robbed of a day's worth of evidence at the scene. We traced the assault back to one Vilson Ahmeti of the Albanian National. Woody went after him but the perp jumped off a roof to his death."
Nigel piped up. "Upon tracing him and what he was doing in Boston, we came across a local club owner, Albie Samson. You wouldn't believe the aliases this guy had and the rap sheet –"
"Focus Nige! Woody ended up taking him down. Shot him, actually. Not fatal, so he ended up in prison. He was supposed to serve a life sentence for the mob murders, but apparently got out on a technicality." She left out the part about Cal's involvement and Woody shooting Samson to save her life, knowing if Haley was aware that she was personally involved with the Albanian takedown, he'd probably pull her off the case and put her in protective custody.
"But what's the connection between Ahmeti and the Hamberi brothers?"
"Vilson Ahmeti and Fakhir Hamberi were both incarcerated at the same Yugoslavian prison at the same time. I've got the dates right here." Nigel looked at them triumphantly.
"Samson's too smart to come after us and the BPD directly, so my guess is he's devised a plan to take out his enemies all in one shot. Hence the Charlestown Bridge and the Patriot's Day parade.
"You're trying to tell me this is just a revenge hit? All this planning was revenge for Samson's prison term?"
Jordan shook her head slowly; looked Haley straight in the eye. "No. It's revenge for Ahmeti's death."
He held her gaze for a moment, clearly deciding if she knew more than she was letting on. She breathed a sigh of relief when Nigel's voice broke the tension.
"So why Patriot's Day?"
"How many law-enforcement officers do you think take part in that parade, Nigel? Not to mention the officers stationed for security, and the ones taking part in the battle re-enactments. The Albanian Mob takedown was a huge coup for Boston PD. And a huge embarrassment for the Albanian Mob."
Haley nodded in understanding. "So where does Conroy fit?"
"Prior to the mass grave, the Albanian mob had been making its presence known in the Boston mob community. They'd start by working for the existing mobs. When they had enough dirt, they'd start blackmailing the mob bosses until they relinquished their hold and turned their organization over to the Albanians. Probably Blackie, or one of his mobbies, got mixed up in the scheme and in order for him to get out Blackie would have had to strike a deal with Samson."
"And the Japanese nuclear threat?"
"My guess is it was just a decoy. Fakhir and Hatim probably planned to get captured and imprisoned, thus throwing suspicion away from them, so when the Boston operation was pulled off, no one would trace it back to them. But no one counted on the Venezia crew figuring out their plan."
"Now we just have to prove it," Nigel said quietly.
Haley flipped his cell open, barked some orders into it. He turned back a moment later, focused his attention on Jordan. "I've stationed agents here and at the hospital to stay with your boss. We've got surveillance teams at all Samson's known hot spots. I want you to phone your friends, tell them not to go anywhere without FBI protection. Is that clear?"
"Haley –"
"Like it or not, Jordan, you and your friends are involved in this. Word starts getting out that you're still working the case you all start disappearing, one by one. I am not going to let that happen."
He leaned over, grabbed his trench coat from the chair it was draped over the back of.
"Where are you going?"
"I've got to go talk to Blackie Conroy."
"I'm coming with you."
He whirled on her so fast she almost ran into him. "No! No, you're not, Jordan. Not this time."
"He's not going to talk to a fed, Haley. Let me talk to him. I know this guy! I know how he works, where he . . ."
"NO!" He clenched and unclenched his fist at his side. "No. It's too dangerous."
"Haley!"
He grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eye. "The last time I let you tag along on a case, I almost lost you. I'm not going to take that chance again."
"That wasn't your fault, Haley, and you know it. You can't go blaming . . ."
"Stay here, Jordan. Please." He brushed his lips gently against her forehead, loosened his grip on her.
"Drew . . ."
"Stay put, Jordan. I mean it." He gave her one last glance as he backed out of the room then turned and strode quickly through the doorway.
It took her a moment to catch her breath from his kiss. When she did, she went flying out the door behind him. "Drew!" She turned the corner quickly, grabbing the wall with her hands to steady herself. "Damnit!" He was just about to the elevators. She ran faster. "DREW!"
She was almost to the lobby when the elevator doors closed behind him. Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she shook her head in frustration as she watched the lighted numbers descend to the ground floor.
She swore loudly, turned to go back to her office, and ran smack into a solid wall of muscle.
"Going somewhere?"
She gasped as she looked up at his hardened face. "Woody!"
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I've re-read this so many times it's becoming a blur, but if anything about the case doesn't make sense to you all, please let me know (nicely) and I can (try) and correct it in the next chapter. . .
And don't forget to R&R please!! Thanks for reading! cjl