Bad Guys Don't Win (Janet Maple Series Book 4) (14 page)

Anton’s answer was a short, quick blow
to Dennis’s face.

“How about you let me out of this chair
and then hit me?” Dennis tried to play the pride card.

Anton sneered. “How about I beat you to
a pulp just like this?” He hit him across the face again. “I can’t tell you how
many times I dreamed of this. All those endless nights and days in jail—it was
the only thing keeping me going.”

“I must say I’m flattered.” Dennis’s
face felt like a punching bag, but he’d be damned if he showed it.

Anton grunted. “Is that all you got up
your sleeve, Mr. Detective? Irony and pride?”

“How do you know what I got up my
sleeve?” Dennis shot back.

“I know a bluffer when I see one. You
got to me once through this backbiting snake,” he paused to slowly walk across
the room and smack Mila on the back of her head so hard, it bobbed like a
doll’s. “But the people I got working for me now are loyal.”

“You bastard,” Dennis hissed, trying to
get out of his restraints.

“How’s that going for you, super boy?”
Anton smirked. “Did you really think you were going to fool Jessy here with
your lame photographer act? You must think yourself quite a ladies’ man.” He
grabbed Jess by her behind and pulled her close to him, planting a slobbery
kiss on her lips. “She’s mine, all mine. You’re never going to take anything
away from me ever again, Mr. Detective.”

Jess giggled, clearly elated by Anton’s
crude affection. “This buffoon can’t work a camera to save his life. I was onto
him the moment he tried hitting on me at the bar. If he’s a photographer, I’m a
trapeze artist. And he tried to bug my phone,” she sneered.

“Did you throw it out, Jessy?” Anton
asked.

“Of course I did, baby,” she said
proudly.

Anton planted another slobbering kiss on
her. “Not only are you dynamite in the sack, but you’re also a very smart girl,
Jessy. And you’re loyal to your man, which’s a lot more than I can say about
this tramp.” He hit Mila again. “You play your cards right, I just might marry
you.”

“Oh, Anton,” Jess purred. “Really? But
will your uncle let us?”

“My uncle doesn’t tell me what to do,”
he corrected her.

“Of course not. I only meant since
you’re on the run and all, he might think it’s a bad idea for us to get hitched
now.”

“He’ll be happy. We just gotta wait for
the right moment to tell him,” he explained.

“Oh, Anton! Wait till you see the
wedding dress I got picked out—” she broke off, her face turning red. “I know
we only just talked about it, but I’ve had my eyes on it for a while. I kept
thinking—when I marry Anton, that’s the dress I’ll wear. You see, I always knew
we’d get married,” she added, pressing herself against him.

“That’s right baby. So did I.” Anton
slapped her behind.

“It’s white leather, but it’s cutout, so
it looks like lace,” Jess prattled on, oblivious to Anton’s callous demeanor.
“We’ll have a reception, won’t we?”

“I’ll give you the wedding of a
lifetime, baby,” Anton said gruffly.

“A match made in heaven,” Mila seethed
through her teeth.

“You don’t learn, do you?” Jess hissed,
planting a blow across Mila’s face. “You open your big mouth, you get slapped.”
She was about to hit Mila again when Anton caught her arm in mid-air.

“I give out the blows here.” He squeezed
Jess’s arm so tightly, it turned white around the edges of his fingers.

“Let go!” she screamed, trying to twist
her arm away, but he held on, as she wriggled violently. “You still love her,
don’t you? After everything she did to you, you still love her! I finally
thought you were over her, but you lied, didn’t you? You used me to get her for
you and now you’ve gone crazy for her all over again—”

“Shut up!” Anton grabbed her other arm.

“You’re never going to marry me, are
you?” Jess kicked and screamed.

“You keep acting like this, I’d be crazy
to marry you.” He raised his hand, about to hit her.

“Of course he’s not going to marry you,”
Mila cut in, her voice cool and strong. “He was two timing me with you and
telling us both lies. Now he’s used you to get his revenge—” Mila didn’t get to
finish her sentence, as Jess wrung out of Anton’s hands and hit Mila across the
mouth with the back of her hand.

“That’s for trying to poison me against
my man,” Jess hissed. “Do you think I’d believe you?”

Mila licked away the trickle of blood
oozing from the corner of her mouth. “Naw, you’re too stupid for that—you
believe him.”

Jess was about to lunge at Mila again.
“You little—”

“Quiet!” Anton yelled, grabbing Jess and
dragging her away, as she screamed and scratched like a wild cat. “Mila, I’ll
see how brave you’ll be after a week on water and bread,” he added with a
crooked smirk on his face.

Anton flung Jess over his shoulder as
though she were a sack of flour and stomped towards the door. A moment later,
all lights were out and there was a heavy thump of a metal door being shut.

“That lowlife— Hitting a woman. If only
my hands weren’t tied—” Dennis tried to wriggle out of his restraints.

“Save it, Dennis,” Mila said in a
resigned voice.

“You put up a very brave front. How’s
your face?”

“Hurts like hell. I can feel it swelling
up.”

“Maybe next time don’t be so brave—at
least not until we figure out a way out of here.”

Mila sighed. “That’s what I was trying
to do. I hoped we could turn Jess against Anton. But for some unfathomable
reason she’s gaga for him. I still can’t believe she pretended to be my friend.
How could both Amy and I have been stupid enough to hire her? It’s all my
fault—if I hadn’t gone out with Amy that night, we wouldn’t be here—”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it. I
should’ve come by and checked on you. You came to me for protection and I
failed you.”

“By treating me like an adult when I was
a childish idiot?” Mila quipped. “I’d say I’m the one who failed us.”

“What’s done is done. No use pointing
fingers,” Dennis counseled her. He knew if he were to count the amount of
mistakes he’d made while on this case, he’d run out of both his fingers and
toes. “We gotta think of a way to get out of here. Do you have any idea where
we are?”

“I don’t know. It sounds like a
warehouse of some sort. I was passed out when they drove me here. That snake
Jess must’ve slipped something in my drink. The last thing I remember is
dropping Amy off— We were in a cab and I was supposed to get out next, but then
it all went black and I woke up here. Do you remember anything?”

“Nope.” He swallowed his embarrassment.
“Jess tasered me and then knocked me out. I don’t remember seeing anything.”

“We could be anywhere. Even if we do
manage to get out of here somehow, how are we going to find our way back?”

“We’ll think of something. Don’t worry.”
Dennis did his best to sound brave, but inside he could feel his hope waning.
This entire time he’d been hoping Janet would find him by tracking the phone
bug, but Jess had squashed that possibility like a bug. As much as he wanted to
believe they’d find their way out, the odds weren’t looking good.

Later that night, Janet Maple and Peter
Laskin walked into the offices of Kirk & Associates where Ham Kirk was
already waiting for them. They had called Ham from Laskin’s car, right after
Janet had witnessed Dennis being dragged into a warehouse, but didn’t have time
to tell Ham everything that happened. The minute they mentioned that Dennis had
been kidnapped, Ham told them to get to the office right away.

Janet took a deep breath, trying to
steady herself to give Ham an accurate account of events. She was yet to tell
Ham that she’d seen Anton Kovar in the flesh and that she’d heard Anton say he
was also keeping Mila in the same warehouse where Dennis was now also locked
up.

Ham rose from his seat to greet them.
“Janet, Peter, thank God you’re all right!”

Janet was shaking and pale and knew
there was no use putting up a front. “Ham, Anton’s got Dennis and Baxter—” she
broke off, her lips trembling. “Anton’s got Dennis and Baxter,” she repeated
frantically.

“Save your strength, Janet. The FBI and
U.S. Marshals should be here any minute—you can tell the whole story then. I
called them as soon you and Peter called me from the car on your way here. I
explained our theory about the Kovars being alive—it took a hell of a time
convincing them, but both the FBI and U.S. Marshals are their way here.” Ham
squeezed her shoulder. “We’ll find Dennis and Mila. But, Janet, promise me—no
more crazy stunts like this. From now on, the authorities are in charge.”

“But we can’t trust the authorities, not
until we know who the Kovars have on the inside,” Janet retorted less calmly
than she would’ve liked. “That’s what Dennis said and you agreed with him—”

“And where is Dennis now?” Ham
countered. He shook his head. “I’m not denying my own responsibility in all of
this. I should’ve never let Dennis talk me into letting the two of you take
this on. Now, Dennis is paying for my mistake. But at least my mind is clear
now and we’ll do things the way they should’ve been done from the start. Let’s
just hope it’s not too late.”

Janet took a deep breath, seeing that
there was no way to sway Ham’s mind. “So the FBI is taking over the case?”

Ham nodded. “Something that should’ve
been done from the get-go. And Janet,” he paused, looking at her sharply, “I
hope you’re going to cooperate and give the FBI all the information you have.
You know, it’s the only chance Dennis has got to make it out.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “Of course. You’re
absolutely right. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”

“You’ve been through a lot,” Ham
consoled her. “You were very brave, but also very reckless. You do realize you
could’ve been kidnapped, or worse?”

“Yes. I do. And I won’t do anything like
this again. From now on, I’ll defer to the authorities,” Janet said meekly.

“Good girl.” Ham nodded approvingly.
“The agent in charge of the investigation should be here shortly. You can tell
him the whole story.”

Just then, the intercom buzzed. “Agent
Lang from the FBI and Marshal Burke from the office of U.S. Marshals are here,”
the receptionist announced.

“Please show them in, Anne,” Ham
instructed, pulling a speck of lint from his jacket and straightening up in his
chair.

A few moments later, Anne opened the
conference room and ushered two men inside. Normally, Anne left the reception
desk at five on the dot, and her demeanor made it clear that this unusual
activity at the office at such a late hour didn’t agree with her. “Will there
be anything else? Would you gentlemen like some coffee?” Anne asked, clearly
hoping to hear no for an answer.

“That’s most kind of you, ma’am, but
Marshal Burke and I are all right,” a man in a tan suit replied. He had brown
hair and brown eyes, was of average height, and looked to be in his early
forties. “Agent Andrew Lang, FBI,” he introduced himself, shaking hands with
Ham.

“That will be all, Anne. Thank you
staying late tonight,” Ham instructed her. “Please clear my calendar for
tomorrow and then you can go.”

“As soon as I find my reading glasses,”
Anne croaked. “Where are my reading glasses?” she muttered, heading for the
door.

“You’re wearing them—both pairs,” Janet
whispered, nearly bursting with laughter as she eyed a pair of glasses that was
stuck on Anne’s forehead and another one hanging on a chain around her neck. Of
course it was nerves, but this momentary diversion made her feel better.

“Janet, Peter, I’d like you to meet
Agent Andrew Lang. Agent Lang will be leading this investigation,” Ham made the
introductions.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” said
Agent Lang as he shook Janet and Laskin’s hands with a firm grip. “Marshal
Burke will be joining me on this investigation—his office was responsible for
the Kovars’ custody during incarceration.”

“U.S. Marshal for Eastern District of
New York, Tom Burke.” A tall, stocky man with a red, flushed face, and a small,
pouty mouth shook Janet’s hand. He had to be about six feet tall and two
hundred and forty pounds or so.

Janet had to force herself not to recoil
as Marshal Burke’s meaty, sweaty paw closed around her hand.

“Why don’t we all sit down and make
ourselves comfortable, to the extent the situation allows, of course,” Ham
asked, after the introductions were over.

Ham sat at the head of the table. Janet
took a seat next to Laskin, her eyes busy studying Agent Lang and Marshal
Burke. Could they be trusted? Would they spare nothing to get Dennis and Baxter
out? But then it wasn’t like they had a choice, was it? As much as she would’ve
liked it to be different, it wasn’t as though she and Laskin could get Dennis
out on their own.

Marshal Burke took a seat next to Agent
Lang, on the opposite side of the table from Laskin and Janet. Janet watched
Marshal Burke from the corner of her eyes as he plopped his wide bottom into a
chair and dabbed his forehead with a tissue. His suit looked to be bursting at
the seams and he had loosened his tie and undone the two top buttons of his
shirt.

“Miss Maple, I was hoping you could bring
me up to speed?” Agent Lang asked, his eyes focusing on her. “We have the
background of the case, along with primary suspects, but it would be very
helpful to hear the full story from you.”

“Yes,” said Marshal Burke, twirling his
thumbs, “please take us through the sequence of events as they happened. I
understand you both were at the crime scene?” His porcine pale blue eyes darted
from Janet to Laskin.

“That’s correct,” said Laskin who’d been
quiet until now. “We followed the van when a woman named Jess Hall, at least we
think it’s her name, kidnapped Dennis. I was driving—”

Janet barely resisted from kicking
Laskin under the table. His earlier composure had left him and he looked
positively flustered now, ready to spill the beans to the authorities. That was
the problem with Laskin—he was too straight and narrow. “Peter, let’s start
from the beginning,” Janet interrupted. “It will be more structured this way. I
was with Dennis before he left to meet with Jess and I believe I have some
useful information for Agent Lang and Marshal Burke,” she said deferentially.

Janet began to give a detailed account
of everything that happened while she trailed Dennis during his rendezvous with
Jess Hall. Then she proceeded to summarize her and Laskin’s pursuit of Jess’s van.
And then her factual narrative stopped.

“We were in Williamsburg when the van
veered into one of the side streets—that’s where we lost sight of it,” Janet
said calmly, making a difficult but final decision to end her story right
there—at least for the time being. Until she knew more about Marshal Burke and
Agent Lang, she was going to follow her hunch and keep mum.

Laskin coughed, as though choking on
something. Janet kicked his leg under the table, hoping he’d get her drift.
Something about Marshal Burke stunk to high heaven, and there was no way in
hell she was going to disclose to him the actual location of the warehouse or
that she’d seen Anton Kovar in the flesh.

“Unfortunately, we did lose them,”
Laskin said solemnly. “It’s a maze of a neighborhood. There was a car blocking
us from making a turn. By the time the street cleared, the van was gone.”

Both Agent Lang and Marshal Burke had
been taking notes while Janet had been telling her story.

“Can you at least give us a general
location?” Agent Lang asked.

“I can tell you where we lost them.”
Janet gave him an intersection they had passed ten minutes before they saw Jess
pull the van into the warehouse.

“Very well. We will have it staked out
by our team,” Agent Lang said quickly. “I’m sure they couldn’t have gone far.”

“Wait a minute.” Marshal Burke raised
his meaty paw. “We wouldn’t want to waste resources prematurely. So far we
don’t have any concrete evidence to go by. And frankly, as gripping and
unnerving as your account is, Ms. Maple, I don’t even understand why I’m here
listening to it,” Marshal Burke added, his deep-set tiny eyes staring at Janet.

Calmly, Janet repeated herself. “As I’ve
already told you, I witnessed Dennis Walker being abducted by a woman, Jess
Hall. We suspect Jess Hall is working for the Kovars. I also have reasons to
believe Mila Brabec, who as you know was the key witness against the Kovars in
the initial investigation and went missing a few days ago, was also kidnapped
by Anton Kovar with Jess Hall’s aid.”

“But I am yet to see any proof,” Marshal
Burke said dismissively. “What proof do you have of this Jess Hall person
working for the Kovars?”

Ham raised a warning hand, but Janet
ignored him. “We have evidence. There was a note from Anton Kovar—a threat—Mila
Brabec found in her apartment. The bar she owns with her friend Amy, Amy and
Mila’s, burned down in a fire, which is still being investigated by police. And
now Mila herself has gone missing. Jess Hall was with her the night Mila went
missing.”

“We’ll get the relevant information from
our police colleagues,” Marshal Burke said. “As far as I know, all three Kovars
died in a car accident while being transported to another jail facility—all
three of them burned to ashes. I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe in
the dead coming back from the grave. It could be someone else, pretending to be
Anton Kovar—”

“I think there’s enough evidence to
point to the contrary,” Janet cut in. “The night of her disappearance, Mila was
out with her friend, Amy, and Jess Hall. Amy believes Jess slipped something in
their drinks and kidnapped Mila.”

“It would be most useful to hear Amy’s
testimony firsthand,” Marshal Burke noted.

“I’m sure she’d be happy to provide it,”
Janet replied. “But we don’t have much time. We know Jess Hall kidnapped Mila
Brabec. Today I watched Jess Hall abduct my fiancé and my dog. Now, is the FBI
or the U. S. Marshal Service going to do anything to help them?”

“This Jess Hall must possess super human
strength to kidnap a man,” Marshal Burke muttered. “Anything in her physical
description we should be particularly on the lookout for?”

“I’m sure Ham has already provided you
with a physical description,” Janet replied. “My guess is after Jess Hall lured
Dennis into the van, she then used a taser or mace to subdue him—one wouldn’t
need superhuman powers to do that.”

“Excuse me, I didn’t mean to appear to
make light of these grave circumstances,” Marshal Burke said in a much more
sympathetic tone. “I’m most sorry about your fiancé and your dog. But while I’m
most concerned with the safety of the victims, I’m just as equally concerned
with identifying their abductors and capturing them. We don’t have any concrete
evidence to go on, other than supposition. You wouldn’t want us to go in
unprepared and walk into a snake pit, would you? We need to ascertain what kind
of pushback we’ll be facing from the kidnappers before any action is taken.”

“I think it’s clear who’s behind these
kidnappings,” Janet retorted. “Anton Kovar, his uncle, Petr, and Anton’s
brother, Roman.”

“Did you see Anton Kovar kidnap these
victims?” Marshal Burke asked.

Yes, I did
, Janet thought,
but I’ll be damned if I tell you. For all I know you could be in cahoots
with the Kovars, running to tip them off.

“Marshal Burke,” Agent Lang interjected,
coming to Janet’s aid. “Ms. Maple does have a compelling theory, even if the
evidence appears to be circumstantial. There’s clearly enough to go on to
proceed with this investigation. We need to get the task force on the ground
ASAP.”

“Frankly speaking, Agent Lang, I am
surprised you support Ms. Maple’s theory,” Marshal Burke countered.

“In my experience, Marshal Burke, it
pays to explore every avenue,” Agent Lang replied.

“It certainly does, Agent Lang, as long
as it doesn’t lead you astray,” Marshal Burke countered.

Agent Lang’s neutral expression did not
falter. “I would like to point out that Kirk & Associates is a very
reputable private intelligence agency. My colleagues have relied on the
intelligence procured by this agency in the past and had only the best things
to say about them.”