Coffee & Crime (50 page)

Tanner was obviously lying, but he'd never admit to attacking Joe and open up the Justice Department to a lawsuit. "Is that a fact? "Zelda's window? Ted's clients?"

He nodded. "Regretfully, I made a few poor decisions. But I've provided Ms. Carter with the necessary information needed to receive compensation for her losses." He flicked a look at Ted. "Mr. Jordan's clients have reconsidered their decision to use another vendor." He smiled and flushed. "And as a courtesy to Mr. Enders, our agency has taken care of his medical bills and reimbursed him for the new security system."

I smirked, if that wasn’t an admission of guilt, I didn’t know what was. With my eyes, I asked Ted what he thought. Ted shrugged and held my hand. It was my call. With no attempt to hide my sarcasm I said, "Okay, Mr. I-have-an-answer-for-everything tell me this: If we were so dangerous and such a threat to justice being served, why did you stop?"

Tanner looked confused. "Pardon?"

I rolled my eyes. "You were all over us, every move we made, and then you just stopped. Why?"

Tanner twirled his index finger. "Ah, I see what you mean. Several factors came into play simultaneously. In reviewing the security tapes, we ascertained you were only interested in Mr. Manston's killer. Then you discovered our devices and disarmed them which obviously told us you were aware of the surveillance. From our vantage point it made more sense to let you draw your own conclusions on who had placed the devices." He shrugged. "But we had heard your theories by then and further verified that your goal was to solve George's murder and had nothing to do with our case. Shortly after that, the Pasadena District Attorney's office turned over the evidence you provided them. So obviously, it would've been a waste of resources to continue pursuing." He smiled at me. "The videos were illuminating, did you watch all of them?"

I couldn't believe the nerve of the guy acting like the hell he rained down on us was no big deal. "No, it was hard enough accessing them." He twitched on that and another little piece dropped into place. "So, you were the mysterious IT guy?"

He waved his hand to dismiss the question. "The point is, Ms. Fitzgerald, your evidence enabled us to rule you out of the investigation. In fact, you helped us quite a bit. We took Jake Kannanack into custody shortly after that."

The guy was so full of crap it was unbelievable. I squinted at him and shook my head. "Ruled me out, huh? Then why did you follow me and Lily to Jake’s? Frankly, I'm surprised you didn't shoot me too."

He stared at his expensive tasseled loafers then cleared his throat. "I'd like to take credit for stopping Lily Bennett from harming you. But it was purely coincident." He looked at me. "In truth, we were following Ms. Bennett. After reviewing the videos you turned over to ADA Pembroke, we established a connection between her and Kannanack. And pursued her in hopes of learning more to solidify our case."

Ted had said nothing but had listened intently to Tanner, taking mental notes. "Is that why you moved into Lily’s apartment building? So you could follow her?"

Tanner was taken aback by Ted's question. Then he chuckled and nodded. "That’s right, Special Forces?"

I sneered at him. "You’ve got a dossier on everybody, eh?"

Tanner lost his grin and had the nerve to look insulted. "The Justice Department does important work. You may not like our methods but we have access the information we need in order to serve the greater good."

I laughed so hard it hurt. "Greater good?" I looked at Ted. "Is this guy for real?"

Tanner doubled down and wagged a finger at me. "Go ahead and laugh, Ms. Fitzgerald but we serve every U.S. citizen in our pursuit of justice."

I studied John Tanner from the safety of my hospital bed. What a piece of work. He had an answer for everything and not one shred of regret for all the crap he'd put us through. "Fine. Justify it any way you like. But you still haven't told me what you want."

Tanner put on his idea of a friendly expression. "What makes you think I want anything from you?"

I snorted. "In my experience the government never comes to you unless they want something. And they never answer your questions either, so this must be good. Spit it out, Mr. Tanner, what do you want?"

He opened his briefcase and withdrew a sheath of documents. "We may need to depose you and possibly have you testify."

I shook my head. "Not on your life."

"No?" Tanner held the documents up as though not knowing what to do with them. "Surely, you understand how serious this case is. You could help us put two dangerous criminals behind bars. For a very long time." He put the documents on the bed table. "I realize you've made sacrifices but…"

I rolled the bed table away from me and toward him. "Not my problem, Mr. Tanner."

He finally whipped out his smarmy lawyer smile. "But you agreed to testify in Mr. Manston's murder trial."

I leaned forward and scowled at him. "George was my friend. I owed him that much. You, I owe nothing. In fact, I may ask my lawyer to look into suing you. Harassment, unlawful imprisonment, stalking, personal injury. I think we might have a pretty strong case."

Tanner reared back in surprise. "But I saved your life."

I shrugged. "Like you said, just a coincidence."

Tanner put his game face on. "I could compel you to testify. Get a federal subpoena."

I waved a fist at him. "You could also go fuck yourself." Ted stifled a laugh. "Do what you have to, Mr. Tanner. But for now, get the hell out of my room."

Two weeks later I lay on a beach in Cancun with Ted; both of us proudly displaying our scars. My ribs still ached, but most of the bruises were gone, and the cuts had healed. Lily's bullet left a scar, but Ted insisted battle wounds were sexy, and he called it the little recruit.

Lily had gotten her wish and lived. Although given the charges against her, she wouldn't be living the life of the rich and famous anymore. According to Dan, Lily's lawyer was already negotiating a deal with the D.A. A pleasant surprise because none of us

wanted to spend the next three years going to court because of Lily Bennett.

Jake made a deal with the U.S. Attorney's office and the Pasadena D.A.'s office, and rolled over on Lily and his money-laundering cohorts. I wondered how he'd enjoy the witness protection program. If it was anything like foster care, he was in for a bumpy ride.

Zelda agreed to research food trucks and private investigator licensing while I was away. She promised she'd have a few solid leads by the time I returned.

Manny sent two dozen yellow roses every day to my hotel room. How he discovered where we were staying was a mystery. The roses were lovely, and I kept them, but tore up the cards without reading them.

Joe and Eric set up interviews and media deals with the press. Not for my benefit but because we all agreed it would help Joe's firm and give him some street cred among his peers and the public.

And thankfully, I never heard from John Tanner or the Justice Department again.

Ted rolled over and kissed me. "What are you thinking about?"

I opened my eyes and looked into his handsome face. Then I smiled and stroked his cheek. "You and me."

He brushed my lips with his and pressed against me. "So it really is just about you and me now?"

I pulled him closer and nibbled his ear. "You betcha."

The End.

About the Author

Anita Rodgers has always loved a good mystery – starting with her dad’s collection of Mickey Spillane novels. And she learned early on that her love of solving puzzles and making stuff up was a perfect skill set for mystery writing. The Scotti Fitzgerald Mystery series was inspired by her many years of slinging burgers and waiting tables in a wide array of eating establishments – from fine dining to greasy spoons.

She is also the author of the mystery, False Witness, which is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers. Anita resides in Southern California, where she enjoys hiking, gardening, and of course reading. Her blog can be found at:
http://www.writerchick.wordpress.com
. Follow her on Twitter @WCAnnie, and Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/AnitaRodgersMysteryWriter

Thank You

I thank you sincerely for reading my work and hope you have enjoyed it. I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d take a few minutes to write an honest review of this book on the site where you purchased it. Next to a pen, reader’s feedback is the most valuable thing in the world to a writer. And I look forward to yours.