Liver Let Die (24 page)

“Alex Moreland,” he responded, his eyes leaving the road long enough to glance her way. “Obviously, I’m not a banker.”

“Tell me about your investigation,” she demanded, wanting so badly to trust him.

She watched his hands tighten on the steering wheel as if he was conflicted about telling her. Her skepticism slid into overdrive.

“They pulled me from Houston after another agent thought he had Mason’s partner ready to turn and—”

“Mason is the one who killed his partner,” Jordan shouted excitedly, interrupting Alex. “He also killed the guy the other night and left him with the hogs.”

He gave her a sideways glance. “How do you know that? Did he tell you?” He swiveled back just in time to avoid crossing the center line.

“He knew the guy was about to blow the whistle on the operation. I thought he was talking about J. T., but he wasn’t.”

“Did he kill J. T., too?”

“My gut says he probably did, but he denied it. Even acted surprised I would consider it. Apparently he had a talk with J. T. the night they found him under my staircase.” She stopped before she told him about the duck pâté going home in her purse.

“Did he say what the conversation was about?”

“Me.”

“You?”

She heard the accusations in his voice. “Apparently he lost some of the diamonds and thought I might have them.”

“Why would he think that?”

Jordan licked her lips, stalling to come up with a plausible reason without telling him about Maggie and the crystals decorating her fishbowl. She had to keep that information to herself or she would be throwing all her leverage out the window.

“I have no idea except that he mentioned the diamonds were being smuggled into the country in cans of duck liver from Canada.”

Alex slapped the steering wheel so hard Jordan saw him flinch in pain.

“I knew it!” he exclaimed, the excitement in his voice evident. “That’s how they made the transfer. Parker would order foie gras, slip the diamonds into his napkin when he was sure no one was looking, then enjoy the rest of his meal. Maybe even have a cocktail or two. Son of a . . .” He paused. “That’s freakin’ brilliant, you know.”

Until someone else orders the duck and suddenly you’re out a half million.

“Why would anyone go to all that trouble to bring in diamonds across the border? It’s not like they’re contraband or anything,” Jordan said.

She heard him blow out a breath. “In some African countries, the corrupt politicians and rebels have forcibly taken over the diamond mines, using the proceeds to fund their terror campaigns. It’s not unusual for the rebels to cut off a hand if they catch someone stealing one of the rocks. These conflict diamonds, or blood diamonds, as some like to call them, are sold to mercenaries who make millions on the black market.”

She leaned closer to hear more.

“Several years ago, the United Nations introduced the Kimberley Process in an attempt to make sure these conflict diamonds didn’t get mixed in with the legal diamonds that aren’t controlled by rebel groups. It required diamond-producing countries to provide proof the money made from the sale of the gems wasn’t used to fund criminal or revolutionary activities.”

Jordan shook her head. “And you’re thinking these diamonds coming from Canada are blood diamonds?”

“No doubt about it,” Alex said. “Obviously Mason is in cahoots with a diamond dealer up there who cuts and polishes the raw stones. That’s the only way they could smuggle them in the small cans of duck liver.” He sighed. “Although Canada has set up a system to better authenticate their diamonds, smuggling still remains a problem since it’s still fairly easy to slip conflict diamonds out of Africa. Plus, no one suspects Canada because they’re allies.”

“How did you trace the diamonds to Ranchero?”

“We knew there was a Texas connection, and we’d narrowed it down to the North Texas area. Then a few months ago, we got a tip someone was willing to talk for full immunity. My partner was sent here to meet with the guy who only identified himself as Travis. One night Rocco, that’s my partner, arranged to meet the man after midnight, but the guy never showed up.”

“How do you know Travis was Mason’s partner?” Jordan asked. This story suddenly had her full interest.

“We traced the calls to a phone inside the restaurant. After one of the owners was found dead in a suspicious robbery where very little was taken, we put two and two together, but we still had nothing solid to connect the restaurant or Mason to the smuggling. I was sent in when my boss suspected Rocco had been made. Since I have an accounting degree, it was only logical I work at the bank.”

“They know you’re a cop there?”

He laughed. “Only the president, and he was sworn to secrecy, although I have to tell you, he thinks I’m doing such a bang-up job, he’s trying to persuade me to go legit.”

Jordon pondered the information. It all made sense and explained a lot to her. She still had no idea how it was connected to J. T.’s murder except that he was the one who told Mason about how she shoved the foie gras into her purse that night.

At the thought of the duck, she made a split-second decision. “When we get to my apartment, I want to show you something.”

She prayed she hadn’t just signed her own death warrant.

CHAPTER 19

Propped against the window, Jordan stared at the passing landscape. Alex radioed ahead for the local police to swing by Longhorn Prime Rib and see if Mason’s Audi A8 was there. When she wrapped her arms around herself, he reached and aimed the vents her way before turning on the heater.

She smiled. “I didn’t realize how cold I was.”

“Do you want to stop by the emergency room to check out those bruises on your face? You might have a broken bone.”

Her hand shot up to touch her cheek, flinching when she made contact. “I’m okay. I’m in a hurry to get home.” The thought of being surrounded by friends started her eyes watering. Sniffing, she squeezed them tightly to stop the flow before she completely lost it.

Alex pulled up to the curb in front of Empire Apartments, and both Victor and Michael rushed out the door and ran to the car.

“Geez, girl, we’ve been so worried,” Victor said, opening her door and leaning down to hug her.

For the first time since the ordeal with Mason began, Jordan allowed herself to believe she wasn’t going to die. Victor held her at arm’s length and swiped the lone tear escaping down her cheek.

“I’ll kill that bastard,” Michael said, moving up behind her and wrapping his arms to complete the circle of love around her with Victor.

“Get in line.” Alex hopped out and walked around the car to join them.

Jordan met his gaze, hoping she wasn’t making a mistake. “Come on. I have something I want to show you.”

Following her lead, they walked into the building, stopping in front of her apartment. She cried out, seeing into her apartment through the splintered door.

Michael squeezed her shoulder. “I’ve got someone coming tomorrow to fix it.” He walked through then reached back for her hand like the gentleman he was.

“Are you able to talk about what happened?” Victor asked gently.

“It was Mason,” Jordan replied, heading for the kitchen counter. A smile tipped her lips watching Maggie swim at full speed, oblivious to the fact her watery castle might well be decorated with five hundred thousand dollars’ worth of smuggled diamonds. “Alex, come a little closer.” She pointed to the fishbowl.

All three men leaned down to see.

“What are we looking for?” Michael asked, nearly falling over Victor to see.

She huffed. “You don’t see those sparklers?”

“Unbelievable!” Alex exclaimed. “They’ve been right here all along?”

“What?” Victor shouted. “Help me out here. What’s so exciting about Maggie and Rosie’s rhinestones?”

Alex lifted the glass bowl for a better view then dipped his hand into the water to retrieve one of the stones. “If my hunch is right, you’re looking at a diamond, Victor, not a rhinestone.”

Just then, Ray barged into the apartment with Lola and Rosie close behind. “A diamond?”

Startled, Alex jumped, dropping the gem back into the fishbowl before quickly shoving his hand back in the water to get it.

Rosie ran over and grabbed Jordan, laughing and crying at the same time. “I can’t tell you how hard I prayed, sweetie. I cursed God, then begged Him to bring you back to us. I ended up bargaining, promising a lot of things. Guess I’ll be in church on Sundays now.” She stroked Jordan’s hair.

“Okay, someone enlighten me.” Ray glanced at the stone in Alex’s hand. “I was a cop for a lot of years, and I can tell you that a diamond in a fishbowl is usually not a good thing.” He stared at Victor, waiting for an explanation.

“Don’t look at me.” Victor shrugged, turning to point to Alex.

Alex held up the diamond for all to see. “This little baby’s why Mason has been coming around lately and why he nearly killed Jordan tonight.”

Lola gasped and Rosie tightened her grip on Jordan.

“How’d they end up in Maggie’s fishbowl?” Michael asked, his face expressing his utter disbelief.

Jordan pulled away and looked into Rosie’s eyes. “Remember when I borrowed your purse the night I reviewed Longhorn Prime Rib?” When Rosie nodded, Jordan continued, making eye contact with each of them now. “Mason was smuggling diamonds from Canada in the duck pâté.”

“Holy Lord! You found them when you cleaned out my purse that night?”

“I thought they were leftovers from your jewelry collection. Even mentioned it to you, and you said to let Maggie have them.” Jordan paused, watching their faces change from unbelieving to serious captivation, as the puzzle pieces finally began to fit together.

“Oh, good grief! Is that why your apartment was ransacked?” Lola asked.

“Probably,” Ray answered before turning back to Alex. “Does Mason know Jordan has these?”

“He knows,” Alex said. “But he has no idea where they are. That’s the only reason he kept her alive.”

Again Lola gasped. “Where’d he take you, honey?” she asked, touching the bruise on Jordan’s cheek. “I have some homemade salve that will help reabsorb the blood and make this less noticeable.”

Jordan smiled at her friend. Leave it to Lola to worry about skin care at a time like this. “He tied me to a tree at Rochester Ranch.”

A deafening silence filled the room at the mention of the site where they’d found Ducky’s body.

“He left me there when I wouldn’t tell him about the diamonds.”

“So, you knew these were the real thing?” Rosie asked, tilting her head as if she was trying to understand.

“Not at first. When it finally dawned on me that the stones from your purse might actually be his diamonds, I was afraid to tell him. He probably would have killed me right then and there.”

“Good thinking.” Ray turned to Alex. “So, how did you find her? Mason got a pretty good jump on you.” His eyes left no doubt he had reverted to cop mode, and he wasn’t entirely convinced Alex wasn’t somehow involved.

All eyes turned to Alex, who had just fished the other five gems out of the bowl and cradled them in his hand. Without a word, he tore off a paper towel sheet from the roll on the counter, wrapped the diamonds, and placed them beside the fishbowl. Pulling his wallet out of his back pocket, he flipped it open to display his badge.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” Victor exclaimed. “He’s a Fed.”

“Anybody can buy one of those on the Internet,” Ray said, his body language verifying he wasn’t entirely buying into Alex’s story. “That still doesn’t explain how he found Jordan so quickly.”

“I’ve been undercover for over two months,” Alex said. “Two weeks ago I put a GPS tracker on Mason’s car. I’ve suspected—” He paused when his cell phone rang. Digging it out of his pocket, he checked caller ID before answering. “Is the Audi A8 there?”

Jordan listened to Alex instruct the caller to sit tight until he got there.

“Gotta run. No way they’re picking up that slimeball without me.”

Suddenly Jordan remembered something Mason had said. “Alex, I forgot to mention that Roger said the chef was part of the smuggling ring, too.”

“Figures.” Alex shook his head. “How else could they be sure the duck with the diamonds didn’t end up going to the wrong person?”

“Like me?”

He gave her a fleeting smile. “Exactly. I’d say someone screwed up royally.”

“Do you think that’s why they killed the waiter?” Ray asked.

“Mason denies killing him,” Jordan said. “But it stands to reason someone had to take the blame.”

“They traced the knife that killed him to Longhorn Prime Rib.”

She whirled around to confront Alex. “And you were going to tell me this when exactly?”

“That was Calhoun on the phone a few minutes ago. They just got the report back tonight.” He headed toward the door. “I’ll call when I know something. In the meantime, stay with Ray, Jordan. At least until we have Mason in custody.” He held her stare for a second then he was gone.

“Who would have believed Alex was a cop?” Victor said, flopping down on the couch.

“Don’t get comfortable, Vic. It’s after midnight and we have a long day ahead of us.” Michael pointed to the door.