The Object of His Protection (12 page)

T
he look on Judge Hanlon’s face was one of shock. “What do you mean you think Harmon’s death wasn’t an accident?”

Drey knew it was a lot for the judge to believe but he answered anyway. “There are a lot of inconsistencies in the reports. And then there’s Joe Dennis’s death.”

“But I thought Dennis died of a heart attack.”

“It seems a lot of people think that as well.”

The judge raised his bushy brows. “But you have reason to believe otherwise?”

“Yes, I have reason to believe otherwise.” Drey decided not to go into details about the inconsistencies in the autopsy report. To do so meant revealing how they obtained the report. There was no way he could overlook the fact that Hanlon was a judge, one known as “Hard-time Hanlon.” No criminal brought before him got off easily.

“Well, I hope you find the person responsible. Harmon and I go back a long way, all the way back to when the two of us were young upstart attorneys working in the prosecutor’s office. That was over twenty years ago and we remained good friends since.”

Drey nodded. “I won’t rest until I find the person responsible.”

“Good, now what can I do to help?”

“I just need to know if the congressman ever mentioned anything to you about Stewart Industries.”

The judge rubbed his jaw in deep thought. “Not that I can recall. Why?”

“Because it seems the last call Harmon made was to there.”

The judge looked surprised. “Why on earth would Harmon call there?”

Drey stood. “We don’t know but that’s just one of the many things I plan to find out.”

The judge then stood as well. “Well, young man, if you find the person responsible, I want to try him or her in my court. If they’re found guilty I promise they will pay for what they did to my friend.”

Drey found Senator Cayman on the golf course and had to ride in the golf cart with him to hold a conversation. Now retired, the senator told of his and Harmon’s friendship.

“You know,” the older man was saying, “in a way I feel responsible for Harmon’s political career. After about twenty years as a prosecutor, Harmon accepted a position as my head legal counsel and he was a darn good one. Worked for me for a number of years before deciding to run for political office himself. He was a darn good congressman. But…”

Drey lifted a brow. “But?”

“But even I would have to admit that the bill Harmon voted down a few years ago—one that would have helped a lot of needy families—surprised as well as disappointed a lot of people, especially Malcolm. That’s when he walked away from the family.”

Drey wondered why the senator was telling him that. Evidently his confusion showed on his face because the senator then added, “There’s always a dirty side of politics, son.”

Drey thought on his words before asking carefully, “And you think Congressman Braddock wasn’t an honest politician?”

“I’m not saying that. The Harmon Braddock I knew was a very honest and upright man. But people can change. He wasn’t perfect.”

The senator’s statement made Drey press on with his questions. “You and Harmon spent a lot of time together, right?”

“Yes. We played golf together at least once a week when he wasn’t in Washington.”

“Did he ever mention Stewart Industries to you?”

The older man thought on his question and then shook his head. “No, not that I recall. Why?”

The golf cart came to a stop and they got off near a beautiful pond. “We have reason to believe that he made his last telephone call to a person there.”

The senator seemed to ponder Drey’s words and then said, “Hmm, I find that interesting.”

Drey lifted a brow. “And why is that?”

“Because Stewart has been in the news a lot lately. Everyone is wondering when the old man will be stepping down, and more importantly, if he’ll make his son CEO when he does. I’ve often heard that fathers and sons have a difference of opinion when it comes to running a company. Personally, I think Connor Stewart would do a better job. He’s smart, intelligent and a natural leader.” The senator then gave a low chuckle. “And I understand he’s something of a ladies’ man.”

Drey didn’t comment. From what he could see, Connor Stewart’s days as a ladies’ man were over, since according to the gossip column of the local newspaper, there was speculation as to whether he and Shondra were secretly planning a June wedding.

“I appreciate you taking time to meet with me today, Senator.”

“No problem.” The senator then eyed him curiously. “How good are you with a club?” the older man asked.

Drey couldn’t help but chuckle. “Fair.”

“Well, if you ever want to get in any practice time, this is the place to be.”

Drey smiled. “Thanks, I’ll remember that.”

The last person Drey needed to visit was Connor Stewart. A Matthew McConaughey look-alike with blue eyes and long blond hair, Connor worked hard and was all-business. On the other hand, Drey also heard Connor had a wild streak, which was the reason his father hadn’t stepped down to make him CEO.

And just as Senator Cayman had said, Connor was something of a ladies’ man…or he used to be. It had grown increasingly obvious to the media over the past couple of months that he was strictly wining and dining one woman—Shondra Braddock. Their interracial love affair was getting a lot of attention.

Drey had met Connor before and thought he was a likeable guy. “Thanks for seeing me,” he said, taking the seat Connor offered.

“No problem. I know Shondra’s mind will be eased when she finds out what really happened to her father and why.”

Drey began asking him a series of questions, trying to determine if there was any record of Harmon having any contact with Stewart.

Connor shook his head. “Trust me, if there was, Shondra would have discovered it long ago.” He chuckled. “I’m sure you’re aware that was her primary reason for taking a job here a few months ago. She was determined to undercover some wrongdoings with the company. She didn’t find anything. However, we were able to trace Harmon’s calls back to one of my employees, a competent woman by the name of Daiyu Longwei. I understand you’ve already spoken to her yourself.”

Drey shifted uneasily in his chair. “Yes, I have.”

“And I’m sure she’s told you she doesn’t know why the congressman was trying to contact her.”

Drey spent the next few minutes going over some of the committees that the congressman was a part of to see if any were connected to Stewart Industries in any way. They didn’t discover any.

When Drey stood to leave, Connor said, “I understand that you have a houseguest.”

At Drey’s raised brow, Connor smiled. “Shondra mentioned it. She likes Charlene and appreciates the information she was able to pass on to you about the autopsy reports.”

Drey nodded. “Yes, Charlene finding out about the false autopsy report made it obvious there was some sort of cover-up going on.”

“Well, Shondra and I want to show our gratitude by giving you this,” Connor said, offering a key to Drey.

At Drey’s bemused look, Connor said, “It’s the key to my beach house in Malibu. It’s free for you to use this weekend. One of my pilots will be at your disposal to fly you there.”

Drey reached out and took the key with a huge grin on his face. “Thanks. I’d love to take you up on your offer.”

Drey let himself in the house later that day and immediately heard the sound of the vacuum cleaner. Finding Charlene in the hallway, he walked up to her and lightly tapped her on the shoulder. He hadn’t wanted to scare her but could tell when she nearly jumped out of her skin that he had done so anyway.

“Why are you vacuuming?” he asked, pulling a Houston Texans cap off her head to see how her hair tumbled to her shoulders. “I have a housekeeper.”

She smiled up at him. “I know but I wanted to stay busy. I’m not a television person.”

He pulled her into his arms thinking it had to be hard for her to spend her days with nothing to do. They had both agreed that the less she went out, the better. “Well, I have a surprise for you.”

Her eyes lit up. “What?”

“As you know I met with Connor Stewart today, and he was gracious enough to offer me the use of his beach house in California for the weekend.”

She eyed him skeptically before asking, “I know how busy you are with the investigation. Will you have time to get away?”

He smiled. “I’ll make time as long as you come with me, and as long as we’re back by Monday. I have another meeting with the Braddocks then.” She clapped her hands, and her excitement, he thought, was infectious.

“Okay, I can guarantee those two things,” she said happily.

He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her. “Then let’s start packing.”

M
onday morning Drey eased out of bed and glanced over his shoulder at Charlene, who was sound asleep. They had returned to Houston late last night after having spent a wonderful weekend in Malibu. It had been a lazy weekend where they talked, made love, ate, made love and then repeated the process all over again.

He would be the first to say it was a weekend they both needed. During their talks they found out a lot about each other, and their walks on the beach had been extra, extra special. He stepped into the shower thinking of the meeting he was scheduled to have that day with the Braddocks. He really hadn’t discovered anything new since their last meeting. The only good thing he would report was that his former partner with the police department had returned from vacation and was to report in today. He had left a message on his cell phone asking that they meet later today for a private conversation. If any of the cops on the force were dirty, he knew without a doubt that his former partner, Lavender Sessions, was clean.

Drey turned the water on full blast. He would surprise Charlene and prepare her breakfast in bed. She deserved it. He wasn’t aware of just how vigorous a sexual appetite he had until he’d met her. The more he made love to her, the more he wanted her. All it took was a look, a touch and he was ready. She brought that out in him, a need he couldn’t deny even if he tried. Because of her, he looked forward to his days and especially his nights. What he didn’t look forward to was the day she would pack to leave, once he had solved the case and brought Harmon’s and Dennis’s killer to justice.

Charlene had gotten up to use the bathroom and through the shower glass door saw Drey amidst the steam. She could only stare at the body that had given her so much pleasure over the past week.

Every time she saw his nakedness, a buzz of desire would run through her. And whenever he looked at her through his slanted eyes, it was always in a way that no man had looked at her before. It was as if she were the only woman on this earth. The only woman he wanted.

She suddenly felt a throbbing sensation between her legs and could not understand, especially after their weekend and last night, how she could want him again so soon and with such intensity. She inhaled deeply, deciding not to try and understand it, just accept it as the way things were with them. They were two highly stimulated sexual beings who enjoyed making love to each other.

She shimmied the robe off her shoulders and began walking naked toward the shower. He hadn’t seen her yet, but she knew pretty soon he would. He seemed to have a radar system that homed in on her no matter where she was. And she had no complaints.

Drey rubbed a wet hand down his face the moment he heard the shower door open. He reached out and pulled Charlene to him.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked her in a deep, sexy voice.

She shook her head. “I woke up and you were gone. I missed having you inside me.”

It had become the norm when they made love for the final time at night, he would pull her close and go to sleep still inside her. He had the uncanny ability to keep his erection hard while in her. For some reason he needed the connection of their bodies intimately entwined that way and it seemed that she did as well.

He reached out and pushed her hair away from her face to keep most of it from getting wet. “Do you know how beautiful you are?” he asked huskily.

“No,” she said, smiling. “Are you going to tell me?”

“Yes. You’re beautiful here,” he said, lightly touching her lips. “And here,” he said, tracing a hand down her chin and neck to fondle her breasts tenderly.

Charlene inhaled sharply from his touch. There was perfection in his fingers, she thought as her eyes gazed deeply into his. And then he leaned down and captured her mouth with his.

The moment their lips touched and their tongues tangled, she released a deep moan as a mirage of stimulating sensations invaded her. He took his time kissing her, as he usually did, stroking his tongue over hers while his hands continued to fondle her breasts, skimming over the hardened tips and making her moan even more.

And then she felt his hand move between her legs and he began touching her there, stirring sensations that begged for release.

She felt herself being lifted and knew the exact moment he had pressed her back against the shower wall, all without breaking their kiss. And when he wrapped her legs around his waist and then used his knee to spread those same legs apart, she knew what was coming.

She moaned deep into his mouth the moment he entered her, his engorged shaft invading her the very way she wanted, and the way she needed. When he began thrusting in and out of her with rapid precision, her moans became whimpers. Moments later, she quickly pulled her mouth away from his when she couldn’t take any more.

“Drey!”

Screaming his name seemed to reach something primitive inside Drey. He threw his head back at the same time he thrust deeper inside her, hitting the very spot inside her he wanted to activate—her erogenous zone—and making her scream again. She screamed a third time when she felt the essence of his hot release flooding her, and then he was kissing her again with a hunger that always astounded her.

And that always made her love him even more.

She owed Drey a shirt, Charlene thought as she walked into the store at the mall. After their shower he had gotten dressed for his meeting with the Braddocks and she had gone back to bed. When he was ready to leave and had come into the room to kiss her goodbye, in a playful moment she had tried pulling him down in bed with her, only to rip a few buttons off his shirt. They had ended up making love again before he had gone into his closet to find another shirt to put on. He had teased her about owing him a shirt and she wanted to surprise him with it when he came home later.

She knew what store she wanted to make the purchase from and figured she would be in and out in no time. She felt wonderfully giddy at the thought of buying an item of clothing for him. Other than her father, she had never purchased clothes for a man before.

Charlene had selected a shirt she thought he would like and with the shirt in her hand, she was proceeding toward the cashier station when she heard a loud voice. Some man was arguing with a store clerk. She stopped dead in her tracks, her heart racing and the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. She recognized that voice. It was the same one that had argued with Nate that day in his office. The day before the autopsy report had gotten changed.

She looked around to see where the voice was coming from and whom it belonged to. She spotted him and recognized him immediately as a politician whose picture she’d seen numerous times in the newspapers.

Something made her move in that direction and she got close enough to see he was still giving the store clerk a hard time about a purchase he was trying to exchange. His voice continued to get louder.

She glanced down at his hand. He was holding his key ring, probably the one to his car. But what caught her attention was one of the keys on the ring. It was
that
key. The same one that had been on the autopsy table next to Joe Dennis’s body. No wonder neither she nor Drey had been able to find it that night they had gotten into the coroner’s office.

Realizing the smart thing to do was to leave before he got a chance to see her, she started to back up. At the same moment the man looked up and caught her staring. Her breath got logged in her throat, but she tried to appear normal. How could he possibly know who she was since their paths had never crossed? However, deciding she would not give him the chance to react one way or the other, she placed the shirt back on the stack and quickly walked out of the store. By the time she got to the parking lot she had begun running to her car.

She needed to contact Drey immediately.

Drey and his former partner, Lavender Sessions, who was now a detective with the Houston Police Department, met in private at Lavender’s home.

“You know if I find out anything I’ll let you know, Drey. And just so you’ll know, I wasn’t on vacation for the past couple of weeks like everyone assumes. I was in D.C.,” Lavender was saying. “There is reason to believe some of the guys are on the take and the entire police corruption is centered on one man. We’re working with the FBI to exposed his identity. It has spread into more areas than the police department and we want to stop it before it spreads any further.”

Drey nodded. He then studied his friend, concerned for his safety. “Are you sure that you’re safe and they don’t suspect you of anything?”

Lavender smiled. “It’s too soon for them to suspect anything. Just before I left for two weeks, I was approached to consider making extra money on the side. I knew then I was being asked to be a part of the bad guys. I’m supposed to give them my answer this week. I’ll be the mole the FBI needs to bring things to an end.”

Lavender continued. “And you’re probably correct in thinking Congressman Braddock was murdered. He had contacted the FBI indicating he had some items to turn over. He never made it back to Washington.”

Before Drey could respond, his cell phone rang. “Excuse me.” He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and quickly flipped it open once he saw it was Charlene. “Yes, sweetheart?”

“I saw him, Drey,” she said in a panicked tone. “I saw the man who was arguing with Nate that day. I recognized his voice. And he has the key. I saw the key that was taken out of Joe Dennis’s stomach on his key ring.”

Drey was out of his seat immediately. “Where are you?”

“The mall.”

“The mall! But I thought we agreed that—”

“I know. I know,” she said, cutting him off. “You can spank me later.”

Any other time he would have found her statement amusing, but not now. Drey glanced over at Lavender. He knew his friend had been following most of the conversation. Drey turned on the speaker to his cell phone and then placed it on the table between them. He wanted Lavender to hear everything. “Listen, Charlene. Can you tell if you’re being followed?”

She paused and he figured she was looking out of her rearview mirror. “No. I ran out of the store and left immediately. I doubt he had time to follow me.”

Drey nodded, relieved. “And you recognized the man?”

“Yes, Drey, you won’t believe who he is.”

Drey glanced over at Lavender. “Okay, who is he?”

Charlene let out a disgusted sigh before saying, “Judge Bruce Hanlon.”

Drey instructed Charlene to meet him at home. When she got there he had arrived already with another man. He introduced her to Lavender.

“I need to alert the Braddocks,” Drey said. “They consider Hanlon a family friend.” Anger ripped through him when he remembered meeting with the judge last week. The man had pretended to be so concerned about how the investigation was going. Now Drey knew why.

“I’ve already contacted Washington,” Lavender added. “They’ve notified FBI headquarters here. It appears things are going down sooner than we expected. It all makes sense now. The judge is the ringleader who’s been working with a local crime family and taking kickbacks. Warrants are being prepared for everyone involved as we speak.”

“Good,” Drey said, pulling Charlene into his arms, not caring that Lavender was watching. He needed to hold her to make sure she was fine.

After a few moments she pulled back. “We need to go tell the Braddocks,” she said. “Weren’t you supposed to meet with them today?”

Drey nodded. “I did, earlier. They mentioned they would all be together at the family home this evening. They were joining their mother for dinner.” He glanced at his watch. “Come on. They should be arriving now.”

Drey and Charlene arrived in record time and were led by the housekeeper to the family room where the Braddocks and their significant others were sitting around talking. Everyone looked up, surprised to see them.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Drey said, “but there has been a major development that I think all of you need to be made aware of immediately.”

“What?” Malcolm said, coming to his feet, as the others gave Drey their undivided attention.

Drey glanced around. “Where’s Evelyn?” he asked.

“She’s taking a stroll in the flower garden,” Shondra said. “Drey, what is it? What have you found out?”

Drey sighed, thinking maybe it was for the best that Evelyn wasn’t present for this part. He knew how much she thought of Judge Hanlon as a friend. “We discovered the person responsible for both your father’s and Joe Dennis’s deaths.”

“Who?” they all asked simultaneously.

“Judge Hanlon.”

The room got completely quiet and then it was Shondra who spoke. “There must be some mistake, Drey. The judge is like a godfather to all of us. He and Dad were good friends. He would never hurt Dad.”

“He did, Shondra, and a warrant is already in the works for his arrest.”

Tyson was out of his seat in a flash. “Damn, I hope you’re wrong because what we didn’t say earlier is that Hanlon is here, with Mom in the flower garden. He’s joining us for dinner.”

Everyone turned toward the French doors, ready to run, when a smiling Evelyn appeared with the judge by her side. Her smile widened when she saw Drey. “Drey, how are you? Glad you could visit. You know Judge Hanlon, don’t you?”