Blood Runs Cold (17 page)

Robbie Truax stood in the shiny foyer of the Livestock Exchange Building. Four floors up was the Safe Streets office. The elevator that could take him there was open in front of him.

Ren walked in. ‘Hello, there. What are you waiting for?’

‘No way.’ Robbie hopped from left foot to right. ‘Not when it opens unbidden. That thing is a freak. It’s baiting me.’

‘
Unbidden
– I love it,’ said Ren. ‘What do you think it’s going to do to you?’

‘Squish me in the doors, take me to a floor with no floor? Slam me down to the bottom of the shaft and spit me out in the haunted basement? You haven’t even been there, it’s fucked up –’

‘You need a night-light …’ Ren stepped forward. Robbie didn’t move.

‘Oh, come on,’ she said. ‘I could hold your hand …’

‘If my hand is the best you can do …’

‘You’re so scared, grabbing your ass would be a biohazard.’

He paused before he got it. ‘Aw, that is gross.’

The elevator doors slid slowly together, paused, shook and finally shut. All the numbers lit up.

‘See?’ said Robbie, stabbing a finger at it. ‘That is not normal. It’s got, like, human energy. Look at my arms – I got chills.’

‘Are they multiplying?’ said Ren.

A voice from behind them sang a few more lines.

They turned around. ‘Good afternoon, Clifton,’ said Ren. ‘Grease lightning.’

‘Is he having his elevator thing?’ said Cliff. ‘Let’s try the stairs, scaredy.’

‘Go ahead, you guys,’ said Ren. ‘I’m good with the elevator.’

‘The stairs will tighten your ass,’ said Robbie. ‘I mean, not that it needs –’

‘Robbie? Shut up,’ said Ren. But she followed them. Upstairs, she headed left into Gary’s office. The others went into the bullpen.

‘OK, listen up,’ said Gary, walking in to them a few minutes later.

‘Where’s Ren?’ said Robbie.

Gary looked at him. ‘Jesus, in the ladies’ room.’

‘Should we wait for her?’

‘Yes, we should,’ said Gary.

Colin made kissing sounds. Robbie threw him
a look that would never have an impact on him.

Ren stuck her head in the door. ‘OK, I’m outta here.’

‘What?’ said Robbie.

Gary gestured to her to sit down.

Shit.

‘I’ve been going over these bank jobs,’ said Gary. ‘I’ve made some calls, spoken with some people, and it looks like these all could have organized crime links.’

‘Definitely?’ said Robbie.

‘I said “looks like”.’

‘Based on what?’ said Cliff.

‘Based on the MO,’ said Gary.

‘Links to who?’ said Colin.

‘You’ve all heard of Domenica Val Pando?’ said Gary.

They nodded.

‘I know the name,’ said Robbie.

‘Yeah, you’re what? Twenty-nine?’ said Cliff. ‘You’re too young.’

Gary took a breath. ‘Right, OK. Val Pando was head of one of the most successful organized crime operations in the south. She worked out of a compound in New Mexico. She ran a violent, highly efficient gang that made hundreds of millions in everything – drugs, prostitution, people smuggling, arms dealing –’

‘She lectured at universities,’ said Ren. ‘All across
the US – You and Your Fucked-up Mind: Capitalizing on the Crazy.’

Gary stared at her. She flashed him a smile.

He went on. ‘Ten years ago, we put a UCE in there for one year –’

‘I still don’t know how you pulled that off,’ said Colin.

‘With great skill,’ said Gary.

Ren made a sweeping movement with her arm. ‘Why, nothing but the best from the Federal Bureau –’

Gary turned to her, ‘Ren, can you put a sock in it? Can we all focus here?’

Ren looked down.

‘Anyway,’ said Gary, ‘the operation was shut down. But there was a time delay going in. The SWAT teams – LA and Albuquerque – panicked, went in unprepared to pull out the agent, who was in fact caught in the middle of a rival gang’s assault on the compound. At the very end, it was a mess. The buildings were lit on fire by the rival gang. And Val Pando got away.’

‘Wow,’ said Robbie. ‘Where is she now?’

‘Off the radar,’ said Gary. ‘But her perfume’s been left in the air in these latest banks.’

‘Really?’ said Robbie.

‘Not literally,’ said Colin.

Robbie nodded. ‘I thought that would be pretty amazing …’

Gary continued. ‘Val Pando is all smoke and
mirrors. One of the world’s biggest fashion designers? His entire operation is a front for a multi-million-dollar narcotics operation, and Val Pando’s his backer. He loves the hiding in plain sight, the glamour, but he could give two shits if he never sold another dress. His heirs will inherit a drug fortune, not a fashion house. Nice thing to find out when you hit eighteen.’

‘My father left me his fishing rod,’ said Cliff.

‘Yeah, you wish you got some dresses,’ said Colin.

‘Which designer is it?’ said Robbie.

‘One of the ones you can’t afford to wear,’ said Colin.

‘Right, OK,’ said Gary. ‘So, based on her MO, based on talking to some of the players involved at that time, we could be looking at Val Pando. She is an extremely intelligent woman, she plans everything, she only hires people who can understand and implement these plans. She is like one of those organizations that employs over-qualified staff. She has people with Masters degrees, PhDs, side by side with the illegals she brings in from South America.’

Ren could feel Robbie digging a pen into her ribs.

Ow. Shit
. She shifted in her seat and refocused on Gary.

‘So,’ said Gary, ‘what she does is plan everything, then get the gang to do something sloppy.
It took a while for us to work this out before, she did it so well. Local police departments would come to us saying a bunch of mouth-breathers had done the job; we’d go back in and realize it was planned right down to the last.’

‘Oh yeah, here we go,’ said Robbie. ‘It’s always the PDs’ fault.’

‘One hundred per cent,’ said Gary.

‘Woo,’ said Ren. ‘Young Robbie risks a little joke. Brave.’

Robbie blushed.

‘So,’ said Gary, ‘any of the sloppy shit was done for a reason – any reason except one that would lead them to actually getting caught, obviously. Which leads me to our discarded mask. It’s come back from the lab, and the saliva on it? Was traced to a cow.’

‘Livestock Building. Cow. Great,’ said Ren. ‘Did they get a match? Truax, maybe you could look into that …’

By midnight, most of the Safe Streets team had been in Gaffney’s for six hours. Gary and Cliff had left an hour earlier. Robbie was sitting in a booth between two fifty-something blondes, all three of them laughing hysterically. Ren and Colin were on their only common ground – a sea of alcohol.

‘So,’ said Colin. ‘What sorrows are you drowning tonight?’

Ren looked at him. ‘They are innumerable.’ She
paused. ‘I’m going to use the bathroom … not that that will solve anything.’ She walked to the door. Her phone beeped as she was about to go down the stairs. She read the text.

Hey. R u around? Billy.

Her heart flipped. She went down to the bathroom and almost turned her phone off and took her battery out. When she got upstairs, she texted back.

N. In Denver.

He texted back.

Me 2. Where?

No. Not again. No way
.

The Hotel Teatro was the hotel that Ren recommended to anyone she knew who wanted to stay in the city. She had stayed there herself a few times, so she recognized the wallpaper when she woke up. And she recognized the arm again. Billy Waites was just not the kind of guy to sleep on the other side of the bed. He woke up and pulled her closer to him. She groaned.

‘Oh no,’ said Billy. ‘Are you not happy this morning?’

‘Billy …’ She remembered spending most of the previous evening telling him why they couldn’t be together.

Billy sang a few lines about regrets.

‘Oh my God,’ she laughed. ‘You look like you can sing.’

‘Yeah, no. I cannot sing. But do you want to see some more of my moves?’

She had no answer for that.

‘Come here, baby,’ he said.

Jesus – baby
.

He grabbed her waist, pulling her closer again. He kissed her, then stopped. He looked her straight in the eye. To see would she stop him. She did not.

‘Do you feel better now?’ he said afterwards.

‘Stop.’

‘You were angry drunk last night,’ said Billy.

‘Was I?’

‘Yes.’

‘Did I say something terrible to you?’

‘No,’ he said. ‘But you just weren’t… chilled.’

‘I had a bad day. And a very long drinking day.’

She got out of bed and went into the shower. She stood under the hot water, sorting through Aveda products, smiling in spite of herself … because a bad feeling had sprouted claws inside her and wasn’t about to release its grip.
Why had
Billy come to Denver?
Her stomach turned.
Coincidence
. But as she reached for the towel, there was the tiniest shake in her hand. She put on the bathrobe and walked back into the bedroom, picking up her clothes as she went. Billy was curled under the covers, looking out the window, his bare back to her. She dressed quickly. He turned around when he heard her grab her purse.

‘But I just ordered breakfast,’ he said. ‘Pancakes, bacon, maple syrup, fruit, coffee … eggs, toast, croissants …’

‘You forgot the nothing.’

‘Just covering the bases. I mean, I don’t know what you eat for breakfast.’

‘Ugh.’

‘What?’ said Billy.

‘Well, you don’t know what I eat for breakfast, but you’ve … you know.’

He laughed. ‘So what? You feeling cheap?’

‘Stop always getting to the point.’

‘Stop dancing around shit, Ren. Loosen up. You’re not cheap. You’re expensive.’

‘I’m still going. I’ll settle the bill on my way out.’

He frowned. ‘No you won’t.’

‘Yes, I –’

‘No.’

‘Fine.’

‘Thanks.’

‘For what?’

‘For the … hotel.’

Billy laughed again. ‘If you ever want another … hotel, let me know. I could give you hotels all night long.’

He couldn’t see her smiling as she closed the door behind her.

Ren walked quickly through the hotel lobby. The guy at the concierge desk was huge and smiling.

‘Good morning, madame.’

‘Hi, how are you?’ said Ren.
Personally, I am
troubled
.

‘I am good this morning. Can we give madame a ride anywhere?’

Ooh
. Hotel Teatro had a complementary shuttle service. A handsome young man in a black Jeep would take you anywhere you wanted to go.

‘Could you give me one moment?’ said Ren, walking around the corner where there was a huge open fire. She dialed Robbie’s cellphone.

‘Truax, are you in the office?’

‘Allegedly.’

‘Where is my car?’

He laughed. ‘Not again. It’s right by Gaffney’s. You were probably looking at it all night.’

‘Shit, yeah. Thanks.’

‘Where did you end up?’

Ren paused. ‘I gotta go. Thanks.’

‘Not fair.’

She walked back into the lobby. ‘Could you take me to Gaffney’s please?’

‘Great spot,’ he said.

‘Evil,’ she said.

Ren’s car was exactly where she didn’t remember leaving it. She sat inside, reclined the seat a little and blasted the heating. She dialed Helen’s number.

‘I did it again.’

‘Did what?’ said Helen.

‘Billy.’

Helen paused. ‘OK. Tell me what happened.’

‘I was here … I’m in Denver. So was he, he called, we hooked up. We stayed in a hotel.’

‘And how are you feeling this morning?’

‘I don’t know.’ She paused. ‘I really like him. I have not been able to stop thinking about him since the last time. But there’s something about him I can’t describe. I worry. My stomach gets unsettled. I don’t know if it’s because … I don’t trust him. Or because I’m falling in love with him.’ She slumped back in her chair. ‘It sounds ridiculous, I know. I mean, I’m thirty-six years old.’

‘So … do you think you have a future with him?’

‘What? I don’t know. Do I have to?’

‘I’m just giving you a reality check …’

‘If I look at it logically, no. I mean, is he going to come with me to the work Christmas party? No. Do I bring him home to my mom? No. Do I do anything other than hole up in a hotel room with him for months on end? No.’

‘That’s lots of nos.’

‘I know.’ She glanced at herself in the rear-view mirror. ‘Why do I do this?’

‘Ren? Only you can answer that.’

Ren brought guilt and a massive headache back to the Sheriff’s Office. She drank coffee and water, took Vitamin C and decided ultimately what she
needed was some air in her lungs … with a stop-off at Charlie Barger’s house on the way.

Shannon Barger opened the door a fraction. Direct sunlight did nothing for her; she was a forty-five-year-old mess.

‘Hello,’ said Ren. ‘Is your father in?’

Shannon hung from the door in her low-riding track pants with her bare, bony hip out. Her thin auburn hair was tied with a brown elastic band on top of her head. She opened the door wider without saying a word and walked away.

Weirdo.

Ren knocked on Charlie Barger’s door. He took his time to open.

‘Hello, I’m Ren Bryce. You helped me with my altitude sickness.’ She smiled.

‘Oh, yes … you’re with the FBI. Mike Delaney … yes. I remember.’

‘You may be able to help me out. I’m doing some research on a case and I came across your house,’ she said. ‘Actually, I came across the Cheapshot Inn.’ She smiled.

Barger looked slightly bewildered. ‘Yes,’ he said, smiling. ‘Come in, let me make us some coffee.’

‘That would be great, thank you.’

Barger walked ahead of her down the dark hallway, his footsteps silent in sheepskin slippers. Ren’s heels sank into the carpet. She wondered if she was ruining it. But Barger’s wool cardigan and
jeans, expensive but worn, reminded her everything in the house was fading.

‘I saw that photo in the Welcome Center, the people standing outside here,’ said Ren. ‘The name is great – cheap shot. That’s what a lot of young people come here for, right? Spend all their money on ski passes, come off the mountains looking for cheap alcohol.’ She smiled.

Barger stood at the kitchen sink, filling the bright red kettle. ‘I’m afraid
I’ve
only got coffee to give you,’ he said.

‘Well, I’m not a young person, so that’s fine.’

He turned around. ‘I reckon you’re about half my age – which makes you very young to me.’

She laughed. ‘I wanted to ask you about this guy –’ She placed the photo of Mark Wilson on the table.

‘Well, I know who he is. That guy disappeared last year. As a matter of fact, it was only on the news there a little while back.’

‘That’s him,’ said Ren. ‘I wanted to know … he stayed here for the month that he was in Breckenridge.’

He smiled sadly. ‘That’s the thing. I’ve already been through the investigation first time round.’

‘Oh, I’m not investigating it. I’m just taking a look at a few things. I had no idea this place used to be an inn.’

‘Yes. My father was a … generous man. He set this up many years ago. I used to work here on
my vacations from college. Then, when he died, it was passed on to me, and when my daughter Shannon got older, she helped take care of it.’

Not very well, obviously
.

‘Your father sounds like a good man.’

‘He was. He was. A champion skier, a 10th Mountain veteran, a developer, a humanitarian.’

A hard act to follow
.