Running Blind (16 page)

O
ne hour and twenty-seven minutes.

That's how long it took the Houston Bomb Squad to safely detonate the hand grenade. Not that Nikolai would have wanted them to rush things. He'd have been happy to sit in the back of the SUV for several more hours if not for the fact that Jenna was sitting beside him, pale and shaken and much too quiet.

“It looks like everything is clear,” Sergeant Anderson said, opening the back door and motioning for Nikolai and Jenna to get out. “I appreciate your cooperation in this matter. Sorry for making you wait for so long. I think Officer Daniels has a few questions for you, and then you'll be free to go.”

“I've got a few questions for Daniels, too,” Nikolai re sponded.

“I'm sure he'll be happy to answer them.” Anderson led the way across the parking lot and through a throng of people hovering just behind yellow crime scene tape.

“How much longer do you think this will take?” Jenna asked, her voice quiet and sedate as if she'd used up all her energy hours ago.

Concerned, Nikolai stopped, turning to face her. “If this is too much for you, we can put it off for a few hours.”

“There's no sense in that. One way or another, I'm going to have to face Officer Daniels and the DEA and any other
law enforcement entity that decides it wants to throw charges at me.”

“Who said anything about charges?”

“The only other person I've spoken to in the past hour and a half.” She gestured at Anderson's back, her eyes flashing with a mix of irritation and worry.

“I didn't say that charges would be pressed against you, Jenna,” Anderson said. “I simply let you know that the DEA was investigating to see if you were involved in Dr. Romero's drug trafficking scheme.” The officer didn't glance over his shoulder as he spoke, and he didn't stop walking. Apparently, he was as anxious to get rid of them as they were to get rid of him.

“Now it's a scheme?” Jenna's voice rose, and a hint of color tinged her cheeks.

“How about you ask Officer Daniels that question? I'm not privy to all the information he has regarding the case.”

“What case? My friend is dead and the entire police department seems content to let her murder go unpunished.”

“What we're trying to do is find out the truth about her death.” To his credit, Anderson seemed unfazed by Jenna's comment, and at his calm response, the color in her cheeks deepened.

“I know you work hard to protect the people of this community, and I know that you do the best you can to find criminals and put them in jail. The thing is, my friend isn't a criminal. Neither am I.”

“I'd like to believe you, Jenna. Unfortunately, most of the people who tell me that they're innocent, aren't. Most of the family members and friends of those people have no idea about the kind of criminal activity they're involved in. Hey! Daniels! Over here,” he called out, and Officer Daniels stepped away from a small group of men and women.

Daniels smiled as he approached, offering Nikolai and Jenna brief handshakes. “I'm sorry for keeping you folks here for so long.”

“You wanted to ask us a few questions?” Jenna brushed thick bangs from her forehead, her hand trembling. She looked scared to death, and Nikolai moved closer, dropping a hand to her shoulder and offering support in the only way he could.

“Yes, and I'm sure we're all anxious to get on with our days, so I'll cut to the chase and let you know where we stand. As you know, the DEA received a search warrant for your house in Spokane, Jenna.”

“I know.” She tensed, her face parchment pale, her freckles stark against her skin.

“I'm happy to report that nothing was found.”

Jenna swayed, and Nikolai moved his hand from her shoulder to her waist, his fingers brushing against warm flesh as he steadied her. He should have pulled back, but didn't. Should have moved away, but couldn't.

“Don't you mean you're
sorry
that nothing was found? You've been painting Jenna as a criminal for days, and now your theories about her have to be thrown out the window. I think you owe her an apology.” Nikolai didn't even try to hide his anger.

“An apology for what? We never accused Jenna of anything. We simply followed the leads where they took us. As a private investigator, I'm sure you understand that.”

“From where I'm standing, it looks like there are several other directions you could have gone in.”

“If you're talking about John Romero, then you should know that we've been conducting a thorough investigation. So far, there's nothing to indicate that he was involved in his wife's business with the Mexican Panthers.”

“I really wish,” Jenna said quietly, “that you'd stop talking about it as if that were a fact rather than a theory.”

“Pardon me?” Officer Daniels looked genuinely surprised, and Nikolai almost felt sorry for him. To the officer, Jenna probably appeared fragile and near collapse, but there was fire in her eyes, and Nikolai had a feeling it wouldn't be long before Daniels realized just how ready for a fight she was.

“I said, that I wish you would stop talking as if Magdalena's involvement in drug trafficking is a fact. People in this country are innocent until proven guilty, and you've proven nothing.”

“I'm afraid we don't see it the same way, Jenna. We have evidence that indicates—”

“I heard it all from Sergeant Anderson while he was holding us prisoner in his car for an hour and a half. I didn't believe it when he said it, and I don't believe it now.”

“You weren't being held prisoner.”

“Then what do you call it?”

“As I'm sure Anderson explained to you, we had evidence to collect before I was able to speak with you.”

“You were trying to find evidence to arrest me, Officer Daniels. Just as you're trying to convince everyone who knew and loved Magdalena that she was a drug-addicted pawn of the Mexican Panthers. Just so you know,
I
won't believe it no matter how much evidence you collect.”

“The problem with beliefs is that they aren't always based on facts.”

“What facts? My friend traveled to Mexico three or four times a year to meet the needs of people who couldn't afford medical care for their children. There is not a person whose child she treated who would ever believe she'd dispense an unnecessary painkiller, let alone traffic in illegal narcotics.” Though she didn't raise her voice, Jenna's anger spilled out into the sweet spring air, and Officer Daniels blinked as if seeing her for the first time.

“I understand how you feel, and if she were my friend, I'd feel the same way.”

“But she wasn't your friend. You didn't watch her being dragged away by thugs. You didn't see the fear in her eyes, and you didn't hear her screaming for mercy. I couldn't save her, but I can preserve her memory. And I will. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really think I need to sit down.” She took a step
away, her body shaking so hard that Nikolai was afraid she'd fall over.

He scooped her into his arms, ignoring her protest as he carried her to his car and set her in the front seat.

“I could have walked,” she mumbled, but her eyes were closed.

“Should I call an ambulance?” Officer Daniels hovered behind Nikolai, his concern obvious.

“I've got a migraine. An ambulance isn't going to help with that.”

“How about a few hours of sleep, then?” Nikolai brushed silky hair from her forehead and looked into her eyes. They were glassy and vague, the blue faded and worn-looking.

“I want to talk to the DEA agents who are working Magdalena's case first.”

“I wish I could say that was possible today, but their priority is to find the motorcyclist who tossed that hand grenade.”

“Funny, the DEA was a lot more anxious to speak with me when they thought I was involved in drug trafficking.” Jenna shifted, and Nikolai wondered if she planned to get out of the car and track down one of the agents.

“As I said, it's about priorities.”

“If I weren't so sick, I'd go hunt someone down. As it is, you can let them know that I'll be at their office in the morning.”

“You've got a flight out of town in the morning, Jen,” Nikolai reminded her. And he had every intention of making sure she was on it.

“We'll see,” she said, and he could hear the argument in her voice. He let it go. There'd be time enough to convince her when she was feeling better.

“I'll tell the agent in charge. I'm sure she'll be happy to speak with you as soon as she has time.”

“I hope so. I want to find out why Magdalena was targeted by the Panthers, and then I want to get back to my life.” She closed her eyes again, leaning her head against the seat.

Nikolai closed the door gently and took a few steps away from the car.

“Obviously, Jenna isn't up to answering questions,” he said to Daniels.

“We have the statement she gave to Sergeant Anderson. That's enough for now.”

“Jenna also isn't up to
asking
questions, so I'm going to ask a few for her.” No way was he going to leave before he knew what the Houston PD's plan was for keeping Jenna safe.

“Shoot.”

“Jenna has been attacked twice since Magdalena's funeral. How are you going to keep it from happening again?”

“We're doing everything we can to find the person responsible for the latest attack. We've been questioning the man who tried to shoot her. Unfortunately, he's not talking. That leaves us with almost nothing to go on.”

“You've got plenty to go on. You know that Jenna was abducted by the Mexican Panthers. You know that has something to do with her friend Magdalena.”

“What we don't know is why the Panthers are still coming after Jenna. Our sources are saying they've given up the chase. The DEA has undercover agents down in Mexico who are reporting the same thing. All the noise we're hearing indicates that she's in the clear.”

“But she's not.”

“No,” Daniels took off his hat and ran a hand over his hair. “She's not. There's another facet to this that we're not seeing. Something we're missing. Until we find it, there's no way we can guarantee that she won't be attacked again.”

“And you've checked Magdalena's husband thoroughly?”

“We've dug up some limited dirt, but nothing that points to criminal activity.”

“What kind of dirt?”

“He has several girlfriends. Maybe even a child with another woman. We're still looking into it, but as far as anything else, he's clean.”

“How about the people who were working at the clinic in Mexico?”

“We checked everyone, and we came up with nothing.”

“Except proof that Magdalena was trafficking drugs?”

“That we
do
have. There were traces of cocaine found in storage crates used to ship supplies to and from the clinic. There were also traces of strong spices that traffickers use to blow the drug sniffing dogs' sense of smell. The more we search, the more it seems like this was a long-standing operation.”

“Someone else could have been spearheading it,” Nikolai said.

“Dr. Romero was responsible for ordering and packing all the supplies. She always took charge of unloading and loading the shipments.”

“Jenna said John Romero helped with that.”

“That's true, but Magdalena was head honcho, so to speak. She told him what to do, and he did it.”

“According to John?”

“According to other people who were involved in financing the clinic.”

“So you did the math and found Magdalena guilty and her husband innocent.”

“As I said to Jenna, we build our cases on facts. We have the facts, and if Magdalena were alive, it would be enough to put her away for years.”

“Jenna is convinced the facts are erroneous. She believes her friend is innocent.”

“She's loyal. It's a good quality, but it doesn't always pay off.” Daniels glanced at his watch and scowled. “I've got a meeting with the team in ten. We're going to have a patrol car stationed outside of the Romeros', but let Jenna know that she should take extra precautions.”

“I will.”

“I'll call you if we get any new leads.”

“Thanks.” Nikolai watched the officer walk away, feeling
more frustrated than he had been when they'd begun the conversation.

Daniels was right. There was something missing. Some piece of the puzzle that needed to be found and put into place. Only then would they see the full picture and understand exactly where Jenna fit into it all.

He walked around to the driver's side of the car and slid in behind the wheel. He wanted to start driving and keep driving, taking Jenna as far away from Houston as he could get her. But he'd learned a long time ago that running from problems didn't solve them. He'd learned to face things head-on rather than turning his back on them.

And that's exactly what he planned to do now.

Magdalena was the key to the attacks against Jenna. There was no doubt about that. What Nikolai needed to find out was why Magdalena had been killed. Not drugs. If that had been the case, Jenna would be safe and the point would be moot, the Panthers content to let an innocent woman escape. There was something else, and Nikolai couldn't shake the feeling that Magdalena's husband was the key.

“You look grim,” Jenna said, her voice barely carrying over the sound of the car engine. He glanced at her, saw that she was watching him through heavy-lidded eyes.

“Were you sleeping?”

“You're avoiding the question.”

“I didn't realize you'd asked one.”

“Okay. I'll rephrase. Why do you look so grim?”

“Today shouldn't have happened.”

“Every day happens, Nikolai.”