Page 26 of Knife in the Back (New Orleans #4)

The Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana

“It’s all yours,” Burke said, gesturing to the room where every eye now rested on Naomi.

She looked uncomfortable with the attention.

“We’ve asked why they chose me. I still don’t know.

What we really haven’t asked is what they’re planning and why now.

We now know that whatever they’ve been planning, it’s been in the works since September, at least. But whatever it is, I think it has something to do with Mardi Gras. ”

“Drug sales,” Val said. “That’s why they said they wanted you to deliver for them.”

“Yes,” Naomi said. “But not only drug sales.” She glanced at Chelsea, concern in her dark brown eyes. “This might be difficult for you. Do you want to join the kids upstairs?”

Burke once again was struck by the empathy in this woman’s heart. Naomi had been through hell and back, yet she’d retained her humanity.

He respected her. He liked her.

Which was probably unwise, considering she was his client, but that didn’t change the reality of his feelings.

Chelsea shook her head. “I think I’ve already thought of what you’re going to say.”

Naomi’s smile was gentle and sad all at once.

“I wondered what the kidnapper meant by ‘ para mi .’ I mean, for him as opposed to whom? Who else might have wanted our children? It’s very possible they were only trying to scare us, but what if they were serious?

What were they planning to do with our children once they’d taken them?

Now, we all know that sporting events and major influxes of people into a city for festivals like Mardi Gras mean increased drug trafficking.

People are coming here to party. The correlation to sex trafficking is less direct, but the possibility exists.

I don’t think we can ignore it at this stage. ”

Molly’s obvious shock eased into respect for Naomi. “I hadn’t considered that this could be part of a bigger criminal enterprise.”

“It might not be,” Naomi hastily allowed. “It might only be a way to get back at your firm for agreeing to help me and for that, I’m sorry. Either way, your involvement in my case has clearly struck a chord.”

“Don’t apologize,” Val said firmly. “Clearly they wanted to deter us from investigating this case, but trying to take our children is extreme. They wanted us to stop investigating immediately.”

“And they did it quickly,” Kaj added. “All I’ve been able to think about is that you just met Burke this morning, Naomi.

And only a few hours later, these people have bugged our vehicles and know where our kids are.

Someone had to have known you were in Burke’s office this morning.

That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“Did you see anyone following you?” Molly asked.

“I didn’t see anyone, but I wasn’t watching. I should have been, but I was so worried that Burke was going to turn me away that I don’t remember much of the drive to his office.”

Once again, Burke felt ashamed of his initial reaction on seeing Naomi that morning. Once again, he determined he would make things right.

“What surprises me,” Ruthanne said from the love seat where she sat beside James, “is how they were bold enough to try and grab Jace and Harper in places with heavy traffic. Mid-City is crazy right now. And, Burke, your godsons were coming out of where?”

“The Creamery in Uptown,” Burke said, having had the same thought when Kaleb had first told him what happened, but he’d been so distracted with all the other details that the concern had slipped away. “They had to park down the block because it was so crowded.”

“So why would they risk it?” Ruthanne asked.

“Their attempt to take Everett makes sense. They waited for him on a street in a quiet neighborhood where no one would try to stop them. Luckily Harrison was there. But how did they think they’d get away on a crowded street during the dinner hour? How did they get away?”

“Damn good questions, ma’am,” Lucien said. “Chels, which way did they go when they drove away from the diner?”

“I don’t know,” Chelsea said. “I was so busy making sure Harper was okay that I didn’t notice. Can you look at the traffic cams?”

“I just did,” Antoine said. He’d had access to the city’s traffic cams for years.

Burke didn’t want to know how and didn’t ask.

But it frequently came in handy. “You were at Très Bien, right, Chelsea? This is odd. I can see the black SUV stop in front of the diner, then the guy grabs Harper, and I can vaguely see the couple stepping in. And that’s when it gets odd.

The SUV goes to the end of the block and turns onto the next side street.

A group of people who’d been congregating on that street corner moved into the street and were dancing, drunk as skunks.

They’re blocking all the traffic in that intersection.

The SUV moves like it’s going to run them down and they all move out of its way, like water flowing.

Really smooth. Then they move back into the street and start dancing again.

No one could have followed that SUV if they’d tried. ”

“Really smooth,” Burke said. “Like too smooth?”

Antoine shrugged. “Quite possibly.”

Kaj raised a hand. “So, let me get this straight. They not only know Naomi has sought help from Burke, they’re able to bug our cars and arrange for a flash mob to aid their getaway after trying to abduct Harper? Really?”

Val pointed to the flat-screen. “Show us the footage, Antoine, if you would.”

Antoine did and yes, it did appear that the group of drunken revelers in the street had purposely aided the SUV’s getaway.

“That’s freaky,” Lucien said flatly.

Burke had to agree. “We’re looking at a highly organized group with significant resources.”

“Damn,” Molly muttered. “Every question generates more questions. We need a few actual answers.”

“I do have at least one answer,” Antoine said.

“I know who got close enough to your car keys to break into your cars and bug your vehicles.” Antoine tapped a few keys on his laptop and the image on the flat-screen changed to a woman standing at the counter in Sylvi’s flower shop.

“See her hand, the one she keeps at her side? That black box she’s holding is the signal amplifier. ”

She was about thirty-five, of average height, with short blond hair and a big smile. She looked at the flowers in the small refrigerator that Sylvi kept up front, then bought a bouquet of roses, paying with cash. For just a second, she looked straight into the camera.

And Chelsea gasped. “Oh my God.”

“What is it?” Lucien demanded. “What’s wrong?”

Chelsea pointed a trembling finger at the screen. “That’s the woman from Très Bien, the one who helped Harper. Donna Burrell.”

Antoine sighed. “Who, I’ll bet, is not from Galveston.”

Burke pinched the bridge of his nose as everyone started talking, his living room descending into chaos.

Fuck.

—

The Central Business District, New Orleans, Louisiana

Monday, February 24, 11:00 p.m.

“Say that again,” he said evenly, folding his hands on his desk. “I’m sure that I didn’t hear you right.”

Elaine Billings looked nervous. “I didn’t know Ernesto was going to try to keep the girl.”

“He was supposed to take Jace. He was only supposed to pretend to take the little one. I made that perfectly clear.”

It was one of his hard limits. No kids. Teenagers were the goal. Twelve was borderline possible, but ten was not permissible. “Did he believe I’d be okay with adding a ten-year-old to our inventory? Did I not make myself clear?”

Elaine fidgeted in her chair. “I don’t think he intended to surrender the child to you. I think he was planning to…keep her. For himself.”

He drew in a breath. Ernesto and Pablo were not his people. They were Ortiz’s, members of his gang. They’d been reliable up until today. Trustworthy, even. Which was why he’d elevated them to the positions they held. Up until today.

“Did Ernesto know about his brother?” he asked.

“Only that Broussard’s bodyguard broke his arm. I don’t think he knows that his brother is dead.”

He blew out a breath. He was going to have to explain to Ortiz why two of his men were dead, but he’d deal with that later. Ernesto had to go, too.

This was why he disliked murder. It complicated things.

“Why do you believe he planned to keep the child?” he asked.

“Because when I got in his way, he said, ‘ Para mi .’?”

“Idiot.”

Elaine nodded uncomfortably and said nothing, because she’d fucked up, too. Fear filled her eyes. Good. She should be afraid. She’d gotten involved and called attention to herself. A pity, because she’s far more valuable than both Delgado brothers put together.

“The mother of the girl saw your face.”

Elaine nodded again, miserably this time.

“Why did you step in?” he asked.

“It was instinct. She’s ten and small for her age. I knew you wouldn’t want her.”

Others would use children, but he wasn’t a monster. Kids were off-limits. Period. So he understood Elaine’s knee-jerk reaction, but she’d be on Broussard’s radar from here on out.

“Where is Ernesto right now?”

Relief replaced the fear. She thought she was out of the woods and, for now, she was.

“I don’t know. He got out of the SUV while Wayne and I were enabling Freddie to get away.”

“That was smart thinking, getting the tourists to dance in the street so that Freddie could get away.”

“Thank you.”

He waited a moment, but she didn’t give Wayne Stanley credit for the plan he’d crafted. Stanley always planned a getaway strategy. It was one of the things that made him so ruthlessly efficient. He’d recruited the tourists, who thought they were doing a good deed for a man proposing to his lover.

It would have worked like a charm had Elaine not shown her face to the mother of that child.

Elaine would have to go, too, but not yet. He needed someone to manage the inventory now that Pablo was dead.

“You’ve used the scheduling program?”

“Yes. I know how it works. We’re booked to capacity for the next two weeks.”