Page 75 of Knife in the Back (New Orleans #4)

“I was so scared,” Burke whispered. “They said they’d killed you.”

Val shuddered. “Almost. Molly got to me in time.” She loosened her hold and met his eyes. “You’re okay? Really okay?”

“My body is fine. My heart’s going to take some time.” He turned to the others. “Thank you for staying to make sure I’m all right. Thank you for searching for me. I knew you would be. I knew you’d find me.”

Which was mostly true. He wasn’t going to tell them that he’d feared he was going to die in that little room.

Molly stood, and in her eyes he saw guilt mixed with tears. He wasn’t having that, either.

“It was Naomi who figured out where you were,” Molly said miserably as her husband Gabe reached for her hand in support. “I didn’t listen to her. If she hadn’t gone off on her own to find you, I would have been too late.”

“ We would have been too late,” Antoine corrected gravely. “It wasn’t only you, Mol.”

Burke frowned at Naomi. “What are they talking about?”

Molly and Antoine stared at Naomi. “You didn’t tell him?” Antoine asked.

Naomi purposely forked some eggs into her mouth and did not say a word.

André shook his head at Molly and Antoine.

“I told you two that you were not at fault, but y’all are addicted to guilt.

Burke, they had three leads from that PI Juliette hired.

Molly and Antoine went to check out the first two, which were plausible options based on what we knew.

Naomi insisted on going to the third location and called me to meet her. ”

“She didn’t tell you?” Molly demanded.

“She didn’t,” Burke said, giving Naomi a fond look. “But you all pitched in and I thank you all. Molly,” he added lightly, “I heard you got an actual wrinkle in your blouse, so I know you were overcome by your worry for me.”

Val turned to Molly with wide eyes. “A wrinkle? Say it isn’t so.”

Molly sat back down. “It isn’t so. My clothes do not wrinkle.”

“They’re afraid to,” Elijah said, making everyone laugh.

“Eleanor,” Burke said, “thank you for loaning Naomi your gun. I don’t think she would have found me in time had she not shot Maya.”

It was Eleanor’s turn to look at Naomi with wide eyes. “You shot someone?”

Everett looked impressed. “Mom?”

Naomi ate a huge bite of pancakes. Then gave her son a wink.

Everett was calling her Mom and not Naomi. That was a good sign.

Burke laughed and it felt good. “She shot Maya and Kaleb. Do none of you know what happened?”

“No,” Ruthanne said primly. “Clearly we do not.”

Naomi swallowed and patted her lips with a napkin. “Sit down, Burke. I’ll get you some food.”

“I’ll do it,” Ruthanne said. “You keep eating.”

“Listen to your mama,” Eleanor said.

“You shot Kaleb,” Joy said. “I knew I liked you.”

Naomi rolled her eyes. “I shot to wound. I don’t know that I could have killed anyone.”

Burke sat down, wondering if she’d forgotten that she’d shot Kaleb in the chest. Maybe she had forgotten, or maybe she needed to tell herself that she couldn’t have killed anyone.

He wasn’t going to push her, either way.

But he could tease. “That’s not what I heard when you were threatening Maya.

‘Open the door, b—’?” He stopped himself when he caught Harper’s wide-eyed gaze.

“You can say that word, Uncle Burke. I’ve heard it before.”

Jace shook his head. “Not from us.”

“Well,” Burke said. “Let’s just say that Naomi was very forceful in her demand that the woman working for Kaleb unlock my door.

‘I still have sixteen bullets and an extra mag when those bullets are gone. Open the bleeping door. Now.’ Then she said she’d shoot Maya and leave her to burn.

‘You have one second to decide.’ It was really quite masterful. ”

Naomi looked embarrassed. “I was channeling one of the other inmates. She was very Clint Eastwood.”

Joy beamed at her from the end of the table. “You saved our Burke. You can channel whoever you darn well please.”

Eleanor looked proud. “Good girl. I’m glad I had it to loan you.” She glanced at André. “I will get it back.”

“Yes, ma’am. As soon as it’s no longer needed as evidence. I’ve got updates and I can fill in some holes.”

“Please,” Burke said. “Tell me you know where Wayne Stanley is.”

“He’s in a cell,” André said. “He was caught trying to board a plane to Ecuador.”

“Ecuador?” Jace asked.

“South America,” Elijah explained. “They have no extradition treaty with the United States. The man could have hidden there.”

“Well, he can’t hide there now,” André said. “We arrested him. We also have him on the hospital’s security system approaching Val’s room yesterday morning. He took one look at the guard at her door and turned around.”

Kaj paled. “He was going to kill Val?”

“Likely,” André said. “Chelsea? You might want to take Harper upstairs.”

“I’m not a baby,” Harper insisted. “Don’t send me away.”

Burke remembered that Chelsea’s former in-laws wanted to claim custody of Harper because Lucien’s job was so dangerous. This wasn’t going to help. He made a mental note to hire the best attorney in the city to make sure Harper stayed with them.

Chelsea hugged her daughter. “We couldn’t send you away. But why don’t we go upstairs and watch a movie? Time for just you and me. You can pick the movie.”

“Fine,” Harper grumbled. “I hate being the youngest.”

Elijah tickled her as she passed his chair. “Soon Cora and Phin’s baby will be the youngest.”

Harper brightened at that.

André waited until Chelsea and Harper were safely upstairs. “Gaffney’s cause of death appears to be an overdose of the same drug they gave Val. Time of death is going to be a little more difficult as his body was damaged in the fire.”

His people shuddered. Naomi’s hand trembled as she set her fork on her plate. Because Burke would have been dead, too, had Naomi not come for him.

“Once we brought Kaleb in,” André went on, “Elaine Billings chose to talk. She hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for fear she’d be poisoned like Cresswell. She’ll get a deal from the DA.”

Kaj scowled. “I hate that. But she gave valuable information.”

“She did,” André agreed. “She’d only worked with them since the fall, but she protected herself by making copies of documents Kaleb kept in that condo.

She’s evil, but not stupid. She’d heard about Cresswell’s drug ring.

She’d already been selling kids from the foster system and pitched an organized prostitution ring to Cresswell and Kaleb.

Cresswell said no. But once he was in prison, Kaleb reached out to her.

From what she’d gleaned from the documents Kaleb kept, Cresswell and Kaleb had been partnered for several years already. ”

“I introduced them,” Burke said grimly. “At a holiday party when I reported to Cresswell.”

“I didn’t know that,” André said. “Elaine said that, at the beginning, Cresswell and Gaffney were skimming drugs from NOPD busts and Kaleb was selling them through a small network of dealers on the street. But there wasn’t enough cash in that, so Kaleb and Cresswell stole a truck full of drugs that belonged to the STs.

They fought with the driver, who grabbed Kaleb’s necklace and broke it. ”

“Sending his wedding ring into the storm drain,” Naomi said. “That makes sense.”

“Kaleb killed the driver and searched for the ring, but never found it,” André said. “When it was turned in by that college kid, Kaleb thought he’d be found out.”

“So they framed my mother,” Everett said, his jaw set.

“They did,” André said. “But they’re either dead or in custody now.”

Everett’s nod was grudging. “As long as they’re punished.”

“We’ll make sure of it,” Kaj said.

That seemed to be enough for Everett, who resumed eating—after he refilled his mother’s plate. She smiled her thanks. Naomi and her son were going to be all right, Burke thought.

“Kaleb found Winnifred Timms through a modeling agency here in town,” André continued.

“He picked her because, with a black wig, she looked like Naomi. Winnifred told Elaine that Kaleb first hired her to plant the phony drugs in the back seat of your car and then to set up bank accounts, posing as you, so that they could implicate you if you didn’t agree to let them railroad you into prison. But you did agree.”

“Because they threatened Everett,” Ruthanne murmured.

André nodded. “Exactly. At that point, Kaleb didn’t need Winnifred to set up the bank accounts, so he used her to move drugs.

He let her stay in the condo that he’d bought as an office for his illegal businesses, and he had an affair with her.

According to Elaine, Winnifred was getting possessive, and Kaleb planned to get rid of her when Mardi Gras was over.

They were counting on making a lot of money during Mardi Gras since Kaleb and Gaffney were forced to discontinue selling the drugs they stole from evidence after Cresswell was sent to prison two and a half years ago.

PIB was watching Gaffney and the dirty cops he’d recruited, but none of the PIB investigators on their payroll wanted to risk covering for them right after Cresswell’s arrest. Elaine said that Kaleb decided that enough time had passed.

They’d recently restarted drug distribution and Kaleb decided to add sex trafficking. ”

Ruthanne scowled. “They used Winnifred to set up the phony bank accounts again after Naomi was released.”

“Yes,” André confirmed. “They were determined to send her back to prison. Where they were planning another hit.”

Ruthanne paled. “So they planned the first one? Where she almost died?”

André nodded. “They did.”

“What about the Delgado brothers?” Antoine asked. “Were they still in the STs?”