Last Call

Chapter 44

Two minutes after his phone conversation with Trina, Jack nailed down one thing for certain: Fernando Redden was no Lance Gilford.

A quick Internet search turned up hundreds of hits. Jack focused on the local media coverage, which was extensive. Redden was the president and CEO of American Dream Development Ltd., a multimillion-dollar company that built housing for low-income families. He was also a south Florida success story, particularly in the Latin community. His name appeared repeatedly in the business section of the Miami Tribune and its Spanish-language counterpart, and the society pages couldn't seem to get enough of him and his stunningly beautiful wife. One photograph, in particular, caught Jack's attention. It was from July 1994, just a few months before Florida's statewide elections. Fernando Redden was smiling widely, and the mere sight of the man shaking Redden's hand made Jack's heart skip a beat.

It was Governor Harry Swyteck – Jack's father – campaigning for reelection.

Jack printed the photograph and a couple of other articles of interest, tucked them into his pocket, and grabbed his car keys. Ten minutes later he was at the Coral Gables home of his father and stepmother. Harry answered the door dressed in a terry cloth robe. Agnes was asleep in the bedroom, and it appeared that Harry wasn't far behind.

"I need to talk to you," said Jack.

Harry was halfway into a "not now" sigh, but the expression on Jack's face must have told him it was important. "Sure," he said. Come on in.

Harry took him to the library, his favorite room in the house. The cherry-paneled wainscoting, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and soft leather chairs were all very reminiscent of the governor's mansion. Harry reached for the Russian-cut carafe on the credenza. "Brandy?"

"No, thanks," said Jack. "I'm actually in a hurry."

Harry poured a short one for himself, then settled into the worn leather chair behind his massive desk. As much as their relationship had improved over the years, it bothered Jack that every time he said "Dad, let's talk," Harry still put the old mahogany antique between them – a vestige of the bad old days for a disciplinarian father and his rebellious son.

"Okay," Harry said. "Shoot."

Jack had to stop and think about where to begin. The kidnappers' warning made it best not to say anything about Uncle Cy – at least not until Theo decided to involve the police. Jack didn't have time for all that background anyway. His needs were very specific. He laid the printed copy of the old newspaper photograph atop the desk.

"Do you know this man?" said Jack.

Harry examined it. The recognition wasn't instant, but it finally came to him. "Yeah. That's Felipe Redden. No – Fernando Redden."

Jack did not yet fully understand why, but it relieved him to see that Redden obviously wasn't one of his father's closest friends. "How do you know him?"

"We've met. That's about all I can say."

"Was he one of your supporters?"

Harry's chest swelled, as if a deep breath would trigger some recollection. "As I recall, he really wanted to jump on board. I talked with him when my campaign was down in Miami. That's when this photo was taken."

"Did you accept his money?"

"Well, let's not be too cynical here. Beyond being a Miami player with plenty of dough, he was the kind of guy you wanted to like. He was born in Cuba in the 1950s – Bejucal, the same town your mother was from."

"Interesting coincidence."

"It got my attention. And his story is a good one. Whole family fled to Miami after Castro took power. Grew up with five cousins in a two-bedroom apartment in Hialeah, worked his way through law school, learned the ropes of local government over the next decade, and eventually landed a job as chief counsel to the mayor of Miami-Dade County – another 'kid done good' from the old Hialeah neighborhood."

"So, you liked him?"

"At first. But my antennae told me to stay away from the guy-

"What do you mean?"

"Can't really describe it. Just my political instincts."

"Had to be something."

Another big sigh. Harry was digging deep into the memory bank. "It was his business dealings. Something didn't add up for me.

"Something illegal?"

"Jack, you're asking me to go way back on a guy I spent maybe a couple of hours with on the campaign trail. As a candidate, you get a feeling about people, and you go with your gut. Redden had lots of friends in county government, which is not necessarily a bad thing. What troubled me was that his development company kept getting fat contracts for public housing projects – one after another, as if Redden was the only developer in town."

"Projects in Miami?"

"Yeah. Mostly Overtown."

Overtown. Mere mention of it hit Jack like an electric current. He wasn't ready to connect the dots in ink just yet, but he had the distinct feeling that things were starting to line up like bullet points on the printed page. His most recent conversation with Andie was suddenly echoing in his mind – in particular, Jack's "conspiracy theory" about her getting pulled off the investigation into the murder of Theo's mother for "jurisdictional" reasons.

Jack said, "Can I get your honest opinion on something?"

"Absolutely."

"Is Fernando Redden the kind of guy who could get the FBI to back off an investigation?"

Harry groaned. "Jack, that's-"

"I know, it's purely speculation. But you said yourself that you've always trusted your instincts. So I want to know what your gut says about this one. Does Fernando Redden have that kind of pull?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"I just need to."

Harry wrung his hands. Speculating was against his nature, but Jack was giving his father little choice in the matter. "I can't say for sure," said Harry, "but let me put it this way. If Fernando Redden called the White House right now, I'd bet money that his call would go through."

Jack smiled just enough to show his appreciation. "Thanks," he said, rising.

"Where are you going?"

"I wish I could tell you."

Harry followed him out of the library, down the hall to the front door. There was concern in his eyes. "Does this have anything to do with your FBI friend – Andie Henning?"

"It might," said Jack.

Harry nodded knowingly. "Your grandmother told me about you and Rene. I don't ever get involved in that stuff, but-"

"Dad, this is really not a good time," said Jack, reaching for the doorknob.

Harry held the door shut. "Just hear what I have to say okay? Thirty seconds of your time. Please."

Jack wanted to fly but the quickest way out was always just to let his father have his say." Okay I'm listening."

Harry glanced down the hall toward the bedroom, then back at Jack. "Your stepmother and I have been together forever, and I love her very much. But once upon a time, I was a young, blue-blooded college student with political aspirations. I was doing everything right at UF. Just got tapped into the Florida Blue Key Honorary Society and was lining up support to run for student-body president. Even had my eye on the president of Tri-Delt sorority. Then I came down to Miami on break and met this beautiful Cuban refugee who was working as a waitress and spoke English like a female Ricky Ricardo."

Jack had to snicker.

Harry continued, "She was completely wrong for me. I was night, she was day. This was back in the day when Miami was still called 'My-amma,' for Pete's sake. But you know what? I could not stop thinking about her."

Harry went quiet. Jack said nothing. Over the years, they'd had surprisingly few conversations about Harry's first wife – Jack's mother. As much as Jack's abuela liked to tell him that he had the heart of his Latina mother, he was still a Swyteck, and there was no end to the list of things that went unsaid between men.

Harry said, "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I – I'm not sure. You think Rene's like that for me?"

"No – no," he said, making a face. "I'm talking about Andie."

Jack wasn't sure how to respond. Not since Jack's divorce had Harry Swyteck weighed in on the women in Jack's life. "Did Abuela ask you to say something about this?"

"Not at all. This all occurred to me months ago, when you first dated Andie. I never really got to meet the girl, but Theo told me you were pretty taken with her after just two or three dates. And then you broke it off, apparently for no good reason. I don't know what happened, but here's an old geezer's two cents. Andie's an FBI agent; you're a criminal defense lawyer. I was a police officer before getting into politics, and Lord knows you and I have had our differences over the years. Maybe that… that lawyer-cop incompatibility is in the back of your mind. But give some thought to what I'm saying about your mother and me. People don't have to be cut from exactly the same cloth to be right for each other."

Jack was speechless. He and his father were close now, but there was a time – back when Harry was Florida's law-and-order governor and Jack defended death row inmates – when they couldn't even speak to one another. The rift: went back much further than that, however, with roots in Jack's childhood and Harry's remarriage to a good woman with a terrible weakness for gin martinis. A lot of history with a sad bottom line: Jack and his father didn't have many moments like this one.

"Thanks," was all Jack could say.

Harry opened the door for him, seemingly pleased that Jack took his meaning. "You're welcome."

Jack went to his car and gave his old man a mock salute as he backed out of the driveway. He was less than half a block away, headed down Alhambra Circle, when he dialed Andie Henning on his cell. He wasn't sure if his father's words had actually prompted him to make the call, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He apologized for the hour but let her know right away how serious this was.

"I need your help," he told her.

"You mean the FBI's?"

"No," said Jack. "Just yours."

"What's wrong?"

He could have started with Uncle Cy, but again he was mindful of the kidnapper's warning about calling the cops. "It's Theo," he said.

"What happened?"

"I think he's on self-destruct."

"What does that mean?"

Jack wanted to explain, but he needed her sworn assurance that he was lining up her alone, not the entire FBI. That was a difficult maneuver by telephone. "I need to meet with you. Tonight. It's important."

She hesitated for half a second. "Okay. We can talk here at my place. You know the way."

That he did. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes. And just to give you a heads-up, you might want to start checking on something."

"What?"

"Dig up whatever you can on a guy named Fernando Redden."