Murder Under Cover

Chapter 11

“Call nine-one-one,” Derek said brusquely as he slammed the front door. “Get an ambulance here.”

I scrambled for the phone on the desk as he checked the man’s neck for a pulse, but within seconds, he swore under his breath.

“Never mind the ambulance,” he murmured in resignation. “He’s dead.”

I continued holding for the operator. “We still need to get the police here.”

After reporting the break-in and telling them about the dead guy in my house, I called Inspector Lee. She answered the phone on the first ring.

“Why am I not surprised to hear from you?” she said.

I gave her a brief rundown of what had just happened and she assured me she’d be there shortly.

As I spoke on the phone to Inspector Lee, I watched Derek check the dead man’s pockets and clothing labels. I assumed he was looking for identification and any telltale clues as to what Mr. Big had been doing here and why.

In an inside pocket, he found the man’s passport. Taking out his phone, Derek snapped a picture of the open passport, flipped the page, took another picture, then slipped the passport back in the man’s pocket. I figured he would be sending those photos to his pals at Interpol.

In another pocket, he found the passkey to my building as well as a key to my loft. He held them up for me to see, then raised a brow in amusement as I bared my teeth at them. Damn, I was willing to accept that a shady locksmith had been paid to make a copy of my new key, but how had the guy obtained a key to the building? It was aggravating in the extreme.

Derek slipped on a thin rubber glove-where in the world that came from, I had no idea-and picked up the man’s gun, examined it, smelled it, held it at arm’s length, and aimed it at the wall, then lowered his arm. He extracted the thing that held the bullets, then counted the bullets. Placing the gun on the worktable, he snapped another picture. It was as fascinating a routine as anything I’d ever seen him do, and that was saying plenty.

After I ended the call with Inspector Lee, I wrapped the Kama Sutra in its layers of protection and stuck it back in its hiding place at the bottom of the hall closet.

As I walked into my workroom, I noticed that Derek was slipping the man’s shoes off to study the brand.

“What in the world just happened here?” I muttered, rubbing my scalp with both hands. My life just kept getting more and more bizarre. Strangely enough, that wasn’t really a complaint.

I brushed my hair back from my face and went to check my front door, just to make sure there was no damage. I hadn’t locked the dead bolt because I always liked to do it just before I went to bed. But from now on I planned to keep the door bolted at all times.

There was a sudden pounding at the door and I jolted.

Derek grabbed me from behind and held me, calming me as though I were a scared kitten. “It’s okay. It’s someone at the door. Probably a neighbor. You’re fine.”

I breathed in and out, then shook my head in self-disgust. “Thank you. You’re right; I’m fine. I’ll just get the door now.”

I opened the door and saw Suzie. With one strong hand, she clutched the arm of-Minka LaBoeuf? Wearing a black trench coat and a beret? What in the world was going on?

Minka squirmed and tried to pull away, but Suzie was much more powerful. It took some heavy-duty muscles to operate a chain saw every day.

“Suzie?” I said in a daze. “Why… What… Huh?”

“This one was skulking around your door,” Suzie said, jerking her chin toward Minka. “I asked her what she wanted and she said she knew you. I said, ‘So what’re you doing out in the hall?’ and she tells me to go fuck myself.”

“Minka, what the hell are you doing here? And how did you get inside the building?”

“I followed that big guy in,” she said in a huff. “Then this bitch grabbed me.”

Suzie winked at me. “Just watching out for you.”

“Thanks, Suzie.”

“You know why I’m here, Brooklyn!” Minka cried. “I’m sick of you stealing my jobs. I want that book.”

“And you thought breaking into my building… Wait a minute. Were you standing outside the other day when that crazy screaming woman attacked Robin?”

Minka’s eyes widened. “Uh, that wasn’t me.”

“You’re such a liar. Why do you think I would ever hand the book over to you?”

“I have powers of persuasion,” she said with a toss of her overprocessed hair. “I’m Russian, you know.”

If I thought my life was bizarre before, it had just become seismically weirder. “Okay, first of all, Minka, the book isn’t Russian. There’s nothing Russian about it. You overheard something completely unrelated to the book.”

“Well, the book is French and I’m French, too.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I closed my eyes and prayed for strength, then said, “Look, I got the book from a client of mine. Ian didn’t give me the book. That day you saw me at the Covington, I was just showing it to him. So there was no way he was going to let you work on this book, because it wasn’t a Covington project. If you’d bothered to ask a question or two instead of assuming the worst, you wouldn’t have wasted your time and mine. And Suzie’s.”

“Well, why didn’t you just say so in the first place?” she said with a sneer, as though this were all my fault. I’d once likened her curly-lipped sneer to that of a snarling dingo, and the description still fit her.

She wasn’t finished. “You’ve got to be the biggest pain in the-Oh, my God! Is he dead?”

She pushed me out of the way and pulled Suzie along as she charged into my house, then stopped and stared at the big Russian sprawled on my floor.

“Okay, time to go,” I said. I grabbed Minka’s other arm and turned. Suzie helped me yank her out the door. We didn’t bother waiting for the elevator but pulled her down six flights of stairs and out the front door of the building.

She screamed the entire way down, the general theme being that I was either a serial killer or a magnet for murder or just plain cursed.

“Bye-bye,” Suzie said as she pushed her out the door. “Nice meeting you. Not.”

We watched Minka stomp down the sidewalk and get into her funky old rattletrap of a car. As soon as she drove away, I hugged Suzie. “Thank you. I couldn’t have handled that alone.”

“No problemo. Let’s take the elevator up,” she said.

“Good idea,” I said with a laugh.

She left me at my door and ambled back to her place.

I walked inside and stared at Derek, who was holding a bullet up to the light and examining its surface.

“She seems to be back to her old feisty self,” Derek said mildly. “I would’ve stepped in to help, but Suzie appeared to have the situation well in hand.”

“Yeah, she was a rock,” I muttered, then frowned at the man on the floor. “Minka said she followed this guy inside. So how do you think he got a key to my place?”

“Bribed the locksmith?” Derek suggested.

“That’s unacceptable. Aren’t they supposed to be bonded or something? What is wrong with people? I’m going to report him to the police.”

“Good idea.” He put the bullet back in the clip thing and looked at me. “At least your door wasn’t shattered again.”

“You’re right. I’m really happy about that.” Then to prove it, I burst into tears. I wasn’t thrilled to be crying in front of Derek, but I guessed it was better than fainting from the blood that was smeared on my floor.

He hugged me tightly and rubbed my back and said all the right things. I could’ve stayed there in his arms for another few hours or so. Silly, I know. But he was strong and sure of himself and I was so glad he was there. Besides, he smelled so damn good and his cashmere sweater was soft against my cheek. It was as close to nirvana as I was going to get anytime soon.

“I’m just tired,” I explained once my eyes were dry.

“Of course you are,” he said, leading me through the short hall to my living room. “We’ll sit in here and wait for the police.”

I curled up next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Everything. I’m starting a list.”

He chuckled and squeezed me closer.

“What did the guy say?” I asked finally. “What language were you speaking?”

“Russian. He wanted the flash drive. I said we didn’t have it, and even if we did, we wouldn’t hand it over to a murderer.”

“Oh, good one.” Sitting up, I tucked my legs up on the couch. “What’d he say to that?”

“He insisted he didn’t kill anyone who didn’t deserve it.”

“Whatever that means.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Derek rubbed his knuckles along his clenched jaw. “He told me he was Russian, working for his government. He knows about the Ukrainian woman, Galina. He thinks she killed Alex.”

I pursed my lips in thought. “I’m not sure I’d agree with that one.”

“No, I have my doubts that she killed him,” Derek said. “From the way you’ve described her, she seems too unbalanced to have pulled off an execution of that precision.”

I grimaced at the unforgettable image of that perfect round bullet hole in Alex’s forehead. What truly concerned me was the audacity of someone who would kill a man right next to a living, sleeping woman. “Did you believe anything he said?”

Derek thought about it. “I believe he was Russian. Other than that, his answers were feeble and confusing. But he did say something odd that makes me wonder what we’re dealing with.”

“What did he say?”

“He said, ‘It’s not what you think. I’m one of the good guys.’ ”

“ ‘One of the good guys’?” I didn’t know what to think of that, so I just shut up and let it sink in for a few minutes.

“Darling.” Derek rubbed my cheek gently. “We must drive back to Dharma tomorrow and talk to Robin.”

My shoulders sagged a bit, but I’d already reached the same conclusion. “I’m afraid you’re right. She’s in this up to her hip bones.”

“It appears she is.” He touched my leg in a comforting gesture. “Now, that doesn’t mean she’s guilty of anything, but I’m convinced she has more knowledge of this affair than she may even realize.”

“I agree,” I said. “I’d like to know more about Shiva’s friend Rajiv, too.”

Derek tapped his fingers on the arm of the couch. “I hate to suggest it, but this Rajiv might’ve cultivated Shiva’s friendship precisely to use her daughter as an unwitting courier.”

The thought made me angry all over again. “If that’s true, I hope your Interpol friends can track him down and make him pay.”

“If it’s true, I’ll be happy to arrange it.”

“Good.” I sighed and leaned back into the pillows of the couch. “The sooner we can resolve all this, the sooner I can go back to a life free of Ukrainians and Russians knocking down my door every other day.”

“The American dream.”

“Yeah.” I laughed dolefully. “I guess I should call Robin and let her know we’re coming.”

Derek jumped up, found my cell on the table, and brought it back to me. With a smile for him, I pressed Robin’s number and waited. There was no answer, so I left a message, then called Austin’s house. His voice mail picked up and I left another message.

“I guess they’re out tonight.” Or maybe they weren’t picking up the phone. After all, they were still under the dubious influence of Mom’s enchantment spell. “I should call my mom, too,” I mused. “Let her know we’re coming.”

There was no answer at my parents’ house either.

“What’s going on in Dharma tonight?” I wondered aloud. “Why isn’t everyone home and in their jammies?”

“Perhaps there’s a community event.”

“Probably so.” But I had to rub my arms against a sudden chill. “Are you sure Gabriel’s healed enough to keep watch on Robin?”

He hesitated. “Yes.”

“You’re not convincing me.”

“I’m not convincing myself,” he grumbled, and pulled out his cell to check in with Gabriel. Pushing himself up from the couch, he said, “I’ll let him know the latest and make sure he stays alert to any unusual activity.”

I smiled and mentally added one more item to my list of reasons to thank Derek Stone.

It was another late night of police procedure. Happily, no fingerprint dust was involved. However, our two intrepid inspectors, Lee and Jaglom, were unable to shed much light on who the dead man was, beyond what Derek had gleaned from his own search of the man’s passport and belongings.

Derek had already sent the information off to his contacts at Interpol.

Meanwhile, Inspector Lee warned that the FBI or some obscure Homeland Security agency still might step in, now that it seemed even more likely that the threatened turf war between the Russians and the Ukrainians was heating up. Apparently, it was all heating up inside my apartment.

Derek said nothing to contradict the police take on the situation, but I knew he didn’t agree with the cops’ assessment. At least, not as it pertained to Robin and her problems, which had nothing to do with a turf war and everything to do with a missing flash drive that some people were willing to kill for.

But unfortunately, Derek was not in a position to divulge the full story to the inspectors. It was turning into a highly sensitive international situation, and something Derek was not at liberty to turn over to the local police. I assumed that officials at the highest levels of government would eventually step in and take over. Meanwhile, my two main concerns were that Robin was safe in Dharma and that she’d told me everything she knew about Alex and Rajiv and the Kama Sutra.

It was a relief when the investigator got all the blood he needed from those few drops spilled by the Russian and gave me the okay to clean and sanitize my workroom floor right then and there. The thought of having to put off cleaning for days while the blood was analyzed was too depressing to think about.

The police traced my intruder’s bloody footprints from the curb outside my building, across the sidewalk, up the interior stairwell, and down the hall to my place. The same way he’d escaped the night Tyler had seen him.

Currently, there was a car parked where the footprints began out by the curb, but as the police inspected it, the owner ran over from the Thai restaurant across the street. So it was not the dead man’s car.

So he’d been shot, then dropped off in front of my building? It didn’t make sense. But then, nothing about this chilling situation made much sense at all.

The following morning, I called Robin one more time, and again there was no answer. I assumed no foul play was afoot, because Gabriel had reported to Derek that everything was fine in Dharma. I had to conclude that Robin was simply too enthralled with Austin to answer the damn phone. Fine. I guessed we would show up and surprise her.

Before leaving for Sonoma, I packed the Kama Sutra carefully into my briefcase, more unwilling than ever to leave it here while we were gone. Then I called the head of my homeowners association, who lived on the third floor, and let him know that the hall rugs on the sixth floor needed cleaning. I didn’t mention bloody footprints. They would have to figure that out for themselves.

Before Derek pushed the elevator button, I jogged down to Vinnie and Suzie’s place to let them know we would be gone for the day. They promised to look in on Pookie and keep their eyes and ears open for weirdos. Then we headed off to Dharma.

Derek maneuvered the Bentley through the tollgate plaza and onto the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun came out from behind a cloud, and the view of Marin was beautiful. I pulled sunglasses out of my purse and put them on as we left the bridge for land and continued driving through the winding hills above Sausalito.

“The Kama Sutra must hold the key,” Derek remarked as we descended into the flatlands. “Everything happened after Robin returned from India with the book.”

“I think you’re right,” I said. “I’ll start taking it apart as soon as we get home this afternoon.”

He leaned over and squeezed my knee. “We’ve got my office party this evening.”

I winced. I’d completely forgotten! Earlier in the week, I’d been so thrilled that Derek had invited me to the party, but now it was the last thing I wanted to do.

“Oh, I knew that,” I said lightly. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

He laughed. “Of course you are, darling.”

“I am,” I said, trying to sound both sincere and insulted that he would doubt me.

“Yes, I am, too,” he said genially, letting me off the hook. “Unfortunately, the timing couldn’t be worse. We have more important matters to deal with.”

“If we get home early enough, I still might have time to work on the book.”

He nodded. “We’ll see how the day goes.”

As the freeway widened near San Rafael, Derek increased his speed. “If the Ukrainians were aware that the flash drive was hidden somewhere inside the book, why didn’t they just break into Robin’s car and take it while she was dining at the Indian restaurant with Alex? That way, they would’ve had what they wanted that first night.”

“And Robin would never have been involved.”

“Exactly,” he said.

“And chances are Alex would be alive. Nobody would be hurt. Except the book.” I turned in my seat to face him. “I’d hate to imagine what damage they would’ve done to the book.”

He smiled indulgently. “Yes, God help them if they’d destroyed the book. The wrath of Brooklyn would be unleashed.”

“That’s right,” I said, chuckling. “I would’ve tracked them down and made them pay.”

Derek tapped his thumb on the steering wheel in contemplation. “So Robin went home with the book that night. It doesn’t make sense that Alex or one of his people didn’t simply go through Robin’s house and find the damn thing.”

“I’m glad they didn’t,” I said firmly. “Robin stayed home and slept all day. If she’d awakened and found them, they might’ve…” I shivered.

His eyes narrowed to black slits. “If they were any good at all, she never would’ve known they were in her house.”

I shook my head. When he said stuff like that, I was reminded that he could be as dangerous as he looked.

“And that night,” he went on, “she brought the book to your house. Alex didn’t know it, but his window of opportunity closed at that moment. I must say, I’m not impressed with his operative skills.”

“I have this picture of him as a ladies’ man. You know, a smooth-operator type.” I shook my head in disgust. “Maybe he thought he could pull off the job by cozying up to Robin instead of just taking care of business. And that got him killed. I know it’s mean to say this, but I’m not all that sorry he’s dead.”

“Darling, I love it when you’re vindictive.”

“Don’t laugh. I already feel bad for saying it.” I bunched up my fists. “But he just makes me so angry that he endangered Robin. I never even met him, but I want to punch him.”

He grabbed my hand and kissed it. “You mustn’t feel bad. You’re being protective of your friend, and that makes you fierce and sexy. It’s quite a turn-on.”

“Oh, please.” I couldn’t help but laugh while heat rose up my neck. “Now you’re making fun of me.”

“Your cheeks are pink,” he said in amazement, and his dark eyes gleamed with laughter. “How charming.” Turning my hand over, he kissed my palm, all the while keeping his eyes on the road.

“You’re going to miss the off-ramp,” I murmured, when I could breathe normally again.

“Never,” he said with a grin. “I’m a highly trained professional.”

We drove to my brother’s house along a road that meandered through the vineyards, rising slowly until we reached the top of the highest hill overlooking Dharma.

“The view is spectacular up here,” Derek said.

“But he’s so isolated.”

“Yes, that’s certainly part of the appeal.”

Austin’s house was relatively small and shaped like an alpine cabin, with a back deck that extended out over a small canyon. I hadn’t been inside in a few years, but I knew it was one large high-ceilinged room with an open kitchen and a sleeping loft reached by climbing up a ship’s ladder. It was cozy and wonderful for one person or a very intimate twosome.

It took them almost five minutes to answer the door when I knocked. They both wore bathrobes and satisfied smiles. I couldn’t help but thank all the gods in the heavens that we hadn’t arrived ten minutes earlier.

“Hey, Derek,” Austin said pleasantly, then looked at me. “Brooklyn, what are you doing here?”

“Where have you guys been?” I demanded.

“We went camping for a few days,” he said with an easy grin. “Just got back a while ago.” He swung the door open and waved us inside.

“Do you want coffee?” Robin said on her way to the kitchen. The swelling on her face had almost disappeared, but the skin around her eye was still bruised. All in all, she looked much better. Rested and relaxed. I guessed Austin was treating her well.

“No, thank you,” Derek said.

I followed Robin into the kitchen. “Camping? You?”

“I know.” Her smile stretched a bit wider. “But it was fun. Did you know there are hot springs up here? I never even knew about them.”

“I’ve heard my brothers talk about them for years, but I’ve never seen them.”

“You should,” Robin said with a serene smile. “It’s so beautiful. But it’s a hike.”

“Yeah, that’s the part where I’m having trouble picturing you.”

Robin laughed, poured herself a cup of coffee, then walked over and sat on the wide, tan leather sofa that faced the rustic fireplace. “So what’s going on?”

Austin stood and leaned one elbow on the sturdy log mantel. The pose was casual but his eyes were watchful.

Derek sat on the brick hearth directly across from Robin and rested his elbows on his knees. “We won’t take up much of your time, but we had some questions to ask you.”

“Yeah, we didn’t want to disturb you,” I said, settling into the bentwood rocking chair Austin had made by hand years ago. “But you people really should answer your phones.”

“Brooklyn, don’t be angry,” Robin said softly. “Austin took me out to get my mind off of things. We didn’t take our phones.”

I left the chair and knelt in front of her. “Honey, I’m not angry. We were just worried. See, after we dropped you off up here the other day, we got back to find my door bashed in and my place trashed. Then yesterday, another guy broke in again and it turns out someone had shot him, so he died right there in my workroom. And the police think it’s a turf war, but then Derek got some information from Interpol that there’s a missing flash drive, and the Ukrainians…”

I stopped talking when I noticed the two of them staring at me in varying degrees of horror.

Robin sat forward, gripped my shoulders, and peered at me. “What is it with you and trouble? I’ve barely been here two days. How could that much happen in two days?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. But I’ve got to say, I’m really glad you were here instead of at my place. These guys are playing hardball. We think whoever killed Alex is looking for this flash drive that you might’ve brought back from India. Derek and I are pretty sure it’s connected to the Kama Sutra.”

“The Kama Sutra?” Austin frowned and glanced from Robin to me to Derek. “I’m not following any of this.”

“It’s a long story,” I muttered.

Robin shook her head. “But how could the book have anything to do with Alex? I got it from my mother’s friend Rajiv. I don’t understand.”

I lifted both shoulders in bewilderment. “We don’t know yet, but that’s why we came here. We’re hoping you can shed some light on a few things.”

Robin’s eyes clouded and she sighed heavily. “It’s never going to go away.”

“Yes, it is,” I insisted, hating to see Robin feeling so down. Just a few minutes ago, she’d been all smiles and now… “But look. The sooner we find out where this flash drive is, the sooner-”

“That’s enough.” Austin brushed past me to sit next to Robin on the couch. He enveloped her in his arms and whispered, “Come on, babe. No more worries, remember?”

Then he gave me a fulminating stare and I mentally shrank a few inches. If he weren’t my big brother, the look wouldn’t have bothered me so much, but Austin had always been able to nonverbally smack me down with little effort.

“Look, I’m sorry,” I said, meaning it. “We just really need some answers. But maybe we can come back later and… I don’t know.” Feeling helpless and frustrated, I gazed at Derek.

He patted the brick next to him, and I retreated to the hearth to sit, putting some distance between me and my brother.

Derek spoke directly to Austin. “It’s of the utmost urgency that we talk to Robin. We can give you some time to get dressed; then we can either come back here or meet you in town. Is there a restaurant or café you can suggest as a meeting place?”

“I’ve got a good idea,” Austin said, more amenable now that Derek had spoken. My brother could be exasperating and old-fashioned when the mood hit him. “Let us get ourselves together, get dressed, and we’ll meet you at Mom and Dad’s in an hour. She’s expecting us for lunch.”

“And we’ll talk?” I asked.

Robin lifted her head and looked from Austin to us. Her eyes were clear as she nodded at me. “We’ll talk.”