Deadly Trouble, page 18
part #2 of Vegas Vixens Series
“Superintendent, my father, Reverend Deforest, previously from Global Ministries at the United Nations, is well acquainted with Prime Minister Barrow. I had dinner with the Prime Minister myself a few months ago.”
“Dr. Deforest, do not think your connections can intimidate me.”
Cooper shifted in the wheelchair. His focus stayed on Zepeda. “Will you honor my request that she be placed in a solitary cell and not with the general population?”
Her throat went bone dry. How can this be happening?
Zepeda inclined his head. “Agreed.”
“And food, I can pay for whatever she needs,” Cooper pressed on.
“It’s already been arranged. The U.S. Embassy will make sure she has food and water,” Vaughn said. “Time to get you back to the hospital.”
“In a second. Can someone get her suitcase from the Hidden Paradise Lodge? Or maybe it’s with the police in Cristo Rey,” Cooper said, his words becoming more slurred. “She’s exhausted, needs a chance to shower, and a change of clothes.”
Lily fought to swallow the lump in her throat. She just wanted to go to him, feel his arms around her.
Zepeda scowled. “This isn’t a hotel.”
Vaughn murmured something to Cooper that she didn’t hear.
Cooper nodded. “Lil, I’ll be back as soon as I can. Just hold tight.”
“Okay, but please stay in the hospital until the doctor releases you.” Worry gnawed at her. Cooper looked ready to pass out.
The next thing she knew, another officer flanked her, and she was ushered away. She tried to shake their grasps loose, but it did no good. “I can walk on my own!” She glanced over her shoulder but lost sight of Cooper. Her insides twisted as a dreadful thought entered her mind: what if she never saw him again?
Chapter Twelve
“Time to get up,” a female voice announced. Lily jerked awake. Not my bedroom. Her mind took a moment to lock on to her location. She shifted on her cot and rolled to her feet. Bars rattled, and the young female officer, wearing a service cap over her shoulder-length braids, entered the cell. In the background, Officer Boy Band observed with detached interest.
Lily straightened, wiping a hand down her face. Right, I’m a jailbird. Okay, think positive. The police are going to tell you you’re free to go, and they’ll go to training to be better investigators. Lily slipped on her sneakers and straightened the green tank top she’d worn for six days. It was so dirty, it could probably stand on its own.
“Ma’am, I need you to turn around and place your hands behind your back.” It took a moment for Lily to comprehend the heavily accented words before she followed the female officer’s orders. She cringed as her hands were cuffed. Her hopes of a release sank. “Where are you taking me?”
“To Senior Superintendent Zepeda.”
Lily still couldn’t believe she’d spent the night in jail. She’d been isolated from the others in an unused part of the building that had been closed down due to air conditioning costs. She’d been given a box fan, and the overhead light had glared down on her all night. “May I use the restroom?”
“Yes,” the female officer stated. “The superintendent said you can freshen up before your interview. You have five minutes.”
Lily was led out of the cell, down an empty hall, and into the restroom.
The officer removed her cuffs. “Your suitcase is up against the wall.”
Lily blew out a breath. What a beautiful sight. “Thank you. Is Dr. Cooper Deforest here?”
The officer shrugged, the beads in her braids clicking together.
Even if he wasn’t here physically, he still looked out for her. He’d taken care of Lily from the beginning. She’d never had a man do that for her before. Her hand shook as she picked up her suitcase. So much had happened since they’d first met, and she’d come to count on him. To care for him. Pain lanced into her heart. She hated that he’d been hurt and wished she’d been the first person he’d seen after he’d woken up from surgery. That she’d been there to pamper him and to make him follow the doctor’s orders. Instead he’d come to rescue her—again. Lily stepped around the corner to a ten-by-ten open shower. She glanced around, relived to have the space to herself. She placed her suitcase against the wall, withdrew a small bottle of shampoo, a change of clothes, and since she didn’t have a towel, a shirt to dry off with. After undressing, she turned on the lukewarm water. Goose bumps rose on her flesh, and she quickly washed.
Last night she’d barely slept partially because of fear of what today would bring, but also because she missed Cooper and that charming, unassuming way of his that somehow calmed her. The connection they shared was powerful. He made her feel special—and scared. Scared she’d do something to ruin it.
Five minutes later, she felt half human again, and Belize got a pound of its dirt back. She brushed out her lopsided hair and threw her soiled clothes in the trash. She decided, even though it was warm already, to skip wearing shorts and a tank top and slipped on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt with Las Vegas written in gold script.
Back in handcuffs, Lily was escorted down the corridor toward the interrogation rooms. Her stomach knotted into a tight ball. Would Zepeda find her guilty, and she’d be locked away for life or sentenced to death? They veered right and came upon Vaughn leaning against the wall. He straightened when he saw her. He’d shed his tourist persona and now wore slacks and a short-sleeved polo shirt. He had a paper bag in his hand and a tight smile on his pale, clean-shaven face. The smell of food wafted up her nostrils, and her stomach growled.
“Good morning, Miss Sanborn. I have breakfast for you.” Vaughn peered over her head at the female officer. “She needs to eat. Who knows how long Zepeda will question her.”
Lily frowned. That didn’t sound promising.
“She can eat in an empty interrogation room.” The female officer removed the cuffs.
“Lily!” The sound of the little voice warmed her like an embrace.
Lily whirled around to see Jaime, dressed in clean clothes and with a big grin on his face, holding hands with a petite Hispanic woman in her early twenties. Was this his mother? Then she noticed they shared the same golden eyes and had her answer.
“Hi, sweetie,” Lily said.
He wiggled his hand free from the woman, and Lily crouched as Jaime ran into her arms.
Lily laughed and held Jaime close. She smashed down his brown curls that tickled her nose. He smelled sugary, and she noticed sticky stuff on his cheek. She eased back. “Did you have pancakes, waffles maybe?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Pancakes. Big ones.”
She smiled back. “I can tell.”
His face scrunched up as his expression turned serious. “Where you been?”
“Here. The police want to talk to me…a lot.”
“I ride in a police car.” He pointed back at the approaching Hispanic woman. “Mommy, too.” Jaime beamed and patted the sticker of a police badge.
“Are you a policeman?”
“Yep. Mommy, too.”
The mother had a matching sticker on her eyelet blouse. She looked young and innocent with her brown hair scooped into a ponytail. Lily would never have suspected she was a member of a drug cartel family.
“Hello, I’m Lily Sanborn.” She stood and offered her hand. “You have a very special little boy.” Tears swam in the mother’s eyes, and seconds later she wrapped Lily in a hug.
“Thank you, Miss Sanborn, for saving my Jaime,” she said with a faint accent. “He’s my entire life, and I thought I’d never see him again.” Jaime’s mother stepped back and wiped her cheeks with her hands.
“He captured my heart the first time I saw him,” Lily said as uncertainty tugged at her. Jaime asked to touch the female officer’s badge, and Vaughn lifted him up. Lily lowered her voice so only the mother could hear. “Jaime will continue to be in danger if he has drugs and drug dealers nearby.”
The mother held her hard look. “That is why I divorced Jaime’s father, because he went to work for my brother. I moved back to Belize from Guatemala a year ago to get us away. But my ex-husband just used seeing Jaime as an excuse to move drugs. He had rights to see his son, so I could not say no.”
Well, the loser was dead now, and knowing Jaime’s mother left the drug life made Lily feel better about the little guy’s future. Vaughn set Jaime down on the floor, and after saying good-byes, Lily was ushered into the interrogation room. The cool metal of the chair chilled her skin. The female officer stood next to the door and blended into the cinder block like wallpaper.
“You might appear to be tough, but you have a big heart.” Vaughn slid into the chair across from her.
“No, I don’t. Anyone worth their weight in spit would protect a child.”
“That’s an interesting way to put it. Although I have to disagree with you. You’d be surprised how selfish people can be.”
“Talking about being worth your weight in spit.” Lily took a deep breath. “Besides observing my downfall, what are you doing to help?”
He had the nerve to grin. “I brought you breakfast, didn’t I?”
“Well, yes, thanks, I really appreciate the food, but unless you plan to bring it to my cell for the next thirty years, I’m more concerned about my butt being in jail.” She took an eager bite of the breakfast burrito.
Vaughn uncapped the bottled water and set it in front of her. “Trust me. I’m working on your release. And Dr. Deforest indeed has connections, because after his phone call, the assistant commissioner of police from Belize City graced us with his presence.” He paused and tapped a finger on the table top. “You have to understand this is personal to Zepeda. He’s grasping at straws on the murder charges, but he also has multiple homicides to sort through. Tourism is a big money maker, and they need answers and preferably an arrest.”
The scrambled eggs caught in her throat, and she choked. She took a drink of water. “So that’s me?”
“You need to be patient. The investigation is in full swing. Last night I sat in on the interrogation of the inspector who’d been with Castillo on the river. It took a while, but he finally admitted to taking a bribe for fear he’d be killed, and he confirmed Castillo was on Maximo’s payroll.”
Lily set her half-eaten breakfast down. “So why am I still being held? What more does Zepeda want?”
“That just proves the department’s corrupt. Zepeda wants evidence on who committed the murders and, more specifically, Inspector Reimer’s. You already admitted shooting one man, so Zepeda needs to deem the act as self-defense.”
She dropped her face into her hands. “So, what now?”
“Right now Zepeda and the assistant commissioner are conducting interviews. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that they get the answers they need to release you.”
She straightened. “Who are they speaking to?”
“Yesterday Zepeda received an anonymous tip from the Hidden Paradise Lodge about two Americans being captured by armed men. His inspector located the caller and brought him in. The other person being questioned is Dr. Deforest.”
…
“And then your men surrounded us, and here we are.” Cooper pinched the bridge of his nose, relieved to have finished the play-by-play of what had happened after they’d been captured near the waterfall. He shifted in the uncomfortable wheelchair on loan from the hospital. With a soft hum, the fluorescent lights flickered above the stuffy interrogation room. He still couldn’t believe the police locked up Lily. As soon as he’d been escorted back to the hospital, he’d bribed an employee, the same one who supplied his clean clothes, to let him make a call while the officer on guard flirted with a nurse. He’d called the prime minister’s number and had spoken to his assistant. The man had remembered Cooper and of course knew who Cooper’s father was. Cooper hated playing the connections card, but he’d do anything to get Lily out of there. He just wanted to hold her, protect her. The image of her inside a cell—scared and hungry—made him sick to his stomach. Hadn’t she been through enough?
“So, Miss Sanborn fired the shots that killed the man known as the Samoan, and she had no other choice, correct? You believe her life was in danger?” The assistant commissioner of police asked, tenting his long, dark fingers against his marginal chin.
“Yes.” Cooper forced an outward calm, even though his leg bounced under the table. He didn’t know what he would do if they slapped a murder charge on Lily.
The assistant commissioner looked at Zepeda, who’d taken the backseat to most of the questioning. “Senior Superintendent, the evidence shows Miss Sanborn is cleared of any wrongdoing in those murders.”
“I agree she had just cause to protect herself against the Samoan,” Zepeda said. “And she had no involvement in the research assistant’s death. But Dr. Deforest wasn’t present during Inspector Reimer’s homicide; let me bring in a witness.” Zepeda stood, straightened his crisp police uniform, and left the room.
Cooper waited as the assistant commissioner scribbled on some paperwork. Why was Zepeda so determined to find Lily guilty for something? Cooper closed his eyes and prayed. Please let this man see reason and release her. He rested back in the wheelchair, his leg stretched out. His swollen foot, covered in a bulky dressing, hurt like hell, but he’d been really lucky. An x-ray determined no bones were hit. He’d been given a tetanus shot, had the wound irrigated, and had his foot packed with sterile gauze to absorb the drainage. His brain was still hazy from the painkillers he’d been given.
Zepeda opened the door, and Cooper craned his neck to see who was with him. He tensed at the sight of Xavier being ushered in, noting his hands weren’t cuffed. The older man kept his somber gaze trained on the floor. Cooper wanted to roar with anger. The wound still felt raw and fresh. William’s death had been senseless. Xavier might not have pulled the trigger, but he’d willingly led a dangerous killer to those Cooper cared about: Lily and William.
Xavier and Yesenia had been considered family friends since he’d visited Belize as a teen. Cooper’s parents would be devastated once they learned what their old friend had done. Xavier sat down on a metal chair. Cooper glared at him. How could he take money from a drug dealer? He thought he’d known the man.
After Xavier identified himself for the record, Zepeda asked, “Did you know Maximo?”
“Yes.”
“In what capacity?”
Xavier swiped a hand down his white mustache and drew in a shaky breath. “Maximo’s bodyguard, the Samoan, asked me to keep an eye on Mr. Flores, but I did not kill him.”
“Do you know what happened to Inspector Reimer?” Zepeda pressed.
“Just before Inspector Reimer was killed, I saw the Samoan go in that same direction with a rifle.”
“Why didn’t you tell the police about all this?” the assistant commissioner asked.
“I was afraid.”
“We cannot get rid of the criminal element if no one comes forward.” Zepeda shook his head.
Cooper gave his old family friend a hard look. “The local police were in Maximo’s pockets.” As well as other people’s. “Xavier would have been killed.” Cooper clamped his mouth shut. Anger clogged his throat. Why am I involving myself? Because I’ve been taught about forgiveness my entire life. “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” The Bible verse his father lived by. How many times had his father helped the natives of the third world countries after they’d robbed, threatened, or even burned down the Deforest residence? More than Cooper could count. Well, I’m not my father.
“Did you call in a tip about two Americans being held by gunmen near the Che Chem Ha Cave?” Zepeda asked.
Cooper straightened, confusion swirling in his head. Now why had Xavier done that?
“Yes.”
“Why were you there?” Zepeda continued.
A lost expression played across Xavier’s face. Cooper wanted to shout because he’s a traitor. But something stopped him.
Xavier brushed tears off his wrinkled brown cheek. “Because I—”
Cooper interrupted. “He was looking for a special herb for his ill wife. It grows there.”
Surprise registered in Xavier’s bloodshot eyes.
What am I doing? William died, and Lily and I almost did. But he was desperate to save his wife. War raged inside Cooper as betrayal and compassion clashed. Xavier would die in the deplorable conditions in a Belizean prison. No question about that outcome. And then what would happen to Yesenia? He’d noticed she’d grown thinner but hadn’t asked why. If her days were numbered due to heart problems, that kind woman deserved to have her husband by her side.
“I knew Maximo wanted Miss Sanborn.” Xavier stared at Cooper, sorrow etched on his face.
“As all the locals probably did,” Cooper said.
“I had no idea you and William were there until I saw you…or what Maximo planned to do with Miss Sanborn.”
Cooper held his tongue and glanced at Zepeda and the assistant commissioner. Xavier had made a bad choice, but he didn’t have it in him to turn his old friend in. A sense of peace settled over Cooper. Had he forgiven Xavier? Heck, no! But he could let it go.
“Well, I think we have all the information we need, Dr. Deforest. Charges will not be filed against Miss Sanborn,” the assistant commissioner said.
Zepeda thanked Xavier, and both men stood.
Cooper closed his eyes from the onset of relief. She’s free to go.
“Just so you know, Cooper, I have accepted an offer to sell the lodge, and Yesenia and I are returning to her family in Guatemala. I am in your debt.”
“No, you’re not,” Cooper said, but Xavier had already exited with Zepeda.
Minutes later Lily rushed into the room with her uneven black tresses draped down one slender shoulder. Pressure spread through his chest.
“Cooper, oh God, are you okay?” She knelt by his side, looking tired and absolutely beautiful.
“Better now. Come here.” He pulled her onto his lap and buried his face against her neck. Emotion cut through him. He’d almost lost her. Bullets. Jail. So much had happened, but she was all right. Her body shook as he pressed a light kiss to her bruised cheek and then her lips. He eased back. “It’s over, sweetheart. We’re free to go.”
