Worth Dying For Part 19

Laura's head jerked up as the machine beeped to life. She looked over and saw that Edwards had nodded off as well. "Kyle," she said his name to awaken him. "She did it, she got in."

He got up from his chair and took a position directly over her shoulder. They watched as the adownload in progress' icon popped up on the screen. Moments later, the machine beeped, and the adownload in progress' was replaced with the adownload complete' icon.

Laura rubbed her hands together. "Okay, let's see what we got," she said as she began typing in commands.

Rheyna had just ducked behind the hedge when the guard came around the back of the house. She waited for him to disappear and quickly ran over to the patio door and slid it open. She had no more kicked off her shoes and sat down on the couch when the bedroom door opened.

Caroline walked out, yawning. She stretched her arms over her head. "Were you outside? I thought I heard the door."

"I needed some air. I'm not feeling too well," Rheyna said as she slowly slid the IMS into her overnight bag.

Caroline sat down on the couch beside her and put her hand on Rheyna's forehead. Her eyes opened wide with concern. "You're soaking wet."

Rheyna pretended to rub her temples. "I have a very bad headache."

Caroline got up from the couch. "I'll grab a couple aspirins and fix you a cup of tea."

Rheyna watched her trot off to the bathroom and desperately tried to fight off the guilt that was threatening to overtake her. She waited until Caroline went in the kitchen and pulled the CD from her pocket and tossed it, along with her gun, into the overnight bag.

Laura squinted at the screen, leaning in closer. Her fingers tapped rhythmically against the keyboard. She stopped and turned to look at Edwards, a huge smile on her face.

"I think we hit pay dirt. Take a look at this," she said, opening a folder t.i.tled aHong Kong Services International.' She scrolled down page after page of jpg files. She clicked on one of the thumbnail shots, and her face went ashen with shock. "There has to be thousands of them," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

Edwards c.o.c.ked his head to get a better look at the image. "What is that?"

"Child p.o.r.n," Laura answered. She brought up another photo that showed a small room decorated with cartoon characters. A pink-canopied bed sat up against one wall. A young girl, wearing a lacy pink, flowery dress was kneeling between the legs of a very large man, who was in the process of unzipping his pants-it was Billy Smith's little girl.

Laura knew what the sounds were before she even turned her head. Edwards was heaving in the trashcan next to the door. She gave him a minute to collect himself. She have any children, but Edwards did.

She could feel the anger raging through her veins as she looked through the pictures. She could only imagine what was going through his mind. When he looked up, she saw hate and contempt in his eyes, hate for one man-Anthony Castrucci. Men like Castrucci were monsters-they represented the vilest things in the world.

"Are you okay?" she asked before turning back to the open file.

He nodded, took out his handkerchief, and wiped his mouth.

"That file was hidden in a sector that couldn't be viewed through the normal operating system."

He shook his head with utter disgust. If he didn't hate Castrucci before, he d.a.m.n sure did now. "That sick son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h," he spat angrily.

Laura opened up several more pictures, each one worse than the previous. The more she saw, the angrier she got. She wiped at the tears spilling down her cheeks. "They can't be more than ten years old."

Edwards squeezed her shoulder in a comforting gesture as the two of them stared at the screen.

"It's no wonder he wants Ma.s.sino out of the way. They would kill him over this if they knew."

Laura nodded in agreement. "There's no doubt about that."

He grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair and grinned slyly. "It's kinda ironic, when you think about it. The Mafia commits some of the most brutal murders, but they still maintain a code of honor amongst themselves. I know they have certain guidelines and rules you never break under any circ.u.mstance. Child p.o.r.nography is at the top of that list." He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. "See what else you can find and get it faxed to Was.h.i.+ngton."

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To see a federal prosecutor. We need to can get a Grand Jury convened so we can bring Rheyna home. With the evidence we have, it shouldn't take long to get an indictment."

Laura stopped typing to look at him. "She's not due to call in for another forty-eight hours."

"That's okay. Just tell her that it's almost over. One way or the other, Castrucci's finished."

She looked at the screen and frowned.

"What? What is it?" he asked, coming back over to see what she was looking at.

"It looks like a dinner menu with a list of names," she said. Her face went blank when she realized what it was. "Oh s.h.i.+t, it's a hit list." She swung her hand against the cup of coffee, knocking it across the table.

Edwards took out his hanky and started blotting up the liquid.

"I knew it, d.a.m.n it. I told Stevens."

The list showed the names and dates of the various Mafia members that had been killed. The last entry was Georgie and Paulie, the two men that had been shot outside of Lil Vic's Delicatessen.

"Who's next?" Edwards asked.

She slid her index finger down the list and stopped at the last entry scheduled. She read his name aloud. "Carlos Ma.s.sino, seven, tomorrow night at Barecci's."

Edwards turned to open the door and ran into Stevens.

He looked back at Laura. "Contact L.A. and let them know." He brushed past Stevens, nearly causing him to spill the contents from the tray in his hands. Stevens set the tray on the table.

"I thought you might like a fresh cup," he said and handed Laura a cup of coffee. He took one for himself and sat down in the chair next to her. "Where's he going in such a hurry?" he asked.

"He's going to try and turn the slow wheels of justice, and thanks for the coffee. I really needed it," she answered. She turned the screen toward him so he could get a better view of the photos that she and Edwards had been looking at. "Here, take a look for yourself."

He looked at the screen and shrugged. "Nothing surprises me anymore. h.e.l.l, look at Artie. Who would've ever thought he'd be in bed with the mob."

Chapter 19.

Edwards was filing paperwork against Castrucci and his cohorts when he received a call from Agent Wilks down at the L.A. Bureau. Wilks asked Edwards to meet him over at an apartment building located in the skid row district of Los Angeles.

The neighborhood looked every bit the part that its name implied. Laura followed Edwards up the steps that led to the top floor apartment and ducked under the police tape draped across the doorway.

She looked around the expansive loft apartment. "Wow, I didn't expect this," she said.

"Yeah, he used to have expensive taste," Edwards said as they walked into the middle of the family room. They looked up at Marco Mancini. His lifeless body was hanging from the end of a rope that had been thrown over the upstairs loft bedroom rail.

"Makes you wonder why he'd commit suicide," Agent Wilks said from behind them.

Edwards turned and held his hand out to shake his hand. "Agent Wilks, I'd like you to meet Agent Forrest," he said as he introduced the two. Wilks nodded at Laura.

"You think it's suicide?" Edwards asked.

"It looks that way right now. From what I'm guessing, he put the rope around his neck and just stepped over the rail. So far, we've found no evidence to suggest otherwise."

The three of them stepped back to allow the Medical Examiner Technicians into the room.

"Was there a note or any indication that he might have been depressed?" Laura asked as she watched the technicians set a ladder up in preparation of cutting the body down.

Wilks flipped through his notepad. "Nope, nothing at all. I talked to a couple of his neighbors, and they seemed genuinely shocked. The Super downstairs actually referred to Mancini as a very nice young man, if you can believe that one."

"We got a T.O.D. yet?" Edwards asked.

"The ME put time of death around twenty four hours ago."

Edwards looked around the room "Who found him?"

Wilks glanced at his notes. "His sister."

Laura shook her head. "That must have been awful for her."

Wilks nodded. "Yeah, she's taking it pretty hard. Said she dropped by when he didn't show up to meet her for breakfast this morning. She tried calling, but kept getting his answering machine. She said it wasn't like him not to call and decided to check in on him." He turned to Edwards. "This isn't the only reason I called you. Seeing that Mancini here is tied to Anthony Castrucci, I thought you'd also be interested to know that we pulled a badly decomposed body out of the bay a couple months ago." He flipped back through his note pad. "The woman had been strangled. Her name was Charlene Sommers."

Edwards and Laura both shook their head. The name meant nothing to them.

Wilks smiled. "Ms. Sommers was ... had been Castrucci's mistress."

Edwards' eyebrows shot up. "I didn't know he had one."

"Oh yeah, and something about this one just plain p.i.s.sed me off. Yeah, what some people do is beyond comprehension."

Edwards s.h.i.+fted irritably from one foot to the other as Wilks continued to drag it out.

"Ms. Sommers was two months pregnant," Wilks said finally.

"Think it was Castrucci's?" Edwards asked.

"Who else's could it be? From what I gathered from her neighbors, he was the only one they ever saw coming and going from her apartment, and Sonny Valachi's name was on the lease agreement. I'm guessing that she and the baby were too much baggage for him."

"Can we prove the baby was his?" Laura asked.

Wilks nodded. "The ME ran a DNA test on the fetus and the mother. We just need a sample from Castrucci to confirm one way or the other."

"I'll see what I can do about getting that for you," Edwards said as his cell rang. "Excuse me," he said, turning to answer it. "Yeah, Ron ... Are you sure?" The color drained from his face. "Oh, Ron. I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do ... All right, you take all the time you need." He hung up and turned to Laura. "Lynn pa.s.sed away this morning."

Laura's breath caught in her throat. "Oh no," she said, half choking on the words.

Edwards put his arm around her shoulders. "Let's get out of here."

They started down the steps, and Edwards stopped to look at her. "I think you were right about Artie, Laura. Ron said the surveillance video clearly shows that Artie definitely had a chance encounter with Mancini. I think he was setup to throw us off the trail."

Chapter 20.

Rheyna was about to open the closet door when the phone rang. She ran down the hall to answer it.

"When are you leaving for Phil and Jesse's?" Caroline asked.

"Probably around eight. What about you?"

"Somewhere between eight and eight thirty, I think."

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later, then, and don't forget to have your dancing shoes ready."

"We'll have to see about that," Caroline laughed and then hung up the phone.

Tonight was the big party. Rheyna couldn't believe how quickly the time had flown by. It seemed like only yesterday when she had first met Caroline and her family. She hadn't spoken with Laura since she installed the software and wondered how it was going. She pushed the thought aside and went back to her bedroom closet to figure out what she would wear.

She tried on several outfits before settling on a black, ankle-length gown with a slit up the side and plunging neckline. She had the perfect pair of two-inch pumps to set it off. She wondered what Caroline would wear, and knew she would like it, no matter what it was. "Caroline could wear a nap sack and still look ravenous," she said to herself as she tried to think of what to do next.

She had several hours to kill, and decided to fix some lunch. Afterward, she would have Annie take her for a long walk on the beach.

Caroline held the gold gown up in front of the full-length mirror. She wondered if Rheyna would like the dress and then wondered why her opinion was so important to her. She knew why it mattered. Because deep down, she wanted Rheyna to like it, but more importantly, she wanted Rheyna to like what would be in it. The thought was shocking. She would be lying if she said she didn't find Rheyna attractive, but after all, who wouldn't? Not only was she gorgeous, she had a great personality as well. She justified the thought by thinking that it was normal for women to check each other out.

After all, most women dress for each other and not for the men in their lives. She had never thought of herself as gay and had never been into women. She didn't know why she didn't have a boyfriend, or why she hadn't been on a date since high school. Those were the million dollar questions, and she didn't have answers. G.o.d knows her father had tried to answer it for her by fixing her up with several men in his employ. He finally gave up when he saw that his attempts were fruitless.

If the truth were told, all he really wanted was a grandson. Her thoughts drifted back to Rheyna. She thought about how her life had changed for the better, and that it all started when she met Rheyna. She looked forward to the time they spent together, even when it was something as trivial as taking a walk along the beach with Annie.

She smiled as she thought about Annie. She really loved the dog. What about Rheyna, the little voice inside her head asked. She wasn't sure exactly how she felt about Rheyna. When she did take the time to think about it, she always came to the same conclusion. Her feelings, whatever they might be, were a moot point. Rheyna was a gorgeous woman and could have any man she wanted. There was no way that she would want Caroline with all her baggage.

"This is ridiculous," she said aloud, trying to shake herself out of her daydream. Why could she not just admit that she liked her as more than a friend and that deep down, she wished that Rheyna liked her the same way? She thought about how she found herself basking in the slightest of touches when Rheyna would lay her hand on her shoulder or her leg when she was trying to make a point or explain something to her. She felt her face flush and the heat rise in her feet before working its way up her body. She was attracted to Rheyna, and the thought shocked her-not the thought of being with Rheyna, but the thought of actually being attracted to another woman.

She pushed the thoughts out of her head and decided that what she needed right now was a shower-a very cold one, at that.