Mexico had strict regulations on firearms, and he didn’t expect anything other than cheap, Saturday night special handguns with the serial numbers filed off. Too bad he had to leave his Glock and the lady-sized Mossberg. He still had his night-vision goggles and survival kits, although everything he needed could be arranged.
He had to assume the worst. Of course, everyone was operating on the assumption Carmelita had either been aborted or had died in infancy, so this latest news from Leanna’s cousin had to be kept quiet.
Whether Carmelita lived or not, Axe’s job was to keep Leanna away and in the dark. She would get too emotional on seeing her daughter and blow everyone’s cover. It could even start a war between Axe’s family and the Canos.
The current score of one hostage against the other one kept a level playing field. What would his family do if they knew Leanna’s family had the potential for two?
Axe’s contact, Pablo, answered on the third ring. “Password?”
“Lady Blunt is in the saddle. Got everything?”
“All in the car’s trunk.”
“How about the birds?”
“Flown the coop.”
“Too bad,” Axe said. “You didn’t get to talk to them?”
“Nope. House is empty. Neighbors said they went on vacation. Lady next door’s feeding the cat.”
“I’m going to want to speak to the neighbors,” Axe said. “How about the girl? Is she real?”
“Neighbors said the couple had a daughter named Carmelita.”
Dang. He was hoping this was a dead end.
“Did she go with them on vacation?” Axe ducked beneath a hanging pot of spider plants and glanced up at Leanna’s window. The air conditioner was on, and the curtains were drawn.
“I talked to some of her schoolmates, and they say Carmelita ran off with friends.”
Axe’s protective instinct reared on its hackles. “Are the friends male?”
“Presumably.” Pablo shrugged. “They say she’s a diabetic.”
“Damn.” Axe rubbed the back of his neck. “This isn’t good.”
“Hope she brought her insulin. They say she’s having a great time partying.”
“Hopefully, she’s not Leanna’s daughter. But if she’s not, then Ana and Eduardo ripped Leanna off.”
“Right. What are you going to do about it?”
“Get Leanna out of the way, so we can find the answers. Go back and tell the neighbors to tell her nothing useful. There’s no girl. Ana and Eduardo have been having marital problems. Money issues, too. Pay them well. Remember, no girl.”
“Got it.”
“Leanna goes home, and we figure out why Ana contacted her. Get her to admit she lied. I’ll pay Leanna the ten thousand, and you put the fear of God into Eduardo and Ana. If they’re thinking of blackmailing Joshua Cano, they don’t know who they’re dealing with.”
“You think Carmelita is his daughter?” Pablo asked.
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is finding out if this Carmelita is Leanna’s daughter or not. It would be better if she were unrelated and this was all a big nothing burger. But Ana’s message to Leanna bothers me. Why get her involved? Why feed on her grief and torture her?”
“People will victimize those they’re closest to,” Pablo said. “Maybe they needed ten grand, and Leanna’s the easiest one to get it from.”
Axe shook his head, even though Pablo couldn’t see him. “Not after telling her the baby was dead. Sending her the box of ashes. What kind of people are they?”
“Desperate people do desperate things,” Pablo said.
