He’d waited to do this until he was almost certain he’d be able to maintain the upper hand and never let on how utterly devastated he’d been by what his ex-colleague had done to the woman Archie loved. He still wasn’t completely sure that he wouldn’t be tempted to murder the guy.
Dylan Offenbach noticed him right away but stayed seated on the bed inside the cell while Archie silently ate his lunch.
“What do you want?” Offenbach finally asked.
“I wanted to see you inside a cell. I have to say it’s every bit as satisfying as I’d hoped it would be.”
“Fuck off, Archie. You brought this on yourself.”
“How’s that?”
“You didn’t have to tell Holland where I was when you tracked my phone. You could’ve kept that to yourself.”
“I can see how you’d feel that way, what with you off having an affair while your wife was expecting your fifth—or was it your sixth—kid. Not to mention you were supposed to be at a conference in Philadelphia, not cavorting on the Jersey Shore with your side piece.”
“A real man would’ve had the back of a colleague.”
“A real man doesn’t drug women, beat and sexually assault them. I guess our definition of manhood differs a bit.”
“I bet you’re looking rather paltry to her after she’s had me.”
Archie had to remind himself he wasn’t allowed to kill the son of a bitch. But, oh, how he wanted to, and it was the first time in his life he’d ever felt the desire to commit murder.
“She’s doing great. Doesn’t remember a thing about her time with you, thankfully, so all those extra charges were for naught. You’re nothing to her. But let me tell you what… I’ll never forget what you did to her, and you can bet your ass that I’ll be calling my lengthy list of contacts to make sure your time in prison is as miserable as it can possibly be. Every time someone gives you a taste of your own medicine, I want you thinking of Harlowe’s beautiful face and how she doesn’t even remember you.”
Archie got up from the floor. “I’ve got to get back to work now. You have a good day, Dylan. Maybe I’ll give your wife a call to see what’s up. She must be getting lonely by now.”
He leaped from the bed and came to the bars, grasping them. “Stay the fuck away from my wife.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Heard there’s a girlfriend, too. You’re a busy guy. Or, well, you were a busy guy. Not getting much action now, are you? I bet they’d love a little attention from someone who isn’t about to spend the rest of his life in the can.”
“If you go near them, I’ll have you killed.”
“Is that a threat, Offenbach? Aren’t you in enough trouble without threatening the life of a law enforcement officer? Luckily, I’ve got cameras all over this place, so I’ll be making a copy of that comment to send off to the USA as soon as I get back upstairs. I wonder how long it’ll be before they’re filing even more charges against you. Watch your back, Dylan. You’ll never know when someone might be coming for you. I’ll make sure they let you know that Harlowe sent them, and I’ll tell your girlfriend you said hi.”
“Stay the fuck away from her, you motherfucking asshole!”
Archie laughed as he walked away.
Offenbach was still screaming obscenities at him as Archie took the stairs two at a time, letting out a belch in the stairwell that echoed so loudly, it cracked him up. He went straight back to his office to make a copy of Offenbach’s threat for the U.S. Attorney.
All in all, it’d been a rather satisfying lunch break.
* * *
Neveah received a text message from Detective Williams with the Spokane Police IT department.
Hit pay dirt with an encrypted app on the sister’s phone where they orchestrated the plan. You’ve got what you need to execute arrest warrants. Come on in to take a look and plan next steps. I emailed the info about the guys they hired to you to pass on to your team at home.
Thank you very much. Will be there in an hour.
Neveah texted the update to Gonzo, telling him she’d forwarded the message about the hired hit men to his email.
Excellent. Let us know when you have them in custody.
What happens to the kids?
Spokane will have a contact with local CPS.
