“Come back, you mean?” And when he nodded, she’d said, “If you want me to.”
He’d thrown his arms around her neck and hadn’t let go until Beth told him how glad Mutt was going to be to see him.
All that went through Dylan’s mind now at fast-forwardspeed while El Paso had been saying, “I was ordered to kill you quick, and I’m not supposed to question orders. But since I don’t know that much about computers, I’m gonna hold off and let you do the computer work for me.”
Still holding her face-out against his chest, he swung her around and propelled her back into her inner office and over to the desk, where he pushed her into the chair he’d recently been lounging in. “Boot it up.”
Mitch walked back to the enclosed office but remained standing in the open doorway and addressed John directly. “DEA just pulled off a whopper of a raid in New Orleans. Oz lost men, so did the Caballeros. Our agents came through unscathed, thank God, but El Paso wasn’t at the scene and is still at large.”
John grimaced and said to Nix and Lear, “This is an all-points bulletin. To get back to his home turf, he has to go through Louisiana. Circulate this new info. Make sure everyone is up to speed.”
Before they could act on the directive, Mitch said, “Hold on a sec. This raid was no small potatoes. It’s gonna have impact. Oz was expecting a bonanza but got a bust. This, coming so fast on the heels of Malone’s murder, might send him running for cover.”
“What are you saying?” John asked.
“Don’t you think we need to be a bit more proactive? If we have any leads, however ‘unsupported,’ we ought to act on them before Oz has time to get out of Dodge.”
“I would agree with you if we knew who Oz was,” John said.
“We know who we suspect.”
“Whoyoususpect, Mitch.”
“I know I’m right.” He looked at Nix and Lear and John in turn, then stayed on John. “I lied about who I was talking to before I joined you. It wasn’t the courier lady. It was a US marshal who, for months, has had a guy in protective custody. He used to work for Malone.”
He recounted his conversation with Greer. “He’s laying it out to this guy as we speak. With a little persuasion, he may give us something confirming that my suspect is Oz.”
“He’s not a suspect,” John said with fading patience.
“Okay, let’s call him a person of interest. Who, by the way, owns a private jet. It’s gassed up and ready to take off later today.”
John asked, “How do you know that?”
“After I heard about Malone’s murder and the pending raid—”
Nix pounced on that. “Who told you about the raid?”
Mitch ignored her interruption and continued addressing John. “Knowing what was coming, I played a hunch, called the FBO where my suspect keeps his jet, pretended to be a caterer for his flight today.
“If he hadn’t scheduled one, I would’ve said, ‘Sorry to have bothered you, somebody must’ve got the date wrong.’ But guess what. Hedoeshave a flight scheduled. Wheels up at six o’clock this evening.” He let that settle, then said, “John, if we don’t make a move, he’ll fly the coop.”
“If we make a move without more than you’ve got to go on, this department could get sued for harassing a prominent citizen who could turn out to be law abiding and innocent of any crime.”
“You’re more worried about a lawsuit than catching Oz, who you know masterminded Angela’s murder?”
“Idon’tknow that, and neither do you. It’s pure speculationon your part, and this department—”
“Department,” Mitch sneered. “When did you start being a goddamn bureaucrat instead of a cop?”
“And when did you let your thirst for revenge over Angela override everything else in your life? Mitch, you’ve lost all reason and perspective. You’re on the brink of making a mistake that could cost you your career, cost you yourson.”
“Don’t bring my family into this!”
“I didn’t.Youdid. You did when you made that vow of vengeance over Angela’s grave.”
John’s shout reverberated. He drew himself up, as though just now becoming aware that Nix and Lear and most everyone in the unit stood frozen in place and attentive. “Give us some privacy,” he grumbled to Nix and Lear. “Close the door as you leave.”
“Don’t bother,” Mitch said. “I’m outta here. I’ll do this by myself.”
