“I sense anotherbutcoming.”
“But there’s another side to the woman. I let you know what her former nanny, Hiroko, said about Steers’s mother, Masuyo, convincing Steers that she killed her siblings in this insane competition to succeed her in running the empire. I mean, that has got to screw you up big-time. But Hiroko also told me that Steers was a very different person growing up. She wanted no part of this criminal empire stuff.”
“This Hiroko person might not be telling the truth. And she no doubt cares for Steers, so she might be trying to paint her in a favorable light.”
“Even Steers said that Hiroko thinks she can do no wrong. But Hiroko also said she saw Masuyo manipulating Steers. And I’ve found that she can be kind and empathetic and sensitive. But she can also get depressed about her life. I told you about her nearly killing herself.”
Morris didn’t reply right away. When he did, his voice was tight. “Which shows the woman is not stable. But regardless who is saying what, Walter, Steersisa criminal that we need to bring to justice. She had your daughter kidnapped and murdered.”
Nash barked, “You think I don’t know that! You think I’ve forgotten about my own daughter and what happened to her?”
“Well, then? What are you going to do about it? Because I thought we were working together to bring Steers to justice.”
Nash was about to snap back at the agent again, but he reconsidered. “I’m on my mission to the end.”
“Okay, but whose mission, the Bureau’s?”
“Mymission. If that coincides with your agenda, so be it.”
“Walter, we made a deal.”
“No, you roped me into this whole nightmare and it cost me everything. Now I’m out here alone trying to survive and get this done. So don’t tell me how I’m supposed to do it, or what I’m supposed to think. That part is over, Reed. Over.”
He clicked off and stared down at his phone. His hands were actually shaking. Then he closed his eyes tightly, which forced his face into a grimace.
Okay, I just cut off the FBI, which means I’ve got nobody to support me.
So, I’m really alone in this now. But hell, in reality, I’ve always been alone.
Nash drove on, feeling as hopeless as he ever had.
CHAPTER
47
AMONTH LATER, STEERS CALLED HIMto her office at the estate and informed him of some men who were coming to meet with her.
“They are from Mexico, Nicaragua, and Honduras,” she said. “They are business associates who are here to listen to a new proposal of mine.”
“I assume they’ll be bringing their own security?”
“They will be bringing a small army, but discreetly.”
“How is it possible that these men can travel so freely in the United States?”
“Dillon-san, they are not on watch or detain lists and neither am I, or else I would never have come back here. At most they would have to endure some secondary screening.”
“But the authorities must suspect them of criminal activity. And they’ll know they are coming here? Is that smart?”
“I still need to conduct my business. And the police have no adequate proof that I or any of my business partners have done anything wrong. And this needs to be done in person. Electronic meetings can be intercepted. This is why I do not ‘zoom.’”
Nash thought about the evidence he was compiling against her and wondered what she would think when the hammer came down.
Not as smart as you thought you were.
“But wouldn’t it make more sense for you to go to them? That way the police here wouldn’t know of the meeting.”
“You think the police from different countries do not share information? And your CIA? You, I am sure, will not be surprised to learn that they have long been interested in my affairs around the world. There is no way to escape their scrutiny, but I have learned to live with it and survive it. Now, some of the ones I do business with can no longer enter the U.S. And I do not visit them when I go to their countries, because that would place me in a precarious legal position. I deal with them discreetly through intermediaries.”
