I held a menu up in front of my face while I listened to their conversation on a small Bluetooth earpiece.
Kyle got right down to business. “We might slow down operations for a little while.” He made it sound like they were in the military.
Gina was surprised. “Why’s that? I was hoping to put a down payment on a Porsche I saw in Walnut Creek. I could use some more cash.”
“We just want to make sure that cop has moved on to something else. You did me a solid by telling me she’d be on Geary Street the other day. I shot a round just over her head. That must’ve made her think.”
Gina said, “I’m just glad you didn’t hurt her. She’s a nice woman.”
“You going soft on me, Gina?”
“Nope.” Gina laughed. “By the way, we just got a new girl in the facility. She’s an absolute knockout. She’s seventeen, almost six feet tall, and looks like a farm girl. A gorgeous farm girl.”
Kyle grinned and said, “Well, maybe we can take ononemore girl before we go on break.”
I had heard enough. Gina had incriminated herself. She had corroborated basically everything Kyle had said. I caught Conklin’s eye from across the crowded café. I nodded. He stood up.
We eased over to the booth. It took a second for Gina to look up and realize we were standing there.
She smiled and said, “Hey, Lindsay. What are…” Then it hit her. She knew exactly why the police were standing in front of her.
I leaned down and said, “Stand up and walk out of here with us quietly. I’d prefer not to make a scene.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Picture yourself on the floor with me sitting on top of you while I handcuff you. That’s the best-case scenario.”
Gina nodded. She shot a murderous glance at Kyle. Then she quietly stood up. When she reached for her purse, Conklin plucked it out of her hand.
I said, “Sorry. We don’t know what you have in the purse.”
As soon as we stepped out of the front door of the café, I said, “You have the right to remain silent.”
CHAPTER108
YUKI CASTELLANO WASvirtually paralyzed with fear. She’d crawled the few remaining feet to the prosecution’s table. She stayed on her knees, watching the drama unfold before her. But her biggest fear was what her husband might do. He was in the last row before the exit door. He had his backup pistol. And he was no coward. She got queasy just thinking about what could happen.
She was staring at Elio Huerta, who now had Angela Torres by her thick black hair. Anita, the woman with the gun, was standing right next to him. The three of them were shuffling out of the courtroom. Each faced a different direction. Anita was shuffling backward. She looked like she was enjoying herself. A broad smile and bright eyes were at odds with the gray gun metal in her hand.
When they were about to reach the gallery’s swinging gate, Elio looked right at Yuki. He stopped shuffling and stared at her.
Yuki’s blood went cold.
After a pause, Elio said, “You almost buried me. I respect your effort.” Then he kept moving.
Just as they reached the gate, one of the bailiffs made a quick move toward a side door.
Anita didn’t hesitate to fire twice. The sound reverberated in the quiet courtroom. It sounded like someone slapping a board on a kitchen counter.
The bailiff fell and slid on the floor. A horrid red streak of blood stained the floor where he’d fallen.
Yuki felt like she was going to faint. She risked a glance to the back of the courtroom. Brady was sitting stock-still. That told Yuki he was going to surprise the thugs. She didn’t like that scenario at all.
But she liked what she saw next even less.
Her husband leaned down to draw his pistol from his ankle holster.
Yuki didn’t want to see what was about to happen. But she couldn’t turn away.
