Page 42 of Dangerous Liaisons

Chapter Thirty-One

Jesse forced a slow breath in an effort to slow her pounding heart and pushed the sniffer under the desk until it touched the back, then stood. A dozen legal-sized documents were stacked in two neat piles on the desk. She rifled the pages and found common court proceedings. A tug on the top drawer found it locked. She retrieved her lock picks and got to work.

She had the drawer open in fifteen seconds; meanwhile, Cole had worked his way through three of the bookcases. The top drawer of the desk held pens, pencils, and paperclips. Jesse halted. An address book. Adrenaline pumped through her. She cast a glance at Cole. Still busy with the books. She opened the address book to P. No Perez. She set the book on the desk and began snapping photos of each page.

Five minutes later, she was rifling through the bottom drawer when Cole whispered over the radio, “A safe.”

Jesse turned. He squatted before an open cabinet at the bottom of a bookcase. The UV light illuminated a small safe about eighteen inches square. She hurried to the desk and squatted beside Cole. The safe was a low-end Englemier, with a four-tumbler dial lock. She removed her glasses to save battery power, then nudged Cole with her hip. He scooted aside, then she shifted to her knees in front of the safe and rotated the dial two turns right, then two turns left. The mechanism hadn’t been well maintained in the humid tropical climate. The tumblers vibrated under her fingers.

She rubbed her fingers together to get the blood flowing, then pressed an ear to the safe and slowly turned the dial, sensing even before she felt each tic of the tumbler. First three turns to the right, and felt the first tumbler engage. To the left, the drag of the first tumbler gave her hope. She rotated the dial two full turns and missed the second tumbler on the way around. Cole’s warm breath bathed her neck. A shiver raced down her back.

Five minutes later, the last tumbler clicked into place. She looked at Cole and twisted the lever, her gaze locked with his as the door opened without a sound. He gave a nod of appreciation.

Jesse donned the eyeglasses and reached inside. On the top shelf, she found a million in pesos, ten thousand American dollars, a dozen bearer bonds, and a small jewelry box. The bottom of the safe held a stack of expandable legal folders. A folder contained the judge’s will and family birth certificates. She motioned for Cole to photograph the documents. Deeds to his various properties, stocks, more bonds, bank statements and incorporation documents filled other folders. Another ten minutes, and they’d photographed all the documents. Jesse returned the folders to the safe in the order in which she’d found them, closed the door, and spun the lock.

The light from Cole’s glasses flickered, then extinguished. Out of power, and hers were next. She checked her watch. Twenty-seven minutes. They had been there too long.

Footsteps sounded in the hall.

Jesse and Cole shot to their feet. The footfalls stopped at the study door and they exchanged glances. Jesse swallowed the fear that lodged in her throat. Cole dashed toward the balcony doors.

A key jiggled in the door lock.

No time to retrieve the sniffer or lock the desk drawer. She rushed toward the balcony. A loose page fluttered off the desk as she passed.

The doorknob turned.

Jesse dove onto the balcony. Cole eased the door shut and the study light snapped on as they dove for opposite corners of the balcony. She yanked off the glasses and stuffed them in an inside vest pocket. A door closed inside the room. No sound of footfalls on the carpeted floor. She peered through a gap in the curtains. Menendez’s butler, Alfonzo, stood in the doorway looking around the room.

She tensed as his gaze settled on the paper that had fallen to the floor. He walked to the paper, picked it up, then slowly looked around the room before placing it on top of the documents on the desk. Jesse’s heart pounded. Had she closed the desk drawers? She had pushed the sniffer under the desk against its back wall, but if Alfonzo stepped left, the green lights might catch his attention.

He took three steps to the coffee table and reached inside his breast pocket. Jesse unsnapped the safety strap on the Beretta at her hip, then paused when he produced a white handkerchief. In what appeared to be an automatic reaction, he picked up the ashtray, stepped to the desk and dumped ashes into the trashcan beside the desk, then began polishing it. His gaze swept the room.

Jesse’s mouth went dry. He knows.

Out the corner of her eye, she saw Cole motion to leave. She shook her head, then returned her attention to Alfonzo as he set the ashtray on the coffee table. He headed for the balcony doors. She pulled back against the wall. A second later, the door handle jiggled.

Jesse swung her gaze onto Cole. He gripped his gun with both hands, the weapon pointed skyward beside his head. Now, who was the one ready with guns blazing? The door handle stilled. Jesse counted off ten seconds before the room went dark. The study door closed with a soft click.

She glanced at Cole. He held up a fist and nodded at the balcony doors. He was right. Alfonso might still be in the room. She nodded, then pressed the talk button on her watch. “Twenty-three, forty-two,” the watch cooed into her earpiece.

Jesse pulled back against the wall. Time for the guard to make another round. She caught Cole’s attention, pointed to her watch, then down at the ground. He melted back into the corner and they waited. The guard came and went. No one burst from the study. Her heart slowed.

“Let’s move out,” Cole said.

Jesse shook her head. She pulled the glasses from her vest. “We didn’t find anything. I have to finish the desk.”

She started to turn, but Cole grabbed her arm. “I don’t like it.”

“You forget, I’m Blue Team, covert-ops. This is my expertise.”

He didn’t release her.

“This is our only shot.” She put the glasses on. “I’ve got a few minutes of power left and I’m not leaving until I’ve found what I’m looking for or run out of juice.”

He hesitated, then nodded.

Jesse unstrapped her Beretta and pulled it from the holster, then nodded. Cole slid his plastic card between the doors. She held her breath in the seconds it took him to disengage the lock. When he soundlessly eased the bolt back and inched the door open, she stepped inside, weapon ready. The glow from her glasses swept across an empty room.

“All clear,” she whispered. “Wait outside.”

He stepped onto the balcony, leaving the door open.

Jesse reached for the door and started to close it, but Cole stopped it an inch from the latch. She released the handle. Insisting he close it all the way would rouse suspicion. She took a step toward the desk. Light flickered and her glasses shut down, plunging the room into total darkness. Damn. So much for searching the rest of the desk.

Jesse took two steps, felt the desk with an outstretched hand, then eased around to the front. Sliding her Beretta into its holster, she knelt in front of the desk. Three lights glowed green on the sniffer. She snatched the device, opened the lid. A single phone number glowed on the display. She memorized the number, then hit the reset button, clearing the screen. Maybe her gamble had paid off.

The study door swung open with a bang. The light snapped on.