Boston Police Detective Robert Teague risked his professional reputation to close the case that ruined his father. He burned a lot of people to do that, and after six years the captain who saved his job hasn’t forgotten how much Robert screwed up. A detective of his experience should have something better to do than chasing down a complaint against a paroled convict, but maybe that's why his gut is telling him something doesn’t make sense. Why did this boyfriend pimp get such a light sentence in the first place, and why did one of Boston’s most prestigious law firms represent him? And what is it about the complaining witness that makes her less reliable every time he talks to her? (The fact that she’s using an alias isn’t helping.)
Even a hard-boiled cop would be shocked by the world Hannah Bruges has been slipping in and out of since she was a young teenager. Counterfeiting, child prostitution and slave labor in all its forms make the world a miserable place, and Hannah knows better than most how evil it can be when no one cares. When anyone can get what they want at every level of a dark market, nothing’s as cheap as a human life. Robert would be happy to close the case if Hannah didn’t keep walking into trouble and dragging him into it with her. And if he’s honest, the detective in him wants to know what she’s really after: the people the law can’t find, or the person no one bothered to look for?
There’s always someone who can give you what you want and what you need, but nothing comes without a price. How much are you willing to pay when it’s someone you love?
Excerpt
The function was scheduled to begin at
seven in the evening. Robert made sure he arrived at seven-fifteen; late enough
that there would be enough people so he could blend in, but early enough that
he could see people walking in.
The man at the desk had frowned when
he walked up, but once he showed his badge, he reluctantly let him through.
That vindicated his conviction that he did not have much time to find what he
was looking for.
He ordered a scotch at the bar after
waiting for ten minutes. It wasn't, he told himself, to calm his nerves, but to
blend in.
"I'll have whatever he's
having," a woman's voice said.
He looked down out of the corner of
his eye. He knew who it was, but he was going to play it cool. "Why am I
not surprised to see you here?" he said as soon as she got her drink and
the bartender walked away.
She turned so her back was leaning
against the bar. Her hair was up, and now it looked lighter, as it had in the
old picture. It suited her. She was wearing makeup too. A lot of it, but well
done. Her dress was beige, close to her skin tone, and with only one strap. The
hemline was one of those uneven things that was shorter in the front than the
back. She had on heels, and he couldn't help but notice how good her legs
looked.
"I'm going to walk out of this
room," she said quietly, not looking at him, "and you're going to
give me a two-minute head start. You're going to walk downstairs to the
bathrooms on the right side of the Starbucks. I'm going to come out after I
powder my nose, and you're going to look very happy to see me. Got it?"
Before he could answer, she sauntered away, stopping twice to flirt with some
of the older men in the room.
Robert looked at his watch. When two
minutes had passed, he finished his drink, left money in the tip jar, and
walked out. He walked as slowly as he could to the escalator.
One minute later, he had just glanced
at the bathroom when he saw Hannah walk out. She smiled broadly and walked over
to him. "There you are!" she said, linking elbows with him. "Why
don't we go somewhere a little quieter, hmm?"
Robert looked at the calendar of
events. Perfect. "I know just the place," he said, then walked
her back up the stairs to the fourth ballroom. There was loud cheering and
conversation.
Hannah looked around appreciatively.
"The American Statistical Association really knows how to party,
huh?"
"Why are you dressed like
that?" Robert demanded.
"What's the first thing you
thought when you saw me like this?"
"That you look like a little girl
playing dress up in her big sister's clothes."
Hannah smiled. "And you don't
think any of those guys up there go for that?"
Robert folded his arms. "You
blackmailed a low-level pimp so you could prostitute yourself to some partners
in a law firm?"
"You got this far and that's the
best you could come up with?"
"You are going to stop playing
games with me, Hannah, and tell me what the hell is going on."
"Three hours, and I'll tell you
anything you want to know."
"What happens in three
hours?"
"I meet you at Wally's, buy you a
drink, and tell you everything."
"Wally's on Mass Ave? That's
pretty close to where you really live, right?"
Hannah patted his shoulder. "Very
good, Robert. You want more? Give me three hours. If I don't get to do what I
need to, none of this is going to matter."
"I am a cop. I can't let you go
to knowingly break another law."
"I swear to you I'm not going to
do anything illegal." She sighed. "Don't you let people get their
affairs in order before they turn themselves in?"
"Is that what you're going to
do?"
"I'll let you decide." She
licked her lips. "Do we have a deal?"
Robert shook his head and looked at
his watch. "If I don't see you at Wally's by ten-thirty exactly, I am
going to get a warrant for your arrest for blackmail and fraud."
"See you at ten-thirty,"
Hannah said as she turned to leave. "And enjoy the party."
One second later, he heard a “whoo!”
and then a screaming man thrust a beer into his hand. Before Robert could
extricate himself, Hannah was out the door.
Reviews
"For
anyone who has read the series, this is a great continuation of the rocky life
of Robert Teague. Whether you loved him or hated him in after reading China
Doll, you definitely had an opinion, and I was happy to find out what really
makes him tick in this novel. The author was not afraid to dig into the twisted
world of human trafficking to expose the ugliness most of us never see--and it
was all done with the level of empathy and care we've come to expect from
her."
Caroline
Fardig
No comments:
Post a Comment