Ginger snaps, p.15
Ginger Snaps, page 15
My mind turned to my own daughter, Beth. She and Debbie were
about the same age. I felt immensely grateful that Beth had lived a
secure, almost pampered life, and yet oddly embarrassed that she would
be totally unable to relate to the atrocities Debbie had experienced. I
found myself wondering whether Beth could relate to Debbie at all.
“Debbie, look at me. You weren’t a prostitute. I don’t want to
hear you say that ever again. You were a victim of revolting men who
cheated and abused you. I came in to thank you. Micki is safe because
of you. Thank you.”
She flushed a little, and said “Well, I–I didn’t . . . I mean, I really
appreciate that. But what happens next? What are we going to do?”
“Until we get everything sorted out, Mongo and one of Clo-
vis’s men are going to stay here with you. Make a list of what you
need—I’ll send someone to your place. No texting or calls to friends
telling them what happened or where you are. Please don’t argue. It
won’t be forever. I don’t want to scare you, but I’m still worried about
your safety. I’ll be back tomorrow morning. We have lots of work to
do, and I need your help. I need to know I can count on you, okay?”
“When can I see Micki?”
“Sam Pagano won’t let any of us see her for now. Besides, she’s in no
condition to see any of us. But as soon as Sam gives the okay, you’ll be
first on the list.”
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She squared her shoulders. “I need to know, was Novak behind
this?”
“I don’t know, but, honestly, I don’t think so. From what you told
me, I think someone has tried to set him up. Maybe we’ve landed in
the middle of some sort of gangster turf war, but I don’t think so. I
have a hunch that Novak had nothing to do with Micki’s kidnapping.
Anyway, I want you to sit tight, mind Mongo and Clovis, and help me
get to the bottom of all this.”
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Maggie and I climbed into the back of the Tahoe. Clovis was already
in the driver’s seat. Moira joined us, riding shotgun. She spoke up as
soon as the doors closed.
“I’ve already asked for liz’s security to be upgraded. My flight to
Memphis leaves in a couple of hours and I’ll be back in little Rock
tomorrow afternoon. How did you know where to find Micki?”
“Clovis will fill you in on the way to the airport. Hurry back, we’ve got
a lot to do.” Maggie gave me a quizzical look, surprised at my abruptness.
Clovis dropped us off at the hotel’s door and left with Moira. I tried
to call Beth. I knew she’d be worried about Micki, and even more
upset if she heard it on the news or saw it online. When she didn’t
answer, I thought about texting, but somehow it didn’t feel right. She’d
have to wait.
every part of me wanted to be at Micki’s side, but she had eric.
She’d expect me to find out who was behind all this and, in her words,
“neuter the bastard.”
By the time Maggie and I had emptied our suitcases and cleaned
up, it was time to go to dinner. The Faded Rose, housed in a non-
descript building near the river, is famous for Rose’s Creole soaked
salads and mouth-watering steaks cooked in butter in cast iron skillets.
You’d never find it if you weren’t a local. Between rowdy families and
armchair fans watching eSPN the place was already crowded–it was a
good thing Clovis had called ahead.
We followed the waiter to a slightly quieter spot in a back corner.
Maggie ordered a single malt scotch. I was tempted, but good whiskey
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would be wasted on me. opening that closet door to an almost-dead
Micki was going to haunt me for a long time. I settled for whatever
Cabernet the waiter recommended.
“Thanks for getting me on the plane this morning, Maggie. I’m not
sure Micki would be alive if we hadn’t come.”
She smiled. “You were in shock, you just needed a shove. Thank
God you found her in time.”
“Thank God is right. But I’m still more than worried for her safety.
I don’t think Novak had anything to do with Micki’s kidnapping
and torture. I’ll explain my reasoning to Sam at dinner, no sense in
repeating myself. Given that I think he didn’t do it, I see two other
possibilities. either it relates to Dr. Stewart’s arrest—somebody wants
Micki out of that game—or it relates to her business, a former client
or a case that went bad.”
“That’s more likely, don’t you think?”
“Probably, so tomorrow morning I want you and Debbie to go over
all of Micki’s current files, see if you can find any leads. I know that’s
hard and boring work, but I’ve got to turn my attention to Doug. even
acres of marijuana don’t justify the way the government is treating him.”
“If it does concern Doug, what makes you think you won’t be their
next target?”
“Maggie, I’m not a threat to a flea, and what good does it to do to
worry about it? We’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
Ignoring her “who are you kidding” look, I said, “I’m more worried
that Dub will try to pull some trick while Micki’s in the hospital.”
Clovis and Sam walked in together, turning a few heads as they
walked to our table. Word had spread fast. Sam knew Maggie and
greeted her as the friends they were.
“Plying me with liquor and food isn’t going to get you out of telling
me how you found Micki. But since you’re buying, I’ll tell you what I
know first. We’ve put pressure on every area of Novak’s business and
come up empty. Novak has even agreed to let me interview him.”
Clovis jumped in. “Well, why not? He’s in the clear. He gives the
order, but makes sure there’s no way to link him to the kidnapping.”
“You don’t have to convince me. Novak’s known for exacting
revenge. He’s made it clear that he blames Micki for losing Debbie,
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and he’s sworn to get even. He may cry innocent, but I don’t trust him
further than I can throw him, which isn’t very far.” Sam responded.
“Suppose he’s telling the truth–what then?” I interjected.
“All right, wise-ass, what makes you think Novak’s not our man?”
“I’m probably wrong, but hear me out. every piece of evidence
points to Novak: the kidnapping, the use of his house, the drugs, and
the branding—but it doesn’t make sense. If Novak were behind it,
surely he wouldn’t be so sloppy. Why would he leave her to be found
at his old training center? Why let her be found at all?
“Besides, if it were an act of revenge, he would never have left her
to die. Debbie says Novak believes in using women, not killing them.
She said he’d treat Micki the same as all his girls, getting her addicted
until she was willing to do anything for a score. He’s done it before.
Sam, you have to admit, Micki would’ve been worth a lot of money to
a man like Novak.”
Maggie was rightfully horrified at my words. “That’s terrible, Jack.
How can you talk about Micki that way? She would never have agreed
to be one of Novak’s prostitutes.”
Sam answered for me. “Maggie, it’s not a matter of choice. The
addiction takes over and controls everything. Thank God it didn’t
happen, but what Jack describes is exactly how Novak works. He gets
very young girls addicted to the point they’ll do anything to feed their
habit. That’s his business.”
She was still glaring at me.
“Maggie, you know how special Micki is to me; you also know how
much she means to Sam. Micki’s not some piece of meat. I’m simply
trying to explain the difference between what happened to Micki, as
horrible as it was, and how Novak would’ve behaved. It’s how I figured
out where she was. It’s just the facts.”
Maggie understood my reasoning, but was still bothered by the
discussion.
“let’s hear how you figured out where she was so I can mark you off
my suspect list.” Sam winked.
“You and Clovis were concentrating on where Novak might have
taken her, with zero results. So I wondered–what would someone do
if they wanted to frame Novak? It occurred to me they might take her
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to a location that was easily identified with Novak, but not currently in
use—a place you wouldn’t think of at first, but would get to at some
point. It was a hunch and, fortunately, it turned out to be right.”
Maggie reached under the table and squeezed my hand.
“Well, thanks to your hunch, she’s alive.” Sam smiled. “We’ve put
her boyfriend through the wringer—he’s not involved. The bad news
is we didn’t find a single fingerprint in that room except Micki’s, not
one. Not one hard piece of evidence to link the crime to Novak, and
no real reason to suspect anyone else.”
“Wait—you have a huge clue,” I almost shouted.
Sam shook his head. “okay, Sherlock. What did I miss?”
“The brand. That’s not Novak’s brand on her shoulder. Debbie’s
brand is different. It has two letters together: an ‘AN.’ The brand on
Micki is a single ‘N’ with a different font, if you can consider brands
to have fonts. each of Novak’s girls has the same brand on the back of
her neck, not on her collarbone. Debbie confirmed that after I found
Micki.”
A low whistle escaped Sam’s lips. “Nice work. excuse me while I
pass your reasoning on to my crack detective team. order me a rib
eye—bone in, rare. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I turned to Maggie. “I’m sorry. I had to be direct with Sam. His
people are convinced Novak is guilty because it’s easy. It’s hard to get
law enforcement to think outside the box unless you hit them up the
side of the head, even Sam.”
“I understand, but what happened to Micki is every woman’s night-
mare. I don’t even want to ask if the bastards raped her.” I hadn’t
chosen to ask either.
“Clovis, can you see if you can find a local source for branding irons?
It’s probably a wild goose chase, but it will take the police decades to
follow up. If someone is trying to frame Novak, the iron itself will find
its way onto one of Novak’s properties soon enough.”
Clovis replied. “Will do. Any other zingers?”
“Well, yeah, a couple. But I’m going to need your help to convince
Sam.”
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Sam returned, our steaks arrived, and it was time to get down to
business; although the perfectly cooked rib eyes, smothered pota-
toes, and Creole green beans were a distraction. even Maggie gave in,
happy to forget her healthy habits for the evening.
“I know you don’t know much about Dub’s task force, but I think
it’s time you did,” I began between mouthfuls.
“Why in the world would I want to get within a country mile of Dub
or his so-called task force?” he responded.
“What if I told you they were involved in Micki’s kidnapping?”
His fork made a loud clatter when it hit his plate—more than one
head turned. Maggie and Clovis managed to keep control of their
silverware, but were just as surprised.
“What have you been smoking? Why in the world do you think Dub
has anything to do with Micki’s abduction? Sure, she hates his guts,
and I’m sure the feeling is mutual, as many times as she’s cleaned his
plow. But not even Dub would actually kidnap someone, much less
leave them for dead.”
I needed to be careful not to exaggerate or oversell.
“look—as far I as I can see there are four possible abductors. First,
there’s the obvious, Novak. Second, there’s some enemy of Novak
who’s trying to frame him. Novak’s bound to have enemies, lots of
them. Third, it could be one of Micki’s clients. We’re going to be all
over that tomorrow. Finally, there’s Dub, his task force, and whoever
benefits from the Stewart case.
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“Dub and his gang seem the most unlikely. But don’t rule them out,
okay? I haven’t swum in your pool often, but it seems the least likely
suspects sometime float to the top. It’s the opposite of occam’s razor.
Call it Patterson’s shower if you like.”
“I’d rather not, if you don’t mind,” Sam responded, downing his
glass of wine. Maggie refilled it immediately.
“Bear with me while I tell you what little I know about Dub’s case
against Dr. Stewart.” Sam leaned back in his chair, willing to indulge
me for the time being.
He asked a few questions, but basically listened without comment.
I hoped I hadn’t given him too much wine.
Swirling his glass thoughtfully, he finally asked, “okay—so now what?”
“You’re not going to call me an idiot or a nut job?”
“Well my friend, I’ve learned not to discount your off-the-wall theo-
ries out of hand. I’m willing to do what I can, but so far I don’t see how
I can help.” He gave me a forlorn grin.
“That’s okay. It’s enough that you listened, didn’t pull me off the
mound before the game even started. Next time I need something
concrete like a search warrant or a subpoena, you’ll know why.”
“If you want a search warrant, you better have more than a theory,
you better bring facts. No judge is going to touch a pending Federal
matter without an ironclad reason and plenty of facts to back it up.
But, I’ll say something I wouldn’t have a year ago. If you’ve got some-
thing–bring it to me. I’ll listen.”
“That’s all I can ask for. Thanks.” I meant it.
Sam put his fork down, deliberately this time, and gave me a hard
look. “Jack, let me give you a bit of advice I know you won’t take. let me
find Micki’s kidnapper, and you concentrate on defending your doctor.”
“Can’t do that, Sam— I know in my gut they’re related. If we find
the kidnapper, we’ll know how to defend Dr. Stewart. And if I figure
out what’s really behind Doug’s prosecution, we’ll know who kid-
napped Micki.”
I had planted a seed. That’s all I could hope for out of one night’s
dinner. Sam was more than happy to accept Clovis’s offer to drive him
home. As he rose, he turned to Maggie.
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“You’ll be glad to know that no charges will be filed against Jack
and Clovis for breaking and entering this afternoon. The deputies
and I all agree that the front door was wide open when we arrived. We
all thought we heard a scream, and Jack ran in.” He winked, gave her
a quick kiss, and turned toward the door, Clovis close behind.
Maggie and I lingered in silence over the last of the Cabernet.
I watched the waiter serve bread pudding to the table next to us
and wondered idly if Maggie had ever enjoyed real Southern bread
pudding.
“Jack, you can’t actually believe Dub is responsible for Micki’s kid-
napping.” Her abrupt comment broke the reverie.
“Believe me, I hope not. However incompetent I think he is, he’s
still the U. S. attorney, and I’m not a conspiracy nut. Contrary to
movies and blogs, our government doesn’t kidnap defense lawyers,
brand them, and leave them to die. But someone who stands to ben-
efit from Dub’s prosecution could be responsible. or Micki could
easily be collateral damage in a drug or mafia turf war between Novak
and some other thug. What’s important is that Sam knows what we’re
doing. He’s not fighting us.”
“Maybe he learned his lesson.”
“No, the real reason is Micki. She rescued him once. He’s on our
team because we both want justice for Micki.”
our server offered the dessert menu, but Maggie declined, and I
reluctantly decided to save bread pudding for another night.
“You’re right, we should go—tomorrow’s going to be a big day. I
