Beverly Barton - Grace Under Fire

"Call me Jed. And as soon as I find out anything, I'll let you know."

Elsa nodded, then said to Grace, "I'll get to work now. I'm so sorry I was late this morning."

"You had good reason," Grace replied.

The minute Elsa exited the room and closed the door behind her, Jed faced Grace. "You know the odds aren't in her favor."

Grace's gaze connected with his. "Meaning?"

"Meaning her brother is headed for big-time trouble and we all know it. He's got a high-paying part-time job at night in a riverfront warehouse. There's a ninety-percent chance he's working for Booth Fortier."

Grace's heart lurched at the mention of the monster's name. "Isn't that quite a leap? You're assuming-"

"I'm assuming nothing. Booth Fortier controls organized crime in Louisiana. Everyone knows it, including law enforcement, but the guy's been too smart all these years to ever get caught. He prides himself on being able to flaunt his wealth and power and thumb his nose at the police, the state boys, the Feds… He thinks he's invincible, which makes him twice as deadly. But it also makes him vulnerable. It's his major weakness."

"You seem to have learned a great deal about Fortier in a very brief period of time." Grace sensed that Jed's assessment of the mob boss came from something more than recent research on her case. "Did you know about Fortier before you took this assignment?"

"Yeah, I knew about him. Don't forget I'm from Louisiana."

"I see." But she didn't; not really. Not unless Jed Tyree had been in law enforcement, which he hadn't been-or unless for some other reason he'd kept tabs on Fortier's career. Was it possible that Jed had suffered a personal loss, as she had, at Fortier's command?

"I'll have the warehouse where the kid works checked out. It shouldn't be too difficult to find out which warehouse it is," Jed said. "Now, back to the case at hand-I've gone over the accident report from four years ago and taken a look at the photos of the scene. I agree with the police. From the evidence, it appears to be nothing more than a drunk driver who lost control of his vehicle and hit the car your husband was driving. But…"

"But?"

"If the other driver was so intoxicated that he couldn't control his vehicle, then why didn't his car go over the embankment the way your husband's car did? It is possible that his erratic driving, swerving back and forth, saved his life, which is what the police think."

"That's not what you think, is it?"

"My guess is the other driver wasn't drunk, he knew exactly what he was doing and once he'd made certain your husband's car crashed over the embankment, he turned just in the nick of time and went on his merry way. He'd been hired to do a job, told to make sure it appeared to be an accident. The guy was a professional."

"If he was a professional, why did Fortier kill him?"

"We don't know he was killed, do we?"

"But the letter I received said-"

"The letter you received said a lot of things, made a lot of accusations, none of which we've proven. Not yet. Whoever wrote that letter, wrote it to get your attention. He wants something. He'll contact you again."

"What?" Grace spun around and glared at Jed. "He said in the letter that his conscience was bothering him. Are you saying he-"

"To have that type of inside information means he's either one of Fortier's boys or he's close to Governor Miller. My guess is that he belongs to Fortier. He's double-crossing the head of the crime syndicate, which in Fortier's world is punishable by death, so this is no soul-cleansing confession. Believe me, you'll hear from him again. That's why I want your personal phone line here at the office tapped and your home phone as well."

"You think he'll call me?"

Jed nodded. "Either that or he'll send another letter."

"When?"

"Soon. He can't afford to waste time. Once Fortier realizes that you're having him investigated, he'll know why… or least he'll be able to make an educated guess. Then he'll start looking around at those closest to him and figure out who has stabbed him in the back. Out of fear for his life, our guy is working on a strict timetable."

"I'm impressed," Grace admitted. "You seem to know an awful lot about the way these people think. But I suppose you have to possess that type of knowledge in your line of work."

Jed didn't respond.

"What's next?" she asked. "Where do we go from here?"

"A great deal of investigative work is done by computer these days, so Dundee is already taking that route. And when Domingo and Kate arrive tomorrow, they should have a report for me. They'll be doing the hands-on investigation, but I'll be coordinating their efforts along with my own and with what's being done at Dundee headquarters."

"If you need an office at my house, you can use mine. My father had a state-of-the-art home office and I've taken full advantage of it."

"Sounds good. Thanks for the offer."

"Okay." Grace's whole body relaxed as she willed the tension to drain away. She'd learned how to release negative energy and wipe her mind clear. The technique helped, but it worked on a temporary basis only. But even temporary relief was better than none. "Are you about ready for lunch? I can have Elsa order in for us or we can go out. Your choice."

"I need to tie up a few loose ends," he told her. "Then I'll be ready to leave. I'd like to take a look around St. Camille, familiarize myself with the town. Besides, I'm in the mood for Crawfish Etoufe."

"I know just the place. Beula's Crab Shack, over on Ayenall. It looks like a seedy dive, but they serve the best Crawfish Etoufe in La Durantaye Parish. "

"Give me ten minutes."

"All right."

Jed grinned at her, then winked just as he turned and headed out the door. A peculiar quiver radiated through her tummy. She couldn't remember the last time a man had winked at her. Or the last time she'd responded to an innocent flirtation.

Be very careful, Grace , a warning voice inside her head cautioned. An innocent flirtation could easily turn into something serious, something you aren't prepared to handle.

Why was she entertaining man-woman thoughts about Jed? She wasn't sure she even liked the guy. Okay, so she might not like him, but she was attracted to him. No use in denying the truth. There was something unique about Jed Tyree, something undeniably appealing.

Jed dialed the digital phone number for one of the two undercover Dundee agents already in place-the two Grace Beaumont didn't and wouldn't know anything about. Not yet. Rafe Devlin answered on the second ring.

"I need for you to check out some warehouses down by the river," Jed said. "This isn't directly connected to the case, but it just might have ties to Fortier. Check the warehouses owned by Garland, Inc. first. Garland, Inc. is controlled by Fortier. See if you can find out what comes in and out during the nighttime hours. And see if a kid named Troy Leone is working part-time there."

"Leone? Isn't Grace Beaumont's personal assistant named-"

"He's Elsa Leone's little brother. Probably getting in over his head, thinking about nothing but making some big money the easy way."

"Been there, done that, got the scars to prove it," Devlin said, a hint of humor in his voice.

"Call me on my cell phone when you find out something."

"Will do." A slight pause. "Hey, did you know that when Dean Beaumont passed the bar and went into private practice, back when he was a green kid, he briefly worked for Oliver Neville?"

"And Neville is?"

"He's been Fortier's lawyer for the past fifteen years. An odd coincidence, don't you think?"

"Yeah, but it could be just that-a coincidence."

"Maybe. But then again it's possible the evidence Beaumont was so close to getting on Fortier and Governor Miller was going to come from Neville."