Radclyffe - Sheltering Dunes

“That might explain why she doesn’t want anyone to know who she is. You have warrants on her?”

“Not presently,” Frye said. “The Gang Control Unit doesn’t want to move on any of the higher-ups until they’ve got something solid, and getting something solid isn’t easy. This isn’t a ragtag street gang that leaves a trail a mile wide every time they pull a job. They’re smart, they’re organized, and their ranks are leak-proof.”

“I’ve heard that about them. Tough to break into. Tough to turn.”

“Pretty much impossible.”

“What’s your angle in all this? I take it you’re not GCU?”

“I head the High Profile Crimes Unit,” the lieutenant said. “We interface with most other divisions—a lot of overlap.”

“Uh-huh.” Reese waited for an answer that actually was one. She had nothing against interdepartmental cooperation, but her first priority, her critical responsibility, was to her community. She needed to have all the information available to her.

“For the past few months,” Frye said, “we’ve suspected La Mara is setting up a cooperative operation with other organized crime families.”

“So La Mara’s leaders can give you evidence on the players in this other organization,” Reese said. “You want them all.”

“We want them.”

Frye’s voice was ice. History there.

“You want to get inside, then.”

“Us and just about every other division.” Frye paused. “I’d like to send someone who knows the situation up there to get close to Butler, find out what’s going on. Hopefully persuade her to help us.”

“If she’s the leader’s girlfriend,” Reese said, “she’s got to know enough to put him away.”

“Probably him and all of his lieutenants. If we can get something on him and squeeze him, we can get to the other players.”

“Let me see if I’m reading you,” Reese said. “You want to leave her up here as bait and wait to see who comes for her?”

“If she won’t cooperate, that’s an option,” Frye said, “but I’m hoping now that she has some distance we can get her to talk to us. I’m not interested in getting the girl killed.”

“Good, because neither am I. She’s also a member of our community. I don’t want our citizens or my officers getting caught in the middle of a gang war if this all goes south.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more. Look, it’s your turf, and I’m asking to come up and play on your field. I’ll send up one of my detectives and you can name one of yours to head the team.”

Reese thought about it. Right now, Mica Butler was still in danger from whoever had assaulted her the night before. The attack had to have been a retrieval, because if they’d wanted her dead, there’d been plenty of opportunity and easier ways to do it than a face-to-face physical confrontation. Another attempt was likely, and if that failed, probably another after that. Eventually they’d choose the simpler option and eliminate her. Mica must know they were closing in, and she had only two choices—run again, or stay and hope whoever was after her gave up. If she ran, she’d never be free. If she stayed, she’d have a huge target on her back. She just might opt for a frontal assault of her own. Taking on La Mara alone sounded a lot like suicide. “Are you going to tell her what’s going on?”

“How cooperative do you think she would be if we leveled with her?”

“I haven’t had a lot of personal interaction with her, but my sense is that she’s smart and she probably ran because she wanted a different kind of life.” Reese thought about Mica and Flynn. Allie thought they were together. Making ties with people who mattered changed a person. Altered priorities. Falling in love made the future look different. “If you can offer her immunity in return for cooperation, I think she might consider it.”

“I’ll follow your lead on this, Chief. No one’s had any luck turning anyone in La Mara—at least no one who’s lived very long. That’s why no one leaves. This girl’s not only smart, she’s brave.”

“Send your detective. Then we’ll talk to Mica Butler.”

“Thanks, I appreciate the cooperation. Detective Mitchell will be on the next plane up there. Ought to get there in a couple of hours.”

“We’ll be waiting. I’ll keep you in the loop.”

“Appreciate it, Chief.”

“Good talking to you, Lieutenant.” Reese disconnected and wrapped her arm around Tory’s shoulder. “I have to go in.”

“I heard. It sounded pretty serious.”

“It could be. Mica Butler is in a lot of trouble.”

Tory trailed her fingers back and forth over Reese’s chest. “The assault last night, that was no random event, was it?”

“No, and I doubt very much it will be the last.”

“What can you do?”

“Wait for the detective from Philadelphia, and then bring Mica in and talk to her.”

“Talk to her.” Tory shook her head. “Sounded like a lot more was planned. Using her as bait seems dangerous.”

“I don’t like it much myself.”

“Mica could get hurt.”

Reese sighed. “Unfortunately, Mica isn’t completely innocent in all of this. She’s a gang member, and not just a peripheral one at that. She’s a high-ranking member of a vicious gang. I don’t know what she’s done, I don’t know what she might be guilty of. I suspect they’re going to squeeze her with whatever they have on her to get her to talk.”

“She’s just a girl, Reese.”

“Children are not incapable of violence or criminal behavior. I’ve seen eleven-year-olds cut down soldiers with IEDs.”

“I know. And I know that the streets of some of our inner cities are as violent as the places you fought in over there and just as cruel. But we should be better than those places. You’ll look out for her, won’t you?”

“I will. Now she’s one of ours.”

Chapter Twenty-four

Allie paced in the small terminal of the Provincetown airport, waiting for the eleven a.m. Cape Air flight from Boston. When Reese had told her Philadelphia PD was sending up a detective to work Mica’s case, she’d had the good sense to say, “Yes ma’am,” and nothing else. But she didn’t like it. They didn’t need a hotshot guy from the big city coming up to tell them how to do their jobs. The sheriff made it clear they would cooperate, and in not quite so many words, she’d also made it plain that Provincetown was their town, and it was their job, no matter what other agencies might be involved, to keep the town safe. Allie took that charge very seriously.

When she’d taken the job in Provincetown, it had been just that, a job. When she’d first enrolled in the academy, she’d thought about going back down south after she graduated, to Charlotte, where the weather was better and the pace was slower and the people had a certain charm. Then she’d met Bri. Back then, Bri’s relationship with Caroline had been having some growing pains, and a short stay in Provincetown for a shot at Bri had seemed like a good idea. She’d grown up since then, and the things that mattered to her now were different. She had Ash, for one thing. If she wanted to relocate, Ash would come, she knew that, but this place was home to them both. These people were her people. Reese was the best boss she could ever have—she could learn to be a better cop from her, and she could grow. She belonged here. This was her territory.

She walked to the glass doors that looked out on the single runway as the small twin-engine plane descended and taxied around to stop in front of the outdoor luggage racks. The ten-seater was usually full. She waved to the pilot, who jumped down to open the doors and escort the passengers off. The first few people to climb out she knew, locals. Then the tourists, several looking a little pale and shaky. Probably their first trip in a plane that rattled and shook and appeared to be skimming the tops of the waves. None of them looked like cops.