Blast from the Past (A Mac Faraday Mystery) by Lauren Carr Read Free Book Online Page B

was the assistant at the marshal’s field office in Cumberland. She sold Archie out and kept us in the dark about Cruze’s release. Finnegan is looking at her financials now. It looks like she did it for cold, hard cash. When Finnegan called in about the hit on Archie, she ran and made the dumb mistake of calling Cruze’s people for help. They helped her all right. They sent over one of their psychopaths to tie up the loose end. How are things there?”
    “We had a run in with Cruze,” Mac said, “live and in person.”
    “Is everyone okay?”
    “I think Archie made Cruze pee his pants.”
    She giggled at the reference; however, David’s tone was serious. “She didn’t. Archie, I swear! You spent way too much time with Robin Spencer. How many times do I have to tell you? You don’t go around agitating maniacs. It’s not a good idea.”
    With a roll of her eyes, Archie went back to the closet with another load of clothes to hang up.
    Mac asked, “Does Finnegan have any ideas about what Cruze would be doing here in Spencer?”
    “One idea comes immediately to mind,” David said. “Archie was the prime witness that sent him to prison. She was the eye witness who saw him commit the murder. In spite of Cruze’s best efforts during the trial, he was never able to scare her into backing off.”
    “Which had to infuriate the hell out of him,” Mac said.
    “He’s come to Spencer to personally oversee her death.”

Chapter Six

    David O’Callaghan and Randi Finnegan returned to Spencer Manor in time for a dinner of Cincinnati Three-Way Chili, an old family recipe from Mac’s childhood. It was one of the few recipes he could cook on his own.
    Archie and Mac had a lot of mouths to feed with the full house of security officers from the Spencer Inn and police officers, the deputy chief, police chief, and one US Marshal.
    When David and Randi came through the front door, everyone forgot about the dinner and left the sunken dining room to go up to the living room to learn the details about the leak in the US Marshal’s office. Randi carried an overnight bag that they had stopped at her home in Cumberland to collect in anticipation of a long haul protecting Archie.
    “Unfortunately, we can’t get any information from Ginger Altman,” Randi said. “Cruze’s people quieted her real good.”
    “Don’t you people run security checks on your office help?” Bogie demanded to know.
    “Hey, I didn’t hire her,” Randi shot back. “But I guarantee you that she wouldn’t have been hired without passing a background check—I suppose all those stories about cops turning dirty are just urban legends.”
    “Considering that this was a witness who gave up her whole life as she knew it to put away one of the most dangerous men east of the Mississippi,” Hector replied, “you’d think the US Marshal’s office would have seen the importance of checking their people inside and out.”
    Randi looked like she was about to take both Bogie and Hector on single-handedly when David stepped between them and held out his arms to hold them back. “That’s enough. I’ve had it up to here with everyone.”
    Bogie started to object.  “She—”
    “ She didn’t betray Archie,” David said. “Finnegan is on our side. She cares as much about Archie as all of us. That’s why she’s here. What’s been done is done. Now we need to focus on keeping Archie safe and getting Cruze back behind bars.”
    “He’s right,” Mac said, “We need to keep our heads clear and figure out how to stop Cruze.”
    Randi gestured at the cell phone she wore clipped to her waistband. “I have a call in to my contact with the FBI organized crime bureau. This afternoon, he told me that they’ve been keeping close tabs on Tommy Cruze’s organization. After Cruze went to jail, his second in command, Ray Bonito, took over the operation. According to their sources, word is that Bonito isn’t happy about being kicked down to second in command