Material Witness by Lisa Mondello, L. A. Mondello Read Free Book Online Page A

her. He was powerful, magnetic. She was infinitely
glad he was here, yet at the same time she feared everything about him.
    “No, it won't,” he said, the deep timbre
of his voice echoing the severity of the situation. “But it'll have to be
enough for now. Anything else you need you can get on the way.”
    “Like a computer? My work? How about
my life?”
    “We're talking about your life,
Cassie. Now go pack. The sooner we get you to a safer place, the better.”
    He wasn’t demanding, but Jake made
his point clear. She should put her trust in him and go. Why did that fill her
with a fear she hadn't felt in a long time? Why did she think that by giving up
her trust to a man like Jake Santos to take care of her, to keep her safe,
she'd risk endangering her heart?
    * * *
    District Attorney Martha Landers gave
a new definition to dog spitting mad. She had always been a powerhouse, Jake
recalled, but after reading the file on Ritchie Trumbella and Angel Fagnelio,
she was ready to have someone's head readied for the guillotine.
    Jake was first in line.As
they walked down the hall toward the interrogation room where his partner,
Kevin Gordon, was talking to Cassie, Martha let him have it.
    “Did it ever occur to you to check to
see if there was another ongoing investigation? You were tripping all over the
FBI’s case and didn’t even know it!”
    “Courtesy would have gone a long way
if the FBI had informed the local PD about their own investigation. This is our
turf,” Captain Russo said. “We’ve cooperated with the FBI before. We play nice
if they do.”
    “The FBI doesn’t give a shit about
playing nice,” Martha said in disgust. “And they don’t have to. I spent an hour
on the phone with the head of the Bureau in Quantico this morning convincing
him I love my job and want to keep it. They have jurisdiction on this, our turf
or not. They’ll be here to collect their witness within the hour.”
    “ Their witness. That doesn’t
give us much time,” Russo said.
    Martha folded her arms across her
chest, stretching the shoulder seams of her blue power suit. She had been
working in the DA's office longer than Jake had been on the force. Except for
the slight tint of stubborn gray at her temples that hair color couldn't tame,
and the deepening crow’s feet creasing her eyes, she hadn't changed much. “I
suggest you tread lightly. If the FBI suspects you’re even looking at Ms.
Alvarez wrong… Where is she?”
    “Here. She’s with Kevin.” Jake opened
the interrogation room door. Cassie sat at the table. Across from her was his
partner, Detective Kevin Gordon. Kevin was his usual charming self, laughing
and leaning his chair on two legs. He pushed back errant strands of hair that
had fallen from the tight ponytail he wore while working to keep his
shoulder-length dark blond hair at bay.
    Martha smiled politely at Cassie.
“Ms. Alvarez.”
    “Hello,” Cassie said.
    “Detective Gordon, can I steal you
away for a minute?”
    Moments later, they were standing in
the hallway. Martha appeared uncomfortable as she spoke. “My hands are tied on
this one. Not that the outcome would be any different for Ms. Alvarez, but I
wish you’d kept me in the loop regarding your investigation of Ritchie
Trumbella. It would have saved me a little embarrassment with the Bureau. My
complexion doesn't look so good with egg on it.”
    “We didn't have anything to give you
until last night,” Kevin said. “It goes both ways, you know. But whatever they
were investigating had to be more than just local or they wouldn’t have invested
this much time.”
    “Bond fraud.”
    Captain Russo whistled.
    “Jeez, no wonder the feds are
pissed,” Jake said.
    “They lost an agent last night in the
shooting. He'd spent over two years deep undercover cozying up to Trumbella.
They've been closed-mouthed about much of it, but I do know the investigation
was focusing on a connection with a company called The Aztec Corporation out