Temptations - The Complete Series Page 21

  “Okay. Now, I really have to make this deal tentative. He can’t just throw a name and a theory at me and expect me to give him this deal. If his story checks out, I’ll give him that deal. I’ll make that clear to him when he comes in here.”

  “Thanks. I’ll give Santino a call.”

  I got out into the hallway and called Santino. “Miss Serena,” he said when he answered the phone. “What can I do for you?”

  “I talked to your prosecutor. She’s willing to talk to you and to give you the deal that she offered you in exchange for testimony against Joey if your story checks out.”

  “When can I talk to her?”

  “Today if your available. I’ll let you know.”

  At that, I went back in to talk to Hillary. “What time do you have open today to talk to Santino?”

  “2 PM would be great.”

  At that, I went back into the hallway to call Santino and tell him to meet me at Hillary’s office at 2.

  Then, we said our goodbyes and I left for my office.

  Slade called me in my car. “You were at the federal prosecutor’s office just now. I hope that you were telling Santino’s prosecutor that you’re withdrawing from his case.”

  I groaned. “I told you that I’m not the attorney of record, so there’s no need for me to withdraw from his case.”

  “Regardless, I want you off that case. I’m serious, Serena.”

  “I can’t talk to you about this right now.”

  “Serena….” he started to say, but I just hung up on him. I didn’t want to deal with him right at that moment. It was more important, much more important, that I get this whole Santino thing squared away. I knew that there was a good chance that Slade would be so angry with me that he might break up with me, but, considering the alternative – Slade serves time in prison and might even end up with the death penalty – it was worth it to me.

  I got into the office and I talked to Malcolm about what was going on. “I need you to come with me to Hillary’s office, because she’s offering another deal to Santino in exchange for some information that he possibly has about another mobster who might be good for Jordan’s murder.”

  “What time?”

  “2. I know that you don’t have any court appearances or depositions at that time, so I hope that you can go with me.” I knew that since I wasn’t officially a California attorney, I was going to have to have Malcolm or another licensed attorney along when the deal was being made.

  “Tell me about this information you have.”

  “Santino just says that another mobster he knows might be good for Jordan. He hasn’t told me much, though. He’s waiting for a deal to be more solidified before he is willing to go into detail.”

  Malcolm furled his brow. “I have to admit that I’m intrigued. Okay. I’ll rearrange my schedule to be there with you.”

  Everything was scheduled, then. It was just a matter of getting it all together.

  I would deal with Slade later. I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be pretty, either.

  Chapter 23

  At 2, everyone got together in Hillary’s office. Santino, Malcolm, and I all sat across from Hillary, who was ready and waiting for Santino’s story to be told.

  “Okay, Santino,” Hillary said to him. “I understand that you might have some information that might shed some light on the Slade Bridgewell case.” She turned to me and Malcolm. “And the two of you know, that even if this lead bears fruit, that doesn’t mean that the prosecutors will necessarily drop Slade’s case. We can try each of these men simultaneously, but whether the state prosecutor on Mr. Bridgewell’s case decides to dismiss the case is up to him.”

  “I understand,” I said, but believed that the state prosecutor probably would drop the case against Slade if the evidence against this “other dude”, who was going to be offered up by Santino, was compelling enough.

  Hillary looked at Santino expectantly. “What do you know about this case?”

  Santino looked at me then Malcolm and we both gave him the non-verbal cue to speak. “Okay, yeah,” he began. “There’s this guy, his name is Michael Garancino. You’ve probably heard of him. Most people have, especially people in law enforcement. He was Jordan’s dealer.”

  Hillary was nodding her head. “His dealer. Meaning drugs?”

  “Yes, drugs.”

  That made sense to me, as I remembered Slade talking about how Jordan would stay up for days. While it certainly sounded like a person in the throes of mania, it also sounded like somebody who was on stimulant drugs. And it was well-known that people with bi-polar disorder tended to self-medicate. Therefore, that Jordan was apparently on drugs came as little surprise to me.

  Santino twiddled his fingers while looking down at them. “Now, this is all stuff that I’ve heard from Joey, but he’s very much in the know. Michael and Jordan apparently made a deal for this marijuana pill that Jordan was creating.”

  My ears perked up when Santino talked about the marijuana pill. I glanced at Malcolm as if to say see I told you it had something to do with that marijuana pill. Now, of course, it was always a possibility that the spirit was deliberately trying to throw me off, but Santino’s testimony was making more and more sense.

  “Michael was to supply the drugs for the pill, and he was going to get a serious cut of the profits when the pill came to market. Now, I don’t know much about the drug business, but I know that you can’t generally patent weed. But, from what I understood, Jordan was trying to get a patent for this drug because the way that it was processed made it different. So potentially, there was going to be a lot of money in it.”

  Hillary was furiously making notes while Santino was talking.

  “At the last second, Michael got cut out. I guess that Jordan was having problems getting a patent approved for the pill, and I heard that Michael was pissed.”

  Hillary nodded her head. “So you believe that Michael was angry enough to kill Jordan?”

  Santino shrugged his shoulders. “I guess. Listen, I’m not telling you that Michael is good for that murder, but I thought that it might help if you got another lead.”

  Hillary glanced at me and my heart sunk. I had this feeling that this might be yet another brick wall. Maybe. But, then again, Santino was offering us one “other dude,” so it was better than the needle in the haystack we were faced with before. I just hoped that Hillary decided to go ahead and give Santino a better deal for this information. After all, Santino was sticking his neck out to give us this.

  “Okay,” Hillary said. “I need to check this Michael out. I understand that you’re risking a lot to come here and speak with me, so I want you to know that you’re contribution isn’t lost on me.”

  Santino looked agitated. “What’s that supposed to mean? It sounds like that deal is off the table.”

  “No, no, it’s not off the table. But I need to check this Michael out. What you’ve given me is circumstantial. At the same time, I know that you’re taking a risk in coming here with this information.” She looked at Malcolm and me. “Can I speak to the two of you alone?”

  I looked at Santino and nodded my head. He looked pissed, but he got up and went out the door.

  “Okay,” Hillary said to us when Santino was safely out the door. “I appreciate your client coming forth with this, and it does give me something to investigate. I’m sure that your firm will also do the same. I know of Michael Garancino, he’s been on our radar for years. So….” Her voice trailed off, and she took a deep breath. “I’m sure that I’m going to regret this, but your client has provided us somebody who had motive and means to kill Jordan. That piece of information is valuable. So, I will go ahead and offer Santino what I promised I would. Even if this information comes to nothing, it gives us something to go on, and something to nail Mr. Garancino on.”

  I let out a breath of relief. “Thank you so much, Hillary.”

  She shook her head. “Your client needs to keep his nose clean, though. The
terms of probation are going to be extremely strict, and he’s going to be watched. Make sure that you let him know that.”

  We all stood up and said our goodbyes. I was anxious to talk to Santino out in the hallway. Yet, I also felt disappointed. This deal was good for Santino, excellent even, but this flimsy information was bound to steer us into another brick wall over Slade. I doubted that Michael could be prosecuted for this just because he was angry with Jordan.

  Then again, as Hillary said, Michael had motive and means to kill Jordan. After all, if Michael was closely working with Jordan, then it stood to reason that he probably had a code to get into the lab, or that Jordan would have actually invited him into the lab. That got around the whole problem about how few people had access to that particular lab. He probably had the opportunity to kill him, too. So, while it was weak, it was better than a sharp poke in the eye.

  Then it hit me. Slade was going to be infuriated when he found out that I went behind his back to meet with the prosecutor. So, if this piece of information went nowhere, it was entirely possible that Slade was going to break up with me for something that wasn’t worth it after all.

  Santino was out in the hallway. He stood up when he saw the two of us approaching. “Well?”

  “Good news. Apparently your information was valuable enough to Hillary that she’s going to go ahead and give you the deal that we talked about.”

  “So, probation? Five years, right?”

  “Yes. But you need to make sure that you keep your nose clean. I’m serious, Santino. You need to get out of the racket.”

  Santino smiled and put his arm around me. “Maybe. Or maybe I just need to not be stupid enough to do things that are caught on video.”

  I shook my head. Santino was a mobster. That was what he did. Crime was literally his life. He was dodging a bullet in not having to go to prison this time, but, in the future, he might not be so lucky.

  “Listen, are you sure that you’re going to be okay? You don’t need some kind of protection, do you?”

  “No, I told you. Joey protects me. He knows that I’m loyal, so I don’t need to worry. Our family is more powerful than the Garancinos, and everyone knows it. So, no. I’ll be fine. I’m just happy that I’m staying out of the joint this time.”

  I rolled my eyes when he said the words this time. But we both knew what he was thinking. Santino, unfortunately, was more of a soldier with his organization than a leader, so he had to do the dirty work. Sooner or later, he was going to get caught. But, for now, he was free, and he looked very relieved about that.

  We got out into the street and Santino gave me a hug.

  I turned around to find Slade standing right there. His arms were crossed and he looked absolutely pissed.

  “Mr. Bridgewell,” Malcolm said to him, extending his hand. “It's good to see you.”

  Slade looked at Malcolm and said nothing. Then he turned his focus back to me. I felt like he was burning a hole in my skin while he stared at me.

  I glanced at Malcolm and he gave me a mystified look and shrugged his shoulders. “I'll see you back at the office, Serena.”

  “See you.”

  Then turned back to Slade, who was still staring at me and not saying a single word. I didn't have to close my eyes to know what he was feeling. It was written all over his face.

  He narrowed his eyes and finally spoke. "Get in," he said, opening the door of his car. "Now!"

  "I have to get back to work."

  He raised an eyebrow and picked up his phone. "Malcolm, this is Slade," he said. "Serena will be gone for the rest of the day." He looked at me and nodded his head. "I understand, but you're just going to have to find somebody else to take over her duties." After a pause, he looked at me. "I knew that you would understand. Thank you."

  It was my turn to cross my arms. "You can't order me around like that."

  "Like hell I can't! Now, get in my car. We need to talk and I really don't want to do it right here in the street like this."

  I swallowed hard. I didn't like his tone, I didn't like the way that he was looking at me, and I didn't like his body language. Nevertheless, despite my misgivings, I got into his car. I buckled my seat belt and the two of us sped off to parts unknown.

  "Where are we going?"

  "To my house."

  "All the way to LA?"

  "No. My house in Del Mar. Remember? The house that you so rudely refused."

  "I wasn't rude in refusing that house. I wasn't about to let you just buy me a house. But we talked about that, so I don't want to rehash it."

  Slade didn't answer. He was staring at the road but his hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly. He looked like he was about to explode.

  We got on the highway and he drove so fast that he was weaving in and out of cars. "What's the big hurry?"

  Slade said nothing at all.

  In no time, we were in his neighborhood. He parked the car in his driveway, and he got out of the car without a word. I reluctantly followed him into his home.

  The two of us ended up on his back patio, and he didn't say anything for a long, long time. I felt uncomfortable watching him, and I felt just a little bit panicky. I had no idea what was on his mind. I closed my eyes and I felt the white-hot anger, but I didn't know if he was going to break up with me or if the whole thing was just going to blow over.

  Finally, he spoke. "I don't know what to say to you, Serena. I made my wishes very clear and you ignored me. Not only that, but you lied to me."

  I sighed. "Slade, I...."

  "You didn't get what you wanted, did you?"

  "I did. I got a lead, and I got an excellent deal for Santino. Everybody wins."

  "Everyone but you! Who did Santino give up?"

  "Michael Garancino. He's a mobster-"

  "I know who he is. He was Jordan's dealer."

  I blinked my eyes, astounded. "You knew that Jordan was on drugs? And you didn't tell me?"

  "Yes. I knew. I didn't tell you, because I knew that you would start sniffing around that angle, and I didn't want you to go there. Michael is a very dangerous man, much more dangerous than Santino ever could be. Or he was, anyhow."

  "He was?"

  "Yes. He's dead. He's been dead for a couple of weeks. Santino knew this, of course. I mean, I don't know that Santino knew this fact, but I would imagine he did. He's no dummy. He'll give up a dead mobster in exchange for a better deal. Word to the wise - you better plea him soon before the prosecutor finds out what he did."

  I furled my eyebrows. "Santino didn't pressure me to plead him out quickly."

  "He probably doesn't know that the prosecutor can withdraw her agreement when she finds out that hegave up a dead guy."

  "How do you know that this Michael is dead?"

  He sighed. "Because Michael was killed before Jordan was. What Santino told you, what I imagine he told you, was right, of course. Michael and Jordan did have an agreement, and Jordan did threaten to cut Michael out because of patent issues. But Michael disappeared and Jordan found out that he had died. Two days later, Jordan was dead as well."

  I shook my head. "And you never told me this?"

  He crossed his arms in front of him. "No. It's not relevant, not anymore. Michael is dead."

  "And Jordan didn't have other dealers? Any one of them might have done it."

  "No. He didn't have other dealers. Michael was the only one."

  "Then why were you so upset about Santino and the information that he might have had? None of this is a surprise to you. You had to have known that Santino was going to give up Michael. That's if Michael was the only dealer."

  "He was."

  "Well, then, we'll find out about that, won't we? Now that we know that Jordan had a drug problem, that gives our investigators something to work with, so thanks for that." I was sarcastic, because I couldn't believe that Slade left out something as pertinent as the fact that Jordan had a drug problem and a mobster drug dealer. Perhaps Slade didn't find the inform
ation relevant, because Michael was dead, but that certainly didn't make the issue dead. On the contrary, the issue was very much alive, and we finally had something to go on. No thanks to Slade.

  "Go right ahead and investigate. You're not going to find anything. Michael was his only dealer."

  "How would you know? You said that he was secretive and that you didn't know what he was doing in that lab. He could have had 10 different dealers and you wouldn't have known it."

  "I would have. Jordan was very open to me about his drug issues and he only talked about Michael."

  "Then why would you keep Jordan's drug issues secret? Please help me understand, Slade. That piece of information is so important to finding out who really did this."

  After I asked that question Slade got very quiet. Too quiet.

  "Slade? Answer the question."

  He finally took a deep breath. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

  I shook my head, but not because I didn't believe in it. But that question gave me whiplash, coming from him. "I believe in lust at first sight."

  "Have you ever met somebody who you knew, you just knew, you would do anything to protect? Somebody you would sacrifice yourself for, completely and totally, so that person would be safe?"

  I had to admit to myself that I didn't have that kind of experience, at least not regarding somebody that I just met. I had no idea what he was driving at. "I do want to protect the people that I love, and I would do anything to make sure that happens."

  He took my hand. "When I met you, I knew. I knew that you were going to be somebody who was worth protecting. I'm not going to say that I fell in love with you at first sight, although maybe I did. But I knew, from the moment you were standing in front of me with those two dogs, that..." He shook his head. "Well, I knew that I would never let anything bad happen to you. So, yes. I didn't tell you about the mobster, because I didn't want you getting involved with that. Even if Michael was dead, I didn't want you going there. I didn't tell you about Jordan's drug issues for that reason alone."

  I felt stunned about his confession. "Slade, I had no idea. But, listen, I'm not some shrinking violet who needs the protection of a man. I can hold my own." Those were my words, but my emotions were getting away from me again. When Slade confessed to me that he might have fallen in love with me at first sight, it allowed me to admit to myself that I felt the same way about him.