RAFA chuckled softly as he trailed Genie in and around workstations in the building’s main office area.
Eugenia Green.
He remembered her well from high school. Shy, soft-spoken, bookish. They barely spoke ten words to each other in all four years, rarely passed one another in the hallways, but even then she had left an impression on him. She was always dressed in floral prints and cardigans buttoned to the neck that threatened to choke her at any moment. The epitome of guarded virtue: something that never appealed to him.
Well, not until recently.
More than ten years ago, he was in the thick of a life of juvenile delinquency. Smoking, drinking, partying hard every night and even harder on the weekends. Whatever his body cried out to do, he did, including enjoying himself with the women who crossed his path and turned his head. His mother, unable to handle his wayward behavior, banished him to California to his cousin’s family. But life there was no better. More of the same, and temptations ruled.
Rafa sighed as he watched Genie’s hips shift and slide through and past the never-ending rows of desks. He forced his eyes to scan the room. Guess some things never change. But then again, some things did. He didn’t remember hips underneath those awful corduroy skirts she wore in school. And that attitude… Granted, he never gave her the time of day, but he doubted she possessed that much fire in school.
She glanced back at him. It struck him how beautiful of a woman she had become. Her dark tresses were pulled back into a tight ponytail, accenting her high cheekbones. Her mocha eyes simmered with contempt and a healthy dose of annoyance.
Rafa couldn’t help the smile that came to his face. He understood why she loathed him. She remembered the bad boy — someone she'd never have associated with — a person who offended her moral sensibilities and now thought of nothing but invading her life, and her job. Rafa rubbed away the grin. He didn’t know how often they would interact outside of work. If his mother still attended Genie’s church, then it'd be a fair amount. He planned to attend church with his mother in an effort to make up for lost time. The thought of irritating Genie further suddenly held great appeal to him.
Genie opened the door to the glass conference room and entered, allowing the door to swing back. It nearly hit him in the face. Rafa expelled a breath of air. It was going to be a long night. If the two of them were going to work together, they needed to get along. Waves of irritation rolled off Genie, proving their partnership would be difficult. He moved to the long table in the back of the room where a fancy coffee machine dripped the last of freshly brewed coffee into a pot. After pouring himself a cup, he leaned against the edge of the table — away from the coffee maker — and sipped his coffee. Genie walked to the other end of the conference room and flipped over the dry erase board. His eyes narrowed on her. He could handle difficult.
Genie whirled around to face him, hands cinched to her hips and her plump lips curved in a confident smile. “Let’s get one thing straight.” With an authoritative toss of her head, she whipped her dark brown ponytail behind her. Rafa had a feeling nothing in her life was allowed out of place without her permission. “This is my case.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I don’t have any intention of handing it over.”
“Oh, no?”
“So, if you have plans to use this as some sort of stepping-stone for your career—”
“And there it is,” Rafa interrupted. Genie’s lips clamped shut as if she’d said too much. “When I work a case, it’s for the victim, not my career.”
Genie took a slight step back, pink tinting her caramel cheeks. She recovered quickly, clearing her throat. “And how would I know that? By taking your word for it?”
Rafa bit his tongue to keep from uttering words he shouldn’t. Although they never interacted in high school, his reputation was known throughout the school. Was she recalling the boy he once was? Would he always have to answer for past mistakes? He wasn’t a liar … he just couldn’t be trusted to keep the law. A huge difference, especially now that he was the law. But being a police officer never seemed enough. The crimes of his youth always seemed to color the judgment of others. He was tired of the prejudice.
“Didn’t your boss tell you to give me some respect?” He was only half kidding, but by the look on Genie’s face, she didn’t care for sarcasm.
The pretty color in her cheeks deepened into red, her eyes glowing with contempt. Her upper lip twitched and Rafa thought for certain he’d heard a soft groan. Her heels clunked heavily on the tile floor as she took deliberate steps in his direction. Genie seemed ready to clock him one over the head. If he were any other man, he’d be intimidated. But he wasn’t any other man; he enjoyed the fierce look in his new partner, the aggressive energy emanating from her smaller frame. Rafa worked hard to keep his lips tight, but all he wanted to do was smile.
She stood toe to toe with him. A good head shorter than him, she tilted her head back to hold his gaze. She didn’t hold it for long as his gaze couldn’t resist straying to her lips.
“Respect is earned.”
His eyes darted back up. “So I take it you have a hard time earning respect? Being a female police officer and all?”
“I’m the best detective in this precinct. Every man here knows it.”
“I’m sure.”
“And I’m sure you’re used to working for it.”
She didn’t have to remind him. He would be laboring for respect for the rest of his life. All at once, Rafa wished he could erase his past. The heavy look of distrust in her eyes slammed into him like a fist to his gut. “I’m here to stop whoever’s doing the killing. If closing this case is the only way I can earn your respect, then I’ll close the case.”
“You don’t seem to get it. I’ll be the one closing the case.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She showed him her back and returned to the whiteboard. He’d let her take the reins, for now. A time would come when she’d recognize his usefulness. By then, he’d expect her to accept his help. Rafa rubbed his chin to hide a smirk. He would also expect her to ask nicely.
She stood at the board for a few seconds before facing him again. Her features had softened, a look of remorse in her eyes. “For the record, I’m on the side of the victims.”
Rafa’s brows came together. Did she need to convince him? If she worried her ambition was misinterpreted, she had cause. Her drive had buried any signs of concern for the victims and their families — if she had any. But he read genuine emotion in her eyes. “I believe you.”
“Good.” She blew out a breath, and he released one of his own. The tension in the room lightened.
“Okay, so this is a graph of the investigation so far.” She took a moment to look at the board and then removed her jacket. Rafa cocked a head to the side. She wore a purple silk blouse, thankfully not buttoned all the way to her chin. The deep color set off her honey-toned skin and hugged her body in a way that caused his blood to pump a little more rapidly. She bent over the table and flipped through a scattered mound of folders and loose paper. She plucked out a six-part folder commonly used to track paperwork for investigations. Genie slid the folder down the long conference table. It fell over the edge and landed near his feet. He cut his eyes up to her but she was already facing the whiteboard.
“There’s an updated copy of the investigation, including activities performed and those next on the list to complete.”
“Thanks,” he said dryly. He stooped to pick up the file.
“Let me bring you up to speed on our investigation.”
“Please, do.” Rafa reached inside his coat pocket for the sleeve holding his glasses. He pulled out a pair of dark colored, rectangle-rimmed frames and slipped them on. He grabbed the nearest chair and sat down.
“Okay, now the first murder happened on…” Her voice trailed when she rotated around, her eyes resting on him.
Rafa shrugged his shoulders. “I’m listening.”
“I, um—” A blush crept up he
r neck and into her cheeks.
Rafa’s brows bushed. What was she thinking? What would cause her to blush? He dismissed the idea that perhaps he was the cause but not before lingering on the thought a second or two longer than necessary. He longed to know her thoughts. “What?”
Genie cleared her throat. She ran a hand over the top of her head, even though every hair was in place. Rafa figured the gesture was done out of nerves. “Nothing. I just didn’t know you could read.” She cast her eyes down at the paper in her hand.
Was she now trying to joke? “Yeah, Green, I read.” He kept his gaze on the file, annoyed. So he wore glasses, so what? Sure, they clashed with his normal style, but the women back in his church in San Diego thought they made him look intelligent. After nearly flunking out of high school, he needed to at least look intelligent. The compliments made him less self-conscious about his eyesight. If his brothers knew he wore glasses now, they’d punch his face in memory of all those geeks they terrorized in school.
Genie straightened her back, crossed her arms and leaned forward. “Don’t you have to read a lot in order to be nearsighted?”
Rafa let out a strained sigh and met her eyes. “And? So?”
“If I recall, you barely passed high school.” She leaned back, hands on her hips.
So, she noticed him all those years ago. He was arrogant enough to believe it back then, but now, just knowing he was on her radar at all gave him the chills. In a good way. A side of his lips edged slowly up towards his eyes. “I read the directions for the assignments. Didn’t actually do them.” He winked at her.
Genie let out a breath, rolling her eyes.
“How ‘bout we focus on the case?” His simple chastisement muted her. He nearly laughed out loud as the warm color in her cheeks deepened. She rotated back to the board.
“The first murder occurred just under two weeks ago. The victim was a Hispanic male, age fifty-five. He was walking home after finishing his shift at La Cocina Dulce…”
The hairs on his neck rose. “La Cocina Dulce? You’re sure?”
Genie turned around. “Yes, I’m sure. We recovered his time stamp card and interviews of family, friends, and coworkers confirmed he worked at the restaurant. He’s been employed there ever since the restaurant opened a few years ago.”
Rafa lifted his glasses and flipped through the file until he came to the write-up on interviews regarding the victim. Even the quick glance of the file’s table of contents told him the word “meticulous” didn’t even begin to describe how Genie operated. The folder was packed with page after page of write-ups. In two weeks, she had managed to interview more than what he guessed were three dozen people, each of their statements long and detailed. Did she ever sleep? Was this her only case? Respect couldn’t be the only thing driving her to work so hard. There had to be a story, one root cause for her dogged commitment to the job. He would ask her about it… later. “Okay, I’m sorry. Continue.” When he didn’t hear her voice, he glanced up. Genie watched him with narrowed lashes. “Yes?” he drawled.
“Winters mentioned a La Cocina Dulce in San Diego. What do you know of it?”
Rafa took a deep breath and locked his hands behind his head. “Well, it’s the only other La Cocina Dulce in the country, so it’s not exactly a chain. It’s family owned with your location being managed by the baby brother of the owner out in San Diego. And probably, and this might be the most important fact, those brothers are ranking members of the Snakes.”
“The organization out in San Diego?”
“Right. Not only do they specialize in freshly made tortillas and Spanish rice, but also in the washing of what amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug money earned in the sales of kilos of cocaine. I had heard one of the brothers skipped town a few years back, but I hadn’t heard anything more than that.”
“And now he’s here in Virginia.”
“So he is.”
Genie crossed her arms over her chest. Her top teeth slowly massaged her lower lip. For a moment, he concentrated on that lip. Was she dating anyone? He couldn’t imagine her dating in high school. Not with those conservative blouses she used to wear.
He forced his eyes up. The wheels in her head were turning. No guessing what or who would be her target. She inhaled deeply, taking an extra moment before speaking. “Winters said you are in law enforcement.”
Rafa’s muscles tensed. He was her target. Let the inquisition begin. “That’s right.”
“What’s your rank?”
“I’m a detective.”
Her eyes rounded. “A detective?”
“Difficult to believe, eh? With my background?” Rafa smiled, hoping to dispel the growing level of edginess he detected in her voice.
“Difficult? Hardly. More like impossible.”
Rafa swallowed thickly. She watched him now through slits. She wanted answers. Answers about him. About the years he spent in California. If they were going to be partners, she'd only do so if she trusted him. He hoped she’d settle for his credentials and let the past remain buried, but who was he kidding? They went to high school together. Genie remembered the boy from fourteen years ago. She didn’t know the man who sat before her. Well, Green, what do you want to know? I can’t guarantee you’ll like it…
“You have a case open on the owners of the La Cocina Dulce?”
Rafa nodded. “It’s a multi-agency investigation with the Bureau and the Drug Enforcement Agency.”
“How long has the case been open? Why haven’t we heard of anything? If the owner of the restaurant here—”
Rafa sighed and threaded the thick coils of his hair with his fingers. “The money-laundering charge has just recently been attached to the investigation. It originally started as a drug case with the DEA and the Border Patrol. The restaurant wasn’t even a target at first. The Snakes are heavy in the drug trade, participating in a lot of runs across the border with contacts in Tijuana and farther south into Sonora.”
“And you’ve been working the case since…”
Rafa met her gaze and held it. “Since the beginning. Ten years.”
“Ten years?” Her voice peaked barely above a whisper. She averted her gaze, forehead lined, brows together. Her mouth moved with words only audible to her.
She wasn’t thinking about the case at all. “If you’re doing the math in your head, don’t bother. I wasn’t a detective at twenty-two. I was a source.”
Her head snapped back. “A source?”
Rafa didn’t respond. Just let it go.
“A drug source?” Her eyes showed both shock and leeriness.
Of course she wouldn’t let it go. Any trust he had built in the last few minutes was in danger of eroding away. Sources were often considered dirty, their loyalty always in question. A detective couldn’t exactly rely on a source’s allegiance alone; everything had to be checked and verified. If he confirmed his position as a source in a drug investigation, then she'd have more reason to distrust him. If he lied or said nothing at all, she’d never believe another word he said.
Rafa lowered his eyes. “I wasn’t exactly into drugs.”
“Not into drugs? But you just said—”
Rafa leveled his stare on Genie’s. Time to come clean, even though it would likely mean the end of their fragile partnership. A necessary risk. Rafa steeled his nerves for the onslaught of her wrath. “I was a member.”
Genie waited for half a minute and then blinked. “A member of?”
Rafa let out a loud, strained breath. “The Snakes.”
Genie gasped.
His gaze focused on the investigative file in his lap. When he first arrived in California, his cousin Enrique introduced him to his friends, all members of the Snakes. It wasn’t long before Rafa became a regular among the group. He had second thoughts about joining, but his cousin stressed what an honor it was for Rafa to be invited to join; not just anyone off the street could petition the group. “After I joined, I was thrust into a life of activities
I’m not proud of nor wish to revisit at this time,” he added gravely.
“But you said you were a source.” Genie’s voice was low and thoughtful, seemingly without judgment.
Rafa returned his gaze to her face. Her eyes held only curiosity now and the contempt he thought she'd have for his past didn't show. Her attitude seemed to do a complete one-eighty. His mind fogged in astonishment. He sensed ease settling between them and relaxed. “After a while, I went to the police with information about the group. The information proved so valuable, I was able to join a junior cop-like program and that eventually catapulted me into the force and my subsequent assignment as a detective.”
“Junior cop?” Genie gave him a skeptical grin.
Rafa felt his cheeks heat. “It’s kind of a joke, I know. But I was able to shadow officers prior to entering the academy.”
“Oh.”
“Anyway, the police began to build a case after I went to the academy. Neither the police nor the district attorney knew how sophisticated the organization was. There have been numerous threats on lives in both the police department and the DA’s office, and the case changed hands several times. Now, with this new information, our bosses want to combine these cases and hopefully put this investigation to bed.”
“But, ten years to finish a case?”
“There have been numerous arrests along the way, but investigations into money laundering and identifying drug traffickers over the border take some time. And, the organization has adapted by hiding its tracks.”
Genie nodded, looking down at the stack of papers. A heavy silence descended in the room. She didn’t ask any additional questions and Rafa didn’t give her a reason to. Instead, he sat quietly, watching her as she flipped through the pages in the investigative file she picked up off the table. He suspected she had questions about the activities he mentioned earlier. Her thirst for the truth, or at least her desire to be in control, would not let an area like his past be left unexplored. His credibility lay in his intimate knowledge of the Snakes and the operations of La Cocina Dulce. He'd eventually have to own to some of the things he did. What she would do after knowing the truth distressed him. His life had changed, thanks in part to the prayers of both his handler and a faithful mother who never gave up on him, even if she had to send him away. He hoped Genie would weigh his heart against his past and not merely judge him on the acts of a wayward adolescent.
Rafa watched Genie thread a few fingers down the length of her ponytail. She bit her bottom lip again and started tapping her foot. Her nervousness caused the muscles in Rafa’s neck to tighten. Despite the practice of recounting his torrid life, looking at the lovely detective before him caused a sudden stage fright he had never experienced.
In high school, she was president of the Bible Club, and he… well, he attended church until he became too old for his mother to make him. However, knowing they shared the same faith planted a seed of doubt in his mind about her ability to forgive and move forward. Most would view Rafa’s transformation as saving grace, but the chip on Detective Green’s shoulder meant she’d have a difficult time seeing the grace through the sin. Rafa let out a long breath. He needed to keep their focus on the case if he didn’t want to be wrapped up in revisiting old wounds.
“If you look in the manila envelope at the back of the file, you'll see pictures of the deceased. Alberto Gonzales. Again, fifty-five years old, father of three.” Her voice was clipped and professional.
Rafa pulled out the color photos. On top, a close shot of the victim’s wounds. Five punctures ranging from his heart down the left side of the body into his abdomen. “The stab markings are definitely in the shape of a snake, the mark of the Snakes.”
“A punctured lung, and damage to several internal organs, the medical examiner concluded the official cause of death was due to blood loss.”
“You said there were more victims?” Rafa flipped through the photos, searching for more bodies.
“Yes. Mario Desanto, a high school student. Consuela Cruz, wife and mother of three. And the woman you saw at the crime scene.”
“The woman at the crime scene,” Rafa repeated, his mind recalling the woman’s bloody shirt. “Does she have the same stab wounds?”
“From what I could see. There was a lot of blood, though. I’m not entirely sure about the number of wounds.”
Rafa leaned his head against the back of the chair and stared at the ceiling, pondering the likelihood this woman suffered at the hands of the Snakes. “We’ll need confirmation before we can count it as the same MO.”
“The body should be at the ME’s right now. I was going to try to catch some of the autopsy.”
Rafa closed the file and stood. “Right now?”
Genie shook her head. “She’ll start the procedure in the morning, at nine a.m.”
“The lieutenant mentioned a detective named Franco? I met him at the scene.”
Genie groaned. Distaste for her colleague shone clear in her eyes. “Yes. Although if the body has been moved, I doubt he’ll linger around. I had a couple of the uniforms start the canvass of the neighbors before I was called away.”
Rafa yawned. His muscles had stiffened while he sat in the chair.
Genie smiled. “Looks like you need some rest. How about you check in to a hotel and I’ll meet you here tomorrow morning at eight a.m.? If there are any updates at that time, I’ll fill you in as we head over to the hospital.”
If she hadn’t smiled, Rafa would've taken the suggestion as another order. He wanted to begin right away by revisiting the crime scene, but Genie was right; rest first. He put in a full day of work in California before the flight and, with the time change, he would be no good to anyone if he were delirious from lack of sleep. The Snakes rarely made mistakes, and Rafa couldn't afford not to be on his game.
“I’m actually staying at my mother’s.”
“Oh, right. I should have guessed. She and I attend the same church, you know?”
Rafa smiled, recalling fond memories of sleeping in a back pew. “I know. I used to attend myself, when I was younger.”
Shock registered on Genie’s face.
“Surprised to see I wasn’t always a delinquent?”
Genie flushed. She closed the case file, snatched her jacket from the chair, and marched to the door. With a feline grin, she flicked the lights off. “Good night, Detective. And welcome home.”
Rafa stood alone in the dark. Home.