The Auction House Read online

  Frederick stared Mario’s gun down. Then he pulled a weapon from his coat and pointed it directly in Mario’s face. “I have immunity to all laws, even if I kill you. Don’t test me. You wouldn’t be the first.”

  A confused Mario holstered his gun and backed down the aisle. He’d arrested many drug dealers who tried to talk their way out of going to jail by saying call Senator Peterson or some other name he’d recognize, assuring the senator would suggest an arrest wouldn’t be a good idea or favorable on Mario’s police record. A flash ran through Mario’s mind. This is federal. If I’m wrong, the Chief wouldn’t have a choice. Twenty-five years down the drain.

  Mario exited the sleek Gulfstream Jet, and the stairs immediately lifted off the ground and folded into the plane’s belly.

  He backed the Audi from the area and sat with his hands cupped around the steering wheel as the engine idled. Glaring out the windshield, he watched the jet nose wheel turn and head toward the runway. In the distance, sirens rang out, and he saw flashing lights from the rearview mirror in the distance. “Now the troops come, way too late—assholes,” he said out loud to himself.

  The Gulfstream Jet was second in line for takeoff. He glanced in the mirror. It was way too late for the authorities to step in and confirm immunity. In less than two minutes, the plane would be airborne along with millions of counterfeit currency that somehow would work itself into banks and cost the taxpayers equally.

  Mario cut through the median through a ditch and popped up on the runway heading directly to the Gulfstream. The plane in front had just started rolling and gained speed, lifting off the ground and all but tossing the Audi to the side when it passed over the car. He stomped the gas peddle, and that’s when Mario learned the difference between an A3 and S3. The turbo kicked in and busted the vehicle with its powerful two hundred and ninety horsepower engine. He was speeding toward the jetliner that had started to roll for takeoff.

  Mario put the turbo engine to the test and pushed the pedal to the max. The car got to the plane before it had too much power going forward. With a quick left turn, he planted the Audi into the shaft of the nose wheel. The aircraft continued to roll and crammed into the side of the car, stopping somewhere between the rear door and the backseat’s center. The wheel shaft’s steel cut through the car’s body like a hot knife through butter. But Mario accomplished what he set out to do and brought the aircraft to a halt.

  Chapter 29

  Mario sat at the table in his closet-size conference room at the Eighth District and hit re-dial on his cell phone. “Come on, Howard, I can’t cover for you another day,” he mumbled. This time Howard answered.

  “Where the hell have you been!” Mario yelled into the phone. Distracted, he didn’t hear the door open behind him, even with the hinges that needed oil months ago.

  A few seconds passed before Mario realized the voice was stronger from behind than through the phone. With the phone to his ear, Howard took a seat across from Mario.

  “Should we continue to talk through cell phones?” Howard asked, giving off a grin that always pissed Mario off.

  Mario hit the red button on the phone and ended the call, then slammed it to the table. “You think this is funny?”

  Howard continued to grin and let him vent.

  “You think I can cover your ass any time you want to go missing?” Mario seethed and stood. Doing his nervous pace, he walked to the window and looked out at the tourists strolling down Royal Street. “Sometimes, I wish I could be one of those tourists.”

  “What?” Howard asked. “One of those people that work nine to five, weekends off, and when they go on vacation, no one interrupts their leisure time.”

  “Yeah.” He made an about-face. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Not for you,” Howard said. “You’ll kill yourself within the first month, too boring.”

  “Keep poking fun. You have no clue where I’ve been and what I stumbled across during your MIA days,” Mario said to a hand raised by Howard, who started to speak. “No, you listen!” Mario was back pacing. “I’ve obstructed international laws, closed down a runway for who knows how long, jeopardized my career, and severely damaged a Gulfstream Jet.” He paused and shook his head. “Oh yeah, and totaled an Audi.”

  Howard’s eyes blinked rapidly. “The department has Audis now?”

  “No, that’s not the point.”

  Howard tried to come clean, telling Mario he only had thirty minutes. He was heading out of town to a destination he couldn’t reveal and traveling with someone he’d rather not mention.

  “Well, Howard, that’s as clear as mud.” Mario took a deep breath then exhaled. “I have a meeting tomorrow morning with the Chief, the mayor, and the governor is flying in, too. We’re all going to have a sit-down with some mucky-muck from the State Department. They will have decided my fate by that time.”

  “Go ahead,” Howard said. “You have my interest.”

  “I crashed the Audi into a jet to stop it from taking off. Then arrested some ambassador from the UK.”

  “An ambassador?” Howard replied with a curious glance. “Did he show credentials, a badge, any identification of proof?”

  “Yeah, he showed some bullshit card in a fancy leather wallet. I couldn’t tell if it was official.”

  “So what is the problem?”

  “Turns out he does have diplomatic immunity.” Mario leaned against the wall. “I’m screwed this time.” Mario did his pacing. Then his hands ran through his hair. “I did learn one thing.”

  “What’s that? The other guy you arrested is a king of some third world country?”

  “No.” Mario returned to the table. “Your guy, Mr. Heinz? He hired the men to scoop up Camila. I got it from the guy Butler Ray shot. Wally Green spilled his guts right before he died.”

  Howard cracked a smile, puffed his cheeks, and gave a slight head shake.

  “You laugh again, and I swear I’ll put two in you at close range,” Mario said with his hand on his holstered gun.

  “You know I’ll outdraw you.”

  “Maybe so. Put me out of my misery.”

  Howard peeked at his watch, made a face, and thought he better clue Mario in on what was about to go down. “Since you brought up Mr. Heinz, I best let you know. I’m leaving with Julie in an hour.”

  “Where to now?”

  “She’s going to pay Heinz a visit.”

  “Did you meet with Dwayne Guillory?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Howard let out another snicker. “We met Dwayne, Didier, and Dixie. The three D’s were there. Between the three, they’re missing a few fingers and a lot of teeth.”

  “I didn’t say they were a classy group,” Mario smiled, “but they will get the job done.”

  “We got some pictures that will get Julie off the hook with Heinz, and her brother Jin is on his way for a two-year vacation in Aruba.”

  “Aruba?

  “Somebody Julie knows down there is going to put him to work in a casino. He’ll fit in fine down there—come back in a year or two.”

  “Or, when Heinz is dead,” Mario said.

  “That why I’m going with her. I want her to show the pictures, do some acting that she killed her brother showing loyalty to Heinz, and we all get the hell out of there—alive. I’ve got to head out,” Howard said, turning the doorknob.

  Mario stopped Howard before he left. “I might need your help when you get back.”

  “How so?”

  “Got any openings for a limo driver?” Mario asked. His eyes were widely open. “No joke, I might need a job by the time you get back. Either a driver or hook me up in Aruba.”

  “Mario, with your driving record, there is not a chance in hell you’re getting behind one of my limousines. Take a lot of sunscreen—you’re too fair for Aruba.”

  Chapter 30

  When Howard walked out of the Eighth District Police Station, the sun was bright and made for a beautiful warm sunny day. Royal Street tourists crowded the stree
t just like Mario described.

  He would have loved to do something fun and get his mind off detective business, but there wasn’t time off when he was on a case following leads into the next morning until he didn’t know what time or day had passed.

  He got to his car just as a text sounded on his cell phone. He looked at the screen. “Oh, hell no,” he said out loud. “Not now, Monique. No time for your craziness.”

  A second text came through. It was short and to the point, this one from Julie: We depart in thirty minutes with or without you.

  Howard sent back: Fifteen minutes away.

  From downtown New Orleans, it was about a thirty-minute ride to the charter terminal, depending on traffic. Like Mario, Howard used his police tools when needed, even if it wasn’t a police emergency. He pulled the emergency strobe lights from the floorboard and stuck them on the windshield with the rubber suction cups. There was no need for a siren. The flashing red and blue lights pushed traffic to the side like Moses parted the Red Sea.

  He arrived at the terminal, parked, and popped his trunk. Pulling a canvas tote bag from the trunk, he walked to the airplane.

  The Gulfstream Jet that Julie called her office was one of Mr. Heinz’s toys used by his vendors for jobs commissioned to perform.

  Julie sat at the table to the rear of the fourteen-seat plane, with her face buried into her laptop.

  Howard dropped the bag in the aisle. “Julie?” he greeted, taking a seat across from her.

  Julie turned the laptop around for Howard to see. “Does he look dead?” She asked, showing a picture of Jin on his back at the edge of the muddy pond. A second picture captured the alligator in mid-air, with a fully wide open mouth of teeth just before it caught the whole chicken and retreated back into the water.

  “He looks deader than dead.” Howard glared closer. “No touchups, nothing modified, or reworked. Heinz can analyze this all day, nothing shows it’s fake.

  “The horrifying reaction on Jin’s face appears real,” Julie said.

  “That’s because it was,” Howard laughed. “He was scared out of his mind.”

  Howard questioned the details of the trip and what she planned to accomplish. She gave vague answers.

  He saw through it quickly. “Stop!” he shouted, slamming his hand on the tabletop. “I know you, Julie. How does it end?”

  “Howard, you don’t need to come with me. There is no need.”

  “Do I need to remind you of our history?” Howard gave her a cocked head stare.

  “Maybe time for me to find that house with the white picket fence and settle down, and we cut ties.”

  “So you’re going to ride into the sunset on your horse and never be seen?” He waited for her reply.

  “Yes.”

  “Bullshit! You’ve been in this for what ten or eleven years?”

  “Coming up on twelve years.”

  The stewardess announced they were about to take off. Julie closed the laptop.

  “I’m bringing the picture of Jin and collecting my money,” she said. “Then I’m done.”

  “You think Mr. Heinz is going to let you walk away, Julie?” Howard gave a severe stare. “No one walks away from your type of work.”

  “You did,” she shot back.

  “I didn’t walk away, just traded from one boss to Ben Stein, that’s what brought me to the United States. With Ben’s connections, for his benefit, he placed me with the New Orleans Police. You know the rest.”

  “You have about two minutes to get off. Once we take off, you’re involved.”

  The pilot walked through the cabin. “Ms. Julie, you’re ready?”

  “Howard?” She frowned. “Don’t get involved.”

  “I was involved when I went by my office and grabbed my duffel bag.”

  Julie gave a nod to the pilot to go ahead.

  He went to the cockpit. The co-pilot locked the stairway from the inside and got in position for takeoff. The first engine cranked to medium rotations and the second engine kicked in, giving a slight tremble throughout the cabin.

  On its own, the plane pushed off, made a turn, and headed for the end of the runway. It taxied and was given the clear for taking off.

  “By the way, where are we going?” Howard asked. “Where does the mysterious Mr. Heinz live?”

  “Lake Tahoe, the California side,” Julie replied.

  “I’m sure I’m not going to be welcome.”

  “What are you talking about? He doesn’t know I’m coming.”

  The jet engines rushed down the runway, and within seconds, the plane was in the air. The nose tilted upward to its side and pointed west.

  Chapter 31

  By noon, the jet passed directly over Lake Tahoe. The fasten seat belt light came on as the plane descended. It was a good flight, and they had made it this far in a little under four hours. The plane banked itself around the mountain range of large Ponderosa Pine Trees so close you felt as if you could touch their branches if the aircraft’s window opened. As it lowered in line with the runway, the left side gave Heavenly Valley Ski Resort a beautiful view.

  “Ever ski, Howard?”

  Howard gave her a funny look. “Me? I’ve got two left feet.”

  “I’m a pretty good skier. Well, I use to be. It’s been many years.”

  “That’s Heavenly Valley? I’ve heard of people coming up here to gamble, and during the day they ski.” Howard bent back to get another look before the plane dropped too low.

  “I still call it Heavenly Valley. A company in Japan bought the resort a few years back. Now it’s called Heavenly Mountain Resort.”

  The plane came in fast and dropped the wheels gently on the runway. One jerk and they slowed enough to turn off the runway and taxi to the hanger. The plane parked as the nose to the tail fit perfectly inside.

  “Wow! He parked this sucker like a luxury car; very carefully,” Howard said, his eyes roaming out the window. “You could eat off the floor—it’s painted and clean.”

  “The best money can buy for Mr. Heinz.” Julie rolled her eyes.

  The engines shut down, and the stairs lowered. Jackson Wade stepped on the aircraft dressed in an immaculate white jumpsuit, groomed hair, and clean shaved. It is not what you would expect from a man in charge of seeing that an airplane is properly maintained.

  “Ms. Julie, I didn’t know the plane was coming in until the pilot called on approach,” Jackson said, kissing her on the cheek. “Great to see you.”

  “Good to see you too, Jackson,” she said, then introduced Howard as a friend.

  Julie had plotted her plan way before they left New Orleans. She knew who worked at the hanger at what time each day, but most of all she knew who she could trust.

  “Julie,” Jackson said, looking down at his feet. “The pilot gave me your message.”

  She pulled his chin up and looked him in the eyes. “I just want to surprise the old man. It’s his birthday.”

  “Mr. Heinz’s birthday? I didn’t know that. Of course, why would I?”

  “Look, we’re going to take the car up to the Villa, and someone at the gates will announce me when I arrive.”

  “Okay, but you’ve got to clear my name with the boss before you leave.”

  “Of course, I will,” Julie said, patting him on his chest.

  Jackson reached for Howard’s canvas tote, but Howard quickly intercepted the weighted bag. Julie stepped off the plane and was helped down the steps by Jackson. She balanced on her high heels with her designer purse in hand and greeted the assistants with a smile. Howard followed. They loaded into a stretched four-wheel-drive Jeep limousine.

  “What the hell?” Howard asked, taking a seat, his feet resting on the canvas. “Never seen a decked out Jeep. One of Heinz’s toys?”

  Julie shot a side stare. “No. But it does come in handy in the winter—all-wheel drive makes cutting through the snow safer.”

  The limousine pulled from the hanger. Howard caught a few eye glances from the d
river and Julie. It was apparent they knew each other.

  They drove out the gate and stopped at the side of the road. Not long after, two SUVs pulled up, both black, and stopped. One man approached Julie’s side where the driver had let the window down.

  “You ready?” Julie said to the man.

  “Yes, I have twelve men,” he replied.

  “Okay, do what you do best,” Julie said, then hit the button for the window to go up.

  The car pulled away.

  “Julie, we’re not going to just talk to Heinz, are we?” Howard asked.

  “I’m sure there will be some talking.”

  They continued to drive around the lake for not much more than fifteen minutes. The sun beamed off the water, and Julie commented about how it was such a peaceful place to live. The Jeep pulled off the main highway. The four-wheel-drive came in handy on the incline. The driver stopped at an iron gate and unlocked a padlock connected to a chain that keeps vehicles off the private road.

  The Jeep drove slowly down a dirt road inclined only an off-road vehicle could, over some gaps the rain had caused. At the bottom of the road was a pier that lead into the lake.

  Howard got out of the car and looked up the road they just drove down. “Wow! This Jeep is a beast. Question now, can it make it back up to the highway,” Howard said.

  The driver, who never said a word since they left the airport, replied, “It will make it up with ease.” He took out his cell phone and made a call, and talked briefly, then hung up. “Ms. Julie, he’ll be here in three minutes.”

  “Thank you, Fritz.”

  A boat pushed across the water fast but exceptionally quiet. The captain docked at the pier and gave Julie a welcoming smile. She had called on her closest working crew and hoped they would stay loyal to her even if it were just for the next thirty minutes.

  “I take Fitz is coming?” Howard asked.

  Julie gave a nod.

  Howard went back for the canvas bag and placed it on the boat. He pulled on a vest and handed one to Julie. She lifted her shirt and exposed a thin but protected bulletproof vest she wore. He pointed to Fritz and got a thumbs up from him.