Part 19 (1/2)

Laura's head jerked up as the machine beeped to life. She looked over and saw that Edwards had nodded off as well. ”Kyle,” she said his name to awaken him. ”She did it, she got in.”

He got up from his chair and took a position directly over her shoulder. They watched as the adownload in progress' icon popped up on the screen. Moments later, the machine beeped, and the adownload in progress' was replaced with the adownload complete' icon.

Laura rubbed her hands together. ”Okay, let's see what we got,” she said as she began typing in commands.

Rheyna had just ducked behind the hedge when the guard came around the back of the house. She waited for him to disappear and quickly ran over to the patio door and slid it open. She had no more kicked off her shoes and sat down on the couch when the bedroom door opened.

Caroline walked out, yawning. She stretched her arms over her head. ”Were you outside? I thought I heard the door.”

”I needed some air. I'm not feeling too well,” Rheyna said as she slowly slid the IMS into her overnight bag.

Caroline sat down on the couch beside her and put her hand on Rheyna's forehead. Her eyes opened wide with concern. ”You're soaking wet.”

Rheyna pretended to rub her temples. ”I have a very bad headache.”

Caroline got up from the couch. ”I'll grab a couple aspirins and fix you a cup of tea.”

Rheyna watched her trot off to the bathroom and desperately tried to fight off the guilt that was threatening to overtake her. She waited until Caroline went in the kitchen and pulled the CD from her pocket and tossed it, along with her gun, into the overnight bag.

Laura squinted at the screen, leaning in closer. Her fingers tapped rhythmically against the keyboard. She stopped and turned to look at Edwards, a huge smile on her face.

”I think we hit pay dirt. Take a look at this,” she said, opening a folder t.i.tled aHong Kong Services International.' She scrolled down page after page of jpg files. She clicked on one of the thumbnail shots, and her face went ashen with shock. ”There has to be thousands of them,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

Edwards c.o.c.ked his head to get a better look at the image. ”What is that?”

”Child p.o.r.n,” Laura answered. She brought up another photo that showed a small room decorated with cartoon characters. A pink-canopied bed sat up against one wall. A young girl, wearing a lacy pink, flowery dress was kneeling between the legs of a very large man, who was in the process of unzipping his pants-it was Billy Smith's little girl.

Laura knew what the sounds were before she even turned her head. Edwards was heaving in the trashcan next to the door. She gave him a minute to collect himself. She have any children, but Edwards did.

She could feel the anger raging through her veins as she looked through the pictures. She could only imagine what was going through his mind. When he looked up, she saw hate and contempt in his eyes, hate for one man-Anthony Castrucci. Men like Castrucci were monsters-they represented the vilest things in the world.

”Are you okay?” she asked before turning back to the open file.

He nodded, took out his handkerchief, and wiped his mouth.

”That file was hidden in a sector that couldn't be viewed through the normal operating system.”

He shook his head with utter disgust. If he didn't hate Castrucci before, he d.a.m.n sure did now. ”That sick son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h,” he spat angrily.

Laura opened up several more pictures, each one worse than the previous. The more she saw, the angrier she got. She wiped at the tears spilling down her cheeks. ”They can't be more than ten years old.”

Edwards squeezed her shoulder in a comforting gesture as the two of them stared at the screen.

”It's no wonder he wants Ma.s.sino out of the way. They would kill him over this if they knew.”

Laura nodded in agreement. ”There's no doubt about that.”

He grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair and grinned slyly. ”It's kinda ironic, when you think about it. The Mafia commits some of the most brutal murders, but they still maintain a code of honor amongst themselves. I know they have certain guidelines and rules you never break under any circ.u.mstance. Child p.o.r.nography is at the top of that list.” He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. ”See what else you can find and get it faxed to Was.h.i.+ngton.”

”Where are you going?” she asked.

”To see a federal prosecutor. We need to can get a Grand Jury convened so we can bring Rheyna home. With the evidence we have, it shouldn't take long to get an indictment.”

Laura stopped typing to look at him. ”She's not due to call in for another forty-eight hours.”

”That's okay. Just tell her that it's almost over. One way or the other, Castrucci's finished.”

She looked at the screen and frowned.

”What? What is it?” he asked, coming back over to see what she was looking at.

”It looks like a dinner menu with a list of names,” she said. Her face went blank when she realized what it was. ”Oh s.h.i.+t, it's a hit list.” She swung her hand against the cup of coffee, knocking it across the table.

Edwards took out his hanky and started blotting up the liquid.

”I knew it, d.a.m.n it. I told Stevens.”

The list showed the names and dates of the various Mafia members that had been killed. The last entry was Georgie and Paulie, the two men that had been shot outside of Lil Vic's Delicatessen.

”Who's next?” Edwards asked.

She slid her index finger down the list and stopped at the last entry scheduled. She read his name aloud. ”Carlos Ma.s.sino, seven, tomorrow night at Barecci's.”

Edwards turned to open the door and ran into Stevens.

He looked back at Laura. ”Contact L.A. and let them know.” He brushed past Stevens, nearly causing him to spill the contents from the tray in his hands. Stevens set the tray on the table.

”I thought you might like a fresh cup,” he said and handed Laura a cup of coffee. He took one for himself and sat down in the chair next to her. ”Where's he going in such a hurry?” he asked.

”He's going to try and turn the slow wheels of justice, and thanks for the coffee. I really needed it,” she answered. She turned the screen toward him so he could get a better view of the photos that she and Edwards had been looking at. ”Here, take a look for yourself.”

He looked at the screen and shrugged. ”Nothing surprises me anymore. h.e.l.l, look at Artie. Who would've ever thought he'd be in bed with the mob.”

Chapter 19.

Edwards was filing paperwork against Castrucci and his cohorts when he received a call from Agent Wilks down at the L.A. Bureau. Wilks asked Edwards to meet him over at an apartment building located in the skid row district of Los Angeles.

The neighborhood looked every bit the part that its name implied. Laura followed Edwards up the steps that led to the top floor apartment and ducked under the police tape draped across the doorway.

She looked around the expansive loft apartment. ”Wow, I didn't expect this,” she said.