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Corey rubbed his temples. “That was inevitable. They had to assign him a public defender.”
“This wasn’t a public defender, though,” Ed said. “Guy’s name is Lucien Farrow. Alex Cullen—that’s our NOPD informant—remembered his name from somewhere and looked him up. He used to be a prosecutor, but now he’s a PI. Works for Burke Broussard.”
Corey frowned. “Wait. I’ve heard of Broussard. He was NOPD, too, wasn’t he? He’s broken some big cases recently.”
Bobby nodded, troubled. “He was NOPD, yes. Quit because he wouldn’t go dirty, or at least that was what the rumor mill said.”
“Why would a PI send a lawyer to talk to Rick?” Corey asked. “Who’s Broussard working for?”
“Oh fuck,” Bobby muttered. He glanced at Corey before returning his gaze to the road. “You said that there was a woman at Cardozo’s house last night.”
Corey nodded. “Yeah, she had a big dog. Chased us. Why?”
“Oh,” Ed said quietly. “Cardozo refused police protection, but what if he hired someone private? Broussard does investigations and personal protection.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Corey protested. “If Cardozo hired Broussard, the last person representing Rick would be one of Broussard’s people.”
“Unless they were weaseling information out of him,” Ed said.
Corey closed his eyes. “Fuck. Find out, Ed. Find out if Cardozo hired Broussard. And find out if any of the guys you’ve been paying all this time have a contact in the jail. Rick needs to die.”
“Is Jace... taken care of?” Ed asked carefully.
“No,” Corey snapped. “It was a trap. And if you even think the words ‘I told you so,’ I’ll break your fuckin’ nose.”
“Noted,” Ed said. “Well, what now?”
Corey deliberately misunderstood, because he truly had no idea and that terrified him. “Now we come back to camp and get some sleep.”
Mid-City, New Orleans, Louisiana
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 6:15 P.M.
Kaj brought his car to a stop in his garage, fighting back a sudden wave of fatigue as he lowered the garage door. He hadn’t been so tired in a very long time. He rolled his head to one side to study Val, who’d woken about five minutes before, remaining silent as he drove.
She was watching him, her expression as weary as he felt. “Thank you again,” she said quietly. “I really appreciate that you came with me.”
The quiet wasn’t only in the volume of her voice. It was also in her tone. She was emotionally worn down and Kaj didn’t like it. She was strong and confident and made him feel safe, especially with Elijah, but after less than twenty minutes with her mother she was drained and defeated.
He took her hand and squeezed it. “Are you all right?”
Her smile returning, she squared her shoulders and nodded decisively. It was like watching her don armor. She was the Val he’d known for the past few days, the Val of the past few hours hidden away.
It made him wonder what else she hid. And which Val was the real one.
“Of course,” she said. “I need to check on Elijah, walk Czar, and then relieve Burke. And you have some company. I saw MaryBeth and Jess’s minivan and Patty’s VW parked on the curb. I hope that means food.” Getting out of the car as if she hadn’t been exhausted a minute before, she waited for him to follow.
Slowly he did, searching for the words that would help her. Because she wasn’t all right. Catching her arm before she went into the house, he cradled her jaw in his palm, something inside him settling when she leaned into his touch.
“Tell me the truth,” he said softly. “Because you’re not all right.”
“No,” she whispered. “My parents are... Well, they’re not the same people that they were before Van died. Dad used to read three newspapers with his morning coffee. Now he’s cut off from the real world, hiding in his history books.”
“Your mother had heard about Elijah.”
“I know. She watches the news and I wish she wouldn’t. She becomes upset when she hears about violent crimes and retreats into her own mind, and I don’t know what she sees there. If she did see a report on Sandra’s arrest, she might have blocked it out.”
“Kind of like they ignore the truth about your sister?”
