Miller fixed Davis with an icy glare and Rivera was amused to see the beginnings of a nervous tic developing in Davis.
Miller interrupted. “We started this investigation in three different countries. The fewer people who knew the story, the better.”
Rivera raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to continue.
“In Italy, it was strictly a Russian mob and Camorra problem-very bad characters, but no direct effect on us in this country. Once Jackle hit the scene in Miami, he found the Russians and Columbians like this,” Miller said as he intertwined the fingers of both hands. “Sex, drugs, extortion, money laundering-apparently they figured there was an advantage to working together. Apparently all is not coming up roses-there’s beginning to be a mounting body count in Miami and South Florida. At first it seemed isolated, but so far we’ve identified at least five guys associated with the strip clubs or escort business who have been killed in the past two months. There were also a couple of out of town businessmen who were found dead in what might be referred to as ‘compromising positions’. The last one was killed three weeks ago down in Key West-an enforcer working for Popov who died very, very badly.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Rivera with genuine curiosity. “I haven’t heard anything about this.”
“No reason you would-on the surface it looks like several random killings spread out over all of South Florida. Jackle actually pointed us in this direction, because it was Popov who initially started to connect the dots. Turns out the dead guys were all either associates of his or clients. He was going nuts trying to figure if it was the Columbians playing him or whether there was someone else involved trying to send him a message. This was definitely personal though-in every case, these guys were mutilated, usually before death. In the case of one of the businessmen, he was found strapped naked to a bed missing the ring finger on his left hand. They found the missing finger and attached wedding band during the autopsy of his stomach contents. A very nasty business-that one was in West Palm and we buried the details of the investigation.”
Rivera leaned back in his chair as he stretched and tried to figure out where to take the conversation. “So how do you figure those are related?”
“I’m not even sure they are related,” said Miller. “I just know that there are too many unexplained deaths surrounding these guys and the one man who might actually shed some light on it is missing.”
“OK, background I got,” said Rivera. “ And the short version is we don’t want these guys for neighbors and we need to close them down. So what do you need from me and the department?”
“To start, we need a BOLO issued in Miami for Jackle,” said Miller leaning forward with his palms on the table. “If one of your guys spots him, call us and I’ll bring him in personally. There’s no telling how he would react if one of your officers tries to arrest him. I can’t stress enough-we want to bring him in safely, but he’s the most dangerous man I know and right now he can’t tell his friends from his enemies.”
CHAPTER 10
I flipped the thick business card back and forth in my fingers. Indecision. The VIP card from the Platinum Club was a definite link-it told me the Russian had been there and apparently was a regular. The risks for me were huge. I was walking onto their home turf, and I could be dead without even knowing why.
I looked in the mirror and liked what I saw. Earlier that day, I sent the bellman out with a shopping list and some cash. After cutting my hair to a short buzz cut and liberally applying a little ‘hair color in a bottle’ I went from dark brown to blonde. The five-day growth of beard helped further change my look and the sunglasses added the final touch of the transformation. No way it would fool anyone who knew me well, but it would be close enough for the
Miller interrupted. “We started this investigation in three different countries. The fewer people who knew the story, the better.”
Rivera raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to continue.
“In Italy, it was strictly a Russian mob and Camorra problem-very bad characters, but no direct effect on us in this country. Once Jackle hit the scene in Miami, he found the Russians and Columbians like this,” Miller said as he intertwined the fingers of both hands. “Sex, drugs, extortion, money laundering-apparently they figured there was an advantage to working together. Apparently all is not coming up roses-there’s beginning to be a mounting body count in Miami and South Florida. At first it seemed isolated, but so far we’ve identified at least five guys associated with the strip clubs or escort business who have been killed in the past two months. There were also a couple of out of town businessmen who were found dead in what might be referred to as ‘compromising positions’. The last one was killed three weeks ago down in Key West-an enforcer working for Popov who died very, very badly.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Rivera with genuine curiosity. “I haven’t heard anything about this.”
“No reason you would-on the surface it looks like several random killings spread out over all of South Florida. Jackle actually pointed us in this direction, because it was Popov who initially started to connect the dots. Turns out the dead guys were all either associates of his or clients. He was going nuts trying to figure if it was the Columbians playing him or whether there was someone else involved trying to send him a message. This was definitely personal though-in every case, these guys were mutilated, usually before death. In the case of one of the businessmen, he was found strapped naked to a bed missing the ring finger on his left hand. They found the missing finger and attached wedding band during the autopsy of his stomach contents. A very nasty business-that one was in West Palm and we buried the details of the investigation.”
Rivera leaned back in his chair as he stretched and tried to figure out where to take the conversation. “So how do you figure those are related?”
“I’m not even sure they are related,” said Miller. “I just know that there are too many unexplained deaths surrounding these guys and the one man who might actually shed some light on it is missing.”
“OK, background I got,” said Rivera. “ And the short version is we don’t want these guys for neighbors and we need to close them down. So what do you need from me and the department?”
“To start, we need a BOLO issued in Miami for Jackle,” said Miller leaning forward with his palms on the table. “If one of your guys spots him, call us and I’ll bring him in personally. There’s no telling how he would react if one of your officers tries to arrest him. I can’t stress enough-we want to bring him in safely, but he’s the most dangerous man I know and right now he can’t tell his friends from his enemies.”
CHAPTER 10
I flipped the thick business card back and forth in my fingers. Indecision. The VIP card from the Platinum Club was a definite link-it told me the Russian had been there and apparently was a regular. The risks for me were huge. I was walking onto their home turf, and I could be dead without even knowing why.
I looked in the mirror and liked what I saw. Earlier that day, I sent the bellman out with a shopping list and some cash. After cutting my hair to a short buzz cut and liberally applying a little ‘hair color in a bottle’ I went from dark brown to blonde. The five-day growth of beard helped further change my look and the sunglasses added the final touch of the transformation. No way it would fool anyone who knew me well, but it would be close enough for the
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