in the middle of court proceedings in Rome, so I didn’t get very far.”
“His real name is Maximilian Emilio Ramirez, but he changed his last name to Kellen when he was twenty-one. His family kept the Ramirez name. They emigrated from Cuba in 1981. The rest of his family appears to be good loyal American citizens, law-abiding but unexceptional. Max went to law school at U of Miami, worked as an accountant on the side during his school years. Harve found out a few things he did in Little Havana that got him in trouble with the police. Not bad enough to revoke his law license, but bad enough that he left town. Purportedly, he didn’t want to embarrass his parents.”
“Why Fort Myers?”
Novak shrugged. “No idea. He formed his own law firm here, a small one that didn’t amount to much at first. Then about five years ago, surprise, surprise, he suddenly had all the money in the world and a thriving law firm in one of the best office buildings in town. Anything about that sound suspicious to you guys?”
“Hell, yes,” Black said. “You think that’s when he got mobbed up?”
“That’s exactly what he did,” Claire answered.
“Let me put a call into Jose. See what he can tell me about this guy.” Black got up and moved out onto the screened porch. Once the door slid closed, Novak looked at Claire.
“You think Jose will help us?”
“You know he will. He’s Mr. Big over in Miami and loves Black like a son. Black loves him, too, but Rango can be brutal, believe it. My bet is that he’ll know what’s going on over here. He’ll know how connected Kellen is to the big guys and which ones. And he’ll be an ally to us if we need him.”
“All good. Black’s contacts do come in handy. They’ve saved my ass on occasion.”
“Yep, my hubby is a sweetie pie when it comes to sharing his underworld connections. Thank God, he’s not involved with any of that himself. You do understand that. It’s his big brother who is the Mafioso in New Orleans, not him. He’s as clean as new snow.”
“I know that. I’m glad we’ve got him on our side. He can hold his own.”
“I know, and he’s all mine.”
“So the baby’s a girl, I hear.”
She nodded. “Yes, Rico’s going to have a little sister.”
Claire was smiling, happy, and Novak detected something that had been niggling at his mind since he’d met up with Claire earlier that day. He sensed some kind of new softness in her, something he’d rarely seen in the past, at least not when she was working a job. She was and always had been a hard-nosed, dedicated detective and had faced her share of bad guys, including more than one serial killer. She seemed different somehow. He wasn’t sure if the cause was the baby she was carrying or Rico’s adoption, or getting married or all of it together, but it was as becoming as hell. “Hey, know what, Morgan? Having a baby looks good on you.”
“Black says the same thing.”
“He’s worried about you getting hurt.”
“I know.” She glanced over at the screened porch where Black was talking on his cell and then returned her gaze to Novak. “Hey, what about that Lori Garner girl of yours? Is she going to join up with us? We could use another investigator for the hard stuff until after I deliver this baby.”
“She’s thinking about it.”
Claire looked pleased. “I figured you could talk her into it since you spent weeks at sea with her. All alone. Just the two of you.”
Novak had to smile. Claire would love for him to have a girlfriend. He wasn’t sure where his relationship with Lori was going, but he did know she was one hell of a woman. Claire already knew he liked her or he wouldn’t have invited her aboard his boat. She just wanted him to admit it. He decided to keep her guessing. “She’s got a mind of her own. She reminds me of you in that regard.”
“I like her already. Better question: Do you?”
“Yeah. She’s okay.”
“That’s high praise coming from you. You really, really like her, don’t you?”
“Like I said, she’s okay. She uses internet slang that I don’t understand and spouts computer stuff that’s way over my head, but she’s hell on wheels at online research.”
“Even better. So are you two getting it on?”
“Stop with the questions, Claire. We’ve got bigger problems on our hands.”
“So you do like her a lot. Well, knock me down with a feather, Novak. You’ve finally got a girlfriend? You? No way. I must be dreaming.”
“She’s not my girlfriend. She’s a good friend, and I trust her.”
“Yeah, right. Did you or did you not invite her to go sailing the deep blue sea with you? Just the two of you? Alone? What’d you do out there? Play Yahtzee all day?”
Novak changed the subject. “Where are we headed first?”
“You got Kellen’s office address?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Is it well guarded?”
“Don’t know. How about checking that out right now?”
“Can’t think of anything I’d rather do.”
“I missed you, Morgan.”
“Hey, that’s Black now.”
“Promise you’ll take care and not get hurt or put yourself in the hospital again?”
“You and Black are worse than a couple of British nannies.” She looked out on the porch at her husband. “He’s so excited about the baby, Novak. You just would not believe it.”
“I can see that. More reason to be careful and hang back when the bullets start flying.”
“Trust me, Novak. No bullets are getting anywhere near this baby.”
“Okay, I’ll hold you to that.”
Black came back in a hurry. “Jose’s heard of him. Says he’s an upstart over on this coast and not connected to any major underworld syndicate, not that he’s heard about, anyway. He knows about the black market adoptions, though he’s not down with that kind of thing at all. You know what a family man he is. He’s going to look into it at his end and call me back.”
“Excellent,” said Claire. “Now let’s go check out a sleazy lawyer’s office, but first I want to stop at McDonald’s and get a Big Mac and french fries.”
“That’s not exactly nutritious,” Black told her. “A salad would be better for the baby.”
“I’ll drink milk with it and choke down some vegetables tonight. Let’s get out of here. I want to enjoy this balmy climate. It rained the whole time we were in Rome.”
