“Let’s go next door,” Arnie suggested. “Get out of this crazy mess.”
They skirted around people and let themselves into the renovation house where they spent the next hour giving the detective a detailed account of the past year. In the process, she learned a hell of a lot about Darnell Templeton Wanamaker, the third, also known professionally as Arnie Templeton. She also got a damn clear picture of who and what NIGHTWIND was.
Little pieces of his soul ached and throbbed with bitter regret and frustration as he listened to Summer’s incredible tale detailing the threat she came face-to-face with, and how she and her band of supporters circled the wagons to hide and protect her when she was at her most vulnerable.
The way she went through the story, step-by-step, month by month, told him she knew how much danger she was in.
Responding to the careful questioning of King’s LAPD contact, he and Summer filled in all the gaps. Detective Shelton, for his part, was forthcoming with the information they had and shared it with them.
Giselle, it turned out, was even crazier and more deadly than they knew. Todd’s mother wasn’t just some random nurse. Gloria Dinkins aka, Gloria Bensen, was prepared from the moment of his daughter’s birth to kidnap and hand off an infant to human traffickers. Their plan was nefarious and sick. The Dinkins’ home was stuffed with baby gear and surveillance equipment. It was a fucking miracle they hadn’t moved against Summer earlier. By sticking close to home and rarely going out, she made them desperate and forced their hand.
“There’s nothing the LAPD enjoys more than a bunch of pissant motherfuckers with money to burn and a mercenary’s equipment catalog. Drones, vests, night goggles. All total knock-off crap, I want you to know, but effective enough to cause headaches. And the chloroform. Jesus. What idiots.”
Shelton wrote down everything she said and then looked at him. “They removed a retaining wall and cut through the hedge to gain access to the back of the house. If you hadn’t been watching and waiting, shit would have gone south real fast.”
Arnie growled. “There was no security at all. The entire property was vulnerable, and things moved so fast once we were on-site, there was no way to surveil properly.”
He accepted the praise and congratulations for a job well done from the seasoned detective, aware the whole time of Summer’s intense interest. She was hearing things capable of sending her running from him as fast as her legs could carry her.
While Shelton sat with Summer and the baby, he excused himself to take a call from Dottie. She patched him through to a secure line with Captain Reed Warren for one of the most difficult conversations he’d ever had.
The guy was furious over what his sister endured. He went up one side of Arnie and down the other. Calling him every name in the book, Summer’s brother accused him of being a defiler of young women, and at one point, he suggested Arnie’s security bubble wasn’t enough to protect him from the captain’s wrath.
He deserved the man’s scorn and took the angry lecture about his less than honorable behavior as well as could be expected.
Then he gave Reed Warren the unclassified four-one-one on who he was, what he did, and gave him a glimpse of the cast of characters he answered to. It was a dicey move, one he knew had potential consequences for both of them, but he didn’t have a choice. Not if he intended to marry the man’s sister and hopefully have a couple more kids.
With the air more or less cleared, Reed issued one final threat Arnie wasn’t likely to forget.
“If anything happens to my sister or Arianne, I will kill you.”
“Message received, Captain Warren,” he assured him. “But you have no reason to worry. I promise you this—the full reach and scope of NIGHTWIND will cover both of them from here on out. Same for you. If you ever need us, you know who to call.”
The minute she hit the wall, Summer rose with Ari in her arms. It was close to three in the morning and quick action was necessary if she wanted to avoid a full meltdown.
“We’re finished,” she announced with bossy exhaustion. “The baby needs a diaper change, and unless you want me to display my unreasonable side, this interview is concluded.”
With no intention whatsoever of waiting for permission, she marched out of the renovation