The Ideal Man

THIRTY – SIX

Max was having a hell of a great day. Seeing Cal and Erika Landry down on their knees with their hands cuffed behind their backs was a thing of beauty.

Seven federal agents and twelve policemen surrounded the couple. The dealers, eight of them, were facedown on the cement floor with their hands behind their backs, but without a doubt, the Landrys were the stars of the show.

“Are you going to try to put hits out on all of us?” Ben asked. He was so happy, he couldn’t stop smiling.

“I think they’ve run out of hit men,” Max said.

Five crates filled with weapons and explosives-some he and Max had never seen before-were being opened and inspected. None of them would reach the streets now, and he was confident Cal and Erika Landry were going away for a long, long time.

Using his phone, Max took a photo of the unhappy couple as they screamed obscenities and claimed entrapment. He sent the photo to Agent Sean Goodman and Agent Rob Hughes.

Exactly one minute after receiving the picture, Agent Hughes was on the line. Max explained to the flabbergasted agent that he had been kept out of the loop because there was a leak in his office. At first, Hughes didn’t take the news well, denying any possibility that there could be a traitor among his ranks. Max told him what the investigation by the special task force had turned up, that one of the assistants in Hughes’s office was selling information to the Landrys for sizable amounts of money, but Hughes was still skeptical. However, when Max named the assistant and the number of cash payments that had been traced to a hidden account, Hughes relented. He was sickened that he hadn’t been more astute. Max told Hughes that special agents from the task force would appear in his office momentarily to make the arrest, and Hughes agreed to assist.

The next day Hughes was on a plane to Honolulu. Since he had been chasing the Landrys for years and had the longest history with the facts, he was needed to help prepare the case. The FBI and the federal prosecutors were determined to leave no stone unturned. After looking at all the new evidence, Hughes strongly urged they add other counts to the weapons charges. With the testimony of Willis Cogburn, he insisted, they should be able to add on convictions for the attempted murder of Sean Goodman and also for ordering the murder of Dr. Ellie Sullivan.

“I want to get them for all of it,” he said.

The prosecuting attorney agreed.

“Willis Cogburn testifies and then goes into witness protection,” he suggested.

“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary,” the prosecutor said. “There’s no way a judge will allow these two to get out on bail to do their dirty work this time. We’ll watch them closely. Potential witnesses won’t have to be afraid. Dr. Eleanor Sullivan will have to testify, and I want Agent Goodman on call. Get all of them over here as soon as possible. The preliminary trial date has been moved up. Landrys’ gaggle of attorneys isn’t objecting.”

“Why aren’t they?” Max asked.

The attorney shook her head. “I guess we’ll have to find out.”

Max and Ben celebrated the arrest of the Landrys over a couple of beers at their favorite bar, and Max showed him the picture he’d taken of the angry couple as they knelt in front of the agents and policemen with drawn guns.

“I wish you’d gotten one of their faces when the agents first rushed into that warehouse,” Ben said. “Their expressions were priceless.”

“They looked shocked, all right,” Max said. “I especially liked the way Erika tried to feign innocence at first. I fully expected her to say she had no idea how those guns got there.”

Ben raised his mug. “Here’s to the Landrys. May their punishment fit their crimes.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Max said.

Ben downed the rest of his beer and stood. “I’ve got to get home. I promised Addison we could have a quiet dinner with just the two of us tonight. I’ve been away so much lately.”

“How is she feeling?” Max asked.

“The baby is kicking a lot. She’s convinced he’s going to come out carrying a soccer ball. Ellie’s been terrific, texting Addison whenever she has concerns. Speaking of Ellie… have you talked to her?”

“No.”

“She’s one in a million. If I were you, I wouldn’t let her get away,” Ben said as he headed for the door.

Max sat for a while, sipping his beer and mulling over Ben’s words. In truth, every minute he wasn’t focusing on the Landry case, he was thinking of her. It had been just a few weeks since he’d seen Ellie, but it seemed like months. He missed her.

What the hell had happened to him? The woman had blindsided him. She got right into his heart before he knew what was happening. He’d never felt this way before, and he didn’t like it one damned bit. It made him vulnerable.

Don’t get attached. That’s what she’d told him, and she was right. There were hundreds of reasons they couldn’t be together. The most obvious, they lived four thousand miles apart. Her life was centered on her career, and so was his. Their jobs were stressful and consuming. He couldn’t ask her to live with the danger that surrounded him, nor could he ask her to rearrange her life to fit his. No, it would never work.