Chapter Fifteen Babe

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: BABE

"We have a lawyer on retainer. I can have him meet us there," Chrome offers.

"Us?" I ask him.

"I'm coming with you. I'm pissed as hell that this bullshit is going on in my backyard. Fuck, just feet away from our garage. If the cops think they're going to hammer you for helping those women escape, then I'll be there to help fight them."

"They haven't said that they suspect me of committing a crime," Min reminds us. "They asked for both of us to be there. My guess is that they ran my identification and discovered I'm a bounty hunter with ties to the Demon Dawgs. That may be all there is to this meeting. To find out why we're in town."

"They may also want to know if we know more about the women you rescued than you originally claimed," I tell her. She nods in agreement.

"Let's go so we can find out. Maybe they'll give us some answers," Chrome adds.

Several cops stop and stare at us when we park and dismount. They're likely not used to seeing bikers going into a police station voluntarily. Once inside, Chrome glances around.

"The lawyer's not here yet. Do you want to wait?"

"No, let's get this started. If we run into trouble and need him, we can ask for him then," I say.

Min nods and leads the way to the sergeant sitting behind the counter. I glance back to see Chrome taking a seat nearest the door. He either wants to make it easy for the lawyer to find him, or more likely, for a quick escape. None of us like cop shops.

"We're here to see Detective Schwartz," Min says.

The sergeant runs an appreciative eye over Min before turning a suspicious glare towards me. "Name?"

After we give him our names, he picks up the phone and makes the call.

"He'll be out shortly."

Min thanks him, and we turn back toward Chrome, but the desk sergeant calls us back. He points at a man coming toward us.

He carries himself like Laser and Scar. So I'm guessing he's former military. His attention is on Min, so I study him. I don't like what I'm seeing. He's white with close-cut blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He looks like a poster child from 1930s Germany. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but he reminds me of the men we're hunting. His shoes and suit look expensive, too expensive for a cop. I might be paranoid, but he resembles those in Jordan's circle too closely for my liking.

"I'm Detective Schwartz. You must be Scott Beams?" He asks, shaking my hand. "Or I can call you Babe if you'd prefer."

"Babe is fine," I reply.

"Babe it is. Thanks to you both for coming in. Would you follow me?"

"What's this about?" I ask as we pass through a door and into a hallway.

"I wanted to talk to Min about how she came to the rescue of Angie Stonewall and Kristi Branch."

"Her name was Angie? Did she have any family?" Min asks in a small voice.

"She did. A husband, a son, two sisters, several nieces and nephews, and her parents. They've been frantic since she went missing."

I know she's hurting because she couldn't save the woman. Mode told me how distraught she was when she discovered there were four other women in the basement. Women that she left behind because she tried to save Angie's life. I'm hoping having a name helps her shake the guilt. Angie's family might never have known what happened to their daughter if not for Min.

Schwartz leads us into an interview room and gestures for us to take seats.

"Would you like something to drink? We have bottled water and the worst coffee ever brewed."

"Do you have any tea?" Min asks, then shakes her head. "Never mind, I'll just take water."

I hold up two fingers. Once he leaves, I turn to Min.

"I'm not sure I trust this guy," I tell her.

"Because he looks like he could be one of Jordan's men?" She responds and I nod. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. We already know Jordan has cops in his employ. Maybe we should ask if we could talk to a different detective."

Schwartz returns with our water. He's carrying a mug of coffee for himself.

"Before we start, we have a request," I tell him.

He nods and motions for me to continue as he takes a sip of coffee.

"I'm not trying to be an asshole, but is there someone else we can talk to?"

"Why?"

"Because you fit the profile of the men we're after," Min supplies. "You were in the military. Yes?"

He nods.

"The men we're hunting are former military and one is a cop. They're all white. If we put you in a room with them, you'd blend in perfectly. I know it sounds like bullshit, but since a cop helped three fugitives escape prison in San Diego, you can understand why we might not be comfortable with you." I say.

He glances between Min and me before nodding and leaving the room.

"He took that better than I expected. Or he's preparing our cell," Min says, causing me to chuckle.

When the door opens, I admit surprise at seeing a black man enter with Schwartz behind him.

"I'm Lieutenant Travis Washington. I understand that you have a problem with the color of Detective Schwartz's skin?" He asks with a smirk as he takes a seat, Schwartz sitting next to him.

"I know it sounds incredibly racist," Min says. "But we have our reasons and they aren't as superficial as you might think."

"Detective Noah Billings," Washington opens the folder he brought with him and lays out a photo of the cop. "Joseph Baumbach and Daniel Foster." He lays their photos out next to the one of Billings. He glances at Schwartz and then back at the photos. "You're just their type. Maybe you are part of their group."

"Fuck off, man," Schwartz says with a chuckle and shakes his head.

Washington turns to us. "We understand your concern, but I can assure you Detective Schwartz is not a member of God's Chosen Disciples or whatever the fuck the asshole is calling his church these days. Schwartz is married to my sister, Toni, and she'd kick his ass if he ever mistreated her."

"Holy shit," I exclaim when I realize who he's talking about. "The Tornado is your sister? Your wife?"

Schwartz nods and chuckles. "She is, and Travis isn't wrong. If I behaved like these dicks, she'd pummel me into dust and Travis would help sweep up the mess."

"I'm missing something," Min breaks in.

I glance and her and apologize. "Sorry, Min. Toni ‘Tornado' Schwartz is the reigning MMA female champion. She's fucking deadly. I saw her fight one time when I visiting Puma at the Vegas club."

"Maklin Brooks?" Washington asks and I nod. "Saw him play ball. A fucking monster on the court. Heard he joined a MC."

"He's one of my brothers," I say with pride.

"So, we're saying we trust them?" Min asks me.

I chuckle and nod. "Yeah, I think we can trust them. There's no way a man belonging to Jordan's group would marry a black woman, much less one who could kick his ass without breaking a sweat."

Min beams. "She sounds like someone I would like to meet."

I nod. "Yeah, you two would hit it off. Min has more black belts than a clothing store."

"No wonder she's your partner," Schwartz says. "You two are bounty hunters? You're here to find and capture Billings and the men he helped escape from the San Diego PD? However, they aren't on bail, so how did you get tagged to go after them?"

I glance at Min and then focus on Schwartz. "Billings set fire to the dojo Min's father owned, with him inside. The men he helped escape were part of a sick scam where they dated and impregnated wealthy women for the sole purpose of stealing the babies, killing the mothers, and then cashing in on their deaths. My brother, Shield, who is also a cop with the SDPD, arrested two men who were part of the scheme, along with the OB/GYN who was part of it. Before they escaped, they murdered the ex-husband of the woman Shield claimed. He was a piece of shit, but was willing to rat out Jordan and his gang before they killed him. So, you can say this is personal for us."

"I saw them getting on a plane headed to Chicago," Min explains. "We followed them."

"Chrome and his men followed the men from the airport to the church?" Schwartz asks. I nod. He turns to Min. "So, you being in front of that church when the two women escaped wasn't a coincidence?"

"No," Min replies.

"But you weren't driving by, were you?" Schwartz asks, pulling a plastic evidence bag out of his pocket and dropping it on the table. Inside was a camera Min had installed.

"No, I found the basement when I set up the cameras. I heard them talking about killing Angie." She describes what she heard and how she ducked into what she thought was an empty room only to discover Kristi. "I just wish I had thought to check the other rooms before taking Kristi and Angie to the hospital."

"What do you mean?" Schwartz asks, sitting up straighter.

Min nods at the camera. "We saw them take out four other girls before you arrived to search the basement."

"Son of a bitch!" Schwartz explodes. "I knew it. Saw the cots and hoped they'd escaped like Kristi. What else do you know?"