Read The Filthy Few: A Steve Nastos Mystery for Free Online

“I’ve spoken to girls like this a few times over the years. I’ve watched Falconer’s story a dozen times. They kept her close, they used violence and intimidation. I think it’s impossible to understand the grip that fear can have on a person unless you’re living it. If she had never been arrested and held in custody she might never have been rescued.”
    She turned from Hopkins to appraise Carscadden. “So you’re the legal mastermind behind the Nastos acquittal, Nastos’ financial settlement, the Viktor Kalmakov acquittal . . .”
    Carscadden was wearing a typical wrinkled trial lawyer suit, one level better than drab. At Hopkins’ insistence he was sporting a bit of stubble to diminish the baby face. He said, “And you’re his former partner from Sexual Assault. You were before Jacques Lapierre, right?”
    Grant shrugged. “Yes, those were the days. It’s a different kind of career, there’s nothing else like it.”
    Nastos didn’t want Grant to talk about the past. She was sure to mention something that he’d wish she hadn’t. “I’m not sure they were cops. Squared barrels, that could be a dozen different pistols. Glocks retail for seven-fifty all in; on the street they aren’t much more. You can rent them for the weekend for a few hundred.”
    Grant had a ready answer. “The vehicles, most of the guys were white, two were well dressed. These aren’t gangbangers, Nastos.”
    He shrugged, knowing that she was right. The condescending way that she said it bothered him. He had taught her everything she knew about investigating and now here she was, treating him like he was stupid.
    She stifled a smile, obviously enjoying how easily she made him angry.
    â€œKaren, I don’t have to tell you that drug cops don’t operate like this. If these were cops —”
    â€œIf these were cops, Nastos, they weren’t on company time. A police shooting, there’d be the Special Investigations Unit, the media, press releases . . .” Grant disconnected the USB from the player and put its tip protector back on. She slid it over to Carscadden. “Here, for safekeeping. I have another copy.”
    Carscadden picked it up. “Gee, thanks.” He seemed to be mulling something over. “So Falconer is in hiding somewhere?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œLike a hotel room on Kingston Road, paid-in-cash kinda hiding, or in your spare bedroom hiding?”
    Nastos noticed the way Grant hesitated to answer and in doing so, confirmed Carscadden’s guess.
Don’t take in a stray that you wouldn’t want to keep forever, Karen.
    â€œAnn Falconer is in a safe place. What I need is the identity of the dead man, his real name. I have reason to believe that he was in Witness Protection. Falconer thinks that it was a hit by the cops. Now I’m not sure it was cops, but this doesn’t sound like a random shooting either. I’d like you guys to at least get his name for me. I want to keep a low profile for the time being.”
    â€œAnd you know the name in the media is wrong how?”
    â€œFalconer.”
    Nastos read through the notes he’d made during the video. “Carscadden and I did that missing girl investigation last year, the Bannerman case. One thing we learned was how much information a cell carrier can get from a smart phone. GPS , eavesdropping . . . Falconer was given a phone by her Witness Protection handler. What was she in protection for?”
    â€œShe was going to testify in a trial. They put her in that scummy motel where they seem to hide everyone.” Karen seemed reluctant to answer, which to Nastos meant that she didn’t know the answer but wanted to sound like she did. She continued. “That’s why I think Walker was there too. Most other people who rented there seemed like refugee claimants waiting for their rejection