One look at the murderous glare Lynn visited upon her and Flo began crying. Lynn took a deep breath. She patted Flo’s cheek reassuringly. “Go on with your story. You’re doing real well.”
“I…I’m sorry. Moreau was killed by an assassin, rumored to be Nick McCarty. Majd remembered McCarty’s name from my confrontations with his daughter, Jean. He tracked all of the news stories about McCarty killing relatives of the Kader family, first in defense of Dimah Kader, a teacher at the school. Majd immediately contacted the Kader family, learning McCarty killed many of their family members, including three sent by the family only a short time ago. Then… five male members of the Kader family were executed, supposedly by Isis operatives. Majd knew that not to be true. He informed our mentor, Saran Al-Kadi of what was going on.”
“If the Kader family hired the assassins as we’ve heard, what could kidnapping Jean have to do with the Kader’s wanting Nick dead?”
“I don’t know the… details. The Kader family agreed with Al-Kadi to contact Sohail and Javid who Saran knew to be in New York. He used Majd to act as an intermediary. The Kaders were promised McCarty would die once he carried out an assassination for Al-Kadi on a Saudi prince financing Al-Qaeda named Rabiah Al-Saud. The Kaders agreed to Al-Kadi’s terms, paying for all expenses incurred. My husband thought he could corner Jean away from the school on a pretense of meeting with the principal. He didn’t know McCarty had driven her to school. He thought it the perfect time because Majd saw Jean and her friend alone.”
“Why didn’t he try to have you approach Jean, or at least wait until she was alone?”
Flo’s facial features showed momentary annoyance at my question. “Jean’s never alone. She also is a very irritable child. She suspects everything. Majd gets impatient. I tried to convince him I could coax her over to the street where our driver could have arrived in seconds to pick her up. I would wave at the vehicle as it left, pretending Jean had to go quickly, and then tell anyone who asked that she had an emergency at home. Majd became angry, insisting she was only a girl, and he would handle it. We would never have tried such a thing with either parent present. Jean’s mother wanted to beat me up the other day in anger. I know now McCarty is a killer. He was about to execute all three men until realizing there were witnesses.”
“Wow!” I chuckled. “If these idiots weren’t so dangerous, they would be laughable, Crue. Al-Kadi thought he could enlist Nick, the now foremost assassin in the world, to do a hit on a Saudi prince by kidnapping his daughter? Oh my… we should enter you geniuses in the ‘Darwin Awards’ this year.”
“Kabong told me a story about some idiot gangster who sent two hired guns into a restaurant to collect Nick for an assassination,” Lynn added. “Nick went with them, his .45 Colt pointed at their heads, to meet the boss. He pretended interest in the assassination until finding out who the target was and then Nick killed them all. It’s a wonder there are any Kaders left.”
“We’ll run it by Nick. If we can get your new acting converts to arrange the meeting with Al-Kadi together, using the pretext Nick had killed all the ones sent after him, but was interested in the job he tortured out of them, Al-Kadi might take the meeting without hesitation.”
“But…but he didn’t kill… oh…oh no! Please don’t kill me! I will help! I can-”
“Shut your pie-hole, Flo! Let me think.” Lynn walked around the table to my side. “I like it, DL. Nick’s no fool. If there’s a flaw in our thinking he’ll find it. We’re going to be busy today. My curiosity is aroused. We have three more Pilot Hill compound frequenters. Let’s put our Flo in the holding cell up here and get started on the bad boys. I’ll make sure Nick’s journey into darkness will be as safe as we can arrange it.”
“Agreed.”
“You…you’re going to kill my husband?” Flo was slow on the upswing.
“No, dear Flo, we’re going to send your husband and his two scumbag friends to Disneyland,” Lynn retorted. “Now, shut up while DL gets you on your feet. One more question – your driver, Jack Gichki, was detained by the Pacific Grove police. Who is he and what does he have to do with your operation?”
“Jack is a close friend of my husband’s. He does anything my husband tells him to do. They fought together in Syria.”
“I’ll pass that on to Nick the moment I get Flo into holding, Lynn.”
I saw a slight smile flit across her face until Flo noticed I was staring at her. “If we learn bad things about Jack you should have told us I will ask Dr. Deville to skin you alive. We haven’t done a filleting for a long time.”
“And my knives are a little dull,” Lynn added.
“I meant nothing by it! Jack is a stone cold killer. He was under orders to act stupid no matter who talked with him from the police, but to do what they said without question. That is the only way the police could have captured him. Jack will kill McCarty.”