The Avenger by Jo Robertson Page B

force small for the time being, just the four of us."
    Olivia watched Jack gesture with those long fingers. He’d been a handsome boy, but he’d become a compelling man with hair like heavy black silk, burnished complexion, and dark eyes that glistened like obsidian. She couldn’t tell if the hitch around her ribs was from memory or from gazing at him now. He’d grown into assurance and command, she realized, the mantle of leadership resting comfortably on his wide shoulders.
    "We’ll add team members later on for the grunt work," Jack continued.
    Slater nodded and ADA Torres lifted her shoulders negligently. When introduced to Olivia, the woman had seemed friendly enough, but preoccupied. She was a small woman, like Olivia, but in a graceful, long-limbed way.
    Finally Torres cleared her throat and spoke up. "I want it known for the record that I'm opposed to discontinuing the Vargas assignment. I’m close to getting him on the assault charges." She threw a defiant look at Jack. "I don't want to lose the momentum."
    Uneasy silence followed while Olivia wondered how they were supposed to work together with all the land mines lying around.
    "Maybe you can do both," Jack suggested in friendly compromise that surprised Olivia. "We’ll start with the notes and Olivia’s expertise while you continue on the Vargas case."
    Isabella looked relieved as she gathered up her materials and stuffed them in her briefcase."Okay, then, that’s settled."
    After the ADA left, Slater took a deep breath and said grudgingly, "Thanks for letting Isabella work the other case. Barrington won't make it easy for her."
    "What’s the deal there?"
    "Diego Vargas?"
    "I've heard of him," Olivia said as she rose and swung her purse over her shoulder. "He's a city councilman in Sacramento."
    Slater nodded. "They're looking at him for campaign fraud at the loud insistence of the Latino community, interestingly enough."
    "Why's that Bigler County's problem?" Jack asked.
    "Several months ago, Vargas’ wife Magdalena walked into my office and asked for confidential police protection."
    Olivia felt a sliver of apprehension as she remembered her ex-husband's late-night visit. "Why didn’t she go to the local police?"
    Slater shook his head. "Said her husband's influence was too deep and she couldn't be sure which officers were in his pocket. Claimed her husband’s been mentally and physically abusing her for years. Came to me off the record because she went to school with an old law school friend of mine."
    Jack spread his palms. "Still, it’s domestic abuse."
    "Magdalena contends that Vargas is heavily involved with local gangs and is a major player in drug running, prostitution, and gambling from Stockton to the Nevada and Oregon borders."
    Jack understood. "Ah."
    "I convinced her to talk to Isabella Torres. Magdalena issued a large number of allegations against her husband, but few provable facts."
    "But Torres believes her," Jack prompted.
    "Isabella wrangled a voluntary meet with Vargas, thinks she can rattle his cage."
    "Voluntary? That doesn’t sound like a guilty man."
    Slater shrugged. "Internal affairs is running a parallel investigation on the money sources, so he probably thinks he’s safe on the assault."
    "Still, isn't that a waste of your resources?"
    "Magdalena insists Vargas is a violent psychopath, so Isabella's following that lead." Slater paused. "She has a particular hatred for men like Diego Vargas."
    Jack had liked the efficient young ADA and figured she owed him a favor now. "I’d like to watch her work," he mused. "Maybe I’ll sit in on her interview with the Councilman."
    Slater lifted his brows. "Yeah, that’ll work."
    "I'm sure she can be persuaded." As Olivia made her way to the door, Jack closed his briefcase, and followed her.
    "There's more," Slater said to their backs. "Earlier this year, the Maidu City PD contacted me about someone targeting young prostitutes in that area."
    Jack turned back. "Maidu?"
    "College