Married To The Mafia: Book II

19 - The Sleazy Cop.

"That's it?"

"That's it." Cain Rodgers said with a big smile. The smile diminished when his superior regarded him skeptically like he had gone round the bend. That wasn't good for his plans.

He cleared his throat and sat up. "You don't look convinced."

Maya Johnson gave a small laugh. "Pardon me if your explanation do not convince me that Dwayne is a villain with seven horns."

"That's putting it mildly." He muttered.

"Okay I'll be straight with you, Detective Rogers. What you're saying is hard to believe."

"Why not?"

"First of all, that woman's testimony cannot be relied upon. She's mentally unstable."

It was true. Cain gritted his teeth. He hated the fact that his victory was slipping through his fingers. He hadn't been able to revel in it long before it turned sour. He had found Delaney Whittaker holed up in a ramshackle motel downtown and had hauled her in. He had managed to get a testimony from her and she had described Devlin Gusev to a tee. The bastard was alive.

Not that he needed her testament to that fact anyway. He was very sure that Tucker had been right and the couple that had left in a hurry had indeed been them. He regretted not going after them to Russia. If he hadn't convinced himself that he would be chasing a wild goose by going after them and he would rather wait till the dust had settled before going, maybe Maya wouldn't be looking at him the way she was.

Delaney Whittaker's statement accentuated his claim but she really was unstable. Her display of mental illness had been getting worse by the minute. How would the statement of a person who spoke to her dead parents like they were in the room with her hold up in a court? Or anywhere for that matter?

"If you don't believe her, then believe me. This might be hard to swallow but Dwayne is not who you think he is."

"No?"

"No. He's an accomplice to Devlin Gusev."

Maya scoffed. "When will you stop these morbid accusations Rodgers? Art is the most loyal, faithful lawman I have ever met. He will never help a criminal."

"Yes he will, and I have proof."

She leaned back into her seat and signaled for him to go on. Cain recounted everything Tucker had told him and by the time he was done, Maya was laughing. It pissed him off.

"What's funny?" He asked with irritation.

"What isn't? This is ludicrous."

"No it's not ma'am. I know what I'm saying. Isn't it strange that five years ago, Devlin Gusev didn't die from the shooting, but died by drowning."

She shrugged. "What's strange about that?"

"He didn't die from gunshots, instead, water killed him. How ironic is that? What if someone of authority, like Art rescued him and exchanged a corpse in his stead, fooling the whole world? What if his wife broke off her engagement when she found out her supposedly late husband wasn't really late?"

"Because he isn't really late he's early." Maya said dryly. She laughed when she met the hostile stare Cain gave her. "Sorry. Bad joke."

"This is serious ma'am. You have to please take me serious."

"Alright. But what if due to the shots, Devlin Gusev wasn't able to swim ashore and drowned? It makes sense doesn't it? He'd been shot multiple times, and probably hadn't eaten for hours. Everything was against him."