Detective Danny Cavanaugh 01 - The Brink

the breakfast tab.”
    Minutes later, Booker and Danny were strolling along the wooded jogging trail that snaked throughout the Houston Racquet Club grounds. Booker was sipping from a water bottle filled with an energy drink the color of cherry Kool-Aid.
    “How’d you know I’d be here?”
    “Human beings are creatures of habit, Booker. You’ve flown back to Houston every third week of the month for constituent meetings and donor dinners for how many years now? Twenty?”
    Booker grinned. “Twenty-three.”
    “Over those twenty-three years, how many times have you missed Thursday morning tennis with the boys?”
    Booker chuckled. “I always thought you were smart, Danny.” He sipped his drink. “Well, except for getting mixed up with Rafael Espinoza. Not a wise move, kid.”
    Danny ignored his jab. “I see that Garage Sale Jimmy took over Dad’s spot in tennis, too. Thanks for being so loyal to his memory.”
    Booker’s face sunk. He would have never let that look materialize if a camera was near. “What can I do for you, Danny?”
    “I need to know everything about your relationship with Phoenix Oil and the monastery down at Lake Guerrero.”
    The look of confusion on Booker’s face could have won awards. “What the hell are you talking about?”
    Danny grabbed Booker’s elbow and applied generous pressure. “Booker, this is not the time to pull any of your bullshit doubletalk. The woman I’m with was at a meeting down there and was almost killed for this.” Danny let go of him and pulled out the Ziploc bag from his waistband. He extracted the lawsuit papers and shoved them in Booker’s face. He allowed the politician a few moments to digest the information. “I want some fucking answers, Booker. Now.”
    Booker drew his eyes off of the documents and scowled at Danny. “Son, let me tell you something. I don’t know what the hell this is, and I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. You shouldn’t have come here. Last I heard, you were wanted for killing a federal agent.”
    “It was self-defense. He was the one with Espinoza.”
    “Uh-huh. Listen, you need to concern yourself with your own problems before you take up with some crazy girl who’s whacked out of her goddamn mind. Hell, I should call the cops right now and tell them that you’re here.”
    Danny was about to speak when he heard footsteps and a female voice.
    “Senator Halsey, my name is Sydney Dumas. I am a member of the International Court of Justice, and I serve in its international finances chamber,” she said, taking a position at Danny’s side. “The other two chamber members and I were meeting at a monastery in Mexico with which you have ties. Our proceedings are not the illusions of a crazy girl. They are facts, facts that I believe warrant serious attention from the United States government as well as an explanation as to your dealings with the group involved with the monastery.”
    Over the years, Danny had witnessed Booker’s deft handling of accusations about his questionable practices both on TV and in person. Danny’s dad had said that even though Booker was as crooked as a mesquite tree branch, he could make things happen for the boys in the oil patch. That’s why he was blessed with being one of the longest reigning senators in American history.
    “Ms. Dumas, if what Danny has told me is true and that you were in a life-threatening situation down in Mexico, you have my deepest sympathies. Danny’s daddy and I go way back. Yes, I, like Danny’s daddy, visited the Lake Guerrero monastery many times over my life but always as a guest of Phoenix Oil. And yes, it is true that Phoenix owns the monastery. However, whatever Phoenix Oil has to do with any kind of situation that involves the International Court of Justice is news to me. I can assure you of that.”
    As Booker took another swig of his concoction, Sydney hit him with another bombshell. She tugged open her shirt, revealing a Ziploc bag tucked in her waistband. Inside it was a single piece of paper.
    Danny could tell that Sydney was about to launch into another allegation of Booker’s involvement with the lawsuit when he stopped her. Even though Booker may be guilty, he could easily talk his way out of any accusation Sydney made against him. Then he wouldn’t offer up any more information. He had to get Sydney out of there.
    Danny stepped between them and got in Sydney’s face. He whispered to her, “What the hell are you doing? I