Daniel ignored him as Eli had hunkered down in front of Jasmine. She was sitting down on a chair, dragging on a cigarette with shaky hands like her life depended on it. It explained why everyone was still outside.
Daniel looked over at the far end toward the unit that Eli had reacted to, and the row of trailers and RVs behind. He could see that Cruz had walked off toward them with two officers. Chris followed his gaze. “I need you to confirm what happened behind there.”
Carmichael pricked his ears up, and Daniel almost wished he would do something stupid so Daniel could make sure he was disciplined, but that wouldn’t help anyone, least of all his new team.
“Did he come into the office first?”
Chris nodded. “Young man walked in wanting to know if a Mr. Caffrey owned the site. Miss McKinty confirmed he did and asked if she could help him. She was about to ask what size storage unit he was interested in when he turned around without saying anything and simply walked out.”
“To the units?”
Chris nodded. “He ducked under the barrier to the yard and started walking to the end row. She came to the front door and called him, but he ignored her. She had to take two phone calls immediately, so it was a good five minutes before she looked at the camera feed of the units. She saw him take out one of the truck’s windshields with a crowbar. He was wearing the hoodie, and she couldn’t really give much of a description.”
Chris nodded to the blue sky. It would be over eighty soon. “But my nephew wears them all the time, so I don’t know what to say.” He shrugged.
Daniel looked over at Eli. He was bent down talking to the receptionist. As Daniel watched, he held out his hand and she clutched it. Daniel held his breath but released it when Eli didn’t topple over or anything.
Chris followed Daniel’s gaze to where Eli was crouched in front of the girl. “She was scared he was going to come back into the office. She’s here on her own most of the day.”
As they both watched Eli, he stood up, patted the girl’s hand, and walked back over to Daniel. Eli glanced at Daniel, but he didn’t volunteer anything, so Daniel quickly repeated who Moses Samms was. Chris’s eyebrows rose. “I’ll let my tactical lieutenant know.” Chris excused himself as another customer drew in.
“Cruz,” Daniel said quietly as the man walked toward them, and Eli stepped to the side. Cruz didn’t so much as look at him, just confirmed the damage to seven vehicles. He seemed genuinely grateful they had responded so quickly and concerned for his employee. Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t recognized Eli.
“I don’t think there’s anything else we can do here,” Daniel agreed, then let Chris know they were leaving and headed for his car. He opened the driver’s side just as Eli reached for the door handle and stilled. Eli seemed frozen.
“Eli?”
Eli didn’t reply, and Daniel glanced back over to where the cops were still talking to the receptionist. Cruz wasn’t joining in though. He stood and stared at Eli’s back, the recognition stark in his eyes. Daniel glanced at Eli, and Eli met his gaze. Eli knew Cruz was watching him because he could feel him, and Daniel had been wrong.
Rafael Cruz knew exactly who Eli was.
“Are you okay?” Daniel said as they both got in the car. Eli seemed to be able to move the second Cruz had turned away.
Eli nodded and took a breath.
“Do you think he genuinely didn’t know at first, or was he pretending all the time?”
“He didn’t know. When he put two and two together, I think he wanted to throw up.”
Daniel thought about that. “You said he was a coward. As in he just did what Caffrey told him?”
Eli was silent for so long Daniel regretted asking. He didn’t want to push him.
“What Caffrey did—” Eli stopped.
“I just wanted to say one thing. If you want to—at any time—go and report this bastard, I will support you. If you think it’s different now, we don’t have to do this whole case. We can stop everything now.”
Eli glanced over at him from where he had been studying his fingers.
“You’re a respected FBI agent. You have friends. You are in a different situation from what you were. We don’t have to do any of this. I can drive you to do it now, and we can even go see Gregory if you prefer.” He’d spent too many years on a team that ignored the little guy because they needed to put the bigger ones away, and he was sick of the greater-good argument. Eli was his partner, and…no. Daniel was fooling himself. Eli was rapidly becoming more than just a partner.
“I don’t trust them to believe me.”
Daniel white-knuckled the steering wheel. “I’ll damn well make sure they do.”
Eli tentatively covered one of Daniel’s hands with his own, and Daniel relaxed his grip. “I’m not completely sure, but I think Cruz might have been one of Caffrey’s boys.”
“Which wouldn’t surprise me.” Daniel admitted.
“He did everything Caffrey said, but he never took part unless Caffrey ordered him to, and then”—Eli frowned—“it was as if he was apologetic somehow.”
“What about Mark?”
Eli shuddered. “Mark tried to run just after I got there.”
“And Ramsay brought him back?”
“Not this time,” Eli whispered. “It was a cop.”
“A cop?”
“He joked with Caffrey. He had Mark in handcuffs. Said the idiot had tried to shoplift and he’d answered the call.”
“Do you think he was in on it?”
Eli shook his head. “He thought he was doing Mark a favor. He said if he hadn’t caught him, Mark would have to go to a secure unit, and if he ran again that would be what would happen.”
“I would have thought that was enough incentive to do exactly that.”
“He was punished.”
“Locked in the trailers?”
Eli shook his head. “I think he wished he was. Caffrey had a room past the kitchen no one was allowed in. He took Mark down there. I only saw him once after that, and he wouldn’t look at anyone.” Eli stared out of the window. “I bet you think I was pathetic.”
“What?” Daniel was aghast.
“Because I didn’t try and run.”
Daniel clasped his hands. “I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re going through, but this isn’t your fault. None of this is your fault. You’re not responsible for Caffrey’s evil, and you’re not responsible for Mo getting hurt.”
Eli turned to look at Daniel, his eyes shimmering. “I feel like I let him down.”
“Mo?” Daniel ached to pull Eli close, but he wasn’t sure Eli could have stood the touch right then. Eli didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to.
“And Cruz never tried to stop him?”
“He gave me baby wipes.” Eli looked as if the memory had surprised him. “And he would turn a blind eye to Callum.”
“What did Callum do?”
“Drank. He’d keep a stash of vodka in the top cupboard, and I’m pretty sure the only way he could get it was if Cruz got it for him.
“He once gave it to Mo because of his hands—Cruz, that is—but Mo must have blacked out or something because I remember Caffrey being furious with him.” Eli gazed out of the window. “I think Cruz thought he was helping.”