Crossing Danger: A Shelby Nichols Adventure (14 page)

“Why?”

“Let’s just say...word on the street is there might be some people interested in finding her.”

I inhaled sharply and caught his gaze. “I think you’d better tell the chief what you know.”

“I can’t right now...there’s something I need to take care of first. But tell him to keep her safe...and don’t let anyone know where she is. Okay?”

“Sure,” I agreed. He was worried about her safety, but he was also concerned about something else. Something he had no control over, and he was thinking it was time he took care of it.

Noise coming from the room with the press conference signaled it was over, and he nodded his thanks before joining the crowd coming down the hall. He was thinking that, with the way things were going, it was time for him to make some hard choices and see if he could do something about this mess...

I lost him in the shuffle and turned to follow. What did he mean by hard choices? I took a couple of steps, but someone grabbed my wrist to stop me. Without thinking, I used my Aikido technique to break his hold and bend his wrist back, sending him crashing into the wall.

“Oww,” Dimples said.

“Oh...sorry.” I dropped his wrist. “I didn’t know it was you...and...” I glanced at the crowd, but Pete was long gone. “I was trying to follow Pete...”

He rubbed his wrist and frowned. “Pete was here?”

“Yeah.”

Dimples groaned. “Oh...I thought you were leaving, and I wanted to talk to you. Did you hear anything from him?”

My eyes widened, and I glanced at the people standing nearby. “Hey...not so loud.”

He sighed, thinking no one would have known what he was talking about. “Okay...let’s go somewhere else.” He turned down the hall in the opposite direction, and I hesitated before following, knowing the dead files room was not a place I wanted to be. Apparently Dimples thought it was perfect.

As he opened the door and flipped on the light, a cold chill rushed over me, but I followed him inside anyway. Rubbing my arms, I leaned against the door. “Okay...this is what I picked up, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense. In fact, Pete asked me if I knew where Chloe was, but then he told me to tell the chief to keep her safe and not let anyone know where she was. See what I mean?”

“Yeah...I wonder why he’d say that if he was after her.”

“He was also thinking that he needed to make some hard choices and do something about the mess. What does that mean?”

Dimples let out a long breath. “I’m not sure. Maybe he’s been doing some kind of undercover work or something. If he is, the chief should know. I’ll ask him about it.”

“Good idea. So what about Chloe? Still planning to let her stay at Holly’s?”

“I don’t know. That’s next on the list of decisions to make. I think as long as her mother doesn’t tell anyone, it should be okay, but who knows? Her parents are coming in to discuss it right now. But before we go back up there, I need to ask you something.”

“Okay,” I said.

“It’s about Billie.” His lips turned down, and his brows drew together. “I got a text from her that said she’d asked you to tell me something.” He glanced up at me, worry in his eyes that it was something he wouldn’t want to hear, and that’s why she was making me tell him.

“Oh yeah. I went to the hospital this morning. She’s looking a lot better, so that’s good. Anyway, she told me I could give you the thumb-drive, and she wants your help.”

“Oh,” his face brightened. “That’s great. So...did you bring it?”

“Uh...no. It’s at my house, but I can get it for you...after I make a copy for her.”

“Fine,” he said, thinking he’d pretend he didn’t know that part.

“She misses you,” I said. “Maybe you could stop by later.”

“Yeah...I’ll do that.” He didn’t think he’d have time, but he’d try.

“I can help with that investigation too, you know. If there’s someone you want to question, I can go with you...so be sure to let me know.”

“Thanks Shelby. That could make all the difference. We know it’s all tied up with the A.G.’s office, and once I see what’s on the thumb-drive, that will help.” He was thinking that he wouldn’t mind going over to the A.G.’s office right now and ruffling some feathers, but he didn’t want to show his hand until he knew more. But with me reading their minds...it was like an ace in the hole.

His gaze caught mine, and he shook his head in wonder. “I still can’t get over it...what you do, I mean. Well...we’d better get back upstairs.”

He opened the door for me, and I nearly plowed into Bates. How long had he been standing there? His eyes narrowed, and he wondered what kind of hanky-panky was going on between me and Harris. He’d seen us go into the room together and was waiting for this moment to catch us. Too bad he couldn’t hear anything through the door.

“There you are,” he drawled. “Something you want to share with me?”

“No!” I brushed past him, nearly biting my tongue off to keep from calling him a tubby pervert.

“What do you want?” Dimples asked, his voice hard.

“Chloe’s parents are here. The chief wants you and Nichols in his office while he talks to them.”

Since I was halfway up the stairs, I led the way back to the chief’s office, determined not to let Bates get to me, even though he’d purposely called me Nichols.

Scott and Kira waited inside the office, each sitting on opposite sides of the couch. Since I didn’t want to be any closer to Bates than I had to, I sat between them and hoped for the best. Scott was furious with Kira, and Kira was mad at me. Hmm...maybe this wasn’t the best place to sit after all.

They both started talking at once, each blaming the other, before Kira pounced on me and included the police at the same time. “This wouldn’t have happened if you were doing your jobs. What’s so hard about finding the cop Chloe identified? You should know who it is by now. I want to bring Chloe in so she can identify him in a line-up and you can arrest him. This could be over and done with today, and Chloe could go back to school, and we could get our lives back.”

It sounded so simple when she put it that way. Was it my fault? I’d told them I could figure it out, and I hadn’t, and now look where we were. The chief glanced at me, thinking he could easily get the two officers into a line-up for Chloe to look at.

“I understand your frustration,” he said. “And we can certainly do a line-up for Chloe, but that doesn’t mean we can make an arrest. From what I understand, she didn’t get a good look at him, so that might not work. But I want you to know, I’ve got my best people working on it, and we have narrowed it down. I think leaving her at your sister’s house is still a good idea, but if you want to bring her home, I understand. I just can’t guarantee her safety, so it’s up to you to do that.”

“I think she’s better off at Holly’s for now, but we can’t leave her there for long,” Scott said. “She’s missing a lot of school, and it’s hard for her to be cooped up like that.

“Scott’s right,” Kira agreed. “And we won’t tell anyone where she is, but you’ve got to do something soon.”

“We’ll get this resolved as soon as we can,” the chief said. “Just give me a few more days.”

After Scott and Kira left, I wanted to leave too, but Dimples told the chief and Bates that I had some news about Pete. I told them most of it, along with Pete’s reluctance to speak to the chief himself. “Does he do any kind of undercover work with narcotics?”

Chief Winder rubbed his chin. “I know he did in the past, but I thought he was done with that. We can check with the narcotics division and see, but he can’t just rush off like that without telling me what’s going on. Bates...you call him and get him back here. Harris...you check with narcotics. Shelby...” He glanced at me, thinking I’d helped some, but maybe it was time to cut me loose and let his detectives handle this. “You’re free to go.”

Ouch. It didn’t help that Bates was snickering with glee in his mind, and even Dimples felt a little embarrassed for me. I nodded and walked out of the office with Dimples trailing behind. He was trying to think of something to say to make me feel better but was afraid he’d only make it worse.

I stopped at his desk and turned to face him. “I guess I’ll head home now. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Uh...sure. I will. And Shelby, don’t feel too bad. I’ll keep you in the loop. You’re a valuable asset, they just don’t know it.”

“Right,” I said, trying not to let my disappointment show. “Listen...I’ll get a copy of that thumb-drive for you.”

“Great,” he said, then sucked in a breath as a thought occurred to him. “Just don’t do anything about it on your own, all right?”

“Of course not,” I said, lying through my teeth.

Chapter 8

I got into my car and slammed the door, realizing today hadn’t gone much better than yesterday. Maybe I really should quit helping the police. I was relying on them too much, when I should be doing my own investigating. I had Pete’s number. I could call him and set up a time to talk away from the precinct. If he wasn’t surrounded by his co-workers, maybe he’d be more forthcoming.

I also needed to take a look at that thumb-drive. Looking at it didn’t mean I’d have to do anything about it, but it might help me know who to talk to. That reminded me of Billie’s thoughts about who might have taken the original thumb-drive. I could go to her office and talk to that person right now. If he felt guilty that Billie had been shot over this, he might be thinking about who sent him after the thumb-drive in the first place.

Her office wasn’t far, so I turned in that direction. Might as well talk to him now and look at the thumb-drive when I got home. After that, I’d give Pete a call and set something up. Who knew? By the end of the day, I could have the information to solve both cases. That would show the chief, and maybe even shut Bates up.

With that happy thought, I drove to the newspaper’s offices and parked in the visitor space. I added some lipstick and touched up my hair, grateful I looked ‘damn good’ in my outfit. Now came the tricky part. Since I only knew Billie was thinking about ‘the intern,’ I didn’t have a name and, for all I knew, it could be a girl just as easily as a guy. That meant I’d have to come up with a reason to talk to the intern. I could say I was from the University and was there to ask the intern some questions, but that might get tricky.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead, glancing down at my lap. That’s when I noticed my police ID badge around my neck, and optimism swept over me. Telling them I was working on a case for the police and needed to talk to the intern would be the perfect cover...and mostly true.

With my stomach a bundle of nerves, I hurried inside and smiled at the receptionist. “Hi, I’m Shelby Nichols, a private investigator, and I need to talk to your intern about a case I’m working on with the police.”

“Okay,” she said. “Which one?”

Oh crap! There was more than one? “Um...let’s start with all of them, and I’ll take it from there. Do you have a meeting room I could use?”

“Well...let me see.” She checked her computer. “We usually keep the room right over there open for interviews, and it looks like nothing’s scheduled for today, so that should work. But I’m not sure how many of the interns are here.” 

I held my breath as she looked through her lists. “Oh...you’re in luck. It looks like they’re all here.”

“Great,” I said, relieved.

“I’ll put in a call to their departments and have them sent right down.”

“Thank you so much.” I turned toward the room she indicated and slipped inside. It was small, with a rectangular desk and six chairs. But since she was thinking three interns, it should work. Now all I had to do was figure out which of the interns Billie had been thinking about.

Sitting on the edge of my seat, I watched through the glass partition as a young man exited the elevator and stood by the receptionist’s desk waiting for the others to arrive. Two young women soon joined him and they started toward me. From their puzzled expressions, I knew they were asking each other what was going on.

With a deep breath, I opened the door and gave them my best smile. “Hi, I’m Shelby Nichols, a private investigator with the police. Please come in and sit down. This won’t take long.”

Now that they were properly intimidated, I began. “I’m sure you’re wondering what’s going on, so let me get right to the point. Which one of you has worked with Billie Payne?”

The two girls glanced at each other, then at the boy. They knew her, but hadn’t worked with her personally. The boy glanced at both of the girls, then settled his gaze on me and shrugged. “We’ve all worked with her at some point,” he lied, hoping I’d take the bait, and thinking there was no way I knew anything. He’d been careful; this was just a fluke.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Uh...Corey.”

“Okay,” I said. “You girls can leave. Thanks for coming, but it’s Corey I need to talk to.” He inhaled sharply, and his eyes got big. That was quick. How had I done that? He could hardly believe he’d given himself away so fast unless...did I already know something?

The two girls were curious, but not surprised. They thought Corey was full of himself, and they were sure he’d done something he probably shouldn’t have.

Well...that was easy. Now I just had to make him talk. Too bad Ramos wasn’t here, but maybe I could project some of that intimidation into my voice. After the door snapped shut, I studied him for a moment to make him sweat before I began. That tactic was something I’d picked up from Uncle Joey, and I knew first-hand how great it worked.

“I’m a friend of Billie’s,” I said, keeping my voice low. “And right now I’m helping the police as part of an ongoing investigation. You heard that Billie got shot, right? And she nearly died?”

“Yeah, I heard that. I also heard that she’s going to be all right.” He clasped his hands together, thinking he had to play it cool.

“Do you know what happened?”

“Uh...yeah. I heard someone broke into her apartment and she surprised them.” He swallowed, hoping it didn’t have anything to do with the thumb-drive he’d lifted from her desk.

Hot resentment swept over me. No doubt about it now. It was him. I clenched my fists together and leaned forward. “Corey...I know what you did. You stole that thumb-drive from Billie’s desk.”

His nostrils flared, and he flinched with guilt. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do. Someone put you up to it. Who was it?”

“I didn’t do it,” he insisted. “You have no proof.” He’d been careful. No one saw him do it. He’d made sure. The money was even safely hidden under his mattress. Five thousand dollars was just sitting there because he’d been afraid to deposit it in his bank.

“Five thousand dollars, huh? That’s your price?”

He gasped in surprise. How did I know that? He hadn’t told anyone. Unless...did Devon talk? Did he say something? Devon was the only one who knew. It had to be him...but Devon had also been adamant about not telling a soul or they could both get in a lot of trouble...so it didn’t make any sense. Something wasn’t right about all this. I had to be bluffing. Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead, and he nervously swallowed the fear creeping up his spine.

“Do you even know what was on the thumb-drive?” I asked.

He clamped his mouth shut, but doubt crept over him. Devon had assured him it was nothing that would get him in trouble. Just something Devon’s boss didn’t want leaked because it was embarrassing. He figured it was compromising pictures of him with a woman or something...but nothing illegal.

“You sold Billie out,” I said, laying it on as heavy as I could. “That thumb-drive was evidence on a case she was working on. You stole the thumb-drive, but it didn’t stop there. Someone tried to kill her because of what you did.”

“What?” he sputtered. “Why would someone do that if they already had the thumb-drive?”

“She had a copy at home. She’s a great reporter and had a back-up plan. You could have learned a lot from her, but what did you do? You sold her out. And now...your career is over.”

“But...it wasn’t like that. I swear I didn’t know.” He was thinking that Devon had said it was easy money as long as he kept his mouth shut. He knew he was taking a risk, but how was he supposed to know it was all a big lie? “Look...you can’t tell anyone. I swear...the money wasn’t worth it, but I didn’t know it was serious. He said it wasn’t anything illegal. I didn’t know that someone could get hurt over it.”

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms, giving him my best tough-guy impression. “Okay, then help me. Tell me why Devon put you up to this and who he works for. If you tell me the truth, I might even forget we had this conversation.”

He paled. I knew about Devon? But wait...I didn’t know who Devon worked for...maybe he could still salvage this mess. His gaze flew to mine, and I leveled him with a cold stare Uncle Joey would be proud of. It wasn’t hard, since I wasn’t feeling so warm and fuzzy at the moment.

He looked away, guilt and despair washing over him. Why had he ever agreed to take the thumb-drive in the first place? He’d told himself nothing bad would happen for taking a stupid thumb-drive, and the five grand was just a bonus. He’d never thought it could ruin him. Now I knew. At least I had thrown him a bone. Maybe he’d better take it.

“I’ll...I’ll tell you everything I know...I’ll even help you if I can. But we have to keep a lid on it until we know more. And Devon can’t find out that I talked to you.”

“Fine,” I agreed. “I suppose I can live with that. So spill.”

“Devon is an intern for the Attorney General’s office, but he mostly works for Anthony Kerby, one of Grayson Sharp’s assistant state’s attorneys. Since we’re in the same class, we’ve been going to lunch together and comparing notes about our internships. One day, Anthony Kerby saw us at lunch, and Devon introduced me to him. It wasn’t long before Devon said he had a proposition for me from his boss that could make me a lot of money.

“All I had to do was keep an eye on Billie and let him know if she kept anything under lock and key, like a notebook or something. Well, one day I saw her put a thumb-drive in her desk drawer which she took extra pains to lock up tight. I thought it might be significant, so I passed the info along to Devon.

“The next day Devon told me it was worth five grand if I took it from her desk and gave it to him. I wasn’t even sure I could do it, but I figured it was worth a try. Anyway, a couple of days later, she left her keys on her desk while she went to a meeting, and I saw my chance.” He sighed and hung his head, thinking the thrill of being a spy had worn off fast. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would hurt her.”

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll try to keep you out of this if I can. Don’t tell anyone else what you’ve told me. If Devon or his boss approach you again, roll with it, just be sure to let me know what they want, and we’ll figure out how to handle it together.”

“Sure,” he agreed, rubbing his hands over his face with relief.

“Here’s my card, please call me if anything else comes up. You’re my inside guy now...got it?” He swallowed and nodded. “Good. Now you’d better get back to work.”

“Right.” He tucked my card into his pants pocket and left without a backward glance.

I waited a moment, relieved and happy that I’d found out what was going on. This was huge. I thanked the receptionist for her help and walked out the door. Back in my car, I took a cleansing breath and started for home. It was time to dig in and take a look at that thumb-drive. I needed to find out exactly what was on it.

***

I arrived at home, took off my boots, and changed my blouse for a comfortable tee shirt. Then I got a diet soda out of the fridge, filled a glass with crushed ice, and took a couple of swallows. Feeling better, I took my drink into the computer room and booted up my computer.

I’d left the thumb-drive in the box under my bed and hurried to retrieve it. After plugging it into my computer, I opened the files and glanced through them. One file held a list of campaign donations with the money amount and the person or company donating.

I clicked on another file and found a list of names and monetary amounts linked to cases investigated by the A.G.’s office. Another file listed deposits of money into four different businesses, but I didn’t recognize any of the names. The last file had several people’s names with money amounts beside them. Some were positive amounts and others were negative. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but it looked like there was some kind of racket going on.

Out of curiosity, I glanced through the campaign contributors and caught my breath to find Thrasher Development as one of them. Of course, that didn’t mean anything illegal was going on. Still, I glanced through the investigations file to see if anything showed up. Thrasher wasn’t listed anywhere, or Joe Manetto either, and I sighed with relief.

Now I could turn this over to Dimples without worrying about Uncle Joey. But it made me wonder. What if Uncle Joey had been on that list...what would I do then? I shuddered, grateful I didn’t have to worry about that...mostly since I didn’t think I could erase that info for him, even though he would want me to.

I copied the information onto another thumb-drive for Billie, and slipped the first one into my purse for Dimples. With that done, I put the copied thumb-drive back in the box and slipped it under my bed.

From the information on the thumb-drive, it shouldn’t be too hard for Dimples to piece things together. I could also give him the assistant state’s attorney, Anthony Kerby, as the main perpetrator behind Billie’s break-in. Not bad for a couple hours of work.

With that out of the way, it was time to switch gears to Chloe’s investigation and put a call through to Pete. For some reason, he didn’t quite fit the mold of the bad guy here, but there was definitely something going on with him, and I intended to get to the bottom of it.

Before my courage failed, I put the call through and nervously chewed on my fingernails. It went straight to voice mail, so I left a message to call me and disconnected. The stress of it all was getting to me, and I hoped he’d call back soon while I still had some fingernails left.