Page 19 of Striker

“That was about the only clue we had, wasn’t it?”

“No, we’ve also got that image of his face that Jinx forwarded to me. I’ve decided that I’m takin’ it to the club.”

“I hate that you’re digging around in my personal life. I mean, I know it’s necessary, but I still hate it.”

“I’m diggin’ into the men circlin’ you, not necessarily you or your personal life.” I look her in the eye, so she knows I’m not bullshitting her. “I don’t need to investigate you. I know who you are. What I don’t know is who’s payin’ a man to sit outside your uncle’s house. That part I could use your help with.”

She tells me how a smart but inexperienced young woman got love-bombed, manipulated, and mentally fuckin’ abused by an older man who only became more controlling when she called it quits.

“At first, he was warm and charming. On some level, I knew it was a really bad idea to get involved with my boss, but at the time he made it seem okay. He said we were both mature, consenting adults and it wouldn’t affect our working relationship.”

I frown. “Yeah, that sounds reasonable when you don’t know how men like Vale operate.”

One shoulder comes up in a tight half shrug. “The honeymoon phase of the new relationship lasted about six or eight weeks and then the mask started slipping. At first, I didn’t understand why he got so worked up about little things. Then it went from being short and snippy to full-on yelling at me. And a lot of times it was about something that didn’t involve me at all. He called it venting, but there were times when he really scared me.”

“He sounds like he had anger management problems,” I tell her, because if I say what’s really on my mind, she wouldn’t like it.

“I thought it was over and decided that wasn’t the way I wanted to spend the rest of my life.”

“Let me guess,” I say grimly. “He didn’t take you breakin’ up with him very well, right?”

“Yeah. To be honest, his response left me feeling like I dodged a bullet. He started by telling me I was being dramatic and nothing he did was breakup-worthy, tried being sweet to lure me back and even tried giving me expensive jewelry as a token of his affection. When that didn’t work, he threw a big fit, yelling at me and calling me ungrateful. When I wouldn’t change my mind, he decided to penalize me through work. He’d make me come in early, stay late, and take on extra work, and he just kept the pressure on.”

“So, I’m guessin’ when the feds approached you, you jumped at the chance to get even, right?”

“Not really. They leveraged me into it by insinuating I might get swept up in their RICO case if I didn’t cooperate. You’ve read through the paperwork we found at my uncle’s place, so you pretty much know the rest of the story,” she states with a sigh.

I nod. “Yeah, from what I could see, there were several pieces of incriminatin’ evidence, but none was more critical than your testimony because it proved intent.”

“I left town as soon as they were finished with the trial.” She looks upset remembering what went down back then. “I was gone by sentencing.”

She left because of me, not the trial. That’s the part she conveniently leaves out, probably ‘cause she thinks it’s rude to point that out.

“Would anybody want him out?” I ask. “Like friends, family or a new jailhouse girlfriend?”

She catches me off guard by laughing. “I don’t know. The idea of him getting a jailhouse girlfriend is funny to me even though the thought of him luring in some lonely, unsuspecting woman is anything but amusing.”

I grin, happy that I tickled her funny bone. “That leaves people who would want him out because of what he did for ‘em.”

She frowns at me. “You mean those same criminals he laundered money for might be organized enough to try and get him out of prison by filing for an evidentiary hearing?”

“I wouldn’t think they ganged up to make that happen, but you never know. All it really takes is someone with a lucrative enough business that payin’ his legal fees would make sense.”

“Nobody liked him, that I could see. He was valuable because he could take drug money, run it through a shell company and redirect it anywhere the client wanted it without triggering banking systems.”

I point out the obvious. “As long as he’s locked up, all those men are just criminals with money they can’t easily spend.”

She fills in the motive without a second thought, “That means if he gets out of prison and starts his money laundering operation, say in another county, they get their laundromat back.”

“And the scary part is you’re the only thing standing between him and freedom.” I don’t soften it. “Your testimony’s a big part of what made his conviction possible. Best case scenario is they want to bribe you or even talk you into replacin’ him. Worst case scenario is they want to shut you up and might not mind killin’ you to make that happen.”

She’s quiet for a long time. Then she admits, “This is sounding a lot more serious than I thought.”

“Here’s what I plan to do first. I’ll trace the money, find out who’s bankrolling these legal maneuvers. If we follow the money, we’ll discover who’s behind it. That’s the shortest distance between two points.”

Beth nods and opens her mouth to speak but that’s when Josie toddles in, holding a dead remote in both hands. She holds it up to me and says, “Fixes it. Not workin’.”

I get down onto one knee so we’re eye to eye. I immediately realize the batteries are dead. “Yeah. I see the problem. It needs new batteries.” I grab a couple of double-A batteries out of my backpack, swap them out and send her on her way.