someone could get to my security team.
My father’s MO was starting to make sense to me.
And that was fucked up.
What the hell was happening? I was one of the good guys. I had integrity, good faith, good ethics.
I worked hard every day, to the point where I sacrificed time with my wife and son.
And in the end, that wasn’t enough.
No. In the end, I was being forced into shoes I didn’t want to wear. I was becoming my father.
Fuck it all to hell. Jason Morey was making me question everyone around me. Was this how my father had lived his whole life?
“Meet me, then,” I said.
“Tonight? It’s already ten.”
“It’ll be worth your while. There’s a pub in the city. It’s a dive, but it’s safe.”
“How do you know?”
“My father told me about it.”
An hour later, Morey and I sat at a dark table in the pub. A couple of guys sat at the bar, but otherwise the place was empty. We ordered two bourbons.
This was it.
This was a turning point for me. If I couldn’t get Morey to level with me, I had to do something drastic.
“Spill it,” I said.
“I can’t.”
“You can. Who’s responsible for the murders? For the threats against my son?”
“I don’t know.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s not bullshit, Steel. I actually don’t know.”
“So you suck as a PI? Is that the shit you’re slinging?”
He took a sip of his drink and shook his head. “No. I don’t suck. I could have solved this case a year ago.”
“I figured as much. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Someone came to me. Masked. Put a gun inside my mouth and told me if I investigated your case, he’d rape my pregnant wife and make me watch as he cut out the child.” He shuddered. “You don’t recover from that kind of shit.”
Chills ran through me, but I held my face in check.
Whoever we were dealing with was a psycho. A fucking psycho.
“Your wife and kid are okay?”
He nodded. “So far. But these lunatics visit me a couple times a month to reiterate what they’re capable of.”
“Where do they visit you?”
“Sometimes at my office. Sometimes at home.”
“When Lora’s home?”
“Yeah. Sometimes.”
“How do you keep it from her?”
“They…” Morey shakes his head. “I can’t fucking believe this.”
“What? What does he do?”
“They inject her with something. She stays out for a couple of hours and then doesn’t remember anything.”
“Fuck.”
“It’s terrifying. The first time they did it, she was still pregnant. I was so scared something would happen to the baby. But she’s all right, thank God.”
“Why didn’t you just call me and say you can’t do the work? You’re still taking my money, Jason.”
“That was part of the deal. I take your money. Tell you I’m working on it. That whoever did it has covered their tracks like a pro.”
I didn’t like where this was headed. In fact, I already knew the answer to the next question.
“And my money? Where does it go?”
He closed his eyes and took another drink. “They take most of it. Leave me enough to show that I’m working plus a little extra.”
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
How much had my father and I paid Morey and his guys in the last year? I didn’t have the exact number, but off the top of my head, it was around five million.
“Who the hell am I subsidizing, Morey?”
“That’s just it.” He looked around nervously and then whispered, “I don’t know.”
“Why haven’t you left town?”
“I tried. I was packed and ready to go. Lora went into labor.”
“And now?”
“I’ve been told to stay put.”
Now what?
“When was the last time the psychos visited you?”
“I don’t know. A week ago, maybe?”
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” I said. “Lora and the kid are leaving town. Tonight.”
“But—”
“No buts. Get Lora and the baby and head to the airport. I’ll have tickets waiting for her.”
“This is insane. I’m not sending my wife anywhere.”
“You want her safe? Or you want her with you? You have to choose, Morey. If it were me, I’d want my wife safe.”
No truer words.
“Safe. Safe, of course.”
“You choose the place. I’ll make the arrangements.”
“Okay. Okay. Then what?”
“I’m going to transfer some money to you. Enough to make them take notice. And the next time the psychos visit you, I’ll be there.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Daphne
The deli owner’s daughter held the stuffed dog and gazed at the perfectly sewn-up seam.
So many secrets held inside this doggie.
So, so many.
That last one had been a doozy. Three names. Three names to be locked up forever.
She wouldn’t forget, but she needed backup just in case something happened to her.