Cobb (Lighthouse Security Investigations #9) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,61
have no doubt she would’ve taken one look at you and licked her chops!” As soon as the words left her mouth, she winced at the snarky tone. Jealousy was snaking through her, an emotion she wasn’t comfortable feeling. It’s not like I have any claim on Cobb.
“Are you okay?”
She jerked her gaze up to his, and her cheeks felt the heat of blush. “Yes, I’m fine. I just had a… well, a not very charitable thought.”
“About Carmen?”
Wrinkling her nose, she nodded. “It’s embarrassing to admit, but I have no trouble seeing her wanting you. She sees men as a challenge and from what I can tell isn’t used to being told no. Honestly, this just comes from the few times I’ve been at social events with her, so it’s not fair for me to make that judgment.” Shrugging, she added, “Dad says she’s brilliant, and I have no reason to doubt her professionalism. Although I can see her wanting to climb to the top, so I don’t think she’d do anything to jeopardize that.”
“This is good, Josie. I was afraid you were going to be upset about having people around your father investigated.”
She nodded slowly. He was right, it did feel strange to have people that she worked with, were friends with, or had known for several years be investigated. It almost felt like a breach of trust, and for a social worker that was difficult to stomach. She closed her eyes and her mind filled with the sight of her car’s slashed tires and the message on her phone. Sucking in a quick breath, she let it out slowly, finding his gaze on her. Lifting her shoulders in a slight shrug, she said, “If anyone was aware of Caesar and what was going on with him, then I agree, they should be looked at.”
His finger scrolled slowly over his tablet, and she leaned closer so that she could read along with him. Carmen Martinez’s family, education, phone records, bank statement, and speeding tickets. Tahoma Starr’s childhood home where his single mother raised him and his four siblings in a ramshackle house. Charlene Porter’s multiple maxed-out credit card statements and bank overdraft notices. Mark Forbes’ end-of-month bank statements where his expenses have almost exceeded his income, but deposits were made from unknown sources. Mario Rodriguez’s small house that included his wife, their children, his brother, and his elderly, infirm mother. Laurie Mitchell’s credit card statement that gave evidence of how expensive her wedding planning was turning out to be.
She grimaced once again, her gaze shifting to her clenched hands. She should have known she couldn’t hide her reaction from Jorge.
“Josie, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, but it just seems wrong for me to know this information about these people. I know you have to because you’re investigating, but it doesn’t seem right for me to be looking at this private information.”
“If you prefer, I’ll go through this myself. The only thing I’ll ask is that you keep an open mind when you think about people you and your father have dealt with. Sometimes, you may have noticed things that didn’t strike you at the time but now make you suspicious. If so, you need to tell me.”
She rubbed her forehead with her hand. “You’re right. Let me keep going through this, and I’ll just treat it like anything in my profession. With my clients, I separate professional and personal, and I can do that now. I’m used to keeping confidentiality, so I should be able to handle this.”
They continued to go through the records, and Cobb made notes. Scrolling to the next screen, she gasped. “Bert? You can’t be serious!”
“Josie, no one is outside of the investigation.”
She fell back against her chair, irritation warring with exhaustion. “Then you might as well investigate my parents also!”
“Your father is the one that hired us, and your parents want you safe.”
Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Bert may be my cousin, but he’s as close as a brother to me. We’re family. He would never do anything to hurt me. This is ridiculous!”
“He gambles.”
“So what?” she bit out, throwing her hands up. “Lots of people do. That’s how the casinos are successful… people gamble.”
“Josie, listen to yourself. You know as well as I do that gambling can just be for fun or can be an addiction. You also know that casinos are used to hide and launder money. We’re trying to tie up loose ends between Caesar possibly running dirty