Deadly Coincidence (Brantley Walker Off the Books #4) - Nicole Edwards Page 0,90
his drug dealer.
Normally this would’ve been a relatively easy task, something she could probably do in her sleep.
That was not the case when Baz was taking calls from women, then disappearing out of the room to talk in hushed tones.
There was no doubt in her mind that this Molly was the woman he was with last night. And clearly they’d connected on at least some level for him to have given her his phone number. One-night stands generally didn’t result in the exchange of digits.
Was he in there right now promising to come see her as soon as he could? Would he spend the night with her again? Take her to dinner? Coffee?
Speaking of coffee… The little bit she’d had gurgled in her stomach.
JJ narrowed her eyes on the computer screen. Dante. That was the only thing she needed to worry about right now. Finding the man before someone decided he was a loose end after they managed to swindle the Greenwoods out of two mil.
God, he was such a douche. Why in the world would he think hitting his parents up like this was a good idea? And heaven help him if he thought cutting off his own finger would net him more. She’d always known he was a spoiled brat who thought he was God’s gift to women, but this…? This was beyond ridiculous.
JJ paused to modify the search she was running. The first couple had come back with nothing. Using words like drug, dealer, cocaine, and buy wasn’t getting her the results she wanted.
JJ had just kicked off another search parameter when Baz stormed through the kitchen, then disappeared down the hallway. She craned her neck, trying to see where he went and briefly wondered if she should go after him. She hadn’t gotten a good look at his face, but from his profile, he’d appeared a bit green.
Probably from the alcohol he’d indulged in last night. When she’d asked, he had told her after she left the diner, he’d gone over to Moonshiners and hung with Brantley and Reese for most of the night. Obviously his agenda had consisted of more than that, but JJ was doing her best to avoid getting those details even if her curiosity was getting the best of her.
She didn’t really want to know.
Just the thought of Baz with another woman…
Now she was feeling a bit green.
Thankfully, her cell phone rang, Luca’s number popping up on the screen.
“You’re done already?” she asked by way of greeting.
“I think I’ve found somethin’ that might be helpful in your search.”
“Give it to me,” she said, cheerfully engaging in the task.
“It’s a phone number I came across. It was actually in his contacts. He had a meeting scheduled two weeks ago to meet with MH. I skimmed his contacts for someone with those initials and came across Marcus Harris. I didn’t do a lot of research, but from what I found, the guy’s a little shady. He works as a collector.”
A collector? What the hell was a collector?
JJ used the information to do a search on Dante’s messages. She looked for the initials, then by first name, and finally by last and came up with nothing.
“I don’t suppose he’s got a number for that contact.”
Luca chuckled. “As a matter of fact…” He rattled off the number.
“Bingo!” she exclaimed when it brought up an instant messenger conversation. “In his email, the contact name is Book. Looks like Dante was promising to give him the money for his last purchase as soon as he got paid.” JJ frowned. “Since when does Dante buy books?”
Another laugh from Luca, followed by, “Book? Like Bookie? Dante’s gamblin’.”
“At least it’s not his drug dealer,” she muttered.
“Hate to break it to you, but I found his contact for that, too,” Luca said, sounding sincerely bothered by it.
Ah, Jesus. It pained her to know that Dante had gone down that path, but honestly it didn’t surprise her that he had. This last time they’d attempted to make a go of it had been the worst yet. He’d always seemed so distracted and so energetic. He wanted to go places and do things, never slowing down.
She probably should’ve seen it at the time, recognized the signs, but the truth was, her heart hadn’t been in it.
“Did you find something?” Baz asked when he walked into the room.
JJ’s gaze shot to his face, scanned it with concern in her heart. He looked better, more color in his cheeks.