Going Under_ A Bill Roberts Thriller - Silas Payton Page 0,58

files where the books needed some creative massaging to keep certain things looking legitimate. At first, it was small alterations and then the pressure was put on me to make bigger alterations and to hide very obvious illegal activities. I went along with it at first because nobody was getting hurt and I was being compensated well.

When I recently mentioned to my superiors that I was uncomfortable, it was alluded to that I could easily be replaced. It was suggested that in order for me to be replaced, I would have to be removed.

Jennifer, these are bad and very powerful people. For the past couple of years, I have been copying information from these files I have worked on, both before and after I made changes. There is enough information to put a lot of people in jail for a long time.

If they have taken me out of the picture, it is important that the right people be told of this.

I've enclosed a flash drive with all the information that the police will need. Give it to someone you trust. These people have connections everywhere. Please be careful.

I love you, and I'm sorry.

Andrew.

Tears were still flowing down Jennifer's face when Cliff finished the letter. He asked her if she had read the whole thing and she nodded her head. He picked up the envelope from the floor in front of her and asked if he could look inside. Again, she nodded.

Inside the brown envelope was a single flash drive. Cliff asked if she had a computer in the house that he could use to verify what was on it.

"Do you think this could be true?" she asked.

"I don't know, Jennifer. But I think we better play it safe until we know."

She stood and told him there was a computer in the kitchen downstairs.

"Before we take a look at it, can you check the rest of the safe to see if there is anything else?"

She looked in and saw something on the bottom. Reaching in, she found a key. It was on a key holder labeled "Spare".

Cliff asked if he could see it and she handed it to him. His first thought was the lock box that he found in the desk drawer. He went and sat in the desk chair again.

Jennifer had come around beside him to see if his suspicions were correct.

He took the key and tried it on the lock. It went in, and turned with a click. He looked up to Jennifer and their eyes met. When she didn't say anything, he turned back to the box and raised the lid.

Inside was a handgun and an open box of bullets.

Jennifer gasped. "Andrew didn't own a gun. He despised guns."

"If I'm correct in what I suspect is happening, your husband had great reason to be scared. And I think he knew it."

Chapter 60

Bill Roberts

Once his shoulder pain had gone from unbearable to only excruciating, Bill made it into his car. He looked at his watch...

...twenty minutes to eleven.

He could feel blood dripping down the side of his chest. Reaching with his arm had caused more bleeding, and to make matters worse, the gauze Anne had helped him with had slipped out of place. He reached under his right armpit and found it had moved below the wound. The shirt wasn’t going to be enough to hold it in place.

I don't have time for this shit.

Bill pushed the gauze back into place and leaned his shoulder back against the car seat. He started the car and felt the dressing slide back down. He looked around the front of the car for something he could use as a wrap, but didn't find anything. Nothing useful in the back seat could be seen, either. He got out and went around to the trunk. It popped open with a push of the button on his key-fob.

Nothing in the trunk! Damn it!

Seeing no alternative, he looked down at his crappy T-shirt. With his good hand, he brought the bottom of his shirt to his teeth and started ripping. In under two minutes, he had torn off the bottom five inches of his shirt. He used the seat to hold the gauze in the right spot as he tied it in place with the strip of cloth using his one good hand.

Once the wrap was tight and knotted, there was instant relief from the discomfort. His face was dripping with sweat from the exertion but he was satisfied this would stop the bleeding. He