Johan's Joy (Heroes for Hire #22) - Dale Mayer Page 0,61

stacks of money. They both whistled.

“Wow, so he kept a ton of cash on hand. Why?” Johan asked.

“I’m not sure, but maybe some of this will help.” Tyson reached forward and pulled out several more envelopes and what looked like jewelry cases. As he opened the jewelry cases, he found very expensive pieces, with emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. Each was in a color-coordinated box, so red for the rubies, the emeralds were in a green box, and the box for the sapphires was blue. He put them back into the safe, and they pulled out a small book and another big envelope. They opened both and took a closer look.

“Same thing but different people in the photos,” Johan said.

“Definitely blackmail then,” Tyson said.

They spread the pictures out and took careful photographs of every one of them and then put the envelope back in the safe. The little book Johan held out and said, “This looks like his blackmail ledger.”

They shook their heads at the initials, but it seemed to be only four guys.

“Two men in each image, but is he blackmailing both of them?” Tyson asked.

“Maybe, but look at these prices. Five thousand a month from each of them, so he’s getting twenty grand a month.” Johan turned to look at the money in the safe. “You know that’s probably what all that cash is.”

“And the dates are for the last five years,” Tyson said. “I wonder if this is a new venture, or if the other ones just stopped paying?”

“It’s hard to say,” Johan noted. “Let’s take photos of the ledger, jewelry, the stash of cash, and then we’ll tell Levi, so that he can nicely give the information to the cops, so they come back and take another look.” Johan snorted. “You know what? In Africa the murderer would have taken this money and the jewels after killing Barlow, spoils of war and all that, saving the authorities from all that paperwork.”

“But we’re not in Africa,” Tyson cited. “But it does raise a good point. If the murderer was one of the guys being blackmailed, surely he would want his money back. So why didn’t he look for a safe himself?”

Johan nodded. “Maybe he doesn’t have your safe-cracking skills.” By the time they had taken the needed photographs and had noted the ranges of the consecutive serial numbers on the cash, and then replaced everything in the safe, the two men stood in the front hallway and surveyed the area. “Does it feel like we’re missing something?”

“Maybe,” Tyson agreed, “but I would suggest it’s probably at work, if something is missing.”

“Let’s go there next then.” Quickly Johan texted Galen that they were coming out.

Just as they were about to open the front door, Galen sent a warning. Somebody just pulled into the driveway. Go out the back.

Shit,” Johan said, as they strode as fast as they could to the kitchen and let themselves out.

With Galen keeping watch, telling them as somebody walked up to the front door with a key, Tyson and Johan were already over the fence and in the neighbor’s yard. They quickly regrouped a block away, and then, with Galen driving, they drove past the house so they could look at the vehicle.

“I wonder who that is,” Tyson said. Neither of them recognized the vehicle, but they were both busy taking photos of it so they could trace it later.

“No way to know right now,” Johan replied. “The thing is, we need a copy of the will or at least to find out who inherits.”

“And sometimes it’s not always about what somebody’ll get,” Tyson noted. “It can often be as much about what’s going to stop. The lawyers will have a will somewhere. Possibly life insurance too. Ice can look into that.”

“Meaning, the blackmail,” Johan noted.

“Yes, that’s quite possible,” Galen said.

“Let’s head back to the gals,” Tyson said. He checked his phone and snorted. “Apparently they’re at the mall.”

“Of course they are,” Johan said. “Joy doesn’t have any clothes.”

“They haven’t eaten either. They were going to go for brunch first. Shall we meet them?”

“Absolutely.” He quickly set up arrangements, and they headed straight to the restaurant.

Soon the two women wandered in, looking around. The men had arrived first and were already seated. Joy looked around and smiled when she saw Johan.

He got up, walked over, and gave her a gentle hug and a kiss on the forehead. “So how are you doing now?”

Chapter 14

Joy wrapped an arm around him, surprised at just how natural it