Dead Man's Lake (The Braddock & Gray Case Files Book 5)

by H. P. Bayne

  Her eyes narrowed slightly. “I might have just screwed myself out of a really good story, okay? If this project is gearing up to move before the government’s even officially agreed to sell the land, that’s big. There’s supposed to be a competition. I mean, another company’s gone public suggesting they’ve got a foot in the door on this too—which they also shouldn’t have done. If Brinks is already lined up as a contractor, that would suggest some sort of backroom deal, especially since another company’s been heavily petitioning the government to grant them the sale.”

  Sully’s mind flashed back on the article he’d read recently. “Bright something-or-other.”

  Sarah nodded. “Bright Sands Developments. And I can tell you this much: the company reportedly contracting Brinks for the work isn’t Bright Sands. So you see what I mean? Backroom deal. I’ve got some work to do to connect the dots, but at least I see the endgame. Or I thought I had, until you came along.”

  “What I’ve told you doesn’t really change the game except for one thing. It’s made Waterford more desperate. If he thinks McCrory’s money is buried somewhere around that lake, he’s running out of time to find it. Once the bulldozers move in, it’ll either be lost forever or will end up in someone else’s hands.”

  “Still doesn’t prove Greg killed anyone though.”

  Sully nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. But he’s still the best suspect we have at this point. Who’s the other proposed buyer, the one with the link to Brinks? That would be public, wouldn’t it?”

  “Sort of. I had to do a freedom of information request to get it. Company name is Calypso Construction. I’m in the middle of researching them now. I really can’t give you anything more. I’m sorry.”

  “Okay, I understand. Thanks. I really appreciate all of this.”

  “Would you do something for me? If you start getting somewhere on this, could you keep me in the loop? If I at least knew I had an exclusive at the end of the road, I could live with my big mouth.”

  He smiled. “I think I can promise you that much.”

  The sun had set and there was a bar down the block. Boisterous groups of twenty-something males walked past, yammering about plans to get drunk and get laid.

  Sully used it as an excuse to walk Sarah to her security door around the corner from the coffee shop.

  “I really can take care of myself,” she told him. “I study Krav Maga, you know. I could kick your ass.”

  He laughed. “I have no doubt. Of course, I was raised in a family of cops, so I’m not so bad myself.”

  She grinned up at him. “I have no doubt.”

  They stood there a few moments, time ticking awkwardly past, Sully uncertain what to do or not to do.

  Finally, Sarah broke the tension with a dry laugh. “Oh bloody hell. I’m not going to duck around it. I’m a reporter, damn it. I ask questions.”

  “What do you want to ask me?”

  “Are you seeing anyone?”

  His heart pounded solidly against his ribcage as he shook his head. “Historically speaking, I haven’t been the easiest guy to date.”

  “Because of all the stuff that’s happened to you and the ghost thing, or are you secretly a massive jerk to women?”

  He chuckled. “Not a jerk—if you don’t count the fact I used to hold a lot back. I don’t have reason to do that anymore. Every painful secret’s become very public.”

  She nodded, breaking contact as she lowered her chin. A few more silent seconds, then she peered up at him from beneath long lashes. “Would it be all right if I kissed you?”

  There went his heart again. He smiled and leaned down toward her, cupping her face gently between his palms. Her fingers bunched up the front of his coat as she drew him in closer.

  Her lips brushed his. The kiss went little beyond that, light and soft, mouths closed. But he felt it nonetheless, the jolt of electricity coursing through him at the contact.

  She released him, cheeks flushed in the light mounted above the security door. “Maybe when this is all over, we can go out properly. What do you think?”

  He grinned. “I’d like that.”

  She beamed and gave his chest a pat. Then she let herself into the building, gave him once last look and jogged up the stairs.

  18

  Sully called Lachlan once he returned to the SUV.

  Lachlan skipped the hello. “What’ve you got?”

  “Hold on. I want to conference Dez in.”

  “With your cellphone? How the hell do you do that? I didn’t know you could do that.”

  “Magic, Lachlan.” Sully hit the “add call” button and waited until Dez picked up, then merged the two. With both now on the line, he filled them in on the conversation with Sarah.

  “This is good,” Lachlan said. “This is very good. Nice work, kid.”

  “Question is now, where do we go with this?”

  “If you boys can stay on Greg, I’ll dig into Calypso, see what crops up. A surprise chat with the CEO or company president might not be a bad idea.” He paused. “Of course, once I have that conversation, the cat’s out of the bag. The fact Calypso’s already contracting out some work tells me they know they’ve got this deal in the bag.”

  “Which will go against the competition rules the government’s supposed to follow,” Dez said.

  “Exactly. And it’s a deal that benefits Brinks Construction in a major way too. It would be massive for them. Levelling the land and doing whatever else needs doing to start a resort community, that’s one major job. Stands to reason the pay’s going to be major too. This will set Peter Brinks and his crew up for a good long while, plus give them a very solid entry for their portfolio. If this goes off as they intend, they’ll be turning away jobs. Did Sarah give you copies of anything she’s found?”

  “No,” Sully said. “She already gave me more than she should have.”

  Lachlan chortled. “That’s my boy.”

  “Did you get any?” Dez asked.

  Sully dropped his head into his hand and gave his head a shake. “God, Dez.”

  “Did you?” Lachlan asked.

  Sully stared at the phone. “No, I didn’t ‘get any.’ That’s not why I was there, and it’s not professional.”

  “Kid,” Lachlan said. “You need a life.”

  A laugh burst from Dez.

  Sully rolled his eyes. “We kissed, all right? Can we stop talking about it now? What’s our plan with this?”

  Thankfully, the shared laughter coming through Sully’s handset abated.

  “Okay, okay,” Lachlan said. “First off, good job, Romeo. Second, here’s what I’m thinking. Things are going to happen fast now, and we need to keep pace. I’ve been dealing with the client all along, so I should be the one to talk to Brinks tomorrow. That said, I wouldn’t mind if one of you came along. He’s going to be pissed once he finds out we’re about to throw a monkey wrench into his deal of a lifetime, and there are a lot of big men with big power tools around his shop.”

  “Sounds like a job for Dez,” Sully said. “So should I arrange a meet with Calypso?”

  “Yeah, it’s probably best if we coordinate things. We’ll try to work it so we don’t leave these guys time to chat in between.”

  “Hang on,” Dez said. “Brinks has a lot to lose, but whoever’s in charge over at Calypso stands to lose a lot more. Are you sure it’s a good idea, Sully going there alone?”

  “I’ll make the phone call, tell whoever’s in charge I’m sending an agent,” Lachlan said. “That way, he’ll be well aware this is bigger than Sully and that more people are in the know. If anyone has any misconceptions about shooting the messenger, they’ll be persuaded otherwise if they know we messengers work en masse.”

  “I’d still feel better if he had some backup with him.”

  “What about Sarah?” Sully asked. “I told her I’d keep her in the loop on this. What better way than to have her at the meeting?”

  “I said backup, Sull,” Dez said.
r />   “Hey, she knows Krav Maga.”

  “Much as it feels more and more like our obligations are shifting in this investigation, I’d rather not see our client’s name in a newspaper article tomorrow morning,” Lachlan said. “For now, it’s best she stays a little in the dark. You can give her the goods later.”

  Sully didn’t reply, waiting for Lachlan’s inevitable laughter at his own double entendre to subside.

  “Okay,” Sully said. “I won’t call her.”

  “What about Forbes?” Dez asked to an immediate groan from Lachlan. He quickly jumped back in. “Hey, I’m serious. We’re doing work here that will need to be turned over to the police anyway. Involving Forbes now seems like a practical move.”

  “Okay, whatever,” Lachlan said. “I guess you’re right. But leave Raynor outside, all right? Getting these guys to talk to private investigators is tricky enough. Throw a cop into the mix, and we can forget about getting them to open up.”

  “I hear you,” Sully said. “Forbes and I will figure something out.”

  “So we’ve got a plan?”

  “Much as we can have, given we’re only getting our heads around this now,” Dez said.

  Sully peered at his dashboard and the temperature reading there. Only five below zero. Tomorrow was calling for plus five. More ice gone.

  “Just as well,” Sully said. “Another couple of days and I might lose my chance to talk to our Ice Man.”

  Sully met Dez near Greg’s shortly after, ready to take his turn at surveillance.

  Naturally, Dez wasn’t prepared to simply leave well enough alone.

  “So you kissed her, huh?” The question was out the moment after Dez dropped into the passenger seat of Sully’s SUV and shut the door.

  “She asked to kiss me, actually.”

  Dez’s nearest elbow jabbed into Sully’s tricep. “Good job, man.”

  Sully shook his head and gave Dez a pained smile. “Dude, shut up.”

  A chuckle. “Okay, okay. But I’m happy for you, all right? You deserve a little happiness in your life.”

  “I am happy. You know, not all of us need a relationship to feel good about our lives.”

  “No, but there’s nothing wrong with them either. I mean, you and I both know you’re not a one-night-stand kind of guy. Outside of an actual relationship, when are you ever going to get laid?”

  “You’ve got a one-track mind, D.”

  “No, I don’t. Solid relationships are gold for a whole lot of reasons. But, hey, good sex helps.”

  This was fast becoming a conversation Sully didn’t want to have. “Can we talk about something else, please? I’d rather not hear about your wild nights of passion with Eva.”

  Dez chuckled. “Got it. If she found out I’d discussed it, I could count on no more wild nights of passion, anyway. Let’s talk about tomorrow. I know Lachlan thinks you’ll be safe enough in the meeting on your own, but I’m not convinced.”

  “As long as he can come along, Forbes will be right outside.”

  “Right outside might be too far if things go sideways. And if he can’t go with you at all, we seriously need to rethink things. I mean, there’s a lot of money on the line here, and a man has already been murdered.”

  “We don’t know why Walter was killed. Not yet.”

  “No, but there’s a good possibility someone connected with Brinks Construction was involved.”

  “Well, I’m not going to Brinks Construction,” Sully said. “You are.”

  “The companies are connected to each other, aren’t they? And they both have a lot on the line. I’m just saying I think we should all be extra-careful on this. All of us. We’ve got more questions than answers, and we both know all too well how people who’ve already killed once are less reluctant to kill again. We need to watch our backs, is all.”

  Sully understood what he was saying and recognized the truth in it. They’d seen it often enough firsthand, how far some killers would go to keep their sins hidden.

  Dez wouldn’t rest easy until they’d cracked this case and had seen charges laid against anyone deserving of it. In the meantime, he would be on edge.

  To those either desperate to make a lot of money or who were at risk of losing it, the lives of others meant little. All too often, wealth corrupted morals and souls. People like Paul Dunsmore stood out as the exception.

  Thinking about Paul reminded Sully of the phone conversation they’d had the other day.

  “Paul told me he’d keep an ear to the ground on the proposed deal at the lake,” Sully said. “I wonder if he’s heard anything.”

  “Give him a call,” Dez said. “I’d like to listen in.”

  Sully found Paul’s number in his phone, then let it ring through on his vehicle’s Bluetooth system. A moment later, Paul’s voice came through the speakers.

  “Sullivan, how are you? I meant to give you a call. My apologies. I’m in the middle of a grant renewal application for my anti-gang program and the government’s being sticky. Gangs don’t exactly attract the big dollars, so every time I apply, I need to go through the whole song and dance routine, showing them the big picture. But I digress. You were wondering about the Dead Man’s Lake deal.”

  “Yeah,” Sully said. “By the way, I should let you know, Dez is with me.”

  “Wonderful. Hello, Desmond.”

  “Hi, Paul. Everything good with you?”

  “Once I get the funding in my hands, it will be. If I keep fronting all of these things myself, I’ll eat through my savings within five years. Anyway, I have a friend with Bright Sands, and I gave him a call. He tells me things have gone quiet on talk of the project since Clive Josprey, their CEO, agreed to an interview with the paper about his proposed plans for the lake. Josprey was expecting a call from the parks department, but it didn’t come. When he tried phoning, no one returned his call, which he felt was unusual.”

  “If I tell you something, can you keep it to yourself?” Sully asked, knowing full well Paul could keep plenty to himself when need be.

  “Of course. You know me.”

  “Well, I think I can shed some light. We’ve learned another development company called Calypso is seriously in the running. In fact, there’s some thought they have the contract in the bag.”

  “I suppose the folks over at Bright Sands feel the same about their own position.”

  “Did Bright Sands start hiring contractors to do the work out there?” Dez asked.

  A pause. “Are you saying Calypso is already contracting out for work?”

  “From what we’ve found out,” Sully said, “they’ve got a company called Brinks Construction ready to level the east side of the lake. My understanding is the work is imminent.”

  “Well, my understanding is the government hasn’t actually issued an official call for proposals yet. They’ve been fielding too many calls from the public and various interest groups asking for a public consultation on the matter. What you’re suggesting reeks of a backroom deal. Very anti-competition.”

  Dez shifted in his seat. “Which makes us wonder what’s going on. Do you have any government contacts you can speak with quietly?”

  “Not at the moment, unfortunately. I need to play things safe with officials until I know I’ve got my funding in the bag. If someone there has made an under-the-table deal like you’re suggesting, that’s quite a problem. I can’t be seen to be the cause of it. I’m sorry, guys. Anything else, any other time, I’d gladly help.”

  “I know, Paul,” Sully said. “Thanks. Good luck with your proposal.”

  “Thank you. I suspect I’m going to need it. Good luck to you as well. Keep me posted.”

  “We will,” Dez said. “I think we’re getting close. I mean, a deal of this sort is big news.”

  “Sure, but it doesn’t have anything to do with Walter McCrory,” Sully reminded him. “He died close to thirty-five years ago.”

  “Who’s Walter McCrory?” Paul asked.

  Sully turned back t
oward the dashboard to answer. “That’s the name we’ve put to the Ice Man from Dead Man’s Lake. We know enough to say he went missing sometime around eighty-four, and given I can see him, we also know he was murdered. We’re trying to find out who did it and why, but he’s not an easy guy to ask.”

  “Eighty-four, you say? That’s interesting.”

  “Why?”

  “Because there was also a push in the mid-eighties for lake development. Similar situation. A potential buyer came forward with a proposal and was in talks to purchase and redevelop, but the public railed against it. Plans eventually went out the window and the lake remained more or less untouched ever since. That was when the government stepped in to manage things.”

  Sully exchanged a look with Dez. Lachlan had mentioned something similar. “Any idea who the developer was?”

  “I do indeed. It was my father.”

  Sully’s eyes flashed wide. “What? Seriously?”

  “Yep. And believe me, he wasn’t happy about being undone by the great unwashed—as he so lovingly calls the citizens of the city and surrounding area.” Sarcasm lay heavily in Paul’s remark, and Sully was reminded of exactly how little love was lost between Paul and his money-hungry family.

  “Would he know anything about Walter McCrory’s disappearance?” Sully asked.

  “As in, was he responsible for it?” Paul gave a dark laugh. “Far be it from me to argue against suggestions he’s capable of horrendous crimes.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that, actually. I was wondering if he knew anything about the situation at the time. The only guy we’ve talked to who knew Walter isn’t exactly helpful.”

  “I can try to ask my father—although as I’m sure you understand, we aren’t exactly on the best terms.”

  “Don’t call yet,” Dez said. “What you’ve already told us is helpful on its own. Do you know how far along they were in the proposed deal before public outcry shut it down?”

  “They were some distance from a sod-turning ceremony, if that’s what you’re wondering. They were doing everything above board at the time, and that’s when the public caught wind. The project was shut down before it really even got off the ground.”