Dangerous Witness (O'Connor Brothers Book 7)

by Rhonda Brewer

  “I know this kid.” Aaron dropped the tarp.

  “Who is he?” Rick asked.

  “His name is Levi Watts. His younger brother is on the basketball team I coach. I haven’t seen Levi since he graduated two years ago.” Aaron shook his head as he stared at the covered body.

  “How did he get your card?” James asked.

  “I think Quintin may have given it to him.” Aaron started to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

  Quintin had asked about someone selling drugs. He didn’t want to tell Aaron because it was his brother. This situation would kill Quintin. Aaron knew how much he looked up to his older brother.

  “Quintin?” Rick asked.

  “Quintin is one of the kids I coach at Holy Cross. Hell, I coached Levi, too.” Aaron plowed his hand through his hair.

  “I want to go tell the family.” Aaron glanced at James.

  “You’ll have to check that with Rick.” James nodded toward where Rick had turned his attention to the coroner who had finally arrived.

  Aaron waited impatiently while he scanned the crowd of onlookers for anyone that could be of interest. From the quick glance he’d gotten of Levi’s body, he had a wound on his chest that looked like a knife had pierced his shirt.

  “See anything?” Rick walked up behind Aaron.

  “Nope, just a lot of nosey people.” Aaron turned to Rick.

  “James said you know the family and want to go inform them of the death.” Rick shoved his notebook into his pocket.

  “I would. I only know Quinton and Levi. I’ve never met the parents, but Quintin’s a good kid.” Aaron pinched his nose with his fingers.

  “I’ll come with you. Just give me a second.” Rick jogged toward another officer questioning a couple of men that looked like fishermen.

  “I’ll let Bethany know you’re probably going to be late getting off today.” James joined Aaron at the edge of the chaos of people.

  “Thanks, I’ll get Rick to drive me back to Hopedale.” Aaron nodded when Rick motioned for him to follow.

  Aaron called Father Wallace to get the address for Quintin’s family. He made sure to tell the priest that he should probably head to the house as well.

  Quintin lived in another of the small communities outside St. John’s. It was one of several towns where the students attended Holy Cross School. It wasn’t much different from Hopedale, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before everyone knew about the death.

  Petty Harbor was smaller than the town where Aaron grew up, but he knew the area since many of his friends during his school days were from the city. Rick drove up a long unpaved road and then turned onto a short driveway.

  The house was dilapidated, but the yard was well maintained. A couple of bikes were on the ground or leaned against the cracked railing of the front deck. Rick and Aaron made their way up the steps and knocked lightly on the door.

  Rick turned to glance around the property while Aaron listened for someone inside. He was about to knock again when the front door opened and a pretty dark-haired girl answered the door.

  “Hi,” She said glancing between Aaron and Rick.

  “Hi, is your mom or dad at home?” Rick asked.

  The girl stared at him for a minute and then glanced back inside the house. She looked to be about twelve years old, and Aaron remembered Quintin talking about a younger sister.

  “Mia, who’s at the door?” Aaron heard Quintin’s voice shouting from the back of the house.

  “They're looking for our mom or dad,” the girl shouted back.

  A few seconds later, Quintin appeared next to his sister. He looked scared at first, but when he saw Aaron, he smiled. Aaron hated to tell him the news and wipe that bright smile off the kid’s face.

  “Mr. O’Connor, what are you doing here?” Quintin asked.

  “Quintin, is your mom or dad home?” Aaron gave him a friendly smile.

  “Umm… my dad… well…” Quintin stammered.

  “Our dad took off with some whore a few years ago,” Mia blurted out as if it was nothing odd.

  “Mia,” Quintin groaned.

  “Well, that’s what happened.” Mia rolled her eyes and left Quintin to deal with Aaron.

  “I’m sorry. She’s kinda rude sometimes.” Quintin nervously shoved his hands into his front pockets. “My mom died a few years ago, and my older sister takes care of us. She works, but she should be home any minute.”

  “Can you call her?” Rick asked.

  “Umm, our phone doesn’t work.” Quintin’s cheeks turned red.

  “Do you have a number we can call her?” Aaron didn’t want to embarrass the kid any longer.

  It was obvious they didn’t have a lot, and from what Aaron could see, their father had left, the mother was dead, and their sister worked to support them. He knew the kids were well cared for because they were clean and well fed.

  A car pulled into the driveway before Quintin could respond to the question. Aaron stepped back to let Quintin meet the vehicle that pulled in. A woman got out of the car, a hat pulled down over her head, and Quintin helped her lift several grocery bags out of the trunk.

  Aaron shook his head as the woman got closer to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. The woman was wide-eyed as she walked toward him with recognition in her expression.

  “Denise?” Aaron stared at one of Raquel Evans shadows from high school.

  “A.J. O’Connor.” She stopped at the top of the stairs and glanced between him and Rick.

  “You’re Quintin’s sister?” Aaron must have had a comical expression on his face because Denise laughed.

  “What? You didn’t think I would end up like this?” She smiled, but Aaron could see the sadness in her voice. “It’s probably karma for the things I did when I was younger.”

  “Rick, this is Denise Rowan.” Aaron introduced Rick.

  “Take that into the kitchen.” Denise gave the bags she was carrying to Mia who’d appeared in the doorway.

  “Denise, we need to talk to you.” Aaron glanced at Mia as she disappeared back into the house.

  “What’s wrong? Is Quintin in trouble? He’s a good boy, and I knew you were his coach. I would have loved to get to his games, but I work two jobs since Waylon ran off.” Denise seemed genuinely concerned that her brother was in trouble.

  “No, Quintin is not in any trouble, Denise, but I’m afraid we have bad news.” Aaron motioned to the dirty wicker chair on the steps.

  “What is it? Oh my God, my grandparents? Are they okay?” She eased into the chair and pulled the hat off her head.

  “It’s not your grandparents. Denise, it’s Levi.” Aaron swallowed as he crouched in front of her. “His body was pulled from St. John’s Harbor.”

  “His… body.” Denise stared at Aaron as if he was speaking a different language.

  “Yes,” Aaron confirmed.

  “He’s only nineteen. He was getting ready to go to college. Oh my God.” Denise covered her mouth with one hand and held the other to her chest.

  “We do need someone to identify him, but I’m pretty sure it’s him. I coached him as well,” Aaron said as Rick held his phone out to Aaron.

  Aaron looked at the screen. It didn’t seem like a photo he should show the family of the kid, but it was the only one they had. The picture showed Levi’s face only after he came out of the water.

  “I have a photo of him. Would you be able to look at it?” Aaron asked.

  “I’ll do it.” Quintin stepped through the door.

  “Quintin, it’s fine.” Denise held out a shaky hand and took a huge breath before she looked at the screen. “It’s him.”

  She shoved the phone back at Aaron. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she wasn’t making a sound. Quintin stood stock still. His face had no expression, and it worried Aaron.

  “Do you have any idea why he was in St. John’s?” Aaron asked.

  “His friends are from town,” Quintin said with a hint of anger.

/>   “Do you know their names?” Rick asked.

  “No, I just know they are a bunch of jerks and Levi changed when he started hanging with them.” Quintin placed his hand on Denise’s shoulder.

  “Levi has been different lately, but I never thought he’d kill himself.” Denise shook her head.

  Aaron glanced up at Rick and then back to the stricken woman. She clung to Quintin’s hand like she was afraid he’d vanish, and Aaron never thought he’d see the day that his heart would go out to Denise Rowan.

  “He didn’t kill himself. It’s not confirmed, but he had a couple of wounds that were not self-inflicted,” Rick told her.

  “Are you saying he was mur…murdered?” Denise stood up and wrapped her arms around Quintin.

  “It looks that way. We’ll know more after the autopsy.” Rick's voice was soft and compassionate.

  “I need to call my grandparents and Levi’s dad.” Denise turned to go into the house. “I should probably go there and tell them.”

  “Why don’t we go inside and give yourself a few minutes to get your head around this?” Aaron allowed Quintin to guide his sister into the house.

  Aaron and Rick followed them into the small kitchen. Considering how the house looked outside, it looked clean and well cared for inside.

  “Would you like a cup of coffee?” Denise asked as she aimlessly moved around the kitchen.

  “No thank you.” Rick glanced at Aaron.

  “Denise, is there someone you can call to come here?” Aaron had noticed Mia enter the kitchen.

  Quintin entered behind her; it was apparent he’d told his little sister the bad news. She had tears streaming down her cheeks as she ran into Denise’s arms. It seemed to help Denise focus, and she stood with her arms wrapped around the young girl.

  “Just my grandparents and Levi’s father.” Denise met Aaron’s gaze. “My mom remarried after dad died, she had Levi, Quintin, and Mia from that marriage. Waylon left six years ago, and I moved back in with mom to help with the kids. Mom passed away three years later, and I’ve been taking care of them because my grandparents are not well and weren’t in a situation to care for them.”

  “That’s a lot to deal with.” Aaron felt terrible for the woman.

  “Now I have to bury my brother.” Denise sank onto the kitchen chair, leaving her sister and brother holding each other.

  “Denise, can I get you anything?” Aaron crouched in front of her.

  “Do you believe in karma?” She lifted her face from her hands and met his eyes.

  “A little, I guess.” Aaron didn’t know where she was going with this.

  “It’s ironic that you would be the one to come and tell me about this.” She sat back in the chair. “Quintin, can you take Mia upstairs and give me a few minutes?”

  Quintin and Mia left the kitchen and Aaron could hear the young girl sobbing as she walked upstairs. Rick stood against the wall with his hands in his jacket pocket. Rick Avery didn’t seem to be comfortable with where the conversation was going.

  “Why is it ironic?” Aaron asked.

  “Considering I helped Raquel Evans terrorize your old girlfriend. I wanted to be cool back then, but once Raquel got what she wanted out of people she tossed them aside. My family wasn’t well off, and I did things to make money so that I could keep up with Raquel.” She dropped her head. “I just didn’t brag about it.”

  “That was a long time ago, Denise.” Aaron clenched his jaw.

  “Levi was hanging with a group that reminded me of Raquel and how she treated people. The only thing was, I think they were into things that were dangerous.” She stood up and opened a cupboard over the fridge, pulled out a large bag and placed it on the table.

  “What’s this?” Aaron asked.

  “Levi gave me this last week.” Denise opened the bag and pushed it toward Aaron.

  He opened the bag and looked inside at bundles of cash. Aaron didn’t want to touch it too much, but he motioned for Rick to take a look. It didn’t look great that Levi gave his sister a lot of money and then ended up dead.

  “He wouldn’t tell me where he got the cash, but he said to use it to pay off some bills and put the rest away.” Denise plopped down in the chair again. “I was afraid to use it.”

  “Do you think Quintin knows what Levi was doing?” Aaron asked.

  “Quintin is a good kid. He would never be involved…” Denise dropped her face into her hands. “What do I know? I thought I’d raised Levi to be a good kid. I’ve screwed them up so much.”

  “Denise, don’t blame yourself for this, and you’re right, Quintin is a good kid. I ask because last week he asked me about what to do if someone was in trouble.” Aaron touched her shoulder. “Would you mind if I talk to him?”

  Denise lifted her head, and her eyes went to the bag on the table. For a few minutes, she stared at it and then she shook her head.

  Aaron motioned to Rick to stay with Denise while he went to find Quintin and his younger sister. Before Aaron got to the top of the steps, Quinton stepped out of a bedroom that had the name Mia on the door.

  “How is she?” Aaron asked as he got to the top of the steps.

  “She’s calmed down a bit.” Quintin stared out the window at the end of the hall.

  “Want to take a walk with me?” Aaron motioned downstairs.

  Quintin didn’t speak, but he walked ahead of Aaron and straight through the front door. Aaron followed but gave Rick a shout to know they would be back.

  Quintin scuffed across the street from his house. Aaron followed and stopped when Quintin stood at the edge of the road, staring out at the harbor.

  “I knew he was in trouble,” Quintin whispered.

  “He told you?” Aaron shifted so he could see the kid’s face.

  “He didn’t have to. I could tell by the way he acted. He’d come home, and it was as if he was afraid of something. I asked him what was wrong, but all he said was make sure I took care of Mia and Denise. He said what he was doing was important to people.” Quintin glanced at Aaron with tears in his eyes.

  “Do you know where he got the money he gave Denise?” Aaron hated to push, but something told him there was a connection to Randy Knight’s murder.

  “No, but with the idiots he was hanging with, I’d say it was from drugs or something. Mr. O’Connor, my sister busts her ass for us and works two jobs to support us. I don’t think Levi was doing it for fun. I think he was doing it to help Denise, but he got in too deep.” A tear slipped out of Quintin’s eye and he wiped it away angrily.

  “Do you know the names of any of the people he associated with?” Aaron asked.

  “He just called them stupid nicknames.” Quintin took a huge breath and shrugged.

  “That’s okay. Tell me the nicknames.” Aaron pulled out his notebook.

  “Okay. Well, there’s Buzzer, Grease, Doom, and the worst of them is a guy they called Slash.” Quintin rolled his eyes. “They think they are badasses because they have lame nicknames.”

  “You don’t know any of their real names?” Aaron hoped but from the look on Quintin’s face that he didn’t.

  “No, but the guy Slash, he’s like your age and has a huge scar on his forehead.” Quintin ran his finger across his forehead and Aaron’s blood ran cold.

  “I’m going to show you a sketch, and you tell me if it looks familiar.” Aaron pulled out his phone and brought up the picture of the composite of the guy that killed Randy.

  Quintin looked at it for a few seconds and then handed the phone back to Aaron.

  “Looks like Slash,” Quintin told him.

  “Okay, I’m going to go talk to your sister. I think it would be better if all of you stayed somewhere else tonight. Maybe with your grandparents.” Aaron wrapped his arm around Quintin’s shoulders and led him back to the house.

  Levi was probably dead because of the money, and if Slash thought for a minute the money was in the house, it would be trouble. There wasn’t any doubt in Aaron’s mind that Qu
intin, Mia, and Denise were in danger, but at least now he had a name for the guy he was after.

  Chapter 17

  Bethany stared at the piles of invoices on the table. Her eyes started to burn with irritation. It always happened when she spent a lot of time reading the small print. She pulled her glasses out of her purse and put them on.

  Bethany didn’t wear them very often, and she could probably get away with not wearing them at all since her laser eye surgery. It didn’t correct her vision to perfect, but when she strained her eyes, the glasses helped ease it.

  She picked up another invoice and took note of the order, how much, and which pharmacy. Bethany noticed the name of who placed the order was not on all the invoices. The company required the contact name on every invoice, but Randy left that line blank on most of the orders.

  Bethany had a pile that had all the required information and seemed like they were legitimate invoices. There was another pile that was suspicious, and the last collection from the pharmacy that Craig already called and confirmed they hadn’t placed any of the orders.

  “That’s the girl I remember.” Bethany glanced up at the sound of Aaron’s voice.

  “Did you forget me since you left this morning?” She laughed.

  “Not a chance, but when we met, you were wearing those cute glasses that matched the color of your eyes.” Aaron stalked toward her.

  “I hate glasses, and I only wear them when my eyes are tired.” Bethany turned in her chair as he crouched in front of her.

  “You’re beautiful.” Aaron cupped her cheek.

  “Maybe you need glasses. I’ve been hunched over these invoices since you left, my hair is in a messy pile on top of my head, and dressed in an old t-shirt and yoga pants. Beautiful is not a word I would use right now.” Bethany’s breath caught with his intense gaze.

  “You could be covered with tar and feathers, and you’d still be the most beautiful woman in the world to me.” Aaron leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

  “You look tired.” Bethany ran her fingers through his hair as he pulled his lips from hers.