The Zig Zag Scam (Afterlife Book 12)

by Kaitlyn Meyers

  "Oh?" Brittney asked, realizing it might be a sore subject. She checked Marcia's hands real quick and saw that she wasn't wearing a wedding ring.

  When Marcia saw her looking, she simply shrugged. "We divorced about two years ago."

  "Sorry to hear that," Brittney said.

  "Don't be," Marcia said. "It was good for both of us. Now, let's stop talking about my personal life and go inside."

  Brittney nodded. They went into the house and she went straight into the living room. There was a young man waiting inside. He stood when he saw her.

  "Hello," Brittney said, holding out a hand. "I'm Special Agent Conley, FBI. I work with your cousin, Marcia."

  The young man took the hand and gave it a firm shake. "I'm Thomas, but everyone just calls me Tommy. It's nice to meet you, Agent. Have you worked with Marcia long?"

  "Not too long," Brittney said.

  Marcia stepped into the room. "Agent Conley is going to take your statement, Tommy. She has a bit more experience in these types of crimes than I do."

  Tommy affected a look of shock. "Marcia, are you admitting that someone has more experience in something? I'm impressed."

  Marcia rolled her eyes and took a seat. Tommy and Brittney did the same.

  "So, you were arrested," Brittney said to Tommy.

  "That's right," Tommy said. "I was at the slots, and an officer came up and told me that I had been accused of cheating. I swore to him that I hadn't, but he insisted on reading me my rights and cuffing me anyway. Then he took me out to his car and put me in the back."

  Brittney nodded. "Tell me everything that happened."

  "Well, like I said, I denied it," Tommy said. "First of all, I wouldn't even know how to cheat at slots. If I knew how, I'd lose a lot less money. But he kept insisting on it. Eventually, he took out his phone--"

  "--What kind of phone?" Brittney asked.

  "What?"

  "What brand of phone was it? Did you recognize it?"

  Tommy looked surprised. "You know, now that you mention it, I have no idea what sort of phone it is. I remember thinking at the time that it looked a little unusual."

  Brittney nodded. She took out a notepad and jotted down: Unknown cell phone. "Alright, go on."

  "He showed me a video of me entering some kind of code into the machine," Tommy said. "I tried to deny it, but he had the proof right there in his hands. He told me that I was looking at years in prison for fraud, and that the casino would sue me as well. He told me he was going to take me to jail and that I'd be able to post bond at fifteen thousand dollars."

  Brittney let out a low whistle. "That's a lot of money."

  "That's what I thought too," Tommy said. "But about halfway there, he pulled over. Said that if I paid him a fee, the video would disappear and that nobody would ever know about it."

  "How much?"

  "Two grand," Tommy said. "I didn't know what else to do. If I'm arrested, I'll get fired from my job -- I have a morality clause."

  "So you paid the money?"

  "I told him that I didn't have access to that kind of cash," Tommy said. "My ATM card only goes up to a certain limit every day, and that's only $400."

  "And what did he say to that?"

  "He told me had a way to bypass the ATM's limit," Tommy said. "So we drove to an ATM, and he entered in some digits, and it let me pull out the entire amount he was asking for. Then he let me go. I had to call a cab, because he refused to drive me back to the casino."

  Brittney made a few more notes. "And what did he look like?"

  "He was tall," Tommy said. "He was also very muscular. I wondered if I'd be able to fight him when we got to the ATM. But he was too big. He would have beat me to a pulp."

  "Hair color? Eyes?"

  "Sandy brown hair and blue eyes, I think."

  Brittney wrote this down and then remembered something. "Wait here a minute, Tommy." She went out to the SUV and checked the folders. It was just like she thought; every instance where someone remembered the police officer's eye color it was blue. She found that interesting.

  She went back inside.

  "So do you know who it is?" Tommy asked. "I mean, you have to have some idea, right? If they're a police officer--"

  "They're not," Marcia interjected. "No police officer would risk that. Someone probably bought an old police car and is using it to scare people into believing they're actually an officer."

  "Still, if they're doing it to other people, it's bound to draw attention," Tommy said. "You'll be able to catch him, right?"

  "We're going to try our best," Brittney said, exchanging a look with Marcia.

  "Thanks," Tommy said. "I could really use that two grand back."

  "We'll get it for you," Marcia said.

  Tommy nodded.

  Brittney looked back to Tommy. "Is there anything else you can think of that might help in identifying him? Was there a license plate on the car? Did you see what it was?"

  Tommy shook his head. "No license plates on it. I just assumed it was an unmarked car."

  Brittney had expected this from the other reports she made. "Is that all?"

  "He had a radio call in," Tommy said. "I was out at the ATM so I couldn't hear the words, but I remember thinking he must be legit if he was getting calls in."

  "Great," Brittney said. She stood up and shook Tommy's hand again. "Well, if you think of anything else, let Marcia know. She can get in contact with me."

  "Thank you," Tommy said.

  Brittney walked out and Marcia followed her to the SUV. "So what are you thinking?"

  "Nothing so far," Brittney admitted. "I'm going to go home and do some research though. If he thinks of anything else, let me know."

  Marcia nodded. "Will do."

  SEVEN

  Alec paced around his apartment, occasionally glancing over at Harper's boxes full of things. There weren't really that many, considering how much she liked to go shopping. He reminded himself that she had lost most of her personal items when her apartment had burned down when they'd first met.

  He knew he should be sleeping, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw Rebecca Stanley's face. It would be so simple if he could just kill her and get her out of the way. He knew he couldn't, though. Besides the fact she was human and he didn't kill humans, she was a well-known person. Her death wouldn't go unnoticed.

  And yet, she'd had Harper shot down in the street. That made him want to rip her throat out with his teeth. No, that would be bad, he thought.

  "Damn her," he muttered.

  He looked again at Harper's stuff. She had said she'd be redecorating his apartment. He had agreed to it, but he didn't honestly know how he felt about it. He was used to having things a certain way.

  The entire relationship was something new for him, though. How long had it been since he'd been in a real relationship? The last one had been Ileana, and decades had passed since then. Would he make a good boyfriend?

  Alec grimaced. He didn't like the word. It meant that they were something serious. He knew they were going to be living together, but he still wasn't sure that he liked the idea of being Harper's boyfriend. Conner had convinced him it was worth a shot, though.

  He thought maybe he should cook something. That would take his mind off his relationship with Harper and his urge to kill the councilwoman. He went to the kitchen and looked through the cupboards. Eventually, he settled on making some stuffed tomatoes. He began the preparations but before he was halfway through, there was a knock on the door.

  He went over and answered it. Brittney stood there.

  "What?"

  "We were going to meet tonight," Brittney reminded him. "Why are you so grouchy?"

  Alec gave her a quick smile. "Sorry. You interrupted me while I was cooking, that's all." Sometimes he had to remind himself to be less of a jerk.

  "Well, don't let me interrupt you," Brittney said. "I'm starving. What are we having?"

  "Stuffed tomatoes," Alec said. He went back to the kitchen.
"I hope you don't mind red meat."

  "When have I ever?" Brittney asked. "What are you stuffing them with? Hamburger?"

  "Steak bits," Alec said.

  "Sounds delicious," Brittney said. She went and flopped on his couch. "So you're going to help me with this case, right? Because I have no idea where to begin."

  "Well, what information do you have?" Alec asked.

  Sometimes he was still surprised by Brittney. When she had first come to Afterlife, he hadn't thought much of her. She had been a party girl, hardly anyone to take seriously. She had matured a lot since then, though.

  "We know the person can change their appearance," Brittney said. "Except he's always male, and his eyes are always blue."

  Alec frowned. "I see. What else?"

  "He mostly goes after men," Brittney said. "There have been a few cases of women, but not many."

  "Interesting," Alec said. "I wonder why he goes after men."

  "He's driving an unmarked police car with no plates as well," Brittney said. "He's got a radio too. One of the victims heard someone call something in."

  Alec finished the tomatoes and set them in the oven so they'd get a little crunchy. He knew some people didn't like them this way, but he was a big fan. "That's good to know. Means he really thought through the details."

  "There's something strange about the whole thing though," Brittney said. "He shows his victims clips of them cheating on his phone."

  "Really?" Alec said, a serious look of thought on his face. "Was there other technology?"

  "I don't know."

  "We could be dealing with a shimmer," Alec said.

  "A what?"

  "Shimmers are a type of demon that can't use magic on their own. They're very intelligent though," Alec explained. "They've been known to create technology to manufacture the powers they don't have. If we're dealing with one, they could easily have developed something that will help them change appearance."

  "So how do we find a shimmer?" Brittney asked.

  "Well, it's like I said, they're very intelligent," Alec said. "But they're also cocky and arrogant, which means they make mistakes. I'd say the easiest way to find one is to set up some kind of trap."

  "A trap?"

  "Yes," Alec said, a bit impatiently. "We can set up a sting operation to try and lure him in."

  "But he only goes after men," Brittney pointed out.

  "Well, it's a good thing I'm a man," Alec said dryly.

  "Do you think you can get him to go after you?" Brittney asked. "We don't even know where he'll hit. There's multiple casinos he's targeted. We can't hit them all up."

  "No," Alec agreed. "We need to find some sort of pattern first."

  "I've been looking," Brittney said. "So far I haven't seen any discernible pattern."

  "Well, let me take a look," Alec said.

  Brittney nodded and handed over the folders of witness statements. For the next half hour, Alec looked through them. Then he paused because the tomatoes were done. He put two on each plate and set them on the table.

  "So, you're marrying Chloe," Alec said as they started to eat.

  "Yes," Brittney said.

  "You know, she means a lot to me," Alec said. "She was the first real friend I'd had in a long time."

  "I know that," Brittney said. "Is this going to be a lecture about treating her right? I could do without that, Alec. I'm not going to run around on her or mistreat her in any way. You should know me better than that by now."

  Alec shrugged. "I won't give you a lecture. I'll just warn you not to hurt her."

  "I'm not planning on it," Brittney said.

  "Sometimes people hurt others even when it's not their intent," Alec said.

  "You know, I could be warning you of the same thing," Brittney said. "You're dating Harper, you're even living together. I've known her since we were five years old, and I don't want to see her hurt either -- especially after Conner left her. She was really cut up by that."

  "I know she was," Alec said.

  "So I should be telling you not to hurt her," Brittney said.

  Alec grinned. "Alright. We'll make a deal. I won't lecture you about Chloe and you won't lecture me about Harper. How does that sound?"

  "It sounds good," Brittney said. "These stuffed tomatoes are great, Alec."

  "Thanks," he said. "Now, let's get back down to business. We need to figure out this guy's pattern."

  "Well, you looked through the statements," Brittney said. "Do you see anything that stands out?"

  "Well, he's only hitting tourist casinos," Alec said. "That narrows it down a bit. And he's only hit one place twice, which means he knows better than to draw from the same places over and over. So we need a list of tourist casinos that haven't been hit yet."

  "Because that's going to really narrow it down," Brittney said sarcastically. "There are dozens of casinos that fit that criteria, Alec."

  Alec knew she was right. "Well, we can use your contacts at the station."

  "How?"

  "We get police assigned to all of them but two," Alec said. "Those two we leave unprotected. He'll be forced to go to one of them."

  Brittney seemed to liven up a bit at that. "That's a great idea. Then you can Conner can wait at those two." Her face fell a bit. "But we still don't know that he'll pick you."

  "You forget that I'm a vampire and that Conner is an incubus," Alec said. "We have our own powers of seduction. We can draw people to us."

  "And then what?" Brittney asked. "Do you kill him?"

  Alec considered for a moment. "No, we need to see who he's working for. If it is a shimmer, he's probably got a boss somewhere that needs money."

  Brittney nodded. "I hadn't thought that they might be working for someone else. So we need to find out who's in charge."

  "Exactly," Alec said. "Get in touch with your contacts and let's work on setting up a sting. It works well that he only takes men at night."

  "I'll get in touch with Ryan tomorrow," Brittney said. "It might take a few days to get everything in place."

  "That's fine," Alec said. "We need to work on Stanley's problem too in the meantime."

  "Right," Brittney said. "Have you heard from any of the others about what they've found out?"

  "I haven't heard from anyone," Alec said. "Nobody feels the need to check in with me anymore. We should text everyone to get together tonight and go over things."

  "Sounds good to me," Brittney said. She took out her phone and sent a text to the Afterlife message group to meet back at the club. "Let's head down."

  "I'll meet you down there," Alec said. "I'm going to clean up from dinner and take a shower."

  "Go for it," Brittney said. She got up and gathered her files and headed downstairs, leaving Alec alone once more.

  He cleaned up and then went to take a shower. He let the hot water run over him, and thought of all the problems they had. Once he was done, he got dressed and then glanced around the apartment once more. He thought of the promise he'd made Brittney about not lecturing her about Chloe as long as she didn't lecture him about Harper.

  He wasn't planning to hurt her. That didn't mean he wouldn't, though. Someday, he might. He groaned at the thought and then went on downstairs too.

  EIGHT

  Harper stood a little bit away from Conner and Janice, but she could still hear their conversation. They were arguing about Afterlife.

  "I can't stay," Conner said. "It's my job."

  "And it's your responsibility to be there for James too," Janice said. "He's going to want to celebrate his first win, and it would mean a lot if his father was there for that."

  "Look, you can take the van," Conner said. "Load up the team, take them out for pizza or ice cream. I'll talk to James first, and let him know I'm proud of him. I'll take your car and head home when I'm done for the night."

  Janice frowned. "This is the way it's going to be then?"

  Conner looked over and caught Harper's eye. She gave him a small shrug. She wasn't
trying to eavesdrop but it was hard not to. He cleared his throat. "I'm going to go talk to James now. He'll understand that sometimes I have work to do and that takes priority over celebrating."

  Janice walked over to Harper as Conner went to find his son.

  "I'm sorry," Harper said immediately. "I know you had plans, but it's important."

  "I do understand," Janice said. "It's just that sometimes I feel like you're more of his family than James and I are."

  "He adores you," Harper said. "Both of you."

  "I know that," Janice said. She shook her head in exasperation, then she forced a smile in place. "So how's your witch-working coming along?"

  Harper considered for a moment. "It's going alright. I'm still having trouble with some of the spells, but I get a little better every day."

  "Well, you should come over for drinks one of these nights," Janice said. "I can help you with the ones that are more difficult. You can bring Alec with you."

  "Thanks," Harper said. "That means a lot. You know, I don't think I've ever taken the opportunity to say that I'm glad you're not uncomfortable with me working with Conner. It would be a shame for Afterlife to lose him."

  "I know," Janice said. "I'd never make him pick between you guys and us. I'm afraid of what the answer might be."

  Harper could have eased her fears and told her that if it came down to it, that Conner would choose her and James. Instead, she just smiled. "Well, we should probably get going. We've got a lot of work left to do before the night's over."

  "Good luck," Janice said.

  "Thank you," Harper said.

  Conner joined them and exchanged keys with Janice. They went over to her car and climbed in.

  "She's pretty upset," Conner said.

  "She didn't seem too mad," Harper said.

  "I'll hear it later," Conner said. "She didn't want to make a scene in front of the other parents -- or in front of you, for that matter."

  Harper shrugged. "It's your job. She should understand that."

  Conner nodded and said no more on the subject. They drove to Afterlife and got out. Chloe and Sarah had just arrived as well, and the four of them walked in together. The club was already packed.