She nodded, the soft edge of guilt lingering like sadness in her eyes. “I hope you don’t mind that I bought Charlie a Wii. I figured it might help distract him from…anyway, I think he likes it.”
“Looks like he loves it. That was very nice of you.”
Birdie looked at Charlie, who was now sitting next to Hank on the couch and having a serious conversation about something. “I feel so bad.”
“Don’t. You didn’t do anything wrong. And everything worked out, so there’s nothing to feel bad about.”
Her smile wasn’t quite convincing, but she nodded as she put the game controller down. “I should get home. Let you all have some peace and quiet.”
Ivy hugged her. “Thank you for watching him. I wouldn’t have been able to stay with Hank at the hospital if not for you. I really appreciate that.”
This time her smile was genuine. “Anytime you need me, just call.” She picked up her purse from the coffee table. “Oh, I almost forgot. Charlie, where’s that jump drive you found?”
Charlie put his thinking face on. “I think I left it on the kitchen table.”
Birdie nodded. “I’ll get it.” She headed into the kitchen, coming back moments later with the small black rectangle in her hand. She held it toward Ivy. “I made Charlie take a bath this morning, and he found this in his room when he was getting dressed. I assume it belongs to one of you?”
Ivy took it. “I don’t recognize it. Hank?” She tossed it to him.
He looked it over. “Me either.” He glanced at Charlie. “This was in your room?”
He nodded. “On the floor.”
“Where did it come from?”
Charlie shrugged. “I dunno.”
“Did you plug it in?” Ivy asked Birdie. “See what’s on it?”
“No.” Birdie clutched her purse. “I thought it might be personal information.”
“Okay, we’ll figure it out later. Right now I think we need to order some pizza and enjoy being home.”
Hank smiled at his aunt. “What do you like on your pie?”
Her brows rose. “You want me to stay?”
“Unless you’re tired of being here.”
“No, I’d love to stay. Thank you.” She put her purse down, all smiles. “I can order the pizza. You two visit with your son. Extra cheese okay?”
“Yes. Meat lovers. Get two,” Hank called after her. He grinned at Ivy. “Hospital food sucks, and I’m starving.”
“Speaking of things to eat…” Ivy joined them on the couch, sitting on Charlie’s other side so he was between her and Hank. She ruffled his hair. “How much candy did Aunt Birdie give you?”
Charlie shrugged. “I’m not supposed to say.”
Hank smiled. “That sounds like her. Maybe after dinner you can teach me how to play Mario Kart.”
“How about tomorrow?” Ivy said. “Tonight you just need to rest.”
Hank made a face at Charlie. “Your mother is no fun.”
He let out a big exhale. “I know.”
Sated with pizza, beer and the two pain pills that Ivy had insisted he take, Hank was firmly ensconced on the couch watching Charlie play video games while Ivy and Birdie cleaned up in the kitchen.
He dug the flash drive out of his pocket and turned it over in his fingers. It looked like any other flash drive, but not one he recognized. Curiosity ate at him.
Ivy and his aunt came in, chatting about dessert. Birdie said there was leftover wedding cake, and she happened to have bought ice cream.
Hank held the flash drive up. “Birdie, why don’t you use my laptop and open this thing up, see what’s on it? Ivy, my laptop’s on the counter in the kitchen.”
Birdie put a hand to her throat. “You want me to open it?”
“Why not?” He shrugged. “After how you dug into Prescott’s bank records, you’re clearly the most qualified.”
“I’ll grab the laptop,” Ivy said.
Birdie took the drive from him as Ivy left. “I guess I can try. What if there’s a virus on here?”
“I might be on pain meds, but even I don’t think someone broke into the house and left a flash drive on the floor in Charlie’s room in the hopes of giving me a computer virus.”
She sat in the recliner, holding the flash drive in her hand like it was a fragile thing. “I suppose you’re right.”
Ivy returned with the laptop, set it on the coffee table then fired it up. “Hank, you’ll have to log on. I don’t know your password.”
“Alphawolf.” He shrugged, a lazy smile curving his mouth. “You know, ’cuz I am one.”
Ivy grinned. “Maybe next time you shouldn’t take your pain meds with beer. For a shifter, you have a low tolerance.”
She typed the password in, then took the machine to Birdie and set it on her lap. “Here you go. See what you can find.”
Birdie put her glasses on, then plugged the drive in. The laptop whirred to life and beeped softly. She hit a few keys, her gaze studying the screen. Light reflected off her glasses as whatever was on the drive popped up.
“What is it?” Ivy asked.
“Files. Not sure what they contain yet.” Birdie tapped a few more keys. “This is interesting. Although I’m not entirely sure what it means.”
Hank waved a hand sleepily. “Probably nothing.”
Birdie looked over the rims of her glasses at Ivy. “Could KI stand for Kincaid Industries?”
She shrugged. “I guess so.”
Birdie nodded like she was thinking. “Then KI One and KI Two would make sense.” Birdie focused on the screen again, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses. “That would make this years of information.”
Hank pushed upright, his interest temporarily sanding off the edges of his drug-induced weariness. “What did you find?”
Birdie lifted her head. “I’m not a forensic accountant, but I’d say this file contains two sets of books for Clemens Kincaid’s business dealings. The real one that contains his actual numbers and the fake one he uses for official business. And if that’s the case, he could be going away for a long, long time.”
A surge of adrenaline zipped through Hank’s system, temporarily overriding the effects of the meds. He looked at Ivy, who was sitting very still, then spoke to Charlie. “Hey, kiddo.”
Charlie paused his game and turned around.
Hank pointed at the flash drive sticking out of the computer. “Where did you find that flash drive?”
“On the floor in my room.”
“And what were you doing when you found it?”
“I was putting clean clothes on.”
“Out of the bag your grandmother gave you?”
He nodded.
“Thanks.” Hank gave him a smile. “You can play your game.”
Charlie went back to crashing his car into those of his opponents and racking up points.
Even over the sound of the game, Ivy’s whisper was audible. “My mother.”
Hank turned to see her. “You think so?”
Ivy nodded. “How else would it have gotten into the house if not in the bag? She’s the only one who could have put it in there. She’d certainly have had access. And when she gave me the bag, she said something like I hope this helps.”
“Does she do the books for the company?”
“No, my second-oldest brother, Daryl, does. But my mother works in the office. Filing, answering phones, getting coffee. Stuff like that.”
Hank tried to read her face, but all he could really sense from her was shock and concern. “So she’d have access to the records.”
“I don’t know. I guess.” She glanced at Birdie. “Can you tell by looking at the drive who created those files? Or who they would implicate?”
Birdie’s mouth bunched to one side. “Let me look closer.” She pecked away at the keyboard, finally shaking her head. “There are no names that I can find. Hank, what do you think?”
“If there are no names, then the Justice Department would most likely go after the
company and its officers.”
Ivy let out a breath. “That would be my father and my two oldest brothers. Which means my mom and Sam would be in the clear.” She turned toward him. “Would they, Hank? I’d hate to think of either of them going to prison for my father’s crimes.”
“What about your older brothers?”
She snorted. “They’re his henchmen. If he’s guilty, so are they.”
Hank thought for a moment, a tough task with the meds in his system. “Do you think Sam and your mother would be willing to testify?”
Ivy made a face. “That’s asking a lot. My mother might be too scared. As for Sam…I don’t know. I’d have to ask them both.”
“Don’t say anything yet. Let me work on this in the morning and see what I can figure out to protect them.” His lids grew heavy as the drugs started winning. He yawned.
Ivy stood. “Birdie, I’m going to get Hank upstairs and put him to bed. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.” She hit a key and popped the flash drive out, handing it to Ivy. “Take this with you and put it somewhere safe. I’ll keep an eye on Charlie.”
Ivy stuck the drive in her pocket, then got Hank to his feet. “Let’s go. You need to be in bed.”
He draped his arm around her shoulder. “Are you going to tuck me in?”
She smiled as she led him out of the room and up the stairs. “Yes, but that’s all I’m doing. You need to heal.”
He leaned in and nuzzled her neck. “Are you sure?”
She sucked in a breath and arched away from him, reaching out to push the bedroom door open. “You’re a really bad patient.”
“I just want my wife next to me.”
She eased him onto the bed, then knelt to take his boots off. “I will be. At some point. I have to get Charlie settled first, and by then, you’ll be sound asleep. You won’t even know I’m there.”
“Sure I will.” He lay back and closed his eyes. She unbuttoned his jeans. He grinned. “I knew this was just a ploy to get me alone.”
She laughed. “Drugged up and trying to get frisky. That’s my husband.”
“Yeah,” he muttered. And drifted off to sleep.
Ivy managed to get Hank’s jeans and shirt off him, but it was only because she had the strength of a shifter. Moving that much man would have been impossible otherwise. She covered him up, tucked the flash drive under his T-shirts in his dresser drawer, then jogged back down to the living room.
“Charlie, bedtime. Upstairs and teeth brushed.”
“Aw, Mom, can’t I play one more game?”
“Not tonight, honey. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day. You have your first day at sports camp.”
He made a face. “I know.”
Birdie clapped her hands. “Isn’t that exciting, Charlie? Think of all the new friends you’re going to make.”
He shot her a look as he put the game controller away. Clearly he didn’t share her enthusiasm.
Ivy laughed as Birdie stood. “I guess I should be going, too. Call me if you need anything.”
“Thank you for everything. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m going to come to the station after I drop him off.”
“Is Hank going to work tomorrow?”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “You think I can stop him?”
Birdie snorted softly. “Silly question. Oh, I almost forgot with all that business about the flash drive. Charlie and I did a little clothes shopping today and—”
“You got my son to go shopping? For clothes?” Ivy wondered if Birdie had a little witch in her, because dragging her son into a clothing store took a special kind of magic.
Birdie put her hand to her mouth and whispered, “I promised him ice cream.”
“That would do it.”
“Anyway, I got him some shorts and a few new T-shirts. For his sports camp. I hope that’s okay.”
“Okay? That’s wonderful. I just realized I was going to have to do laundry tonight so I could send him to camp in something clean.” Ivy hugged her. “Thank you so much. You can bribe my son with sweets anytime.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” With a laugh and a happy grin, Birdie kissed Charlie on the cheek and headed out. “See you tomorrow! Have a good day at camp, Charlie boy!”
Ivy locked the house up after her, then herded Charlie to the bathroom for teeth brushing, finally getting him into bed ten minutes later. He was asleep in five, a sure sign that Birdie’s gift of the Wii had been a gift for all of them.
With both her men out cold, Ivy slipped back downstairs and pulled out her cell phone. She wanted to call Sam and tell him about the info on the flash drive, but what if he was involved in it somehow? What if he hadn’t been truthful with her about being done with the Kincaid business?
She stared at her phone, her heart aching with the possibilities. If Sam was involved, those decisions were on him. He might be her little brother, but he was also a grown man. She glanced upstairs. She had a new family now and her son to protect. Plus, Hank had asked her to wait before she said anything.
Reluctantly, she plugged her phone in to charge and left it on the kitchen counter before turning the lights off and heading back up.
Tomorrow they’d all have answers.
Even if some of those answers weren’t good ones.
Hank stared in amazement as Birdie set a cup of coffee on his desk. “You feeling all right?”
“Why?”
“You brought me coffee. Usually I have to get that myself.”
She gave him the eye but answered, “You’re convalescing. Actually, you shouldn’t even be here, but since you’re working on that…information we found last night, I’ll give you a pass.”
“Thank you, Dr. Birdie. And I’m fine now, just so you know. I took the stitches out this morning. I’m all healed up.”
She looked at him, aghast. “You’re not supposed to take your own stitches out.”
“What are you going to do? Sue me for malpractice?”
“Hmph. All I do for you and that’s the kind of sass I get.” She lifted her chin as she strode back to her desk.
He smiled. It was good to be back at work. Good to have his routine back. He sipped his coffee as his gaze landed on the flash drive.
It would be even better when Ivy didn’t have to worry about her family anymore. Well, he’d started the ball rolling this morning. Now it was just a matter of getting some questions answered.
The phone rang.
Birdie yelled, “Phone.”
With a long-suffering sigh, Hank reached for the receiver. “Nocturne Falls Sheriff Department. Sheriff Merrow speaking.”
“Morning, Sheriff. This is US Attorney Janet Fry. I understand you have some information that might interest me.”
“Are you interested in putting Clemens Kincaid away?”
“Hell yes.”
“Then I think we can do business. But that information comes with conditions.”
“Such as?”
“I need total immunity for Sam, Ivy and Patsy Kincaid. That’s the youngest son, the daughter and Clemens’ wife.” Not that he thought Ivy was guilty of anything, but he wanted her protected.
“Are they willing to testify?”
“They might be, but I don’t think that will be necessary with the information I have.”
“If that’s true, I can guarantee them immunity. But whatever you have better lead to a conviction.”
“It will. Send me the deal in writing and I’ll pass on what I have.”
“I’ll get it together. The Kincaid file is a thick one. I spoke to someone in the organized crime division and they’re eager to close it. This could be a real feather in your cap, Sheriff.”
Hank grunted. “I don’t need a feather in my cap. What I need is my name kept out of it. Consider me an anonymous source.”
Fry hesitated. “You’re sure about that? A big arrest like this could lead to a commendation and who knows what?”
“I’m sure. Just get me that deal.”
<
br /> “Suit yourself. I’ll have it to you before the end of the day.” She hung up.
Half an hour later, Ivy popped in. “Hi, Birdie.” She stuck her head around Hank’s door. “You busy?”
“Not too busy for you.” He got up. “How’d Charlie do at camp?”
“He wasn’t happy at first, but by the time I left, he was already talking to some of the other kids.”
“Good.”
Worry bracketed her eyes. “You have any news?”
He slipped his arms around her waist. “I do. And it’s all good.”
She closed her eyes and exhaled, leaning her forehead against his cheek. “Thank you.”
He kissed her temple. “Call Sam. It’s time to fill him in.”
Ivy stuck her hands under her legs to keep from fidgeting while Hank explained everything to Sam. Her brother sat stock still, listening like he was hearing the tale of their father’s misdeeds for the first time.
“And that’s about it,” Hank finished.
Sam shook his head. “Are you sure about all this?”
Ivy put her hand on his arm. “We have proof, Sam.”
He nodded, staring at his hands.
Her heart went out to him, but she had questions of her own. “You had to have known about this.”
“I’ve had my suspicions for a long time, but Dad always shielded me from it.” Sam let out a hard breath. “You know he’s always pushed for me to go into law enforcement. Now I think that was probably so he’d have someone on the inside. Someone in the family, that is. He’s already got a few local cops on the payroll.”
Sam dropped his head, and the muscles in his jaw tightened. When he looked at Hank again, pain and determination shone in his eyes. “How much time am I going to have to do?”
“None. I’ve brokered a deal with the US Attorney to give you, Ivy and your mother immunity with conditions.”
Sam blinked hard. “No trial? No arrest?”
“No.”
“I don’t know how to thank you. That is…way more than I expected.” Sam took a long, relieved breath. “If you need anything from me…”
“I need you to move here where your sister can keep an eye on you. And for you to make yourself a valuable part of your nephew’s life.” Hank’s gaze tapered down. “You upset that boy once and I will make you very sorry.”
The Werewolf Meets His Match (Nocturne Falls Book 2) Page 22