Everyone said their hellos and agreed to eat together. Wanting some time with her friend, Matty sat herself beside Charlotte, who was at the head of the table. Vivi was on Charlotte’s other side while Dash sat between Matty and Damian, who took a seat at the head of the other end of the table, and Ian sat beside Vivi.
Drinks and dinner were ordered and lively conversation ensued. As if by tacit agreement, no one mentioned the investigation into Brad’s death or the Irish Mafia. Rather, the men slipped into conversation about the area and work while Matty, Charlotte, and Vivi talked a lot about Charlotte’s work. Vivi, ever the mental powerhouse, was intrigued by the machinations behind the global economy. Later, when the conversation turned to animals, Dash and the other two men joined in to discuss the use of search-and-rescue dogs at disaster sites.
“Have you used them yourself?” Dash asked Vivi, who shook her head.
“No, they have handlers who live, train, and travel with them. It’s highly specialized. Do you have any as clients?” she asked.
Dash inclined his head. “There are a couple of people up here who train them. I went down to help out after 9/11 with a family who had two dogs. I was just starting vet school at the time, but I had some training—enough to help the certified vets who were down there working on the dogs.”
Matty frowned; she hadn’t known that about him. But it didn’t really surprise her. She slipped her hand into his under the table.
“That must have been intense,” Damian said.
Dash just gave a nod. Matty would wager that “intense” was a huge understatement.
“You and I were both in the army by then,” Ian said to Damian, sitting back, remembering. “Ranger training.”
“Training sure as shit got cut short though, didn’t it?” Damian added.
“We did okay,” Ian countered.
Damian gave a sharp nod in agreement. “Damn straight,” he said. “What about you, ladies?” he asked with a nod to Vivi and Charlotte.
“I was working on my doctorate and in medical school, I ended up volunteering in a lab in Boston where they sent some of the remains for identification. They didn’t have much need for my medical background,” Vivi said, sadness creeping into her voice. “So I did what I could do,” she added, then looked at Charlotte.
“I was just starting my PhD in Economics at Johns Hopkins, but I was interning with a professor who was brought in by the government to assess the financial impact of 9/11. Not just the cost of things like lost property, but everything you can imagine, from the cost to the healthcare system, to the interruption in banking systems, to the days of lost productivity that would inevitably follow for years after the attacks as people began to heal. As terrible as it sounds, it was what first got me started looking at financial systems as just that, a system within a much larger system that is our society. I know people like to put finances in a box, but the truth is, money isn’t a means to an ends, it’s a vital part of how we live and function and if it’s not functioning well, the whole system can become sick. So to speak,” she added, then looked away somewhat embarrassed by her sentiments.
Vivi cocked her head. “I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but I can see what you mean. Have you ever done that kind of assessment after a natural disaster?”
Charlotte nodded. “Several, actually. New Orleans, of course, but also Haiti and the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Unfortunately, there isn’t a short list of work in that area.”
“Brad was in Haiti. And New Orleans,” Matty said before realizing what was coming out of her mouth. She’d been enjoying the evening, the opportunity to enjoy her friends without thinking about what was really going on. And now she’d just brought it all back.
“He was?” Charlotte asked, sitting back in her chair and taking a sip of wine.
Matty nodded. “I don’t really know what he was doing,” she said with a look to Vivi and Ian. She was unsure of how much she should say to her friend about what they had found in the photos.
“We don’t know what he was doing either, but we did find photos of a few people who were subsequently charged and convicted of various crimes,” Ian interjected.
Charlotte frowned. “What kind of crimes?”
“One was fraud. Some sort of defective product, a water filter, I believe, that was purchased by some of the relief agencies,” Matty said.
“That was in Haiti,” Vivi supplied. “The other people were also convicted of fraud, but also self-dealing and coercion, with respect to the government contracts they were awarded.”
Charlotte cocked her head, obviously thinking about something. “I don’t remember reading about that,” she said.
Ian wagged his head. “It was mostly kept quiet, both of them, because of the implications and fallout.”
“Charlotte?” Matty asked.
“Was there a settlement in either case? For the people injured, I mean, not the criminal prosecutions?” Charlotte asked.
Both Vivi and Ian shook their heads. “Not that we know of, or nothing substantial,” Vivi added.
For a moment, Matty watched Charlotte mull this new information over, completely in the dark about what was going through her friend’s head. And Charlotte didn’t seem willing to share.
“Can I get that information from you?” Charlotte asked Vivi and Ian.
“Of course,” Ian said. “We can have Carly, one of the police officers here in town who is also working on the case, e-mail it to you tonight, if you’d like?”
Charlotte gave a distracted nod, “That would be great.”
Matty was about to ask her friend just what she was thinking when the door to The Tavern opened and her father walked in. Dash must have felt her stiffen because he gave her hand a gentle but reassuring squeeze.
Douglas’s eyes caught hers as he removed his hat and a wayward thought floated through her mind that he did not look like a baseball hat kind of guy. He was tall, like both his children, and distinguished looking, even in his grief. But he looked more like he should be having power lunches and wearing suits than eating at a tavern in jeans and a baseball hat.
Tentatively, he took a few steps toward Matty and her friends. When she didn’t obviously turn away from him, he walked the rest of the way.
“Matty,” he said, rolling the hat between his hands. His eyes swept the table, now cleared of their meals but scattered with a few glasses, then found hers again.
“Douglas,” she said.
His eyes moved around the table again, this time taking in the others. When he recognized Vivi and Ian, he nodded a greeting.
“Is there any news?” he asked Ian. “I know this probably isn’t the time or place,” he hastened apologetically.
“It’s fine, Mr. Brooks,” Ian said. His voice was soothing, but Matty saw Damian’s eyes dart up in recognition of the name—just as Ian intended, no doubt. “We have a few new leads we’re working on. A few good ones. It’s an ongoing investigation, so we can’t say much more than that, but we hope to have some information for you in the next day or so.”
For a moment Douglas just stood there staring at Ian. But to Matty, he looked more to be staring into the empty air between them. Then he nodded and turned back to her.
Matty had felt Charlotte straighten as soon as Douglas had walked in. Giving her loyal friend a reassuring look, she turned back to her father.
“I was out helping the churches with the cleanup,” he said, holding up his baseball hat as if it was a sign of labor. “Some of the community centers and schools and senior homes still need a lot of cleanup,” he added, sounding more and more lost.
“I’m sure they were happy to have the help,” Matty replied.
He looked away, then back again. “Did you get my message? About the service,” he added.
She nodded. “Yes, next Saturday. We’ll be there,” she said.
He seemed to let out a sigh of relief, but it was hard to tell because his shoulders were already so low. “Thank you. Will yo
u sit with the family?”
The request caught Matty so well and truly off guard that her head drew back in surprise. She glanced at Charlotte who was frowning, then to Dash who seemed to be signaling that whatever she decided would be fine with him. She held Dash’s gaze for another long moment, before turning back to her father.
“Maybe we can talk about this later in the week?” There was no way she was prepared to sit next to Sandra, but she also didn’t know a gentle way to say that to her father. And for some reason, it was important to her to say it right, to not be hasty or inconsiderate in her response.
Douglas opened his mouth, then shut it and nodded. “Yes, that would be fine.”
Matty let out her own sigh of relief. This was also not a conversation she wanted to be having in front of a table full of people.
“How about I call you tomorrow?” she suggested. Surprising both of them.
Doulas held her gaze for a moment more, then nodded. “That would be nice,” he said. Rolling his hat one more time, his eyes flickered around the table again. “Well, I’ll leave you to your meal, then,” he turned and was gone.
The minute Douglas rounded the corner for the stairs leading up to the rooms, Charlotte turned to Matty and asked if she was okay. She glanced around the table; Charlotte wasn’t the only one concerned. Everyone was looking at her with worried expressions except Damian, who knew nothing of the situation.
Matty took a deep breath and smiled. “It’s fine, I’m fine. I’ll deal with it later.” Now everyone cast her a doubtful look except Damian, who was frowning. “It’s a long story, Damian. Charlotte can fill you in during your breaks tomorrow,” she added.
“Speaking of tomorrow,” Damian said, pushing his chair back from the table. Charlotte immediately followed suit. “We have a long day. I’m hoping we can get what we need to move forward,” he added, tossing a wad of cash on the table to cover his dinner.
Ian pushed the money back, refusing to let his friend cover the meal. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said.
Damian looked to argue for a moment, then grinned. “The government thanks you then, as do I. One less thing to put on my expense report,” he said, putting the money back in his wallet.
“Me, too,” Charlotte said. Then, turning to Ian, she added, “You’ll have those files sent to me tonight?”
Ian nodded as the rest of them rose as well. “I’ll text her right now—it might even be in your inbox before you get settled in your room.”
Matty hugged Charlotte good-bye and promised a girls’ spa day as soon as the investigation closed, which she knew Charlotte would hold her to. Fortunately, one of the top five spas in the country was less than forty-five minutes away so she knew she’d be able to deliver a day they’d both enjoy.
With the rest of the good nights said, Dash and Matty followed Ian and Vivi to the parking lot.
“Why do you think she wants the files on those two cases?” Ian asked.
Vivi lifted her shoulder.
“I have no idea,” Matty said with a shake of her head.
“But my guess is if she’s asked for them, she thinks they might be related to whatever she’s finding in Brad’s files,” Vivi added.
“Yes, she doesn’t strike me as a wild-goose-chase kind of woman,” Ian responded, making Matty laugh.
“Yeah, you pretty much have her pegged there. I have no idea what she thinks she might find, but my guess is she’ll find something.”
They said their good-byes and all the way home Matty wondered just what it was that had piqued her friend’s curiosity about Brad’s connection to the people in the photographs. She was almost to the point of calling Charlotte when Dash, in his very Dash-like way, reminded her of just how important it could be to take a break every now and then.
CHAPTER 26
EVEN IF MATTY HADN’T CALLED to tell him that something had come up in the investigation into Brad’s death, Dash would have known when he pulled up his driveway to find two cars, in addition to Matty’s, parked in front of his house.
She came out with the dogs, who weren’t let out on their own because of their unfamiliarity with his property, and watched as he got out of his truck and came toward her. Her expression gave away nothing and he had no idea what he would hear when he went inside.
“Charlotte and Damian arrived ten minutes ago and Ian and Vivi shortly after that. We haven’t started yet,” she said when he stopped in front her.
Then she bit her lip and looked away. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “Are you worried?” he asked.
She pulled back just enough to look at him as she answered. “I don’t know. I mean it’s not like I knew him well, or was invested in him as a friend, but I just,” she paused and took a breath. “I know it’s silly but I just don’t want him to turn out to be a big jerk. Or a criminal.”
Dash could hear the confusion in her tone and rubbed his hands down her shoulders. “I can’t tell you anything about what those folks in there are going to tell you,” he said, gesturing to the house with his head, “but I can tell you he was a good guy. He wasn’t a close friend, but I knew he was good, Matty. He took care of his animals and you heard from all those people that stopped by after word got out about his death about how much he helped people around him. I hope Charlotte and Damian don’t have information that will change that, but if they do, remember that he did do some good.”
She looked up at him again and he brushed her hair from her face before he dipped his head down and kissed her. “Are you ready?” he asked when he pulled away.
She took another deep breath and nodded. “Lead the way.”
It was late afternoon and Matty had clearly already offered everyone drinks. When they entered the kitchen, Vivi and Charlotte were sitting on stools, elbows propped up on the countertop, while Ian and Damian were leaning against the counter on the opposite wall. Vivi and Charlotte each had a glass of wine in hand and Ian and Damian were sipping from bottles of beer.
Damian must have caught the question in Dash’s eyes because he raised his bottle and spoke. “Off duty until tomorrow. All of us.”
“I’m off duty period,” Charlotte added.
“So, the raid happened then? And what exactly were you raiding?” Matty asked, picking up her own wineglass and sliding onto the last of the three stools.
Damian took a sip of his beer but shook his head. “No, it hasn’t happened yet, but when it does, it will be on the Mafia’s main place of business—a warehouse east of Albany. My team has collected all the evidence it can, so until that happens, we’re sitting tight. After the raid, once we have more evidence, I’ll be back on duty.”
“So you’re not leading it then?” Dash asked, grabbing a beer for himself then leaning back against the refrigerator door. His kitchen wasn’t nearly as big as Matty’s. It was functional, but small; having three decent-sized men standing in it made it seem even smaller.
Damian shook his head. “I don’t do that kind of thing anymore. Turns out my hearing’s not all that great.”
Ian raised a brow in question.
Damian lifted a shoulder. “I know, who’d have guessed. But it turns out all those firefights and IEDs did some damage. It was never checked while I was still a Ranger, but when I started at the FBI they did a full physical and found out that not only is my hearing less than perfect, my peripheral vision’s not so hot either. I’m functional, obviously, but probably not the guy people want watching their backs any more.”
Dash saw Ian cast a curious look at Damian; obviously this was news to him, too.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Vivi said. “But I’m glad it wasn’t worse.”
“You and me, both,” Damian said. “But enough about me, Matty looks like she’s about to down that entire glass in one gulp. Charlotte?” He gestured for her to begin.
Charlotte turned to Matty and laid a hand across her friend’s. “You should know that while Brad did do some
things he shouldn’t have, things that could have gotten him into trouble were he alive, he did them for a good reason.”
Dash shifted and frowned, unsure what to make of what Charlotte was saying. Judging by the look on Matty’s face, by her furrowed brow, she wasn’t sure either.
“Meaning?” Matty prompted.
“Meaning that Brad did embezzle money from people, but he only embezzled it from bad people and,” Charlotte said, holding up a hand at Matty’s pending interruption, “he didn’t ever keep any of the money.”
For a moment, Matty was silent. Then she shook her head and said exactly what was on Dash’s mind. “I don’t even know what that means. You make him sound like some modern day Robin Hood, but I can’t condone someone acting as both judge and jury.”
“I know,” Charlotte said. “I don’t really condone it either, but I have to admit, once I figured out what Brad was doing, I gained a tiny bit more respect for him.”
“So, just what was he doing?” Dash asked, moving to get a better view of Charlotte.
“Well, when we started talking about New Orleans and Haiti last night and you mentioned Brad having been there, it got me thinking about the people in those photos. See, a while ago, I was asked to consult on a case, a consulting gig I didn’t take,” she added as an aside, “for an executive who was being accused of misappropriating funds. His defense said he couldn’t have done it because the funds were nowhere to be found. I didn’t take it because I know how easy it is to hide money, but mostly because the guy was a big jerk. But I digress,” Charlotte said with a smile.
“Based on the evidence Damian gave me as well as what I was finding on Brad’s computer, I had some inklings that Brad was embezzling,” she continued. “But I couldn’t find where it was going or even where it came from. So I started to look into those people in the pictures. I reviewed the files Carly sent over and, sure enough, all of the defendants had similar claims to those of the guy I’d refused to help—they all used the fact that the money they’d supposedly made was nowhere to be found as a defense. In other words, if there was no proof of financial gain, it didn’t happen.”
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