by Karen Rose
Grant cleared his throat. ‘Why lilies, rosemary, and poppies? Those weren’t her favorites.’
He doesn’t know that she’s dead. Grant might have suspected it, maybe even feared it, but he didn’t know. ‘Rosemary and poppies are for remembrance,’ Diesel said quietly. ‘Plus there’s a company called Seaheaven 42N X 82W. Those coordinates are over Lake Erie.’ He hesitated. ‘We figured that’s where her ashes were scattered ’
Grant recoiled as if Diesel had struck him. ‘She’s dead? She’s really dead? I thought she was still missing, but Wesley knew. He knew,’ he repeated furiously, then blinked, sending tears streaming down his cheeks. Closing his eyes, he drew in big gulps of air as he tried to regain his composure. Marcus passed him a box of tissues, and everyone around the table waited in patient silence as he began to process his grief and rage. Finally he opened his eyes, emotionally drained. ‘When did Wes establish these companies?’
‘The first was in January last year,’ Diesel answered.
‘When he discovered she was missing,’ Grant said bitterly. ‘I was so busy with my own life then that I didn’t even realize something was wrong. My wife was pregnant with twins and had just been put on bed rest when I got the email from Laurel saying she was spending the holidays with her new boyfriend. I didn’t think anything about it. I emailed her back and told her to have a good time. When Wesley came out from undercover and realized she was really missing, he was so . . . angry with me. And he had a right to be. If I’d bugged them to investigate sooner . . .’ He sighed wearily. ‘But I didn’t, and I have to live with that.’ He rubbed his temples. ‘What about the other companies? When were they established?’
‘All but Raguel, Rosemary & Poppies, Seaheaven, and Brothers Grim were established eleven months ago,’ Diesel said, watching Grant for a sign that the date meant something to him.
Grant shook his head, frowning. ‘Eleven months ago? I don’t know—’ He cut himself off, shoulders sagging. ‘That’s when Wes took time off for rehab. He’d had a problem for years, but when we found out that Laurel was missing, he went off the deep end. He showed up at my office last April, completely wasted. Crying.’ He briefly clenched his eyes shut, looking like he was in pain. ‘I yelled at him. Told him to pull himself together. It was the fourth or fifth time he’d shown up at my office drunk, but this time was two weeks before April fifteenth and I’d been up all night with one of the twins because my wife was sick. I was so tired . . .’ He shuddered. ‘I lost my temper. I wish I’d listened to him.’
‘You shouldn’t blame yourself for that,’ Dani said softly. ‘I know you will, but you shouldn’t. Your brother could have come back when he’d sobered up to tell you what had happened.’
‘Instead, he went off and . . .’ He shook his head. ‘And the others? The poppies and Seaheaven companies?’
‘They were established two months later, in June,’ Dani said. ‘We think that’s when Wesley knew she was dead.’
New tears streamed down his cheeks. ‘Oh my God. All this time. He knew and he didn’t tell me. Why didn’t he tell me?’
‘Maybe because he was going for vengeance,’ Dani said gently. ‘He was protecting you. You have a family. Your wife sounds nice. You have babies. Maybe he didn’t want to drag you into it. And he did tell you, just not up front.’
Grant met her gaze through his tears. ‘The companies. I would have found out when I did his taxes.’
Dani put her hand on his forearm. ‘We wondered why whoever set up the companies would lay it out so plainly. Anyone who took the time to unwind them would know that Laurel was gone and that someone was going for revenge. But now I can see that this was all for you, Grant. It was a code, so that you’d know what he’d done. So that you’d know where Laurel rested.’
‘Because he didn’t think he’d come back to tell me himself.’ Grant was openly weeping now, his head in his hands. ‘Oh my God. Goddamn you, Wesley.’
Diesel waited until Grant’s weeping ceased and the man had dried his eyes. ‘I’m glad that we know why he set up the companies the way he did, but we still have questions.’
‘Lots of questions,’ Deacon added quietly. ‘But we can take another few minutes if you need a break.’
Grant straightened his spine. ‘No, I’m okay. Go ahead.’
Grant was not okay, Diesel thought, but he nodded anyway. ‘Wesley may have set all this up as breadcrumbs for you to follow, but he had the company financed very well. I thought at the beginning that John Brewer had a gambling problem, and that’s been confirmed. He needed a stake to continue gambling and put up his house. I figured that whoever established LJM was using the business to prove they were financially solvent enough to gamble for Brewer’s house. That they had a sufficient stake to get into the game. But LJM was worth a million dollars. That’s real money. Where did Wesley get it?’
Grant sighed. ‘I got worried on Saturday. His partner said that he’d taken vacation days, but hadn’t come back. Wesley had a drinking problem before Laurel disappeared. Afterward . . . well, he had to go to rehab. At least that’s where he said he was. I don’t know anything for sure now.’ He mopped his face and blew his nose. ‘Anyway, when I heard he’d gone AWOL, I went to his apartment. And opened his safe. The combination was Laurel’s birthday.’ He glanced at Dani. ‘That the companies were a message to me is consistent with all the other clues he left, leading me to this.’ He patted the green leather book.
‘What was in the safe?’ Adam asked.
‘Money. A lot of money. Five hundred thousand dollars.’
‘Holy shit,’ Scarlett muttered.
‘That’s what I said,’ Grant said numbly. ‘And . . . a brick of heroin.’
More heroin, Diesel thought grimly, stealing a glance at Dani only to find she was glancing at him. He gave a minute shake of his head, hoping she understood not to mention the photo from Richard’s secret database of Wesley holding the heroin. Her slight eye roll was his answer. Of course she wouldn’t tell.
Adam whistled quietly. ‘That’d fund LJM nicely. Where’d he get it?’
Grant shrugged. ‘He’s Narcotics. Maybe he took it from a criminal. Another criminal,’ he corrected himself bitterly. ‘There were also papers – bills he’d paid to maintain an apartment here, downtown. They were in the name of Blake Emerson.’
Dani sighed. ‘We’ve seen that name, but we’ll get to that.’
‘The apartment is expensive,’ Grant said. ‘He’d had the place for six months. Right around the time he established those final three companies. He was creating a persona. A high roller.’
‘So you came to Cincinnati to look for him,’ Dani prodded.
‘Yes.’ A wry smile lifted Grant’s lips. ‘He left me a key to the apartment in his home safe. I let myself right in.’ He touched the cassock. ‘I found this in the closet, along with other uniforms. And I found another safe.’
‘Same combo as the safe in his home in Cleveland?’ Adam asked.
‘Yes. This one held his detective shield, his service weapon, and his phone.’
‘Same combo for the phone?’ Adam asked again.
‘I don’t know. I never had to put in a code. It recognized my face.’
‘You look alike,’ Dani commented.
‘People used to think we were twins,’ Grant said sadly. ‘I checked his calendar and found two entries, both on Friday night. The first said “LOTR Richard”. The second “LOTR Poker”. So I knew that the casino was important.’ He hesitated, then shrugged. ‘I also found an unregistered gun. The clip was missing four bullets. One was in the chamber. He’d used three.’
Diesel looked at Dani, who was holding herself too rigidly. Never play poker, baby, he thought. You’ll lose every time.
‘Wesley shot Detective Stuart and the supplier – Anatoly Markov – with those bullets, didn’t he?’ Scarlett asked. ‘Who got the third bull
et?’
‘A guy named Clinton Stern. He was the . . . buyer. And yes, I’ll tell you how I know,’ Diesel promised. ‘Let Grant finish first.’
Grant exhaled heavily. ‘I searched the pocket of Wesley’s suit and found a matchbook for the Lady of the River. It was a special matchbook, not like the ones they give out at the bar. It had a joker card embossed in gold on the inside cover. And the date, March eighth.’
‘Friday night,’ Diesel murmured. ‘It all fits. So you went to the casino yesterday to find him?’
‘No. Well, I’d hoped to find him. I went to the casino on Saturday night, looking for Richard Fischer. One of his managers told me he was the owner. I found his address and went to see him yesterday at his house.’ Grant looked over at Scarlett. ‘That’s when you saw me on the surveillance video.’
‘Who was the woman banging on his front door?’ Scarlett asked. ‘The security tapes were just video. No audio.’
‘She told me her name was Dawn Daley. D-a-l-e-y. She works at the casino, waiting tables. She went home with Richard on Friday night and they had sex. The next morning, he tossed her out and she was pissed off.’
‘I could see that,’ Scarlett said dryly. ‘Why was she banging on the door?’
‘Oh.’ Grant snapped his fingers. ‘I forgot. She left her earrings in his bedroom. I had Wes’s badge with me and . . . I might have told her I was a cop. She asked if I’d report the earrings missing and I said I would. She said they’re not valuable, but they were her mother’s.’
Scarlett smiled. ‘I’ll make sure she gets them back at some point.’
‘Thank you. She told me that she hadn’t seen my sister. I didn’t ask if she’d seen Wes.’
‘Because you might have used his badge and said you were a cop,’ Scarlett said dryly. ‘And then?’
‘She suggested I talk to Scott King. I went back last night to see him.’ Grant frowned. ‘Hard to believe it was just last night. I was on my way in when you and Stone came out,’ he said to Diesel. ‘After the cops came, I went back to Wesley’s apartment and went to sleep. This morning I saw that your house had been attacked, Dr Novak. And that Stone had been shot and that Scott King was believed responsible. But that didn’t tell me what had happened to Wes, so I kept looking.’
He bit at his lip. ‘When we were kids, we had an old globe that had been handed down from our grandfather. Worthless, really, but it opened. Well, we opened it. At the time we were disappointed because we were sure we’d find treasure in it. I figured that if Wes really wanted me to find all this stuff, he’d hide the other important things where I could find them. The study in his apartment has a globe, so I sliced it open.’
He was caressing the book, his hand no longer gloved. He realized it and yanked his hand back. ‘I found this book in the globe. It’s got a column for names and a column for . . . things, all in Wes’s handwriting. One of the names is John Brewer. His name is in here twice. The first time the thing is an address. That must be the house you mentioned.’
‘And the second?’ Diesel asked, although he already knew.
‘It says “Joshua”. Wes made a note that he’d be wired.’
Dani turned to Diesel. ‘Wesley was going in undercover.’
Diesel nodded. ‘You were right.’
Scarlett tapped the table impatiently. ‘How did you know? Diesel, what did you find?’
‘I found calendar entries on John Brewer’s computer for several of the area casinos. The most recent was Lady of the River, so I went there last night. Stone joined me. After I was mistaken for Scott King, I called Adam to let him know and we left. I went home and started searching for King. I couldn’t find him.’
‘Because he’s really Cade Kaiser,’ Scarlett said.
‘Yes, but as Stone pointed out, he’d need to pass a background check to get a job in a casino. I found a security guard named Scott King in Indianapolis. He’d disappeared.’
‘One of Cade Kaiser’s old addresses was Indianapolis,’ Adam said. ‘He lists his current address as a house in northern Kentucky, but that house is in his father’s name. The earnings on the father’s investments are being used to pay for his nursing care. Neighbors say they haven’t seen Cade in years.’
‘Where’s he living, then?’ Diesel asked sharply. Because until they caught King, Michael wasn’t safe, nor was anyone around him.
‘We don’t know,’ Deacon answered. ‘We were hoping you knew.’
Diesel shook his head. He took Dani’s hand, because she’d gone pale. ‘Michael is safe, Dani. He and Joshua are being guarded. They’re safe.’
‘I know, but . . . Kaiser’s out there somewhere.’ She glanced at Grant. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be insensitive to your brother, because I know he’s still missing, but Michael is a child.’
‘He’s the boy who was accused of his stepfather’s murder?’ Grant asked.
‘Originally,’ Dani said. ‘But he didn’t do it.’
‘Cade Kaiser is looking for him,’ Grant said. ‘Why?’
‘Because Michael can identify him.’ Dani swallowed. ‘He’s my foster son.’
Grant’s smile was small, but sincere. ‘Then I understand. I have three kids of my own. I’d protect them with my life.’ He abruptly stilled. ‘My wife and kids. They’re alone right now.’
‘I contacted Cleveland PD on the way over here,’ Scarlett said. ‘They’ve got someone watching your house.’
Grant sagged in his chair. ‘Thank you.’
‘I didn’t do it to keep them safe,’ Scarlett admitted. ‘I didn’t want your wife running, since we had no idea how you were connected to all this. But I’m glad that keeping her and your kids safe is a side benefit.’ She speared Diesel with a hard look. ‘Continue, please. My baby will be in college by the time you finish.’
Diesel found he could still smile. ‘Okay. I wanted Scott King’s home address, so I . . . gained entrée to the casino’s network last night, hoping the administrator would have it.’
‘Gained entrée.’ Scarlett shook her head. ‘And when you found it?’
‘I was going to give it to you guys. Seriously,’ Diesel insisted when Scarlett rolled her eyes.
‘You would have given it to us while you were driving there yourself,’ Scarlett said.
Diesel shrugged. ‘That’s fair. But Kaiser’s address is just a PO box. However, I found that there was a database on the casino’s server that only Richard Fischer and Scott King had access to. It had columns for people and their stake.’ He pulled out his cell phone and tapped some buttons. ‘Just texted you, Deacon, and Adam the photos I took of my screen. I didn’t download anything. I have screenshots on my laptop, so I can send you clearer copies later. You’ll see that on Friday March first, John Brewer’s stake was his house. The following Friday, a few hours before Michael saw him murdered, his stake was “five-year-old boy”.’
Three phones dinged with the receipt of his text. Scarlett, Deacon, and Adam put their heads together, studying the contents. Marcus leaned in to Scarlett to see her screen. They looked at each other, then back at Diesel.
‘Joshua,’ Scarlett murmured, her jaw tight. ‘He put Joshua up as his stake.’
‘Probably to get the house back,’ Diesel said flatly. Even knowing that Brewer was dead, he still felt the slow burn of rage at what might have happened.
‘Brewer drugged Joshua that night,’ Dani said. ‘Michael saw him carrying Joshua from the house and he and Brewer fought. Michael hit him with the fireplace shovel, grabbed Joshua, and ran. He hid in some trees and that’s when he saw Cade Kaiser pull into the driveway. Kaiser got out, grabbed Brewer from his car. Brewer tried to pull a gun and Kaiser killed him. Kaiser drove away with Brewer in the back of his SUV, but came back later to check on Joshua.’
Grant held up his hands. ‘Wait. You’re saying that Cade Kaiser killed John Brewer to prot
ect Joshua?’
‘Best we can figure,’ Diesel said.
Grant closed his eyes. ‘Did you find my brother’s body in the river?’
Diesel watched Deacon and Adam share a glance. ‘Did he have a tattoo or any markings?’ Adam asked.
‘A tattoo on his right shoulder.’ Grant opened his eyes to point at the purple flowers which decorated the green leather book. ‘Like this – a Texas mountain laurel.’ His shoulders sagged, defeated. ‘You found him?’
Adam nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Deacon added.
Grant swallowed hard, then laughed almost hysterically. ‘It’s ironic. My brother wanted to expose a pedophile, so he posed as one. Cade Kaiser believed he was one, so he killed him.’
It was damn ironic, Diesel thought sadly.
‘Ironic,’ Deacon agreed, ‘but also what happens when people take the law into their own hands.’ He shot a sharp look of warning at Diesel before turning back to Grant. ‘If your brother had gone through channels, we would have protected him.’
Adam and Scarlett were nodding earnestly. Marcus stared up at the ceiling, but Diesel still caught the roll of his eyes. They both knew that law enforcement’s hands were often tied by the very law they enforced. Sometimes channels were too dirty to navigate.
‘Except Wesley tried that,’ Diesel reminded them mildly, ‘but Detective Stuart was corrupt and, for reasons we might not ever know, didn’t do his duty.’
Deacon shook his head. ‘That might be true, but we won’t know Stuart’s reasons because he’s dead. So is Wesley Masterson. It’s a risk of vigilantism.’
Dani cleared her throat, her gaze moving pointedly to Grant’s stricken expression. ‘I think we can all agree that Wesley paid a high price for taking the law into his own hands. Maybe you can have this conversation another time?’
Deacon looked at Grant and winced at the pain on the man’s face. ‘I’m sorry, Grant. That was insensitive of me.’