“But do you want to lose this one?”
Fair question.But before he could give Bowers credit, the US Attorney began digging his grave again, fishing for himself and for the man who was truly his boss.“What else do you have?”
“We’re still processing the evidence collected in yesterday’s seizures and at Harris Kincaid’s house last night.”
Bowers blanched.“What did you collect from Kincaid?I want to see it, right this minute.”
Nic took a step back, buttoning his coat again.“Respectfully, sir, I have my target in Agent Talley’s interrogation room.The evidence has been vetted.Now I’m going to go ask the man it’s concerning what it’s about.If you have a problem with that, take it up with the Deputy AG.”
Aidan opened the door, making it clear this conversation was over, and Bowers charged out, to the elevators instead of the observation room.
Probably to call the Deputy AG.That call wasn’t going to go the way he planned at all.
On their way back across the bullpen, Aidan voiced what they both had deduced from that showdown.“He was fishing.”
“And he caught a shark that’s going to take his line.”
Crinkles formed at the corners of Aidan’s warm brown eyes dancing with amusement.“Would that be you or Duncan?”
Nic returned the sly smile, barely tucking it away before Aidan opened the interrogation room door for him.“As you were, Attorney Price.”
Nic slid back into his seat, begging the room’s pardon.
“Everything okay, Dom?”
“Better than okay, Duncan.”
Patton interrupted their stare-down.“Do you have proof those deposits actually trace to Mr.Vaughn?”
“Enough that the grand jury granted us warrants.”
“If that’s all?—”
Nic reached into the box, claiming the stack of deeds, and placed all but one of them on the table in the spot Cam had cleared for him.“Curious that you also have unrecorded mortgages from at least three of those investors.”
“Were you going to record them,” Cam asked, “if they got behind on their payments?”
“Don’t answer that,” Patton said.
Nic laid down the last sheet of paper.“Even more curious, this reconveyance to Beth Kincaid was drafted before her husband’s death.It would wipe out the debt on their house completely.Have you ever forgiven a family member’s loan before?”
Vaughn remained silent, no longer happy with the line of questioning behind this particular door.
“Or is this what you used to convince Harris Kincaid to kill himself?”
“Okay, that’s enough.”Patton rocketed to his feet.“We’re done here.”
Vaughn, however, remained seated.“He killed himself.You just said that.I didn’t have anything to do with that.”
Nic leaned forward, adding a thumb drive to the stack.“On the contrary.”He tapped the drive.“You visited Harris hours before his suicide.You showed him that reconveyance and made him a bargain he couldn’t refuse.He killed himself because you didn’t give him another choice.”
Ten
Cam pushed through the doors of the county morgue, not especially happy to be here again.Even with the promise of evidence, the morgue wasn’t the sort of place one looked forward to visiting—the smell, the artificial lights, the specter of death that hid in the dark corners.But he’d fought the early rush hour traffic to get here before Jong went off shift, her phone call making it clear she’d only give the evidence to him in person.
Nic’s orders.
After that interrogation today, after Bowers interrupted exactly when he did and showed almost all his cards, they were more convinced than ever that the US Attorney was dirty.They had to find the moles ASAP and tighten the information circles in the meantime.
