“Who wouldn’t?” Chaz asked.
Plenty of people, but I didn’t point that out. Besides, it was extremely flattering to be considered, even if I didn’t end up accepting her offer. For once, I had something exciting happening to me that didn’t involve someone trying to kill me or threatening to do so.
Word funneled in a little later about the fire at old man Robertson’s house. Gabe hadn’t said, and I never asked, but it seemed to me that something wicked was in the wind once more in Carter County. The excitement I felt seemed shallow in the face of something as tragic as another homicide. I tried to convince myself that I was reaching, but Gabe’s text message about an interview running late convinced me that I was correct.
I loved the fact that he told me he’d be late even though he’d be home hours before I got upstairs. It showed how much he valued and respected our relationship. That was the thought I clung to for the rest of the day when fear and paranoia wanted to take over.
ICOULDN’T FINDPAULat the station, so I called his cell. He didn’t answer my call, but he returned my voicemail message about thirty minutes after I left it.
“I can’t talk long,” he said in a hushed voice. “What’s up?”
It sounded like he was in the field and I didn’t want to risk someone overhearing what he had to say. Vice work was extremely dangerous. Cops sometimes went so deep undercover that the line between reality and make believe got blurred and they forgot who they were. Only the strong made it without getting compromised or killed. It was brutally long hours where you were at the mercy of the job twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You couldn’t have a life because who the hell wanted to be stood up by you repeatedly when the call came in, and you had to leave?
I gave Paul a quick rundown on what I learned and asked who his contact was inside the Casino Control Commission. “I’m hoping they can confirm that talks to build the casino in Carter County have resumed.”
“If it’s moved beyond the yapping phase then they’ll know,” Paul told me. “Kerry Simms is her name.” He rattled off her number, and I wrote it down on a piece of paper.
“Thanks, man,” I said into the phone, prepared to disconnect the call.
“Wait,” Paul said suddenly.
“Yeah?”
“So, do you and your cute boyfriend ever…”
“Fuck no,” I said before he finished because I knew what he was about to propose and there was no fucking way I’d share Josh with anyone.
Paul chuckled and said, “I see how it is.”
“I don’t think you do or you wouldn’t have asked,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I’ll never bring it up again, Gabe,” Paul said to appease me.
“See that you don’t,” I snarled then disconnected the call before I said too much.
Dorchester looked up from taking notes on whatever he was researching and said, “Damn, you must have serious game. They’re all over you today, Wyatt.” My answer to his remark was a glowering glare. “I’ll shut up,” he said with his hands up in a surrender gesture.
I made a call to Kerry Simms with the CCC and had to leave a message when the call went to voicemail.Did anyone ever answer their phones anymore?I had hoped to talk to her before I met with Jonathon Silver, but luck didn’t seem to be on my side just then. It seemed like a huge part of investigating any crime was leaving messages and waiting for people to call you back. I hoped that she’d call me promptly because driving to Columbus to force a meeting with her wasn’t high on my list, but I wouldn’t hesitate to do it.
Time seemed to tick by slowly until our appointment at the club. I was happy to see two things when the bartender, Alexander, showed us to Silver’s office: Silver was dressed, and he was alone. I needed to see his honest reactions to the things I had to say, and I wouldn’t get that if his mouthpiece was there, especially if the attorney was tied to some nasty players as I suspected.
“Thank you for seeing us on such short notice,” I said to Silver and extended my hand. I was pleased that he shook my hand and let it drop without trying to be coy and sexy. I hoped that I had made myself clear to him earlier on the phone.
“It sounded urgent and I must say that I was pleased that you turned to me for help instead of accusing me of killing my brother.” He held up his hand when I started to respond. “I know that you’re just doing your job, Detective. I’m trained in interviewing… suspects.” His words confirmed that he had most likely worked for one of the alphabet agencies. “Tell me how I can help you catch my brother’s killer.”
“What can you tell us about Nate’s involvement in the planning of a casino?” I asked Silver.
“Nate said that he’d attended a few meetings and was definitely interested in pursuing the idea. Do you think that had something to do with my brother’s death?”
“It’s very likely,” I replied then told him what we knew about the previous attempt to build the casino and what little we knew about Lawrence Robertson’s death and how similar it was to Nate’s and Owen’s. “In Mr. Robertson’s belongings, we found notes from the meetings he attended, and he used initials to identify the others involved. This morning, we met with his attorney who represented him at all the meetings, and he identified the names of the people who represented the casino developer.”
“And?”
“There’s one person we can connect to both Nate and Lawrence Robertson,” Dorchester said.
“Who?” Silver demanded.
“Rick Spizer,” Dorchester and I said at once.
