“I know. We’ve talked about that.”
He cocked a brow. “Then you don’t have to worry about where he is.”
I dipped my chin. “He knows where Brantley lives, that’s my concern.”
A minuscule smile on his face, Beast shook his head twice and focused on me. “Tundra and I have to hit the road. I didn’t expect this to take as long as it did. Do you have any idea where Ines might hide cash? Did she hit the bank quite a bit?”
I scoffed. “No. I still can’t believe we found cocaine behind her bed. She hated running errands, so as far as I know, she rarely went to the bank.”
Tundra shared a look with Beast. “That jackass said her bed was the only place he didn’t look because it was heavy.” He looked at me. “Does that bed have a footboard?”
“No, just the headboard.”
He frowned. “Do you mind if I take a look at it?”
I tossed my hands out. “Have at it. I just don’t want to move the mattress again.”
We went into her bedroom. The faint scent of her perfume brought back memories of hitting the clubs last September before Brantley or Porter had entered the picture. I pushed the memories aside, determined not to cry in front of anyone.
Tundra moved a nightstand to the side and squeezed in so he could look at the wooden headboard. It was dark stained, almost mission-style construction. At each end, the leg of the headboard went higher with a round, decorative wooden piece at the top. Tundra reached up and twisted the decorative piece. His face went a touch pink, then after a dull squeak, the piece moved.
He pulled the wood free. “Hollow on the inside.”
“Grab a flashlight,” Beast said, looking at me.
I held my hand out. “Your phone has one, we can use that.”
He pointed a finger at me, pulled out his phone, the flash lit up, and he handed it to Tundra.
Tundra took it, went up on his toes, and peered down at the hollow opening. “Looks like it’s empty. You wanna take a look, Beast?”
Beast took his phone back and checked the headboard leg. “Yeah, that’s empty. My hunch is the other one is too, but let’s check it anyway. Hand me that piece, I’ll put it back while you loosen the other side.”
Unlike the first one, Tundra barely touched the decorative wooden piece on the opposite side. It moved immediately.
“That’s weird,” I muttered.
Tundra pulled the piece free and his head went back an inch. “Oh, that’s not good.” He pulled out a rolled-up wad of bills, and a little baggie of drugs that looked like small rocks. He tossed the bills over to Beast and threw the baggie onto the bed.
I wasn’t wise to the drug world, but I knew a bag like that had to be serious.
“That’s meth, Lex. You’re sure your roommate wasn’t into chemistry?” Tundra asked.
“Definitely not. I really think this is a set-up.”
Beast wobbled his head. “You might be right. This isn’t a lot of money. It’d be nice to know how much Bitcoin they were bringing in.”
“You regret being so harsh with that jackass an hour ago?” Tundra asked.
Beast jerked with a quiet chuckle. “Never. But…” Beast looked at me. “You said Rafferty knows where the other guy lives… Brantley?”
I nodded. “Do you think he’s going to tell you how much he was earning?”
Beast grinned. “He might… with some encouragement.”
Tundra put the bed post back together. “What about your bed? Does it have a similar setup with these decorative posts that are hollow enough to hide something like tightly rolled wads of cash?”
“She does,” Rafferty said from the doorway. “And she’s got a footboard, so if they’re hollow it makes for twice as many hiding spots.”
