Ethan shook his head.
“I didn’t find anything odd about Jaden’s place of business. It seems to be on the up and up. His taxes are paid, and he’s got long-term staff that works for him. I checked social media, and it’s all normal.”
Gene considered it.
“I don’t think we’ll figure this out until we understand what got him killed. He’s the center point, and all of this radiates out from him. I’ll bet on it.”
On that, Ethan agreed.
“And you?”
Gene laughed.
“A box of condoms and that’s it. No porn, nothing dirty, and nothing saying Jarod Shand was a crooked agent. I think he just got the shit end of the stick by catching this case. This killer didn’t want him working it.”
Probably.
“Oh, and Greyson checked with Gabe, and there shouldn’t be mob activity here, so that eliminates that.”
Damn.
“We’re hitting walls,” Blackhawk admitted.
Yes, yes, they were.
“What else do you have?” Gene asked.
Ethan told him what else he had.
“I searched online regarding Jaden’s restaurant, and once he died, the partner sold out. It’s under new management, and new people working there. The people cleaned house.”
Shit.
That meant interviewing co-workers just got more difficult, and a colossal waste of time.
For them.
“Well, we just got cock blocked.”
Yeah, they had.
Only, Ethan kept going, so Gene and he would be on the same page.
“Earlier, I started runningDark Spirits, so we wouldn’t be going in blind.”
Gene lifted a brow.
“And?”
He told him.
“It’s mostly what we already know,” he began. “It’s owned by Maria Barada, and it’s been in business for two years. It’s clean. Taxes are paid, and there’s a liquor license from thegovernment. No one’s running a brothel out of it, and I can’t seem to figure out why that particular woman, and that club came up in our investigation other than to, and excuse the terminology, crucify her. If you want the definition of wild goose chase, this would be it.”
Yeah, he was aware.
Someone believed they were playing him and Ethan like a fiddle.
“What if it's about the location?” Gene suddenly said, switching up paths and taking a new one to the solution.
