A frowning Deputy Maddie Timkon poked her head out into the hall from the office. “Hello?”
He jogged her way. “Find anything?”
Sighing, she disappeared back into the room. She fisted her hands on her hips and stared at a stack of files she’d pulled from the nearby cabinet. “Not yet. He’s got a lot of crap saved in here.”
Whistling, Duke scratched the back of his neck. “That’s a hell of a lot of paperwork. You get through any of it earlier today? When this guy was labeled a missing person?”
“Some of it,” Maddie said. “But we focused more on financial records since we were trying to find his connection to the mob. Now I’m sifting through the personal.”
Lane walked to the cabinet and pulled out the second drawer. The tabs on the files were all labeled with surnames. “Looks like client files.” He shut the door and went on to the next one. Names of banks and businesses stared up at him. He pulled one of the banking files.
Maddie glanced over. “I’ve searched that drawer already. Banking accounts are practically dry. A few assets but no properties. Insurance information in there as well.”
Interest piqued, he tossed the manila folder and went back to the drawer. “Anything interesting in the insurance file?” Thumbing through the tabs, he found one from a well-known company and yanked it out.
She shrugged. “Everything’s insured that should be. Nothing crucial stood out.”
“What about life insurance?” Lane asked. “Does he have any?”
“A small sum, but again, didn’t seem like relevant information.”
Duke stalked over and studied what was left in the drawer. “What about Celine? Any insurance on her?”
“My thought exactly.” Lane flipped through the paperwork. Celine’s name wasn’t listed on anything. “Nothing here. Check the other cabinet. See if there’s anything with Celine’s name on it.”
Duke pivoted to the other cabinet and went through the drawers. “More clients in here. Work information. 401(k) and retirement accounts. Well, well, well, this one looks a little out of place.” He snatched a file and held it up for Lane to see.
Squinting, Lane made out the name hand-written on the tab—not neatly typed like the rest of the labels. The wordsUngrateful Whorescrawled across the top boiled his blood. He flipped through the contents. “Marriage license, divorce paperwork. Old bank accounts they were both listed on that were closed. And what looks like a life insurance policy for Celine.”
Maddie held out her hand. “Let me see that.”
Duke frowned. “Wouldn’t Kevin be taken off anything related to Celine after their divorce.”
“Not necessarily,” Maddie said as she read through the paper. “Looks like the policy was taken out through his work and he’s a benefactor. If she forgot about it, his name would be left on there.”
The pieces started clicking together. “How much?”
Maddie glanced up with wide eyes. “Two million dollars.”
“Shit,” Duke said. “He wants the money so he can pay off his debt. But doesn’t he know he won’t get a dime if he’s the one who kills her?”
The question stole all the air from Lane’s lungs, and he doubled over, forearms on his thighs. “He’s going to make it look like someone else killed her.” He squeezed his eyes shut to steady his nerves as much as possible. “He’d take her somewhere the police would think the cops would find the mob. Someplace connected to the gambling.”
Spencer ran into the office. “I just got off the phone with the sheriff. A deputy in the next county saw Kevin’s vehicle a couple miles from the casino. They sent out a drone and found a house that’s been under surveillance by the FBI for a while. Celine’s there.”
Lane didn’t need to hear another word. He sprinted toward the front door and prayed he wouldn’t be too late.
21
Celine stumbled over the threshold of the little house, the jerky motion intensifying every ache in her body. Warm air that held a hint of stale beer and whiskey greeted her. She struggled to stay on her feet and keep her mind on high alert. No way she’d go down without a fight.
But the gun pressed against her back kept her from making another move. She had to be smart, figure out a plan, and hopefully find something she could use as weapon. Kevin appeared battered and bruised, but now she didn’t know how real his injuries were. If it was all a ruse to get her away from Lane, he wasn’t as weak and fragile as she’d assumed.
The door slammed closed behind her and a light blasted against her retinas. She found herself in an empty living room, the space wide and open with round folding tables lined against the far wall. A kitchen lay to the right and a hallway to the left.
“Let’s get this over with,” Kevin said. “The sun will be up soon. I can’t risk anyone finding us before I take care of business.”
He found a metal chair by the tables and dragged it to the middle of the room, then did the same with a second one. “Sit.”
