The corner of my mouth quirked up. He should meet Etta Wilks.
“What will you do now?”
“Thankfully, he didn’t touch the general fund, which keeps the church afloat,” Newkirk glanced at me. “‘Truly, I say to you, the sons of men will have forgiveness for all their sins and for all the evil words they say.’”
“Mark, three, verse… 29?” I questioned.
Newkirk gave me a full smile. “28.”
“Ah, yes,” I returned his smile.
“You know your Bible,” Newkirk tilted his head.
“Eighteen years of Sunday School,” I answered. “My Mama woulda tanned my hide if I didn’t get to church every week.”
“What happened after 18 years?”
“Marines.”
“Thank you for your service,” Newkirk clapped his arthritic hand on my shoulder.
I ducked my head. This sort of thing made me uncomfortable. I joined as a service to my country. Something that was drilled into the men in my family for generations. When you’re grown, you serve. You give back. It was our job. I didn’t believe you should thank someone for doing their job - especially when many of my brothers and sisters in arms didn’t make it home.
I thanked Newkirk for meeting with me, then slowly made my way outside to the parking lot. I did a 360-degree turn, taking in the neighborhood details. Octavio Cruz didn’t just fuck up Celia and the twins’ lives. He messed with so many more than he realized. It would take years for the church to recoup its losses. How much further would this neighborhood slide in the meantime, waiting for help. For that handup?
I called Tatiana.
“What it do,baby boo?” she answered with a laugh.
“That’s how you’re answering the phone call from the acting director of Luke Saber Security?” I snorted.
“Nope, just trying out a few catchphrases,” she clapped back.
“Well, take that one off the list. I’m not your ‘boo.’”
“Roger that,acting bossman,” Tatiana typed on her keyboard. She was constantly clicking that damned thing. “What do you need?”
“I want a full background check on Echo Cruz,” I frowned. “I should have ordered it days ago. Luke would have.”
Tatiana snorted. “That man is busier than a one-armed paperhanger. His new twins, plus Ruston and Sienna, are running him and Wysdom ragged. The other day Luke left his keys in the oven.”
That made me feel slightly better, but still. This was standard operating procedure, and I was running around worried about my physical reactions to Celia. Rookie mistakes!
“You want the regular workup?” Tatiana sounded exasperated. Like that was the second time she asked.
Damn it! Focus, Flint!
“Yeah, background as far as you can get. Go deep on this one. Find the shit she’s trying to hide,” I ordered.
Tatiana gave me a “roger that,” then hung up the phone.
My phone immediately beeped. She probably forgot something else.
I unlocked the screen. It was from Celia.
Lalelei:
Just got call from Octavio’s lawyers.
