"Let me get this straight, you're out there with this guy searching for $150 million in stolen drug money so you can pay a drug dealer that just got out of prison to get his daughter back?”
I nodded. "That pretty much sums it up.”
"I see why he doesn't want the FBI involved.” Daniels sighed. "If this goes sideways…”
“When does anything ever go sideways?” JD said with as innocent a face as he could muster.
The sheriff gave him a knowing look. “One day, you two are going to write checks your asses can’t cash.”
“Be positive,” I said.
He just shook his head in dismay and walked away.
We left the station and headed over to the hardware store to see what we could find. The killer could have easily purchased the shears online. Isabella was hacking into suspects’ accounts,searching transactions. I wouldn’t be able to use anything she gave me in a court of law, but it would point us in the right direction.
So far, her search had turned up nothing. But we found something interesting at the hardware store.
40
"Ihaven't heard anything else from them," Mickey said when I called. “I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I didn't get any sleep last night. How could I? My ex-wife has been screaming at me all morning. She says this is my fault. How am I supposed to come up with that kind of money by tomorrow?”
"Look, we'll figure something out," I assured. "In the meantime, just sit tight, and try to think about where you may have hidden that money.”
"That's all I've been doing. My brain is frozen.”
"Go outside, take a walk, ride a bike, do anything but think about it. Maybe it will pop into your head. You're stuck in a loop. You need some different stimulus to break out.”
"Oh, I need different stimulus, alright.”
"Just keep it under control. Now is not the time to fall apart or make bad decisions.”
"My whole life has been nothing but bad decisions. How do you expect me to change now?”
"We’ve got a few things to take care of, then we’ll swing by and pick you up.”
"I’m not just going to sit around and wait for Kendra to die. I’m going to get out there and start looking again. I've got a few places in mind.”
"Considering the kind of trouble we ran into last night, I don't think it's wise for you to go out alone.”
"I can handle myself.”
"I’m sure you can. But this is not a solo adventure. Stay in touch with me.”
"I will.”
He ended the call.
I slid the phone back into my pocket as JD pulled into the lot at the hardware store. He found a place to park, and we hopped out and strolled inside.
Flynn was back at theAvventura. In the back of my mind, I was concerned he and Mickey might team up and go on an adventure on their own. No telling what kind of trouble they could get into without supervision.
We found the store manager and explained the situation.
He escorted us to a back office. James sat at his desk and tapped the keys. The display came to life, and after entering his passcode, he searched through the sales database.
In his mid-40s, he had a slick head and a graying beard that looked like trimmed steel wool. He had the kind of fair skin that burned easily.
I told him the brand name of the shears and asked him to search for recent sales. With a few strokes of the keys, he gave me a list of names.
