ChapterOne
Marty pickedup his pace, looking behind him. No one was there, at least no one he could see, but that didn’t matter. Just because he couldn’t see them didn’t mean that he wasn’t being followed. He’d first seen the same man exiting his supervisor’s office two days ago, when he’d returned to the office to retrieve his laptop bag after accidentally leaving it at the office. That wouldn’t have been too unusual, except Bryce always left the office on time, and the man leaving his office had looked at Marty like he was prey.
God, sometimes Marty was really stupid. He had found various discrepancies in a number of accounts. The funny thing was that it was extra money—a lot of it—that shouldn’t have been there. So he’d taken the issue to Bryce, who said he’d look into it. Then, overnight, all the extra money had disappeared. It was just… gone. And when he asked, Bryce had shrugged and said Marty must have made an error. He played it off like everyone made mistakes, except Marty didn’t make those kinds of mistakes. And he had screenshots of what he’d found, so he knew what had been there was real. Rather than argue, Marty said nothing more about it and held on to the screenshots.
But the last few days, he had the feeling he was being watched, either by Bryce… or the guy he’d seen come from Bryce’s office. Either way, it scared the crap out of him. And he had no idea what to do about it.
Footsteps sounded behind him. Marty clutched his bag to his chest to keep it dry from the misty rain and sped up even more as a red-and-gold sign appeared up ahead of him. A McDonald’s. All he had to do was get there in one piece. There would be a lot of people around, and then, at least forthe moment, he could catch his breath and figure out what he needed to do. The footsteps continued, and Marty glanced over his shoulder before crossing the street. A car whizzed past him, honking, but he continued, determined to make it.
As he approached the restaurant, he couldn’t hear anyone behind him, but he raced across the lot and inside, breathing heavily. The door closed behind him, and Marty could have sworn a figure in a long coat passed by the door. He wasn’t sure—he might have been seeing things.
“Can I get you anything?” the kid behind the register asked.
“Yeah… ummm….” He wasn’t exactly hungry. “Maybe a large fry and a Diet Coke.” He needed to think, and getting something to eat would give him time. He paid for the food and took the tray to a table, sitting where he could watch out the windows. God, how did he get himself into these messes? He’d just needed a job, and he’d taken the one he could get, and now… Jesus… what had he gotten himself into? The company he worked for, Haver Supply, was a small home improvement supply firm. They supported contractors, plumbers, and electricians, and did mostly wholesale business. Their sales were a few million dollars a year. So, what was eight million doing in the company’s various accounts? It didn’t take a genius to see that this was bad, and he hadn’t thought hard enough before alerting Bryce, because—fucking hell—he could be the guy behind it all.
Marty munched on a fry, looking out the window and wondering what to do. He was pretty sure that the guy following him was out there, just waiting for him to leave, for when he’d be alone. Pulling out his laptop, Marty powered it up and hotspotted into his phone in case the Wi-Fi was being monitored. He pulled up the image he’d taken of the report he’d printed and wondered what he should do with it.
As he sat in the seat, hoping for inspiration, a single name flashed in his mind. God, that was as bad an idea as going to his boss. Still, he knew Eddie could help him. Whether he would was another question entirely, but at this point, he had to take a chance. Marty saved the picture to his cloud account rather than sending it anywhere, closed the computer, and shoved it back into his bag. Then he pulled out his phone and thumbed through the contacts. Eddie Harper. He found the contact and wondered if the contact was still good. It was anyone’s guess, but the only way he was going to find out was to call. Still, he was scared to actually use the number.
Things had ended badly between them, and Marty knew it had been all his fault. Maybe he should have gone with Eddie when he’d asked. Maybe that was the opportunity that he should have taken. But he had just graduated from college and had big dreams of his own. None of them had paid off, though, and instead of being a partner in a big firm with a corner office, he was working at some little company that may or may not be involved in illegal activities. God, was he an accountant for the mob and didn’t know it? Hell, if that were true, it would be the most exciting thing to happen to his otherwise dull life… well, other than having some guy following him and probably waiting to kill him.
Marty stared at the phone until the door opened, and Marty’s skin went cold. It was him, the guy in shadow that he’d caught glimpses of. Marty knew because he didn’t even look at the menu board. Instead, he turned to Marty, watching him with what appeared to be cold, black eyes. Marty punched Connect and brought the phone to his ear.
“Hello.”
Marty closed his eyes as the voice he remembered filled his ear, the voice of someone who probably hated him, but who might be his only hope. “Eddie, it’s Marty…. I’m in trouble, andI need your help.” He shook as the man came closer, meeting his gaze. “You’re still with the Olympia police, right?” Marty said the last part a little more loudly, and the man veered away and headed to the bathroom. He never said anything, but the menace in his eyes was more than enough to freeze Marty’s spine.
“Yes, I am,” Eddie said with a chill, and for a moment, Marty wondered which was worse, the man he had walked away from or the one who wanted God knows what.
“I found something wrong at work and now I’m being followed. I don’t know what to do or who else to call. But it’s really bad.”
“What did you find?” Eddie asked.
Marty watched the bathroom door. “Eight million dollars that shouldn’t have been there.”
Eddie coughed. “Like that much was missing?”
“No. Like that much wasn’t supposed to be there, and after I reported it, the money was gone and everyone is pretending I made a mistake, but I didn’t, and I can prove it. Now I’m being followed, and I don’t know what to do or if I should go home or anything.”
The man came out of the bathroom and left the restaurant, but once again looked at Marty as though he wanted to tear him apart.
“Okay. Where are you now?” Eddie asked.
Marty almost told him not to bother, that he’d figure it out himself. Maybe he was being stupid and overreacting. “If you don’t want to come, then….” He was about to hang up. Maybe this was compounding dumb on top of stupid. Lord knows that seemed to be his life.
“I’ll come find you. Just tell me where you are.”
Marty hesitated and then made his decision. “The McDonald’s on Plum Street. I tried to find a place that would be public, and this was the closest one.”
“Okay. Stay there. I’ll come to get you as soon as I can.” He hung up, but Marty kept the phone to his ear and continued talking even though Eddie was gone. If the man was still watching, then he might think that Marty was still on the phone.
He watched the door, ate a little, drank his soda, and waited for Eddie. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say, and he certainly wasn’t sure how he would feel seeing him again. But Eddie was his only hope, and that made him nervous and excited at the same time.
Two men walked inside, one turning to look around. Eddie saw him and came right over.
“Thank you,” Marty said as the second man approached.
“This is my partner at work, Brian. He’s the detective I work with, and I gave him a call after I hung up.” Eddie slid into a seat across from him, with Brian sitting down as well. “Why don’t you start at the beginning.” Eddie picked at the fries still on Marty’s tray and then set the cold food back down. Marty couldn’t help smiling. The one food Eddie could never resist was French fries. It was reassuring that some things hadn’t changed.
