“Let me get your laptop,” Kerry said softly, a hand resting on his shoulder. Then he left the house and returned with a messenger bag. Brian pulled out his laptop and logged into his email. Then he turned to show Marty one of the statements.
“I got the details on a few of the accounts. The rest are on their way.”
Marty leaned closer. “This is our sales tax account. It’s not used all that heavily because mostly we do wholesale work, and our customers collect the sales tax from the consumer. This account should have a few thousand dollars in it… and it does at the moment. But look—here’s the withdrawal of a couple hundred thousand dollars, and if we go back….” He waited while Brian looked back into the record. “Here’s a deposit, and a few days before, there’s another one.”
“Okay.” Brian began making notes.
“Wait. Bring up another of the accounts,” Marty told him, and Brian did. “There. Same bank, same day.”
“Okay, I’m willing to bet that we have one person making multiple deposits while they’re at the bank. On this day they deposited sixteen thousand dollars into various accounts. This should have been enough to generate reports to the treasury, but I suspect it didn’t. Different accounts, different amounts. I’m not sure what is going on, but it seems they’ve done a good job of gaming the system, because by rights, these accounts should have been frozen and investigated.”
“I agree. But for right now, we need them to look as normal as possible,” Eddie said. “What I want to know is who is making these deposits. We have the dates they were made, but not the person making them.”
“The guys in the squad are still waiting for the video from the bank branch where the deposits were made. It seems that they were spread out among branches, so it’s going to take longer to get all the video.”
“And what do I do in the meantime?” Marty asked. “I mean, it feels like I’m in limbo.”
Eddie stood and went behind his chair, both hands resting on his shoulders. “Sometimes we have to just take things as they come and try to be patient. For now, you will stay here with me, because I’m not letting you go back to your place. If you need things from the apartment, either Brian or I can get them for you. As far as your job goes, regardless of what happens, I think it’s best if you look for a new one. This place is not going to be good for you.”
“I can see that. But….”
“Take things one step at a time. You can stay here until this is over. I need to make sure you’re safe. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.” He leaned closer, and Marty closed his eyes as that familiar scent surrounded him. He didn’t want to react to it, but he couldn’t stop himself. Eddie always smelled so good, and it made him want more.
“That’s a start. You being safe is the most important thing.” Brian stood and left the room, leaving him and Eddie alone.
“What’s next?”
“We have to hope that we get the video, but I doubt we’ll get it today. I suspect that those are kept at the branches, and since they won’t open for full service until Monday…. Anyway, we’ll send officers to pick them up, and from there we can look at who is making the deposits.”
Marty nodded and tried to keep his head clear, but all he could think about was how his life seemed to be falling apart. Laughter from the kids playing in the living room drifted in. He smiled and followed Eddie into the other room, where Kerry and Brian sat watching the boys as they built towers.
“You kept all those Legos from when you were a kid, didn’t you?” Marty asked.
“Yeah. I always hoped I’d have kids of my own, but I like being Uncle Eddie, so I keep them around for when these two come to visit.”
Phillip and Henry weren’t paying them any attention. They seemed completely engrossed in what they were doing.
“Is everything going to be okay?” Kerry asked.
“It will be one way or another,” Brian told him, and Kerry slipped his hand into Brian’s. “We’ll figure out what’s happening here and put an end to it.”
“Yeah, I hope so. I’d like it if my company and my job survived this, but I doubt either of them will.” He knew he was probably better off. “I keep wondering if I should just give my notice and get out of there.”
Brian looked up from where he was watching the boys. “Please don’t. Not yet. We may need your help corroborating the information we get, and….”
“If I quit, they’ll remove my access to their systems.” He understood now. “And you may need that.”
“No. Well, yes, we may need that. But you quitting will also make them wonder what you know, and it could be dangerous for you. Letting them think that you know as little as possible is the best thing right now.”
“Okay,” Marty agreed.
Eddie leaned close enough that his scent filled Marty’s nose. “And I’ll do everything I can to protect you.”
ChapterFour
Kerry andBrian stayed for a while and then took the boys home. With the house quiet, Eddie had a chance to look Marty over. He seemed really on edge and kept peering out the window as though he expected someone to come down the street looking for him.
“It’s fine. No one other than Brian, Kerry, and the boys know you’re here, and they aren’t going to tell anyone. We have patrols going by your place on a regular basis, so if anyone tries anything there, we’ll be able to pick them up.”
