Milton crossed his arms, his hands visibly shaking. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
I could hear the change in Aiden’s voice, so he must have smiled, and when he smiled and used a loaded tone, he could be downright terrifying. Given how Milton shrank back in his chair, I’d say he agreed with that assessment.
“Now,” Aiden said calmly, “I can go through the effort of tracing the burner phone, finding where it was purchased, looking for all CCTV in the area, and discovering who this person is, or you can help me, save me the trouble, and then I won’t come after you with everything I have. What do you think you should do right now, Milton?”
Milton paled and looked around again. “Should I get a lawyer?”
“That is entirely up to you. Right now, you’re not under arrest. If you want a lawyer, you can get one, but then all offers to help you are off the table. You want to be on the opposite side of this from me, you’ve got it. I'm more than happy to take you down. But if you want to help me, wouldn’t you rather have me for a friend than an enemy?”
I found myself nodding along with Milton. Having Aiden for an enemy was a death sentence. Milton was no dummy.
“Hey, I didn't do anything wrong,” he said.
“Actually, you did,” Aiden returned. “According to the emails that also went to an address I haven’t yet identified, you sent records that you shouldn’t have had access to. I’m sure you know how to get around a few of the firewalls given how long you’ve worked at the Legal Center and School, but this involved a case years ago. And we’re talking about missiles.”
Milton audibly gulped. “But…”
Aiden cut him off. “Not only that, these weapons have supposedly made their way into the United States. If you obstruct justice here, I have to wonder, are you a part of this? Are you planning a terrorist attack on the United States?”
Milton looked like he was about to faint. He turned the color of mushy chalk and gagged. I reared back out of instinct, but Aiden didn’t move.
“I don't know anything about missiles or an attack on the U.S.,” Milton gasped, his arms dropping. “Honest. I’d never do anything like that.”
“Then I strongly suggest you help me,” Aiden said, his voice no longer even remotely nice.
Milton wiped off his brow. “Okay. Okay, I will. It was just a favor for a buddy. I mean, we knew each other in high school, and he contacted me asking if I knew anything about a Nick Basanelli, who used to be a JAG officer. Said it’d be a great help if he could know about a few of Basanelli’s cases. Just a couple of details. That’s all, I swear. That’s all.”
“Did you ask him why he wanted to know?”
“No. I mean, he just kind of hinted that he was playing a practical joke and maybe he... I don’t know. They were buddies. I thought he was playing a practical joke. Yeah, that’s it.”
Milton had apparently decided upon his avenue of response.
Aiden tapped his pen on the file folder, somehow making even that sound intimidating. “Why the focus on the missile case?”
“Something about them never being found caught my friend’s attention. So, I dug up all the info I could.”
Aiden shook his head. “You should’ve known better than to discuss missiles with anybody, and I’m quickly losing the desire to help you out. I want the truth, and I want it now. What’s his name?”
“You have to keep me out of it, man. You have to promise me.”
“I'm not promising you a damn thing,” Aiden said. “Cooperate now, and at the most, you'll probably just get fired from your job. It’s not up to me whether you get charged with anything by the Navy for looking at records and passing them on when you shouldn’t have. That’s not my purview. I’m with the ATF. But I will let everybody know you cooperated fully, and I imagine getting fired will be the worst of your days. Maybe some community service.”
Milton was obviously trying to hold on to his one piece of leverage, but it was a losing battle. “You’ll really go to bat for me?”
“Yeah, I'll tell the truth. How about you do that now?”
“Fine,” Milton said. “He was just a friend from high school, and I wanted to help him out. His name is Saul Nelson.”
Holy crap. It was the same guy who had been trying to blackmail Violet.
We had to find him. Now.
Chapter29
Iturned the seat heaters on extra high as Aiden and I drove away from his office. “What are you going to do with Milton?” I asked.
