He knocked gently on the frame. She was behind her desk, reading something on her screen, a mug of tea steaming beside her keyboard. She looked up and the smile was immediate. "Look who remembered where the building is."
"I was starting to forget." He dropped into the chair across from her.
She leaned back in her chair. “So, how are you?”
"Getting there."
“And at home?”
“Lots of change. The house is going to be quiet. Mia leaves next week for college.”
"And Ethan?"
Noah shrugged. “Eh, working on it."
Savannah studied him for a moment, the way she always did when she was deciding whether to push. She didn't. "Well, it's good to have you back. We've got a pile of open cases. Oh, and half the staff is out at that meth lab in Tupper Lake."
“Anything urgent?"
"Nothing that can't wait until you've had a full cup. Go get settled. We'll catch up this afternoon."
He nodded and stood up. At the door, he paused. "You look good, Savannah. Rested."
"Cora and I took a long weekend down in Burlington. It helped."
"Good. That's good." He tapped the doorframe twice and walked to his desk.
His inbox had forty-seven unread emails. He ignored them. Pulled out his phone instead and dialed a number he had memorized but never saved.
Thomas O'Connell picked up on the third ring. "Noah. I was about to call you."
"That's never good."
"Depends on your definition. I've been going through the financials from the casino servers. The shell companies are layered, but I'm finding a pattern. Three LLCs, all registered in Delaware, all feeding into the same holding company. The money runs through the casino cage, gets cleaned through real estate purchases, and comes out looking like legitimate investment income."
"Can you prove it?"
"Getting there. But Luther dots his i's. Every transaction is just under the reporting threshold. Every property purchase has a plausible buyer on paper. This is going to take time."
"We’re running short on that. He's running for mayor."
Silence on the line. “Since when?”
“Recently. You know he has his fingers in everything. The newspaper, casino, real estate. If he gets elected in March, it's going to be a mess."
“Are you sure about that?”
"His signs are out there already. I saw the first few yesterday. He's ramping up his campaign. Fundraisers. Endorsements. Public appearances. If he wins that seat, touching him gets ten times harder."
"I know. Well, I’m working as fast as I can. But if we rush this, his lawyers will tear it apart in discovery and he walks." O'Connell paused. “Anyway, how's the home front?"
"Complicated."
"That bad?"
"Ethan's pulling away. Luther's card was on the kitchen counter this morning. I think he’s been talking to him."
“About what?"
