“Let me help,” he says. “I am good with numbers. In the beta courses, we learn a lot about accounting and money management. It’s a task the beta needs to be good at.”
“I’ll count on you, then,” I say. “We have until tomorrow night to make this work. We are looking for big transactions—”
“Or regular-mid ones,” Martin adds.
I nod. “Exactly.”
“Do you want me to take a trip to the florist, meanwhile?” Griffin offers.
“That’s not a bad idea,” I say. “Maybe you and Forest should both go and do some investigating there. It’s still night…”
“Do we think someone will be there at night?” Forest asks.
“It’s possible,” Griffin says. “But only if they are involved in something shady.”
“What was the bank account number of said florist again?” Martin asks. When I pull out the folder and show it to him, he frowns. “Look, Luna. Harry or Donna, or both, have a payment to the shop once a week.”
“There is also a flow of money from the pack account to their private one,” I say. “Or to the florist.”
“And it’s never big sums at once, but regular payments. And they are always titled mundane things like ‘pebble stones’ or ‘water jugs for the kitchen’.”
“Alright, that seals it,” Forest says. “Griffin and I will head to that shop and snoop around.”
I squeeze his hand. “Be careful.”
thirty
The Money Flow
*FOREST*
“Considering this is just a florist, there sure are a lot of customers coming and going so late at night,” I say.
Griffin and I have been watching the shop for two hours now. The sign says it’s closed, but there is light inside, and every half an hour, a few people drop by.
“For real, it’s crazy. Doesn’t look like it’s private guests either. And they are all shifters.”
“I know the man who just went in,” I whisper. “He is one of Jordan’s friends.”
“I call bullshit on that place being a flower shop,” Griffin says. “Or maybe the man is selling flowers during the day, but at night…”
“He is certainlysomething,” I say. “The whole situation feels off.”
Griffin and I hang around longer until the customers, or whatever they are, stop dribbling in. The whole place, while already in a deserted area, quiets down even more, and the light in the shop gets switched off.
“Now is our chance,” I say.
Griffin tosses me a look. “You and your luna are both kind of reckless.”
“We have to be, or we won’t succeed.”
“Fair,” he mutters. “Let’s do this.” A pause. “What exactlyarewe doing?”
“Let’s check if a window is open.”
“Oh, you want to break in?” Griffin sounds a mix of exasperated, sarcastic and intrigued. “Of course you do. What was I thinking?”
I don’t answer, but use the shadows of the nearby trees to my advantage to get as close as possible without being able to be spotted. Griffin follows me wordlessly now, and we circle the whole building, making sure to stay away from the front door. “No open window,” I whisper.
