“The Shadow Syndicate?”
“Yeah. One of the major players, Roger Rousseau, was caught not that long ago. But we’re still investigating how they were funded. If they’re as powerful and rich as we suspect, they’d have the means to cover up murders. And how do you think they’re hiding the money?”
“Fake corporations. Shell companies. And…”
“Nonprofits,” they said in unison.
Michael grinned. His gaze softened as his eyes traveled her face a moment.
Then, as though someone flipped a switch, he abruptly stiffened. “So, what did you find here?”
Oh, right. The case. “I’m only halfway down my list. I haven’t found anything suspicious yet, but…”
“Why don’t you give me some company names? I can’t look up numbers, but I can look at the nonprofit organizations themselves.”
She printed off her list of accounts and highlighted the ones she’d already researched.
They worked quietly for over an hour, side by side. With Michael there, her brain zeroed in even more.
Finally, something flagged. “Look at this. I should have caught this sooner.”
“What?” Michael leaned over.
She tried not to breathe deeper. “Five of these nonprofits so far all funnel back to the parent company, Continental Transport.”
“Continental Transport?”
Dani pulled up their company website. After a little more digging, they found a vague paragraph about the owner’s benevolent nature, seen in the millions of dollars donated to various nonprofits.
“Who’s the CEO of Continental?”
“Let me see.” Dani clicked on a different page. “Victor Bellmont.”
“The name sounds familiar. But I don’t know why.”
“There’s Bellmont Park over by the edge of town. Bellmont Medical Center. Even Bellmont Road. I always assumed it was named after the park. But I wonder what else we can find about him.” Dani typed his name into the search bar.
A picture of a man in a sharp business suit, older and distinguished-looking, popped up on the screen. They clicked on a few links and read his bio.
Dani scrolled further down. “Not seeing a lot of personal information about him. Nothing about family or anything. Just business accolades and a long list of his contributions to the city of Renegade. There’s not even a lot of pictures of him.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. Some of these rich guys are very private about their personal lives. They probably don’t want every bleeding heart hitting them up for money.” Michael studied the screen. “We should go to Continental to see him. I’m curious to see what he’s like in person.”
“I doubt anyone is there now. But SL Trucking is one of their companies. First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll set up a meeting.” Dani glanced over at him. “Maybe you should come with me as a civilian, not as a cop. We can say we’re interested in learning more about his nonprofits and want to do a write-up on him or something.”
“He’ll probably check credentials though. One quick search on my name and he’ll know I’m a detective. What about you?”
“I think we do a newsletter for SL Trucking. I can always say that I’m interviewing him for that, especially with the Save the Javan Rhino event coming up.”
“I like that idea.” Michael tapped the desk with his thumb. “But I’m definitely coming with you. If he’s running a bunch of nonprofits in Renegade, there’s a chance he’s connected to my money laundering case too.”
Fifteen
It really shouldn’t be this hard to relax. The meeting with Victor Bellmont was set for Monday morning, and Michael had the weekend off. So why the nerves?
It was a hike with Dani, Finn, and Eliza. Not a double date, even if Finn and Liza considered it one. Because a double date implied that Michael and Dani were dating too. And they weren’t.
They were friends.
