“We can do that.” Dani offered him a small smile. “You’re making the right choice.”
They walked down the five and a half flights of stairs together. Captain Ree was probably champing at the bit to get in and clear the last floor. Bomb squad would still need to check the building. Michael could finally release a full breath as the tightness in his chest eased.
But all the tension came right back as he thought about the extensive reach of this organization. He had so many questions. Was this network citywide? Statewide? How did Donner fit into it all, and how many other cops were playing both sides?
Michael held the glass front door open for the other two. Frigid air hit them, sending a shiver through Michael’s body. “Colter, do you know who the boss calling the shots is?”
“Booker said one of his jobs came straight from the big guy. He called him Vic?—”
A shot rang out. Michael grabbed Dani and sheltered her behind him as the crowd screamed and scattered.
But it was too late for Colter, who lay dead on the steps.
Colter was dead.
The tea Finn had given Dani had grown cold in her hands. She barely sipped it.
Captain Ree and ASAC Kumar stood at Captain Salvador’s desk at the South Eagle precinct as the three superiors had it out. The glass window of the office gave them all a show—many of the officers in the bullpen sneaked glances as they worked—but Dani couldn’t hear what they were saying. No doubt her name and all the chaos associated with it were a big part of the “discussion.”
Michael came and draped a warm jacket over her shoulders. It didn’t touch the cold, shadowy places inside though.
“What do we do now?” she asked him while staring into her cup.
“We need to get to that fundraising event now more than ever.” Steel resolve laced his words.
“What does the event have to do with this?” Dani looked at him.
“Because I want to see if Victor Bellmont is the boss Colter was talking about.”
“You heard that too?”
Michael nodded. “I’ve been going through it all in my head, and it makes sense. He’s got the money, the power. He knows all the movers and shakers in Renegade, probably the whole state. They have cops on their payroll, and they use people like Colter McCord and Booker Wilson to do the dirty work while they stay squeaky clean in their mansions. Donner might have been on his payroll, but I’m betting they extorted him. Not that we have any proof, but I want to meet him. I want to look him in the eye and see what kind of man he is. And then find a way to take him down.”
They sat together for a quiet moment. Dani dipped her tea bag up and down, watching the ripples in her cup. She wasn’t going to drink anymore. She should find a garbage—wait. “Maybe there is proof that it’s Bellmont.”
“Where?”
“The money and the means of transportation.”
Michael’s brows furrowed. “How do we find proof?”
“Colter. Booker Wilson. That Angelo guy. Where did they all work?”
“Renegade Waste.”
“And Colter said he delivered stuff. What if the garbage and recycling deliveries and pickups are how they’re transporting illegal goods around the city? And they could be using all the transportation companies of Continental Transportation to move what they need across the country and worldwide. Whoever masterminded all this planted people at RWM, probably at SL too. Why else would someone there try to kill me when I was in the shop that night? A night when there was an oil-drum delivery well after working hours. A truck door that happened to be left open.”
Michael puffed out his cheeks and released the air. “This could be something huge.”
Dani nodded. “You can look into the connections at RWM. Figure out the routes or delivery system. I can keep tracing the funds at SL Trucking. The nonprofits and shell corporations. There’s got to be proof that leads back to Continental.” Dani looked over at the office. Ree must’ve left, but Kumar and Salvador were still at it. “That is, if I still have a job.”
“They’d be stupid to fire you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Colter is dead. That’s wrong.”
“Wrong, but not your fault. And don’t forget that eight other people are alive because you convinced him to turn himself in.” Michael tucked her into his arms and held her close. “Sounds pretty heroic to me.”
“It doesn’t feel like it.”
