Page 24 of Night Watch
Nick replied that he would fit it in as soon as possible. Knowing his schedule, it could be weeks, which Erik didn’t have. He had to figure this out himself.
This large of a deposit suggested something illegal to him. Just his gut feel. Maybe blackmail, but that wasn’t likely as those payments wouldn’t be done via electronic transfer but in cash. Plus, the thought of Wanda being a blackmailer was absurd.
The deposits could just be insurance payouts, though information on an insurance company should be readily available. Maybe Wanda sold a patent and was being paid in an installment plan.
Erik just didn’t know, but it seemed likely to him that if he discovered where this money was coming from, he would figure out who wanted her dead.
6
Early the next morning, Kennedy once again sat with the Byrd brothers in their office, and she had to fight twisting her hair to relieve the stress. If possible, they all looked more intense. Or maybe Erik had shared the information he’d learned about her mother’s finances last night, and they were wondering if she and her mother were both involved in something illegal when that was the last thing either of them would do.
She wanted to sigh, but she held it in and waited for the brothers to grab coffee and bagels and take a seat. She loved coffee, but her stomach turned at the nutty scent permeating the air.
Or maybe it was churning over Erik’s news. He’d told her on the way to the office that her mother had received twenty thousand dollars wired to her checking account for the last two months from a company called inDents. He asked her to think about where it might’ve come from so she was ready to talk about it at the meeting, but Kennedy couldn’t come up with a logical explanation for such a large sum of money from an unknown place.
Erik stepped up to the whiteboard, his footfalls confident and sure. “First up, I left a message with the sergeant I spoke to at PPB about the break-in.”
“Let’s hope he calls back soon.” Clay set down his mug with a thud. “But I wouldn’t hold my breath when we’re talking about a break-in.”
“I was able to get Silas’s autopsy report.” Brendan slid a set of papers down the table to each person.
Erik grabbed a copy. “I was hoping you’d do this quickly.”
Brendan brushed his knuckles over his chest. “Just chalk it up to my superhero status.”
The others groaned, but a ball of dread formed in Kennedy’s stomach as she flipped through the pages. “The report doesn’t tell us anything that we don’t already know.”
Brendan swallowed a bite of his blueberry bagel, which he set on a plate. “But it also doesn’t list the blood pressure meds your mother died from. Not surprising since it was a basic screening. My source told me that, if we want to know about those meds, a comprehensive test is necessary.”
Kennedy sighed. “I don’t want to have my dad’s body exhumed.”
“And I don’t think we should just yet,” Erik said. “I’ll stick with my earlier recommendation that we wait until we have proof that your mother was murdered.”
“Agreed.” She took in his sympathetic gaze.
Erik gave her a tight smile. “Then let’s get to work proving what happened to Wanda. I completed my deep dive on her finances. I found her PSU income, but didn’t find any source of income for her current project.” He shifted his focus to Kennedy. “Do you know how she was paid?”
Kennedy took a sip of her water. “All I know is that she got a grant from two big pharmaceutical companies.”
“Did she keep the money in a separate business account that we haven’t found yet?” Erik asked.
Kennedy shrugged. “I haven’t looked for that information, but I would think it’s at her lab. And yes, I would think she would have a separate business account.”
Aiden cupped his mug. “Is her lab independent or part of another facility?”
“Independent,” she said. “The big pharma companies provided the equipment, and they said I could continue to use it.”
“This is unrelated.” Drake eyed her with a quirk of his brow, an expression that she remembered would be followed with a challenge. “But do you really think you can finish the project on the counterfeit drugs?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve done the kind of research my mom was doing.” She sat up straighter. “But even if I’m rusty, I’ll keep working until I succeed.”
“Has the pharmaceutical company given you a completion deadline?” Drake asked.
“One month, but I assume if I haven’t completed her work by then that, if I show progress, they’ll extend it.”
Drake’s eyebrow rose even higher. “Don’t you find it odd that they outsourced this project when they have so many researchers on staff?”
Kennedy shook her head. “They’re far too busy creating the next drug to work on this. Besides, it’s not just one company that’s being ripped off by the counterfeits. The two companies funding the research are the ones who have the most to lose, but this will be used by other companies and law enforcement too.”
