Page 89 of Night Watch
Clay nodded toward the back of the rental SUV. “We brought vests and rifles.”
“Then let’s load the equipment in the company vehicle and get going.” Erik ignored the thoughts of the prior shootout and why it was important to take Nighthawk’s SUV to help his brothers stow the bins in the back of the SUV. They all dressed out in vests and added their comms units, and Erik got behind the wheel. Drake took shotgun while Clay and Brendan climbed in the back. Even at their ages, they still paired up with the sibling closest in age, as they’d done when they were kids.
The drive took forty minutes, and they moved further from the city and deeper into wooded country.
“I keep thinking about the guy who was arrested,” Drake said. “We know Wanda was paid by inDents each month, right? A big chunk of change.”
“Yeah,” Erik said. “But why? Was she doing research on the dentures on the side to make some money? Was she wearing them in a trial? If that’s true, twenty grand a month is a lot of money. So research seems more likely.”
“We should have the Veritas team look at the plate the guy tried to steal,” Clay said. “See if it’s special in any way and would warrant a twenty K a month payment to Wanda.”
Erik nodded. “I’ll ask Johnson about that.”
“Back to the money,” Clay said. “Nora said Wanda needed money for medical bills, right? So even if she had the forty thousand in the safe and was getting a twenty K deposit each month, the bills could be a whole lot more than that.”
“No kidding,” Brendan said. “If Dad’s transplant and Aiden’s bills are any sign, she didn’t have nearly enough money to pay ongoing treatments she would need.”
“Yes,” Erik said. “But her finances are really confusing. There were only two small medical charges on her credit card four months ago. I didn’t think anything of it, but maybe this was when she found out she had cancer.”
“If she was having treatment, shouldn’t there be a record of paying for it in her checking or credit card account?” Brendan asked.
“Nora said Wanda just started, so she likely hadn’t gotten the bills. Or she could’ve used cash. Not her maxed out credit card, though.”
“Why pay interest on credit card debt if you have the money?” Brendan asked.
“If she reallywassick,” Clay said, “she might’ve wanted to keep the cash for her medical bills.”
Erik slammed a fist on the wheel. “We just don’t know enough to form a logical answer to any of these questions. Hopefully Dash Gordon will help.”
Drake shook his head. “I still can’t believe Wanda had a casual boyfriend. She just didn’t seem the type.”
Erik glanced at his brother. “It’s weird to me too. But people change.”
“Has Kennedy changed?” Clay asked.
“Sure,” Erik said, but he thought about all the ways she was still the same. Still kind. Still devoted to and fiercely protective of family. Still ambitious. She was a self-starter. Loving. Compassionate. All fine traits in Erik’s eyes.
“You two going to kiss and make up?” Drake grinned.
Were they? He sure wanted them to. “The verdict’s still out.”
“Looks like you might be running out of time.” Drake’s gaze burned into Erik.
Clay leaned between the seats. “If Gordon gives us the answers we need to close this investigation, she’ll be heading back to the East Coast or staying in WITSEC, and you’ll be missing out on a terrific woman.”
Erik knew his brothers spoke the truth, but that didn’t mean he was ready for a relationship again, and as Drake pointed out, Kennedy lived across the country from Erik or could be staying in witness protection. Problem. Big one. He would never ask her to trade her dream job for him any more than she would ask him to leave his family.
“Driveway half a mile ahead on the right,” Drake announced.
Erik slowed to a crawl, cut the headlights, and made the turn onto the long treelined drive. The wheels crunched over gravel, each turn emitting tiny pops of sound in the quiet. Erik spotted the house sitting a couple of football fields from the road and killed the engine.
He reached for the binoculars, but Drake already had them lifted to his eyes. “One light on, no sign of movement. Red Jeep Renegade in the drive.”
“Give me the plate, and I’ll run it.” Erik pulled up on his phone one of the PI databases they subscribed to and entered the digits as Drake rattled them off. The result populated Erik’s screen. “Belongs to Gordon. It’s his only registered vehicle.”
“So he’s likely home,” Clay said over the seat.
“Could’ve gone out with someone,” Erik said. “But yeah. It’s likely.”
