Page 98 of Trace of Doubt
Shelby wore her hair in a ponytail, fresh and downright appealing. Her rare smile tempted me to act on my feelings. But not yet. She might level me, and I’d be no match on crutches.
She worked on her jewelry pieces, intently concentrating. I studied her. A beautiful woman who took my breath away. She must have sensed my scrutiny because she glanced up.
“What?”
“Just watching you in artistic mode. Sorry.”
She sighed. “You are so funny.”
I scowled, knowing exactly what she meant. “Funny? In what context?”
She tilted her head. “You’re so obvious.”
“I’ll try to do better.”
A shadow passed over her face.
“Shelby, has something happened?”
“I’m thinking. Marissa dis—”
My phone buzzed with an email from the FIG.
“Take it. We’ll talk when you’re finished.”
The FIG’s fast response surprised me. I entered my secure password and opened the document. When I finished, I made additional requests and forwarded it to Mike before I steadied myself on the crutches. “I’ve got to make another call.”
“Tell Mike I said hello.”
I nodded and made my way to the porch, then closed the door behind me.
“Nearly finished reading the report,” Mike said. “Back then we searched in the logical places, just not in the right ones. Looks like the FBI has footage of Marissa and Chandler entering Stage7 restaurant in Miami, the one criminals use for meetings. The surveillance target at the time was Chandler.”
“Why hasn’t the FBI checked into her background?”
“She’s in the background, and I enlarged the image. Opened my eyes to her activities.” Mike cleared his throat. “Dinner costs more than a month of her bakery wages. I’ve requested security camera footage to see if she’s been there previously.”
“Since I sent you the report, I’ve learned she’s used the name Janae Frosk for flight reservations, hotel, and paid for her and Chandler’s evening with a credit card under the same name. We’re looking at her dropping several grand.”
Mike swore. “Is Janae Frosk simply an alias, or did she assume the identity of someone else?”
“Frosk died twelve years ago. It’s near the end of the report.” I typed into my phone. “Checking to see how long Marissa has used the woman’s Social, match up dates, bank accounts, and see if she’s calling the shots for crimes other than suspected money laundering.”
Mike drew in a deep breath. “Add murder to the list.”
“When Clay and Aria were here, Shelby was happier than I’ve ever seen her, and I hate to spoil those memories. But she has to know what we’ve uncovered.”
“She was happy with her dad and niece, not Marissa. Think about it. She’s thrilled her dad is back in her life, but rememberthe tough emotions are just below the surface with her mother’s death, the threats, all of it. She could view our findings as an act of animosity.”
“Right. I need to be careful, to form my words so she doesn’t think I’m ganging up on her.”
Mike huffed. “Honestly, do you think she’d admit Marissa’s part after serving time for murder in her stead?”
“She may have endured enough. Doing time so her sister could raise her daughter and then Marissa abandons her?”
“Stand down, Denton. The timing’s not right. Let’s dig for more evidence against Marissa.”
His insistence went against my resolve. Yet Mike reacted from years of experience, and I had the heart-thing going. We needed solid proof. “I’ll hold off. Will call later after I’ve done more research.”
