Crossing Danger: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

  Hmm...not exactly what I wanted to hear. And I wasn’t so sure I liked the chief anymore either, but what could I say? “All right, I’ll come, but there’s something else I’d like to do.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Talk to Anthony Kerby. Could we fit that in today?”

  Dimples let out a breath. “Uh...yeah...sure. That will probably work.”

  “Okay...see you soon.”

  I got out my to-go mug and poured in another can of Diet Coke to take with me, knowing I needed all the fortification I could get. While I was at it, I grabbed a couple of cookies and stuffed them in my purse along with a granola bar. Now that I was fully prepared, I could leave.

  With my ID badge around my neck, I entered the precinct, fully expecting Bates to harass me. He sat at his desk and quickly stood after spotting me. I braced for the onslaught, but he surprised me with a smile.

  “Hey Nichols, glad you’re back.” He actually meant it, but I also picked up that he liked having me around since it gave him someone to blame when things didn’t go right.

  “Yeah...sure,” I said. Some people never changed. Dimples waved me over to his desk, so I hurried in that direction, hoping Bates wouldn’t follow.

  “Glad you’re here,” Dimples said, ushering me into the seat beside his desk. Bates stayed where he was, and Dimples sighed with relief, thinking he wanted this to stay between the two of us.

  “This is what we’ve got so far. Pete’s phone is missing, along with his gun, ID, and wallet. The chief thinks he was involved with some kind of drug ring. It makes sense...he worked narcotics and got to know some of the major drug dealers. The worst of it is, he also had access to the drugs locked up in evidence. The chief thinks the books may have been doctored and Pete took some of them.”

  “If he was involved, then why was he killed?” I asked.

  “Maybe he wanted out.” Dimples shrugged.

  “Yeah...and the fact that Chloe saw him changed everything. Maybe they wanted him to kill Chloe and he couldn’t do it, so they killed him instead. But I hate to think of him as a bad cop.”

  “Yeah...tell me about it.” Dimples was thinking that the whole thing could be connected to organized crime. Maybe Pete was working with Joe “The Knife” Manetto, and feeding him information. His concerned gaze caught mine. Did I still work for Manetto? Did I know what was going on? His breath caught, and his eyes clenched shut.

  “You just heard all that, right?” he asked.

  “Uh-huh,” I nodded. “But don’t worry, it’s not that. I’m sure I would know.” I was lying through my teeth, since I knew Uncle Joey had an inside cop and I knew exactly who it was, but I also knew Uncle Joey didn’t have anything to do with Pete, so I tried not to feel too guilty about it.

  “Uh...good, good,” he said, but he was thinking, does she still work for him?

  Just then, Chief Winder stuck his head out of his office. “Harris, I need you and Shelby in my office. Now.”

  I glanced at Dimples, and he shrugged. He didn’t know what was going on, but he obediently stood and walked into the office with me following behind.

  “Shut the door,” the chief said.

  I did as I was told and turned back to face Chief Winder. He was hoping he’d made the right decision in telling us what was going on. “I just got a call from the FBI. They’re investigating our department and taking over the investigation into Pete’s death. So...we’re out. I don’t know any more than that, but if you have any information to share with me, now’s the time to do it.”

  “Can we keep looking on our own?” I asked.

  “Officially...no. Some big shot’s running the investigation and wants our full cooperation. That means they’ll take over all of the records Pete was involved with. They should be walking in here in the next hour, so I wanted you to know.” He caught Dimples’ gaze. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to look on your own, as long as you do it discreetly.”

  “Got it,” Dimples said.

  “Good. You may go.”

  As we left his office, the chief was thinking that, if nothing else, he could tell the FBI about me, and maybe they’d have better luck using my skills.

  My breath caught. I did not want to be involved with the FBI. I followed Dimples back to his desk, but all I wanted to do was get out of there before the FBI showed up.

  “I have a new lead,” I blurted, then proceeded to tell him about my run-in with the plumber near the crime scene. “We have pictures of both Tom and Pete we could show around at those businesses. Maybe someone who works there knows something about who killed them. Even if they didn’t admit it, I’d know.”

  “That’s right,” Dimples said, smiling. His dimples grew into big tornados right before my eyes.

  I grinned back at him. “And we can stop by Anthony Kerby’s office while we’re out. I’d sure like to know what he’s thinking.”

  Dimples chuckled and stood. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s go.”

  Chapter 11

  We took Dimples’ car and, once on the road, I asked him about Pete and the FBI investigation. “Why would they take over Pete’s murder investigation?”

  “Well, the chief said there was an internal investigation going on,” he answered. “So they must have suspected Pete was crooked before all this went down.”

  “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” I knew Officer Bellini might be crooked too, but I wasn’t going to touch that with a ten foot pole.

  “So it has to have something to do with the drugs and whatever it was Chloe overheard,” he continued.

  “That’s true. So who was Pete working with? If we can figure that out, then we’ll get some answers.”

  “I agree. Maybe the FBI knows. Too bad they’re not talking to us.”

  “Right. Unless we know someone who will talk to us, we’re pretty much in the dark.” I didn’t know anyone with the FBI, but I did know Blake Beauchaine. Since he’d seen the file the FBI had on me, he could be an FBI agent...or at least have some connections. Maybe I could ask him?

  Dimples was also thinking about who he knew at the FBI, and who he could ask, but he was hoping I would pick up a clue first, so he didn’t have to. That made me smile and I was about to agree with him, but since it didn’t occur to him that I had just heard that thought, I didn’t want to remind him.

  We pulled into the plumbing supply store’s parking lot and went inside. No one recognized the photos of Pete or Tom at the plumbing store or any of the other businesses, so I showed Dimples the path to the fence and the cut chain links. I glanced to the place where the attorney general’s sign had been when I was there earlier, but it was gone. That was weird. Had I even seen it there in the first place?

  “Can we go down to the crime scene from here?” I asked. “It might be helpful to look around once more while no one’s there.”

  “Sure,” Dimples agreed.

  Slipping through the fence wasn’t as easy as it looked, and I managed to get dirt all over me. Disgusted, I brushed it off and followed Dimples across the street to the scene. Not much had changed since this morning, and I wondered if I’d imagined that elusive scent on the breeze. I went back to the spot behind the pillar and glanced around again, hoping I’d see something new.

  “What are you doing?” Dimples asked.

  “I’m just looking around,” I said. “I want to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”

  Dimples shrugged and joined in the search. I was just about to give up when I spotted something shining in a crack between the concrete slabs. The sun hit it just right, making the light reflect into my eyes. I knelt beside the crack. “Look at this. It looks like a tie clip.”

  “Oh yeah?” Curious, Dimples came to my side and watched while I took a fingernail file out of my purse and popped the tie clip out of the wedge. The long, flat part was gold, and mounted in the center was the shape of an eagle with the initials, F.O.E. set below.

  The cool scent of Irish Spring and green grass touche
d my nose, and I inhaled sharply. “Can you smell that?” My heart rate spiked with panic.

  “Smell what?” Dimples sniffed. “You mean the car exhaust?”

  “Uh...yeah. It’s pretty bad, huh?” I agreed, not wanting him to think I’d totally lost my mind. As the scent slowly faded away, I cleared my throat. “Anyway...what do you think of this? Are those someone’s initials?”

  “I don’t think so,” Dimples said. “But I’ve seen this before. Yeah...I remember now. With the eagle on there, I think the F.O.E. stands for The Fraternal Order of Eagles.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s a charity organization of some kind, and I think you have to get sponsored and approved to be part of the group.”

  “Oh. Then this could be a clue.” I examined it closely. The edges seemed worn, like it had been stuck in the crack a long time. “Is it okay if I keep it?”

  “Sure,” Dimples said. “But I doubt it has anything to do with the murders. I mean...linking a lost tie clip to the murderer would be great, but it looks like it’s been there quite a while, so it’s not likely.”

  “Yeah...I know,” I said, shrugging like it didn’t matter. But inside I knew there was more to it because of that elusive smell. This was the clue I was supposed to find. Whoever owned this pin was Tom’s murderer.

  I turned it over and found the words Love, Mom engraved on the back, with an October date from about ten years ago.

  “You still want to stop by Anthony Kerby’s office?” Dimples asked, ready to move on.

  “Oh yes, of course.” I followed Dimples back through the fence to the car, clutching the tie pin in my palm. Even though I’d found this clue, it would take some kind of a miracle to find out who it belonged to, and I tried not to get discouraged.

  Back at the car, I carefully placed the tie pin inside the loose change part of my purse where it wouldn’t be hard to find. Dimples watched, thinking I was making too big of a deal out of it, but he didn’t want to burst my bubble, so he kept his mouth shut.

  “How’s Billie doing?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.

  “Much better. They’ll probably send her home tomorrow or the next day, as long as she has someone there to help her out.”

  “That’s great. So are her parents still in town? Are they going to help her?”

  “Her mom is. I think her dad had to get back home for work. But they got the apartment all straightened out and put back together, so that’s good.” He was thinking with how busy he was, it was a good thing they’d come, since he never would have found time to clean the apartment. But he was also looking forward to when they left so he could have her all to himself. He sighed, realizing how crazy that sounded, and knew he had it bad.

  “It is,” I agreed. “Hey...did you get a chance to look at that thumb-drive?” I hated eavesdropping, so I hoped this change of subject wouldn’t seem too abrupt.

  “Yeah...last night, but I was too tired to understand everything that was on there. Some of it made sense, and some of it didn’t.”

  “I got that too. Maybe Billie knows more about it.”

  “Maybe.”

  We pulled into the parking garage at the attorney general’s office and made our way to Kerby’s floor. As we approached the receptionist, my stomach fluttered with nerves. Talking to him might just solve the case, and I didn’t want to screw it up.

  Dimples showed the receptionist his badge, and she put the call through to Anthony, then told us that he was on a conference call and would see us in about fifteen to twenty minutes.

  “Is his intern here today?” I asked. “His name is Devon.” I figured since we had to wait, we might as well talk to him too.

  “Let me check...yes...it looks like he is. Just a minute, and I’ll call him.” She placed the call, telling him a detective with the police was here, and I couldn’t help the jolt of satisfaction that ran through me. I could just imagine how that could scare the crap out of him. Devon came to the reception area with his head held high, but I knew his heart was pounding with fear.

  As he approached, he was thinking he’d done nothing wrong, so there was no need to be afraid. He couldn’t figure out what we wanted though, unless we found out, and it made him sweat.

  “I’m Detective Harris, and this is Shelby Nichols. We have a few questions we’d like to ask you. Is there someplace we can talk in private?”

  “What’s this about?” he asked, stalling for time.

  “You want to do this out here?” Dimples asked, his voice not so friendly anymore.

  “Um...no, I guess not. I have a small office, but I think we can all fit.” He led the way down a long hall and opened a door at the end. He wasn’t kidding about it being small. It looked like a refurbished closet, fitted specifically for an intern who worked for free. At least there was enough room for two chairs, but I wasn’t sure we could get a third one in there.

  “I’ll go find another chair,” Devon mumbled.

  “That’s not necessary. I’ll stand.” Dimples said. “Please, sit down. This won’t take long. We’re here to see Anthony Kerby, but since there was a wait, we thought we’d chat with you for a minute.”

  Devon swallowed and sat, then licked his lips. “Sure...okay. What’s going on?”

  “We have reason to believe you were given money to take something that didn’t belong to you,” Dimples began.

  “What? No way.” Devon broke in. “You must have the wrong guy. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never taken anything.”

  “That’s true,” I said. “But you asked your friend, Corey, to do it, and then you gave him five thousand dollars.” His eyes got big, and he swallowed again. How did we know? Did Corey tell us?

  “Look,” I said. “We don’t care about that so much...and we know Anthony Kerby asked you to do it. He’s the one who gave you the money. We just want to know if anyone else was involved.”

  He glanced between the two of us before caving in. “No, not that I know of.”

  “Do you know what was on the thumb-drive?” Dimples asked.

  “Not exactly. Only that it’s not illegal.” He was thinking it was probably illegal as hell, but he never saw it, so he was telling the truth.

  “Did he ask you to do anything else?” Dimples asked. “Like break into someone’s apartment?”

  “No way. Mr. Kerby would never do that and, even if he asked, I wouldn’t do it. That’s all I know, I swear.”

  Dimples glanced at me, and I nodded to let him know Devon was mostly telling the truth. Sure, he didn’t break into her apartment, but for another five grand, he would have.

  “All right. That will be all for now.” Dimples opened the door, then turned back to face Devon. “But we might be back later.” Devon paled and was thinking this was a disaster, and he hoped it didn’t get him in trouble. Hopefully, he could keep the internship until the semester was over, since he needed the hours to graduate.

  As we walked back to the reception area, Dimples whispered, “I was hoping it was him. But that would have been too easy. I guess we’ll just have to see what Anthony has to say.”

  “I’m sure he’ll deny it. But I’ll see what I can find out.” I sent him a wry smile, and Dimples smiled back, thinking what I did was the coolest thing in the world.

  We approached the front desk, and the receptionist told us that Anthony was free and would see us now. We followed her to his office where she knocked and then opened the door.

  “Detectives,” Anthony greeted us, standing and shaking our hands. He wore a blue shirt with a dark tie and suit. His welcoming smile exuded wholesome charm and goodness. “What can I do for you?”

  I had no idea what to say, but I knew Dimples had been thinking about it, so I glanced at him.

  “We’re following some leads on a thumb-drive that was stolen from a reporter’s desk at the local newspaper,” he began. “And one of them led us straight to you. What can you tell us about it?”

  Anthony’s brows
creased together, and he recoiled in shock. “A stolen thumb-drive? I don’t know what you mean. Who told you I had something to do with it?”

  Dimples waited, wanting to give me time to read his mind, but all I could pick up was a sense of hostility toward us, along with righteous outrage. Then I picked up Anthony’s disgust toward Devon for letting it slip, but he wasn’t worried.

  Sure, he’d suggested Devon ask his friend to get the thumb-drive since he was such a suck-up, but there was no way that money could be traced back to him. He hadn’t given the money to Devon directly, so no one could prove it came from him in the first place.

  “A source,” Dimples answered, inserting some menace in his tone to intimidate Anthony. “There was also a break-in at the same reporter’s apartment. She was shot and nearly died. Do you know anything about that?”

  Anthony took a deep breath and shook his head. His lips thinned, and his eyes narrowed with indignation. “I don’t mind helping the police out, detective. We’re on the same side, but you’re crossing a line to come to me with these sorts of accusations. Unless you have some kind of evidence, I suggest you use your time more wisely. The real criminals are out there, not in this office.”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” I agreed, smiling to appease him. “The people who broke into her apartment are the ones we should be looking for. I’m sure that had nothing to do with you. I mean, how would you even know who these people are or how to contact them? It’s absurd.”

  He turned his full attention to me, trying to decide if I was being sincere or had the nerve to openly mock him. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to work.”

  “Sure,” I said, standing. “Thanks so much for your time. Sorry to have bothered you.”

  Dimples opened the door with a questioning brow at my audacity and followed me out to the car. We didn’t say another word until we were both sitting in the car with the doors closed.

  “Well?” he asked. “What did you find out?”

  “Okay...here’s what I got. Anthony doesn’t think the money can be traced back to him, but he did hire a couple of thugs to break into Billie’s apartment to search for thumb-drives and grab her computer. He also regretted that Billie got shot...so I guess that wasn’t part of the plan.”