Page 84 of Charmed Forces
“I need to talk to you about tomorrow night.”
“What about it?”
“Lily and I are going to follow up a lead from earlier.”
“Lily?”
“She was a lot of help to me when we met Angelica Randall. Angelica sent a text a little while ago inviting us to a party at Tom Victor’s place. It’s too good an opportunity to miss,” I explained.
“Might I suggest youdomiss it?”
“You might not.”
“Thought it was worth a shot. Can you take a date?”
“Like you? I think Tom Victor might note you as someone he doesn’t want in his home.”
“No, I wasn’t thinking of me. Someone like...”
“You’re struggling to think of anyone, aren’t you? Fletcher and Flaherty are onthatassignment, Delgado’s too butch and too deadly to be just a man on my arm, Lucas gets separation anxiety from his computer, and you’ve never seen any of the other guys directly in this kind of an undercover environment. Plus, they all look like they’re ex-somethings. Speaking of which, maybe you need to hire another woman.”
“Like Lily?”
I knew Solomon was being a smidge sarcastic but I ignored it. “No, she’s busy with the bar although she’d be thrilled if you asked her.”
“Too risky. She might say yes.”
“She still has to be there tomorrow night. She was included in the invite too. It’ll look weird if I drop her and go alone. Plus, she can provide good distraction.” Undoubtedly, I’d need that before I could poke around, and Lily’s distractions were second to none.
“Fine, but I want you wired with cameras and a locater, and I want someone nearby in case you need help.”
“Agreed.”
“That was easy. I thought you’d put up a fight.”
“I’m not stupid. I know Tom Victor is dangerous and I’m far too cute to die.”
“When are you expected?”
“Seven PM.”
“We’ll get you fitted for everything by six.”
“I don’t know what I’m wearing yet.”
“It won’t matter.”
After we disconnected, I skimmed the file on Solomon’s desk then sent Lucas a message asking him to find more information about Tom Victor’s real estate dealings and received a thumbs-up emoji in return. I could have spent time scouring the internet and company records but if the company were hidden beneath layers of other companies, it would take too much time I couldn’t waste. Plus, I didn’t even know what I was looking for yet.
Although I hated to admit it, things were going south for Daniel. With the discovery of the cash, the evidence was mounting up and I couldn’t imagine how things could get any worse. After all, it appeared he’d fled a crime scene, disposed of his gun, and received and stashed a huge cash payment.
It didn’t matter that I knew it was all a setup, that the frame jobs were so obvious, they belonged in a cheap movie. What mattered was how it looked to everyone else. Which was bad. The media had a big news story and their sources were good.
Sooner or later, Daniel would have to come out of hiding. If we couldn’t find evidence to exonerate him and fast, he’d be ruined regardless of his innocence, and the slick murderer of four people would escape justice.
I picked up a pen and tossed it against the wall in annoyance. Then I thought better of it, retrieved the pen, and laid it on my notepad.
Despite Louise’s connection to Tom having piqued my interest, it couldn’t be my first priority. Tomorrow evening, I would be inside Tom Victor’s house and have the opportunity to poke around. I knew it was unlikely he would have a notepad marked “How To Frame Detective Daniel Graves in Five Easy Steps” but there had to be something to connect him to my brother’s tragic case. Or even something to connect him to someone in the police department who had knowledge of the witpro case. I needed to find financial reports, bundles of cash that might have concurrent serial numbers with the cash hidden in Daniel’s garage, or even a note with a scrawled name that linked him to someone he shouldn’t have any connection with.