Page 102 of Burning Caine

I shook my head and texted him back,Lucy’s with me

Dump her at a diner? ;)

We need to talk about the painting

Okay. See you in 10?

Give me 30

“Ferraro’s it is. Thirty minutes. But before we go, I’ve got a few other stops. Wait for me in the Pit.”

I knocked on the wall at SIU and Harry and Quinn waved me in to sit at their working table. Motioning them both close, I kept my voice at a whisper.

“I can trust you two, right?”

Neither of them nodded. It would depend on what I was about to tell them.

“I have a feeling the missing red flags aren’t actually missing. I’m heading up to IT to have someone check into it. Someone I absolutely trust.”

Harry and Quinn looked at each other, and he responded. “What’s changed since we talked about this?”

“It started with the Scott claim. I’m getting a lot of pressure to close it quickly, whether it’s the authentic painting or not. I mean, who pushes through a million-dollar claim? Then, look at all those ball-peen hammer claims. Quinn, you said it yourself. You were surprised so many got through. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but—”

“Which of us believe in coincidences?” asked Harry.

Quinn shook her head. “None of us.”

“Tell you what, Sam. Go put in your request with IT. If there’s anything there, have them print the results off and bring them directly to one of us. No email system.”

I nodded and hurried upstairs to see Kevin. If Cliff wasn’t doing anything, I was.

The desks were all moved around again, but I found my brother-in-law quickly. “Hey, Kevin. How’s Cass doing?”

He stood back from his tall desk. “Good. Tired. You’re bringing dinner tonight?”

“I am, but listen—” I lowered my voice and moved closer. “I need a favor and I need you to keep it quiet. Does the system track red flags being removed from claims?”

“It does…”

“Could you print out a report for the last two years, showing all of them? Not like approvals from Cliff, but when they’re deleted?”

“What’s going on, Sam?”

“And when you get that list, print it out and hand-deliver it to Harry or Quinn in Special Investigations. You can do that, right?”

“I can.”

“Don’t tell anyone but SIU.”

Chapter 40

Samantha

“Samantha!”Sofiastoodandrushed over to me as Lucy and I entered. “It’s been too long!”

“Only one week, sneaky.”

She smiled broadly and gave me cheek kisses and a hug.“Antonio’s on a call in his office. He’s expecting you. Should only be a minute or two.”