No way out

Chapter Twelve

“What else do you hear from the police?”

“Detective Carter was here a couple of hours ago with a search warrant for all of Frank’s files. He even took my computer.”

“What about your other clients? Aren’t their records on there too?”

“That’s what I told him. All my stuff is supposed to be confidential.”

“What did Carter say?”

“Hire a lawyer and take it up with the judge.”

“Are you going to do that?”

“I don’t have the time. Frank Crenshaw and Nick Staley are like a lot of my clients. They’re small-business people who don’t have time to pay all their bills, file their quarterly reports, do their payrolls, and run their businesses. My mom knew that so she did that for a bunch of them, and they all expect me to do the same. So I’m more interested in making sure that gets done on time than going to court. I’ll tell my clients that the police are looking at their records and they can hire a lawyer to do something about it if they want to, but none of them will because they can’t afford it.”

“How are you going to do that without your computer?”

“I back everything up at the end of the day to an online server. I’ll pick up another PC and download my stuff. That will put me a day behind, but I’ll catch up.”

“I heard one of the detectives at the restaurant say that the gun Frank used to shoot Marie was stolen from a gun show last month. Any idea how Frank got a hold of a stolen gun?”

“No. This can be a rough part of town. A lot of people own guns and carry them.”

“The detective also said that Frank stole a car when he was a teenager. Did you know that?”

“That was before I was born. What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Since he was a convicted felon, he couldn’t buy a gun. Who would you talk to around here if you wanted to buy a gun without a background check?”

She crunched her forehead. “And why do you think I would know something like that?”

I shrugged. “You’re third generation down here, which means you know a lot of people and a lot of their secrets. You don’t have to be a crook to know crooks. You just have to pay attention. And, this being a rough part of town, not everyone who wants a gun can get one on the up-and-up like you and your Grandma Lilly.”

She straightened in her chair, her cheeks turning rose. “This may be a rough part of town and my grandmother and mother may have taught me to take care of myself, but that doesn’t mean we’re either criminals or know criminals because I’m not one and I don’t know anyone who is.”

“I know a little bit about Northeast, and I’d know where to look.”

“Where?”

“I’d start with a drug dealer and move up the chain, asking without pushing because those people don’t like to be pushed, but drugs and guns go together like pancakes and syrup.”

“So why ask me if you already know who to ask?”

“Because I don’t know any drug dealers down here.”

She folded her arms across her middle. “But you assume that I do? Why? Because I’m young? Because I have a lip ring and red dye in my hair? Does that make me a freak in your eyes?”

She did remind me of Wendy, the way she didn’t back down when I tried to pigeonhole her, throwing my stereotypes in my face.

“A lot of people your age do drugs, and if they don’t, they know someone who does and someone else who deals. I’m not attacking you. I’m trying to help you.”

“I haven’t asked for your help, and I don’t need it.”

“You will if this doesn’t go away. Maybe Frank had something going on the side to try and pay the bills, something he couldn’t put on his books or tell you about. While you’re in the bathroom, he tells Marie, and she freaks out. That’s when she jumped out of her chair and said she’d rather lose it all.”

“That’s hard for me to believe,” Roni said. “Frank played it straight on his taxes. He wouldn’t take any chances on an audit, and Marie was the kind of person who if she found a dollar on the ground would spend the rest of the day looking for whoever dropped it and if she couldn’t find them, she’d give the dollar to the church.”

“Anything in Frank’s financial records that doesn’t match up to his normal business activity, something he could have been doing to cover his nut?”

She shook her head. “I’ve been over all of that with Detective Carter. If Frank was trying to launder money through his scrap business or cover up something else, I sure didn’t see it. I’m telling you, his business was ready for last rites. There wasn’t enough cash to wipe your nose, let alone launder.”

“Would you have seen it?”

Roni straightened and squared her shoulders. “I know what I’m doing, if that’s what you mean.”

She was cooperating with the police, and she wasn’t hiring a lawyer. That’s what innocent people did. Naive people did the same thing, as did arrogant crooks that were certain they were too smart to be caught. She may be naive, but she wasn’t arrogant. That left innocent. I tossed Simon’s CD on her desk.

“That’s what I mean. I’d like you to take a look at the financials on that disc. Let me know if you find anything that doesn’t fit.”

“Who wants to know?”

“Simon Alexander. He runs a private investigation company called Alexander Investigations. The woman I was with yesterday, Lucy Trent, she’s his partner. I do odd jobs for them. Simon is looking for someone who can decipher dollars. I told him he should give you a shot.”

She picked up the disc, turning it over in her hand, her eyes lighting up. “What am I looking for?”

“Simon wouldn’t tell me.”

“Why not?”

“Because he was afraid I’d tell you to make it easier on you.”

“Would you have?”

“Probably.”

“To save me?”

“Something like that. Simon told me to let you save yourself.”

She smiled and nodded. “Cool. I think I like him better than I like you.”

“I don’t blame you.” I handed her a business card. “My home, cell, and office numbers are on the card. Call me when you figure it out.”