“Here.” Kelos handed her a glass of whiskey and she cradled it in her hands as he sat down next to her. “Are you okay?”
“Scared.” She leaned back and nestled into him. “Hopeful.”
“I don’t think someone would have gone to the trouble of hiding the file if there wasn’t something in it to hide.” Kelos looked toward the bar. “Joanna is here.”
“Then I guess we’re about to find out what is in it.” Amber took a gulp of whiskey, wincing when it burned the back of her throat. Fire spread out through her veins and the room became a little fuzzy, as if she were one step away from reality.
“Don’t pass out on me,” Kelos told her. “Since I’m still not sure where we’re going to sleep tonight.”
“You don’t want me falling off your back.” She took another swig of her drink regardless and then cupped her hands around the glass as they waited for Joanna and O’Malley.
“You’ve got it?” Joanna breezed in, her cheeks flushed with excitement. “I didn’t know if it would be there. Not for sure. People tell you all kinds of crap when they think it’ll make you go easy on them.”
“Okay, open it up.” O’Malley came into the room and closed the door behind him “We don’t want any prying eyes in here.”
“No, this has to stay between us for now.” Joanna looked at each of them in turn “You can’t tell your family or anyone.” Her gaze lingered on Amber as she spoke.
“I get it.” Amber nodded, although the actions seemed overexaggerated.
“None of us want to do anything that might jeopardize a case against Ostabell,” Kelos assured her
“We are all for putting that bastard away for a very long time,” Amber agreed. “The longest time”
“Okay.” Joanna picked up the flimsy cardboard file and lifted the flap. Inserting her hand, she pulled out a sheaf of papers and placed them down on the table. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”
She picked up the piece of paper from the top of the pile and scanned it. Then she moved onto the next piece and then the next. As she picked up another sheet of paper, she revealed a photo.
“Oh. Is that…” Amber covered her mouth with her hands Was this the image that Joanna would never unsee? Was it a photo of her dad?
“It’s not my dad.” Relief and disappointment fought for control of Joanna’s expression as she picked up the photo and studied it closely. “It’s a professional hit. You can tell from the position of the body and the angle of the bullet…” She looked up. “Sorry, you don’t need to hear all that.”
“You mean from the photo, you would say it was a professional hit?” Amber’s voice shook and she took another sip of whiskey.
“Yes.” Joanna glanced down at the rest of the papers in her hand. “These are phone records along with bank details. Without going through them in detail, I don’t know what they refer to.”
“What’s the rest of this stuff?” O’Malley nodded toward the rest of the file.
“Let’s take a look.” Joanna’s hand shook as she resumed sorting through the information in the file and Amber’s heart ached for her. The police officer must be hoping for some proof that Ostabell was responsible for her dad’s murder but seeing something like that...
“Do you want us to look?” Amber asked gently.
“I’m okay.” Joanna’s jaw tightened and her eyes glistened as she nodded her thanks to Amber.
The other three people in the room stood by in silence as she slowly sifted through the paperwork. Joanna’s brows knitted together, her frustration growing until suddenly the air puffed out of her lungs and she took a step back as if she’d been punched in the gut.
“Why don’t you sit down?” O’Malley hooked his hand under Joanna’s elbow and directed her to the sofa where she sat down heavily, her eyes fixed on another photo.
“This is it.” She stared at it, her fingers gripping it tightly. “This is the proof.”
“What is it?” Amber could hardly breathe, she just wanted this all to be over. Ostabell had caused so much pain and suffering to so many people. People who didn’t deserve it.
“It’s a photo of Ostabell and another man in the alley where my father was shot.” She covered her mouth as she turned the photo around so the others could see. “The third man in the photo is my dad.”
“That’s it, you have what you need.” Amber wanted to say she was sorry, but this is what they all wanted, definitive proof that Ostabell was involved in far worse crimes than money laundering.
“Yes.” Joanna’s eyes glittered as she shuffled back through some of the papers. “I think these bank accounts are proof Ostabell paid people to do his dirty work.” She jabbed a line of numbers on one of the sheets of paper. “This. This is the payment the hitman received for killing my dad. I’m certain.”
“I’ll get you a drink.” O’Malley got up and headed toward the door.
“No.” Joanna got up abruptly and gathered the files. “Thank you.”
“Where are you going?” O’Malley asked.
“To the station. I want to move on this now. My boss has been waiting for a breakthrough and this is it. We need to act quickly before Ostabell weasels his way out of this. He’s good at nuking his past so the trail goes cold.” She headed for the door.
“I’ll come with you.” O’Malley glanced at Amber and Kelos. “Make yourselves at home.” He pointed toward the ceiling. “I have an apartment upstairs. There’s a guest room, it’s all yours if you want to stay.”
“What about Fabian?” Amber wasn’t sure if this new information would mean her brother might be free to leave the city.
Joanna shook her head, her eyes expressing her sympathy. “I’m sorry, Amber.
