Liv unlocked the back door, grunting when Veronica shoved her through. “Find it,” Veronica demanded.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Liv repeated, but her gaze flickered towards the front area of the cafe.
“I know you know what I’m looking for.” The knife tickled her throat again.
“I don’t have it.” Liv’s voice was flat.
“But you did?” Veronica held her taunt.
“Someone stole it.” Liv shrugged and tried to casually put a hand in her pocket.
“Hands up.” Veronica’s voice was lethal. Liv put her hands where Veronica could see them.
“Where is it?” Veronica repeated, and there was a desperation to her voice that confused Liv.
“I don’t know.” Liv put as much truth into that as she could. “You can stab me or hurt me and I still won’t know where it is.”
Veronica started flipping tables over, looking underneath them. Liv could spot the table from a distance, the one she had taken the flash drive from. Now that she knew what to look for, it was easy as pie to spot the indent. But Veronica didn’t.
Liv slid her hand into her pocket and texted Ryan.
SOS. Cafe.
Hopefully Ryan would see it and come to her rescue. It was Liv’s best chance, whether or not Veronica let her go.
“He’ll kill my family.” Veronica sounded desperate, and she whirled on Liv. “Where is it?”
“Who?” Liv asked. “Go to the police. The police can protect you.”
Veronica snorted. She turned back to the cafe, which was now going to be a pain in the butt to clean. Well, if Liv survived long enough to clean it.
“Damnit.” She threw a towel across the room, frustration clear across her face. Veronica turned to look at Liv, hatred warring with a need to do whatever she could to get what she needed. Then she cracked, settled down on a chair and began sobbing.
Liv texted Ryan again, highly cautious of Veronica’s mood switches. She needed to get out of there, and she knew it. But her phone hadn’t vibrated with any incoming messages.
Where was Ryan? Why wasn’t she answering?
Ryan sat at her desk in one of the group rooms, going over the financial statements they had on all three of the primary players. Some of Cairo’s big deposits could be traced to Steven, some couldn’t. There were also some deposits into Charles’ account. But others, the ones that couldn’t be traced, were obviously coming from foreign sources.
Gambling? Drugs? There was so much Ryan didn’t know.
“I thought I ordered you off this case, Olsen.” The Chief’s gruff voice caught her off guard.
“It’s in relation to my missing person’s case, Sir,” Ryan said with as many manners as she could manage. It was hard, when she really wanted to tell him to stuff it.
The Chief stared at her, and there was a hardness there that Ryan didn’t appreciate at all. Then he disappeared.
“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Ryan muttered under her breath. She heard Dane snort next to her.
Ryan turned back to her documentation, thinking over the cases. They all had something to do with the bar. And Ross hadn’t been able to confirm Steven’s alibi. Maybe it was worth having another talk with him.
Leaving Dane behind, she headed to the bar and saw Ross’s car in the parking lot. She let out a sigh of relief. At least he was there. Locking the patrol car behind her, she headed towards the bar’s entrance. It was closed, so she knocked a few times, her ear tilted towards the bar so she could hear.
It took a few seconds, but then she heard the scraping of someone getting up and heading to the door. Then the bolt made the clacking noise and the door swung open. Ross stood there, his hair a bit ruffled. “Detective Olsen.” He seemed surprised. “Can I help you?”
Ryan nodded. “May I come in?”
“Sure.” Ross pushed the door open further, letting Ryan in the door. “What can I help you with?”
Ryan headed towards the bar, taking a sweeping view of the room. It looked just as she remembered it, except the bar was half-stocked, as if they weren’t quite ready for the evening crowds yet. “So you serve alcohol here?”
“Yes.” Ross looked perplexed. “It’s a bar.”
“What about other types of drugs?” Ryan leaned forward slightly. “Off the record.” Kind of. Not really, but sometimes people bought that.
Ross frowned. “Of course not. I don’t allow that stuff here.”
“What about Veronica?” Ryan kept her voice casual. There was something here, there had to be. She wasn’t certain where else to look.
Fear passed over Ross’s face, and Ryan knew she had hit on something. “We’ll keep your name out of it,” she assured him.
Ross exhaled slowly. “Steven deals drugs here, sometimes,” he said. He grimaced.
“Why didn’t you tell me when we spoke previously?” Ryan knew there were tons of various answers, but she was curious as to his reasoning specifically.
“He threatened to kill my family.” Ross looked away from her.
“You’re married?” There was a hint of surprise in Ryan’s voice.
He nodded. “Wife’s back in Seattle. I’m just down here for a few months to get experience so I can get a job back home.”
Ryan jotted that down in her mind. “Is there anything else you can tell me about Steven?”
Ross thought for a moment and then shook his head. “Don’t mention me when you talk to him, okay?” There was a pleading tone to his voice.
“I won’t,” Ryan assured him. She pulled out her phone to jot down electronic notes and paused, seeing Liv’s text.
“Shit,” she muttered under her breath. She looked up at Ross. “Look, I have to go. If you think of anything, give me a call, yeah?”
Ross nodded, and before Ryan could ask him anything else, she ran out the door.
She got to the cafe quickly enough that she probably should have earned a speeding ticket, but she didn’t
