Mercy winked at her in acknowledgment and Frida shook her head before her vibrating phone caught her attention. Her amusement turned to concern when she saw Chief Randall’s phone number.
Quickly, she left the team for the relative calm of the hallway. “Montalvo speaking.”
“Frida. It’s Chief Randall. I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you sooner, there are too many eyes and ears, and I had to make sure no one suspected anything. I heard about the attack and the break-in at your office. Are you all right?”
The older man’s deep voice immediately seemed to make everything better, and boosted her resolve to carry this investigation to its end. “I took care of everything. And I’m perfectly fine and protected. Me, my people, and the data.”
“Yes, I know you’ve taken refuge at the Alliance Agency. I know Shane Rhodes’ reputation from my time in California when he was still a SEAL, and he’s a good man. Miami is lucky to have him and his agents here. Stick with him, and he’ll keep you safe. I can’t speak long, can’t risk someone tracing the call. Stay safe and be careful. I don’t know what your angle is, but it seems to be working. There’s a buzz in many precincts but also in HQ. However, I came across a piece of information that may help you, depending on what you can do with it. I’ve just been informed that Charles Kasten filed the paperwork for early retirement a few weeks ago.”
“What? Why? He’s not going to be able to access his pension if he retires early.”
Chief Randall coughed in indignation on the other end of the line. “That’s the best part, he’s not requesting his pension. Not ever. He declined that option on his form. And if it’s approved, he’ll return to civilian life in a couple of days.”
Frida’s brain went into overdrive, but she was cut short when she heard shuffling on the line. “I have to go. Watch your back, and if you need my help, you know where to find me.”
And he was gone. As she went back to the conference room, she tried to gather her thoughts and make sense of all the avenues and possibilities. Her expression must have given her away. The team, who’d been hard at work, stopped what they were doing to look at her.
“Just got an interesting piece of information. Detective Kasten has decided to retire from the force, effective in two days, and without a pension. What do you think of that?”
Rina gaped as Mercy slapped her thigh, and Alex nodded. “All I can say is, I don’t think that man would do anything without knowing he was going to benefit in some way, either with more prestige or more money. Your news means he’s getting both, and that’s frightening.”
Mercy certainly agreed. “Power and money. But a million won’t last that long, and if he split with Pool, it’s only five hundred thousand.”
Jotting notes on her pad, Rina shook her head. “One, five, even ten million wouldn’t be enough for him. He must have another plan, another way to guarantee an income, or he wouldn’t have made that move.”
It was what Frida suspected.
Alex started typing like a man possessed. “I’ll need time to hack the MPD Human Resources database. The Union one is more… accessible, let’s say. Let me look there first.” Alex became silent as he typed. “Hmm, look at that. They’re quite thorough. According to the paperwork on file, I just happened to see that Nicole Kasten is stepping down from the committee, along with a few others. Coincidence, I think not. I need to access the MPD and see if any other cops are suddenly retiring.”
Eyes bright, Mercy rubbed her hands before pulling her laptop even closer. “Can’t wait to dig into their finances and see how greedy they got. Kasten may be cautious, but the others might not be so careful.”
Clearly carried by everyone’s enthusiasm, Rina smiled. “I’ll cross-check everything, boss. You should have a working list as soon as the data becomes available.”
The money could be the key to linking Pool and Kasten with the gangs. What they needed to do was trace the money from Kasten and Pool to the Miami gangs. She was ready to bet that, in the middle of the mess, she’d find the missing kids.
The team was hyped, and knowing that the investigation was in good hands, Frida went to check on Malco. Her mind was focused on getting the dirty cops, but she couldn’t forget about the missing kids.
Cleo, as usual, was at the desk and immediately looked up at her. “Hey! Do you need anything? Is everything okay in there?”
With a nod, Frida looked around. “It’s going better and faster than I’d expected. Do you know where Malco is? He’s supposed to work on the missing teens from the center, and I need to update him on our lead.”
“I guess they got a lead too because Ward turned up, and soon after that, they rushed out. Malco said they were checking something, but I don’t have more information. He just told me he’d be back soon.”
Frida ground her teeth. She wasn’t happy he hadn’t told her what he was doing. Even if there were loads of reasons why Malco hadn’t, it still frustrated her. Weren’t they supposed to be a team? Unless he was acting like a caveman, trying to protect her. That made her seethe even more. She was a damn good lawyer and not some delicate flower that needed protecting.
The fact he’d disappeared without telling her hurt. That unexpected reaction that blossomed inside her chest surprised her, but she was honest enough to see where it was coming from. For the first time since her father, she trusted a man. A man she’d only started to trust maybe, but it put doubt in her mind, took her back to when she was a little girl. Malco was bound to break her
