Unemotional.
She’d been that way once. Until she’d been assigned to work the Fieldstein and Baxter case. Her first major field assignment. The massage parlor bust hadn’t required this level of involvement. She’d spent more time preparing than being on location, and she hadn’t been working it alone. It hadn’t been like this. If all of her major assignments were going to be like this, she wasn’t sure how she’d find that disconnect again.
The conference room door was closed as she came to it, and she had a fleeting thought of just going, leaving, pretending her life wasn’t where it was. She knew that wasn’t possible, but the idea gave her the strength to push through and face her teammates.
“…We’ll have to see about that. Oh hey, Landry,” Rick said, waving her in. “We were just talking about pulling the finances at Showalter’s club again and comparing them to any fluctuations in his personal accounts. Darrell seems to think if he’s stealing from F and B, then maybe there’s a trail with his club.”
“I don’t think he’d use his club to filter money,” Viola said. “He’s not the only owner. He’d have to get his partners in on the scheme if he’s using the club. I don’t see that happening. Four control freaks letting one man run the show? No way.”
Shelby sat down and listened quietly, biding her time.
“It happens every day in the corporate world,” Darrell said. “I still say we yank it all. The club’s accounts and their personal financial records.”
“I agree with Lane,” Carson said, shaking his head. “Scene is a privately held company. They’re not subjected to the same disclosure laws. Even if we did find something questionable, a half-ass lawyer could have it explained away. It’s a waste of time.”
“It’s not a waste of time if we’re doing our jobs by investigating every angle,” Darrell growled.
Rick lifted his hand. “Enough. Let’s hear the latest from Landry, and then we can get back to deciding if we should delve deeper into the club.” He turned to Shelby and asked, “Whatcha got?” before taking a sip of coffee. The man drank the stuff from morning ’till night.
She cleared her throat. “I overheard a telephone conversation between Showalter and William Baxter. He was enraged with his boss. It sounded as if Baxter was forcing Showalter’s hand in something. He said he’d found proof of wrongdoing by Baxter and if he wanted the feds involved, he would have reported him. He then told Baxter not to threaten him and that he’d take care of whatever it was Baxter wanted him to do.”
“It is William Baxter. I fucking knew it!” Carson said.
Darrell frowned at Shelby and turned to Rick. “It could be a setup. Maybe Mason made Shelby and is trying to make Baxter look guilty.”
“He made himself look pretty damn guilty,” Shelby said. “He also confirmed getting rid of Carl O’Brian.”
“He said that?” Rick asked, squeezing his coffee cup to the point Shelby worried it’d bust.
“Yes. He told Baxter that this was the last time he was rescuing him. After this, he was done. I only heard one side of the conversation, but when he got off the phone, he was livid. He’d wanted to spend the day with me, but after that call, he said some things had come up at work.” She didn’t go into the fight they’d had. She hoped it wouldn’t matter anyway. “I think this is enough to get a warrant for more information.”
“You think he’s guilty of the Ponzi scheme?” Viola asked, brow furrowed.
“He knows something. When he bitched about his boss, he acted as if the man was inept, that he was only in his position because he was family. If that’s true, then Baxter isn’t capable of pulling off something like this. Not on his own. If Baxter is part of this…” Shelby slowly inhaled, trying to calm her racing heart. “If William Baxter is involved, then Showalter is in on it with him. Baxter has no need to steal money. He’s part of the family and grew up wealthy. His job was handed to him if Showalter is right. If I didn’t hear that conversation myself, I wouldn’t think Baxter was involved. What would his motive be? I still don’t see it.”
“We need more,” Rick said, and Shelby gaped at him.
“What do you mean? He confessed to killing O’Brian in front of a federal agent. Start there,” Shelby gritted. She could not keep seeing Mason to gain information. If she did, she couldn’t trust herself to stay objective…assuming she was still.
“It’s not enough. We need physical evidence. You did good, though, Landry. If William Baxter isn’t involved, he at least knows something.” He looked at Darrell. “Find out what you can on Baxter. If he’s not directly involved but knows what’s going on, maybe he’d be willing to cut a deal to save any embarrassment with his family’s business. His testimony could put Showalter away.”
“On it.” Darrell stood. “I’ll be at my desk if anything else comes up.”
After he left, Viola looked at Rick. “I don’t like it. Showalter was promoted long after the SEC started their investigation. Did he even have the means to do it before then? Seems too convenient.”
“Agreed,” Carson said.
Viola glanced at him. “That’s twice now you’ve agreed with my assessment. You’re kinda scaring me over there.”
He chuckled. “I know greatness when I see it. Besides, I never argue with a beautiful woman.”
“Annnd there you are.” Viola rolled her eyes.
“Childers, you concentrate on all correspondence in the weeks leading up to Showalter’s promotion—emails, texts, telegraphs, everything,” Rick said as he stood.
Carson grabbed
