Kit’s eyes widened and she felt her heart skip a beat. Even when she was with Kirby, there were lots of unanswered questions about his past, many dealing with his family. There were big revenue spikes, piles of cash and business dealings he never talked about. He would get agitated if she even tried to ask questions and she always sensed that he may have been involved in something shady. She gulped. “The Feds? That’s why I couldn’t get into the accounts?”
“Yep. And it looks like they still have control of ‘em. They were never closed like you thought. The bank had to tell you that. They exist, but there hasn’t been any activity since 1983. And I’m not sure if you know this but he had two other addresses in addition to the one you said you shared together.”
She frowned. “Huh?”
Ralph continued. “He had two other addresses that came up with his name. One was in Connecticut…”
She interjected. “Ok. That one may be family related. Gimme the address and I’ll see if I can jog my memory.” He rattled off the address. Kit shook her head and realized it had nothing to do with his family that she knew of. “Ok, so where was the other one?”
“Philly. In a very bad neighborhood. I talked to one of my friends who used to be a vice detective. He worked the area back in the day—around the time in question. Lotsa crime in that area—lots of drug related crime.”
Kit suddenly felt anxiety rush through her. She remembered when she first met Darren it was through Kirby. They had started out as friends and then things turned later on. Darren had lived in that neighborhood at one point when he was getting serious about his music career.
She sighed. “Hey Ralph, was there anyone else tied to that apartment in Philly? Like a guy named Darren?”
“Nope. The apartment isn’t actually in Kirby’s name, but it is in the name of one of the businesses he owned—North Star Enterprises.”
She sighed, starting to feel disappointed, wondering if this was a mistake. North Star Enterprises was one of Kirby’s businesses—it was a trucking company he had built from the ground up that hauled runs from Pennsylvania to Canada. He was always forthcoming about North Star. Suddenly, she felt like there was no point.
She was starting to lose hope. “Yeah ok. I remember North Star well. It was his trucking company. His operations manager took it over when he supposedly died. So, is that all you have? Is this a dead trail?”
“I’m not sure yet. Like I said, I need to do some more digging. What keeps me engaged here is the fact that the trial that convicted his father took place about six months after the car accident that supposedly ended his life. And there was another trial tied in with that one that sent a big drug lord and his entire cartel to jail. They’re still stuck in the big house along with his dad. Life in prison for the dad and the drug lord was on death row—just executed two days ago. The trials were back to back.”
Ralph continued. “My gut tells me his identity was wiped out, Ms. McKenna. They probably did it to protect him and he may be involved in some kind of federally sponsored protection program. Considering there was a major drug cartel involved, that would make sense and it would explain the Feds having control over those assets.
“His dad was convicted in a federal court, and he does have circuit court convictions as well in New York. I’m doing my best to access all the court records, both federal and state, but I’m not having much luck.”
Kit frowned. “Why is that?”
“They’re sealed to protect the identities of the witnesses. I suspect Kirby Nelson was one of those witnesses. I may be able to get info on the cases to confirm he was a part of them, but the chances of me finding out his new identity and where he is now are slim to none. The Feds are masters at erasing identities and creating new ones. Do you want me to keep going on this?”
Kit sighed. “Yes. Keep me posted. I’ll put in some calls myself. One of my friends from law school is a federal prosecutor. Maybe I can get some additional information and see if I can find out who those witnesses were.”
“Great. I’ll be in touch with any new developments.”
Kit concluded the call and hung up. She sat back and sighed, taking a sip of the tea Ariana had kindly placed in front of her moments prior.
She sighed and replaced the receiver, getting up slowly and heading downstairs. She slowly wandered into the foyer and unlocked the front door. She then headed to the kitchen, grabbed a chilled bottle of wine, two glasses and strolled out to the patio.
She set down the wine and realized it was too quiet. She quickly entered the entertainment room, opened up the French doors and cranked the tunes before she resumed her seat at the table on the patio. She slowly stared out into the abyss and sipped her chilled glass of white wine.
Spencer found his way out to the patio carrying bags of food. He leaned forward and hugged her tightly. “How are you feeling?”
She remained in his arms for a moment and then pulled back, letting out a long exhale. She nodded. “Ok. Adjusting. Yes, it’s hard and I’m heartbroken, but it’s better this way.”
He looked perplexed. “Huh? I don’t get it.”
She chuckled. “We’ll get to that. I need your help with a few things, so let’s dig in. Can you remind me of how many shares Sully has
