“How did Dodd get ahold of liquid morphine?” Bones asked.
“One of the truckers sells pharmaceuticals. According to Dodd, the trucker said his supplier would be happy to sell her more if she needed it. I let Maggie turn the drug side of the case over to the Feds. I have enough already on my plate.”
“Are you sure the Remirez cartel isn’t the supplier?” I asked.
“Pretty sure,” Charlie said. “According to Mickey’s contacts, the supply chain runs back and forth from Cuba, which is why I handed that side off to the Feds. How the hitman got the drugs was the only question I needed answered. Smart really. Why risk getting caught buying the drugs yourself if you can get your wanna-be client to do it for you.”
“How’d she find the hitman?” I asked.
“Oh, that part pissed me off,” Charlie said. “Dodd got the email address from Benny. I’d sure like to have a chat with him when he’s back from his fishing trip. He’s got some explaining to do.”
“Too bad Dodd’s fingering him as the middleman isn’t enough to lock his ass up,” Uncle Hank grumbled.
“A prison sentence is the least of his worries when I catch up to him,” Charlie mumbled.
“I’m impressed,” Bones said, grinning behind a cup of coffee at Charlie.
“With the hitman? Or Benny?” Charlie asked.
“Neither,” Bones answered. “I’m impressed with you. How you put the pieces together.”
“I agree,” I said. “You’re a hell of a detective, Kid.”
“I’ve been telling you that for years. About time you finally get it,” Charlie said, winking at me as she stretched her arms over her head. “What about you guys? How did the gig at the dentist office go?”
“We made it work,” Bones said. “But it’ll be a few days before the dentist office is reopened. Not much to do until then.”
“Except track down the whereabouts of Miguel and Santiago Remirez,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “I still can’t believe the trafficking case is linked to the cartel. It seems too big of a coincidence.”
“Maybe,” Charlie said, pausing to swallow her food before continuing. “But Maggie’s theory of the cartel faking Sebrina’s kidnapping to plant her at Aces makes a lot of sense. They were trying to stop your investigation. Tech likely alerted them you were on their trail when he was running background searches. It all fits, when you look at it from that direction.”
“I agree,” Bones said. “Sebrina knew if word got back to Grady that she was in danger, he’d come running. And from there, she knew she could manipulate Grady into doing just about anything.”
“I didn’t help the situation by having them drugged and flown to Michigan,” I said.
“No,” Grady said from the veranda doorway. “That didn’t help.” He walked over and sat next to me. He seemed calmer than he’d been in weeks. “But that’s on me. I should’ve told you, or Bones, or Donovan, that something was off. That Sebrina was playing one of her games. As much as I didn’t want to believe it, I knew she’d faked the kidnapping. And until I knew why, I wanted to keep her away from the family.”
“So why didn’t you at least warn one of us when you got to Michigan?” Bones asked.
“Kelsey and Tech were already monitoring Sebrina. I figured my best option was to go deeper undercover as Sebrina’s boy toy. Play along with her game.” Grady glanced over at me. “It was a mistake.”
“Boy,” Charlie said, chuckling. “You really know how to dig yourself a hole.”
“Yeah,” Grady said, shaking his head and lightly laughing. “Wasn’t one of my better plans.”
“You seem…” I said started to say but couldn’t figure out the words.
“Resolved?” Grady said. “Like I’m done fighting?”
I looked down at the table.
“I haven’t given up on fixing this mess between us, but you’re right. I did have feelings for Sebrina. I still have feelings for her. I’m not going to keep lying to you or myself about that.”
“And what about Wild Card?” Bones asked. “At some point, do you think maybe, you could back off just a smidge?”
Grady’s shoulders and facial features tensed. “I’ll try. No promises.”
Chapter Forty-Five
CHARLIE
Wednesday, 6:30 a.m.
I was in the outdoor lounge, reading the files and notes from the multiple boxes that Gibson had gathered, when Nicholas came over and leaned his head on my shoulder, wrapping his arms around me.
“Morning, champ,” I said, dropping the papers to the side table and pulling him onto my lap. “Why so glum this morning?”
“I’m bored,” Nick whined.
“It’s barely even morning. How can you possibly be bored already?” I asked while tickling him.
His squeals of laughter were enough to finish distracting me from the case as I looked down at him with a smile.
“Okay, so I’m not bored—yet,” he said, looking up at me. “But I know I will be.”
“And how is that even possible? Look at this place. There’s an arcade, a pool, an ocean…”
“But you and Mom are always busy. Even Wild Card says he’s too busy to play. It’s no fun without you guys.”
“You’re telling me you haven’t been having fun swimming?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.
He smirked, leaning his head against me. “It would be more fun if you and Mom were with me.”
“Your mom’s here. She’s staying here while I do all the running around.”
“She’s only sort-of here. Like she gets when she’s working. She’s not really here.”
“We should fix that,” Kelsey said from a few feet away. Sara was standing next to her, holding her hand. Kelsey unhooked her shoulder holster, handing it to Wild Card who stood behind her. “Come on, Aunt Charlie,” Kelsey said to me before grabbing Sara and making a run for the pool. “The kids want us to
