“Well, if we were supposed to focus on Mancini, we could’ve arrested him months ago. Bianchi and Finnegan weren’t even on the taskforces radar, which never sat right with me. I mean, yeah, take out the easiest target, which is obviously Mancini. He doesn’t have the power the other two have. A few of the smaller gangs were busted first. Everyone’s aware of what Mancini and his crew were up to. He didn’t exactly cover his ass.”

  “Are we talking some form of police corruption?” Simon leaned back in his chair.

  “If so, I’m going to be pissed. They made me complicit by association. But I hope I’m not going to offend you, but if they are running their own criminal organization from inside the taskforce, then it goes as high as the DA.”

  “I won’t argue in opposition. There isn’t much I wouldn’t put past my parents, but being seen above reproach is also important to them.”

  “Hypothetically, what would be their motivation?” I asked Simon.

  Simon sighed heavily and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Well, in front of the cameras, they praise what’s going on at the Outreach, but behind closed doors, they very much see the strip as a blight on their city. There’s been some talk about trying to legalize sex work and changing drugs statutes to make anything under a certain weight as a sentence for treatment rather than jail.”

  “When did that start?” I hadn’t heard anything about that, and that was a huge change. Narcotics would be out of business.

  “A few years ago, talks started between Boss and several local politicians about running on a legalization platform. The model works elsewhere. Regulating sex work would make it safer for the workers as well as clients. The Outreach would become a hub for regular testing, which, to be honest, we already do. We have an almost hundred percent testing rate for the local sex workers. Drug offenses and overdoses have fallen to an all-time low in the last few years. With all that, my parents would rather see the entire strip along with the Outreach disappear. As I said, they always run on a platform that mirrors the moral majority. But I don’t see them going to the extreme of murder and attempted murder.”

  “What would happen if both became legal?” Sharp asked. “What would be the consequences for the DA and State’s Attorney?”

  “They pride themselves on law and order. Under my father’s tenure as DA, he’s definitely lobbied for harsher sentences even for misdemeanors. Sex workers and non-violent drug offenses have increased convictions rates. If Remy was here, he’d do an entire lecture on bias in our judicial system, but I wouldn’t disagree with him. Although the election is coming up, Father’s approval rating is down, and he has about three other people running for the position.”

  “Does seem to be rather extreme for an election stunt.” Even as I said it, I saw the wheels start turning, and those mental knives were being thrown.

  As we finished up breakfast, I gathered everything to clean while Simon showed Sharp to the door. Why the hell would Simon’s parents go to such an extreme? Also, taking out Mancini no matter how low on the hierarchy he was, was still a risky move. We’d waited for an escalation mistake, but if Simon’s parents were behind whatever production this was, could we even prove it?

  Arms looped around my waist as I washed dishes.

  “Everyone’s going to be here soon. I’m going to get dressed and get Amber ready.” From his tone, I knew what he was thinking, and I decided to let him process. No matter what, I knew he had to work everything out on his own. He’d explain when he was ready.

  35

  GRAVES

  The sweet little lady smirking up at me always amused me. Flo Danners was all cotton and demure dresses, but as soon as she was done with work, it was latex and stilettos. “Hey, Miss Flo.”

  “You’re looking good, Detective. Still want to play hard to get?” I sensed the flirting coming, but it instantly stopped as I had a toddler wrapped around my legs.

  “Honey, let your Papa Simon work.” Marcel came up behind me and reached around me to extend his hand. “I’ve heard a ton about you. I’m Marcel.” He spread his hand over my belly and gave me a squeeze before he stepped away. I listened to his footsteps fade as he walked to the kitchen.

  “Well, well, well, how the times do change. I want details later when there’s no little ears around.” She winked at me.

  I shook my head as I motioned her inside, and Savvy skipped into the room. “Papa Simon, you want me to distract Amber?”

  “Would you? I just need about half an hour.”

  “Of course. Mom’s about to do a video call. She wants to see my sister’s adorable face.”

  Amber easily went to Savvy, and I wondered what would happen when we separated and went to our different homes? My girls would be devastated by the separation. I would be, too. I got so used to being a part of a full-time family that included Marcel and Savvy, Amber and me. But I pushed the thoughts away for another time.

  “You want coffee or something to drink? I think Marcel has some beers.”

  “No, I’m due at a party in about two hours. A coffee would be good, though.” She held up a thick folder. “I got that information you asked for from the property tax clerk.”

  “Let’s go in the kitchen.” As soon as we entered, I saw Marcel pouring three coffees. He made mine the way I liked and placed one on the table. He pulled the half-and-half from the fridge and set the sugar bowl beside it.

  “We have some leftovers if you’re hungry.”

  “No, Marcel, that’s nice of you. But like I told Simon, I have to be at a party. I knew this was important, so I wanted to get these records for you two.”

  “What did you find?” I asked as she started emptying the folder and making piles and then doctored her coffee.

  “About a year ago, some of the foreclosed and condemned properties on and around the strip started getting purchased. They went for cheap to get them sold. A few of them have permits pending for complete demolition of the structures that are still standing. This pile”—she tapped the thickest one—“is the condemned and foreclosed properties. Now, this one is much more interesting.” She pointed at one that was only slightly thinner. “This is all the low-income housing. But from our records, those are all rent-controlled or sliding scale. Six buildings in total with a ninety percent occupancy.”

  “What’s interesting about that?”

  “The company, Travers Investments, bought said properties, but that’s not the interesting part. Travers Commercial Investments deals mostly in high-end properties such as condos or those chic warehouse spaces that typically go for high six figures or low seven. There’s no way a company like that would purchase those buildings to keep them as low-income housing. Sure as fuck ain’t getting that price on the strip.”

  “Travers…I’ve never heard of them.” Mingling with people at the parties my parents ordered me to attend, but that was a name I’d never heard of, and rich people sometimes loved to brag about acquisitions.

  “Probably because the place only exists on paper, through a PO Box, and a website that, in their mission statement, claimed they deal with life’s ultimate luxuries. I tried to find if it was a dummy company for a larger entity, but I hit a brick wall. Vega or Zero can get you what you need, I’m sure.”

  “How many properties in total have they bought in the past year, and it didn’t cause a stir?” I asked.

  “Fifteen properties on the strip, another twenty in the surrounding areas and around the waterfront. They haven’t caused a fuss among the residents because nothing has officially been announced. It’s gentrification at its finest. They’re going to come in, put up luxury properties, Trendy boutiques, and everything else to drive up housing costs and slowly push out the smaller businesses and make it nearly impossible for the people who live on and around the strip to make ends meet. These very rich people are not going to want the unwashed masses and the sex workers roaming around their properties.”

  “So if there was a rise in crime, commercial and residential prices would plummet,” Marcel said as he picked up stacks and started flipping through the pages.

  “And this Travers can come in and buy up those properties for next to nothing and can develop these high-end properties, and their profits would be astronomical.” I mentally cursed. I mean, we’d had an idea something along those lines was in the works, but Boss and other advocates pushed back. Yet we didn’t have as much funding or enough power in city hall. That’s why we’d started to develop relationships with politicians to get more in office that had similar values as us.

  “Exactly. It’s not a secret that in the last five years that the politicians have been developing this plan to make Winston Harbor the next destination for rich professionals and being able to court large companies to open branches here. As much as the Outreach has done to turn the reputation of the strip around, it’s centrally located and prime real estate. And Boss has kept a tight hold on the area, but there’s only so much that he can do to stop the progress the powers that be want.”

  “I’ve heard about people coming in and planning small petty crimes, but to plan murders that seems extreme.” He moved on to the next stack, but he never looked up from what he was reading.

  “The deaths of who they probably consider nobodies compared to hundreds of millions in profit? Greed is a powerful motivator. And there’s also the status that comes with that amount of money. That can open a lot of doors for you.”

  “Jackie’s sons run an investment firm, and she’s fond of you. Do you think she could have some information for us?” Marcel asked.

  “It couldn’t hurt. She did provide all the information we needed without question. The Darners are the people that you want to rub elbows with in this city if you want to make connections.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Is there anything else that stood out in your search?”

  “The records I found for Travers only go back four and a half years. They’ve amassed a very who’s who of clients. There were testimonials and pictures of clients in front of their properties. But the pictures of the executives looked like images downloaded from those stock sites. Very handsome and generic, a whole lot of pretty, white male folk.”

  “Baby, I’m going to call Vega and see if she can come by to pick up the new info.”

  “Thanks.” He kissed my cheek as he set the papers down and went to the living room where we’d left our phones on the coffee table. “And no permits were filed under anything to do with Travers?”

  “No, darlin’. I cross-referenced addresses with permit filings, and was only two permits connected to any of the properties Travers purchased and those were complete demolition. I think they’re biding their time until they get everything they need. These apartment buildings are registered as sliding scale apartments. They’re going to have to go through a lot of red tape to start the eviction process, especially at the scale they need. I ran a check, and they’ve purchased the buildings around Boss and the Outreach. It’s like they’re going to strangle him.”

  “But Boss hasn’t received any threats. The only thing that happened was Mancini being dumped at the Outreach.”

  “But, honey, they have a better way of taking Boss out…” I frowned as she pointed at me. “You. You’re connected to the DA, you’re a cop, you’re on the board of the Outreach, and anyone who can access your financials knows that you can fund the Outreach just on your own. And some months you have.”

  “No one’s supposed to know that.”

  “No one’s supposed to, but that doesn’t mean it stays a secret. My brother is well aware you put your time and money into his program.”

  “Shit.”

  “Don’t be like that. Boss knows you don’t want anyone to know, so you’re just the anonymous donor. And don’t tell that man I claimed him as my brother.”

  “You two still on the outs?”

  “Darlin’, he’s sixty and still in love with a ghost. That Outreach is his permanent love letter to Juan. I called him on it, and he doesn’t like to be reminded that he’s been living in the past for over thirty years. I just want him to live for something other than his people and the memory of his first and only love.”

  “You two are always fighting about something. He’ll get over it, and you two will be besties again.”

  “I know, but it’s getting harder to fight against this perfect memory. To him, nothing could be better than Juan. I don’t think it helped that when Juan was murdered that he lost his lover and Dominant, and then he was set adrift. I better get going. I have calls into a few more friends, and they said if they heard anything, I’d be the first to know.”

  “Thanks for this.” I walked around the table and gave the petite woman a hug, and I chuckled as she grabbed my ass. “Was that your payment?”

  “What I really want in payment would get me arrested for solicitation.”

  “I’m getting really tired of everyone trying to steal you away.” Marcel’s amused voice came from the doorway, and Flo and I both looked at him and laughed.

  “If I really meant it, I wouldn’t have to try too hard.” She stepped away, and I stayed in the kitchen as Marcel showed her out.

  I shifted to stare at the papers strewn across the table, and that feeling of doom grew in the pit of my stomach.

  “Talk it out.”

  “If my parents are behind this, not only did they try to kidnap and-or murder Savvy, but they were also well aware that they were the reason I was in the hospital when they showed up. I understood that they didn’t care about me other than what I could represent for them, but to try to destroy everything I love…why?”

  “Baby,” he whispered as he twined his arms around my waist and rested his bearded chin on my shoulder. “I know there’s nothing I can do or say to lessen the pain of what they may have done. You’re a detective, an amazing one. All we have right now is theories. We have to wait for proof.”

  “I know, I do, but the problem is the theories match with what I already know about the people who created me as a prop. Do you know that’s one of the reasons I didn’t think I’d make a good parent?”

  “You’re an amazing parent. Just ask our girls. They love their Papa Simon.”

  “Thanks.”

  “No need for that. Why don’t we go see if we can say hi to Donna? I think our daughters are still talking to her. Tomorrow, we’ll come up with a plan to solve the murders but also to save the strip and Outreach. What y’all do is way too important not to fight for.”

  I closed my eyes as he turned his head and nuzzled my neck, and I hugged his arms tighter to my stomach. He was right. We had time the next day to put a solid plan into place. If my parents were behind all this, I would destroy them to keep everyone and everything I loved safe. If there was one thing my parents had taught me was where to find someone’s weakness and exploit that for my gain.

  I chuckled as he tightened his arms around my waist and lifted me off my feet. He turned and walked from the room with my feet dangling as he tickled the side of my neck with his beard. He made it so easy, and maybe that’s why I was so scared to accept what was happening because nothing in life ever came easy for me.

  36

  DOUGLAS

  “Would you snitch me out for drinking on the job?” I asked Simon as we listened to the unofficial tap on his parents’ phone, home, and cell phones. DA Graves and his breathy mistress were making me sick to my stomach.

  “You? This is one of the people who contributed to my DNA.”

  As I opened my eyes, I rolled my head on the headrest to find him glaring at me. Zero had worked his magic and got us connected to every phone, even the secret lines. Savvy and Amber were at Carmine’s while me and my baby tried to find something that would get us more official means to run surveillance.

  “Does your father’s girlfriend have asthma?” Vega asked over the laptop, and I heard Zero snort and choke in the background. The pathetic phone sex lowered until it was just a drone.

  “Why is this a conference call?” Simon asked.

  “What else were we going to do? The rest of the team is buried in files that Zero and I sent, and we needed a bit of amusement. Man, don’t take this from us!” she yelled.

  “Fine, anything interesting?” Simon asked and then took a sip of his coffee.

  “No, but Jackie, by the way, I adore that woman. She’s so vicious for looking so much like a demure grandmother. She had a talk with her sons, and they said Travers came out of nowhere. They attempted to compete with her sons’ firm and failed spectacularly. I can connect her.”

  “I’m sure she’d prefer not to suffer along with the rest of us. Did you find the people behind Travers?” Simon refilled his cup from his thermos of sugary elixir that didn’t even taste like coffee.

  “Whoever they have covering their tracks is an artist, but not as good as me and Zero.” The faint tapping of keys punctuated Vega’s pause. “Grantham Consortium. They own about a dozen investment firms. Their business layout is more complex than my genealogy charts. Backtracking from Travers took me through three other companies on one line. But Flo was right. Most of these companies are ghosts. No real board of directors exists for any of them.”

  “What’s the fucking point then?” I asked.

  “The point is, other than their real estate holdings, nothing’s overtly illegal, and even that’s questionable. They all fly pretty low under the radar. One of the dummy corps comes in, buys up all the properties, and as soon as they’re done renovating or building, they disappear like a dad in a wife-beater going out for smokes and never coming back. They cycle through at regular intervals. Only one company is active at any one time. Most outfits like this, it’s money laundering. They bring in an investor or group of investors who need a large amount of cash cleaned, Grantham takes their cut, and investors are free to walk away with their ill-gotten but laundered money.”