Pack Investigator (7 page)

“That’s smart. That boy’s been through enough,” Haas said.

Mike’s BMW was already parked when they pulled into the small lot in front of the building. Another vehicle was next to Mike’s but Garrett didn’t recognize who it belonged to. Garrett grabbed his backpack and swung it over his shoulder as he exited the SUV.

The office was lit up but there was no one at the reception desk.

“Hey, Mike!” Haas called out.

When there was no answer, Haas shrugged and Garrett followed him past the empty desk into the hall. There were three doors closed but Garrett could hear voices coming from behind one. As they got closer, the fact that Mike was in the middle of an argument was obvious. So was the detail that it was a woman’s voice bickering back.

“I can’t help you,” Mike said loudly before Haas knocked on the door.

There was a moment of silence, some shuffling, before it was cracked ajar and Mike stuck his head out. “Oh. Hi, guys.”

Garrett couldn’t see past Mike but now his curiosity was killing him.

“Sorry to intrude so early but we were hoping to catch you before you got started for the day,” Haas explained.

“Yeah, sure.” Mike glanced over his shoulder before opening the door.

Garrett was shocked to see Shelby Holt, the local reporter, standing next to Mike’s desk. Garrett had met the gorgeous lady several times, as she was one of Julie’s best friends. The reason he was surprised to see her in Mike’s office was that it was common knowledge that the two of them couldn’t stand one another. So it didn’t make sense that the two of them were meeting early in the morning in private. Especially when it appeared that they hadn’t just been arguing. Mike’s tie was crooked and while Shelby was dressed gracefully, there were wrinkles in her skirt. Garrett didn’t know what to think but he was aware whatever was going on was none of his business.

“Hey, Shelby,” Garrett greeted.

“Gentleman,” she replied back with a nod.

Mike turned to Shelby. “Maybe we can continue this discussion later?”

Shelby ran her gaze over Garrett, then Haas and finally Mike. “Sure.”

No one said anything as she picked up her purse and on those needle heels strolled out of the room. Even though Garrett wasn’t interested in her and didn’t find her nearly as attractive as Lily, he couldn’t take his eyes off her as she exited. There was just something about Shelby that screamed class.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Haas said to Mike, which pulled Garrett’s attention back to the men.

“It’s okay,” Mike said while straightening his tie and frowning. “Our conversation wasn’t going anywhere.”

Garrett wanted to offer his ear but refrained. Maybe he’d call Mike later, since Mike looked like he needed a friend.

“We wanted to discuss the break-in and your firm’s connection to the arson fires,” Haas stated.

“Connection?” Mike asked and motioned for them to sit.

Garrett waited until Haas took the left chair before dropping down into the right. They faced the desk as Mike slid into his own chair.

Haas nodded at Garrett.

Garrett scooted up in his chair as he pulled his backpack onto his lap. He took out the case file and opened it. “Your firm represented the Wilson Hardware firm in a lawsuit against Ralph Money.”

“Randy handled that case but he spoke to me about it. The owner, Carl Wilson, had an employee that he wrote up for missing some shifts. Carl was about to fire him, he suspected him of using drugs, and Mr. Money kept screwing up orders. Instead Ralph claimed an injury and tried to sue but we proved he’d actually gotten it on a camping trip with some friends. We obtained some paperwork from when Ralph first had the injury treated.”

“Did you have any contact with Mr. Money after the trial?” Haas questioned.

“He yelled some profanities and made some rude remarks afterwards but no, we never heard from him again that I know of,” Mike said.

“What can you tell us about the sale of the property you’re currently handling? The Hampton place out north,” Haas asked.

“I can’t give you too much information since it’s still in negotiations. All I can really say is that a company out of California wants the land pretty damn bad. The owners hadn’t even thought about selling and are taking their time on deciding. The company believes they just want more money but that’s not it,” Mike explained.

“What is the problem?” Garrett questioned.

“The owners? You’ll have their information in your records from the fire, I’m sure,” Mike said.

“Rodney and Greg Hampton,” Haas supplied.

“Greg is all for selling while Rodney wants to keep the property. It’s been difficult to negotiate the offer.”

“Anything feel kinky about the offer?” Haas asked.

“No, I’ve done enough of these that it’s pretty routine,” Mike responded.

“How about the Franks family?” Haas questioned.

“Franks?” Mike repeated.

“Victor or Lucy Franks?” Garrett said.

“Those names don’t sound familiar at all,” Mike said.

Garrett shuffled through a few pages before he saw another name. “Alex Franks?”

Mike started to shake his head before his eyes widened. “Wait! I know that name!” He picked up papers and shuffled through them then threw them back down. “Damn it! Where have I heard that name before?” Mike jumped up and raced from the room.

Garrett exchanged a confused look with Haas before they rose and ran after him. The door across from his office was open. Garrett reached the door first and gasped at the sight of the disaster. Filing cabinets were turned over, papers littered the floor and pictures hung at weird angles. Mike was mumbling to himself as he searched the desk.

“Is this from the break-in?” Haas asked.

Mike glanced up for a split second. “Yes, we cleaned the reception area and my office first. We were going to work on Randy’s office today.” He pounded his fist on the desk. “I think I recognize the name but I’m not sure. I need some time to sort through this mess.”

“Sure, we appreciate any help you can give,” Haas replied.

“Give me a few hours and I’ll give you a call. This afternoon I’m on one of the search party teams but I’ll find why that name rings a bell,” he promised.

“Thanks, man,” Garrett said sincerely.

“Sure.” Mike waved them off. “Now get out of here. I’ll call you.”

Haas gripped Garrett’s shoulder so he turned and followed the investigator down the hall and out of the door.

“The law firm is the connection,” Garrett said after he was back in Haas’ SUV.

“Let’s head to the Bolton house before I take you into my office,” Haas suggested.

He nodded in agreement. “He might have taken some files home. That might be why whoever started the fire did so.”

“I agree,” Haas said.

He grabbed his backpack and pulled out a small notebook. Garrett wanted to get his thoughts down. They now knew that the connection was Randy, Mike and the law firm. That was more than they’d had the day before. He also wanted to go back and search through the files for everything on the names that Mike had given them. He was especially interested in the young man who’d tried to sue the owners of the hardware store. The threats he’d made could have led to going after the lawyers. The question was how they would connect with the other fires.

As Garrett scribbled down the avenues he wanted to proceed, Haas drove them toward the Bolton house. By the time they pulled up in front of the half-burnt structure, Garrett was done and replacing his notebook. He climbed out of the vehicle before swinging his backpack over his shoulder.

Garrett paused halfway up the walk to the house. It was funny how when he went back to a house that had been on fire it always struck him how different the place looked when there wasn’t smoke or flames billowing out. Or without the firefighters, cops and other authorities that were always out during a fire.

What he’d worried would be a complete loss now sat tall with minimal damage.

“The kitchen and living room are the worst,” Haas told him. “They’ll be able to fix them up.”

Garrett nodded. At least Nick wasn’t going to lose his home. Well, if they found his dad. No one had told Nick how bad it could be. Randy might already be dead. Garrett hoped not. He wanted to reunite Nick with his dad, but sometimes the evil in the world won. “Let’s find something.”

He followed Haas up to the porch. It wouldn’t be until they got inside the house that they really had to be cautious in case the structure was unstable.

Haas unlocked and pushed open the door, allowing Garrett to enter first. He pulled his flashlight from the front pocket of his bag and turned it on. There wouldn’t be any electricity until the structure was inspected to ensure there weren’t electrical issues that could cause another fire.

The interior of the house was damp from the water that had been sprayed. The scent of the soot filled the area and made his eyes water. He glanced over his shoulder but noted that Haas didn’t seem to be having any problems. That surprised him, since he knew that shifters had better senses than humans.

“Let’s see if he has an office here,” Haas suggested.

Garrett nodded. It was a good bet that Randy did, being a lawyer. They passed the room that he’d found Nick in, the next was what appeared to be the master bedroom.

The cops were right. It was clear that a struggle had taken place. Items were littered on the floor, a lamp had been knocked over and even a picture had fallen.

“They took him from here,” Garrett guessed.

“Looks like it,” Haas agreed.

Garrett continued on past the bathroom to the only other entrance. The place was wrecked, just as Randy’s office had been. Someone had been looking hard for something and since they’d taken Randy, they probably hadn’t found it yet.

“What do they want?” he asked out loud.

“Whatever it is, we need to find it,” Haas said.

“I’ll take the right side of the room,” Garrett offered.

“Okay.”

Garrett set his backpack down on the desk and crouched beside it. There wasn’t much water damage in here but it was a mess. He started to shuffle through the papers and found several legal documents and hand-written notes. He quickly scanned them before stacking them out of the way. He moved on to the next pile and saw that Haas was doing the same thing over on his side of the room. He left the broken pieces of furniture alone and stepped over them, going to the filing cabinet at the corner on his side.

He pulled open the top drawer but it was empty. The second and third were as well, so he guessed that was where all the papers on the floor had come from.

The bottom drawer’s handle was bent, and when he tried to open it, it stuck. He yanked harder but it still wouldn’t budge. He peered over his shoulder at Haas. “Help me with this?”

Haas dropped the pages in his hand onto the desk before making his way over. “Grab a hold of the cabinet so it doesn’t tip,” Haas said.

Garrett braced the cabinet against the wall as Haas bent and tried to pull it open. Haas gave a few more tugs before he shook his head. “It’s not budging. Someone obviously tried before us. I really want in there.”

“Hang on,” Garrett said before rushing over to his bag. He pulled out the knife he had hidden in an inner zipper pocket. It was as long as he could legally carry and should work. He flicked it open before handing it to Haas. “Let’s see if we can pry it open.”

Haas shoved the blade into the opening and at the same time used what Garrett could only describe as shifter strength, and a loud pop sounded. The drawer came falling out as the knife dropped.

“Damn,” Garrett said, impressed.

“I hope I don’t have to pay for that.” He pointed down at the drawer that was hanging off its hinges.

“I think if we find Randy he’ll forgive us breaking his filing cabinet,” Garrett told him.

Haas snorted. “Good point.”

Garrett dropped to his knees and peered inside the now open drawer. All that was inside was a gray metal lockbox. “There’s not a bomb in it?” he asked, only half joking.

Haas shoved his shoulder. “Just pick it up.”

He did so before he cautiously shook it. It didn’t sound like anything too heavy was inside.

“I think it’s just papers,” Haas said as he leaned forward.

“Great, more paperwork to go through,” Garrett bitched. The small latch had a padlock. He raised an eyebrow at his partner.

With a heavy sigh, Haas picked the knife back up and in only a couple of seconds had the lock open. Garrett lifted the lid. Inside was one manila file folder. He picked it up and opened it as he sat back onto his butt. It was a legal document and the names jumped out at Garrett.

He glanced over his shoulder, Haas reading from behind him. “I guess we know where to start,” Garrett said.

“I need to call the Alpha,” Haas told him.

Garrett’s cell started to ring. He dug the device out of his pocket and saw Mike’s name on the caller ID. “I bet he found what we did.”

Haas grinned. “Let’s get things moving. We’ll get that boy reunited with his dad soon.”

Chapter Five

Lily moved the bag of breakfast sandwiches to her other hand as she tried to balance the drink carrier of lattes so she could knock on the front door. She also had her laptop bag with her papers inside. She could hear Nick yell before the big wooden door was opened.

Nick stood grinning at her. “Did you bring me a sausage and cheese biscuit like I asked?”

She laughed. “You bet.” Lily was glad she’d called ahead and asked Julie if it’d be okay if she brought breakfast for her visit. The smile on Nick’s face was worth the wait in the busy café.

“Come on!” Nick grabbed the bag out of her hand and raced away.

Lily shook her head at his energy so early in the morning. She’d slept great the night before and could only credit Garrett for that. She’d been exhausted by the time she’d made it back to her apartment, had barely been able to undress and pull down the covers. With the unpredictable hours that her job required it was hard for her to maintain a relationship. If she met a man that wasn’t in some kind of public service career she found that they quickly got tired of her having to leave in the middle of a date or the night. The only serious relationship she’d had had ended over a year ago. She’d dated a police officer who was also a member of the Pack. Evan had understood the obligations she’d had as he also had the same. Lily didn’t know when it had happened but somewhere in the time they’d been seeing each other their relationship had turned more to friendship instead of them being lovers. They’d tried a little longer to bring the passion back but it had been a fruitless effort. They remained the best of friends but that was it.