Truth Is Found (25 page)

That seemed to get his attention, and didn't pique any interest from the other guests drinking wine. As they walked away, Julian made sure they were out of earshot.

“What did you find?” Daniel asked.

“You need to call the police and tell them your daughter is missing.”

“It hasn’t been forty-eight hours.”

“Yeah, there are ways to circumvent that. You need to tell them she left all her things in her room, including her cell, and you found compromising pictures on it.”

That had his attention. “Oh my God! Julian, are you saying…”

“She was sexting. We ran the number, off the record, and it appears that it was to one of your employees.”

“Who? I’ll kill him.”

“You can’t. If you go after him, he’ll run. You need the cops to question him. I’m not saying he’s taken Pearlie, but he has a record, and is a registered sex offender.”

The man went pale white.

“I have to tell…”

Julian shut him up. “You have to go into your office, make the call, turn over the phone, and tell them that Richard Woodbury is a registered sex offender. He’s working here, and you weren’t aware. He’s not under obligation to tell you, since he did report it to the register sites. He’s innocent until proven guilty, and the cops need to take care of it.”

He tried to stay calm.

“Go do it now. If they need to talk to me, give them my name. I’ll be more than happy to discuss what I found with them.”

Daniel Nelms slowly nodded.

“Do you have this?”

“Yes, I can do this.”

“You have to. You can handle this, Daniel, and you don’t need your guests getting wind of this.” Julian was thinking mainly about Allene Bunchen, since he didn't know why she was there.

“I’ll go now. Thank you, Julian.”

“It’s no problem. I’m going to walk around the estate. I want to see if I can pick up anything else.”

Julian didn't stick around. If the shit was going to hit the fan, and the local law wanted to talk to him, they’d have to find him elsewhere. He didn't want them to know he was working on anything. Questioning him in front of the guests would be a dead giveaway.

Outside, he started wandering through the grapevines. They looked normal, and to play tourist, he grabbed a bunch. Now, this was how he liked his wine--the virgin stages. As he snacked and walked, he realized there was a trail that led back to some ominous looking stone building.

It was far enough away from the original monastery, that he didn't realize what it was at first.

It was a small chapel.

It looked to have been converted to a crypt.

Once inside, he looked around. There was a plaque built into the wall, and on it was Father William Esposito’s name.

This had to be his burial spot.

Julian dropped down to his knees and inspected the wall of the crypt. It looked relatively new, and that was surprising. The man had been dead almost a decade.

Running his hands over the stone, which was imbedded into the wall, there was a breeze. Julian was intrigued, but he couldn’t focus on it. Before he could nose around even more, something caught his eye.

Outside, through one of the stained glass windows, there was a figure heading past. It was moving toward the doors.

He knew he needed to get in to a better position. Pulling the gun he had at his back, he slipped into the shadowy corner to bide his time.

He didn't trust anyone skulking around a crypt.

That just seemed like a suspicious thing.

As he held his breath, gun drawn, he waited. The door slowly opened, and he was able to see someone entering. Fortunately, he was hidden.

Oh, and thankfully his wife wasn’t there.

As the man moved into the light, from the stained glass skylight, he stepped from the shadows, scaring him.

Roman Remington jumped three feet off the ground and spun to come nose to nose with Julian’s firearm.

“Hello, Mr. Remington. Snooping around as you work on a story?” Julian asked.

The man’s face said it all.

The jig was up.

“What? You’re holding me at gunpoint. I’m calling he cops.”

Julian laughed. “I have a permit to carry, but do you have the right to be digging around on private property?”

“I’m here with my partner.”

“You’re here working on a story.”

“Well, you’re here working too! You lied!”

“Did I?” Julian asked, still not holstering his weapon. He wasn’t a fool, and Roman Remington was his size and could pose a threat. It was better safe than sorry at times like these.

“Yes! You’re working on the dead priest story! I know how you and your wife operate. You love old mysteries, and I’m doing a story on this.”

Julian laughed. “Not working on this case. I’m here working, but if I was here investigating the priest, wouldn’t my wife be here too?”

Remington looked around. “Where is she?”

“On her way back to our office.”

“You solved it?” he asked, lowering his voice. “You have to let me in on it. I’ll do the story, and I’ll give you all the credit. I just have to own this byline.”

Julian holstered his weapon. The only thing this man was guilty of was being nosy. In most cases, that was a common characteristic with PI’s and reporters.

“I’m not working this case. I wasn’t lying.”

“Then what?”

“You share and I’ll share.”

“Deal,” Roman said, reaching for his pocket. When Julian’s hand went to his gun, again, the man flinched. “It’s only a paper. Relax, chief.”

“Call me that again, and I’ll beat your face in and leave you in one of the empty crypts.”

“Okay! Hey! Calm down.”

He pulled out the paper.

“I got my hands on a copy of the autopsy report for the dead priest. He was beaten to death. There was no way he took a tumble down stairs at the monastery. You and I both saw them. They aren’t steep enough to do that kind of damage--a broken bone here, or a concussion there, yes, but full facial damage?”

Julian took the paper and read it. The man was right. “The coroner wrote it off as an old man falling.”

“Yeah, and that doesn’t play out with me. Will you help me solve it?”

Julian laughed. “I’ve got a full plate here.” He wasn’t telling the man that they were already working part of it. Yes, they had murdered victims, but he was chasing dead girls.

Oh, and ghosts.

“If I come across anything, I’ll point it in your direction. That’s the best I can do.”

“Okay, I’ll take that, and I’ll give you credit.”

“No thanks. We’re PI’s. We like anonymity. The last few cases caused more trouble than they were worth. We don’t want a repeat performance.”

Yeah, and he picked up Bethany haunting his life. No thanks. He didn't want anything to do with that mess.

“Okay, deal. What are you working on? I might run into something.”

Julian hesitated. “How do I know I can trust you, Remington?”

He held out his hand. “I swear. I’m not one of those vultures dogging your every step. I don’t play paparazzi. I’m a legit reporter. You can check my work. I want justice for that murdered man,” he offered, pointing at the crypt.

“Okay. If you cross me, I’ll make sure I use any connection I have to burn you. Got it?”

He shook his hand.

“Someone is trying to take down Daniel Nelms’s business. We’re here to find out who is behind it. We were hired to find the person who wants to ruin him.”

“That’s easy. Head next door to AngelCake, and you’ll have your suspects.”

Yeah, that was in his plan, but that wasn’t all they were balancing.

“Plus, their daughter has gone missing.”

He gasped. “Really?”

“Down, boy. You promised.”

He nodded. “That I did. What do you think happened to her?”

“Well, if I knew, I’d have found her.”

“I bet it was that one waiter. She was all over him that first night. I heard he was new. I was digging for leads, and the boss’s wife said it was his first night.”

How to handle this without blowing their cover even more?

“The guy with reddish hair?”

“Yeah, and the tats. He screamed drifter if I ever saw one. You should start there.”

“Thanks,” he said, knowing this man likely wouldn’t be any help. “Can I keep the autopsy report?”

Roman Remington nodded. “Yeah, I can view it on my phone.”

“Promise me that you’ll keep your mouth shut?”

The man grinned. “I’ll do even better than that. I’ll keep my ears open, and I’ll find you something to help you out. Your face is a dead giveaway. People know what you and your wife do, and they’re going to be extra careful around you. Me…not so much. They think I’m gay.”

“Are you? If you’re not, you’ve got the entire place fooled.”

He laughed. “I’m straight, and your wife is smoking hot.”

Julian practically growled. “I liked you better gay.”

Roman Remington laughed. “I didn’t. Trust me on that.”

“If you screw us over, I’m going to hurt you.”

The man wasn’t worried. “I’ve got your back, Littlemoon. Just let me do my job, and you do yours. I dig for a living, and you investigate. Together, we can be an awesome team.”

Julian wasn’t sure.

He was wary of the man before him. If he wasn’t careful, this could blow up in their faces.

That was the last thing he wanted.

       
         
* * *
  L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *

Home Base

Tori grabbed her backup and headed to the bar. In a way, she was looking forward to this.

Something had to be done. She hated not being in sync with her brother-in-law. They were close, and this whole thing had her rattled. Once she could patch them up, she could focus on the problem at hand.

This entire case was a mess.

As they arrived at the bar, the big man got out of her SUV. “What do you want me to do?” Kane asked.

“I’m going in. You can stand at the door to make sure he doesn’t make a break for it.”

“Are you sure Julian wants you in there? I can go in and drag him out. He’s manageable.”

“You’d love that, Kane.”

“I would. Don’t tell anyone.”

Tori patted her enforcer on the arm. It was nice just knowing he was there. Kane could scare the shit out of the toughest of people. It was one of his gifts.

That’s why they loved having him around.

“I’ll handle this.”

As they headed in, she spotted Justin right away. He was playing pool with someone who appeared to be taking advantage of his drunkenness.

Well, this was good timing.

Heading over, she tapped him on the shoulder as he was getting ready to take his shot. When he ignored her, she yanked the cue stick out of his hand.

He spun angrily toward her.

If recognition dawned, it didn't matter. He was three sheets into the wind and pissed off.

Immediately, he swung out, much to the dismay of his playing partner. Just before his fist made contact with her face, she ducked and jammed the stick into his gut.

Justin went to his knees.

The men moved toward her. Tori pulled back her jacket and showed them that she was carrying. “Next man who swings gets shot in the junk. You’ll never fornicate again. Want to take that chance?”

They all backed up.

Justin struggled to his knees. “Get out of here, Tori. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“You’re coming with me.”

She motioned toward Kane. Again, she saw movement from her peripheral, and Bethany began screaming in her head.

She moved out of Justin’s way just in time.

Then, she did the unthinkable.

Tori swung using all her force. A mix of military, FBI, and sisterly anger came through. It knocked Justin back onto the pool table and scattered the balls.

“I said…we’re going.”

“He owes me money!” one shark shouted.

“I owe you a kick to the balls. You want me to pay up?” Tori asked as Kane tossed Justin over his shoulder.

When the man didn't reply, she had her answer.

Heading toward the bar, she tossed some money down. “Thanks, Jimmy,” she offered. “He won’t be back in, but Julian and I will be after I give birth.”

“Good luck,” the man called wiping down the counter.

Yeah, Tori knew she was going to need it.