Marcus read through the timeline, then read it again. ‘You’re right. Something’s off. Can you get the letter, Diesel?’
Diesel glanced at Jonas Bishop and Deacon uneasily. ‘Maybe.’
Scarlett’s control visibly snapped, and, whirling on Diesel, she jabbed her forefinger up in his face. ‘Neither my father nor Deacon will arrest you,’ she hissed. ‘But I will fucking kill you myself if you don’t give me a straight answer. Can you crack the goddamn safe or not? Yes or no?’
Eyes wide, Diesel nodded once. ‘Yes.’
She grabbed his arm and shoved him toward the door. ‘Then go do it,’ she cried, exasperated. ‘Now.’
Diesel took off at a fast jog.
‘Diesel!’ Scarlett yelled. She ran to the doorway, then turned back to the group, rolling her eyes. ‘Jill, give Deacon your house keys. Deacon, please go with him, and call me with what the letter says when you get it. I’m going to stay here and try to figure out a damn plan.’
Deacon was instantly on his feet. ‘Yes, ma’am.’ He dropped a kiss on Faith’s mouth, still open in surprise. ‘Call you as soon as I can.’
One could have heard a pin drop after Deacon left. Scarlett’s mother sat with her mouth open in shock, and her father was biting back a grin. Marcus found himself aroused despite his worry. It was like a balloon had popped inside his chest, so much pressure releasing.
Once again, she’d cleared his mind, allowing him to think.
Scarlett shrugged. ‘Sorry, Mom. This is me.’
‘Of course it is,’ her mother said. ‘I’m just . . . Wow. I guess I don’t have to worry about you on the job anymore.’
‘No, ma’am.’ Scarlett rubbed her hands together. ‘We need a plan, Mr O’Bannion.’
His lips curved with pride. ‘Yes, we do, Detective.’
‘One that doesn’t involve you trading yourself.’
‘I’m open to suggestions,’ he said mildly.
She scowled at him, then swallowed hard. ‘I’m really mad at you, you know. To even consider it.’
He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. ‘I know. But she’s Gayle and she’s scared. And so am I.’
She pulled away to sit at a table in the corner. ‘We need a way to track Sweeney, but we don’t even know who he is.’
Lisette sat down across from her. ‘I spent the two hours before . . . well, before the shooting searching every database I have for Ken Sweeney. He doesn’t exist. Nor does Demetrius Russell.’
‘They’re using aliases,’ Scarlett said, ‘which is no shock. Kate said the same. She tried tracking the car Alice was driving. It’s stolen. When I left, one of Tanaka’s guys was working on breaking into both Alice’s and DJ’s phones, hoping to find contact information or addresses or anything at all.’
Marcus sat down next to Scarlett. ‘Don’t be mad, but we need to assume we’re not going to find Sweeney in the next two hours.’ He pulled up a map of the park on his phone. ‘We need a plan that gets me in and out of Shawnee Lookout alive.’
She nodded. ‘Alive is good.’
Cincinnati, Ohio
Wednesday 5 August, 10.15 P.M.
Ken packed the last of his old photos in a box to go in his suitcase. He was taking only what he couldn’t replace. The photos, the first dollar he and Demetrius had made. His MVP trophy he’d earned playing football during his senior year at college. He’d packed his mother’s diamond earrings, the tiny ones that had no monetary value. Just sentimental. There was no other jewelry. He’d sold it all years ago. Before he and Demetrius had started the business, of course.
He’d needed the money way back then because he’d wanted to keep his family’s home. Which was why he and Demetrius had started the business in the first place.
He’d packed a few changes of clothes, enough cash to get by for a while without raising any flags while going through airport security. He had a bank check he’d use to open an account once he got there. He’d already transferred funds from the other accounts into the offshore account he’d opened years ago under his alias. His rental house was pre-paid for the next six months from that same account.
‘I think I’m ready,’ he murmured.
‘Were you going to say goodbye?’
Ken turned slowly. Sean stood in the doorway, arms loosely crossed over his chest. He didn’t look angry, which was good. Ken didn’t want to have to kill him too.
‘I was going to call when I got there. I didn’t know if you’d want to join me or not.’
‘Depends on where you’re going.’
Ken frowned. ‘Why are you here?’ Sean so rarely left the downtown office. In fact, the last time he had been out to the family house had been right around the time his mother had disappeared. Of course, Ken knew where Sean’s mother was. He’d sent her body through the woodchipper himself. That had been years ago.
‘Have you seen the news?’ Sean asked.
‘No, I’ve been busy. Why? Is Alice all right?’
‘She’s fine as far as I know, but someone wearing a ski mask walked into the Ledger and starting firing a modified AR-15. It’s all over the Internet. Six dead, one wounded. One missing. Four survivors.’
Ken didn’t blink. What the fuck? One wounded? Four survivors? ‘That’s terrible,’ he said. ‘Was one of the dead Marcus O’Bannion?’
‘Why hide it?’ Sean asked, bemused. ‘You’ve been angling to kill O’Bannion. Why act all innocent now?’
‘Habit, maybe.’ He zipped up his carry-on. ‘Anything else?’
‘The cops pulled DJ in, too.’
Ken sat down on the side of his bed, stunned. ‘How would they even know?’
‘From the gym. Remember? It’s how Alice kept an eye on O’Bannion after his accident to make sure he hadn’t started digging into the McCord story again. DJ joined the gym too and they spotted each other. Both with weights and with watching O’Bannion. Either Alice talked to the cops or Marcus was called in to ID her and remembered DJ, because they picked him up from the gym this evening.’
‘How’s he holding up?’
‘As far as we know, fine. Why did you feel the need to shoot up the Ledger?’
Ken narrowed his eyes. ‘I never said I did, but if I did, it’s no business of yours.’
‘It is my business, because there are cops crawling all over the place. With Alice and DJ in custody, it’s only a matter of time before everything comes crashing down. The cops aren’t going to let this pass. Neither will Marcus O’Bannion. You murdered his people. He’s going to be out for your blood.’
‘Let me worry about Marcus.’ Ken handed Sean the folder he’d prepared. ‘This is everything you need to know. Suppliers, customers, pricing, profits. It’s all yours.’
‘Such as it is,’ Sean said, keeping his arms crossed over his chest. ‘After that stunt you pulled tonight, I don’t know that our company will be worth diddlyshit. Our customers will go running for the hills if they’re smart.’
Ken tossed the folder on the bed. ‘Suit yourself. With everyone either in jail or dead, you could rule it all.’
‘And I’m telling you that there is nothing left to rule. It’s all gone. Including the funds in the company accounts.’ Sean lifted his brows. ‘I wonder who could have taken that money,’ he said mockingly.
‘I don’t like your tone, son. Talk to Joel. He told me that he’d found missing money and traced it to accounts in Demetrius’s and Reuben’s names. Maybe that’s where the funds went. Reuben’s probably sitting in the Caribbean right now, with an underage girl on each knee.’
‘Is that where you’re going? The Caribbean?’
‘No. When I get to where I am going, I’ll send for you. It’ll be your choice to come.’
‘What about Alice?’
‘She got caught, Sean. We all know the price of getting caught.’ He grabbed his suitcase and carry-on, pushed past his son and went down the stairs.