Page 64 of Savage Peril

Sarah motioned for Lori to step away, so that Katherine wouldn’t hear. The other clerk was tapping away on the computer and didn’t look up. Lori had noticed before how conscientious Katherine was regarding her duties. If she was aware of anything inappropriate going on in medical supplies, she didn’t show it.

“I finished organizing the documents,” Sarah said. “You had all the information, I just had to put it together.”

“Great, I’ll turn it over to the authorities,” Lori said. “I’ll let them take over.”

Matt appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on in here?”

His angry yell startled Katherine, and she looked up from her work.

Lori was at the breaking point, so nearly blurted out her suspicions about Matt dealing drugs on the side. But she gritted her teeth. “You have no right to speak to us like that.”

“Don’t I?” Matt stepped closer, his expression menacing. “Don’t tell me that something isn’t going on. I see you whispering to each other.”

Sarah stepped in front of Matt. “I was updating her on a patient’s progress. And you better chill out. I’m sick of your harassment.”

Matt hesitated, then turned and left. Lori let out a breath, then noticed that Katherine appeared distressed.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Katherine said.

Lori calmed her down and assured her that Matt had been out of line. “It’s fine. You can go back to work.” But Lori didn’t know what to expect. It was unbearable to work under these conditions. How much longer would she have to endure it?

*****

Gunner walked down the hall to see Hunter. He’d had a text from the team that Lori was back from lunch. Her uncle had left, and Matt was still on duty at the clinic. There was a report from the surveillance team, and Gunner was anxious to see the latest videos.

Hunter had the projector set up. “I’ve got some stuff you should see.”

“I read the report,” Gunner said. “I find Matt’s lifestyle very interesting.”

“Yes, I’d like to see him explain the large bank deposits,” Hunter said. “And how a clinic administrator can afford the toys he’s been acquiring.”

“Exactly. I couldn’t afford even one of those cars.”

“But before we get into that,” Hunter said, “there are a couple of other things that you’ll want to see.” He ran the video without comment.

“Shit,” Gunner said. “How can he be so stupid?” The team had Nick on video buying drugs from Flavio Zucco. “Of all the dealers, he has to pick the mob’s second-in-command. But how did the team happen to catch this?”

“Wait for it…”

The video shifted away from Nick, and Gunner got a view of Matt standing in the background. Gunner shook his head. “Lori told me her brother hung around with Matt, but I didn’t expect him to get pulled into this mess.”

“You’ll need to tell Lori.”

“No doubt Nick sees Matt as a way to get all the drugs he needs. This is bad, though.”

“Can Lori talk some sense into him?” Hunter said.

“Not so far,” Gunner said. “But she’ll have to. He has no idea what he’s playing around with.”

“You haven’t seen the best part yet.” Hunter began a different video.

Gunner watched Matt interact with two others. One was Flavio and the other was the boss, Lorenzo Cambio. It was a public location, and they could have been three friends talking. But Gunner knew what to look for. It was a drug deal, and whatever Matt had arranged, it had to mean big money.

The boss rarely did business directly. His next in line could handle transactions. But he had met with Matt, which indicated the business was important to Lorenzo. It was a sign of respect to show up in person.

“That was taken last night,” Hunter said. “And today a sizable deposit showed up in Matt’s account—or one of his accounts, anyway.”

“I noticed that Matt spreads the wealth,” Gunner said. “He doesn’t limit it to local banks, either. But if I had that much cash flowing through my accounts, I’d probably feel the need for an offshore setup.”

“There are a couple of other videos that establish Matt’s connection to the mob. But that last one puts the nail in his coffin.”

“It’s time for the FBI to get involved,” Gunner said.

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