Page 87 of Out of the Shadows

They followed Abbot into the conference room. Gavin had learned a long time ago when anyone in cyber told him to do something, it was best to just comply. It took Abbot less than three minutes to get everything set up. Another minute later, Tiny joined them on the Smartboard via video call.

“While you were getting set up,” Tiny said, “Alvarez shot me the names of the two companies he was looking at. Five Stars Catering and Sunset Event Planning. A quick search shows both companies are registered in the state of Idaho with no registered agent on file. However, what’s interesting is that they both have the same mailing address. A PO box in Federal Way, Washington. Would you, uh, like me to check to see who opened the PO box?”

Gavin narrowed his gaze. “Are you as good a hacker as Bean says you are?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

Gavin grinned. The man hadn’t hesitated one bit. “Then by all means, do your thing.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t see this earlier,” Alvarez said, shaking his head. “I assumed the catering charges over the last month and a half were just for the gala. But then I remembered it was at the Four Seasons, and they do their own in-house catering. So why pay a separate catering company fifty grand? And the event planning charges are another fifty grand.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, man. An outside catering company could still be hired to do a specialty cake or desserts or some shit. Something that the Four Seasonsdoesn’t provide,” Gavin said. “However, for a company to charge fifty grand for that andnothave a website or social media of any kind?Thatdoesn’t add up.”

“Well, holy shit, gents, we got a hit,” Tiny said. “The person who opened the PO box was the one and only Elena Nabers.”

A chill crawled up Gavin’s neck.

Nabers was the same person who created Performance Exports, the company that paid Otton to shoot him, and she was now linked to the McClintock Family Foundation, whose president was Constance fucking Whitcomb.

He frowned. “Can you check in Idaho’s system to see if Nabers also created the catering and event planning companies? Better yet, can you search both the Washington and Idaho records for any other companies she’s opened?”

“On it. This may take a little bit of time, though.”

“Thanks, Tiny.” Gavin turned to Xander and Alvarez. “So we finally have a connection.”

Alvarez nodded as he ran a finger over his laptop screen. “According to the transaction list, last Wednesday, a fifty-thousand-dollar check was deposited by Five Stars Catering. That’s the exact amount that hit Otton’s account the next day from Performance Exports LLC.”

Anger simmered in his gut. Letting out a breath, he turned to Alvarez. “Can we get the feds or SPD to bring Constance Whitcomb in?”

“If we can get confirmation that Nabers also opened the catering and event planning companies—which are obviously bogus—I think the feds would be more than happy to ask Constance a few questions. They’d still need more info to link Whitcomb to the shootings, but the embezzling from the foundation is pretty clear-cut. I’m guessing they’d be interested in picking Nabers up as well. That deposit intoOtton’s account—if Bean and Tiny can package what we have so it’s admissible—is pretty damning.”

Gavin ran a hand over his jaw. “I don’t want to spook Constance though. We need time to get all our ducks in a row. Right now, she’s still at the resort, but once she’s on the move...”

“What if Quinn happened to pull her over for... expired tabs or something?” Xander shrugged with a devious glint in his eyes and gestured to Tiny. “I mean, what if there’s no record in the Department of Licensing that she renewed her vehicle registration and that little renewal sticker on her license plate wasn’t there?”

Gavin glanced at his friend and nodded, a smile playing on his lips. “That would be unfortunate for her.”

Sheriff Quinn O’Conner was a solid law enforcement officer who they all had great respect for. He was a Hudson Island local son and friend to many of them. He was also a former fed, and as sheriff, he was by the book and fair. If they were discussing their intel-gathering tactics, they were extra careful around him. They didn’t want to put him in an awkward position, and they made damn sure any intel they turned over to him was fully admissible in the court of law. Gavin knew it couldn’t be easy having a private security company operating on the island, so they tried not to rock the Hudson Island Sheriff Department’s boat and provided them with assistance if they needed it.

Xander grinned. “I’ll check with cyber on where Whitcomb and her bodyguard are at and I’ll...figure something out.”

“I’ll give Quinn a call and see if he can meet us here. It’s probably time to give him a heads-up on all this shit anyway.” Gavin turned to the Smartboard. “Tiny, I’m heading back to my office, but let me know when you’ve got something on Nabers and those companies.”

“Copy. Talk to you gents later.”

Tiny disconnected the call and Gavin gestured to the now-blank Smartboard. “I like him.” He pinned his two friends with a glare. “But if you ever tell Bean that, I’ll deny it and find a way to make your lives hell.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Following the concrete path, Bean zipped up her jacket as she rounded the Hudson Tactical building and came to a halt. In the distance, a group of roughly twenty people stood at the trailhead in a semicircle around Wilson and Joe Buchanan, the head of Hudson Tactical. There were a few women mixed in the group, and they all looked to be law enforcement types. Disappointment had her frowning.

As she made her way over to the group, Wilson caught her eye and gave her a chin lift. While Buchanan continued to address the group, Wilson made his way toward her.

“What’s up, B?”

“I should be asking you that question.” She nodded to the group. “The trails off-limits today?”

“Yeah, sorry. They’re in from Southern Oregon for an outdoor firearm safety and training session.” Glancing back at the group, his lips pursed. “You’re not gonna want to be roaming the woods while they’re doing their thing.”

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