Page 107 of Heist

“To call you. She says it’s a mess. To make things worse, it seems to be a picture from inside my New York lab.”

Jax whistled. “Yeah, no shit. Police see that and they’re going to think someone is confirming a job you hired them to do.”

Patrick closed his eyes. “Fuck. So, should I take the text to the police?”

“Fifth fuckin’ amendment man. Don’t incriminate yourself.”

“But it’s not incriminating myself. I didn’t ask for the text.”

Jax laughed. “You’re cute. The prosecutor and the police just want to close this thing. They don’t actually care if you’re guilty. They just need to convince a jury you are.”

“So… I don’t tell the police?”

Jax sighed. “I wouldn’t. On the other hand, if they find it and you didn’t tell them about it, it looks like you were hiding something. We definitely need to make a plan of attack before we do anything. Can you get Austin on the phone with us?”

Patrick sighed. “I think she’s pretty pissed at me right now but yeah, give me just a few. I know she has court this morning though so she might be working on other things.”

The signal for an incoming call beeped in his ear. “Hang on, I have another call.”

“This is Patrick,” he said, not checking the caller ID.

“Mr. Sutton, it’s Wayne Dorian, I work in your NYC lab. I tried to call Mr. Reyes first, but I know he’s at the hospital with his daughter. The police are at the lab with a search warrant.”

“Fuck. Ask to see the warrant. Take time to read it before you let them in. I’m calling my attorney, Austin Yates.”

He ended the call and took Jax off hold. “We’ve got bigger problems. Police just served a warrant on my lab in New York. How long before they come knocking on my door here? I need to get Austin on the line.”

“I’m here, Patrick. Jax patched me in while he was waiting for you to answer your other call. Who is at the lab?”

“Kid named Wayne Dorian, he’s another lab tech.”

“OK. Send me the address. I’ll head over there right now. I’ll do my best to find out if they have warrants for any of your other properties. If they find anything here, it won’t be long before they do.”

“I’m texting you now. What should I do from here?”

“Go about your business. I’m sure you’ll get calls from the police wanting to question you again.”

Patrick dragged a hand through his hair. So much for a weekend at Solitaire.

“I’m going to let you two talk, Jax said. Patrick, call me back a little later and we’ll talk. I’ll work on getting Lance in on this.”

When Jax was off the line, Patrick breathed heavily. “I know you need to get going, baby girl.”

“Yeah. I’ll call you as soon as I’m done or know something else. Do you have an attorney you can call there? I can send Victoria if she’s available. She doesn’t have a California license, but this is still a New York case.”

“You do what you think is best, baby girl. I can find someone here or you can put her on the Eastman jet if you think she can handle it.”

“I’ll call her on my way to your lab.”

They ended the call and Patrick called Wayne back to let him know Austin was on her way. Next, he called David and Elijah on a video conference and filled them in.

“We’re here for you, Patrick,” David said. “I’m sorry this is happening to you. All of my resources are at your disposal to help put this behind you as quickly as possible.”

“Thank you, David.”

“Elijah, tell my sister not to worry about me. Austin assures me they won’t revoke bail over new evidence. This is just more fuel for the DA’s case when we go to trial. They’re going to come back with another plea deal, I’m sure.”

Elijah gave a mirthless laugh. “Telling Holly not to worry would be like telling water not to be wet, my friend. What do you want to do about Solitaire this weekend? You think you two will make it?”

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