I know it’s because of Waz King. She wanted to see him pay for what he had done. What my mother and I had shouldered the blame for. It’s the one thing that none of them understood. The piece that seemed to never be digested very well: nobody, especially women, wanted to be used for someone else’s agenda.
I sit forward, stabbing my finger into his desk. “Only you kept me in the dark about all of it, Cortez.” I shake my head. “And now your other source is dead. So what’s the plan?”
He crosses his arms. “The plan is the same, Faye. Build the case. You and I both know that the only way things stick is if it’s done the right way. We need sources.”
“You needproof,” I say with a bite. “And I have plenty of ways I can get that for you. Let me do what I do better than any other person in this place. If I can get access to Finch & King property, the training center, and possibly their staff lounge, there is no way I won’t get exactly what you need. And if I can figure out a way into Wheeler Finch’s private residence, there’s no reason why I couldn’t plant?—”
“Are you out of your fucking mind, Faye?” Cortez cuts in. He looks over my shoulder and out into the bullpen of the police station. More quietly this time, he says, “You do realize that none of that would be admissible in any court proceedings.”
And as I say it, I know right away why it would never work. “Then get warrants. Loop in the district attorney. There are ways to make this work here, Cortez.”
“You haven’t been gonethatlong, Faye.” He levels with me, pushing out a breath. “You think the Foxx brothers have connections? That’s nothing compared to what Wheeler Finch and Waz King have. The friends they’ve made are very wealthy, powerful people. We’re talking judges, attorneys, clerks, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were local PD out there on some sort of payroll too.”
I think about the people Wheeler rubs elbows with—business owners, judges, just about everyone in this town. He’s not wrong. I know everything he’s saying makes sense. More criminals got out on technicalities and the mishandling of evidence than for any other reason.
There’s too much history. Too many awful things that my family and I have had to go through at the expense of Waz King and Wheeler Finch. I’m not interested in waiting, the same way I’m not interested in seeing when the FBI is going to make a move.
When I stand up and move for the door, Cortez says, “Faye, I’m serious. I do not want you involved in this.”
Filled with resolve, I smile and turn to look over my shoulder. “Involved in what?” I say, feigning an innocence that we both know doesn’t exist.
There’s no way in hell I’m going to sit back and wait for Cortez to fix this or for something to happen to the only source they have left.
Chapter 34
Lincoln
I guidethe newest member of the Foxx family into her new home. Lark and Lily are going to freak out when they get back from school and see her over here. “You’re sure Maggie doesn’t mind that we board Dottie here?”
Faye slips her hands inside the back pocket of her tight blue jeans. She looks around the renovated barn and smiles as she says, “It was her idea, and I technically own half this place, so it’s as much her decision as it is mine.” She looks around the stalls and beams overhead. “I don’t understand why she would pour money into it and not have at least a few animals to enjoy it.”
When we leased the cornfields for Foxx, she had gotten a nice bonus. There needed storage built for harvesting to be stored.
Dottie moos as I brush along her body. “I’m going to have a schedule for all of us to make sure she’s taken care of properly. Just because she’s here doesn’t mean she’s your obligation. I have YouTube videos queued up to figure out how the heck to have a pet cow.”
Faye nods. “Oh I know.” She tries to bite back a smile, and I give her a double take.
“Why is that funny?” I ask, eyebrow quirking at the somewhat guilty look on her face.
“This can go either way here...” She closes her eyes and says, “I know you’ve been watching a decent amount of videos about grooming and raising a highland cow because I may have put a hidden mirroring app on yours and Ace’s phones.”
Out of all the things she could have said, I wasn’t expecting that. With a small laugh, I ask, “And did you find anything interesting?”
She opens one eye and apprehensively admits, “Ace is very organized.”
“That’s not news. I was hoping you’d tell me he sends nudes regularly to someone or belongs to a knitting circle that meets on Saturday nights.”
She barks out a laugh. “That’s specific.” Seeming a bit nervous, she pets along Dottie’s shaggy coat. “Are you mad?”
I toss the brush and move closer to her. “Look at me, Peach.”
She moves her focus from the cow to me, eyes locking right onto mine.
“I’ve got nothing to hide from you,” I tell her. “And I’m not mad. I do want to know exactly what you found on my brother’s phone, though.”
She shifts closer. “I needed more details about what you and Ace were doing and if your ties to Blackstone?—”
I cut her off, wrapping my hand around her forearm and pulling her against me. “I still have nothing to hide.” I swallow down the emotion surfacing for what I’m going to say next. “You can trust me.”