Page 41 of Blind Justice

“Good intel?”

“Better than what we imagined.” Thomas took a sip of his drink. “It seems there’s a connection after all. Marybeth and Valerie are thick as thieves. It appears Valerie’s father is not only the city attorney but also the attorney for the Gunther FLDS sect out of El Dorado. Moreover, it also appears precious Valerie has been screwing the mayor.”

“Of Virginia Beach?”

“The one and only. Apparently, Mr. Haygood has an affinity for young girls and rape, though none of it can be proved, even with the incident reports. He also has three illegitimate kids too, one of which was a result of a rape that occurred twenty-three years ago while he was in college. One of the illegitimate kids is only six years old. Also, it seems Miss Valerie enjoys streaming her and Mayor Haygood’s sexcapades on Onlyfans.”

Duncan sat back, gobsmacked by what Thomas said. “Run that by me again?”

“Oh, it gets better, my friend. It also seems OPUS Inc is paying Marybeth and Valerie hefty little sums of money every month. Before I arrived here, I received a phone call from Bronx. They found a set of deposits in Valerie’s father’s account as well.”

Shit. Duncan sat there for a moment, taking in the information. “I’m afraid to ask my next question. Is there anything else?”

“Yes,” Thomas answered. “OPUS is connected to either Pueblo or Los Trios. Alé and the team are digging into it and hope to have an answer for us on Monday as to whom it belongs to.”

“Give a kid a computer...”

Thomas laughed before taking another drink. “Too true, my friend. I also have a request. I know you’re busy here with Enzo and Bella, but can I get you to check on something for me?”

“Shoot.”

“Sasha’s parents, Arlo and Delfia Torres, have fallen on some hard times and their home is up for foreclosure. See if you can find out why. It appears the girl hangs out with Marybeth and Valerie because she’s on scholarship to the high school. From what I could find, their finances went down considerably in the last year and a half. Their home is a doublewide on an acre of property, so not worth more than fifty or sixty thousand at most.”

“Let me guess, Valerie’s parents oversee who receives the scholarships as well, and you think the two are connected?”

Thomas tapped the side of his nose. “The more information these kids dig up, the more questions are left dangling in the wind.”

“Speaking of Pueblo and Los Trios,” Duncan said. “While I was in Virginia Beach for our meeting yesterday, I decided to drive by Miss Bexley’s apartment. She wasn’t home yet. I suspect she must have been with Alé and them, but I did happen to take a quick peek at her mail. She had several delinquency notices in her box, including one from the manager from the apartment. Not only does it appear everyone has abandoned Bexley, but Raul isn’t paying for upkeep either.”

Thomas cursed under his breath. “I’ll let Mateo and Noah know.”

Duncan grunted. “Maybe we can press the kids to get her to move in with them prematurely?”

“Might end up blowing their mission though.”

Duncan scrubbed his chin. “True. However, she’s currently being pushed into a corner she can’t get out of.”

“Again, correct. I’ll talk it over with AJ and Scotty then bring the idea to Jamie and Asher. If they’re good with it, then we’ll give Alé a new objective.” Thomas finished his drink and stood. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I believe I’ve given AJ and Thomas enough time to prep.”

Duncan chuckled. “Have fun.”

“You should too.” Thomas glanced back at Duncan. “With at least one of them.”

Little did he know, Duncan already had.

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