Page 43 of Trusting Laurence
“I have them here, yes.”
“Take them out. I’ll break some of it down for you. Then we reassess. Yes?”
Once again, Larry looked to Preston for an answer. The man nodded his assent.
“Fair enough.”
He placed the file he’d been holding on the table and opened it to where Marcus’s accounting records were. He reached for them, read through them as if reacquainting himself with them, and then he began to talk. After ten minutes of telling them who had been involved in the transactions he’d singled out, where they’d taken place, and who had been paid off in government agencies in both America and South Africa, he leaned back in his chair without another word.
Preston pushed back his chair and got to his feet. Larry did the same. He gathered the papers on the table together and picked up the file. The two men left the room after Finn had indicated he’d remain.
Once the guard had closed the door behind them, they walked a short distance from the room before Preston turned to face Larry.
“Holy shit, man. Did you have an idea about any of that?”
“Not one, my friend. Not one.”
He was still reeling from some of the names Marcus had given them. A number of alphabet agencies were involved – men who’d sworn to serve and protect who were using their positions to line their own pockets. When this shitstorm eventually broke, a lot of people were going to get hurt, families ripped apart by greed. Public confidence would be shaken to its very foundation.
Preston looked as shellshocked as Larry himself felt.
“Jesus, Larry. If this is just the ice breaker, I’m almost too scared to hear the rest of it.”
“You and me both, my friend. You and me both.”
Preston rubbed the back of his neck, tension radiating from his stiff frame. “Let’s get in there and finish this thing up. I need to get back to the office to get this ball rolling. And I still need to talk to your other source.”
“Yeah, I’m good with that.”
As they walked back into the room, Larry looked over to where Finn remained standing. His stoic expression hid his thoughts, and he wondered what the other man was thinking about Marcus’s bombshell.
“All right, Forrester. Here’s the deal. I’ll prepare the paperwork to submit to the governor. Once I have received confirmation back, we’ll be back to finish this interview and get you processed for witness protection. When that happens, I’m going to need everything in a written statement, and we’ll be video recording the next interview session. This is not negotiable.”
“You get me that protection, and I’ll give you everything I know.”
“Then we’re done here for now.”
They were just about backto the office when Larry’s phone rang. Using the vehicle’s handsfree system, he answered via the button on the steering wheel.
“Keon.”
“Mr. Keon, sir, we have a situation,” one of the agents he’d posted at Tahlia’s house informed him.
Never words he wanted to hear at the best of times, coming from the agent outside Tahlia’s house was not a good sign. “I’m listening.”
“Sir, Hector and two unknown males just arrived. They’re knocking on the front door. Do you want us to intercept, or wait to see what happens? Please advise?”
His blood ran cold. They were going after Tahlia. This was all his fault. He should have made her go into protective custody. And how the hell had Hector gotten out?
“Intercept. Don’t let them into that house.”
“Shit, an old lady’s just opened the door, and they’ve pushed her out of the way. They’re in, sir.”
“Go. Get in there. Do not let them get their hands on my witness. Go. Go!”
“Yes, sir.”
The line went dead. Larry could feel the sweat beading on his forehead. “Finn, find out how the hell Hector is at Tahlia O’Connor’s house and not in our cells.”
