Page 74 of A Second Chance for the Beta
“Pretty much what I thought too,” I agree.
“That doesn’t mean he can’t be a criminal, though,” Liam says. “We need to tread carefully. What we know for sure is that someone took advantage of him. I want to know who that someone is. And how they got this kid to work with them.”
The door to our room opens and Portia steps inside. “Portia,” Liam acknowledges her. “Were you successful?”
“I made a brief background check on him, Alpha,” she says. “I’m still running a deeper, more detailed one just to be sure, though.”
“What did you find out?”
“His name is real,” she says. “His profession too. He is a barista, but he also does photography as a hobby. His Instagram account is quite popular.”
“What kind of photography?” I want to know.
“Nature,” she says. “And fantasy. He joined an exhibition a few months ago.”
“He is an artist,” Liam muses. “And he is shy and awkward.”
“You think someone approached him during that exhibition?” Annie asks.
“Could be,” Liam says.
“He is only eighteen,” Portia continues. “No criminal record. No father on the birth certificate. But CPS seems to have visited him and his mom regularly.”
“So, he was either abused or neglected,” Annie concludes. “He is very young and was probably easy to manipulate.”
Dave clears his throat. “I think I can work with that,” he says.
“Are you sure you can do this?” Liam asks. “This guy is the only shot we have at finding who is after Charlie.”
“I got this, Alpha,” Dave says, full of confidence.
“Alright.” Liam nods. “Then go ahead.”
Dave grabs a folder and something to write on before leaving the room. A minute later, we see him entering the room where Dante and Richie are waiting. “I got it,” Dave says to Dante.
Dante nods, moving away to the furthest corner of the room. We agreed on him staying there just in case something happens.
“Richard, is it?” Dave asks as he sits down opposite Richie. He hands him a cup of coffee. I have no idea how he got that one so fast.
Richie eyes it skeptically.
“It’s not poisoned.” Dave grins. “But it might not appease your taste buds. It’s drip coffee.”
“Oh shoot,” Richie says. “But better than instant coffee.”
“We don’t have that here,” Dave says, amused.
“I’m not going to talk,” Richie mutters.
“You don’t trust us,” Dave concludes. “But we were not the ones hiding away and sneaking around. If you take a closer look, you will see that we come and go to town. I’m working at the university. Others here have normal jobs too. Can you say the same for your friends?” Dave leans back a bit. “You do know, you are in quite some shit, don’t you?”
“But…” He looks nervous again. “She is… you know… she is my girlfriend.”
“A girlfriend who blocked you and deleted your number the moment you did what she asked of you?” Dave inquires.
Richie stares at him wide-eyed. “No… I’m sure it’s a coincidence.”
“Did you meet her during the exhibition?” Dave asks.
