Page 178 of Forever Never
“You told the personal security of a United States Senator that you intended to blackmail his boss?”
“Well, if you want it in a nutshell, then yeah.”
Brick closed his eyes. “That was not a smart move. If word gets back to Vorhees—”
“It won’t,” William assured him. “He’s the source you’ve been looking for. Insider. Been kicked around by the rich boss. Not feeling too loyal. Best of all, he knows a lot of dirt. “
“What kind of dirt?” Brick asked.
“Seems that the boss called him to pick him up at the airport a few months back. He wasn’t due back in Chicago for another three days. When he got there, Vorhees took his car and told him to catch a ride home. Never saw his car again. It was a Chevy Tahoe.”
Brick’s mind ran through the timing.
“Fuck,” he swore.
“Senator Vorhees was so appreciative he gave the guy a brand new Escalade.”
“That still doesn’t prove anything,” Brick pointed out, frustration rising.
“I’d be inclined to agree if I didn’t have pictures on my phone of the wreck. Tracked it down to a junkyard in the ’burbs. Looks like it hit something head-on. I also have the Lyft receipt of our friend getting picked up from the airport that night.”
This was something. Something he could work with.
“Will he talk?” Brick demanded.
“I’m working on that. If there’s money in it for him, he has no problem singing like a goddamn canary. But it’s going to take some time to make him comfortable with the idea of the cops.”
“Make him.”
“This takes finesse, son. I’ll do my best.”
Great. Brick’s best shot at ending this before Vorhees came hunting was to trust his unreliable father to deliver results without leading a madman straight to Mackinac.
“He also mentioned he’s seen the senator get a little rough with his wife,” William added. “Didn’t go so far as to say he beats her. But he and some other team members have noticed it.”
Without Camille’s corroboration, they still had a whole lot of unsubstantiated rumors. It wasn’t enough, but it was something.
“Okay,” he breathed into the phone. “Okay. Let’s see where this lead goes. I’ll see about wiring some money if that’s what it’s going to take to get him to talk.”
“This girl must really mean something to you,” William observed. The smile Brick heard in his father’s voice annoyed him.
“My feelings for Remi have nothing to do with bringing a man to justice.”
“Of course not,” William replied, sounding smug. “But you have to know that paying a witness for testimony would shoot more holes in your case than a slice of swiss cheese.”
“Fine. Then I’ll make him talk.”
“Let me handle it. I’ll see what I can do.”
Brick blew out a breath. “Keep me posted,” he said.
“Will do.”
He disconnected before his father could switch back to small talk mode.
Looking around him at the storefronts, glass gleaming, products positioned just so, restaurants with their specials boards, he felt a rising sense of helplessness.
He needed to see her. Needed to touch her and remind himself that she was safe, for now. She was safe and she was here. For now.
