Page 40 of All He Sees
"Look." He took a deep breath and grunted. "I didn't do anything illegal. But sometimes, people pay me to use my boat and I look the other way. I don't know what they do with it once they have it. They're mostly young country club types, okay? And they pay me so they can party or travel or do whatever."
Nicky's mind raced. "So, you recognize the person in the video?"
"No, I don't know."
"George." Nicky's voice became firm. "Do you know him or not?"
"I--I don't," he said. "Honestly, I can't even remember."
Nicky took a breath. She wanted to rip the information out of George, but she had to stay collected. "Okay, George," she said. "I'm going to need a list of everyone who has ever bribed you for use of your boat--especially in the last eight months."
"I don't know," George said. "There's been a few."
Nicky glared. "You're going to give me a list of everyone who's ever paid you to use your boat, or I'm going to make sure that you--"
"I don't know!" George said, his voice rising. "There's been a few, okay?"
"A few," Nicky scoffed. "How many is a few, George?"
George's eyes went wide. "Shit," he said to himself. "I don't know. I can't remember."
"You seemed to remember when you burned your money," Nicky said. "Come on, George. This isn't difficult."
"Those men paid me in cash," George said. "I don't know anything about them."
Nicky's eyes narrowed. "You're hiding something."
"I'm not hiding anything," George said.
He was starting to get angrier. "Why don't you believe me?"
"I believe you're destroying evidence, George," Nicky said, her voice hardening to a near-shout. "I believe you're destroying evidence and refusing to help me."
George shook his head. "That's not what I'm doing."
"Yeah?" Nicky's eyes were wider. "Tell me what you are doing then."
George didn't say anything.
"I think you're a coward, George," Nicky said. "I think you're a coward because you won't tell me the truth. And I think that you're a coward because you won't stand up for these girls who everyone else is ignoring."
George looked up at her, his eyes distant. "I don't know why they were taken," he said. "I don't know what's going on here..." He trailed off, looking down. "But I'll get you the damn list. I'll cooperate."
"You'll cooperate? Is that what you said?"
George looked up at her. "Yeah," he said. "That's what I said."
Nicky could hardly believe what she was hearing. "Okay, George," she said. "Then cooperate."
George met her eyes with steely determination. "Get me a pen and paper and I'll list off everyone I remember meeting."
Nicky almost smiled. Now they were getting somewhere.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Back at the hotel room, morning sun seeped in through the white curtains as Nicky sat at the table with her laptop out--and George's list next to her.
She'd left him to be investigated for the bribery by the police, and she was sure he wouldn't be getting away with this scot-free. At the very least, he wasn't allowed to leave Vale, and if he tried to evade the FBI or the police, he'd become a fugitive. Something told Nicky that George wasn't a bad guy but had made some bad calls for money. She'd seen that before.
