Deadly Memories (Hardy Brothers Security Book 18) (17 page)

“
H
ey
, baby.”

James poked his head in Mandy’s office, offering her a small smile as she glanced up from her computer screen.

“What’s up?” Mandy asked, confused. “Did something happen?”

“I just wanted to see you,” James said, immediately hating himself for the lie.

“Why are you really here?” Mandy knew James well enough to read his expression. He was upset, and whatever he had to tell her wasn’t going to be pretty. “There’s no need to play games. Just … come out with it.”

James walked into the office and moved to shut the door before thinking better about it. “I don’t want anyone to think I’m doing anything dirty, so I’m leaving this open,” he said. “I am here for another reason. For the record, though, I always want to see you.”

Mandy blew out an exasperated sigh. “Tell me.”

“I love you.”

Mandy didn’t want to smile, but she couldn’t help herself. “I love you, too. Now, tell me.”

James laid it all out in excruciating detail, and when he was done, Mandy was flabbergasted.

“Holy crap.”

“Do you think Judge MacIntosh would be willing to talk to me?” James asked. “If so, do you think he would have any insight? I won’t go to him if you ask me not to.”

Mandy took James by surprise and hopped out of her desk chair and moved toward the hallway. “Come on. There’s only one way to find out.”

“
T
HANK
you for seeing me
,” Sophie said, settling in the chair across from Morgan’s desk and fixing him with a tight-lipped smile. “After you dodged me for hours on Friday, I wasn’t sure how long you would let me sit in the lobby while pretending to ignore my presence.”

“I’m not ignoring you,” Morgan said, resting his elbows on his desk and steepling his fingers. “This may come as a surprise, but I have more on my plate than just the Nate Foley case.”

“Well, I guess it’s good that I stopped in then,” Sophie said. “I’m not here about Nate Foley. Or, to be precise, I’m not here solely about him. I’m here to talk about a few other things.”

“I see,” Morgan said. “What would that be?”

“Well, for starters, I want to know why Jenna Barone has taken over John Madison’s old account,” Sophie said, refusing to pussyfoot around and instead getting to the heart of the matter. “I want to know why Chuck Foley’s wife is going by her maiden name and ten grand is being put into that account every month.”

Morgan’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

“Don’t play games with me,” Sophie warned. “I’ve been racking my brain for why you would back down on your statements regarding Nate Foley. All I could think was that Chuck Foley had something on you. You’ve worked too hard to clean up your image to flush it down the toilet for no reason.”

“I don’t have the evidence to prosecute Nate Foley,” Morgan protested. “Why don’t you understand that?”

“Because I’m not an idiot,” Sophie said. “You have more than enough evidence to turn over to the prosecutor’s office. I’ve heard rumblings you were forced to stand with him at that press conference, even if you didn’t agree with the decision.

“Now, I haven’t gotten all of this worked out yet, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise, but I believe once we get all of the financials sorted out we’re going to find a clear connection between Chuck Foley, Eric Humphrey, and yourself,” she continued.

“Your best course of action is to be the first to state your case,” Sophie said. “If you don’t, then you’ll go down as hard and fast as the other two.”

Morgan was dumbfounded. “I don’t know what you think you’ve found, but you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“So you’re saying you have a rational explanation why Jenna Foley has been putting ten grand in an account your department has access to?” Sophie lifted a challenging eyebrow. “Can you account for where that money is going?”

“What are you trying to do here, Sophie?” Morgan asked, clearly frustrated. “What is it you want?”

Morgan rarely used Sophie’s first name and Sophie was convinced it was a slip. His cheeks flushed with color and she could see tiny beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Things were beginning to collapse, and he knew it.

“Eric Humphrey has done nothing but make a bad name for himself since his election,” Sophie said, opting to try a different tactic. “You campaigned for him in the fall, which took everyone by surprise because no one thought he had a chance until you threw your support behind him. That seems to indicate a prior relationship.

“Now, we haven’t tied Humphrey to you financially yet, but we all know the sheriff’s department and prosecutor’s office have overlapping accounts,” she continued. “When I file my story – and there will be a story – what kind of audit do you think you’re going to be looking at?”

“I am not responsible for whatever Eric Humphrey said to you,” Morgan snapped. “I know he has certain personality … quirks … but there’s no reason to make this unnecessarily difficult.”

“Personality quirks?” Sophie fought the mad urge to laugh. “You think he has personality quirks? He’s said sexually suggestive things to half the women in the courthouse and they’re seriously considering grouping together to file a complaint. The things he’s said to Mandy Avery-Hardy alone could get him slapped with a civil suit.”

Morgan rubbed the tender spot between his eyebrows. “And what has he said to Amanda Hardy? Is that what this is all about? Are you fighting your friend’s battles?”

“I’m not fighting any battles for Mandy,” Sophie replied. “Her husband is the one who started all of this because he’s upset about the way Humphrey has been going after her, though. Taking on James Hardy after hurting the thing he loves most in this world is a bad idea, no matter who you are.”

“I’ve noticed,” Morgan said dryly. “What exactly has Humphrey been doing to Mrs. Hardy?”

“You were at the press conference,” Sophie argued. “You heard what he said to her. He’s been calling her a slut because she has sex with her husband, a murderer because she protected Emma and Avery from a vicious killer, and then cast aspersions on James and suggested he cheated on her. Did he really think James was going to let that slide?”

“So James Hardy is the one stirring up all of this trouble?”

“You’re missing the entire point, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” Sophie said. “James Hardy went looking for dirt on Humphrey. The way he’s been acting tipped everyone off that he had ties to Chuck Foley. They widened the search to Foley, and that’s when they stumbled across your ties to Foley.

“I’m going to be honest. I’ve been looking at you as a weak man who trusted the wrong individual,” she continued. “I thought you were trying to climb out of this mess and make something better of yourself. You’ve made things so much worse.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Morgan seethed. “You think you know what’s going on so you’re making up scenarios in your head that aren’t even close.”

“So, enlighten me.”

“I can’t enlighten you,” Morgan replied. “This is my department. I don’t have to discuss interdepartmental matters with you. That’s not part of my job description.”

“Well, I can’t say I’m not disappointed,” Sophie said, pushing herself to her feet. “Just for the record, though, I’m not letting this go. We’ll figure all of this out before it’s all said and done – like we always do – and then it will be too late for you to do the right thing.”

“And what is the right thing?”

“Nate Foley killed three of his friends,” Sophie said. “I’m not saying it was with malice, but he still did it. He should be held responsible. By letting his father bully you into a decision you didn’t agree with, you set all of this in motion. I hope you enjoy the outcome.”

“
S
IT DOWN
,”
Judge MacIntosh instructed, gesturing toward the chairs across from his desk. Since it was the lunch hour, his robe rested on the nearby couch and his afternoon meal sat open on his desk.

“This is a bad time,” Mandy said, studying his half-eaten salad. “We can come back.”

“We can,” James confirmed, moving to get out of his chair.

“Sit down, Mandy,” MacIntosh ordered, shaking his head. “Well, this must be a good one. She’s a bundle of nerves and you look as if you want to throw yourself on a grenade to protect her, James. Tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m sure you’re aware of the Humphrey situation,” James said, choosing his words carefully. “I’ve had words with him a few times and he’s said some … unpleasant … things to my wife. This place is fat with gossip, so I know it hasn’t escaped your attention.”

“No, it hasn’t,” MacIntosh confirmed. “I’ve sent a formal complaint to the Michigan Judiciary Committee complaining about Humphrey’s behavior, and not just with Mandy. What he’s said to her is unconscionable, but that’s hardly the end of his bad behavior.”

Mandy was surprised. “I didn’t know you did that.”

“You didn’t ask,” MacIntosh said, his eyes twinkling. “So this meeting has something to do with Humphrey? What did he do now?”

“It’s not directly him,” James clarified. “Not yet, at least. It’s just, well, I ran a background check on Humphrey. Because of what he said to Mandy, I was determined to take him down a notch or two. I don’t want him around my wife.”

“I figured you would, so that doesn’t really surprise,” MacIntosh said. “Did you find something?”

“I found something, but Humphrey isn’t at the center of it as far as I can tell,” James answered. “Because of what happened with the Nate Foley case, I was convinced Humphrey had ties to Chuck Foley. I thought if I could find those ties, I could bring Humphrey down and maybe shed light on why Morgan and Humphrey backed off on prosecuting Nate Foley.”

MacIntosh nodded encouragingly. “Go on.”

“What I found was that John Madison’s former account, the one he funneled money into for his private use, was still active,” James said. “Madison’s name wasn’t on it, but Jenna Barone’s was.”

“And who is Jenna Barone?”

“She goes by the name Jenna Foley now,” James answered.

“Wait … what?” Judge MacIntosh was one of the calmest men Mandy had ever met so his reaction to James’ news took her by surprise.

“It’s the same account, although it’s been transferred to Jenna Foley’s name,” James explained. “Ten thousand dollars goes into the account each month and is then transferred to the sheriff’s department. My understanding is that this went undetected because the account was previously vetted when Madison had it and it slipped through this go around.”

“That is unbelievable,” MacIntosh said, frowning when someone knocked on his door. His secretary peered around the door as she opened it, but MacIntosh frantically waved her off. “Do not bother me again. The afternoon court session will happen, but not until I’m done here.”

The secretary hurriedly shut the door.

“Is it true that there’s an account the prosecutor’s office, the sheriff’s department, and the courthouse have access to?” James asked. “I think it’s for the deputies who work here.”

“It’s true,” MacIntosh said, rolling his neck until it cracked. “This is all very interesting, but we’re missing key details. How does Humphrey tie into this?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I think it’s clear that Foley had enough power to sway Morgan and Humphrey’s decision regarding his son, and I would bet money it has something to do with this account,” James said.

“I would bet money, too,” MacIntosh said. “I have access to the account, but we’ve set up a series of checks and balances. I’m going to need to bring two other judges in here to access it.”

“Are you willing to do that?” James was surprised – and hopeful.

“I am,” MacIntosh said. “If all three of them are corrupt, we have to move fast to take them down. We don’t have time to wait … and we don’t want to give them a chance to run.”

“
H
OW’S
it going in here?” Grady asked, walking into James’ office later that afternoon and smirking when he saw the annoyed look on Jake’s face. The usually unflappable man sat on the couch, darting a series of irritated looks in the direction of the young computer genius sitting behind the desk. “How’s the search going, Maverick?”

Maverick, dressed in an over-sized and dirty anime shirt, shot Grady an unfriendly look. “I’m tired, man. I didn’t get my full ten hours of sleep last night because your brother woke me in the middle of the night.”

“You’ll live,” Grady said. “This is important.”

“So I’ve heard,” Maverick intoned, staring at the computer screen. “There’s a lot here.”

“Can you find a tie between Humphrey and Foley?”

“There’s too much overlap for there not to be a tie, but I need a few minutes to figure it out,” Maverick replied. “Give me a moment to think. I’m a genius. I’m not magic.”

“Whatever,” Grady muttered, turning his attention to Jake. “Has he behaved himself?”

“He’s only stared at Emma’s chest twice,” Jake answered. “Of course, Emma has only braved coming downstairs twice since he got here because he makes her uncomfortable.”

“That chick is hot, man,” Maverick said. “I can’t believe she just had a baby. She looks like she’s already back in model shape. I would so tap that … .”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Jake warned. “Finn already threatened you with bodily harm if you hit on his woman.”

“She’s not his woman yet,” Maverick pointed out. “They’re not married.”

“They’re engaged,” Grady said. “She’s got the ring and everything. Plus, they have a baby. Let it go.”

“Fine,” Maverick grumbled. “What about the hot sister? Is she seeing anyone?”

“She lives with me,” Jake snapped, causing Grady to chuckle and swivel his head toward the front of the office when the bell over the external door jangled. The middle-aged woman standing in front of it looked confused – and frightened.

Grady got to his feet, pasting a welcoming smile on his face. Hardy Brothers Security had seen its fair share of battered and terrorized women looking for protection. The key was to approach them slowly and not appear menacing. “Can I help you?”