Night After Night (24 page)

“Then, when Sheila went missing, that’s when I realized that both Russo and Sheila had duped me,” Ray went on, his outrage fueling his need to tell his side of the story. “They fucking used me to funnel all that money into the dummy account so it couldn’t be easily traced, and all along they’d planned on cutting me out of the deal!”

“So, you upped your attack on Zoe, slashed her tires, and threatened to slit her throat if Russo didn’t pay up,” Caleb said, summarizing the events. “Were you going to follow through on that threat today?”

“I just wanted to scare her, so my message would get back to her old man,” Ray admitted. “So he’d know how serious I was about getting my share of the money.”

“Except Zoe doesn’t know where her father is,” Caleb told Ray.

Ray’s lip curled up in a sneer. “Russo and Sheila are probably out of the country by now with all that goddamn money.”

Zoe shifted in her chair at the accusation and glanced at Sean, her gaze conflicted. “Do you think that’s true?” she asked him.

“I honestly don’t know.” Sean refused to give her any kind of false hopes. “But I can tell you that Lucas can’t find anything on either hard drive that indicates they’ve left the country, or even the state of Nevada for that matter. Caleb used his connections at Las Vegas Metro to see if Grant’s or Sheila’s name came up on a database search of flight records, and there isn’t any documentation of either of them boarding a plane recently. That is, if they used their real names.”

“God, I just want all this to end.” Zoe rubbed her fingers across her forehead and released a weary sigh. “But at least Ray provided some answers about the missing money, though I have to admit a small part of me held out hope that my father was somehow innocent in all this.”

“That’s completely understandable,” Sean replied, his tone gentle. Clearly, Zoe was no longer devastated by the notion that her father was guilty of fraud, but considering how much Zoe adored her father, Sean knew it would take time for her pain to ease.

Caleb wrapped up his conversation with Ray, then left a guard with the man until the authorities arrived. A minute later, Caleb walked into the office Sean and Zoe were still in.

“So now we know how and why millions of dollars are missing from Russo’s company accounts,” Caleb said without preamble, though he didn’t point out Grant Russo’s obvious involvement in the embezzlement. “And, most important, we diffused the threat against Zoe.”

“Thank you,” she said, her tone sincere. “At least I don’t have to fear for my life any longer.”

Caleb’s diligent gaze didn’t waver. “Regardless, we’ll keep the guards posted as they are now, and Sean will remain on security detail until the case is resolved.”

Smiling, Zoe shook her head. “I appreciate your concern, but that really isn’t necessary.”

“Yes, it is,” Sean replied in a tone that was firm and adamant. He knew things were uncomfortable between them since their night together, but he’d never forgive himself if something happened to Zoe because he hadn’t been there to protect her.

Before she could argue further, Nathan Fox stepped into the room and approached Caleb and Sean, his intense and direct demeanor a reflection of his days as a vice cop for Metro P.D. “Sorry to interrupt, but the background check on Sheila came through, and there’s something on the report that caught my attention.”

“And what’s that?” Caleb asked, his interest piqued, as was Sean’s.

“She owns a place in Pahrump,” Nathan said, telling them what he knew. “According to county records, it belonged to her parents, and when they died she inherited the piece of property. Her main residence is listed as an apartment here in Vegas, and the house in Pahrump doesn’t appear to be occupied by renters or any other tenants. Lucas checked out the property on Google Earth, and the house itself actually looks run-down and dilapidated.”

Caleb lifted a dark brow. “Well, it looks like you and Sean will be taking a drive to Pahrump to check the place out and see if you can find anything that might give us more answers.”

Since Sean was unable to carry any kind of weapon because of his criminal record, he knew Caleb was sending Nathan with him because the other man never left home without his gun, and there was no telling what they’d encounter in Pahrump.

“I’m going with you,” Zoe announced.

Caleb’s and Nathan’s gazes shifted to Zoe, as if they’d forgotten she was standing there, listening to their verbal exchange. “No,” they both said in unison.

Zoe looked taken aback by their joint refusal, and Sean attempted to soften the stern rejection: “It’s really not a big deal.”

Her shoulders straightened in a show of determination, matching the fortitude brightening her eyes. “If it’s not a big deal, then you won’t mind if I go, too,” she said reasonably. “This pertains to my father, and I have just as much at stake in finding him as you all do.”

Caleb looked far from happy about Zoe accompanying the two men, but as tough as Caleb could be, Sean knew his boss was also a compassionate man who knew when to bend the rules. Like now.

“Fine,” Caleb relented, but not without a strict, nonnegotiable request of his own. “But they’re in charge and you’ll do exactly as they say, understood?”

Zoe barely concealed a triumphant smile. “Understood.”

Less than half an hour later, they were on the road heading to Pahrump, about an hour’s drive outside of Las Vegas. Zoe sat in the backseat of the car, quiet on the drive there while Nathan and Sean talked about mundane things to pass the time. Sean supposed Zoe was lost in thoughts of her father and the new amount of evidence Ray had provided during Caleb’s interrogation. None of it good, either.

The farther away from Vegas they drove, the more the glitz and glamour of the city segued into flat, dry desert, which eventually gave way to the small town of Pahrump. A mix of old and new businesses, along with a few modest casinos, lined Highway 160, which were quickly left behind as they followed the GPS directions to a more rural, sparsely populated area, where huge expanses of land separated each house they passed. As the GPS indicated, Nathan turned the vehicle onto an unpaved road, and a couple of minutes later they finally saw a lone house appear a half mile up the isolated road.

“That must be the place,” Sean said, his tone wry. Obviously, since there was nothing else around for miles.

Another turn led them directly to the house, a bumpy dirt road that forced Nathan to slow the car to keep the jostling and a trail of dust to a minimum. Dried brown weeds and more dirt landscaped the acreage surrounding the property, and two old trees flanked a run-down manufactured home in dire need of repair. The siding was peeling away from the structure, the metal roof was rusted out, and the screens covering the windows were torn and shredded from years of weathering.

Except for the dusty blue Toyota Camry parked in front of the trailer, the place looked abandoned.

“That’s Sheila’s car,” Zoe said from the backseat.

Nathan parked directly behind the Camry, deliberately blocking in the vehicle. “That’s a positive sign.”

But it also made for a potentially dangerous situation, Sean knew, depending on who was inside the house. Then again, this could have been just a dropping-off point for the car before Sheila and Russo used another form of transportation to leave the area.

As soon as Nathan and Sean stepped from the car, the back door opened and Zoe started to get out to join them. Sean caught Nathan’s quick shake of his head and knew exactly what the other man was thinking.

Sean put a hand up to stop her exit. “Zoe, you need to stay in the car until we check the place out and make sure everything’s safe.”

She frowned, and for a moment Sean thought she was going to insist on accompanying them. But then she either thought better of it or remembered her promise to Caleb to do as they asked and sat back down on the leather seat.

“Just sit tight, and we’ll be right back.” Sean locked and shut the car door, then met up with Nathan. Since he had the experience of being a cop on his side and had dealt with more complicated situations than this, Sean followed Nathan’s lead.

They walked up to the trailer’s entrance and knocked on the aged and deteriorating door. The panel of fabricated wood rattled on its loose hinges and provided no real protection against an intruder intent on breaking into the house. When no one answered, Nathan rapped on the door again, louder and harder this time.

Again, no reply.

Nathan nodded his head to the side to indicate he was going to inspect the trailer from the outside, and Sean fell into step behind the other man as he strolled around the perimeter of the small home. He tried to look into the windows, but curtains blocked their view. Just as they started to walk away from the trailer, Sean heard a distinct creak of sound from inside and out of the corner of his eye saw the fabric covering the window closest to the door flutter, as if someone had been peering outside.

A quick exchanged look with Nathan told Sean that his friend had heard and seen the same thing.

Nathan stepped back up to the window and thumped the glass pane with his knuckles. “We know someone is in there,” he announced in a deep voice. “We need to talk to you.”

Complete silence.

Nathan exhaled an impatient sigh and crossed the few steps to the door. “You can do this the easy way by opening the door and talking to us, or I can call in local law enforcement to handle things a bit more forcefully. What’s it going to be, Sheila?”

Sean wasn’t sure if Nathan’s threat was legitimate, but he sounded convincing and that’s all they needed right now to gain some ground with the woman.

The door unlatched from inside, then slowly opened about six inches. The part of the woman’s face that appeared in the crack matched the photo Caleb had acquired of Grant’s secretary, Sheila. She was an older woman, in her mid-fifties, with chin-length brunette hair and brown eyes and a medium frame. Even with a light application of makeup, her features were plain and ordinary, and she looked her age, if not older.

Her wary gaze flickered from Sean to Nathan. “Who are you and what do you want?”

“We just want to ask you some questions about your boss, Grant Russo,” Nathan said easily. “He’s gone missing and we’re investigating his case. We’re hoping you can help us out and give us some insight as to where he might be.”

Nathan played the part of good cop extremely well. Instead of making direct accusations, to gain Sheila’s trust he made it seem like Russo was his only focus. Except she wasn’t easily swayed.

“I don’t know anything, and you’re trespassing on private property.”

As soon as she tried to shut the door, Sean automatically used his shoe to keep the door wedged open. He and Nathan didn’t force their way in, but the move implied that they could.

Sheila glared at them.

“Do you really want to go the route of bringing the cops into this?” Nathan asked calmly. “Just a few minutes of your time is all we’re asking, and then we’ll be on our way.”

Nathan’s request was nonthreatening, asked in a way that would lead her to believe she could be rid of them quickly if she cooperated, rather than hindered, their investigation. And that’s exactly what she did.

Reluctantly, she opened the door and let them inside. Sean glanced back at Zoe, who was still waiting in the car, where he knew she’d be the safest. But even from a distance he could see her wondering what was going on and what he and Nathan were up to.

As soon as they stepped across the threshold, they were standing in a small living room that looked as though it had been decorated back in the seventies. Dark wood paneling lined the walls, and worn and matted shag carpeting in a gawd-awful burnt orange shade covered the floor. The couch was covered in a puke green slipcover with tassels along the edges, and judging by the stale smell in the air and the thick amount of dust covering everything, it appeared that it had been a while since anyone had truly occupied the trailer.

To Sean, it seemed like a sad place for anyone to live, much less for a young girl to grow up in, as Sheila probably had, since she had inherited the property from her deceased parents.

Sheila kept the door open and didn’t invite them farther into the trailer. “I doubt I can help you in any way.”

“You might be surprised,” Nathan said with a charming smile meant to put her at ease. “There’s some speculation that Grant Russo embezzled millions of dollars from his company and has taken off with the money.”

“So I’ve heard.” She crossed her arms over her chest, her posture slightly defensive. “All I know is that things started falling apart at the company. Contractors weren’t getting paid, payroll checks started bouncing, and the Meridian project came to a halt. Everyone was walking away, and since my payroll check bounced as well, I wasn’t about to stay and work for free.”

Her explanation sounded logical, except that Ray, her partner in crime, had already implicated her in the embezzlement. But Nathan and Sean didn’t have the power or authority to arrest her, so that was a moot point.

“What brought you out here to this place?” Sean asked, purposely keeping his tone neutral so she didn’t feel like she was being interrogated.

Her lips pursed in agitation. “Since I had time on my hands, I thought I’d clean this place up so I could put it on the market and sell it. How did you know where to find me?”

“You inherited the place,” Nathan interjected smoothly. “It’s a matter of public record.”

She shifted nervously, even as her annoyance increased. “And it was that important for you to come out all this way just to talk to me?”

Nathan shrugged. “We figured you knew Grant’s habits better than anyone, so it was worth a shot to see if you were here and find out if you might know anything.”

She gave a bitter laugh that was at odds with the situation. “Considering what Grant is being accused of, it seems I don’t know my boss at all.”

“Do you know where he might have gone?” Nathan continued questioning her, using the tactic to see if he could get anything in her demeanor to crack.

“No.” Her brown eyes flashed with impatience. “A few weeks ago he didn’t come into work, and he’s been gone ever since. That’s all I know.”

As Nathan kept asking questions, Sean looked everywhere he could see, searching for something, anything, that would indicate that Grant Russo had been there or still was—but found nothing to either confirm or deny his presence.

“We’d like to take a look around the place,” Nathan finally said.

“No.” Not only was Sheila’s tone brutally sharp, but Sean didn’t miss the panic that had flashed in her gaze before she regained her composure. “You don’t have a warrant, and you have no right to search the trailer. In fact, I think we’re done with this conversation and I’d like you to leave.”

Unfortunately, she was right. Legally, they were pushing their limits and they had no real jurisdiction to search the place without her permission. Just as they started to leave, a loud, distinct
thump
from the far end of the trailer reverberated all the way to the living room.

Every muscle in Sean’s body tensed, and a quick glance at Nathan told him his friend was just as alert. “Is somebody here with you?” he asked.

“No.” Unmistakable fear etched Sheila’s expression, and she shook her head, a bit more frantically than necessary. “That was…probably my cat, who’s always knocking down things.”

Sean didn’t believe Sheila’s story. Not for a second. And when the sound came again—
thump, thump, thump
—Nathan didn’t hesitate, or wait for permission, to find out the source of the heavy, pounding noise.

With a cop’s instinct, Nathan withdrew the gun he carried beneath his lightweight jacket and headed down the hallway toward the bedrooms. Not wanting Nathan to face the threat alone, Sean grabbed Sheila’s arm, giving her no choice but to come along—and felt her resistance every step of the way.

Thump, thump, thump.

“It’s coming from in here,” Nathan said, his voice low as he tried to turn the knob, only to realize that the door was locked—and bolted from the
outside.
Whoever or whatever was in this room had been deliberately secured inside.

Thump, thump, thump.
The sound came quicker, harder, more urgent than before.

Nathan flipped the bolt, then pushed open the door. Gun at the ready, he rushed inside and came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the room. Behind him, Sean did the same, shocked, even a little horrified, at what they’d discovered.

“What the hell?” Sean said, trying to make sense of the disturbing scene they’d stumbled upon.

“Jesus Christ,” Nathan muttered, and lowered his gun to his side.

They’d found Grant Russo, but not as Sean had expected. The man had been tied up with twine, his hands secured to the metal railing of a bed frame while his ankles had been cinched together with the thin rope, and silver duct tape sealed his mouth shut. Obviously, having heard other strange voices in the trailer, he’d used his feet to kick the wall, which had worked to get their attention.

The white dress shirt he wore was dirty and wrinkled, as if he’d worn it for days, weeks even, and had been unbuttoned down the front so it lay open on either side of him. His bare chest and abdomen had brown burn marks seared onto the flesh, which looked to Sean like the probe marks of a high-voltage stun gun. Russo’s whiskered face was pale and gaunt, his dark hair a greasy, matted mess around his head, and dried, caked blood was encrusted on an open wound on his lower lip. As he was unable to speak, his gaze pleaded with them to help him.

Good God, he looked as though he’d been treated like a wild animal, or worse, and even Sean felt a twinge of pity for what the man had endured.

Taking advantage of Sean’s distraction, Sheila wrenched her arm from his grasp and ran back down the hallway. Sean swore and, knowing that Nathan would take care of Russo, bolted after Sheila before she could get away. In the living room, she shoved an old rocking chair at the end of the hallway, blocking his path and giving her just enough time to grab her purse and head out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Letting loose a ripe curse, Sean tossed the chair out of his way and reached the door seconds after her. He turned the handle, only to realize that she’d somehow jimmied the lock, and it took him precious moments he didn’t have to spare to get the lock to finally release.

He wrenched open the door, his gaze searching the yard for Sheila. Instead, his worst fears were realized.

His heart slammed hard in his chest and he struggled to breathe. Zoe was out of the car and Sheila was standing behind her, holding her hostage and pointing a pistol at her head. And judging by the barbaric way Sheila had treated Grant, Sean suspected the crazy psycho woman wasn’t afraid to use the gun if provoked.

“What is taking them so long?” Zoe muttered to herself as she glanced at her watch for the tenth time in as many minutes.

As much as she was tempted to get out of the car to find out what was going on, she stayed put, which wasn’t an easy feat. She’d seen Sheila answer the door, then begrudgingly allow the guys to enter, and even though she’d left the trailer door open, Zoe couldn’t see a thing. Which left her to speculate on what might be happening inside.