Wanting the Detective

Chapter 10

"You're the expert on this, what do all these numbers mean?" Kurt leaned over Lucy's shoulder and squinted at the laptop monitor as she sat at his dining room table and scrolled through data. The same sweet scent that had nearly driven him to make some regrettable decisions a few hours earlier lingered in her hair.

"They're account statements in Wayne Carringer's name." Lucy was silent as she continued to skim the information.

"The club manager." He'd done some research on Wayne while he was working undercover and hadn't found much. Maybe this would be the ticket to finally getting a search warrant for that snake's businesses.

"Apparently he's a busy guy. There are statements for a few clubs here—and a casino." She closed the file containing the club accounting information and opened another marked 'Savings'. "What do strip clubs and casinos have in common that might appeal to someone working with a highly profitable crime syndicate?" Lucy smiled up at him.

She knew something.

Kurt thought for a moment. A successful criminal operation meant large sums of dirty money in need of laundering. "They both deal with large amounts of cash."

"You got it, Detective!" She was grinning now. "Looks like Wayne is depositing cash into offshore accounts." Lucy closed the file and opened another.

It contained screen shots of emails exchanged between Wayne and a number of others—meet times and places. No mention made of what the meetings were about, but from the obscure locations Kurt felt he could venture a pretty accurate guess.

"He's picking up cash and using the clubs as a front to deposit large sums of money without raising a red flag at the bank." Kurt's blood rushed, the pulse in his neck was like a drum. This could be what he'd been looking for the past several months all boxed up and delivered to him. "The fact is, something big is happening here that shouldn't be—whether it's drugs, or human trafficking, or some other scheme. Your sister stumbled onto this and then went missing."

Lucy opened the last folder.

The motherlode. Dawn had it all laid out for them, every meet time and bank deposit mapped with timelines and link charts.

Kurt raked both hands through his hair and threw his head back. "Your sister is a damn genius! Where the hell did she learn to do this?"

Lucy smiled up at him from her chair. "She's studying accounting, law, intelligence analysis..."

"Following in her big sister's footsteps."

She cast her gaze to the keyboard, her smile fading. "Yeah."

There was no guesswork needed in reading Lucy's thinking. He placed a hand on her shoulder and felt her muscles tense. "None of this was your fault. You can't always protect the people you love. All you can do is try."

"You're right." She nodded thoughtfully before changing the subject. "I think we should have a talk with Wayne. What do you think?" Lucy turned away from the screen and looked him in the eye. There was a sparkle of anticipation there that made him grin.

"Forget talking to him. There might be enough information on this flash drive to get a search warrant." Kurt pulled out his phone and swiped the touch screen. "I'll tell Thames we're coming in. Can you make a copy of that data before we submit the flash drive to evidence?"

"Yes, but we tried that already and it ended really badly for everyone involved." Lucy stood to meet his gaze, her brows drawn together.

He held the phone to his ear as it rang. "I understand the concern. But that was when we went the subtle route. I say we go big this time. Get it straight to a judge so we can obtain a warrant."