Page 73 of Sinful Beauty

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Chaper 27

Tristan

Up earlier than usual, I flick the television on and pour my coffee. Another front is moving in, which may bring yet another round of freezing rain. Gray clouds cover the expanse across the lake and the ripple of waves with the occasional white crest can be seen from my perch, which means the storm front carries a fierce wind.

If Lucia weren’t so dedicated to her career, I’d convince her to take a second day off work, and we could bundle up in blankets before the fire and talk through everything. Perhaps I could do a little groveling of the sexual kind, bringing her to orgasm with my tongue and fingers to drive away her nausea.

As lovely as that thought is, she would never go for it. I know nothing about pregnant women. She might averse to physical contact. She’s not eager to see me. There was no text from her this morning. Which is why I’m going to head in earlier than normal, even though it goes against my cover as a spoiled louse banking on nepotism to get by.

The phone vibrates on the counter. If Lucia were here with me, where she’d be if I hadn’t behaved like a total asshat yesterday, and it was her phone ringing, I’d be listening to a snippet of a song right now. As it is, there’s no song.

The name on the screen captures my attention. Jack Sullivan.

“Hi Jack.”

“Hope I’m not waking you.”

“I was about to head into the office.”

“Officially, the wreck is still being investigated, but our sources tell us there’s no doubt the car was rammed off the road. In that area of the highway, there are no traffic cams. The only evidence collected is paint from the vehicle. The chances we’ll uncover more information are slim.”

“They thinking hired assassin?”

“It fits. Someone might have been surveilling him for days and taken the opportunity when they saw it.”

“Doesn’t seem they were careful about making it look like an accident.”

“No, but you know how hired help works. They aren’t always top-notch.”

“Right.” It’s true. Around the world, governments struggle with outsourcing their deeds. Invariably, when leaks occur, it’s because an outsourced provider got sloppy. There’s no reason crime syndicates wouldn’t face the same challenges.

“But I’m calling because a CHS relayed some information I think you’ll find enlightening.”

“I’m about two sips into my coffee. Can you refresh me on your American acronym?” Everyone loves their acronyms, but the American vernacular is heavy with them.

“Confidential human source. Doesn’t mean it’s highly reliable. Keep in mind, any rando can call in a tip and it goes down as a CHS. But this one is connected to Dolsten. According to this source, he dined with Dolsten and a Mr. Haussler the day before the wreck.”

“Mr. Haussler. The banker?”

“The Swiss might call him a banker. In the states, we’d say he’s a portfolio manager.”

He’s one name on my Venn Diagram, but over to the side. There were photographs on the Lumina website of him with the former CEO and CFO at a charity event, and I had Ozzie locate his name and run a background. He’s never worked for Lumina. “What was Dr. Haussler doing in the States?”

“Stated reason passing through customs is business.”

“Business indeed.” Both men lived in Switzerland at the same time for years. It could be coincidence. They might have simply discovered they were both in California on business and agreed to get together. “I don’t suppose you can access his phone logs?”

“Working on it. The accident investigation complicates access, but I expect we’ll have it all by the end of the week.”

“It would be interesting to see how often those two men talked to each other. And Salo too.”

“Given the banker has known ties to the Obshina, it’s quite possible they’re the group behind eliminating your witnesses and suspects.”

“The Obshina cartel meets our criteria. I’ve been suspecting the Seva cartel, as their specialty is moving anything across borders. But Obshina works.” It matches what Saint said. Fucking Russians. “And a corrupt banker would get behind preserving stock prices on client investments.”

“I have another source I’ve been conferring on this case. An expert in the area. He doesn’t buy that the Russians are concerned with pharmaceuticals. It’s not an industry they dominate. His opinion is we’re dealing with someone, or a group of someones, that reached out and cut a deal with the Russians to help them clean up a situation before it got messy.”

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