Page 42 of Step Daddy

Gareth thought about saying ‘duh’ to the attorney. He knew the guy was being thorough, but his anxiousness to get to the meat of the matter was making him cranky.

Kit gave him a jerky nod. “Yes. He has.”

“Do you need to speak with me privately before we begin?”

“No.” Kit’s voice rose a bit in volume. “I have nothing to hide.”

Gareth was dying to tell Kit was a good boy he was.

Oliver turned to the detectives. “Okay gentlemen. You can begin.”

Detective Perez, the man who seemed to be between Lang and Oliver in age, flipped open a small notepad. He began rattling off basic questions about Kit’s life back in Lancaster, what it was like working at the Rodriguez’ company and what his relationship was like with Ted.

“So,” the detective continued, “the first time you were ever aware that Ted was taking money at work was when you caught him a week before you left?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Why didn’t you report him immediately?”

“I should’ve.” Kit was trying to wring his hands, but not having much success since Gareth had covered the free one with his own. ”I had this dumb idea that I was going to get some proof somehow. But we got into a fight before I could do that, and I blurted out that I’d seen him. That’s when he said he was going to blame me for what he did.” Kit winced. “What did he tell you guys?”

Detective Lang snorted. “Nothing. He was playing you.”

Gareth let out a low growl. That fucking asshole.

Detective Perez interjected, “Your mother has been very worried about you, and contacted the police. Since we were already working the case because the Rodriguez brothers have been suspecting your father for a while, we figured it was connected somehow—seeing as how you work there as well.”

Gareth narrowed his eyes. “It’s true that Kit isn’t involved, but how did you know that?”

Detective Perez continued, “We didn’t at first. Our immediate belief was that Kit was in on it with his dad.”

“With Ted.” Kit’s scowl said it all when it came to how he felt about his stepfather.

Perez smirked. “Regardless, we quickly came to the conclusion Kit was meant to be the fall guy. David Rodriquez in particular has a soft spot for you and was immediately suspicious when Ted started laying the groundwork to shift blame. He was dropping obvious hints that you must’ve taken off because you were running from something, that you suddenly seemed to have a lot of money out of nowhere and so on.”

“I barely have enough to survive!” Kit shouted. “You can check my account and everything. I had to give him almost all the money from my paycheck for rent and food, and I have less than a hundred bucks left to my name.”

Detective Lang held up his hand as if trying to calm Kit. “We know, we checked. We also discovered that while Ted was at least smart enough not to put money into any traceable accounts, he’s been doing a lot of unusual spending. Larger amounts that exceed his salary. Were you aware he has a woman on the side? He pays the rent on an apartment for her, and even recently purchased her a car using all cash.”

Kit went pale and Gareth couldn’t stand it. He put an arm around Kit’s shoulders while doing his best to temper his rage. Why he was surprised, he didn’t know. When it came to Ted, anything was possible.

“But…” Kit’s lower lip trembled. “Mom. Does she know?”

Detective Lang ran his hand across the top of his head, smoothing down his thinning hair. “We’re keeping that information from her right now and we ask that you do the same. We don’t want her alerting Ted that something’s up in case he tries to run. We’ve let her know you’re safe and that you’ll contact her soon—but not yet.”

The detectives exchanged glances before Lang regarded Kit again. “What we’re hoping you’ll agree to now is to help us catch him, to help us put him away for a long time.”

“What?” Gareth shook his head. “Not a chance.”

Finally, the damn pricey attorney had something to say. “I have to agree. I’m sure you can do your jobs without putting my client at risk.”

Detective Lang turned to Oliver. “And you’re probably right. However,” he addressed Gareth. “The guy could take off or cover up the evidence of his crime. As it is, the DA has informed us we don’t have enough for him to bring charges. It’s all mostly circumstantial. If Kit wears a wire and can get Ted to admit to what he’s done, then we’ll have him.”

Gareth huffed as Kit shrank against him. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! Send Kit in there to provoke that asshole? No way.” Gareth waved his hand. “No fucking way.”

Detective Perez frowned. “I believe that’s up to Kit, not you.”

Oliver cleared his throat. “Detectives, I’d like to have a word with my client. Do you mind stepping out in the hallway?”

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