Page 28 of Sizzling Nights

She pulled back slightly and tilted her head to look up at him. "When did you read it?"

"When I went to take my shower. I could only find the first exposé. Did you only publish the one?"

"After the first one is when the threats increased in intensity. Before we published the first one the threats were more along the lines of shutting down the newspaper and damaging our credibility. Neither of us worried about that. We figured it proved we were on to something if just the threat of publication made them sweat. But then someone tried to burn down the newspaper, and she told me to go. The stories were all written except the final two. I told her I'd publish them on the internet, so the newspaper wasn't caught up in the fray. She said, 'No. I want you and the paper to get the credit.'"

"Okay. So there are four more articles to publish?"

She stepped back. Her fingers twisted together in front of her. "Yes. I just finished writing the final article. I need to proofread it and make sure the links to the documents work, but it's written."

"Okay. So, we need a plan. The plan has to make sure you're safe, while also getting the word out about the criminality you've found. Do you mind if I read them?"

"No, I don't mind. I'd actually like your comments."

They moved in unison to the table where their laptops sat side by side. She motioned for him to sit in front of her laptop to read the stories she'd written. He nodded and sat.

Theresa sucked in a deep breath. "I have the second, third, fourth, and fifth stories in order here." She pointed to a folder on her laptop. "Just open that folder and read them in order."

Marco opened the first story and began reading, even though he'd already read it, he wanted to read them now in succession. She'd titled each story. The first one was titledThe Whisper in the Dark. She'd recounted receiving an anonymous tip regarding the elaborate network. Millions of dollars moving through shadowy shell companies and offshore accounts, disguised as ordinary business transactions. She'd almost set it aside as some troublemaker trying to get his or her fifteen minutes of fame. Except, there wasn't a name. And some of the language made her believe there was something dark and dirty going on. She was a great writer, succinct and informative. She laid out the story as she unfolded it and laid the dirty dealings bare.

The second exposé was titled,The Dirty Money Trail. She laid out how she set out to dive headfirst into a maze of financial records and offshore transactions. There was a web of shell companies, each one designed to obscure the flow of cash and its origins. She painstakingly detailed the network of transfers between obscure banks in tax havens, where millions of dollars were moved. Then the link to prove the transactions were not random. There was a pattern.

He took a deep breath and clicked on the third, which was titled,Inside the Syndicate. This story led Theresa into the heart of the criminal network. Through a series of risky undercover interviews with former operatives and unsuspecting wives needing to feel important, she pieced together the organization’s inner workings. Her source was codenamed "Mercury," who risked everything to reveal how money was moved and manipulated. Mercury described a highly organized structure, with mid-level managers acting as gatekeepers and financiers directing funds from offshore accounts to domestic fronts.

His heartbeat picked up as he read the details she'd uncovered. Theresa was right to be in hiding. She should be more scared than she was. His fear for her was growing with every sentence he read.

He turned his head to see her watching him. Her breathing was stilted and uneven. He smiled at her, though it felt forced. "You've done an incredible job in your research. I'm incredibly humbled and proud of you at the same time."

She smiled. "You are?"

He nodded. "I am. You've uncovered the Madoff-esque network of this century."

She swallowed. "I'm afraid I've gotten a few people killed for it though."

His brows rose. "A few?"

Her shoulders rose as she inhaled a deep breath. She held it a moment and let it out slowly. "Carolyn for one. But..." Her lips quivered and her eyes watered. "Mercury...she was also murdered."

"How?"

"I don't know. I only found out the week after I left Maine. I tried keeping in touch with her, we have a code, and our meetings took place in person. But sometimes it was too dangerous, so we'd meet via electronic means. Always different so no one platform could be hacked and reveal us. I contacted her via our code. It was a text that was made to look like a scam asking you to enter your social security number. But we had a code to tell us what means we'd use to touch base. I didn't hear back from her, so I scoured the internet looking for any mention of her. I discovered her house had been broken into and she'd been beaten to death."

"Geezus."

"Yes. I left where I was in case the code was somehow deciphered."

He stared into her beautiful but scared eyes. "You knew her real name?"

"Yes." A tear slipped from the corner of her eye and created a wet path down her cheek. He used the back of his forefinger to swipe it away. Her eyes stared into his for a long time. "She was married to one of the sons of the head of Celtic. Her name was Keely Benson."

A knot appeared in this throat and he worked to dislodge it before he spoke. "Did he kill..."

"I assume so. I don't know for sure and of course, there isn't going to be an investigation because everyone would be paid off. So, it'll go down as a random robbery."

His phone rang and they both jumped. He pulled it from his pocket to see Mitch's name. "Hey, Mitch, what's up?"

"Can you put me on speaker?"

"You got it." He tapped the speaker icon and nodded to Theresa.

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