Page 91 of Between the Lies

‘Spill it, Finn,’ Daisy snapped. ‘He doesn’t even have his warrant card on him.’

Robert nodded, hoping that would encourage the man. But Finn didn’t spare him a glance at all. He looked at Daisy, before clearing his throat. ‘Passport numbers. I’ve created enough fakes to know what they look like. I can probably tell you which country each of these belong to. But at a glance, it’s mostly Eastern European. The issue is we don’t know who these passports belong to.’

Nina brought a stool next to Finn and hopped on it. ‘I think I do. Robert, could you please bring me my laptop?’

Robert did as she asked then stood between Finn and Nina, watching them. Nina had some sort of email service open, scrolling through what looked like notes.

Billy set down a fresh cup of coffee for all of them then crossed his arms. ‘What are you going to do when you get the information you need? There’s going to be a point where you can’t handle it yourself.’

Finn stopped typing on his computer, his head now turned towards Robert. ‘You bastard.’

‘Not the cops,’ Robert sighed. ‘At least I won’t go to the wrong cops. Besides, I don’t think they can actually protect us. Someone’s after that data, Finn. And I’m going to keep yous safe.’

Daisy squeezed Robert’s arm. ‘And we’ll help. Actually, I’d kill for something to do.’

‘Me too,’ Billy added.

Robert ran a hand through his hair. ‘Billy, can you get me a list of all Shah’s businesses? You were right: that man was a sleaze, and somehow he’s connected to Anne and possibly the firm she worked for. And the firm’s embroiled in human trafficking. We need to find out if Shah dabbled in that business and if he had any enemies who could shoot him dead. Daisy, you’re with me. We’ll get a few answers for Nina.’

Robert laid a hand on Nina’s shoulder. ‘If this is a human trafficking ring, and those passport numbers belong to people brought here illegally, Daisy might be able to find out who those people are.’

Nina sighed. ‘That’ll be dangerous.’

‘That’s why I’m going with her,’ Robert said, then shook his head when Daisy tried to object. ‘The person in question didn’t think twice before shooting Shah. You’re not dispensable. None of you are. And human trafficking is dangerous.’

Daisy narrowed her eyes. ‘And it’s one of the worst possible crimes. Nina, tell me what you want me to do.’

CHAPTERFORTY-FOUR

‘Idon’t like this.’ Robert went to comb a hand through his hair.

Daisy swatted it away. ‘Don’t spoil my handiwork.’

Her ‘handiwork’ had entailed ruffling his hair, slapping his right cheek and unbuttoning the top of his shirt. Robert liked his get-up as much as he liked where they were headed.

‘You’re not going to pass as a john, even with all this. If you set your hair back in place, you’ll stick out as a cop before you step out of this car.’ Daisy tugged at his collar. ‘Go on.’

If they’d had any other option, Robert would have steered Daisy as far away from this place as he humanly could. She’d sauntered through many such alleys, done this dance too many times even if he hadn’t witnessed it. Hell, he didn’t want to see it.

Criminals didn’t give a hoot about his preferences, though.

Robert huffed. ‘Aren’t you coming?’

Daisy snorted. ‘The last thing you need is me coming with you. The lady at the reception is a… pal.’

Now Robert did run a hand through his hair, dislodging the part he’d smoothed out. Aye, for this op, he had to skate close to Daisy’s world, and Daisy… she had many friends in this profession. Something about hard lives and fear of the law glued people together like nothing else.

Robert nodded at Daisy and stepped out of the car.

Their destination, according to Daisy, sat one street over. While he’d wanted to park in front of the establishment, Daisy had urged him to play the part and refrain from ploughing through the front door asking for Candace Matthews, the woman she’d tasked him to find.

Robert turned his coat collar up so his face remained obstructed from pesky eyes. To anyone else, he’d be a man shielding himself from the drizzling rain.

He needn’t have bothered, though. When he jumped over a puddle to cross the road, no car came at him. In fact, apart from the misty rain, nothing stirred. Perhaps the weather had turned people away, though the state of the street didn’t appear all that inviting to passers-by – the cars parked alongside the road had seen better days, and that random tarp-covered boat with weeds sticking out of it did not belong kerbside.

Whatever the reason this street was all but abandoned, the scant traffic served his purpose. The fewer people, the easier it would be to spot Candace.

He hurried along the pavement, passing a few dark alleys. A flash of sequins in the darkness warned him that the employees of the Drum Buck Arms worked their business outside the establishment, too.

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