Page 89 of Always Been Mine

“I thought you said they’ve disappeared.” Gabe got to his feet and started pulling out the drawer of the dresser, dragging the furniture forward to also check the back.

“I just know. Look, I’m lucky they didn’t kill me—”

“Why would they? I’m sure you store shit for them, don’t you?”

Johnny didn’t say anything.

Taking out a switchblade, Gabe moved to the desk and started poking at the corners for hidden compartments.

“Description of the man?” He repeated as he eased under the desk. “Don’t make me repeat that question for a third time.” He tapped his knife at the edge of the desk, his warning not lost on the Latino guy.

“He . . . He was dressed well. In a suit.”

“What?” Gabe emerged from under the table, sat up, and stared hard at Johnny.

“He had dark hair, and skin. Not too tall.”

“Was he Latino? How old, you think?”

“Hard to tell. He didn’t have an accent. He’s around mid-thirties.”

For a minute he thought it was Senator Mendoza. “Was he heavy-set? Thin? Any scars?”

“He was wearing a coat, but he’s definitely not fat. I don’t know of any marks on his face.” The man sighed. “I don’t look at them, you know. They come in and do their shit. The less I know, the better.”

Gabe got to his knees and peered underneath the space between the claw foot dresser and the floor. Having trained in clandestine ops with Ryker, he knew how the man operated.He tapped under the base of the dresser and noticed the thin plywood bulging on the right corner.

Bingo.

He inserted his knife at the corner and dislodged the piece, revealing the edges of a stash of papers. Gingerly pulling them out, Gabe’s brows shot to his hairline as he read the contents of the documents.

Getting back to his feet, Gabe slashed the duct tape bindings and released Johnny. “You’re coming with me.”

Gabe kepthis eyes peeled as he waited for Johnny to lock up the doors of the dry cleaners. There were a few people milling around who immediately looked away when they saw the pair of them. Cloverleaf was known for violent crimes, so Gabe guessed that a form of self-preservation for those who lived here was to ignore the happenings and keep their mouths shut.

When they got into his pickup, Gabe took out his phone and made several calls. First was to Dr. Ryan, the second was to the sketch artist who had worked with Beatrice earlier. He told them to head to BSI. Lastly, he called Beatrice.

“I’m on my way back,” Gabe said when she answered.

“Did you find anything?”

“Interesting stuff. I’m also bringing in someone who may know what Redrook looks like.”

Silence for a beat and then, “Do you trust him?”

“Not sure yet, babe. It’s all we’ve got right now.”

“If he pans out, that’ll be some breakthrough.”

“Yeah. I’ve got some documents your dad needs to look over. Can’t talk about it on the phone.”

Beatrice dropped off for a bit while she spoke to someone. It also sounded like she was outdoors.

“Beatrice?”

“Yes, sorry. I’m about to head out to a meeting with Zach.”

“What?” Gabe snapped. “I told you to stay in the fucking office.”

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