Page 64 of Nothing to Beat

“I did travel from Chicago, but I don’t live there.I live in New York; my relationship with my father was severed years ago.”

“Intriguing, rather than whet my appetite, she tempers my expectation.”This meeting was for her, yet he spoke to Bastian.Was it about gender?Money?Familiarity?“Are you here to ask for something, or give me something?”

Had to be one of those two, huh?Probably what he was used to, and in his defense, he was right.

“Does it have to be one or the other?Why can’t we do both?”

“Now she’s whetting my appetite.What would you like to give me?”

Okay, not overtly sleazy, but there was an undertone.Could be her imagination.Though bringing Bastian was working in her favor.Was she scared of Ackley?No.But she appreciated the witness all the same.

“My father.”

And his scrutiny narrowed.“Has he committed a crime?”

“Several.”

“In my city?”

“That’s for you to decide.”

“Okay,” he said, reaching for the laptop on the corner of the desk.

“No,” she was quick to object.“This is all off the record.”

His hand splayed on the desk.“Off the record?That’s of no use to me.”

“Maybe you should hear what I have to say first.My brother, I know, is in your sights.Trish makes that case for you.”

“She’s willing to testify.”

“Why don’t you hear what Sequoia has to say first?”Bastian was nothing if not a great mediator.“There could be irrefutable evidence.Maybe you don’t need her testimony.”

Now, with a hint of adversity in the air, this wasn’t seeming like such a great idea.He could tell her to get out, that he planned to do nothing.Wouldn’t be the first time a DA, or other official, had been paid off.Ackley could be in her father’s pocket, which put her in a precarious position.Risk was part of the plan; it had to be.The potential reward at the end, if everything went their way, was worth tiptoeing into the lion’s den.Confident?Yes.But careful.

“There’s evidence.Only depends how hungry you are, Mr.Ackley.My testimony won’t hold much sway.As I said, I haven’t been close to my father for a long time.That doesn’t mean I’m unaware of his methods, his avenues of escape.”

“Communicating with your sister has been difficult.She prefers to work through a third party.”Probably Zairn.“She hasn’t offered us anything on your father’s relationship with my city.”

“Maybe after today, she’ll be more receptive.”

“Is she aware of what you’re doing here?”

“No one except the three of us are aware of this meeting or what I have to share,” she said.“My father disperses his money throughout the country.He’s particularly proud of how he uses LA to legitimize his funds.And he’s not the only one.Three men work together: him and two others.Catch one, you’ll catch them all.”

“A conspiracy?”he said and she acknowledged the question with a nod.“And you have details?”

“I’m not completely out of the loop, Mr.Ackley.I can have value without standing up in court.”

“I could subpoena you.”

“Yes, and I’d plead the fifth for every question, which won’t strengthen your case.”

“Why would you do that?Because you’re involved?”

“Because the last thing I want is to be involved.I give you my father… for a cost.”

“Ah,” Ackley said, pushing back in his chair.“The quid pro quo.You have a friend in one of my facilities?Need something expunged from a record?”

---