Page 62 of Scarlet Promise
Besides, his tip led us here.
But I’m aware of how top secret this needs to be. And even with Elisei, if I keep it between the three of us in the house—I gave Svetlana the evening off—it’s better. No slips or anything else.
If we find something.
If.
Thing is, a part of me feels restless because normally, Demyan would be here or Pavel. Apart from who Demyan is to me, I value both their opinions.
I value Isaak’s opinion, too. But this isn’t his forte, this side of things. Then again…
Maybe that’s what I need. A fresh perspective outside of the world I’m in. And apart from his skills, perhaps that’s why I offered him the job.
“You good?”
I turn at his voice and tuck my phone away. “Great. Or I will be.”
“Chase wanted to get down to hacking into the account, but he said the picture of Melor you gave me to pass along has garnered these.”
I sit on the foyer steps and take the manilla envelope from him, and he sits next to me, sipping his bourbon.
It’s an array of photos from different security cameras in various levels of blur, each one time-stamped.
There are only a few recently, and in the last one, he’s picking out sunglasses and a cap in what looks like a gas station convenience store.
It’s dated when he was spotted.
“Does it tell us anything?” Isaak asks. “As in places he’s been?”
“The last one’s at the gas station, so we know he’s got a disguise.”
“Which no one’s gonna wear all the time, and a disguise becomes as spottable as someone who wears the same suit or uniform to work once you know what to look for.” Isaak leans back on the step behind him.
I look at him with a raised brow. “Are you a detective in your spare time?”
“They don’t make enough. Come on, be real.” He grins. “It makes sense, though. Also, it’s what Chase said.”
I laugh. “Well, I don’t know him well enough to know his haunts, and these are the weeks leading up to the kidnap, so I don’t know. One is a dive bar opposite a strip joint we collect from. Seems he likes it. He’s been there a few more times thanhe collects payments. The rest? One’s near a Simonov club, and the rest? Maybe near his home? Supermarket, gas station…” I’m impressed that he pulled this in a day with just one photo. Now that he’s got the rest of the info from my PI, I’m eager to find out what he uncovers.
The ATM should give us a lot. I hope.
It takes a while for him to do his work. Once he gets the bank account details for Melor, he hacks into that to look deeper. And while that program’s running, he goes back to the ATM.
Isaak collects the pizza and beers when Elisei arrives, and we eat and drink and wait, which is not my favorite thing to do.
“I’m going back into the ATM records because there are two other withdrawals,” Chase says, “about the same as what Melor took out, which isn’t overly significant, as a lot of people will withdraw the max amount that ATM allows, but they’re close to his. Within minutes. Did the PI mention the place was crowded?”
“No.” I frown. “I can call?—”
“That’s fine,” Chase says. “No need. I’m guessing your PI would have mentioned it, because he wasn’t spotted anywhere near peak times, and this isn’t off the highway or a super busy road off peak. Peak is different. But off peak, they don’t see a lot of traffic so close. So…yeah…”
He goes back to work, alternating between the screens of the laptops he’s hooked up.
I look at Isaak, who shrugs.
Chase taps some more on the keyboard then points at the left screen. “Two accounts, maybe three. The third isn’t used much, which is suspicious in and of itself, but there’s a lot of money in it. The first is definitely his. He uses it at a lot of the places where the photos I found are. It’s using his middle name and last name, so it’s not hidden like the third. It’s probably his everyday card.”
“Any more purchases?” I ask.
