Page 33 of Gator

“I spoke with a senior man in the bureau,” said Bodwick. “Before you were even born, Metzger was under suspicion of funneling foreign funds into U.S. businesses, acting as an investor. What he never told the businesses was that he was representing foreign businesses. He would cause them to begin losing money, thereby forcing them to sell to their investors.

“The bureau suspected that your father was unaware and approached him to help. He’d turned over mounds of evidence against Metzger, including several recordings of their conversations.”

“Then you should be able to arrest him!” said Dylan excitedly.

“I wish it were that easy,” said Bodwick. “The tapes and evidence have conveniently disappeared. We know that Metzger attempted to bribe someone in the bureau to get everything for him, but it was gone by the time they attempted to steal it.”

“Then who has it?” asked Gator. Dylan gasped, standing with her hand over her mouth.

“I do.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Dylan stormed from the meeting room, the other men all following her. She ran into the cottage, leaving the door wide open, and then started pulling out boxes from the closet.

“Dyl? What are you doing, baby?” asked Gator.

“I haven’t unpacked these yet. I need to find it.”

“Find what, honey?” asked Eric.

“Martha said my parents told her that the answers were in my heart.” She rifled through one box then pointed to another. “Open that one. I couldn’t figure out what they meant. I mean, I was a child when they died, so it didn’t make sense. Until this morning.”

She rifled through the next box, then smiled.

“This is what they meant.” She held up a large heart-shaped pillow that her father had won her mother on their first date to a carnival. It was huge and ugly and had been patched at least a dozen times. But Dylan just couldn’t get rid of it.

“Damn. A heart,” smiled Gator.

“Yes. My heart. That’s what my father used to call my mother. It was his term of endearment. He would say, I love you, my heart.” She grabbed a knife off the kitchen counter and held it above the huge pillow. She hesitated for a moment, then gently slid the knife along the seam. When she had reached the halfway point, she pulled back the fabric and began removing the stuffing.

Men gathered closer, watching as her hands stilled. She pulled out the first folder, then another, and another. There were small cassettes wrapped together. More than thirty.

“That thing must have weighed thirty pounds,” frowned Gator.

“I know,” she laughed. “I never thought anything of it. I just figured it was cheap material. I had it sitting in the corner of my room, so it never moved. When I packed it, I thought it was heavy, but I was in such a hurry I didn’t care.”

“There’s a letter,” said Eric. “It’s addressed to you.” He handed the letter to Dylan, but she shook her head.

“I can’t. Will you read it for me?” Eric nodded, opening the envelope.

My dearest Dylan – if you’re reading this, your mother and I are gone. We didn’t choose this. We were trying to find a place to take you. Hanz Metzger is not who he pretends to be. He has been stealing companies, trading illegally in the stock exchange, working with organized crime, and so much more. I’m trying to do what is right, but it seems I am doomed to fail. Everything you see here was turned into the FBI. I found it four days later on Hanz’s desk. That’s when I stole it back and put it in this pillow for safekeeping.

Hanz is evil, but his ex-wife is crazy. Certifiable. She is attempting to get inside the U.S. government to turn our allies against us and befriend our enemies. I know you are just a child now, but if you are an adult reading this, you must get everything here to the government. Stop them, my dearest. We love you. Mom and Dad.

“Jesus, I’m sorry, honey,” said Gator, hugging her tightly to his chest. She nodded, tears in her eyes, but she didn’t weep.

“It’s okay. They were trying to do the right thing, and I feel enormous pride in that. All of this,” she said, waving her arm, “being here with all of you is for a reason. I was supposed to be here, find that, and be able to help with everything. We know what Matilda’s game is, but we need to figure out exactly what Metzger wants.”

“I think we can discredit Matilda simply by planting people at her rallies and confusing her,” said Cam.

“What do you mean?” asked Gator.

“Well, according to Sadie, she likes creating chaos with people. Maybe we need to turn that little game on her,” smirked the other man.

“I thought we weren’t showing our faces any longer?” asked Gator.

“We won’t,” smiled Remy. “You forget how many cousins we got out there, and they love creatin’ chaos for fun. I’ll gather ‘em and see where Provost will be next.” Remy left the room, Robbie tagging along behind him.

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