Page 34 of Secret Triplets for Christmas

How the fuck did a gang member get approved for foster parenting?

“What was the scam?”

She looked around the bar area. “You’re asking too many questions.”

I pulled out another two twenties, setting them on the bar. She eyed them, but I kept my hand on them, not intending to hand them over until she told me everything she knew.

“Wally’s into identity fraud. That fucker is why I ended up in jail. Anyway, Liam accused Wally of stealing his identity. That’s how he does it, you know? Foster kids’ information. He also looks up dead people and uses their information.”

When we’d first learned that Liam’s social security number had been stolen, I’d been shocked at how little there was we could do about it. We could report it to a government agency, but it wouldn’t actually investigate. Same with the police. And in my research, Social Services didn’t do anything to prevent such theft or help kids clean it up if it did happen. Foster kids had enough trouble at eighteen and being thrust out on their own. A ruined credit score made it impossible for them to do just about anything. Hence, my effort to create a program that would help all these agencies.

“How did Liam know it was him?”

“I don’t know that he knew for sure. But he joined up… you know. And when he learned Wally was involved, he put two and two together.”

“What did he do?”

“I told him to do nothing. Wally isn’t someone you fuck with, you know?”

We were getting off track here. So far, I hadn’t heard anything about snitching, so maybe something else was going on. “So Wally killed Liam because Liam was pissed at him?”

She put her fingers over my mouth. “Shush! You talk too loud.” She glanced around the bar again. “I don’t know who killed Liam. Whoever it was probably didn’t like that Liam was talking to the Feds.”

“Do you know that for sure?”

"No. Not for sure. Maybe Wally spread that so the crew would get rid of him. But knowing Liam… it might be true. He was always more Boy Scout than Goodfella."

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. My mind raced, trying to make sense of this new information. Could Liam really have been working with the Feds?

If this was true, why hadn’t Liam confided in me? Surely, I could have helped him. Or, I’d have talked him out of it. Talking to law enforcement was a sure way to get killed. Liam would have known that, and yet, according to Darcy, he’d done just that.

"Thank you, Darcy. This helps." I gave her the two twenties and then an extra one for an even one hundred dollars.

“Anything else?” She licked her lips suggestively.

“No. Thank you.”

“Your loss.” She turned back to her drink.

I left the pool hall, ordering a rideshare to pick me up. My mind reeled with the implications of her words. The possibility of Liam being involved with the Feds turned everything on its head. Here I’d thought Liam had fallen in too deep with the wrong crowd and his criminal ways brought about his end. Now, I had to think that while yes, he joined a bad group, the end had come while he was trying to do the right thing. What had driven him to take such a dangerous path? And how could I not have known?

When I arrived back at the hotel, I sat at the table scribbling down notes about my conversation with Darcy, trying to piece together the puzzle that was Liam's last days. I wondered if I should call Donovan or Riker with what I learned. Then again, maybe they already knew Darcy’s information and were keeping it to themselves.

As I surveyed all my notes, my phone buzzed. I glanced at it, half expecting it to be work.

Stop digging,Oliver. Give me what is mine.

I stared at the text.Has this fucker been following me? Had I put Frankie, Johnny, and Darcy in harm’s way? No. They had their own connections to these assholes that had nothing to do with me.

If you’d tellme what you want, it would make this go easier,I texted back.

Find it or else.

I wantedto ask or else what, like a petulant teenager, but considering this guy probably killed Liam and had Lindsay on their radar, I decided it would be better not to provoke him. The question was, had this guy texted Lindsay? Maybe it was time for us to meet and go over Liam’s last weeks and months together to get a better sense of what he was doing. Had he been meeting with the Feds? Did he have evidence and that was what he hid? Wouldn’t Lindsay have found it if he had?

Then the only way to find out was to call Lindsay and hope that I hadn’t been too much of an asshole that she wouldn’t agree to meet with me again.

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