Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
Another hour and a half went by, and Amanda’s stomach was grumbling in chorus with Trent’s.
It was going on one in the afternoon, and they’d had nothing to eat but the donut that morning.
They had spoken with everyone at the firm they could except for the receptionist, who was due to come in at any moment.
“Did you want to break for lunch?” Trent asked her.
“Nope, we’re here. Let’s stay put and see this through.”
“You wanted to speak with me?” The receptionist entered the room.
“Yes, please sit over there,” Amanda directed, pointing at the vacated chair, which might as well have been a revolving door for the volume of traffic it had seen today.
She shut the door before following Amanda’s direction.
“We’re Detectives Stenson and Steele. We never did get your name,” Trent said.
She licked her lips before speaking. “Minnie Yates.”
Amanda offered her a smile, trying to calm her nerves. “How long have you worked for Dominique Sharp?”
“Since the doors opened seventeen years ago.”
“It’s always nice to find reliable employment. You must enjoy working here.” Amanda would assume so given her duration at the firm.
“It pays well.”
It seemed like a lukewarm response, and it had Amanda wondering about the reason. “Do you know why we’re interested in speaking with you?”
Minnie nodded.
“Do you know of anyone who might want Ms. Sharp dead?” Amanda asked.
Minnie flinched, ever so slightly, and licked her lips again.
She was nervous or thirsty, or both. But if they were going to get anywhere with her, they needed to get her to relax some. “Would you like a glass of water?”
“Sure.”
Amanda got up and poured her a glass from the sideboard and handed it over.
“Thank you.” Minnie took a sip.
Amanda returned to her seat. “If there’s something you need to say, please know that you’re safe, whatever it is.”
Minnie drank some more water and cradled the glass with both hands. “There are many people here who aren’t happy about Ms. Sharp’s decision to move the business to DC. And I’m not just talking about employees of the firm.” Minnie’s eyes flicked up and met Amanda’s.
“You mean customers?” It wasn’t even an angle Amanda had considered before. But this firm represented criminals. It could be someone who didn’t want to risk her breaking attorney-client privilege. The move could have been seen as disloyalty.
“Uh-huh.” Minnie slurped some water, adding to the palpable tension in the air.
Amanda could guess that Minnie was building up to some reveal and didn’t want to push her for risk of her clamming up. Amanda spoke up only after several minutes of stretched silence. “Do you have a specific customer in mind?”
A slight nod. “This person is rather dangerous.”
Minnie’s hesitation already had Amanda assuming that. “As I said, you are safe to talk to us. This person’s name?”
“He has been a client of Ms. Sharp’s since not long after she opened her doors. He was her first multimillion-dollar client.”
Amanda wasn’t going to push her on the name again so soon out of fear it would shut her down. “Did something happen with this client?”
“Uh-huh. All because Ms. Sharp decided with the move to DC she was heading in a different direction. She wants to shift focus to fraud and financial cases.”
“They’re still criminal offenses,” Trent filled in.
“Yes, but different from this specific client’s needs. She fired them as her client, refunded their retainer, and gave them a referral. Other clients were fine with it, but…” Minnie drained the rest of the water from the glass.
“Their name?” Trent asked.
“Lucas Hernandez.”
No wonder Minnie hesitated to provide his name.
Hernandez was a big-time drug dealer, who continually got away with his crimes.
The PWCPD staged a sting that cost three officers their lives.
Some of his men went away for that, while Hernandez remained untouchable.
Even federal law enforcement had failed to get charges to stick against him.
Was all that the work of Dominique Sharp?
If so, it made it harder to think about protecting a woman who slept soundly after defending a cop killer.
“How did Lucas Hernandez react to Ms. Sharp dissolving their professional relationship?” She could only imagine not well at all.
Hernandez was used to being the one calling the shots.
“I overheard him talking with Ms. Sharp the day she handed him a check to reimburse his retainer. It was late at night, but I was here working on paperwork for a case. I had just locked up and was leaving when I saw Ms. Sharp in the parking lot with Hernandez and two of his goons. They didn’t see me, I don’t think, but I saw and heard them. ”
Amanda’s heart was picking up speed. Hernandez had people who did his dirty work. What was to say one of them wasn’t a woman who liked to shoot people and wrap them in tarps?
Minnie continued. “The guy had a gun on her. At least I’m fairly sure he did.”
Amanda noted the subtle distinction in gender. The guy… She followed a hunch. “Were they both men?”
Minnie shook her head. “One was a woman.”
Excitement laced through Amanda. Was this woman who they were after? “When was this?”
“Last Monday. I heard Lucas say he wasn’t going to go away silently. He ordered Ms. Sharp to remain his lawyer, but she refused.”
It wasn’t hard to imagine Dominique standing bold in the face of life-threatening danger. They had seen that performance already.
“He spoke to her in this most chilling voice. I’ve had nightmares about it since. He told Ms. Sharp that she could work for him or end up dead in her bed.” Minnie’s chin quivered, having made it through what Amanda imagined was the worst of the story.
Dead in her bed… That struck just a little too close.
The victim might have been Christine Lane, but she was killed in Dominique Sharp’s bedroom.
Amanda would like to know why Dominique hadn’t mentioned a word about this altercation.
Had she not viewed it as a threat? They never did mention Christine was found under her bed, but still… “What happened after that?”
“He ripped up the check and took off with his people,” Minnie added.
“And what did Dominique do?” Trent asked.
“She got into her Cadillac and left.”
“And what did you do?” Amanda wanted to make sure they didn’t miss any small tidbit.
“I went over and picked up what he’d ripped up. That’s how I know it was the check.”
“Thank you for telling us all of this.” While this was a promising lead, Amanda wasn’t eager about where it was taking them.
“If he finds out I told you this, he’s going to…” Minnie blanched, her face becoming a mask of horror.
“There’s no reason he ever needs to find out.” She and Trent would talk to Lucas Hernandez, but there would be no mention of Minnie.
“Thank you.” Minnie sniffled and bobbed her head toward the door. “May I leave now?”
“You can, and thank you for being brave and sharing this with us.” Amanda gave her card to Minnie and told her to call anytime if she thought of something else or was concerned about her safety. “Could you shut the door behind you?”
When Minnie was gone, both Amanda and Trent swiveled to face each other.
“This Hernandez guy could be who ordered the hit on Sharp.”
“Yep.”
“You know him.” He wasn’t asking and leveled his gaze at her.
“I wish I didn’t. Before we continue this conversation, I’d like to speak with Dominique.” What she hadn’t yet said to Trent was they’d need to talk to Malone before speaking with Hernandez.