Chapter Nine #2
Sasha watched Nick, glanced at the screen for a moment, then back to the seething, dangerous man beside her again. Not only had Mike captured the evidence that might put away his murderer, he had also proven that Nick really had been framed.
His jaw clenched. He didn’t say anything for a moment, like he was too furious to speak without giving into his violent urge to kill Walter Clifford.
She lay a gentle hand on his forearm, trying to ease his tension. “We’ve got him. This should be enough to send him to prison for a long time.”
“You better fucking believe it. We need to figure out who to give this to. Who will make sure this evidence gets into the hands of someone with enough power to take Clifford down? Since he’s the one responsible for prosecuting crime in this parish, it won’t be simple.
And you can bet he won’t prosecute himself.
New Orleans isn’t my town, so I don’t know who to trust.”
“I’ve been thinking…” She gnawed on her lip and thought the idea through. It was risky, but doing nothing was deadly. “Make a copy of this on the hard drive. We need a backup.”
“Already done, and as soon as we hit some reasonably secure Wi-Fi, I’ll be sending it to the Santiago brothers for safekeeping. Their backup system is incredibly hack-proof, fireproof, and redundant. Now what?”
Sasha had never seen Nick any way except sure of himself and his direction. When she looked back, he’d done so much to help her, make sure she had a future. What if she could expunge his record and give them both the vengeance they sought? What if she could give him a happy future, too?
“Mike had this coworker Josh. He’s a sweet guy.
A real crusader. He once got into hot water at work for listening to a defendant’s side of the story and wanting to drop all charges.
In the end, Josh was right, the guy Clifford wanted to charge with the crime was innocent.
I remember Mike coming home and shaking his head because their slimeball boss didn’t care that he might send an innocent man to prison.
Clifford only cared that the police had no other suspects, so without this slam-dunk trial, his conviction rate didn’t look as dazzling. ”
“Yeah.” Nick snorted. “No one knows better than me that he’s got a hard-on for sending the innocent up the river. So this Josh guy can help?”
“I think so. After that incident, the mayor put him on a citywide crime task force. From what I can tell, he made a lot of high-powered friends. I’m betting if we contact Josh, he can put us in touch with the right people.
I mean, Josh and these folks went over Clifford’s head once. Why wouldn’t they do it again?”
Nick hesitated for a moment, then nodded, the gesture gaining strength the more he thought about it. “Yeah. You know how to reach Josh?”
“I think so. Let me double-check with some Internet searches.”
He thrust the computer in her direction. “Be quick. The laptop battery is dying. We need to plug this thing in.”
“Where? We checked out of our motel.”
“I’ll hunt down another one.” He grabbed his phone. “You find Josh.”
For a few silent minutes, they both scoured their respective devices. It didn’t take long to find Krandall, Joshua. She found a home address, no phone number. Of course, it was midday Monday, so he would likely be at the office. How could she reach him under Clifford’s nose?
“Got one,” Nick burst into the silence. “I found a motel right off Highway 61, not too far from the DA’s office. It’s a dive, not affiliated with a chain. Their website says they’ll take cash.”
Sasha conveyed her findings about Josh. “We might have to call his office and arrange something this evening.”
“Too risky. It’s damn likely all calls in and out of the DA’s office are recorded.”
Nick was right. “Then we may have to wait until he gets off work and drop by his house.”
At first, Nick scowled at the delay, but Sasha watched his thoughts working as he seemingly considered all their choices and possible outcomes. “All right. That gives us time to grab some more ammo and prep a game plan for approaching this guy. And a nap. I barely slept a fucking wink last night.”
Sasha hated to hear that. “Insomnia?”
Nick slanted a glance at her that silently asked if she was serious. “I can’t sleep next to you when I’d rather be inside you.”
She felt heat crawl up her cheeks…and pool between her legs.
Of course he hadn’t rested. She’d had an amazing orgasm.
And he hadn’t. No, that wasn’t quite true.
He had given her a mammoth, earthshaking, jaw-dropping, scream-worthy, life-changing cataclysm of pleasure.
Then she’d allowed him to goad her into anger, and all thought of throwing herself at him again had fled.
Sasha felt more than vaguely guilty. She wished she’d given him pleasure in return instead.
“Then I’ll give you some space so you can rest. If you don’t mind, I’d like to drive by Josh’s place first, make sure he really still lives there. He’d actually just purchased a house shortly before Mike’s death, so chances are good but…”
“Let’s go.” Nick took the computer back from her hands as she navigated the traffic to Mid-City.
Thankfully, she didn’t need the GPS on his phone to remember Josh’s location. She and Mike had come here, hand in hand, to mingle with friends and celebrate new beginnings. Had that been a mere two years ago?
Sasha stopped in front of the starter home.
It was long on charm, with brick steps, craftsman pillars, a wide porch, and what appeared to be original stained glass in the transom above the front door.
However, the cottage was short on space, looking dwarfed by much bigger neighbors on either side.
But it had been freshly painted, was well maintained, and had original hardwoods inside, as she recalled.
Nick sidled out of the SUV and opened the mailbox at the curb. “Empty.”
He headed to the side yard. Tucked against the fence, adjacent to the patchy concrete driveway, sat a huge plastic trash can and a recycle bin. He pretended to trip over the bin, nudging the lid off the squatty receptacle and spilling out most of the contents.
“What are you doing?” Sasha frowned.
“Double-checking.” He glanced around to ensure none of the neighbors were being nosy. But in this neighborhood, people worked. It seemed unlikely that anyone would be watering the flowers on their porch or taking their dog for a walk right now.
Sasha believed in respecting others’ privacy. She totally valued hers. But locating Josh quickly and quietly could well be life or death. “Find anything?”
After he bent to tuck away the newspapers and the empty, rinsed milk carton, he did an amazing imitation of someone picking up flyers, ads, and discarded envelopes without actually reading a word.
“Bingo. He still lives here. He tossed the water bill, presumably after he paid it, into the recycle bin.” Nick shook his head as if Josh had made a critical mistake.
Despite the tense situation, Sasha had to laugh. “He didn’t shred, so off with his head.”
The smile that spread across Nick’s full lips took her breath away. White teeth flashed against his olive complexion. His dark eyes sparked with something both funny and alive. He almost looked…happy. It was a breath-stealing sight.
“Okay, maybe not that severe but I believe in being careful. Identity theft is serious business. Why make those fuckers’ crimes easier?”
“You’re right.” She helped him put the last of the paper back into the bin. “So we’ll come back later?”
Before they could answer that question, a pretty redhead stepped out the front door, with a little white furball on a leash. She glanced warily at Nick. “Can I help you?”
Sasha stepped forward. “Are you Josh’s”—she looked at the woman’s bare left hand—“girlfriend?”
She shook her head, the ginger strands of her quirky bob swaying. “No. His dog walker. I’m Hannah. This is Monster.”
When the six-pound pup barked in a tone Sasha was sure he meant to be menacing, she tried not to smile.
Hannah laughed on her behalf. “Ferocious, huh? Are you friends of Josh’s?”
“We are.” Nick took her hand. “My girlfriend and I rolled into town late last night. We’re staying a few days and we’d like to visit him. Will he be home tonight?”
The dog walker looked Nick’s way, then stepped back, as if suddenly put off by his size or intensity. “I don’t know. I only walk his dog. I’ll tell him you’re in town. What are your names?”
Nick managed a false wince of regret. “I wish you wouldn’t. We really want to surprise him. We haven’t seen him since his housewarming party.”
“That’s right.” Sasha nodded to ease the woman’s suspicions. “Shortly after he made that task force at the DA’s office, right?”
“Exactly.” Nick sounded as if he knew that for a fact.
The details helped smooth the woman’s skeptical expression. “Oh, it has been a long time since you’ve seen him. Okay, I won’t mention it. He should be home around six.”
“Perfect. Thanks for your help.” Sasha smiled, then reached out to the dog. “Bye, Monster. Cute little guy.”
The canine barked happily and allowed her to pet his head, then swiped his affectionate tongue over her wrist.
Hannah eased back. “Have a great day.”
With a wave, they jaunted back to the SUV, then headed to a strip mall that had both a sporting goods store and an electronics boutique.
Errands managed, they went to the motel Nick had scouted out.
It had a colonial facade and a traditional brick-and-shutters front, along with an air of glory days long past.
“I’m sorry it’s a shithole,” he murmured beside her as they parked.
She shrugged. “It’s a bed and a shower. I’ve gone days—sometimes weeks—without either. I’m grateful.”
His face tightened with something that looked an awful lot like regret. “We’re going to nail Clifford so you never have to go without either again.”