Chapter 21 Diem #2
Tallus clicked a pen and made a note on a pad of paper.
“I uncovered the guy’s name on a few real estate deals from pre-2018, before he founded his company, but they weren’t anything worth writing home about.
I also discovered an old home address in a shoddy neighborhood in North York, an ex-wife from a marriage that lasted less than a year, and employment as a low-level accountant for some insurance company.
He lived a middle-class life at best. His riches are new, D.
It’s like this guy went from average Joe to mogul overnight. ”
He glanced up, expression unreadable.
“Are you going to look those up?” he asked.
“Do you have the iPad?”
“It’s in your office.”
I located the device and researched the addresses on the list. The first two were empty plots of land, yet to be developed.
Neither of them was local. One was in Southern Ontario, near Windsor, the other was in the Niagara region.
The third address waved red flags, and I drew a star beside it.
The four-story commercial building was located in Mississauga.
Recent photographs led me to believe it was undergoing extreme renovation.
A deeper search drew me to an article posted on a news website, written in December the previous year.
“Listen to this. ‘Contractors working on the development of future lakeside condominiums in the Lakeview area of Mississauga have walked out on the job today due to repeated unpaid contracts. A worker, who wished to remain nameless, shared that this was an ongoing issue with owner Lukyan Andrich and the Andrich Development Company. The worker claimed Andrich is notoriously underhanded with his contractors and often reneges or changes his mind long after deals have been struck. Andrich was not available for comment.’”
“I told you it wasn’t all positive. I read a few similar articles. Only after the threat of legal intervention does he pay his bills. Which place was that?”
I flipped the iPad around to show him the images. “Some complex in Mississauga.”
“Is it abandoned?”
“I assume so. Although this article is from December. They might have made peace and resumed work. I can’t find anything more about it.”
“What about the rest of the properties?”
“Still checking.”
The next two on the list included an immaculately reconstructed, multi-level office building in Richmond Hill and another high-end apartment complex in Brampton that was under construction. The last took me to an undeveloped plot of land in Oakville.
I couldn’t think in a straight line. Every nerve in my system twitched. The task of locating Darcy in a vast city like Toronto after he’d been taken by a guy who had the means to vanish felt impossible.
I tossed the paper on the desk and rested my elbows on my knees, scrubbing my face. This had started as an unpromising attempt to assist an elderly man to find out who had scammed his aging father because the police were overrun with similar cases and hadn’t given much of a shit.
Locating Darcy and discovering what he did for a mysterious guy named Luke was already far more than I had expected to learn.
Yet, instead of keeping the police abreast, I’d chosen to protect Darcy, knowing he could land in a shitload of trouble, despite being a small fish in a huge ocean.
Uncovering the guy behind the scheme was more important.
Without pausing to consider the ramifications, I’d used Darcy as bait to lure the leader from hiding.
In doing so, I’d fucked up. Darcy was gone. Potentially in grave danger. Who knew how much money this Luke guy had stolen? What was he willing to do to keep his secret?
“Tallus.”
He stopped typing. I felt his gaze, but didn’t lift my face from my hands.
“We need to report this.”
“What?”
I stayed silent, letting him absorb my words.
A black hole opened in the center of the room, sucking away the frantic energy that had driven us this far.
“To the police?” he asked skeptically.
“Darcy’s been kidnapped. If I was strictly hunting down this asshole to blow his operation wide open, I wouldn’t fucking care. Helping the cops would be the last thing on my mind. But I can’t risk Darcy getting hurt because my goddamn ego prevents me from doing the right thing. He’s a kid.”
Tallus didn’t speak.
My muscles ached from holding myself together for the past hour.
Exhausted, I lifted my head and met his gaze.
He glanced at the computer, a defeated slump to his shoulders. Tallus was as invested in our business as me. He’d developed a taste for outwitting the police and never argued when I purposefully kept them in the dark at times I shouldn’t.
Nodding, he tugged a brown folder from a stack and opened it. “Benaiah gave me a number. One of the officers who performed the original interviews. He said to contact him if he discovered more information. I’ll call him. Unless…” He paused, meeting my gaze. “Do you want me to call Quaid?”
Quaid Valor worked in the missing persons unit and was best friends with Tallus’s cousin. Tallus and Quaid weren’t friends, per se, but they were friendly enough that they had long ago exchanged phone numbers.
“I don’t care about Luke or Elwood’s fucking money or the police’s goddamn investigation into this grandparent scam. Darcy’s a missing kid.”
“Okay. Quaid it is.” Tallus reached for his cell as something heavy thudded against the door to the office.
Tallus and I startled.
Echo jumped to her feet and barked.
Confused, alert, and ready for combat, I spun as the door opened and Darcy tumbled into the room, landing in a heap on the floor.