Chapter 43
“Who was Mason working for?” I asked.
Nova hesitated for a long moment.
"Do you really want to protect Shane? Do you really want to protect the guy who got your brother involved in this?”
She closed her eyes and exhaled a breath. "Mason and Shane work for this guy named Chad Hensley. He's just some college kid at Vanden. He figured out a way to launder money for the cartels.”
I shared a look with Jack.
"He's doing it through E girls online.”
She looked surprised. "Yeah. How did you know?”
All the pieces were starting to come together. “Mason told me Chad got spooked when you guys started asking Ethan questions. Ethan freaked out and wanted to slow down.”
"You know if Chad killed Eden Saint?”
Nova shook her head. "I don't know."
"You know Mason and Shane killed Ethan, right?"
It was a fact I don't think she wanted to admit. Her lips tightened. "Mason was never a violent guy. He just got caught up in the wrong crowd.”
“Something tells me Shane is the wrong crowd.”
She huffed, knowing all too well what kind of trouble Shane was.
“What’s your relationship with Shane?”
She glared at me. "My relationship with Shane doesn't exist.”
I got the impression there was something there. "What did it used to be?"
"What used to be is none of your business."
It mattered not.
"Have you ever met Chad?”
"One time. I was with Shane. This was back when we were dating.”
"How long have they been working for him?"
Nova shrugged. "Maybe a year. Maybe a little longer.”
"I need you to get in contact with Chad. I need you to get him talking.”
"You want me to wear a wire?"
I nodded.
Fear bathed her eyes. "He'll kill me if he finds out I’m working with the cops.”
"Then make sure he doesn't find out.”
From what little I knew of Chad Hensley, he didn't have the balls to kill anybody. He had other people do it for him.
We rigged Nova up with a pair of sunglasses that had cameras hidden in the frame.
You could look right at them and not see the lenses.
Hidden behind tinted plastic, the cameras were practically invisible.
The glasses sent a wireless signal via a mobile network.
We were able to track, watch, and record footage on our phones.
The plan was simple—get Chad to admit to something on camera.
Easier said than done.
Chad was running this whole operation from the Wharton Tower. It was an upscale high-rise dorm on campus.
The Porsche would have been a little cramped for the three of us. We grabbed a nondescript white van at the station and drove to the university. We parked in the Founders’ Court and hustled across campus to the Wharton tower.
Vanden broke for spring break next week. Campus was still packed with harried students, hustling about, taking midterms. Plenty of cute girls with hair in ponytails and sorority letters embroidered on shirts, shorts, and handbags.
The Wharton lobby smelled like fresh coffee and sandwiches. College kids lounged around, tapping on laptops, listening to ear pods. There was a coffee shop, a sandwich shop, and an overpriced quick mart in the lobby.
I had Isabella check Chad’s cellphone before we set out. She told me he was, in fact, in the dorm at the moment.
We took the elevator up to the 17th floor.
JD and I stepped into the TV lounge across from the elevator bay.
A few college kids lounged around, watching TV, talking on the phone, drinking beer—even though there was no alcohol allowed in the dorm.
“What do I do?” Nova asked in a nervous hiss.
“Just get him to admit to something we can arrest him for,” I said. “Preferably conspiracy to commit murder.”
She trembled with fear.
"Look, we’ll be right down the hall, watching the whole time. If anything goes wrong, we’ll pull you out. But he's not going to do anything here.”
She sucked it up, nodded, then spun around and marched down the hallway with determination.
JD and I huddled around my phone and watched the feed from her glasses.
Nova knocked on Chad's door. Music spilled out from within.
She banged on the door again.
Chad finally pulled it open. He looked at her with confused eyes, faint recognition glimmering. "What do you want?"
"My brother is dead because of you.”
Chad's brow wrinkled. "Because of me?”
"You sent him to kill those cops. Now he's dead." Her eyes filled.
Chad laughed. "I didn't send him to do anything. What are you talking about?” His wary eyes scanned the hallway. “You’re clearly out of your mind.”
"Oh, so Mason just tried to gun down a cop for no reason?”
"I hardly know your brother. I don't know what his reason might be. I'm sorry about that. He did something stupid.”
Nova clenched her jaw and glared at him.
Chad was a skinny, nerdy guy with shaggy dark hair, thick black glasses, and a narrow face.
He was a math-club kid, not a money launderer for the cartels.
Or so that's what he wanted everyone to believe.
In truth, he found a way to exploit the system.
Detached from all the chaos and violence, it was just a game to him. Numbers in an account.
Nova grew frustrated. "If you think you’re just gonna get away with this, you’re sadly mistaken."
Chad laughed again. "Get away with what?”
"Mason was dumb,” Nova said. “He’d do whatever Shane told him to do. Shane did whatever you told him to do.”
“You’re out of your mind. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Did you forget to take your meds?”
She growled at him and beat his chest with her fist.
Chad shoved her away. "Whoa, back off, you crazy bitch! You need to stay away from me.”
"Fuck you!"
"If you know it's good for you, you'll get far away from here.”
"Is that a threat?”
Chad glared at her, then slipped back into his dorm room. closed the door, and latched the deadbolt.
Nova moped back down the hall and joined us in the lounge. Sadness tugged her face. “Sorry. I really screwed that up.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “We’ll figure something out.”
Isabella was keeping tabs on Chad’s phone. It was illegal, but I wanted to know what the little bastard was up to.
We took the elevator down to the lobby and walked across campus to the Founder’s Court.
Nova was in a panic. "What happens now? Am I going to go to jail forever?”
"Keep cooperating," I said. "The game’s not over yet.”