Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The fact that Dirk was looking for more clients shouldn’t have surprised her, but the news had hit Sienna hard. For the simple reason that she hadn’t anticipated he’d do such a thing.
Yet really, could she blame him? The guy deserved to make a name for himself in this business. One client, who wasn’t even that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, wasn’t going to sustain him for long.
And that wasn’t even taking into consideration the possibility that she’d have to pull out of this tour.
Yet that coupled with how much he’d spent during his time in the city was another blow. The money in her Sienna! account was the advance on her tour, with an additional payment being provided after each show. Obviously, this was her fault, as she should have given Dirk a daily allowance. To her shame, it hadn’t occurred to her that Dirk would take advantage of their arrangement like this.
Zeke gave her a questioning glance, silently asking if she had anything to add. She didn’t, at least as far as the interview regarding Dirk being implicated in the attacks.
But the cost of his room and meals? Oh yeah. She can and would do something about that. She shouldn’t have been so foolish to allow this in the first place. At the time, she had only cared about the money she needed to support her and Bailey. She knew Dirk had gotten his cut of the advance, but she’d allowed him to put business expenses on her account.
Not any longer.
She turned to look at Dirk. “I’m closing the Sienna! account. Starting from this point forward, you’ll be paying for all of this”—she waved at their luxurious surroundings—“out of your own account. Not mine. I will give you an allowance for each day to spend as you like. Be aware, it won’t cover the suite here or meals like the one you had last night.”
“But . . . you can’t . . . ,” Dirk sputtered.
“She can,” Zeke interjected. “You have been taking advantage of Sienna’s kindness. Do you think your other clients are going to give you an open checkbook to live on?” Zeke snorted. “Not likely.”
Dirk’s face flushed red, and she could tell he wanted nothing more than to unload on her. Apparently, Zeke’s presence had him biting his tongue. She sat in silence, waiting for him to get control of himself.
“Fine,” Dirk finally said in a clipped tone. “I’ll check out today.”
“Good.” She stood. “We’ll do that right now. I’ll walk up to the front desk with you so I can get a final bill. That way, the charge won’t bounce after I close the account.”
Dirk’s red face didn’t subside, but he didn’t argue either. He rose, then said, “I need to pack my things.”
“Go ahead. We’ll wait,” Sienna said.
Dirk muttered something harsh under his breath, then headed for the elevator. Once he was well out of earshot, she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. With a grimace, she glanced at Zeke. “I know what you’re thinking. I’ve been a complete and total idiot.”
“No, you haven’t,” he said to her surprise. “Maybe you’ve been na?ve and too trusting, but not a fool. I know that money alone isn’t the motivator for what you’re doing, Sienna. You’re singing your praises to God and sharing your talents with others so they can do the same. Dirk doesn’t understand that part of your life.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Dirk shouldn’t have taken advantage of the situation, and he knows it,” Zeke said with a scowl. “I’m glad you stepped up to put an end to that.”
She managed a lopsided smile. “Thanks to you being here, that was much easier than I expected. I guess I should fire him, but I don’t have the time or energy to find a new manager. And really, depending on how the rest of the day goes, I may not even need one. This. .. might be over before it’s started.”
Zeke stepped closer, his dark eyes intense. “Don’t give up. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but we learned a lot today.”
“Maybe we did, but I don’t see how it helps. If Dirk hasn’t been in touch with Josh, then who has been tracking my phone?” She frowned. “Speaking of which, I should have kept the stupid thing long enough to cancel the account. It’s going to be difficult to get in without having a phone to verify who I am.”
“Hang on, I’ll ask Gabe to grab it.” Zeke made the call, and she could just imagine the team’s tech expert going through the garbage to retrieve her phone. It would have been funny if the situation wasn’t so serious.
When finished, Zeke glanced around the ornate lobby. “I don’t think there’s more to learn here. I guess without another lead we’ll head back to the safe house.”
As much as she wanted to hug her daughter, the thought of going back with nothing more than what they knew at this moment was depressing. She tried to think of another person who Josh may have used to track her phone and belatedly remembered her ex’s college roommate. So much had happened she couldn’t recall where things stood on that portion of Zeke’s investigation. “What about Brett Voss? Is there anything we can do to find him while we’re here?”
Zeke considered that for a moment. “I doubt Voss is staying in a place like this, or anywhere else in the downtown area of the city. I’ll check with Gabe to see if he has anything more once we’re back in the SUV. I was hoping the BOLO would have yielded some results by now. But I’m sure someone would have called me if that was the case.”
“I understand.” She spotted Dirk rolling his large suitcase out of the elevator. His expression was surly, but he didn’t vent his anger when he caught her gaze. Forcing a smile, she waited for him to approach before turning toward the front desk.
“Checking out?” the clerk asked.
“Yes.” Dirk didn’t so much as look at her as the desk clerk printed up a final bill and accepted his room key.
“I hope you visit again soon,” the woman said with a bright smile.
Don’t count on it , Sienna thought. The historic hotel was nice, but there was no way she would be staying there. She waited for Dirk to push the bill toward her, before picking it up and scanning the total.
And nearly gasped out loud.
Seriously? The suite Dirk had been staying in cost $650 per night. And that didn’t include taxes, fees, and all the meals he’d placed on the room bill. The house she’d rented in White Gull Bay had been half the cost of the bill she was looking at. And that had housed three people, two adults and one child, for an entire week. This bill was only for the past three days!
This—this was outrageous. But there was no point in rehashing the choices Dirk had made. He knew she was upset, and she’d certainly made her point by forcing him to check out. With a calm deliberation she didn’t feel, she folded the folio and tucked it into her pocket. Doing her best to mask her anger, she turned to face him. “Where will you stay for the rest of the week?”
“Why do you care?” Dirk shot back.
Yeah, why did she? It wasn’t as if she planned to visit him again. With a shrug, she nodded. “Suit yourself. Take care, Dirk. I’ll see you tomorrow morning bright and early for the TV interview.” Turning away, she started to walk back to Zeke. He’d stayed behind, likely to give her space for a private conversation with Dirk.
Sweet, but unnecessary.
“Sienna.” She paused, glancing back over her shoulder when Dirk called her name. For a moment, she saw genuine concern in his eyes. “You never told me why you and your cop fiancé were asking so many questions. Is there something going on? Are you and Bailey in danger from your ex-husband?”
“Nothing you need to worry about. Take care of yourself. See you soon.” She hated lying to him, but Dirk wasn’t the one in danger.
Then again, he would suffer a huge setback if she canceled the tour. Drawing in a deep breath, she walked away.
It wouldn’t matter to Dirk if she canceled today, tomorrow, or Friday. He’d suffer the same financial blow regardless.
And so would she. The only reason she was at all concerned about that was due to the legals fees that were no doubt piling up with the various motions Josh’s attorney was throwing at her.
Enough. Worrying about the legal fees or how she’d support herself if she was forced to abandon her career and disappear wasn’t helpful. God would give her the strength and courage she needed.
But today was all about trying to find whoever was helping Josh strike out at her.
And stopping him before she was forced to take drastic measures.
Zeke watched Dirk leave the hotel with a sense of relief. At least the guy wouldn’t be a drain on Sienna financially from this point forward.
He wished Dirk had been working for Allenton, but the guy had at least that much decency. Maybe he felt as if he deserved special treatment, despite how the crux of his job was to showcase Sienna.
Not himself.
“Let’s go.” Zeke caught Sienna’s hand in his. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but let’s stop and get something to eat. My treat,” he quickly added.
“I’m not broke,” she protested.
“Maybe not, but I know a great place we can get a fantastic meal at a very reasonable price.” He grinned, trying to lighten the mood.
“Is this a place from when we were young?”
“Nope. It’s relatively new over the past two years, maybe three.” He steered her toward the parking lot across the street. He glimpsed a silver car exiting the same parking lot, and seeing a scowling Dirk Green behind the wheel, he was glad to know the guy hadn’t lied about the rental car. He opened the car door for her. “Rosie’s Diner is incredible. She’s from Ireland and serves fresh bakery each day. You’ll love it.”
“Sounds good.” Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. There wasn’t anything he could do about Dirk, but she was right about one thing. Time was running out.
He needed a lead on Brett Voss, and quick.
As promised, he called Gabe once they were on the road. “Now what?” Gabe demanded. “I can’t get anything done with you constantly interrupting me.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” Gabe was sounding testier than usual. “Is everything okay?”
There was a brief pause, then Gabe sighed. “Rhy just sent Cassidy and several other members of the team out to an active shooter situation. I get nervous about those types of perps. They don’t care how many people they take out before killing themselves.”
Ah, so that was it. Gabe was harboring a not-so-secret crush on Cassidy. “Cass is a smart cop, she’ll be fine.”
“I know.” Gabe seemed to realize he was allowing his personal concern to show. “I got Sienna’s phone like you asked. What else do you need?”
“Anything on Brett Voss or Josh Allenton.” Zeke checked the rearview mirror but didn’t see anything concerning. “We were able to cross Dirk Green off as a suspect. I checked his phone and made him empty his pockets to verify he wasn’t carrying a throwaway. I didn’t find any evidence he’s been in touch with Allenton, which puts us right back at square one.”
“Okay, I’ll see what I can do,” Gabe said. “Before the active shooter call out, I heard Rhy saying something about how Allenton’s buddy vouched for him, but that they weren’t necessarily convinced the dude wasn’t lying.”
That was a view he shared, but Zeke didn’t mention it. “Sounds good.”
“Oh, and Joe got a search warrant for videos of all the gas stations in a five-mile radius of the Wooden Nickel,” Gabe continued. “I’ve been searching for anyone matching Voss or Allenton’s photos. I’m hoping one or both of them stopped in at some point.”
“That’s a good idea.” Zeke knew that many people didn’t realize how many cameras were in the city. Although someone like Allenton might have thought of that and taken precautions to hide his features. “If you see anyone that looks remotely suspicious, like wearing a hoodie or a hat low to cover his features, let me know. I don’t want to rule anyone out until we’ve had a chance to vet them.”
“I will. Is that all? Or do you need something else?” Gabe asked.
“That’s good for now, thanks. And I’ll say a prayer for Cass.”
“Thanks, Zeke.”
“What’s up with Gabe and Cassidy?” Sienna asked.
“Nothing yet as far as I know.” He shrugged. “But give it time. It’s no secret Gabe has a crush on her.”
“I could tell,” Sienna said with a smile.
Zeke checked the rearview mirror, then caught sight of Rosie’s sign. The parking lot was only half full, probably because it was midmorning. The breakfast rush was over by now, but he knew from experience there would still be plenty of fresh-baked goods.
After parking and sliding out from behind the wheel, the scent of cinnamon wafted toward him. Rosie’s cinnamon rolls were his favorite.
“Something smells good,” Sienna said as they went inside.
“Ach, Zeke, ’tis good to see you, lad,” Rosie greeted him with enthusiasm. She seemed to have a soft spot for Rhy Finnegan and his siblings and had spread that same goodwill to the rest of the tactical team. “And who’s this fine lass you’ve brought to see me?”
“Hi, Rosie, this is Sienna Reynolds. My fiancée,” he belatedly remembered to add. “Sienna, I’m thrilled to introduce you to Rosie, the best cook in town.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rosie,” Sienna said with a smile. “Zeke raves about your breakfasts.”
“Ach, lass, the pleasure is mine.” Rosie’s eyes gleamed as she spied his mother’s engagement ring. “How wonderful to hear you and Zeke will be getting married! Come, lass, have a seat. I’ll fetch you two of my fresh-baked cinnamon rolls. And would you be wanting coffee too?”
“Yes, please,” Sienna said. “The cinnamon rolls sound wonderful.”
“They’re larger than my head,” Zeke joked as they slid into an empty booth. “But delicious all the same.”
“I can see why you and your teammates like it here,” Sienna said as she glanced around the homey yet modest restaurant. “No fuss, no muss.”
“And the best full Irish breakfast you can get in the country,” he said. “No lie, every time I come in here, I’m tempted to book a trip to Ireland.”
“Two cinnamon rolls warm from the oven,” Rosie declared as she set two of her giant pastries on the table. Then she darted away to fetch their coffee.
“Wow, this is bigger than your head,” Sienna said with a laugh. Her eyes widened after she took a bite. “Hmm, the melted icing is amazing.”
“Are ya ready to order, then?” Rosie asked, after filling their coffee cups.
“I’ll have the full Irish,” Zeke said. He leaned forward. “Trust me, you’ll love it too.”
“Sure, why not? I’ll have the full Irish as well,” Sienna agreed.
“Ach, I trust you won’t be disappointed. Enjoy.” With that, Rosie hurried away.
For several minutes, they ate their cinnamon rolls and drank their coffee. Then Sienna rested her elbows on the table. “I’m not sure what to do.”
He knew she was talking about her imposed deadline and the plan to disappear rather than to continue fighting Josh’s custody battle through the legal system. One that could fail to protect her and Bailey.
“I can’t tell you what to do. Other than to give me time to find the proof we need to shut Josh’s court filing down for good.” Hard to sound confident when he had nothing to go on, other than hoping Josh and his hired gun would make another mistake. “Brett Voss is likely the one involved. I’m sure we can convince him to cooperate.”
In a way they had not been able to do with Ken Holt. Although in truth, Holt’s murder should help Voss see the light. Unless Voss did the deed.
“I don’t have a right to ask you this, but I need to find someone that will make new passports for me and Bailey.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know anyone with those skills, and if I did, I’d have to arrest them.” He hated disappointing her. “I would do a lot to protect you and your daughter. But breaking the law?” He winced. “I don’t know that I can cross that line.”
“Of course, you can’t. I completely understand.” Sienna held his gaze. “I would only ask that you don’t turn me in. Just let us disappear.”
“I won’t turn you in, but let’s pray right now that it won’t come to that.” He reached across the table to take her hand. “Lord Jesus, please protect Sienna and Bailey. Hold them close in Your loving arms and grant me the strength and wisdom to find those responsible for trying to hurt them. Amen.”
“Amen,” Sienna whispered. She clung to his hand for a long time, letting him go only when Rosie brought their heaping plates of food.
“Thanks, Rosie,” Zeke said as the sizzling scent teased his senses. “Looks amazing as always.”
Sienna murmured her agreement, but while he dug into his meal with gusto, she took small bites, moving food around on her plate more than eating it.
Could he really let her disappear forever? Every cell in his body rejected the idea, but at the same time, he could see why taking that route appealed to Sienna. She had been a victim of Josh’s physical abuse. Allowing him to touch a single hair on Bailey’s head could not be allowed to happen.
Now his appetite was fading as he considered the day stretching endlessly before them. There had to be a way to break this case open.
Too bad he was out of ideas.
“Aye, lad, can I get you anything else?” Rosie asked, after refilling their cups. Her bright red hair was likely from a bottle, but the twinkle in her eye was real. “Perhaps another cinnamon roll?”
“No, thank you.” He patted his lean belly. “Everything was excellent as always, but I’m stuffed.”
“Well, then, have a fine day.” Rosie slipped the bill under the edge of his plate, then turned to check in on her other customers.
He forced himself to take another bite. When his phone rang, his pulse kicked up when he saw Gabe’s name. He quickly answered. “Hey, Gabe. Everything okay?”
“What? Oh yeah, the active shooter was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Cass and the others are fine.” There was no mistaking the relief in Gabe’s tone at knowing Cassidy was safe. “I found something on one of the gas station videos. Like you mentioned, the guy keeps his head down and is wearing a ball cap. His hair is blond, though, and he doesn’t look like your dead guy. He pays for gas, then can be seen walking away while talking on the phone.”
“Any chance you can zoom in on the video to see if you can figure out who he might be talking to?”
“Nah, that’s impossible as he has the phone up to his face. But I got a license plate number and a corresponding address and registration.”
Now they were talking. “A black car? Who is it registered to?”
“It is a black Dodge Hornet, a smaller SUV,” Gave said. “And it’s registered to a guy named Toby Belinsky.”
The name meant nothing to him. “Toby Belinsky?” he repeated, glancing at Sienna. She frowned and shook her head, indicating she didn’t recognize the name. “Is Belinsky from California?” If only they could be so fortunate.
“Nah, he’s from Wisconsin, here in the Milwaukee area,” Gabe said. “I have an address for his house in Timberland Falls.”
Of course, it had to be Timberland Falls where the cops did not appreciate the members of the tactical team. Several times Rhy had to pull rank to take over a case that had happened in their jurisdiction. But Zeke didn’t care, they had a lead, and that was all that mattered. He wasn’t going to let the Timberland Falls PD keep him from following the trail that could lead to Allenton. “Great. Give me the address.”
Gabe rattled it off. It was one of those really long addresses with north this and west that, which sometimes wreaked havoc with GPS systems, but he’d find it.
“Thanks so much. Do you know anything else about this guy? Does he have a criminal record?”
“Hang on.” Gabe tapped a few keys. “No—well, he does have a financial judgment against him from five years ago but nothing more recent. Do you want me to dig into the particulars?”
Financial judgments were typically an indication of cash flow problems. But it was hard to imagine something from five years ago would cause Toby Belinsky to cross the line into becoming a criminal now.
But it was still worth checking out.
“Yes please, thanks, Gabe. I’ll head over there ASAP.” He dug money from his wallet and left cash on the table, along with a generous tip. “Call me if you find anything else.”
“Will do. Later.” Gabe ended the call.
“Where are we going?” Sienna asked.
He hesitated, remembering the last time he went against his better judgment by bringing her along to interview a witness. That had ended badly.
Not that Holt’s murder was Sienna’s fault. In truth, even if Sienna hadn’t been there, the guy might have made the same panicked call to whoever hired him and ended up just as dead.
Yet dropping her off at the safe house would take time. Now that he had an address, he was anxious to hit the road. He could park a distance away from the house, leave Sienna in the car and approach on foot.
The only good news was that the active shooter situation was resolved, so he could possibly get someone from the team to back him up.
“Timberland Falls.” He slid out of the booth giving her a hand. “I’ll need you to stay in the car this time, though. No argument,” he added firmly. “Otherwise, I’ll take the time to drop you off with Flynn, Taylor, and Bailey.”
“I’ll wait in the car.” Her voice was subdued, no doubt she was also remembering how things had gone south at the Wooden Nickel.
Minutes later, he was on the road heading north. Cassidy didn’t answer, but Grayson did. “What’s up?”
“Can you meet me in Timberland Falls? I have a suspect.”
“Right away. Give me the address.”
Zeke thanked God for the men and women he worked with. He gave the address and briefed Grayson on the situation. “This could be nothing, but the guy appeared to be avoiding the cameras.”
“Understood. Can’t hurt to have a chat,” Grayson agreed.
Sienna was quiet as he drove. He wanted to reassure her that Toby Belinsky was a viable lead.
But all they had was a picture from a gas station where the guy seems to be avoiding the camera.
For all he knew, the guy could be nothing but another dead end.