Chapter 21
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Settled into Talia’s home office, Anderson worked his way through what appeared to be standard bookkeeping practices.
Knowing that his sister would have been in charge of keeping these records, they were neat and tidy.
Yet nothing pointed to anything untoward, at least not here.
He started going through various files and ledgers to see if anything at all showed money was an issue but couldn’t seem to come up with anything.
As he pulled open one of the drawers, a small USB fell to the floor. He swore and picked it up, immediately popping it into the computer and opening up files. And the lovely person who had created these had helpfully labeled them Latest Shipments.
With his heart beating in excitement, he quickly opened everything that he could, realizing exactly what this compilation was—the tracking system of drug shipments coming and going. “Bingo.”
He downloaded and copied the information—in case the USB went missing.
And, while that was all processing, he was still running through the data and realized why Tim was in deep trouble.
Not only were the drug transactions all here, confirming each delivery ordered and how much each delivery cost, but Tim had also put down names and places.
Maybe in an attempt to save his own hide or to even use for blackmail down the road.
Regardless he kept it all on record. He obviously hadn’t learned one of the biggest lessons, which is that these drug cartel people were not out to play, and, by crossing them, Tim had put his entire family at risk.
And that wouldn’t be easy to get out of because Anderson now had this information. He quickly sent an encrypted email to Levi with as much as he could attach, and then he sent off a copy to both Leland and Burton. As an afterthought, he called Detective Colt.
The detective, as Anderson expected, was exasperated when he answered. “Look, I don’t have any new—”
“I do,” he snapped, cutting him off.
“You do?” Colt asked, his tone odd.
“I’ve got the shipping information on the drugs, including the dates and the names of everybody Tim was involved with.”
Immediately the detective turned all business. “Send it to me.”
“Yeah, I will … eventually,” he replied, “but, according to my brother-in-law, cops in your department are also on the take. And, for that reason alone, I’m not sending this to you just yet. I’ll hold on to it for now. I’ll find a few other law enforcement agencies to send this to first.”
Dead silence came, and then Colt asked, his tone grave, “So you are implying I’m one of the dirty cops? Or are you threatening me?”
“Neither,” Anderson stated, “but we’ll see whether you do your job or you’re just another one of these patsies.
I will reserve judgment until you prove me wrong.
… I haven’t seen a whole lot of help coming out of your department to date.
So far, I’m the one giving info to you, with none coming my way.
Still, I will share this information far and wide and will continue to pass it around to various authorities.
So, rest assured it’s getting to the right places. ” With that, Anderson ended the call.