Chapter 14 #2
“So why were you by the reefer? The loading docks are on the other side of the warehouse.” Silas looked genuinely confused.
“I heard talking from that part of the shop, so I went to check it out.”
“And that’s when they shoved you in and locked the trailer, huh?”
Dani nodded. “Yes, Mr. Lochlear.”
He shook his head slowly, sadly. “I just feel awful about the whole thing.”
“It is possible this was more of a threat to you. Is there anyone who would want to taint the business, or do you have any enemies?” Michael asked the owner.
Silas puffed out his chest a bit. “Not at all. I built this business with integrity and transparency. We donate a percentage to charity and make sure we offer our employees good benefits. In fact, when we joined a bigger umbrella company, Continental Transport, one of the reasons I took their offer was because they give a hefty portion to nonprofit organizations too. More so than a lot of companies.”
Michael stayed silent.
“Any disgruntled employees?” Finn asked.
“Oh, well…I suppose there is that. I’ve had to let go of a few workers over the years who didn’t abide by our standards. I had a mechanic who was doing shoddy work and a truck driver I had to ban when I found he was stealing, but those were a few years ago.”
“Any backlash from them or anyone more recent?” Michael went back to taking notes.
“Nothing. To be honest, I’m not really doing as much of the hiring and firing these days. I leave most of that to my manager, Judd. Like I said, he’s not here today, but if he was, I’d still want to be here to help make this right.”
Dani’s gut said the man was sincere. Silas Lochlear did do a lot for local charities and even served on the board at the technical college.
And with a wife who came from a well-to-do family—research she’d done from home without using the federal databases, so Kumar couldn’t say anything—he didn’t need to embezzle funds.
She certainly couldn’t see him trying to kill anybody.
“All right, if you can get us those phone numbers for the absent employees today, we’ll take it from here.” Michael closed his notebook and stood.
He, Finn, and Silas left the room and went out to Shirley’s desk to get the phone numbers.
Michael had been super focused on this case from the moment he’d walked in.
He’d barely looked at her, but she’d never seen him on the job before.
He was intense. Scared Van enough that he’d gone through a whole roll of antacids at lunch.
Dani had almost laughed. But after watching Michael at work, she could understand why.
He didn’t let anything get in the way. He left no stone unturned.
No question to chance. Too bad Van Hoyt had never witnessed the sweet side of Michael Martinelli.
For a moment, she flashed back to their kiss in the warehouse.
Gone was the professional, put-together Michael.
The passionate, breaking-the-rules-for-once-and-going-with-the-flow Michael had been a new experience altogether.
She’d always wondered if that was the case—that just below the surface, when he didn’t feel the weight of the world or the responsibility of his family, he was the kind of man who could kiss her with abandon.
And the answer was a resounding yes.
But this morning, when she’d woken up to his text, it had hit her. It would be so foolish to get caught up in anything with Michael.
He was better off with a different kind of woman. None of her romantic relationships had lasted longer than a few months. And more importantly, she was trying to leave Renegade. A relationship would only complicate everything she was trying to accomplish.
It was one kiss.
Well, two if she counted the one at the Snake Pit.
Surely this attraction would fizzle out. And besides, she’d be catching the next assignment out of Colorado as soon as she could.
Okay, so it had been one amazing kiss. The kind she would never forget. The kind of kiss she would judge all other kisses by.
But now they both had cases to work. Jobs to do.
A job she’d almost been pulled from. It had taken a lot of convincing at her meeting this morning for Kumar to keep her on at SL Trucking.
Dani couldn’t blow this last shot. She couldn’t afford to let Michael distract her.
She needed to get her head in the game and get back to it.
So why did her heart leap when he called her over to the entrance?
He leaned close and whispered in her ear. “When Silas mentioned charities, it reminded me of our case with the convenience store owner. He was asked to launder money by donating to nonprofits. Any chance your guy here is doing something shady with those funds?”
Her breath caught.
Maybe that was how the embezzler was doing it. It would be an easy way to funnel funds into shell companies or random organizations. “I’ll look into it,” she whispered back.
“Thank you, Ms. Kim, for your time. I’ll let you know if I have more questions,” Michael said as he and Finn left.
As soon as they were gone, Dani went back to her office and pulled up the accounts for their donations.
Wow. Silas’s trucking company gave away quite a bit. And to a lot of different causes. She stared at the list.
This would take some time. Guess she knew what she’d be doing the rest of the day.
One by one, she looked into each account, researched each organization. She forgot the rest of the world as she dug deep. Her gut said she was on the right track, and she didn’t want to miss anything. She ticked off each donation, each fund as she finished.
She was almost halfway through the list when Shirley popped her head into the office.
“You doing okay in here? You worked right through our coffee break, and it’s time to go.”
Dani looked at the clock. “I didn’t realize how late it was! I got into the groove and forgot about everything else.”
Shirley smiled. “I’m glad you’re okay. I was afraid that with everything that happened, you were upset with us or something.”
“Not at all! I’m so sorry. I really just got lost in the work.”
“The numbers are that interesting, huh?”
Dani chuckled. “Sometimes.” Like when you’re finally on the scent after what felt like weeks of nothing. “In fact, since my appointment and the interview with the police officers took up some of my morning, I’m going to stay a little later and keep going.”
“Don’t work too hard. You’re young. You should be out there living your life. Don’t let it pass you by.” Shirley smiled like an indulgent parent.
Going out and “living life” was not on the Kims’ ten-year plan. Ever.
But now that she was finally on the right track with these accounts, she couldn’t stop working. She was getting close. “I promise I won’t stay too long.”
Shirley’s lips pinched a moment. “I don’t know that I like the idea of you staying here alone in the office. Especially after last night.”
“No need to worry about that,” a deep voice said. “I’m here to escort Dani home.”
Michael’s handsome face appeared behind Shirley, who spun around with a hand to her chest.
“Goodness, Detective. You startled the starch right out of me!” She dropped her hands and grabbed his arm. “But I’m so glad you’re here to protect our Dani. I still can’t believe someone acted so maliciously. Did you figure anything out?”
“We’re still investigating leads. But for now, I’m here to make sure she gets home safely.” His tone was confident and steady.
The muscles in Dani’s shoulders immediately relaxed as he stepped into the office. She hadn’t even realized she’d been so tense. But Michael’s presence always did have a calming effect on her. At least, when she wasn’t trying so hard to impress him.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it.” Shirley’s expression took on a bit of a scheming smile. “Don’t forget what I said, Dani, about livin’ and all.” She winked before she left.