Chapter 24
El didn’t waste any time making the short drive to the center, where they found Bonnie sitting behind her desk.
She lifted her head and froze. Then blinked. A long exhale of air followed. “Detective. How can I help you?”
Her personable yet detached tone irritated El, but she couldn’t say why. “We learned that Carl Acosta’s daughter attends your center. Is that right?”
She pointed at the chairs by her desk. “Have a seat.”
El opted to remain standing, and so did Gabe.
“Please answer my question. Does Carl Acosta’s daughter attend here?”
“Kind of,” she replied. “She’s his legal daughter, but he no longer has custody, and if he shows up here, we’re to call the police.”
“I don’t understand,” El said. “He was the man in the van watching your center, and you talked to him outside the center. If you’re supposed to call the police, why aren’t there police reports for such an incident?”
She sighed, her breath rushing out. “All he wanted to do was see her from the van. That was why he was watching us. He wasn’t a threat to anyone.”
El begged to differ. “That’s not your decision to make. He could’ve been here to abduct his daughter. But that doesn’t matter right now. What I want to know is what did he mean when he said to you, ‘We need her to come through for us, and you’re gonna make sure that happens.’”
“Talia Vogel’s dad told you this, didn’t he? She had him spying on us for days.” She crossed her arms. “Well, I don’t have to say anything. It’s personal.”
“Personal or not, this is a murder investigation.”
She raised her chin. “He wanted me to talk to his ex-wife. To try to get her to change her mind about his visitation rights.”
“Hah,” Gabe said. “You expect us to believe you when the last part of his demand sounded like a threat, not simply asking a favor.”
“No. No threats.” She held up a placating hand. “You’re misunderstanding. He was just upset.”
“Why you?” El asked. “What could you possibly do to persuade his ex to change her mind?”
She held both hands in front of her face as if she wanted to hide. “I was the reason he lost custody in the first place.”
Now they were getting somewhere, and El cast a knowing look at Gabe. He gave a brief nod of understanding.
“Explain,” El said.
She lowered her hands, her gaze darting about as if looking for an escape.
She shook her head and let her arms fall to her sides.
“We made a mistake. Spent the night together. It wasn’t planned.
One night he couldn’t get to the center before closing to pick his daughter up, so I dropped her off at his apartment.
I never do that, but he would have lost custody if he didn’t pick her up, and I felt sorry for him.
He invited me in for a drink. It was one of those days, so I agreed.
Then we had a second drink. A third. Maybe a fourth, and one thing led to another.
We fell asleep. The next morning, his daughter saw us together.
She told her mother. That was all the ammunition his wife needed to get full custody. ”
“Will he corroborate your story?” El asked.
“I don’t know, but I hope so, because I’m telling the truth.”
“We’ll talk to him next.”
“You can’t,” she said quickly. “He’s out of town for the week.”
El wasn’t sure if she should believe her or not. “Give me his cell number. I’ll give him a call.”
Bonnie grabbed a notepad and jotted it down then shoved the page across the desk.
El picked it up to confirm she’d noted a full phone number. “You’re not to have any contact with him or try to coerce him into agreeing to your story. Is that understood?”
“Perfectly. I don’t want anyone to find out about this. Can it stay between us?”
“If it has nothing to do with our investigation, I’ll try to keep it quiet.” El turned and marched out the door, with Gabe following. She looked at him. “Bonnie sure doesn’t seem the type to have an affair.”
He shook his head. “But if she was inebriated, anything was possible. And she sounds like she regrets it.”
“She did seem like she was telling the truth.”
“But if she’s somehow involved with fraud at Safe Harbor and desperate to keep that and her affair quiet,” Gabe paused, as if for effect. “Then she might’ve gotten Acosta to take action for her.”
“Run Kenna off the road and kill her,” El said. “So, the guy remains a suspect until we locate him, and he provides an alibi for the time of Kenna’s murder.”
Gabe hoped Acosta would answer El’s phone call she made in the daycare parking lot, but she had to leave a message. Another roadblock that put a damper on his conversation with El as they drove back to the inn to review Kenna’s journal.
They hurried inside, and at the conference room, Gabe got a good look at Hayden. His expression burned with excitement, bringing Gabe’s feet to a stop.
Gabe poked his head in the door. “Looks like you might’ve found a lead.”
“Good. You’re back.” Hayden looked up from behind his computer. “I was just going to text you.”
Gabe gestured for El to join him. “Is it about Ward?”
“No, that algorithm is still running, but you’ll never guess what I located on New Tide and Safe Harbor.”
Gabe stepped into the room. “Spit it out.”
“Please,” El said, firing a corrective look at him as she entered the room.
“Sorry, man,” Gabe said to Hayden. “I’m just tired of people wanting to give us the runaround and am desperate for good news.”
“No problem.” Hayden leaned his chair back. “I’m only at the tip of the iceberg right now. I need to go deeper to find proof, but rumors on the dark web say Jonas Trent is stealing donation money from New Tide.”
El clicked her tongue against her teeth in disapproval. “I can’t say I’m surprised. He’s apparently devoted himself full-time to this organization, but shouldn’t he be managing his business projects? After all, that’s where his money comes from.”
Hayden nodded. “Apparently, he’s turned most responsibilities over to project managers.
He only handles PR and finances. Which, according to comments, includes setting up bogus companies.
Then he bills Safe Harbor under renovation costs, maintenance contracts, facility upgrades, etcetera.
The projects never occur, and the payments go to a shell company he controls. ”
Gabe’s anger rose. “What a scumbag.”
She gripped the back of a chair, her eyes narrowed. “The kids are the ones who suffer. They have to live in conditions that barely meet licensing requirements. You only have to visit, and it’s clear very little money is spent on upgrades and maintenance.”
“I take it to mean Tinsley’s in on it,” Gabe said. “Trent probably pays him off to keep his mouth shut.”
She shoved the chair and moved her hands to her waist. “Could also be true of the accountant. And it explains why they were able to pass audits.”
“Probably the thing Kenna stumbled on,” Gabe said. “She might’ve written about it in her journal.”
“I’ll look into this accountant and Tinsley, but I’m also just getting a picture of Trent’s finances. He took a hit on some business investments, and he’s living larger than he can afford. Could be his reason for stealing from Safe Harbor.”
“New Tide’s accountant, Patrick Sloan, seems to be living large, too,” Gabe said. “Even Tinsley. Probably those payoffs from Trent.”
“I’ll get back to you on all of that.” Hayden held up his hand. “Before you go, I have something else for you. Apparently, word on the street is that Safe Harbor is linked to multiple missing children cases.”
El sucked in a sharp breath, and her eyes blazed with fire. “On our visit, one of the residents said as much to me. I didn’t know whether to believe her or not, but looks like I should.”
“Or the kids might have a beef against Tinsley or the center, and they started a false rumor,” Gabe said.
“Or it could be true.” El continued to burn with anger. “At this point, we need to at least consider it, and as an officer, I’m legally bound to contact social services. Which I’ll do before we start on that journal.”
Hayden’s expression turned dark. “Sounds like the journal is your best lead. Let me know if you find anything else needing my help, and I’ll keep digging here.”
“Thanks, man.” Gabe bumped fists with Hayden, then looked at El. “How about some coffee to go?” He nodded at the pot on the food table.
“If it makes a difference,” Hayden said, “it’s freshly made and not the stale stuff you often find in the afternoon.”
“I don’t care how or what it’s made of,” she said with conviction. “I absolutely would like some.”
“Black, one sugar, right?” Gabe asked.
She gave him a soft smile that went straight to his heart. “Right.”
“You guys are way too in sync for just…whatever this is. Cute, I guess.” He stuck a finger in his mouth and faked gagging.
A quick reply was right on Gabe’s lips, but his buddy was right. Gabe had noticed El’s coffee preference. He’d noticed that and so much more over the years.
“Besides the coffee,” Hayden added. “Reece left you some sandwiches in the refrigerator.”
“I could eat,” El said.
“I’ll grab them.” Gabe handed the mugs to El and pushed through the swinging door to the large commercial refrigerator that was always stuffed with fresh food.
Not only had she made sandwiches, but they were sack lunches with their names on them.
Made sense, or one of the guys might polish them off as a snack.
Gabe returned with the two bags. “I’ll follow you.”
She turned to leave, and Gabe paused near Hayden. “Let us know the minute you find anything else.”
“Will do.” Hayden turned back to his computer.
El hurried toward Gabe’s room, where he’d temporarily hidden the journal. She’d logged it as evidence, but since they hadn’t finished reading Kenna’s entries, they wanted it close.
Gabe slipped past her, unlocked the door, and followed her inside.
She sat on the sofa. “Time to call social services.”