Chapter 8 #6
Patterson’s informant was there using a burner phone to capture what he could.
He paid his guy a measly fifty dollars, which he was all too eager to accept as payment for the job.
Video and photos were captured that would never be presented in court.
The evidence needed would have to be legally obtained by Patterson if he wanted to prosecute, but that wasn’t the intent.
Patterson wasn’t looking to climb the ladder from detective to lieutenant like his peers.
He also didn’t give a damn about taking down drug dealers and protecting the city.
Patterson was only concerned with lining his pockets off the dirty money these men collected in abundance.
For all intents and purposes, Patterson had no desire to prosecute or take down any of these men.
This time, East smiled. It was taunting and Patterson saw the amusement dancing in his eyes.
“What’s your home?”
“Excuse me?”
“Who the fuck you under? I think I might want to pay your lieutenant a visit. I feel like my civil rights have been violated. I need to voice my concerns to see if I can do anything about it.” East would never visit the precinct to check up on Patterson, but he didn’t know that.
East avoided cops, detectives, and federal agents at all costs. He had a very dark, extremely illegal past that he wasn’t trying to bring attention to. Even if East was a changed man, he would forever be who the streets groomed him to be.
“I found you, so you can certainly find me. Now, do you want to tell me what your relation is to Alester Orr? Maybe you can tell me about the illegal gambling you host here once a month?”
It was Patterson’s turn to offer a taunting smile.
East wasn’t affected. He was intelligent and very careful.
The reason local cops attended was that he needed a respected official to vouch for the fact that card night was just a game night amongst friends.
The house bets were not done with real money, but instead, imaginary lines of credit that housed no monetary value other than for the bets in place.
It was a lie, but no one who attended would speak to the fact that it wasn’t.
“I didn’t know that poker night with my close friends was illegal. There’s no real money exchanged. Just some plastic chips to keep the stakes high but have no value past the doors when they leave.”
Patterson didn’t expect East to be forthcoming or an easy target.
From what he learned about him after a little research, he was legitimate on paper.
East owned a few businesses, had several accounts, and no record to speak of.
His name had never come up in any investigation before now, but that was strictly by chance, which played right into his hand.
East had a lot to lose and would likely pay for his freedom.
Patterson also knew Eastland Joseph came from humble beginnings.
His mother had done a few runs in and out of treatment facilities and his father wasn’t present in his life.
Eastland Joseph Senior lived in Seattle with his new wife with no other children.
Something or someone had funded East in order for him to be doing as well as he was.
Patterson would bet his life that in some way, what East acquired was connected to Ace.
“You think you have it all covered, don’t you? You think you’re smarter than the system put in place to keep men like you from profiting off illegal shit, making all that dirty money and throwing it away?”
Gotdamn, he’s dirty. He wants money. East now had a better grasp on why Patterson was in his shop.
“I’m a business owner. I don’t know what you mean by illegal activities. As for me being smarter than the system, or more importantly, you…” East’s charming smile stretched wide across his face. “…no sense in me stating the obvious.”
The amusement that danced around in East’s eyes had Patterson’s fist clenching at his side and his rounded jaw flexing.
East further ignited Patterson’s fury by pushing past him so aggressively that he stumbled slightly, while East tossed his final thoughts over his shoulder. “You can get the fuck out of my shop unless you’re about to wait in line for a cut. We’re busy today, so you might be here for a while.”
East was on his way to his office and never turned to face Patterson again. Patterson was fuming from the lack of respect shown and hadn’t moved yet but offered his final thoughts as well.
“Detective Patterson. Remember that name, Mr. Joseph. You’re my personal priority now.”
“I look forward to it, but you better proceed with caution. I’m a problem you don’t want to have. Your best can’t touch mine.”
“Is that a threat, Mr. Joseph?”
“A promise.”
East gritted his teeth just before he entered his office and the door slammed behind him.
He stood a few feet away, seething at the fact that after all this time, he was under investigation.
East was smart, always had been careful and detail-oriented.
It was how he survived his time, so it wasn’t likely they would find anything on him outside of his association with Ace.
But still, being on the cop’s radar wasn’t a problem East welcomed.
A knock on the door came through just before it opened. Chuck eased in, closing them in right after. He witnessed the entire interaction and had questions.
“What the fuck was that?”
East looked over his shoulders at Chuck before he turned to face him, leaning against his desk and folding his arms across his chest.
“Some bullshit,” East mumbled before he lifted one hand, raked it down his face and over his head. “Ten fucking years. That’s how long I was out there and never once has my name been spoken in a way that sent any of them to me.”
“Why now? What you think it’s about?”
Chuck had his hands in all aspects of East’s business. They moved a little differently now. East didn’t do deals on street corners. He didn’t touch anything at all; he only orchestrated it. Pounds and keys in big numbers were what he moved and not that often.
Seeing a detective in the shop asking questions had Chuck concerned.
“Greed and timing.”
Chuck’s brows dipped in, and East shook his head, allowing it to drop back as he laughed lightly.
It was all coincidental that he had been connected.
Vega coming home meant the cops were watching him, and in turn, they were watching Ace.
East knew it was possible that meant there would be eyes on him because of his presence that night, but damn if he didn’t limit the possibility. Now, here he was.
“Vega coming home means eyes on the entire team.”
“You aren’t part of that team no more. Not like that.”
“Doesn’t matter. Timing. I was there. I half expected it, but I took a chance.
A bad one. To anyone on the outside, seeing me there meant something.
I was the only one welcomed into Ace’s private space.
He respects me, so he handles me on a different level than anyone else.
I’m family in a sense. It didn’t take a genius to see the affiliation.
That same respect just put me right in the middle of some bullshit. ”
“So, what now?”
“No new requests unless approved by me. With anything.”
Chuck nodded. “We changing anything?”
“Not yet. If we need to, I’ll let you know.”
“Aight, boss.”
Chuck nodded and prepared to leave. He could sense East’s mood wasn’t the best and knew he wanted to be left alone.
Chuck was cool with East, but it was more an employee/boss situation.
East didn’t have friends. He moved independently, which everyone knew.
Chuck and Numbers, however, were the closest to East, but he still never fully gave them access to him or his inner workings.
It was a form of protection for East to keep people at a distance.
When Chuck reached the door, just before he slipped out of it, East informed him of his plans for later.
“I’ma be out a little early today. Make sure things are handled here. Check in with Numbers about the deposits. Take ours over there and put them in their safe.”
“I got you.”
With no other instruction required, Chuck left East’s office, pulling the door closed behind him.
East’s hand lifted and landed hard on the desk, fist clenched in frustration before he pulled his body from where he was positioned and stepped around it.
Falling into his chair, his chin dipped right after as he massaged his temple.
This was damn sure not the time for something like this to happen. He had given himself a year to be completely done and now he had to decide if that timeline needed to change.