Chapter 44
Jack returned and shook his head after searching the bathroom.
Neither the book nor the backpack was in the suite.
Then it dawned on me. It went out with the bellhop on the cart, hidden by the cloth.
I darted through the suite and into the hallway.
The bellhop was long gone—if he even was a bellhop.
I raced down the hall, pushed into the stairwell, and spiraled down to the first floor. The stairs dropped me off in the hallway by the ballrooms. I weaved through the crowd of people to the lobby and glanced around for the bellhop.
I didn't see him anywhere.
At the front desk, I flashed my badge and asked who had brought the champagne up to Devon Anderson's room.
With a few taps of the keys, the desk clerk looked up the ticket. "That was Jason.”
"I need to speak to him. Now!"
Her face tensed. "Hang on a moment.” She stepped away from the desk and spoke to her manager. He wore a navy suit with a gold nameplate above the breast pocket. He looked at me, then said a few words to her.
She returned to the desk. "My manager is going to find him.”
"Thank you."
The bellhop appeared a few minutes later. He had been on another call. It was the same guy. I displayed my badge when he approached.
"Is there some kind of problem?” he asked with a confused look.
"When you delivered the champagne to room #517, did Devon give you anything?"
Jason shifted uncomfortably and exchanged a look with the desk clerk.
She shrugged.
"Um, no,” Jason said.
"Are you sure about that?”
"What's this about?”
"It's about to be a problem if you don't answer me honestly."
Jason's lips tightened, then he exhaled a breath. "The guy gave me $200 bucks to take a backpack down the hallway and give it to another guy."
"You didn't think that was a little odd?”
"I thought it was $200. And in this economy, $200 counts. Look, people pay me to do all kinds of things. I don't ask questions." He paused. "What was in the bag?”
"Describe the guy you gave it to.”
"Older guy. Bald. Glasses.”
"What did he do with the bag?”
"I don't know. That's none of my business. I gave it to him, and he left.”
I thanked him for the information and took his number.
By that time, JD and Daphne had joined me in the lobby. I filled Jack in on the situation.
He frowned. "Figures. Devon says he met the girl in the bar.”
Daphne scoffed. "That's complete bullshit. She's a hooker.”
“Maybe she’s a personal assistant for the guy who bought the Codex,” I said. “She probably handled the transaction.”
This was all just theory and speculation. We couldn't prove any of it. It looked like they were gonna get away with it.
JD and I both felt a little deflated.
It had been a long day, and my stomach rumbled. It was time for a late lunch.
We stepped outside, and the valet pulled around the car. We hopped inside and took Daphne to pick up some necessities—toiletries, clothes, etc. There was no going back to her apartment now. Dane and Brock could be surveilling it.
Afterward, we returned to Diver Down and took a seat at the bar.
“Who’s your new friend?” Teagan asked with a hint of jealousy.
“An informant working with us on a case,” I said.
“Informant?” she said in a doubtful tone.
“Teagan, this is Daphne. Daphne, Teagan.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Daphne said.
The two shook hands.
After looking over the menu, I ordered the steak burrito with black beans, and Jack went with the grilled shrimp. Daphne ordered a cheeseburger.
“If you give me a phone, I’ll give Rick a call and try to get a message to Dane.”
I pulled her burner from my pocket and handed it to her.
She called the Dutchman and talked to the bartender. “I need to talk to Dane. If you see him, tell him to call me at this number. I want to let bygones be bygones and give him his cut of the score. Then we can all go our separate ways.”
She handed the phone back to me when she was done.
With full bellies, we headed over to the warehouse district for band practice.
The miscreants drooled over Daphne. She ate it up, flirting with the boys.
Dizzy, Crash, and Styxx had the same reaction when we stepped into the practice studio.
“Put your tongues back in your mouths, boys,” JD said.
Introductions were made.
“Where’d you find her?” Crash muttered in my ear.
“Prison.”
“Oh. Right on,” he said with a lecherous grin.
We jammed with the guys, and I think Wild Fury acquired a new fan. Daphne cheered and howled after every song. She knew how to make people feel good.
After practice, Jack wanted to hit Oyster Avenue to unwind.
He rode with the guys, and I drove Daphne back to the Avventura.
I didn’t want to keep track of her in a crowd and didn’t think it would be good to be seen around town with the fugitive.
I didn’t want anything to derail our sting operation.
At the boat, I took a minute to relax. I planned on crashing the party when Kenzie delivered Levi’s share of the score.
But she hadn’t left the hotel with any cash.
She wouldn’t have left the book in Devon‘s hands without some form of payment.
I was convinced she was paid in crypto. If that were the case, there was no way she could get cash together by midnight.
That kind of cash is hard to come by, even legitimately.
Maybe she didn’t plan on showing up. But Levi wasn’t the kind of guy to just let it go. He was going to get his money, one way or the other.
I ordered in a late dinner from Diver Down, and Teagan sent a runner to deliver it. Daphne and I ate on the sky deck underneath the stars.
“You mind if I make myself a drink?” Daphne asked.
“One,” I said.
“You want one?” she asked, moving to the bar.
“No. I need to stay clear-headed. It could be a long night.”
She made herself a martini, then rejoined me at the table. “You need to loosen up. Do you guys ever take a break?”
“Here and there.”
She sipped the martini, set the glass down, then moved behind me and started massaging my neck and shoulders.
I’m not going to lie. It felt good.
"How about we get in the Jacuzzi and melt away some of that stress?"