CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Andrew stared at the man across from him with a little unease.
It was the biggest mistake he had made to come here. What were the guarantees that the man wouldn’t trade him in? He could’ve called Mike the moment Andrew had made an appointment with him. He swallowed the bile that threatened to escape and glanced around. It was him who he chosen the place to meet. It wasn’t ideal and far from his comfort zone, but it was necessary.
“I haven’t got all day, Andrew,” the man muttered. “If it wasn’t for the fact that you have something I want, I wouldn’t be here right now. Let’s get to the point, shall we?”
Andrew nodded and then swallowed. He pulled the folder from inside his jacket and dropped it on the coffee table. The man stared at it for a few seconds before reaching forward to pick it up. His eyes shot up to Andrew in surprise. After a full minute of staring at him, he lowered his head to read through the rest of the papers.
“I have a lot more,” Andrew said softly.
Detective Parker slowly closed the file and threw it back onto the table. He leaned back in the chair and lit a cigarette. After taking a few drags, he raised his eyes to Andrew. “What do you want?”
“I want you to place me and my daughter in protective custody. In return I will give you enough evidence to put Mike Williams behind bars for life.”
“Is that so?” Parker leaned forward and tapped a finger against the file. “How do I know that this isn’t the only evidence you have against him?”
“Trust me,” Andrew said softly, “I have a lot more. Files like that, USB-drives, disk . . .witnesses. Once my daughter and I are in protective custody, I will cooperate by giving you all the evidence I have against him.”
Andrew kept his gaze locked with Parker’s even thought the man was intimidating. He had nothing left to lose. Mike Williams was a well-known criminal. The cops had already arrested him numerous times, but the man kept escaping from their clutches. Usually the evidence they had against him disappeared, but not this time. Andrew had made enough copies of all the incriminating evidence he had collected over the last few years.
When Andrew had created his plan, he knew he had to find a way to keep Mike killing him. For five years he had managed to steal a certain amount of money from the made and the end of each month. It was easy to cover his tracks since Mike never looked into his accounts. But it had all gone to hell when Mike suddenly hired a new accountant. What happened to the other man, Andrew had no clue, but he could guess what had happened to the poor man.
“Do we have a deal?” he asked Detective Parker.
The man in question gave him a small smile. “I’ll have to talk with my boss. I need to take the file with me to show him that you really do have evidence.”
Andrew nodded. He had made several copies of the file before the detective arrived. The others were safely stashed with the other evidence.
“Of course, we will have to find your daughter first.”
“What happened to my daughter?” he yelled.
Had Mike kidnapped her? What happened to the man he had hired to protect his daughter? Alan had assured him that Vlad was the best man for the job. Had he lied? Was Vlad maybe working for Mike? Had Mike discovered that his money was being stolen before he called Andrew in for questioning?
“Your daughter and Vlad De Luca disappeared about two weeks ago. I’m not certain of the exact date. Do you know this man, Andrew?”
Andrew nodded. He ran a hand down his face and sucked in a deep breath. “I had hired him to protect her when I started getting threats.”
“It’s believed that Vlad is working with Mike.” He shifted in the chair. “Since you have gone into hiding, we’re unsure if Mike has tried to contact you by threatening your daughter. We’ve had no word from him so it’s safe to assume that he might have killed your daughter.”
Andrew paled. The thought of his daughter somewhere dead made his stomach roll. He stared at the man across from him for a few seconds before dropping his gaze. Detective Parker was an honest man, he wouldn’t lie about something so serious, right? Andrew was sure that his daughter was alive and safe somewhere with the bodyguard he had hired. But what if the man really worked for Mike?
“I’m still happy to make this deal with you, Andrew,” Parker said. “All you have to do is tell me where the rest of the evidence is.”
Andrew shook his head and licked his dry lips. “I’ll tell you everything once I’m in protective custody.”
Parker pursed his lips but then gave him a nod. He stood and bent to pick up the file which he tugged inside his jacket. “I’ll talk to my boss. Once he gives me the go, I’ll contact you.”
“Thank you,” Andrew muttered as he stood. “Let me know if you hear anything about my daughter.”
“Of course.”
Andrew watched the man leave with a heavy heart. Cora and he have never been close but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t love her. He did everything he could to make up for the loss of her mother. Maybe he should’ve done things differently, but then again if Cora found out what he has been doing, she would definitely hate him. If it wasn’t for her mother robbing him blind, he would never have considered stealing from Mike.
Parker climbed into his car and slammed the door shut. His eyes darted around to make sure that no one was watching him. Reaching inside his jacket, he pulled the file out and read through it again. Andrew had to have spent years collecting these kind of information on the man. The file would definitely send in to jail for at least five years, but with the other evidence Andrew was talking about, Mike would never see daylight again. His lips curled up into a small smile. If he wasn’t so dependent on the money Mike paid him to keep him out of jail, he would definitely hand Mike over himself.
Parker sighed and slammed the file shut. Throwing it onto the seat, he pulled out his phone and dialed Mike’s office number. His secretary answered on the second ring just like she had been trained to do. He demanded to speak to Mike but was informed that the man was in a very important meeting.
“When will he be available?”
“His meetings end at two but then he’s leaving the office for lunch,” she informed him. “Shall I make a lunch appointment for you, sir?”
Parker hesitated and then answered her. “Yes. Let me know what restaurant and the time.”
“Of course Mr. . .?”
“Parker.”
“Of course Mr. Parker."
He ended the call and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. Parker pushed the key into the ignition and started the car. He pulled out of the parking space and headed towards town. He needed to be at the station for a meeting the Chief had called. His mind wondered as he drove. He had lied about Andrew’s daughter being dead.
Maybe Andrew would get in touch with her and draw them out. If he could get his hands on Cora Weber, it would be easier to draw Andrew from his hiding place and silence him once and for all. With Andrew out of the picture his job would be a lot easier.
Parker smiled as he slowed the car to a stop. He was climbing the ladder. If he could arrest Mike and get him behind bars, he would be given his own office, maybe he would he promoted to Chief once the old man retires. He had big dreams, but he needed to get his priorities straight. What side was he on? The law of the side of a criminal?
If he gets promoted his salary would increase, but the money was nothing compare to the thousands of dollars Mike paid him to make the evidence disappear. Parker glanced down at his watch. He had about four hours to make up his mind and decided whose side he was on. One way or another he needed to think about his family. Parker still had thousands of dollars of medical bills that needed to be paid, not to mention the mortgage and all the other bills.
He slowed the car to a stop at the stop sign. Closing his eyes, he sucked in a deep breath and slowly blew it out. When he opened his eyes, they darted over to the file on the seat. The evidence was there but it didn’t make his choice any easier. It was a hard decision and one he needed to be absolutely certain about.