Arlo tensed. “What did you say?”
“I mentioned what Josh did to a dude I knew. I think he told Allen, or told one of Allen’s crew. Allen had lost his source and needed a new one, fast. Product is key for him. Josh was in a position to provide. And if someone took a picture of Josh behaving badly and threatened to show the school and Aubrey, I imagine he’d do most anything to keep that from happening.”
“Blackmail,” Aubrey said.
Arlo wiped his mouth. “Let me make sure I’m understanding you two. You’re saying Josh was being blackmailed into running prescription drugs out of the Vanderbilt pharmacy?”
Aubrey asked, “There’s only one other scenario that plausible. Could Josh have been undercover, working with the police?”
Arlo shook his head. “Possible, but very doubtful. First off, it would be in the records. And Allen would have known. By all accounts, Allen had a nose for cops. Could always spot one a mile away. And his crew operated in secrecy. When Allen went to jail, they scattered. No one has any idea who was involved with him. The guy was a ghost. I really don’t like this, Aubrey. We need to talk to Metro. They need to know what’s happening. This is the first solid lead in five years, they’re going to want to pursue it.”
“No, no way. No cops. Please, Arlo. I can’t run the risk of them deciding I knew about this all along and tossing me back in jail.”
“I can protect you, Aubrey. I’m with the DA’s office now. I promise they won’t touch you.”
She shook her head. “No cops. Not yet, anyway. You’re an investigator, Arlo. Investigate.”
“Aubrey, I’m an officer of the court. You’ve presented me with credible evidence of a conspiracy, blackmail, a possible murder, not to mention giving me some hope that we might, at long last, solve Josh’s case. If he was involved with Derek Allen and his people, one of them might know where Josh’s body is. I can’t sit on this.”
“A day. That’s all I’m asking.”
“Why do you think a day will help? What are you going to do?”
“Go through all of Josh’s things, see if I can find a connection between him and this Allen character. I have the keys to Daisy’s house. She has all his old boxes. I never really looked before. I didn’t know exactly what to look for.”
“Aubrey—”
“Arlo. Please. Let me try to put things right. You have so much to look into, it’s not like you can get warrants and all that together today anyway. It’s kept for five years. Another day won’t matter.”
Arlo glanced from her to Tyler, who nodded.
He threw up his hands. “Okay. One day. But I’m going to look into every detail here. And tomorrow morning, Aubrey, I’m going to pick you up, and we’re going to talk to Metro homicide. You hear me?”
“That’s a deal. Thank you, Arlo.”
He polished off the last of his sandwich. “Don’t make me regret this, Aubrey.”
He gave her a hug, shook Tyler’s hand, and left.
Aubrey let out a long breath, slumped in her chair. “God. This is unreal.”
“You said it, sister. Arlo’s a good guy. He’ll keep his word.”
“And Chase? What am I supposed to do about him? He’s going to be here any minute. Should I call and cancel?”
“No. I wanna meet him.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Tyler.”
Tyler stood up from the table. His simple presence was enough to remind her she had no real recourse; he’d get what he wanted regardless. But that didn’t mean she had to let up without a fight.
“Really, Tyler. Come on. I don’t want him to get rolled into this.”
“That’s why I need to meet him. I’ll be able to size him up. I don’t trust anyone right now, sis. There’s too much at stake. This Chase guy appears just as all this is going down? You have to—”
Aubrey stepped right into Tyler’s space, surprising him enough that he took a step backward.
“Leave Chase out of this, Tyler.”
“You’ve got feelings for this man, Aubrey. I get that.”
“I don’t. I . . .”
That was a lie. She did. And Tyler knew it. He smiled at her, the leer unmistakable.
“Like I was saying, you like this man. I need to make sure he’s not playing you for all you’re worth. Literally. You come into a lot of money tomorrow. It’s possible he’s sniffing around, just like Allen. I want to protect you from getting hurt.”
“Like you did with Josh,” she mumbled.
“Well, maybe I didn’t do such a good job with him at the end. But whose fault was that? I told you for years he wasn’t the knight in shining armor you thought he was.” She started to snap at him, but he held up a hand to silence her. “Josh was the one person you always kept the blinders on for. What about that chick you saw him with?”
A spike went through her heart. “She was just a classmate.”