Thorne gave him a single nod and walked out, tucking Gwyn’s arm through his, keeping his steps slow so that she didn’t have to run to keep up. But they paused to listen when JD stopped in the doorway and handed Nystrom another card.
‘I’m not here in an official capacity,’ JD said quietly, ‘but my boss said to give you his card. If you need help or think of anything that could be helpful, please call him. It’s Lieutenant Hyatt. Two Ts.’
Nystrom’s eyes narrowed to slits. ‘Tell your boss that I don’t need his fucking help.’
‘He figured you’d say that,’ JD said companionably. ‘He asked me to tell you that he’s got eyes on you, and for you not to wait until it’s too late to call him. Your buddy was rotting by the time we found him.’ He smiled. ‘Have a nice day.’
He left the building and walked to where they’d parked the SUVs, leaving Gwyn and Thorne to follow in stunned silence.
‘What was that?’ Thorne exploded once they were at the vehicles.
‘Did Hyatt really say all that?’ Gwyn demanded.
‘He did. He’d checked into Nystrom for me. Couldn’t give me details, as the IA investigations are sealed, but he got enough dirt on the down-low to know Nystrom was going to be a problem. After Hinman was found last night, he told me to give Nystrom his personal message.’
‘Huh.’ It was all Gwyn could think to say. Maybe Hyatt wasn’t quite so bad. At least he was aiming his grandstanding at someone who deserved it this time.
‘Where to next?’ JD asked cheerfully.
‘You enjoyed that way too much,’ Thorne grumbled. ‘But I did too. We need to meet with Ming and Mowry to discuss the club. We’ve got employees who need to work.’
‘Maybe we can call for food delivery,’ JD suggested. ‘If we’ve hit a lull, we should eat. I don’t want a repeat of yesterday. I was hungry enough to eat the pizza and the boxes.’ He left them and got into his SUV.
Gwyn swung herself up into her own seat, then threw Thorne a sultry look when he slid behind the wheel. ‘I can think of a lot of other ways to spend the time,’ she said.
Thorne choked out a laugh. ‘You’re a tease.’
She sniffed, pretending to be offended. ‘I’m only a tease if I don’t deliver.’
Thorne put the SUV in gear. ‘We’ll make it a fast meeting.’
Baltimore, Maryland,
Wednesday 15 June, 12.00 P.M.
Mowry was packed. Like, packed to move. Thorne frowned when he, Gwyn and JD entered his manager’s small apartment and saw boxes stacked against the wall. Some were labeled with rooms – kitchen, bedroom, bath – but some had names. He saw his name, Gwyn’s and Ming’s written in Mowry’s distinct handwriting.
‘Where do you want this?’ Thorne asked, lifting the takeout bags he’d picked up at the Ethiopian place they all liked. ‘And what’s with the boxes?’
Mowry closed the door behind them and gave JD a slightly irritated glare. ‘I’ll tell you later, Thorne. Put the food on the table. Ming’s getting plates.’
JD put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. ‘I can wait outside if you’ve got confidential business.’
Mowry shook his head. ‘No, it’s okay. Come in and eat. You’ll hear what I have to say soon enough anyway. I’ll tell these two, they’ll tell Lucy, then she’ll tell you. I might as well cut out the middleman.’
Thorne exchanged a glance with Gwyn, who looked as worried as he felt.
‘Hey, boss,’ Ming said when they got to the table. ‘And hey to you too, Thorne.’
‘No respect,’ Thorne complained without heat, bumping Ming’s fist when he held it out. The guy was every bit as big as Thorne. Maybe bigger. Ming was Samoan, his skin a shade more bronze than Thorne’s. Their size, similar ethnicity, and love of rugby had drawn them together years ago.
Gwyn drew Ming down to kiss his cheek, her smile strained. ‘So, you guys were okay yesterday. Pissed off, but okay. What’s happened since?’
‘Sit.’ Mowry took the chair at the head of the table. ‘Let’s take care of the easy stuff first. Ming and I went over the books.’
Ming snorted. ‘That wasn’t the easy part.’
Mowry handed him a styrofoam box. ‘Eat. I meant the easy part of the books. You know, the good news.’ He said the word sarcastically as he opened his own meal. ‘The part where we get to tell them we can only stay closed for another week before we run through our cash reserves. And that doesn’t count paychecks. The liquor distributor is already demanding his money. It’s not due until next week, but he’s afraid the cops will seize our assets.’ He shoved a bite of flatbread-wrapped beef into his mouth.
Gwyn’s eyes flittered closed for a few seconds. ‘That’s the good news?’
Mowry swallowed, nodding. ‘Yep.’
Thorne frowned. ‘We should have more cash than that.’ He’d been ready to front the paychecks, but he’d thought they’d be okay for longer than a week.
‘Part of the bad news,’ Ming said quietly. ‘About half the reserves have been siphoned off, all within the last two weeks.’ He glanced at Mowry. ‘The money had been funneled to petty cash and withdrawn.’
Gwyn closed her eyes again, shaking her head. ‘Fuck.’
‘Why fuck?’ JD asked.
‘Because Mowry handles petty cash,’ Thorne said grimly.
‘And because,’ Mowry added, his stress clear in his tone, ‘Mowry has been paying a member of the Circus Freaks gang for information about his band of brothers.’
‘Which is how we knew who to kick out Sunday night,’ Ming finished. ‘But it makes it look like Mowry has been stealing from the club.’
‘We know you haven’t,’ Thorne murmured. ‘Is that why you’re packed to run?’
Mowry cast another furtive look at JD, then sighed. ‘Shit. Look, as soon as I got arrested, I knew I was going to have to leave.’
‘Because of who you were before you came to Sheidalin,’ JD said levelly, rolling his eyes when Mowry’s own eyes popped wide with shock. ‘Did you think I didn’t check on you, Sheldon? On any of you who came in contact with Lucy, who got close enough to hurt her? After what we went through with Ev—’ He cut himself off. ‘Sorry, Gwyn.’
‘It’s okay,’ she said, but her cheeks bore the dark flush of embarrassment. ‘Did you know about me? About what Evan did?’
Ming tensed, and on a man that large it was a terrifying sight. ‘What did he do?’
Thorne gave him a slight shake of his head. ‘Later, man.’
Ming nodded, looking unhappy.
JD’s nod was even less happy. ‘I knew what you’d told them at the hospital and I knew that they did a kit anyway. I almost asked you about it, but it was your business. Your story to tell. I didn’t even tell Lucy.’ He winced. ‘She told me last night and she knew I wasn’t surprised. I can’t ever get anything past her. She gave me shit for not telling her, I’ll have you know.’
Thorne was torn between respect for the cop and the desire to tear JD’s arms off and beat him with them. He’d known. For four fucking years. He’d watched Gwyn stumble through her life like a zombie and he’d said nothing. I could have done something. I could have helped her.
He looked up when he felt Gwyn squeezing the hand he hadn’t realized he’d clenched into a fist. ‘It wouldn’t have mattered,’ she whispered, once again seeming to read his thoughts. ‘I wasn’t ready to deal with it yet. I had to do it on my own. So it turned out okay. Let it go, Thorne.’
Gritting his teeth, he nodded. ‘Okay. So you checked up on all of us, JD? Even me?’
JD met his eyes directly. Unapologetically. ‘Yes.’
And Thorne had to admit he would have done the same. But this wasn’t about him or Gwyn or even Evan. It was about Mowry, who looked ready to flee at any moment. ‘What did you find on Mowry?’