“Witnesses can be unreliable. Although that is strange that kidnappers themselves couldn’t recall anything. Could it be possible head injuries caused them to have different stories?”
“Some. But all?” she reasoned. “And well, because of that, I started digging into Anderson and Fenrir Corp. At all cases somehow connected to them over the years. Some of it was inconsequential really, though a few stood out. For example, have you heard of the Fenrir building explosion from a couple decades ago?”
“Of course,” he said. “I was a beat cop then. Everyone heard about that accident. An entire floor of the building blew up, right? Everyone thought it was a terror attack.” His brows drew together.
“Yes, sir. No one recalls anything, and the whole thing was chalked up to a leaky gas pipe.”
“It happens, I suppose.” His gaze narrowed at her. “What else?”
“There was also a case a few years ago at a bar in the Village. Someone reported an explosion of some kind. When the fire department got there, the bar was perfectly fine, except that everyone inside was unconscious. They all woke up on their own, but no one could remember what happened. The fire department concluded it was probably a gas leak. No one was charged.”
“If no one was hurt, that makes sense. What’s the connection to Fenrir?”
“Well, it’s not a solid connection, but the bar was partly-owned by Gunnar Jonasson, whose mother works for Fenrir.” Her gut told her he was probably related to Daric Jonasson, though for some reason, she couldn’t find any info on the older man. He sounded foreign, so maybe that’s why he didn’t have any domestic records. But she would be keeping that to herself for now, as she didn’t want to reveal her visits to Blood Moon.
She continued. “The other owner is Sebastian Creed Jr., whose mother also works for Fenrir. His father, on the other hand, owns Creed Security.” The name popped up when, after an exhaustive search for anything connected to Fenrir or Grant Anderson, she started looking into Creed Security, the only other figure that was connected to the kidnapping, and that’s when the younger Creed’s name popped up.
“Sounds like a lot of leaky gas pipes and forgetful witnesses. Still, Detective, none of those prove any criminal activity. Or a direct connection to your victim. Did you find anything useful?”
She cleared her throat. “It’s not so much what I found as what I didn’t find.”
“What you didn’t find?” he echoed.
“Yes, sir.” Where to begin? From the beginning, she supposed. “I found another case that might be related. This one circles right back to Dixon. Or rather, the kids he tried to kidnap. The boy’s name only popped up one other time. He was seventeen, about to graduate from his prep school. A couple of students from his class had some party in a lake cabin upstate. Someone called 911 and the EMTs found two boys that were severely injured. Kevin Hall and Jeffrey Smith. Hall died later, but the other, Smith, he’s in a wheelchair.”
“And no one could remember anything?” It was a statement, not a question.
She nodded. “Over twenty kids and no one could recall what happened. In fact, the official police report from the local station seemed to have gotten lost.”
“Lost? Then how did you know about this incident?”
“The two boys’ parents filed a suit in civil court as soon as Anderson’s boy turned eighteen a few months after the incident. The suit alleges that he beat up the two other boys. He and one of the boys had fought over some girl at the party. Anyway, the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. I tried contacting the parents of both boys, but they refused to talk to me.”
“And the girl?”
“I’m still working on finding her contact info. It’s like she just disappeared off the face of the earth. I have a couple of guys working on it.” In the meantime, she’d tracked down the girl’s social media sites, and looking through them was one of the things on her growing to-do list.
“You’ve had all weekend to think about this.” The captain’s face turned grave. “So, what’s your hunch?”
“I can’t draw any final conclusions yet, sir. But you have to admit, it’s hard to put all these connections aside as a coincidence.”
“Fenrir is a big corporation,” he began. “They have hundreds of employees in New York, so it’s not impossible that their name could be connected to any number of incidents.”
“True. But what about the connection with Dixon?”
“What about it?” He narrowed his gaze at her. “You obviously have some theories about Dixon.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I think … well, this is just an early thought, but what if the son found out about Dixon getting out and decided to get some revenge?”
“Twenty years later?”
“We don’t know what happened during those twelve hours they were kidnapped, sir.” Her flesh crawled, thinking of the possibilities. Those men … at least one of them had a rap sheet that made her want to vomit. “And who knows if that car accident was a coincidence or something else.” If it had been one occurrence, she wouldn’t have thought anything of it. But after looking at all those cases, her instincts were telling her something was going on.
“And Anderson’s son?”
“If the accusations in the civil suit are true, then he has a history of violence. Maybe his father covered it up, and who knows what else over the years? It could be he found out about Dixon getting out and then decided that he could finally get revenge.” Mismatched blue and green eyes flashed in her mind. Had she been staring into the eyes of a killer?
Bushnell leaned back and folded his hands over his middle. “These are grave accusations, Detective.”
“I don’t have any solid evidence, sir. I’m just trying to connect the dots with what I do have.”
“Then maybe you need to get more evidence. Start from the beginning. With Dixon. And then if anything happens with the investigation …”
Bushnell’s keen eyes bore into her. It was as if some silent agreement passed between them, and she knew what he was trying to say. Keep looking into the Dixon murder and then see if Grant Anderson or anyone from Fenrir tried to interfere. “Of course, sir.” She stood up. “I’ll get to work.”
“Go see the son.”
She wasn’t sure she heard him right. “What?”
“Interview him. Shake him up. Ask him what he was doing the night of the murder. See if you can get a reaction.”
“I—” Fuck. “Isn’t it too soon? We don’t want to tip them off.”
“He’s your only suspect, right?”
“So far.”
“A solid alibi could eliminate him, then you can look at other possibilities.”
“And if he doesn’t have one?”
“Well, if your suspicions about his father are correct, then we’ll see for ourselves if they are tampering with witnesses.”
Shit. She couldn’t deny that was a good plan. The only plan she had right now. She just wished it didn’t involve having to confront him so soon. “All right.”
“And we’ll keep this between us for now. For now, he’s only a person of interest. Give him the old ‘we need to eliminate you from the suspect list’ chat.”
“Of course. I’ll get on it right away, sir.” She spun around and headed for the door. As soon as she was out, she let out a sigh of relief.
Bushnell believed her! Well, at least he knew there was something suspicious about all these connections.
And now the inevitable was here. When his name first popped up in that police report for Dixon, her instincts went ballistic. As she dug deeper, there was that sinking feeling in her stomach that she’d been trying to ignore. She hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but now it was here. She was going to have to face Lucas Anderson.
The Fenrir Corporation building on Madison Avenue was a prominent fixture on the Manhattan skyline. The onyx, obelisk-like building had been in the same spot for decades and was one of the tallest buildings in New York
. Sofia herself had been there a handful of times, as the lower floors were mostly retail shops, cafes, and restaurants. The upper floors, however, were restricted to Fenrir employees only, and as far as she could tell, was locked up tighter than Fort Knox.
“Did you have an appointment today, ma’am?” the stern-looking uniformed guard asked when she approached the security desk.
“No.” She held out her badge. “But I’m here on official business. I need to speak with Mr. Lucas Anderson.”
The guard’s body went rigid at the sight of her badge, but he straightened his shoulders. “I’m sorry, Detective, I’m going to have to call this in to my supervisor.”
“Go ahead.”
She watched the man as he got up from his desk and disappeared into a back room. Technically, Fenrir was a private building, and they didn’t have to let her in, at least not without a warrant. However, she had flashed her badge many times before, and nine times out of ten it was enough to scare anyone into letting her get away with almost anything. Based on her experience though, she knew there was small chance they’d let her in, at least not if the head of security was well-paid. Still, she had a few more tricks up her sleeve. Mentioning the word murder investigation, for example, could make most people cooperate.
A prickle went up the back of her neck. It was like someone was watching her. Glancing up, she saw the security camera overhead and knew that was true. But who could be watching her?
A few minutes later, the same security guard came out. Sofia was already preparing for a battle.
“Someone will be right down to escort you, Detective.”
That was quicker than she expected. “Escort me? Off the premises?”
The guard shook his head. “Uh, no, ma’am. You can’t just go to the executive floor without authorization, so someone’s coming down so you can access the elevators.”
“Huh.” She hoped she didn’t sound too surprised.
“Would you like—oh.” The guard nodded toward a man approaching them from behind the security gates. “Looks like your escort’s here.”
She turned her head toward the figure approaching her. The man was older, with white hair, and a tall and lean frame. The expression on his handsome face was curious. “You must be Detective Selinofoto.”
“I am,” she said with a flash of her badge. “And you are?”
“My name is Jared Patrick,” he said with a curt nod. “I’m the Head Executive Assistant of Fenrir Corporation. This way, please.” He pivoted on his heel and gestured for her to follow him.
“Mr. Patrick—”
“Jared.”
“What?”
He turned. “Just call me Jared. Everyone does.”
“Right. Jared.” She picked up her steps, trying to keep up with him. “Where are we going?”
“To the executive floor. Mr. Anderson said to bring you to his office.”
Her heart skipped at the name. He knew she was here. Did he realize who she was, that they had met before? Or did he want to meet her because she was with the NYPD? Not that it mattered now. She was about to see him again.
She followed Jared into the elevator, trying not to think about what would happen when they did meet face to face. He led her into the last set of elevators, all the way in the back of the lobby. Inside, there was no panel to indicate the floor, but, as soon as his palm planted on the wall, numbers lit up and he tapped on the P. Biometrics elevators. The security around here was top-notch.
The sleek, shiny elevator car began to move so smoothly, but for the fact of the story level announced on the panel, she wouldn’t have noticed it. The doors slid open moments later, and Jared lifted a palm, indicating that she should get out first.
As she glanced around, she couldn’t help but feel a little underdressed in her slacks and blouse. The office was plush and modern, all black and metal and shiny surfaces. There was a hushed silence as they walked down to the end of the hallway, in front of a set of large wooden doors. There was a table by the door, and a young man stood up as they approached.
“David,” Jared greeted.
“Mr. Anderson said to let her in as soon as she got here,” the young man said.
Jared turned to Sofia and nodded at the door. “Go ahead.”
“Thank you, Jared.”
“Most welcome, Detective.”
She stepped up to the front of the doors, then took a deep breath before taking hold of the handles. Now or never. She pushed the doors open and stepped in.
The inside of the office was even more intimidating than the outside. Of course, she hardly noticed it because her gaze immediately went to the man sitting at the large desk by the window. His head was bent, staring at something on the desk. Part of her was irritated that he didn’t even look up when she entered. He wasn’t alone either; there was a woman standing next to him, her head also bent down. She was the first to notice Sofia, her face lifting up to meet hers. Light amber eyes, the color of bourbon, clashed with hers, and she nudged the man next to her.
Sofia felt like her feet were suddenly encased in cement as those mismatched eyes met hers. One green, one blue. This was the third time she’d seen them, but it had the same damn effect on her. Despite her heart slamming into her chest, she pushed forward, walking closer to him.
“Detective.” His voice was like molten honey, warm and thick. This close, she could feel the full impact of him. His handsome maleness, from the arrogant slash of this eyebrows, down his patrician nose and high cheekbones, all the way to his sensuously molded mouth. It took all her strength to speak.
“Mr. Anderson.” She showed him her badge, holding it like a shield. “I’m Detective Selinofoto.”
His gaze never left hers. “So I was told. Please, have a seat.”
She couldn’t help but follow his instructions, annoyed with herself at how easily she obeyed. “Thank you for agreeing to see me. I’d like to ask you a few questions about an active case.” As she settled into the soft leather chair, she glanced at his companion. “Could we have a few minutes alone, please?”
“Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of Astrid.”
When she glanced up at the young woman, an ache in her chest bloomed. The woman next to him was gorgeous, and by the way she stood so close to him, she could only guess this was his lovely fiancée. She looked at Sofia curiously, though her amber gaze was intense. Perhaps they didn’t keep any secrets from each other. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is. Now, tell me what this is about.”
“Thomas Dixon.”
His gaze narrowed. “Should I know that name?”
“You should. He kidnapped you and your sister twenty years ago.”
If he was affected by the name, he didn’t show it. The man must have ice in his veins. “I don’t really concern myself with the past.”
“He was murdered a few nights ago,” she said. “Found in an alley, beaten to death.”
“And?” He leaned back in his chair. “Why don’t you cut to the chase and tell me why I should care?”
“Where were you last Thursday, between nine p.m. and midnight?”
“At home.”
She glanced at Astrid. “Where you with him?”
The young woman’s eyes went wide. “Excuse me?” Her head snapped to Lucas. “What’s going on?”
“I wish I knew.” He raised a brow at her. “No, Detective, I was alone.”
Fuck. If he had a solid alibi, she could be on her way. Part of her wanted that, so she could put this whole thing behind her. That and she’d never have to see him again. “That’s unfortunate.”
His eyes turned hard. “You think I murdered this man? What’s his name?”
“Thomas Dixon.”
“It seems to me that he’s already done his time. Why would I go after him, twenty years after he kidnapped us?”
There was no way she was going to tell him about everything she knew, of course. She was here to judge his reaction. “This is just
a preliminary, informational interview,” she said. “Just to narrow down the list of suspects. If you have someone who can confirm that you were at home, then I’ll be on my way.”
His voice turned frosty. “If I’m not a suspect, then I don’t owe you any explanation. I could refer you to my lawyer. I’m sure they could be persuasive.”
God, she hated it when these rich guys pulled that crap. He probably had the best lawyers in the city at his beck and call. “Do they persuade everyone on your behalf, Mr. Anderson? Like the witnesses that seem to forget about what they’ve seen whenever there’s a case involving your family or Fenrir?” Fuck. She didn’t mean to say those words, but they just came out.
The two dark slashes of his eyebrows drew together as his freezing gaze bore into her. The air in the room suddenly became thick, like his anger had somehow manifested, threatening to choke her. But she refused to back down. Cat’s out of the bag. If he was half as smart as she thought he was, he knew she had suspicions. Hopefully, this gamble would pay off.
Before Lucas could say anything, the door behind them opened. Astrid frowned, then suddenly, her face lit up. “Zac!” She stepped around the table and quickly strode toward the door.
The atmosphere went back to normal and Sofia glanced behind her at the newcomer. “Mr. Vrost?” What was he doing here? And why was Lucas Anderson’s fiancée wrapping her arms around—oh. Now they were kissing.
“Miss me, sweetheart?” Vrost said to Astrid.
“Always.” Her smile was wide, her eyes staring up at him as if he were the only person in the room.
Sofia glanced back at Lucas, as if asking for an explanation. He didn’t give any, but again his gaze never left her. His face was completely passive, but there was a burning hatred in his eyes. She had obviously gotten under this skin. Good.
Alpha Ascending Page 5
