The Fall of East: Book 3 in the Hear No Evil Trilogy by Malone, Nana (ebook reader with internet browser .txt) 📗

I caught Bridge's gaze in my periphery, and I turned to him as he said, "Don't do that thing where you're second-guessing yourself. How were you supposed to know?"

He saw too much. "It's kind of my job. Criminals and all that."

He shrugged. "You never really know someone. I bet you anything something told you she was off, right?"

I shrugged. "Yes, but I ignored it."

Amelia strolled in the room holding her martini. "I keep telling her not to beat herself up. I missed it too."

I shook my head. "We all missed it. And if we missed it, how can we hold Denning responsible?"

East kissed my neck. "We hold Denning responsible because he was engaged to her. He was the one sharing intel. She just ingratiated herself on you for girl time. Sure, she was trying to pump you for information, but all of you are more careful than that."

Amelia took a seat next to Telly. "Yeah, we kind of have to be because of all the shit we get up to."

Telly grinned. "The only reason Carmen's not here is that she can't keep a secret for anything. So I go home and just tell her we did clandestine things, and she nods and smiles, knowing full well I can't tell her."

Ben gently picked up Livy off his lap and set her to the side as he went to the kitchen to make a drink. When he came back with a tray of drinks for the two of them and snacks for the rest of us, he set them down on the coffee table and glanced at me. "So where does this leave us? We know Hazel, or not Hazel in this case, is part of the forgery crew that you've been looking for, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. The Wilsons."

He nodded. "Okay, so she's part of the Wilson crew. The question is, does she relate to Theroux at all?"

I frowned and chewed my bottom lip. "I don't think so. But she's definitely related to Garrett Jameson in some way. I just don’t know how."

Ben sighed. "All right, so what do you know?"

East shifted me so I was more settled against his side rather than on top of him. "All right, we know that Krista has a connection to Garreth Jameson. We know that he's related to the forgery crew somehow. They were all sanctioned when they were in art school, but Garreth’s punishment was less severe. Marc Wilson was kicked out though. If the Wilsons have the connections we think they do, we at least need to entertain that Hazel does know Theroux or at least knows of him. The next time Theroux checks in, we can put feelers out there."

Ben nodded as he straightened and then joined Livy back on the couch. "All right so, where does that put us on the Henry Warlow front? Does he know what his son has been up to?"

I spoke up then. "Maybe, but maybe not. The only other lead I have is Leah Braddock. Except we don't have much on her. She vanished when she was supposed to go to America. We show customs stamping her out, but she never made it into the US. We don't know what happened to her."

Amelia frowned. "Wait, she just vanished? She can't vanish. Where would she go?"

Bridge shrugged. "Well, I imagine she had a layover somewhere, and there was someone waiting there for her with a new passport and a Schengen visa in it. She could go anywhere and not get the passport stamped, so she might have stayed in Europe."

I sighed. I hadn't thought of that. "Okay, so maybe Leah Braddock is still in play. If so, we can look for her. But without her passport or knowing what new identity she assumed, we've got nothing."

Bridge rubbed the back of his neck. "Right, okay, so no Leah Braddock."

Emma let herself in to Ben and Livy's with a flourish. She wore black leather pants and a crop-top black sweater that looked soft and fuzzy. Her dark inky hair moved down her back and over her shoulders. Her lips were a nude color, but her eyes were smoky and seductive. We all stared.

She grinned. "All right mates? What are we talking about?"

Drew raised his glass. "We're talking about how we don't have a bloody thing."

I laughed. "We can't tie anybody to anything. But we can find out about the relationship between Leah, Warlow, and Theroux. There's got to be more history there."

Amelia shook her head. "Leah Braddock was never arrested. Even as an informant she was off book, because we can't find paperwork for her. Just a photo and her statements. But there is no actual paperwork making her an official confidential informant, so there are no records of her home, family, or background. Honestly, I don't know what your dad was even thinking."

I sighed. "And then we've got Marcus Van Linsted vouching for Henry Warlow as Walter Jameson. Why though? Did he know Warlow planned to assume his identity, and if so, why would he help him?"

East shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not, and we’ll likely never know because talking to Van Linsted, that's a nonstarter."

Amelia nodded. "He's in maximum security. We need a reason to get in there to talk to him."

I sighed. "Yeah, I know. So we still have a bunch of what-ifs. But one person we do have access to, or will rather, is Hazel."

East shook his head. "You mean not Hazel?"

Livy cleared her throat. "You can call her by her real name, Krista."

I wrinkled my nose. "Eh, I don't think I like Krista as a name."

Livy laughed. "What, is that a new game now? Rename the super villain?"

I laughed too. "It should be."

Drew leaned forward and grabbed for a piece of Manchego cheese. "Right, so we can't find Leah Braddock, we don't have a clue who else knows there was a switch made on that