Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
I found myself nodding along with Milton. Having Aiden for an enemy was a death sentence. Milton was no dummy.
“Hey, I didn't do anything wrong,” he said.
“Actually, you did,” Aiden returned. “According to the emails that also went to an address I haven’t yet identified, you sent records that you shouldn’t have had access to. I’m sure you know how to get around a few of the firewalls given how long you’ve worked at the Legal Center and School, but this involved a case years ago. And we’re talking about missiles.”
Milton audibly gulped. “But…”
Aiden cut him off. “Not only that, these weapons have supposedly made their way into the United States. If you obstruct justice here, I have to wonder, are you a part of this? Are you planning a terrorist attack on the United States?”
Milton looked like he was about to faint. He turned the color of mushy chalk and gagged. I reared back out of instinct, but Aiden didn’t move.
“I don't know anything about missiles or an attack on the U.S.,” Milton gasped, his arms dropping. “Honest. I’d never do anything like that.”
“Then I strongly suggest you help me,” Aiden said, his voice no longer even remotely nice.
Milton wiped off his brow. “Okay. Okay, I will. It was just a favor for a buddy. I mean, we knew each other in high school, and he contacted me asking if I knew anything about a Nick Basanelli, who used to be a JAG officer. Said it’d be a great help if he could know about a few of Basanelli’s cases. Just a couple of details. That’s all, I swear. That’s all.”
“Did you ask him why he wanted to know?”
“No. I mean, he just kind of hinted that he was playing a practical joke and maybe he... I don’t know. They were buddies. I thought he was playing a practical joke. Yeah, that’s it.”
Milton had apparently decided upon his avenue of response.
Aiden tapped his pen on the file folder, somehow making even that sound intimidating. “Why the focus on the missile case?”
“Something about them never being found caught my friend’s attention. So, I dug up all the info I could.”
Aiden shook his head. “You should’ve known better than to discuss missiles with anybody, and I’m quickly losing the desire to help you out. I want the truth, and I want it now. What’s his name?”
“You have to keep me out of it, man. You have to promise me.”
“I'm not promising you a damn thing,” Aiden said. “Cooperate now, and at the most, you'll probably just get fired from your job. It’s not up to me whether you get charged with anything by the Navy for looking at records and passing them on when you shouldn’t have. That’s not my purview. I’m with the ATF. But I will let everybody know you cooperated fully, and I imagine getting fired will be the worst of your days. Maybe some community service.”
Milton was obviously trying to hold on to his one piece of leverage, but it was a losing battle. “You’ll really go to bat for me?”
“Yeah, I'll tell the truth. How about you do that now?”
“Fine,” Milton said. “He was just a friend from high school, and I wanted to help him out. His name is Saul Nelson.”
Holy crap. It was the same guy who had been trying to blackmail Violet.
We had to find him. Now.
Chapter 29
I turned the seat heaters on extra high as Aiden and I drove away from his office. “What are you going to do with Milton?” I asked.
“We’ll turn him over to NCIS.” Aiden slowed to turn onto the main lake road. More snow had fallen, and a layer of ice still covered the asphalt beneath the new powder.
“Do you think he’ll get in a lot of trouble?”
“Not really. I’ll send a recommendation that he not, but he needs to be fired.”
I put my elbow on the door by the window and rested my cheek on it. My stitches protested but didn’t pull out. “I can’t quite connect the dots here. Why would one of the Cupids have dug up information about Nick just to mess with him for a while?”
Aiden shook his head. “I don’t know. This happened right after that first robbery.”
“You think Nick somehow identified one of the robbers? Like maybe he knew him and just didn’t put it together?” That seemed weak to me. “I think it’s more likely that it has to do with the murder charge. I mean, the more Nick gets bombarded at one time, the less time he has to devote to defending himself. Plus, well, there’s a lot of bad press. Maybe that’s it,” I murmured. “Maybe somebody wants him to look bad.”
“Who do you think wants his job?” Aiden asked.
Excellent question. “I assume anybody in the prosecuting attorney’s office right now. I’ve never liked that Orrin.” Orrin ganged up on Violet previously, which is why I had initially jumped into the case. “Or,” I mused, “it has to do with the murder charge. Maybe the real murderer wants Nick and everybody else preoccupied with other matters.”