CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
couldn't shake the feeling that Dax knew who the fax had come from, and that he was going to do something dangerous in retaliation. He hadn't said anything specific, but I just had a gut feeling. And, watching him walk out the door of the diner made me feel both worried and aroused. I couldn't help but admire his muscular body and remember the things that he'd done to me and with me last night.
I shivered as I remembered how it felt being pressed against his chest as we rode the wave of need and desire together. I shook my head to clear it, knowing that if I got lost in my fantasy, I'd never figure out a way to keep Dax out of prison.
Something fishy was going on, and I needed to get back to the office to talk with Jordie. I grabbed my purse and hailed a cab to take me back to the firm.
When I walked through the door, I knew something was wrong. The front desk was empty. It was twelve-twenty and I knew that Alma always took her lunch at one on the dot, so she had to be in the ladies’ room or in back making a fresh pot of coffee for the guys.
"Alma?" I called as I walked down the hall. I started to worry when I got no response. "Alma? Are you back there?"
The office was silent. I peeked into Roger's office, but it was empty. I walked down the hall, starting to feel the beginning of panic welling up inside me.
"Jordie?" I called. "Alma? Jordie? Are you here?"
"Hey, Brooke," Jordie said as he came striding down the hall. "I don't know if you know what's going on around here, but Alma was pretty upset by a fax that arrived earlier. So I sent her home for the day."
"Wait, what?" I said. "You know about the fax?"
"Yeah, Alma showed me, and I talked about it with Roger before he headed out to the marina," Jordie said. "We're not sure it's safe for you to be here right now."
"That's silly," I replied. "I'm working on a case. I can't be scared away from the office by a child's drawing and a vague threat."
"Brooke, someone has it in for Dax Malone," he said with a serious look. "His former lawyer is dead and now you're getting faxes that say you're next? That's not good, my friend."
"Jordie, there is something incredibly weird going on around here," I said as I turned and faced him. "We need to talk about why Dax is being accused of a murder he didn't commit and why this whole case is spinning out of control. Why on earth would Dax want to murder Lydia Banks?"
"Jesus, you haven't heard, have you?" Jordie said shaking his head. "Brooke, you might want to sit down."
"I'm not a fragile daisy, Jordie," I said waving a hand at him as I grew irritated. "Just tell me what the hell is going on."
"Okay, well, don't say I didn't warn you," Jordie took a deep breath and began. "Dax Malone is a drug kingpin in LA. He uses the club as his front to cover the drug running he does, and he sells the drugs out of the club to the members who have passed the vetting process."
"Huh, really?" I said utterly unsurprised, since Dax had just spent the past hour filling me in on all the details surrounding his business.
"You don't seem surprised," he said in a disappointed voice.
"I'm not because I already knew it," I said. "Now, what I'm concerned with is why Lydia Banks was offed and who is trying to frame Dax for the murder."
"How do you propose we figure that out?" he asked.
"I don't know, but Roger went to the marina to check it out, so there's that," I said. Then, I remembered the stack of papers on my desk and turned to go get them so I could show Jordie. "And, there's something else I want to show you."
"What's that?" he asked.
"Do you know anything about a deal we did with Banks and Associates last year?" I asked as I searched through the stacks of paperwork on my desk. "It would have been around the time Jake left me, so I was pretty useless then. But do you remember you and Roger doing any deals with them?"
"No, I don't remember anything like that," he said. "Do you remember what it was for?"
"Some kind of land contract for property near Skid Row," I said as I continued searching. I knew I'd left the paperwork on my desk earlier, but now it was missing. Maybe I'd stuck it my briefcase along with the files I wanted to discuss with Dax. I checked and when I didn't find them, I started feeling concerned. Had someone taken them?
"Huh, no I don't remember anything like that," he said as he watched me. "Did you ask Roger?"
"No, he was gone by the time I remembered I had the papers," I said, feeling bad for lying to Jordie about our friend. I had a weird feeling about Roger, and at the moment, I wasn't sure what side he was on. I knew that Roger was always on Roger's side, but this time there seemed to be more than just his side and our side. I couldn't put my finger on the source of my unease, but I knew better than to draw Jordie into the middle of it without proof. Not only would it destroy the firm, it would drive a wedge through our friendship and maybe for no reason at all. "I can't find the papers, maybe Alma filed them."
"Alright, well, if you find them let me know," he said. "Meanwhile, I'm going to go back to looking over the footage of Lydia's last week at her firm. I'm wondering if she had any visitors that might lead us to an explanation for why she disappeared."
"Good thinking," I said as I sat down and tried to think out my next move. If the papers had been taken, then there was someone who had access to our offices and we weren't safe from spying eyes. "Hey, Jordie, it might sound weird for me to say this, but make sure you lock up all the files on this case before you leave your office, okay?"
"Uh, okay," he shrugged. "You think we have a spy amongst us?"
"No, not so much amongst us as just watching us and rifling through our stuff," I said. "Just to be on the safe side."
"Sure thing, Brooke," he said with a sideways glance at me. "You sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine, but this case is getting weirder by the hour," I said as I turned back to my computer and began punching the keyboard in search of something that I wasn't sure actually existed.