CHAPTER SIXTY
" about Beck?" I asked as Dax brought the last of the dishes into the kitchen and set them in the sink. "Where is he?"
"I have no idea," he said as his shoulders sank a little. I could tell he was far more worried than he was letting on, but I also knew that sometimes in order to remain hopeful, a person had to shove worry to the side. For this reason, I didn't want to tell him about the phone call I'd received. If I told him, he'd get even more protective than he already was and I was afraid that if he did, then I wouldn’t be able to do my job well enough to keep him out of prison.
"Have you talked to his friends?" I said, steering my thoughts back to the issue of Beck's disappearance.
"He doesn't have any friends aside from me and Riza," Dax said. "He's a loner and a junkie."
"Where does he get his drugs?" I asked.
"That's what we've never been able to figure out," he replied. "I've had Ri following him for a long time, but she can't figure out where he hooks up with his connection."
"That's weird, it seems like that would be something easy to figure out," I mused.
"Don't go getting any ideas," he warned as he pulled me to him and ran his fingers through my hair. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling for a few moments before pulling back and reminding him that we had business to do.
"Dax, we need to figure out where Beck is before the killer does," I said.
"Don't remind me," he sighed. "I've got people out looking for him all over the city, but I have to be careful not to let word get out too far."
"Who would want to kill Lydia?" I said knowing that I'd started to sound like a broken record. "Wait, you said she had a new love interest, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, Captain Obvious, who was he? Maybe he's got information we could use," I teased.
"Very funny, I have no idea who she was seeing," he admitted. "She was pretty tight lipped about it."
"That's weird," I murmured thinking that I needed to ask Jordie and Roger if they'd heard any rumors about Lydia floating around the places they hung out.
"Brooke, I need to get back to the club," he said. "I've got business to take care of this evening. The police cleared us in the OD case, so we're opening as usual tonight for the weekly EDM DJ contest."
"Sounds like a blast," I said as I moved out of his arms and back toward the table.
"Aw, c'mon, it's fun!" he laughed. "You sound like my grandmother or something."
"Are you accusing me of being old?" I faked an indignant look and that made him laugh harder.
"No, I'm just saying, you should come by the club and check it out some night," he said.
"Alright, well, let me get back to the office and consult with the guys about how we're going to handle the case, and then I'll drop by the club," I said. "I want to see what you do for a living."
Dax shot me a "get real" look and then laughed as he grabbed me and kissed me deeply before heading toward the door.
"Be careful, Brooke," he said seriously.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll be fine," I laughed and waved him off. "I'll see you later tonight."
#
I got back to the office, I found Jordie at his desk, but no sign of Roger.
"Have you seen Roger this afternoon?" I asked as I moved a pile of papers off the one other chair in Jordie's office and sat down.
"No, come to think of it, I haven't heard from him since last night," Jordie replied. "Why? What's going on?"
"He said he was heading over to the marina to check things out," I said making a mental note to call the marina after we were through talking. "What have you got on Lydia?"
"Nothing earth shattering," he said. "She had just completed a deal that would have given her firm the backing it needed to move it into the realm of a legitimate law firm, so it looks like she was shedding her less savory clients at the time of her murder."
"That's interesting," I said not wanting to give away what I already knew. "Who were her clients? Besides Malone."
"It looks like she defended a few small time dealers on the Northside, but nothing that suggests she was in bed with the big players," Jordie sad. "Brooke, none of this makes any sense."
"I know, right?" I replied. "It's like someone wanted people to think that she was killed because of business, but then the business dealings don't seem to warrant that kind of violence or retaliation."
"Yeah, it's weird," he said. And then as an afterthought, he added, "Oh, I found the contract work that you were talking about."
"You did? Where?"
"It was in Roger's office in a stack of other contracts," he said. I didn't say anything about how he'd violated our agreement about none of us digging through the others' papers. "It looks like a standard contract drawn up at Lydia's request. Nothing fishy about it. She needed some outside legal work done and Roger did it."
"Huh, I wonder why he didn't tell us about it," I mused.
"This is the weird thing about it, though," Jordie said. "I looked up the billing for the contract he drew up, and it was billed and then paid at three times the normal hourly rate."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, that's what I said when I saw it," he nodded. "But there are no notes on the account, nor is there an attempt to hide the money or anything. It's not like he was trying to keep it secret. He billed the firm, they wrote the check, and he deposited it. End of story."
"This just keeps getting weirder and weirder," I said. "Can you get Roger on the phone so we can ask him about it?"
"Tried already, he's not picking up," Jordie said.
"Dammit, we need some answers!" I said fidgeting in the chair. I knew what I was going to do, but I didn't want to tell Jordie.
"You're going out to the marina, aren't you?" he said with his back turned.
"How'd you know that?"
"C'mon, Brooke, we've been friends for years, I know you better than almost anyone," he smiled as he turned around and pulled a document out of the printer next to his computer.
"What's this?"
"A copy of the contract that Roger wrote for Lydia," he said. "I figured you'd want to ask him about it as soon as you saw him, and if you have this, then he has no wiggle room to avoid it."
I looked at Jordie and smiled.
"I know you both way better than I should," he said with a shrug.
"Great, then I'm going to grab a few things and head out to the marina," I said.
"Brooke, do you really think that's a good idea?" he asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"The fax that came in this morning was a little scary," he said. I realized that I hadn't told Jordie about the phone call or the photos delivered to my apartment. I'd wanted to ask him about the call, but now that he was expressing worry, I didn't want him trying to talk me out of tracking Roger down. The threats were most likely designed to simply scare me off rather than actually threaten me with any real violence. Or at least, that's what I wanted to believe.
"Look, I think it's just a scare tactic that's being used to try and get me off the case," I said as nonchalantly as I could. "I'm not worried about it, so you shouldn't be, either."
"Brooke..." he trailed off and then shrugged and said, "Okay, if you say so."
I knew there was a lot he wasn't saying, but right now, I didn't have time to try and ferret it out and soothe his fears. I needed to find Roger and ask him about Lydia's contact.
I went back to my office and gathered a few things that I thought I'd need, checked to make sure my phone was charged and then realized that I needed a car.
"Hey, Jordie?" I called as I walked down the hall. "Can I borrow your car?"
"Are you kidding me?" he said.
"Nope, not in the least," I shook my head and held out my hand.
"Brooke, you have to be careful with this car," he warned. "You can't put regular gas in it and you can't drive like a bat out of hell."
"Jordie, I promise, I will put only high octane fuel in your precious little baby, and I will drive the speed limit the whole way there and back," I said with my right hand raised.
"I don't believe you," he grumbled as he reached into his pocket, pulled out the keys, and handed them over. "If there's even one scratch on it, I swear!"
"If there's even one scratch on it, I'll buy you a whole new car," I promised.
"With what?" he asked. "Your goodwill and best intentions?"
"No, it won't come to that, I do solemnly swear," I said as I took the keys from him and headed for the door.
"Brooke, be careful!" Jordie shouted.
"I'll take care of the car!" I shouted back.
"That's not what I mean," he said as he walked out into the hallway and watched me walk toward the front door.
I turned and winked as I held up the keys. I was scared, but I sure as hell wasn't going to let it show.
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
hour later, I was sitting at my desk going over the week's books when I heard Kesha screaming at the top of her lungs down on the club floor.
"DAX! DAX! GET DOWN HERE!"
I turned toward the window overlooking the club floor and saw Kesha with her arms wrapped around a small, thin person who was limping. When the person looked up, I realized it was Beck! I ran out of the office, taking the stairs two at a time, and was down on the club floor in moments.
"Beck!" I yelled. "Where the hell have you been?"
"I didn't do it," he mumbled as I scooped him up and ran to the back where Javi kept the medical supplies.
"What'd you take, Beck?" I prodded him as I set him on a cot in the back and told Kesha to call Javi. She ran to the front of the house to make the call while I searched the boxes for something that might help Beck. I quickly realized that if I didn't know what he'd taken, then I might possibly do more harm than good, so I sat down next to him and started peppering him with questions.
"Why did you run away from rehab? Where have you been? What did you take, Beck?" my voice grew more panicked as I watched his head loll sideways for a moment before he snapped it back and looked at me.
"Didn't do it, Dax," he mumbled in a drugged stupor. "Didn't do it."
"What didn't you do?" I asked. "What, Beck? What didn't you do?"
"She told me you said to do it," he mumbled. "She said...was supposed to help."
"Beck, what are you talking about?" I tapped his cheeks, trying to keep him awake and talking while I looked at the door and waited for Kesha to come back with Javi. "Beck! Talk to me! Keep talking, buddy!""
"Didn't do it, Dax," he kept repeating as he shook his head in what looked like an attempt to clear his mind of some memory. "Didn't do it."
"What didn't you do, Beck?" I shook him a little harder and tried to sit him up.
"Dax, I'm sorry," he mumbled and then started crying. I looked at him bewildered and wondered what it was he was sorry for.
"It's okay, Beck," I said as I pulled him to me and held him like a child, rocking back and forth as he repeated over and over that he didn't do it. I whispered all of the comforting things I could think of as I held my brother and rocked him. "It's okay, Beck, you're gonna be okay. There's nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry I didn't get you help sooner."
"Not your fault," he murmured as he brought a hand up and patted my arm before it became too difficult and he let it fall back into his lap. I wanted to know what drug he had taken. If we didn't know, then whatever Javi might give him could cause a negative reaction, and if it was bad enough, it might kill him.
"What did you take, Beck?" I asked over and over. "What did you shoot?"
"Didn't take drugs," he mumbled. "Didn't do it. One day at a time."
"What are you talking about, Beck?" I asked. "You're high as a kite, buddy."
"Didn't do it," he repeated. "Didn't do it. She said it would help, but I didn't want to."
"Who said?" I asked as I petted his head and kept rocking. The rocking motion seemed to help soothe him, so I kept moving as I continued questioning him. "Who told you it would help?"
"She did," he said. Something about this agitated Beck and he began rocking himself harder and faster. I tried to hang on to him, but he soon worked himself into a violent rocking motion and I had to let go. I tried to hold him down on the cot, but whatever he'd taken was working its way through his system and had increased his strength to a level that made me let go for fear of hurting him.
"Beck, what happened to you?" I asked over and over. "Why did you leave rehab?"
"I didn't leave!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "I didn't leave!"
"What the hell? Yeah, dude, you did. You're not there right now," I said, mystified by his protests.
"I didn't leave!" he yelled as he stood up and started striking out at me. He had a wild look in his eyes, and I wasn't sure he even knew who I was. "I didn't leave!"
"Then tell me what happened, dammit!" I shouted as I grabbed his arms and held them down against his sides. As quickly as the outburst had begun, it was over, and Beck melted back onto the cot without a fight. I covered him with a blanket and stuck my head out of the back room calling, "Kesh, what's Javi's ETA?"
Javi walked through the door just as Kesha had returned to tell me he was on his way. He took one look at Beck and nodded, then pulled out a series of vials and loaded a syringe. He prepped Beck's left arm and told me to hold it steady as he pushed a cocktail of drugs into Beck's arm.
"What did you give him?" I asked.
"It's a special mix that I created to work off the effects of a couple of drugs," he explained. "I'm not sure the medical community would approve, but it's worked more times than I can count and no one's died from it."
"How long will it take?"
"Shouldn't be more than a few minutes before he starts to come around," Javi said as he carefully monitored Beck's pulse and respiration. "I've watched too many of these club kids mix more drugs than I can count, and I knew that we needed something to counter their stupidity. Haven't seen one of them die since I started using it."
"Why aren't you in a chemistry lab?" I asked.
"With my felonies?" he grinned. "What school or lab would have me? Nah, man, I'm doing just fine right here. Maybe better than I would be in that world."
I nodded as we watched Beck start to regain consciousness. He coughed a little and then sneezed in rapid succession before he opened his eyes and looked back and forth between Javi and me.
"What the fuck?" he muttered. "Dax, where the fuck am I?"
"Dude, you're at the club," I said. "You wandered in off the street and Kesha found you."
"Wasn't I supposed to be ass up in rehab?" he asked.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," I laughed. "You squirreled your way out, as usual."
"I didn't leave, Dax," he said with a serious look on his face. "I was pissed at you for putting me there, but then I realized that I didn't have any control over the drugs anymore. I needed help, but I didn't want to give up the feeling."
"Isn't that always the case?" I asked as I looked at Javi and nodded. He did one more survey of Beck and then got up and left the room, closing the door behind him.
"Beck, what the hell happened?" I asked as I sat down next to him and searched his face for answers.
"You're not gonna like it, Dax," he said shaking his head. "And, I'm not entirely sure you're gonna believe me, and I don't know that I'd blame you."
"Just tell me. You're my brother, we'll figure it out," I said.
"She hates us, Dax," he said in a very small voice. "She always has."
"Who hates us?" I was genuinely confused.
"Riza," Beck whispered. "She fucking hates us."
"Beck, what are you talking about?" I demanded.
"See, I told you that you wouldn't believe me," he said sadly.
"No, I'm listening, I just want to know what evidence you have that one of my best friends hates me," I said defensively.
"She pulled me out of rehab," he said. "She came and got me and pulled me out, even though I said I wanted to be there. She said it was a pussy move and that she couldn't have a bunch of pussy boys running her father's business. She told me I needed to man up and learn to do drugs the way men do them, like you and her father."
"What the fuck?" I was stunned. "I don't do that shit, I never have, and Papi didn't do it, either. Not ever! I was pissed as hell when you started doing it, but aside from not letting my guys sell junk to you, there wasn't anything I could do."
"They didn't sell it to me, Dax. She gave it to me for free," he said as he looked up at me. "She's super pissed at you for taking Papi's business away from her. She wants it back and she wants you out of the way so she can have it."
"I didn't take her damn business!" I shouted. "Papi told me that she didn't want to run it, so the burden fell on me to take care of things so that she'd have what she needed. That's what he told me before he died! Dammit!"
"I think something's really wrong with her, Dax," Beck said. "It's like she wants you for herself, but she wants you so she can punish you."
"Why do you say that?"
"She said she had taken care of the lawyer and that she'd take care of this one, too," he said. "She took me out to the boat at the marina and locked me in the galley while she got it ready to sail. She was going to get rid of the second lawyer, but the lawyer's friend, Roger, came snooping around. He found me locked on the boat and got me to the dock manager's office before Riza realized I was gone. Then, he went back to get the evidence, but I didn't see him again."
"How the hell did you get here, then?"
"The dock manager put me in a cab and told the driver to take me home, I must have given him this address," he shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know."
"Wait, she's got the lawyer tied up on the boat?" I asked. All of this sounded too crazy to be true.
"I think so, but I don't know. Maybe he got away and went home," Beck said. "I think he would have come back and gotten me if he had been ready to leave, though."
"This is insane," I said shaking my head. "Let me call Brooke and see if she's heard from Roger."
I grabbed my phone and dialed Brooke. It went to voicemail before she answered, so I tapped the screen and dialed the office. I waited as the phone rang and rang and rang, just before I hung up someone answered.
"Lewis, Lee, and Raines at Law, how can I assist you?"
"Is Brooke Raines in?" I asked.
"I'm sorry, she's away from her office," the man replied.
"Is this Jordie?"
"It is," he said.
"Jordie, this is Dax Malone. Do you know where Brooke went?" I asked, knowing that he had every right not to tell me anything about his friend and colleague.
"She said she was headed over to the marina to try and find Roger," he said. "We haven't been able to get him on the phone and she had some questions for him, aside from wanting to check out the dock."
"Have you heard from her since she left?" I asked as the panic began to rise.
"Nope, not yet," he replied.
"How long ago did she leave?"
"A couple of hours ago, she should be at the dock by now," he said.
"Jordie, listen, I need you to call the police and tell them to haul ass down to that dock," I said thinking ahead and trying to figure out how I could get help to Brooke as quickly as possible. I wanted to warn her, but if she wasn't picking up her phone, then it was entirely possible that Riza had already gotten to her. "Don't ask any questions, just tell them to get out there and find the Isabella and find Brooke."
"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked.
"Don't fucking argue with me, man," I shouted into the phone, "Her life may be in danger right now! Do it!"
I hung up and just trusted that Jordie would do what I had asked. I looked down at Beck who had curled up on the cot and was now fast asleep. He'd be safer here than with me, so I left him sleeping and went to find Kesha.
"What's up, boss?" she asked as she stocked the bar for tonight's reopening.
"Kesha, we have a problem," I said. "I can't tell you what it is right now, but I need you to keep an eye on Beck and not let anyone near him. Not anyone but you and me and Javi are to go anywhere near him, got it?"
"Yeah, boss, but..."
"No buts, no nothing," I said holding up a hand. "Just don't let anyone near him. I don't care what they tell you or how convincing they sound, no one but you, me, and Javi."
"Uh, okay, got it," she said giving me a strange look. "What about..."
"NO ONE!" I bellowed. She saluted before I turned and marched out the front door and got in my car.