Chapter 33
Adam
Monday
I arrived at work on Monday morning like a storm cloud, throwing the front door open and charging up toward Hansen’s office. Leslie’s face dropped instantly, and everyone got out of my way and knew that something big was going down. I was still furious about Brandon’s interference in my personal life, his threats against my father and Vanessa – it was completely unacceptable.
I didn’t even take off my coat or put down my briefcase before ascending the stairs and banging on his door. Jon was sitting in his office with a mug of coffee and looking over some paperwork when I arrived. He looked up at the sound of my arrival wide eyes and confused. “Adam? What—”
“We have to put Brandon Fletcher away for good. I want that sleazeball rotting in his cell for the foreseeable future without any chance of parole.”
Mr. Hansen cleared his throat and wiped his mustache with a piece of napkin and started, “We’re going to do everything we can—”
“He threatened my girlfriend, Jon!”
The outburst caught his attention—and that of everyone else in the office. One of the interns sped past us down the hall to not get dragged into my fit.
“What do you mean, he threatened her?”
“He sent someone to the Men’s Club meeting this weekend. They told me we had to drop all the charges against him and then hinted at going after Vanessa or my father. When I got home the next morning, someone had been in my apartment; they brought her flowers. Vanessa’s a sweet girl, and she thought they were from me.”
Jon crossed his hands over his chest and frowned. “Did she let them inside?”
“That’s the worst part,” I groaned. “Somehow they got in without a key. They broke into my apartment and left them in the kitchen.”
“Have you called the police?”
I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation. “And tell them what? Someone broke into my apartment, didn’t take anything, but left an arrangement of flowers on the table? What could they possibly do with that information?”
“Nothing,” he agreed. “But it has to be reported in case something else happens in the future that shows a pattern. You know this, Adam. File a report so the police can have it on record.”
I sighed, slumping down into one of the chairs across from him. “Okay.”
“Now, about your girlfriend… Vanessa, did you say?”
I nodded, bending over so that I could bury my face in my hands.
“Is she alright? Does she know what’s going on?”
“No, I kind of freaked out at her when I realized what had happened. She moved back in with her parents across town. I feel terrible.”
“Well, at least she’s being taken care of,” he muttered. “I like the idea of going after Brandon, though. We’ve got a lot to do if we’re going to make that happen. I’m going to need someone in banking who knows how to follow cash flow and we can prove there’s money laundering.”
A smile spread across my face as I sat up in my seat. “I know just the guy for you.”
He cocked an eyebrow at me curiously, and I pulled out my cell phone, finding the number in my contacts. I dialed the number, and it rang a few times before he picked up on the other line. “Hello?”
“Hey, Max. It’s Adam. I need you to leave work early and come by the firm this afternoon. Tell your boss that you’re needed as an expert witness in a case that we’re investigating.”
“Dude, seriously?”
My eyes narrowed when I responded, looking across the desk at Jon who nodded. “Seriously.”
“Uh…okay. I can be there around two, I guess?”
“Two is perfect,” I told him loud enough for Jon to hear. He gave me the thumbs up from where he was sitting across the desk and nodded. “I’ll see you then,” I told Max with a sense of closure.
“Bye.”
I hung up the phone, and Mr. Hansen scratched his head, exhaling a tired sigh. “You think that your friend will be able to do this?”
I nodded. “Absolutely. Max is a financial genius. He can sort through numbers faster and more accurately than half the graduates at MIT. If we can trace the funding back to Brandon, it will tie him to the drug deal, and he won’t be able to wiggle his way out of it.”
“You’re going to have to prep him for the witness stand,” he responded firmly. “We can’t have him floundering up there. He has to come across as clean, dignified, and intelligent. Brandon’s lawyer will try to shake him, but you can’t let that happen.”
“It won’t.”
I took my briefcase and left his office in a huff, walking down the stairs toward the lobby. My office was open and waiting for me when I got there, throwing my coat on the back of the chair and angrily setting up my laptop computer. The welcome screen was still loading when Leslie came and knocked gently on the doorframe with a mug of coffee in her hand.
I glanced up at her and sighed, scratching the hair on the back of my neck. It was a nervous habit, and I really needed to stop doing it because it was an obvious tell in court. “Yes, Leslie? What is it?” I asked her tiredly.
She stepped inside and offered me the cup with a tentative smile. “I brought you this. It sounds like you’re having a rough morning and I thought you could use a pick-me-up.”
I nodded, taking the drink from her and smiled, bringing it up to sip of the steaming drink. “Thank you, Leslie.”
She was on her way out the door when she stopped at the threshold and turned back to say over her shoulder. “I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard you talking about your girlfriend…”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry that happened, sir. I hope you get that son of a bitch.”
I sipped the coffee and began to relax. “Hey, Les? Before you go, I just wanted to say that your sons are really lucky to have such an awesome mom.”
Of all the people I had gotten to know around the office, Leslie was my favorite. She had a way of just helping me see things clearly and making me feel comfortable—like a mom. Les smiled, the laugh lines around her cheeks spreading wide as she looked back at me. “I’ll let him know you said that.”
My brow line puckered at her choice of words. “I thought you had two sons.”
“I did,” she agreed quietly. “One of them died a year ago.”
My heart sank with sorrow as she was saying it. I had no idea that she had experienced such a horrific tragedy. “Oh, I’m so sorry I didn’t know. How did that happen?”
She swallowed hard and responded, “A drug overdose.”
As the words left her mouth, it was like a bucket of ice water had been thrown on me. All the pieces of the puzzle were fitting into place. I understood now why she felt the need to care for me like one of her own, after losing her son to the very crisis I was actively trying to prosecute. It gave me one more reason not to give up.
She smiled weakly and then disappeared, going back toward her desk. My computer started up, and I got to work. I typed up the documents we would need to file a motion for a subpoena. Time flew by as I pressed onward, thinking about Dad’s safety and how Vanessa probably hated me. It just made me that much more determined to pull this off.
I made sure to call the police station like Jon requested and made a full report of everything that had happened. They took down everything I said and promised to get back to me as soon as possible if there were any leads. I snorted as we hung up the phone—there wouldn’t be.
At two fifteen, Max came walking in the front doors of the office. I heard him ask Leslie where my office was, and she directed him toward me. I was already out of my chair and getting up to greet him when he came inside. His dirty blond hair was slightly disheveled, but his eyes were wide and curious as he looked around the room, unsure of what was really happening.
“Hey, I came here like you asked. Now do you want to tell me what’s going on?”
I shook his hand and gestured to one of the seats. There were two plush armchairs in the corner that I kept for exactly this reason. He took his seat in one of them and glanced around nervously like we were being watched. I took a seat in the one across from him and started off by saying, “I’m going to be honest with you Max, and you’re not going to like it.”
He shuffled in the chair uncomfortably and brought one of his hands up to his temple as if I were giving him a headache. “Fuck, what did you do this time?”
“We’re going after Brandon Fletcher,” I informed him simply.
Max actually didn’t seem all that surprised after our previous conversations, and what happened at Men’s Club Saturday. I’d made no secret of my discomfort surrounding Fletcher’s illicit activity, and Max even confirmed that there would be illegal dealings in his past.
Still, that didn’t make it easier to hear considering he was supposed to be one of our brothers in the fraternity. On some level, I knew he felt like it was a betrayal. He sighed, leaning forward against his knees, and clasped his hands together. “That is going to be tricky; Brandon’s well connected.”
“I know, and that’s why we need your help. Mr. Fletcher is at the top of a massive drug empire; they’re the ones who have been flooding our streets with opioids. We’ve got a dealer and a supplier able to testify and verify that in court.”
“So, what do you need from me?”
“What you’re good at: following the money,” I responded flatly. “Follow the paper trail and show us how it comes back to him. We can get you bank statements, anything else you need to make that happen.”
He sighed. “I don’t know, man. Isn’t this kind of risky? I don’t want to get involved with stuff like this.”
“Max, I need you on this,” I pressed him, pleading with my eyes and hoping to make him understand. “They were in my apartment the other day.”
His head snapped around in a flash as he stared at me surprised. “When?”
“While we were at Men’s Club,” I responded icily.
He paused at the mention of our trip and I could almost see the wheels turning in his head as their pieces fit together. It seemed as if all at once, the horrible realization struck him, and he asked, “Vanessa… Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she’s fine. I had to kick her out, though, and have her move back in with your folks. I didn’t tell her what was happening because I didn’t want to frighten her.”
He scowled and released a quiet scoff before saying, “Nice going, genius.”
I exhaled in exasperation and started to explain myself, “She wasn’t safe there! The guy who talked to me at the party hinted that she might be in danger; they sent her flowers.”
At first, he looked at me in disbelief, but when the weight of those words sank in his expression turned to rage. One thing I knew about Max was that he loved his family – if someone was threatening them he would do everything in his power to bring them down. He nodded stiffly, his jaw set with raw determination. “Alright, let do this.”