Chapter Four
Determined to get to the bottom of the Toma case, Birk returned to the mine. When he walked into Declan’s office, his cousin was on the phone and waved for him to take a seat.
Declan snatched a pen off his desk and then scoured through the drawer until he located a piece of paper. “What are their names?” he asked the person on the other end of the line. He then scribbled something down. “How long have they been missing? Hmm. I can sniff around, but I’m not sure where to start. Any clue how they were taken or where? I see.” Declan tapped the pen on the desk while he listened. “I’ll get back to you if I find anything. Thanks, Anderson.”
Anderson was a Sinclair cousin, another dragon shifter, who worked at the Avonbelle Province Police Department.
“What did he want?” Birk asked as soon as Declan hung up. He wanted something to take his mind off the Toma case.
Declan shook his head. “You won’t like it since it involves human trafficking.”
His gut churned, and his scales hardened. It was one of the more horrific crimes to him—next to murder. “Tell me.”
“Two of Thresh Toma’s three daughters are missing.”
Toma again? Fuck. “Do you think he did something to them?”
Declan raised one eyebrow. “I know nothing other than the eldest daughter’s husband said she’s been missing for almost two days now, and he rightfully wants answers. Anderson and his team are stumped, so he called me.”
That wasn’t unusual. It was often how they got their cases. “And the second daughter?”
“The youngest one, Claire, works at Mercy Hospital as a nurse. When she missed her shift, her supervisor drove over to her house, but all was dark. Worried, she called the missing persons’ department. That also was two days ago.”
“What about his third daughter? The one who lives with Toma?”
“Anita. Anderson said she’s okay.”
Birk’s mind raced. “What are we dealing with here? Murder or kidnapping?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“I don’t know if you’ve had any dealing with him, but Toma is a scum. Did you hear that his warehouse burned down?”
“No,” Declan said, sitting up straighter.
Birk filled him in on what he’d learned. “If he burned down his warehouse to collect from the insurance company, there’s no telling what else he’d do. While we have no evidence that he committed a crime, Josh Gerrard thinks Toma’s claim is at least partially false.”
“Why did you speak with Josh Gerrard?” Declan quirked a brow, though he probably could guess.
“Lily is the insurance investigator on the case.” He told him about the small altercation she had with Toma.
“I can see why you’re interested, but we don’t know he’s guilty.”
“No, but he could be,” Birk shot back. “Remember six months ago when Will Session’s daughter went missing?”
Declan nodded. “She was about to be sold into slavery by the syndicate when we intercepted the transport. What about it?”
“While we never caught the kingpin, I have no doubt that kind of stuff is still happening in our province. Toma might be involved somehow.”
“Shit.”
“If Toma did set his warehouse on fire for the insurance money, it’s possible he sold his daughters too,” Birk said.
His cousin’s jaw tensed, and Declan stabbed a hand through his hair. “I’ll ask Logan to do an in depth financial analysis on him.”
“Call him now. I’ll give him the low down.”
Declan dialed Birk’s brother and put him on speaker. Birk then filled him in.
“I’ll be sure to dig deep,” Logan said. “Seems to me like this guy has some serious money issues.”
“It sure appears that way,” Birk said.
“I’m friends with Jackor Drapper who’s had experience with Toma,” Logan said. “He’s one of his competitors. Turns out, Toma cheated him.”
“What happened exactly?” Declan chimed in.
“Two or three years ago, Jackor and Toma were bidding on the same piece of land, one that was a prime spot to build condos. Toma won the contract, but Jackor found out later that Toma paid someone to change Jackor’s bid.”
Birk whistled. “So the guy is dirty through and through.”
“Apparently. To be fair, I should mention that it happened a month after Toma’s wife left him. I heard he deserved the divorce, but apparently it threw him off his game. He started to drink and gamble after that.”
Birk knew all too well how much rejection could harm a person’s soul. “What happened to the development?”
“Not only did Toma go way over budget, not enough people bought the units. According to Jackor, Toma still owns several units and is bleeding red.”
Birk didn’t like to see anyone fail, but Toma might be his own worst enemy. “Good info. Let us know what you find out.”
Declan disconnected and blew out a breath. “This is worse than I thought. I’m going to set up a meeting with some of the other Guardians. We need to nip this in the bud if Toma is involved in the human trafficking scheme in any way. One of us should follow him to make sure he doesn’t try to mess with Lily. If he’s that desperate for money, he might try to pressure her to write up a more favorable report.”
“I can do that.”
“Good.”
Birk always enjoyed working on the Guardians’ big cases, but this one might be the biggest of them all since Lily was associated with the case. He chatted a bit more with Declan, told him about his discussion with the bank about the missing payment, and then left. Before he did a fly over of Toma’s office to check if he was still there, Birk called Kyle.
Nessa’s mate answered right away. “You really are worried about my sister, aren’t you?” Kyle said with a bit of a chuckle.
“You know I am, and I have reason to be.” He told him that two of Toma’s daughters were missing.
“Oh, shit. Are you thinking Toma had something to do with it?” All cheer suddenly disappeared.
“Maybe.”
“You don’t think he’ll come after Lily, do you?”
“I don’t know what to think. I just wanted you to be aware that Lily’s client has trouble on his hands.”
“I just hung up with her and so far, she’s fine. In fact, she’s at her office doing paperwork. Do you want me to tell her about the women’s disappearance?”
“Not yet. I know Lily said she wouldn’t go alone if she had to speak with Toma again, but I would feel better if we had some eyes on her—at a distance at least.”
“Understood. I’ll be there just in case,” her brother said.
That was all Birk could ask for. “I appreciate it. I plan to tail Toma to see what he’s up to. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
Once he disconnected, Birk took flight. It was time to find out more about Mr. Thresh Toma.
“Where are you with your report?” Alea asked as she peered down at Lily.
She had been working on the paperwork for the last few hours. “I filled out what I could, stating just the facts as you requested. I also added what Josh said about Toma claiming more was inside the warehouse than what was really there. Before I sign off on it though, I want to ask a few more questions. It is possible someone stole Toma’s equipment from the warehouse and then burned down the building to cover his tracks.”
Alea nodded. “That’s a bit of a stretch. With his daughter in the house, I’m pretty sure she would have seen or at least heard them taking the building materials.”
“I agree, but it’s what Toma thought happened.”
“Did he file a police report claiming theft?”
Damn. “I forgot to check. I’ll get right on it.”
Her boss studied her for a moment then straightened her shoulders. “Is something wrong, Lily? Usually, you are so on top of things.”
Birk happened. Actually, being attacked again by Nelor last month and then assaulted by the men who wanted to punish her brother’s mate, had turned Lily into someone she barely recognized. “I’m good.”
“All right then. Go ask your questions and then finish up the paperwork. The police can take it from there.”
“I will. I plan to interview the ex-wife for her perspective on Thresh Toma.”
Alea smiled. “That’s a good idea. The more we know, the better. If he did start the fire himself, I sure as hell won’t pay him a dime.”
Lily smiled. She liked her boss. Alea was a no-nonsense woman. As soon as Alea headed back to her office, Lily made the phone call to the A.P.P.—the Avonbelle Province Police. After being routed to several people, she finally spoke to the person who recorded the claims.
“No,” the clerk said. “We have a record of a call into emergency services from an Anita Sussex about the fire, but there’s been no follow-up claim about any theft on the Toma warehouse.”
“Thanks.”
This case was looking more suspect by the minute. After shutting down her computer, she stuffed her report into a folder and headed out to find the former Mrs. Toma. Lily could only hope this woman wasn’t as crazy as her husband claimed.
After following Toma for most of the day, Birk had almost begun to believe the guy was on the up and up. Toma spent his time checking on both of his development projects, never sneaking off to some dark alley to do any kind of illegal deed.
Just as Birk was about to head home, Toma made a detour to the Dragon’s Tail Casino. While gambling wasn’t against the law, it reinforced what Declan had said about Toma going off the deep end when his wife divorced him.
Not wanting his prey to accuse him of stalking, Birk debated waiting outside until Toma finished, but he then decided it would be easy enough to explain his presence at the casino. He too needed to blow off some steam. If they chatted, Birk would offer his sympathy about his two daughters, all the while studying Toma’s reaction.
It was show time.
The interior of the casino was rather large with multiple stations ranging from slot machines, horse betting stations, and dealer tables. Given the size, Toma might not notice Birk at all. Once inside, Toma made a beeline to one of the tables.
Wanting to keep an eye on his man, Birk bought a bucket full of change and headed over to the slots and sat down at one near where Toma was plopping down a pile of chips. Birk estimated it to be about five hundred Denlars—not much more than what he spent for a few days of groceries.
Birk wished he had the ability to become invisible in his human form so he could hover over Toma, but even at this distance, Birk could see the man’s mouth twitch and his hands shake. If he hadn’t seen Toma grab Lily, he might even be sympathetic to the man’s emotional state.
Birk slowly played the slots while he kept a visual on Toma. Curses came from his direction, and when Birk looked over at him, Toma was tossing back another drink. He then slammed down his glass, cursed, and strode away from the table, mumbling and clutching his fists, looking like he wanted a fight. Apparently, things hadn’t gone his way tonight.
Not that Birk wanted to enable the man’s habit, but he didn’t mind donating to the cause if he could learn whether Toma had anything to do with his daughters’ disappearances.
He stepped up to Toma and held out a wad of Denlars. “I see you’re down on your luck,” Birk said, pressing the bills into Toma’s hand.
The man’s eyes widened. “What’s this for?”
“Thought you could give it another go. Nothing is worse than a cheating dealer.” Birk nodded to the employee. He didn’t like to lie, but it seemed to be the best way to draw Toma to his side.
“You know him?” He didn’t wait for Birk to answer. “I thought I saw him deal from the bottom of the deck, the motherfucker.”
Birk wouldn’t confirm or deny it. “Tell you what. If you win, return my money and give me half of your winnings. If you lose again, you don’t owe me anything.”
“What’s the catch?”
Toma had a right to be suspicious. “Actually, I heard about the disappearance of your daughters and figured you could use a pick me up.”
It must have been a play of the light because Birk swore the man’s eyes watered. Toma stabbed a hand through his messy hair. “You’re right. I’m so upset, I can’t think straight. I’m on pins and needles waiting for a ransom call. I don’t even want to think of the alternative.”
Birk hadn’t expected that answer. “So you’re trying to win enough money to pay a ransom?”
“Yes.”
Most of the demands were for hundreds of thousands of Denlars, but he saw no need to mention that. “Do you have any idea who might have taken your girls?”
“No.”
From the way his pupils dilated and then broke eye contact, Toma knew exactly who had them, but Birk wasn’t under any delusion that Toma would tell him. No, this was about gaining the man’s trust on the off chance he’d leave Lily alone. “See if you can win us some money.”
To Birk’s surprise, Toma seemed to calm down. After a half hour, he managed to earn a few hundred Denlars. After one more hour, his winnings were quite hefty. Toma gathered his chips, changed them back into Denlars, and then stepped over to Birk who was watching from across the aisle. “Here’s what you lent me and half of the earnings. I owe you one, and I won’t forget what you did.”
Birk could only hope that was true. “Try to keep out of trouble, and good luck finding your daughters. Do the police have any clues?” He knew the answer, but he was curious what they’d told him.
“Those idiots have no idea where to look. They said they can’t do much without the kidnappers contacting me first. What a crock.”
“That’s pretty much standard in these types of cases—or so I’ve heard.” Not wanting to further engage with the man, Birk left, hoping Toma did the same.
As soon as Birk crossed the street, he called Kyle who thankfully answered right away. “Hey, I was just about to call you,” Kyle said.
“Did something happen?” Birk’s heart pounded.
“No. Lily had a busy day and is now safely tucked into bed. What about you?”
Birk released his clenched fist. “I followed Toma who ended up at the casino. He seems genuinely upset about his daughters disappearing, but I think he knows more than he’s saying.”
“Do you still think Lily is in danger?”
“Probably. Toma will be even more unpredictable, and the man already showed his temper at the drop of a hat with her. If you could watch her for a few more days, I’m hoping something will break.”
“No problem,” Kyle said. “I’ll have to tell you, she is heeding your warning. When she went to interview Toma’s ex-wife today, Lily drove around the block a few times before she parked and went inside.”
“Was she lost or being cautious?”
Kyle chuckled. “I’m hoping the latter. Next time you see her, you might ask her what she found out. I’d rather she not know I’m involved.”
“I will. I need to speak to Declan first to see what he learned. Depending on the outcome, it might be time to tell Lily everything.”
Kyle said nothing for a moment. “Everything, as in Toma’s daughters are missing or everything as in you are her mate?”
Birk shook his head. “I wish she was ready to hear we’re mates. I don’t want to rush her.”
“I’m sure she will appreciate that, but Lily is a strong girl, despite how she responds to men. You’ll figure out when the time is right.”
“I sure as hell hope so.”