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How many times had Ox said those words?
Quite a few, even recently to Growler when Astrid had gone missing.
Now that they were said to him, he saw them as hollow. Hearing them grated on his soul.
“I know,” he said instead of blasting Angel for saying something that meant nothing.
“I think I’ve got something.”
Adrenaline surged through Ox at Cass’s declaration, and he strode over to where she sat.
“Tell me,” he demanded, his attention on the computer screen where a large plantation-style house filled the screen.
She tapped the screen. “This house was recently rented by a company called Let’s Go Productions. The same company hired a camera crew, a director and everything else necessary to make a film.”
“What does this have to do with Eveline?” he bit out.
His computer whizz looked at him over the top of her glasses. “The director of Let’s Go Productions is one Gerald Morkham.”
“What the fuck?” Growler barked. “Is Gerald breaking out into film production now?”
“No. He’s going to make a movie with Eveline as the star,” Ox said and scanned his team. “He’s obsessed with Eveline. Remember, Eveline found all those pictures and other things from her brief foray into acting.”
“Why kidnap her? Why not just ask her to do it? There has to be more.” Irish tapped his chin. “Gerald is an expert in the security field. Until recently, his business reputation has been stellar, and he hasn’t had to worry about jobs. We know he’s got a hard-on to try to bring us down. There are so many things here that just don’t track.”
Ox nodded. “You’re right. It’s like there are a dozen puzzle pieces that don’t belong together but are from twelve different ones. There has to be something that ties it all together.”
“And we’ll unravel it all and put it back together. But at least we have a location of where Eveline is likely situated, and we can go from there,” Angel said. “First priority is to get Eveline. Once she’s back safe and sound, we’ll work out the rest.”
“Gerald will be there watching everything. Why go to all this trouble and not be there? His obsession has sent him over the edge.” Ox stared at the house on the screen. It was an image, but he wished it was a live video feed and he could see Eveline.
“There’s another reason for Gerald doing what he’s done,” Cass piped up. She’d been tapping away at her keyboard while they’d been talking.
“What’s that?” Ox asked.
“Gerald’s got a drug problem. Looking at this, I’d say Desert Snakes are supplying him with the drugs.” The screen in front of Cass changed to show a video of Gerald and a member of the gang conducting a buy.
The exchange was as plain as day, and it shocked Ox that Gerald hadn’t given any thought to there being cameras monitoring the area. “Where’s this?” he asked.
“One of the places in Desert Snakes’ territory. Not sure the gang is aware the business owner has cameras.” Cass pressed a button, and the video disappeared.
Ox wanted to ask her how she got the information, but that would be pointless. Cass did what she had to do to assist them, and at the end of the day what she found helped them, and this solidified Gerald’s connection to the gang.
He took a seat at the head of the table and pulled his tablet and pen close to him. A couple of taps later, he had a blank page in front of him, and the image was displayed on the TV in the conference room.
“Right, so here’s what we know.” Ox quickly wrote out the most recent information Cass had uncovered. “With the information about his addiction, we can add that to his reasons to why his business has changed. He took Eveline because of some warped obsession. The reason he hates us is the unknown, and it could be as simple as he decided he didn’t like us. All puzzle pieces put together.”
Even as he said it Ox didn’t believe it. All of it was connected—somehow.
“Ramirez Cartel supplies Desert Snakes,” Cass said quietly.
“Fuck! What is it with this cartel? They pop up with everything that we’re doing. I thought we saw the last of them. If they’re going to come after Astrid again. . .” Growler shook his head, not finishing the sentence.
“Astrid is safe.” Cass looked at Growler. “There’s been nothing about her on the dark web or within the cartel. And we know they’re a major player in the drug industry, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that they’re supplying local gangs. I’m sure Desert Snakes isn’t the only one.”
As much as Ox wanted to dig deeper, he wanted to get to Eveline. “You never said where this house is, Cass. Where is it?” he asked.
“It’s just past Palm Springs. Close enough to get whatever they need, but far enough away to not attract the attention of prying eyes.”
