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“We were wondering if you have any ideas on how we can find him. His phone is off. His last known location was the office building he was working in, and we don’t have any leads as to where he could be.”
“Do you have the license plate and model of Joey’s car?”
“We do.”
“Send it to me. I can pull some strings and get a BOLO out.”
“Won’t that drive him to violence?” Roman asked.
Connor was quiet for a few beats. “Men like Joey are inherently violent, unfortunately. They don’t need a trigger. In my experience, putting pressure on them can work positively, since they also have a finely honed survival instinct. If Joey fears it’ll be game over for him, he may turn on your guy.”
“I thought the mob never ratted each other out,” Wander said.
“Each other? No, but from what I understand, the man he’s working for isn’t organized crime.”
“He’s not,” Roman said.
“So Joey won’t have the same loyalty to him that he would have to his family members. At the end of the day, this is business for him, not personal. He won’t take the fall for an outsider.”
Roman leaned forward, a thought sparking in his head. “You’re saying pressure on him could work well? Public pressure, I mean?”
“What are you thinking?”
If he wanted Connor’s honest opinion, he had to give the man more information. “I’m investigating Senator Whitman. He’s our target and the man Joey works for.”
Connor whistled between his teeth. “Can’t say I’m surprised because rumors about him have been flying for years, but damn, that’s a wicked tough fight you’re in.”
“Ideally, Whitman goes to prison for a long time, but right now, I’ll settle for him losing his power and influence and, above all, his job. He’s up for reelection in November, so it needs to go public before then,” Roman said.
“Gotcha. You’re thinking of going public now? Do you have enough dirt on him?”
“No, not yet. That’s what Caleb was working on.”
Someone in the background spoke to Connor, and they waited to hear what was happening. “Hi,” a strange male voice spoke. “I’m Miles Hampton, one of Connor’s housemates. I couldn’t help but overhear the discussion. Mind if I share an idea?”
“You may wanna mention you’re former FBI,” Connor said dryly.
“Right. Forgot about that. Yes, I used to work for the FBI.”
It couldn’t hurt, right? “What’s your thought?” Roman asked.
“You said you didn’t have enough on Whitman yet.”
“Correct.”
“Does he know that?”
“He knows I’m investigating him.”
“But does he know where you are in your investigation? Does he have a mole that has fed him recent updates?”
“He doesn’t, not anymore. I’ve taken a leave of absence, and ever since, I haven’t updated anyone about our progress.” The implication hit. “You mean…”
“If there’s reasonable cause for Whitman to assume you could have the evidence, that could be enough to spook him. Go public with what you know, hint at the evidence, and include enough details so he can only surmise you’ve got the goods on him, then reference the kidnapping. If he thinks he’s about to go down, he won’t want to add murder to his charges.”
Roman looked at Wander. “Could this work?”
“You’d know that better than I do. I’m not gonna lie, Ro. I’m out of my depth here. Organized crime is not my area of expertise.”
