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“Because this way, the insurance company is doling out millions of dollars and he still has the actual art pieces,” Caleb responds to the question, already reading my thoughts.
“How did a small-time thief get into this mess?” Damian asks, raking a hand through his hair.
“I can help you there,” Zeke chimes in. “The security guard at the last heist was his brother-in-law. They needed his access card. I’ll bet he made a deal with the devil and all he needed to do was swipe the card.”
“Turns out his brother-in-law was on duty that night and got in the way, which got him killed. Tursk’s guilt led him to Sammas,” I finish for Zeke, noting the direction this is going.
“How are we going to bring this guy down?” Damian asks.
“We don’t. All we have is circumstantial evidence,” Caleb says, letting out a heavy breath. I start to argue with him, but he puts up his hand. “What do we have? A bunch of robberies, all his properties. He can say that he has enemies who are out to get him and it’s our job to find them. We have no eyewitness to the murder. Evidence in the alley is nearly nonexistent. Sabrina didn’t see a face. All she heard was a Russian accent. It fucking sucks, but we got nothing on Andre Petrov. He’s too careful and shrewd.”
I let out a groan of frustration. “You’re telling me that he had my girl taken, terrified, threatened, tortured, and thrown out of a moving car, and all I can do is sit here and do nothing? How am I supposed to live with that?” I begin to pace the length of the room like a caged tiger.
“We have no direct link to Petrov,” Zeke says, crossing his arms over his chest. I can tell he’s mulling something over in his mind. “However, we may be able to get more on Ivan Mallovich. He hasn’t been as careful. We know he’s involved, and if we’re able to make something stick, he might turn on Petrov.”
“The key is that gallery,” Damian adds. “Tursk told Sabrina his last words in code. We’ve figured out the gallery, now we have to know what the twenty-four represents.”
“It could be anything,” Zeke says, rubbing his jaw. “We’ve got to get in there and look around.”
“If they’ve been watching Sabrina, I’ll be recognized,” I state.
“Me too,” Damian says, taking a seat across the table.
“I’ll go,” Caleb offers.
“You’ll stick out like a sore thumb. What do you know about art?” Zeke asks. “I’m the logical choice. I studied art in college. I’d be able to blend more easily than any of you three. Some glasses, preppy clothes… I can do it.”
“All right. I don’t like you heading in there alone, just in case they recognize you. We’ll make you part of a couple. I’ll check downstairs to see if we have a female officer available to make it look like a young couple out on a date,” Caleb says.
“Sure. Fine. In the meantime, I’m going to get the plans for the building, a list of stolen items, and find out where they would be housed if they were still in the building. That might be able to narrow down the area to start looking for whatever this twenty-four might be,” Zeke says, and quickly begins to tap on the keyboard, creating his plan of attack.
I feel completely useless. Caleb’s not wrong, though. We can’t even get a search warrant with the evidence we have. Zeke’s right in saying he’s the best man to look around. That leaves me sitting on this chair twiddling my thumbs.
“I hate this,” I mutter.
Caleb turns to me, sensing my frustration. “Take a different angle,” he says.
“Focus on the murder,” I respond, and he nods. “No witnesses, nothing tangible.”
“Back to the scene of the crime,” Damian huffs. “At least we can check in on Chloe and Sabrina.”
Rising to my feet, I let out a sigh. “Yeah. Worth a shot. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find something we missed”
* * *
Damianand I decide to go out back to the alley first to take a look around. Garbage bins are everywhere, with bags broken open and waste all over the place.
“This is a lost cause,” I say, hands on my hips, wondering where to begin.
“The body was found here,” Damian says. “There were signs of a struggle. Tursk fought back.”
“You take that side.” I indicate the side of the alley where the body was found. “I got this side,” I say, heading over to the other end. Even in the light of day, the alley’s dark. The garbage lining the alley has been picked through for evidence since we were first on the scene. I pull out my flashlight and shift the bins off to the side. The light of the flashlight glints against an object.
Dropping to my haunches, I take a better look. “I think I got something.”
Damian comes to where I’m crouched. “What have you got?” He bends down next to me.
“This is an awfully expensive cuff link to be in this place,” I say.
