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Morgan chuckled, then frowned, rubbing her face. “Don’t make me laugh.” Her eyes flew to the window. “What time is it? It’s dark outside.”
Bash pulled out his phone. “8:38 p.m. You missed supper. If you’re hungry, they can get you something. It’s going to have to be liquid for a couple of days or until you feel you can move your jaw. You have to stay hydrated.”
He handed her a glass of water with a straw. “I hope it’s still cold.”
She took a sip. “It’s fine.”
When she put it down on the tray, she took his hand in both of hers, her expression serious. “Can we talk?”
Bash felt a tightening in his chest. A worry about what she might say, but before she could respond, there was a soft knock at the door.
“Come in,” she called.
Agent Perez stepped in the door and closed it gently behind him. His black suit was wrinkled with grass stains on his torn pants. He looked like he had lost at a fight club. He nodded toward Bash.
“I’m sorry it’s so late, but I took a chance you were up. Our investigation has moved rapidly. I wanted to share some news. I thought it would give you both peace of mind.”
“What happened?” Morgan asked, sitting up straighter against the pillows.
The agent spoke to Bash. “I’ve already shared this with Max Fontana.”
Bash and Morgan gaped at each other.
The exchange wasn’t lost on the agent. “Yeah. I know who he is. It might have been nice if someone had told me earlier.”
“Would it have changed anything? Added more security to your team?” Bash asked.
“Doubtful,” the agent answered honestly.
“What did you want to share with us,” Morgan asked.
He blew out a breath and began. “Once we had the crime scene techs from Portland, we had a clearer picture of what happened today. The driver of the black sedan you found was Bart Spano, right-hand man to Enzo Fontana. His cell was in his pants pocket. No passcode. Texts from Enzo Fontana ordering him to take the ledger and get rid of the DF members. There was an address to Ms. Martin’s home. Or should I say the former Gia Fontana? He probably learned about the ledger from Kline. It appears they didn’t trust each other. Seems Kline got the best of him. We are still working on how they got Ms. Martin’s address.
“Our office in New York picked up Enzo Fontana this afternoon before he left the country. They weren’t happy because Enzo Fontana was already under a federal investigation. Apparently, Max Fontana contacted their office about two weeks after he took over the position of CEO and reported inconsistencies in the accounting in a couple of divisions. The New York office was close to an arrest when all of this happened. They arrested Leone Fontana today, as well. His first words were, ‘I want a plea deal. Didn’t have shit to do with murder.’ As we speak, a swarm of FBI agents are descending on Fontana Properties & Development. According to the agents interrogating Leone Fontana, he wanted no part of the murder plot against Max and his son. Which is very interesting, Mr. Bartoli. No one told me Maximillian Fontana was your father either.” His eyes bore into Bash.
“Before you get all bent out of shape or try to make a conspiracy out of this, I only learned Max was my father a few days ago. I was hiding from the man, refusing to meet with him solely based on his reputation. It’s a long story and totally irrelevant to your case. We ended up connecting and realizing we were all in danger. We were waiting for Morgan to get a deal with the FBI to transfer the ledger over to your guys. Then we were going to figure out how to get help with the Enzo problem.”
“I believe your Enzo problem has been handled. He has been trying to set up Max Fontana for embezzlement. He held secret meetings with board members to have Max quietly removed on the pretense that if an embezzlement scandal went public, the company would be ruined. Enzo knew a formal investigation would uncover his illegal handiwork. Once Enzo found out Max’s son was alive and would be the new heir to the controlling shares, Enzo changed his elimination strategy to murder.”
“Is Max’s wife involved?” Bash asked.
“Leone admitted Enzo was having an affair with her. She was passing Enzo any information she could find in Max’s home office. There is a lot of work to do before we can tie her to anything. Max may not have a company to go back to, but he doesn’t seem to be concerned. That man is not who I expected. If it weren’t for Max Fontana and Sam Barrett, I’d probably be on my way to the morgue. No way I could have handled those four men by myself.”
The agent cleared his throat, his eyes flicking between Bash and Morgan’s. “I’m sorry. You guys tried to warn me I was unprepared, but as I said before, my instructions from my supervisors were a simple signed agreement. They were unwilling to invest resources in something that could be a 25-year-old journal of an old man’s ramblings. When I asked my boss who my backup was, he literally pointed to Agent Scott, a non-field agent who was sitting outside his office, and said, ‘Take Agent Scott. She needs to get out more.’ With three dead bodies, a kidnapped agent, multiple civilian and federal employee injuries, an attack on a federal building, and ties to an outlaw motorcycle gang—shit is rolling uphill. Luckily, there were only minor injuries to a few postal workers and civilians.”
“They don’t suspect Max, do they?” Bash asked.
The agent pursed his lips. “Max Fontana was investigated the day he met with our agents months ago. Before he was CEO, he was the VP of Legal. At his suggestion, an agent took a temporary undercover position in his office. Everything Max and his staff touched came up clean.”
Bash and Morgan exchanged looks. He hoped the threats from Max’s family were gone.
“What about the Dragon Fire MC club? Is Asa Kline still alive?” Bash asked.
“Kline lost a lot of blood and has a collapsed lung. Too soon to tell if he’s going to make it. If he does, he’ll be back in prison. Then, stand trial on numerous charges. One of his gang members is dead, and two others are critically wounded. The driver of the van should make it, but we haven’t identified him yet. Says his name in Brutus. We’re running prints.”
“Is the DF Club still coming after Morgan?” Bash asked.
“Brutus said the four of them were on their own. Of course, he would say that. We have people watching the Dragon Fire in California. When this all hits the papers, they will realize the FBI has their men in custody. We’re hoping they will turn a blind eye. Morgan’s name will never be associated with it.”
