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It had to be more than that.
“It’s fairly obvious to me,” Kaden said slowly. “You’re handing a wad of money to Vanna Zimmerman. Sloppy.”
Tate’s expression was wary. “Sloppy?”
Kaden pointed to where Vanna was awkwardly cradling a large stack of cash in her arms in the picture.
“You’re making the exchange in broad daylight. This is undeniable proof you were paying bribes to a government official.”
Tate made a strange sound. Not anger. Not even outrage. It was more like a grunt of relief. A strange ball of unease settled in the pit of Kaden’s stomach.
“It never happened.” The mayor dropped the photo on the desk. “This must be a fake.”
Kaden frowned, ignoring the predictable claim. There was something about the picture he was missing. But he didn’t have a clue what it was.
With a shake of his head, Kaden forced himself to concentrate on the obvious facts.
“When I first saw the picture, I was curious. Why hand over so much cash instead of using the overseas bank accounts? Those are a lot tougher to trace,” he said, reaching to grab the photo from the desk. “I couldn’t figure it out until I saw the date at the top.”
Tate glanced away as Kaden held the photo toward him. “I told you, that’s a fake.”
“December 14, 2007.” Kaden helpfully read the date out loud. “The day she disappeared.”
“So?”
“You wanted to be able to take back the money after you killed her,” Kaden suggested. “Something that would have been a lot more difficult if you’d transferred it to an offshore bank account. This way, you could lure her into a false sense of complacency before you bashed her on the head and grabbed the cash.”
Tate’s lips parted, as if he was about to laugh. Then, catching sight of Kaden’s grim expression, he stiffened in outrage. “What?”
“You murdered Vanna Zimmerman.”
Chapter 22
Kaden watched the emotion drain from Tate’s face. He’d seen professional actors create an image of astonishment. They widened their eyes and gasped in shock. Some could make their pulses race. But not one of them had been capable of creating the image of being sucker punched.
Which meant the mayor either possessed amazing acting skills or he was genuinely stunned by the accusation.
“You think I killed Vanna?”
Kaden shrugged. “It’s obvious.”
With an effort, the older man gathered his rattled composure. “The only thing that’s obvious is that you’re trying to find some schmuck to pin the murder on.” He pointed his finger in Kaden’s direction. “And the only reason you would be doing that is if you were guilty.”
“Don’t be an idiot. I was very publicly doing a live stunt for my show on the day Vanna disappeared,” Kaden shut down any possibility of the mayor trying to pin the blame on him. “Besides, I had no reason to want her dead. While you and your pals have several thousand.”
Frustrated by his inability to divert the blame from himself, Tate clenched his hands into tight fists.
“You have no proof.”
“For Christ’s sake, cut the bullshit,” Kaden ground out. He was done with the petty games this man had spent a lifetime playing. “We both know I have more than enough proof to send you away for a very long time. If nothing else, your position as mayor of Pike will be over. A crushing blow to a man with your ego.”
Tate tried to look defiant. He was accustomed to using a combination of charm and ruthless bullying to manipulate people. But meeting Kaden’s unwavering gaze, he allowed his breath to hiss between clenched teeth. The world the mayor had carefully crafted was starting to crumble around him.
“What do you want from me? Money?”
Kaden resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He had the sort of money Tate could only dream about.
“What I want is the truth.”
