I took Mrs. Webster back to the hotel then went to our dorm room. Kayleigh was there with Major, so I filled them on in the meeting.
“So, it really looks like she might go free?” Kaleigh asked.
“If the detectives do their job, then yes.”
“And if they don’t?” she wanted to know.
“I have a very strong feeling they will.”
Major chuckled. “What did you do?”
“Me. Nothing. But West Security may have had a talk with them after court this morning.”
Major shook his head but smiled at me. “It’s a good thing your dad’s company has a good relationship with the police around here.”
“Yeah, I never thought it would have come in as handy as it has this year.”
I knew both Major and Kayleigh were thinking back to last year when she was kidnapped, and West Security helped find her.
“So, what can we do?” Kayleigh asked.
“You guys can’t do anything. So, just go to class and act normal, I guess. I’m going to continue to investigate this. I know that Anthony is behind it, I just have to have indisputable proof.”
Kayleigh nodded. “Call if you find anything out.”
“And don’t do anything stupid without me,” Major said with a smile.
“Okay, to both of you,” I said.
They left the dorm and I got back on my laptop. I had to find a way to show that it was Anthony and not his dad that was responsible for stealing the money. Logically, you wouldn’t steal from your own company and then report it to the police, so I was ninety-nine percent sure it was Anthony.
I figured I had about twelve hours to find what I was looking for and get it to the detectives so they could confirm it. Once my fingers started flying over the keys it was all I could focus on.
“I brought you food,” Major said.
“Huh,” I said, looking up from my computer.
He chuckled. “You’ve been at it for hours. I figured you needed to eat.”
I had no idea how long I’d been sitting there, but I was a little stiff when I stood up.
“Thanks,” I told Major. “Where’s Kayleigh?”
“With Karma’s parents. I’m going to pick her up in a while. How’s it going? Did you find anything?”
“I think so,” I said between mouthfuls. “But I don’t want to get too excited until I can actually prove it. I’m currently trying to find Anthony’s hidden email. I know there has to be one. No one could set up offshore accounts without phone calls or emails. I’m betting emails because they’re easier to get rid of.”
“I know I’m not as good as you, but I can hold my own so let me know if you need any help.”
“Thanks, Major. I will.”
He left and I finished the burger he brought me. Then I was right back to searching. I wasn’t sure if Anthony covered his tracks himself or if someone else was in on it with him, but whoever it was, they were good. But I was better.
Sometime in the middle of the night, I found what I was looking for. Way down deep on the dark web Anthony had a secret email that was almost impossible to find. I’d hit the jackpot. Everything was there to convict him. I saved everything on a flash drive and went straight to the police station, not caring what time it was.
There was an officer at the front desk now instead of the cute girl from the other day.
“Can I help you?” he asked me.
“I need to see Detective Martinez or Detective Lance. It’s extremely urgent.”
“Son, it’s almost 4am, they aren’t here right now.”
“I’ll wait then,” I told him. “When do they get in?”
“Usually around 8am.”
“Fuck, okay. Can I sit here?”
“As long as you don’t cause any trouble.”
“I won’t, Sir. I just really need to give them some important information about a case they’re working on.”
“Okay then.”
He went back to whatever he was doing, and I had a seat in one of the chairs. I played on my phone for a while then started pacing. When I got the look from the officer, I sat down again. Sometime around 5am he brought me a coffee, which I was extremely grateful for.
By 6am, I was a ball of nerves. The flash drive was burning a hole in my pocket. The officer must have sensed it because he came over to me with a piece of paper.
“We don’t normally do this, but I can tell whatever you need to talk to them about is important so here.”
I looked at the paper and on it were the numbers for Martinez and Lance.
“Thank you. You have no idea what this means Officer …” I looked at his name badge, “Walker. You’re helping to save an innocent woman.”
He chuckled. “I kind of thought this had to do with a woman. Good luck son.” He clapped me on the shoulder and went back to the desk.
I went straight to my car and called the number for Detective Martinez.
“Detective Martinez,” she said, when she answered.
“Detective, this is Bodie West. I have some very important information for you regarding the Karma Webster case.”
“What is it?”
“I need to show you. I have everything on a flash drive for you. It proves who the actual criminal is behind the stolen money. Can you meet me at the station?”
“We’ll be there in ten minutes. Meet us out front.”
She hung up and I breathed a small sigh of relief. I think that was the longest ten minutes of my life. I could barely stand still by the time a car pulled up in front of the building. The two detectives got out and came over to me.
“Come with us,” Detective Lance said.
I followed them into the building, giving Officer Walker a small nod on the way by. We went into the main area of the station and to what I guessed was one of their desks.
“Where’s the flash drive?” Detective Martinez asked.
I dug it out of my pocket and handed it to her. She put it in her computer and brought up the files I’d saved on it. I watched as they looked at what I’d found.
“You’re good kid,” Detective Lance said. “How long did it take you to find this?”
“Almost all night. I had to prove it wasn’t Karma.”
“Looks like you did, and you’ve made the case against Anthony Pagano easy,” he said. “We still have to talk to Miss Webster’s associates, but I can’t see why the judge won’t let her go, especially with this information.”
“Thank you, Mr. West,” Detective Martinez said. “Karma is lucky to have you in her life. The case was overwhelmingly against her until you came along.”
“It was the least I could do,” I said. “She deserves to be happy.”
“Bodie,” Detective Lance said seriously, “I need you to do one thing for me, stay away from Anthony Pagano. If he suspects anything, I have a feeling he’ll run. You’ve given us enough evidence to charge him and I’d hate for that not to happen. Okay?”
“Okay,” I agreed. I really wanted to confront him and beat the fuck out of him, but that satisfaction wasn’t worth Karma’s freedom.
“Now go home and get some sleep. You look like shit kid.”