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—SIGN AT DEL SOL BROKERAGE AND PSYCHIC READINGS
Instead of accompanying Levi to the cabin to look for Elliot like she’d wanted, Sun spent the last few hours going over the case files and the trial records for Matthew Kent’s conviction. Levi went without her. He promised to call the minute he knew something one way or another, but she didn’t know if he had cell service. If he had a way to contact her.
Matthew Kent refused to name any of his accomplices, the people he said were actually pulling the strings, exclaiming to anyone who would listen that they would kill him. He played the fall-guy part for everything it was worth. And with Elliot’s disappearance, he very nearly got away with it.
Investigators lost the money trail after it left a bank in the Caymans. Tens of millions of dollars. Money didn’t just disappear. Someone had it, but by the looks of Addison Kent, it was not her or her husband.
In the pictures from the trial, Addison looked exhausted. Her dark hair unkempt. Her pale face hollow. She’d been through the wringer thanks to her husband. The fact that they were still married baffled Sun, but maybe Addison just didn’t want to file for divorce while her husband was in prison.
She looked over at Rojas. He was still there, going through the footage from both the bar and the Quick-Mart, hoping to catch a glimpse of the men in the pickup. Without it, they had nothing.
“Rojas, I was impressed with you before I blackmailed you into joining the team. Go home. This can wait until tomorrow.”
“What’s your excuse then?” he asked. “You know, if it can wait.” He stood and walked over to her. “You want me to make a fresh pot before I go?”
She smiled like he’d just offered her a little slice of heaven.
Headlights filtered through the front glass of the station. Levi pulled up and parked. He must not have found Elliot.
“I got it,” Rojas said, going to let him in.
Her phone rang. She looked at the clock. Eleven thirty on a school night. Her daughter had better have a good excuse for staying up so late.
She clicked on the green button. “It’s late. And you are grounded from your phone for all eternity. This better be good.”
“Mommy,” Auri said, her voice so soft she almost didn’t hear her.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
“I—I think I found a dead body.”
Sun scrambled to her feet and followed Rojas out the front. “Where are you?”
“I fell.”
She snapped her fingers at Rojas and signaled him to get to his cruiser. He nodded and took off toward his parked SUV while she commandeered Levi’s vehicle. “Where, baby?” she asked.
Levi didn’t hesitate. He climbed back into his pickup while Sun got into the passenger’s side.
“You know that little bridge on Sunrise?”
“Saviata. Yes. I’m almost there.”
Levi backed out and had her on Sunrise in less than two minutes. Rojas followed with his emergency flashers on.
They skidded to a halt and Levi was out the door faster than Sun could get unbuckled.
“Don’t come down here!” Auri shouted.
Rojas brought out a flashlight and searched with the beam until it found her.
Levi started down the ravine.
“Don’t come down here!” Auri shouted, giving it another shot. “It’s a crime scene.”
The smell hit Sun about that time and served only to spur her panic into hyperdrive. She followed Levi down.
“Crime! Scene!”
Ignoring Auri, Levi replied as eloquently as ever, “Bite. Me.” He skidded to a halt on the incline, maneuvered around to her, then looked up at Rojas and clapped his hands once. Rojas tossed him the flashlight while he called for an ambulance.
“Levi,” Auri said, visibly shaking.
“What the hell, Red?”
Sun kicked up enough dirt to bury them both when she tried to stop on the incline beside Levi.
“What part of crime scene is no one but me understanding?”
“Auri, baby, what happened?”
“I fell,” she said. “And my bike came with me.”
Levi shined the light. “Can you stand?”
“My foot is caught in the chain. Nothing is broken though. I’m not experiencing any nausea or extreme pain. I’m also not experiencing any dizziness or other signs of a concussion. I’m just tangled up. And there is a shooting pain in my ankle every time I try to move.”
“Thank you for that assessment, Dr. Vicram,” Sun said.
Levi shined the light on her ankle. “Ouch,” he said. “We may have to cut this off you.”
“With what?” Auri asked, panicking.
“Unless …” He studied it a bit more. “Can I try to lift this end up, Red?”
She nodded and took Sun’s hand.
“If it hurts, tell me. I’ll stop.”
“Okay.”
Sun kneeled closer to her. “Should I even ask what you’re doing with a bike tangled around you in a ravine in the middle of the night?”
She pressed her lips together, then said meekly, “I had to apologize to Cruz.”
“You couldn’t text him?”
“He wasn’t answering. I got worried.”
“Auri,” Sun admonished, but the girl drew in a sharp breath.
“There,” Levi said, letting go of the bike. It slid the rest of the way down the ravine.
“You did it?” Auri asked, trying to sit up.
“Nah-uh.” He pressed her back to the ground. “You stay where you are, Ricky Road Racer.”
But she didn’t. She threw her arms around his neck, shaking even harder.
“Where’s that ambulance?” Sun shouted.
“On the way, boss,” Rojas said. He’d found another flashlight.
“But for real,” Auri said, talking into Levi’s neck. “Dead body. Like two feet away.”
“We’ll worry about that in a minute,” he said.
She let go. “I thought maybe whoever did it was still out here.”
“Oh, baby.” Sun pulled her into her arms.
“I have to take credit for this one,” Levi said after shining a light on the half-covered body.
Sun heard the sirens getting closer. She put her hands over Auri’s ears, fully aware she could still hear their conversation, but it offered Sun some consolation. “Is that your guy?”
He nodded. “That’s him.”
“You weren’t kidding. He didn’t even last two blocks.”
“I never thought they’d dump him in the middle of town.” He shined the light around the whole area. “He wasn’t even dead when they tossed him. Look at all the blood.”
“With friends like that.”
“You guys know I can still hear you, right?” Auri asked.
Sun hugged her tighter, then looked up at Levi.
“I’m going to lift you up,” he said to Auri. “If anything hurts, let me know.”
“What’s the plan?” Sun asked him.
He scanned the area. “I’m going to take her down and walk her to the railing. I can get her up from there.”