As hard as Senator Bates was working to keep this out of the media, it was impossible to hide it all. The story had broken last Friday that Milo had gone missing, but the details had been skimmed over. Someone at the news station had been paid off, no doubt.
“Can you tell me what you saw that night?” I asked. “Even the smallest detail might be important.”
John swallowed, his throat bobbing nervously, then he leaned in. “I was on the corner outside the club, smoking a cigarette, when I saw Milo walk by, heading into an alley next to the club.”
I was familiar with it—the one with no cameras.
“No more than five seconds later, this guy followed behind him. I’d seen them in the club before, flirting and getting pretty cozy, so I didn’t think much about it. When I went back in, I passed the alley. The dude was on his knees, giving Milo a blow job.” John held his hands up, his eyes wide. “I’m no perv, man, so I just kept walking.”
I mulled over what he’d said, sorting through his words for any clues. “Is there anything else? Did you recognize the man?”
He shook his head. “Never seen him before. And like I said, I wasn’t going to interrupt them having a good time. I didn’t think anything of it until I saw that news clip…”
I sat back with a sigh. “I really appreciate you reaching out. Do you think you got a good enough look at the guy that you could describe him?”
John narrowed his eyes in thought, then nodded slowly. “Yeah, yeah, I think so.”
Perfect. This could be just what I needed. So far, we only knew that Milo had been seen inside the club. If we could get a good idea of what the man he’d left with looked like, it might help move the investigation forward.
“Would you be willing to talk to my sketch guy? Give him a description?”
John’s eyes widened. “I don’t want to get caught up in anything—”
“Don’t worry about that. I have a guy who knows how to keep his mouth shut and is paid well to do so.”
That seemed to put John a little more at ease. “Okay, yeah. I’ll do it.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, I might be getting somewhere with the case. I called up my guy, and he met up with John and me just a few minutes later. John gave him the description, and they tweaked the sketch until John was satisfied with it.
Not half an hour later, I was in my office, ready to do some digging. It didn’t take me long to find what I was looking for. In fact, it was almost too easy, but I wasn’t complaining. Not when I’d pursued every other avenue in the investigation.
I leaned forward in my chair with a low whistle, looking back and forth between the sketch and my computer screen. Right there on Senator Bates’s website was a list of all the people who worked on his staff, complete with headshots. And right at the top was the guy I was looking for.
I nearly choked when I read his job description. He was the senator’s top assistant. The guy was probably closer to the senator than anyone else on staff, privy to all kinds of information—and dirty secrets.
Sitting back and folding my arms across my chest, I thought through my next steps. I’d need to question him, no doubt. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I remembered Percy’s warning about making sure he was present for any questioning. I didn’t necessarily want to question the guy without a lawyer present anyway, but damn. This wasn’t how I wanted my next interaction with Percy to go. It would be tense, but what choice did I have?
Might as well suck it up and get it over with. I picked up the phone and dialed Percy’s office, giving the receptionist my name when she asked. While I waited, I started drafting some questions for Bates’s assistant.
“Easton?”
Percy’s voice was deep and clear, the sound of it washing over me, causing my wolf to react, even over the phone.
“Hey,” I said, my own voice breathier than usual, much to my chagrin.
“How are you?” he asked, and I detected a note of confusion. Right. He was surely wondering why I called.
I cleared my throat, forcing myself to be all business. “I’m calling about the case,” I said matter-of-factly. “I’ve got a lead, and I need to bring someone in for questioning. I figured I’d give you a heads up like you asked.”
A beat of silence. “Who is it?” His voice was terse this time, irritated.
“Andrew Milton, the senator’s personal assistant.”
Percy cursed, and I grimaced. It had to be a massive blow to his case to know I’d found something so close to home.
“Thank you for informing me. Do you have a time in mind?” he asked, his voice strained.
“This afternoon, if at all possible. I want to bring in Mrs. Bates and her lawyer as well.”
Another long pause. “Fine. Call my assistant back with a time, and we’ll be there.”
I tried not to be offended that he wanted the details to go through his assistant. I didn’t have any right to be upset about it. We were professionals on opposing sides of a case. And we weren’t exactly on great terms personally either. Still, I had a feeling I was widening the gap between us even more. Which was a good thing. I didn’t want him to be my mate, but I couldn’t help but think about how nice it had been on Saturday to not be at each other’s throats.
“Great. Thanks,” I replied. I hung up and sighed as I ran my hands through my hair. I had to forget about Saturday. Forget about the way it had felt to be so close to him, to breathe in his spicy scent and feel his muscles move beneath my touch.
Fuck. I wasn’t going to forget about it anytime soon, but I had a job to do, and I was nothing if not professional.
I made a few quick calls, the first to Milo’s mother, to let her know what was going on. She’d moved out last week, had hired her own lawyer, and was completely done with her husband. It wouldn’t be long before that was in the news as well, even though the senator was doing his best to keep it quiet and avoid a scandal leading up to the election. She agreed to come in with her lawyer that afternoon.
After I hung up with her, I called Kevin since he’d been helping me out. Even though the police weren’t doing much, they’d at least assigned an officer to the case. Kevin was one of the best on the force, and I knew he’d come through. With all of us working together, surely we’d be able to solve this case, find Milo, and put the senator behind bars—because I was more certain every day that he was behind it all.
Finally, I called Percy’s law office again, and I gave his assistant a message for Percy and Andrew Milton to be at my office at three o’clock. Then I got to work putting the rest of my questions together. Mrs. Bates’s lawyer would do the questioning, but I wanted to make sure all the details I was looking for were covered.
By the time three o’clock rolled around, I was brimming with anticipation. Milton was our first official suspect. Kevin was the first to get there, and I updated him with what my informant had told me that morning.
Kevin let out a low whistle, leaning in close to check out the sketch my guy had drawn. “This could be what we’ve been waiting for.”
“I know.”
Just then, my office door opened, and Percy waltzed in like he owned the place. He narrowed his eyes as he took in Kevin and me, but didn’t say anything. Andrew filed in behind him. Mrs. Bates and her lawyer arrived seconds later.