Only The Guilty: A Legal Thriller by Dan Decker

Author:Dan Decker [Decker, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grim Archer Media
Published: 2023-11-11T16:00:00+00:00

56

Ruth sat across the table from Simon Fonnson and Sandra Larson, who looked like she was afraid and kept glancing at Simon as if reassured by his presence. They were back in Simon’s favorite coffee shop, and he was calmly sipping on an oversized mug again.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me,” Ruth said, studying the strange-looking diminutive brown-haired woman, who seemed more concerned by the moment. Sandra kept glancing at the door as if thinking of making a run.

She must have decided against it because she picked up her water, sipped, and then took a small nibble of her pastry.

“I only came because Simon asked me to, and frankly, I’m starting to have second thoughts, so whatever questions you have, you might want to ask them. I can’t promise to be here long.”

Ruth nodded. “I understand. I appreciate—”

“Just cut to it.” Sandra shook her head and took another tiny bite.

“You worked for Konnor Ulrich?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“And I understand you know what he was doing with his nephew Nixon Frakes?”

“What are you looking for in particular?”

“Anything illegal.”

“That was most of what they were doing.”

“Can you help me understand the specifics?”

“I suspected they were laundering cash through an online operation. They had this website where they’d sell products they wouldn’t ship.”

“Did this have anything to do with Ulrich’s internet business?”

“No.”

“How did you learn about it?”

“They weren’t careful. I saw the paperwork, and one time, I gained access to a laptop dedicated to this business.”

“Where was the money coming from?”

“A good question.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. All I know is they felt the need to clean it up.”

“And you’re sure Nixon Frakes was involved?”

“Up to his neck.”

“Was it drugs?”

“Almost certainly.”

“What about murder?”

Sandra hesitated. “I can’t say.”

Simon shifted as if he was uncertain and started looking at the door. Sandra noticed and seemed to become antsier than before.

“But you suspected it.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“What are you going to do with this information?” Sandra asked.

“It depends on what it is and what I can verify.”

“Am I going to be quoted? I came here thinking it would be anonymous. I’m starting to feel this isn’t going to be that way.”

“I’ll keep you confidential.”

“It was just something they said in passing. They joked about a guy who worked there that didn’t anymore.”

“What was his name?”

“Kirby Kirton.”

A chill ran down Ruth’s neck. She recognized it. “Bobby Kirton’s father? He died in a hit-and-run.”

“Yeah. That’s him. He used to work at Ulrich Internet.”

Ruth frowned. “Are you sure? I looked it up, and it said he worked for Mountain Web.”

“Which is owned by Ulrich Internet. It’s one of their brands. It’s all under one roof but they have multiple faces.”

Ruth pushed back in her chair. “So what did they say? Did they say they caused the accident?”

“No, it was just how they joked about it. I don’t remember specifics. I think it was more their tone.”

Ruth nodded, but she was furious for not figuring this out. It had never crossed her mind to research Mountain Web. She was sure the sheriff had probably missed it too.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.