Secrets by Edwards Nicole

Author:Edwards, Nicole [Edwards, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: small town, gay, Romance, gay romance, Crime, Holidays, The Walkers of Coyote Ridge
ISBN: 9781644180495
Amazon: B09Q1J479T
Goodreads: 60102991
Publisher: Nicole Edwards Limited
Published: 2022-02-22T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

JJ looked up from her computer screen when she heard the door open below.

She pretended there weren’t chill bumps on her arms and that her stomach wasn’t churning with anxiety. It was the same reaction she had every time she was startled, and admittedly, she’d been so wrapped up in her research, she hadn’t realized she was the only one upstairs at the moment.

Without being prompted, she grabbed her laptop and headed down the stairs, knowing whoever it was would require an update. They’d spent all morning compiling information on the three couples as well as the investment company, coming up with a lot of data, but nothing that would lead them to Cedric Hawkins.

“Where’s Brantley?” she asked when she saw Reese.

“He went to meet Baz.”

“And you didn’t go with him?”

Reese didn’t answer, simply stared at her as though urging her to use deductive reasoning to answer her own question. And fine. She could obviously see he hadn’t gone with Brantley, but her real question was why not?

“What’ve you got, JJ?”

Yep, and that was a flash of temper she heard in his voice.

“Oh, sorry.” She shook off the strange vibe, shot a smile at Evan, then shifted her attention back to Reese. “Very little, to be honest. I just finished a deeper dive of Hawkins’s financials.”

“Lookin’ for?”

“Anything and everything. I was mainly focused on property he owned, thinking perhaps he might’ve gone off to hide somewhere, but, like I said, I found very little. They’ve got several vacation homes, one in Hawaii, one in Cancun, and one in St. Maarten. All of which have twenty-four-hour video surveillance.”

“What I find interesting is that you call three vacation homes ‘very little,’” Evan said with a grin.

“Considering the numbers before the decimal point on his bank statement, it’s actually kinda modest.”

“The security?” Reese noted. “I assume you hacked it.”

JJ smiled. “You know me so well. I saw nothing out of the ordinary, and there’ve been no glitches in the software. I’d bet money he’s not off taking a vacation.” When they continued to stare at her, JJ continued. “What I did find that was interesting was the money he’s been squirreling away for a while. Hawkins has an offshore account that he’s funneling money to through his investment firm.”

“How much are we talkin’ about?”

“Roughly twenty million.” She glanced between them. “Money his wife clearly doesn’t know about.”

“But perhaps she suspects,” Reese mused.

“Which speaks to motive,” Evan stated. “If he’s hiding that, what else is he hiding?”

“He’s also payin’ for his mistress’s apartment, and let me tell you, her digs ain’t cheap.”

“Wife claims an open relationship.”

“My ass.” JJ set her laptop down, tapped a few keys. “I checked her out on social media, and nothin’ in her posts indicates they’re anything more than a happy, loving couple. However…” She paused for dramatic effect. “Somethin’ else interesting. Her search history. Plus I was able to uncover a few of her messages as well as a couple of emails.”

“I’m assuming you’ve got a warrant for that?” Evan asked, frowning as his gaze darted between them.

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