Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“Janet! What can I do for you?” he asks, eying me up and down. “Special guest?”
“I’m Braken Frost.” I hold out my hand in greeting. “Nice to meet you.”
“Matt Follins, head of the security team.” He returns my handshake. “Do you need something?”
“Mr. Frost is one of the investors to our operations,” Janet explains with a smile, and a glare as if trying to silently tell him he should know this. “I’m just showing him around.”
“Please, call me Braken,” I placate. “Mr. Frost is my father.”
A phone rings, and Janet fishes into her pocket before excusing herself to take the call outside. Perfect. It gives me time alone with Matt to convince him for a sneak peek of last week’s footage. Security cameras keep records for at least thirty days, so it should be easy enough to get it.
Matt looks barely over twenty, his blue Mariners cap on backward and his security badge hanging off a new jersey. If I didn’t know any better, I would have assumed he was a fan who got lost in the tunnels. Clearly, he’s a superfan, so I’ll have to use that to my advantage.
“You look a little young to be head of the security team here,” I begin.
A proud smile lights his face. “Yeah, it’s a dream come true. I got the job right out of college and have been here for a few years now. They apparently like my enthusiasm for the job.”
“I can see that.” I gesture to his clothes and return the smile. “No dress code?”
“The more decked out, the better. That’s easy for me.” Matt takes a seat on top of a desk against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “Been a Mariners fan since birth. My dad’s mancave is covered in memorabilia. He threw me a literal party once I got the job.”
I don’t care about this kid’s love for baseball. I don’t have much time before Janet comes back and ushers me elsewhere, and I need this damn footage.
I point with an open hand toward the plethora of cameras on the wall. “I bet you’ve seen some crazy stuff in your time here.”
“Oh yeah. Beatings, carjackings, sex. You name it, I’ve seen it.”
“What about car bombings?”
Matt regards me with a raised scraggly eyebrow. “Like the one last week? It’s the first time I’ve seen one, but there’s a first time for everything.”
“I’d be interested to see it, too, since it’s my brother-in-law that was killed.”
Matt inhales through his teeth and pushes off the desk. “Hey man, I’m sorry for your loss, but I can’t show you without a warrant. I got some strict orders when all this happened. Police, news reporters. I was told I couldn’t do shit.”
Annoyance pricks at my skin and makes my face drop. A damn warrant? Is he kidding? I don’t have time for this shit.
I dig into the pocket of my beige trench coat to pull out my wallet. “Listen, I need to see that footage. Name your price.”
Once Matt sees the wad of bills in my wallet, he holds his hands up and shakes his head. “Whoa. I don’t need any of that. Like I said, I can’t show you unless the cops are involved.”
“Everyone has a price,” I respond steadily, keeping the wallet out. “Whether it’s monetary, protection, or something they need.”
My veiled threat sails right over his naive head.
“I got everything I need here,” Matt says with a cheeky smile. “This is my dream job, and I don’t want to jeopardize it. I wish I could help.”
There are plenty of other ways I can make him give me the tapes. I’m one of the motherfucking owners, although not a major one, so this could get messier than I want, and I don’t want to pull others into this if I don’t need to. I really do hope to keep this little investigation of mine on the down low if I can help it.
Janet returns and offers to show me the new VIP lounge, and Matt becomes distracted with something else on his phone. I’m not going to get very far with these two, and my idea of simplicity just burned right along with Mason’s car.
Chapter 14
Braken
By the time I make it back to The Vault, I already have someone working on falsifying a warrant for the footage. There is no time to waste, and I’m not going to sit around and wait for the cops to suddenly be good at their jobs. We have enough detectives and cops in our pockets that they turn a blind eye to most Frost and Godwin business. but I’m not willing to involve them this time, especially not if someone is working to cover up the murder.
Something in my gut is telling me that someone—or someones—want this entire murder case to go cold.