They’d used that approach a few times, with Diesel creatively accessing the suspects’ personal computers to see expenses versus what had been declared to the IRS. The tax fraud had to be excessive for it to result in any jail time for the abusers, but when it worked, it got the abuser out of the home, which was their team’s ultimate goal.
These abusers weren’t being punished for beating their children, but they were being punished – and most people were more terrified of the IRS than they were of the cops. Marcus figured if it had been good enough for The People v. Al Capone, it was good enough for them.
‘You’re probably right, Cal,’ he said. ‘This guy is too smart to openly cheat on his taxes, but let’s let Diesel take a look anyway. He’s had too many easy cases recently. Too much low-hanging fruit. We need to keep his skills sharp.’
‘I’m sitting right here, asshole,’ Diesel snarled, but his eyes were bright with the challenge. ‘If I don’t find any tax irregularities, I might find something else we can use. This guy may have a secret porn collection he doesn’t want anyone to know about, or he may be having an affair he wants to keep secret. I’ll need to know more about him to guess his passwords – hobbies, friends, old lovers. This’ll be too much fun.’
Lisette’s lips curved even as she shook her head. ‘Be careful, big guy. Don’t get so excited that you trip any alarms.’
Diesel gave her an injured look. ‘You wound me, Lissy.’
‘I will totally wound you if you expose us,’ she warned, but it was without heat. ‘I was wondering if this prince has assaulted anyone outside his immediate family. Maybe someone who works for him. His household staff wouldn’t talk, but one of his employees might.’
‘How were you planning to get his corporate staff list?’ Stone asked.
She waggled her brows. ‘I was thinking of sending someone in with a delivery. You can get a lot of info from mailroom clerks. But it would need to be someone young – or who looks young. Someone who could pull off being a courier. Someone who hasn’t had any photos of himself in the press, unlike Stone, and who doesn’t scare small children with his tattoos, unlike Diesel.’ She gave her brother a beaming smile, and Phillip sighed.
‘Give me the address. I’ll go home and get my courier uniform and my bike.’
‘Start with the ladies’ names,’ Lisette said, sobering. ‘Guys like this pick on people they think are weaker than they are.’
‘I know what to do,’ Phillip reminded her. ‘I’ve done this before.’
He had, and successfully. Phillip had a youthful face that people simply trusted.
‘And if we can’t get any legit goods on him?’ Stone asked, and the table again fell silent, everyone turning to Marcus.
‘Then we find a way to create a situation he can’t resist,’ Marcus said. They had used entrapment only once, when the suspect was a child predator who’d been too smart to get caught by police chat-room stings. Because they weren’t cops, they weren’t bound by the same anti-entrapment rules. And that perp was now serving eight-to-twenty-five in the state pen. Life without rules could be a beautiful thing.
‘What about the foster family situation?’ Cal asked.
‘That one came from a contact at the high school,’ Marcus said. ‘One of Mikhail’s friends.’ A wave of emotion hit him like a brick and he had to clear his throat. ‘He called to tell me goodbye because he’s headed off to college. He was, um, missing Mickey.’ The room went still as Marcus focused on filling his lungs with air. Just saying Mikhail’s name could still suck all the oxygen from a room. ‘They were always supposed to go to college together, the two of them and another boy. Best friends, you know.’
‘John,’ Stone murmured. ‘Those boys were joined at the hip. I always forget we aren’t the only ones to miss him.’
Marcus swallowed hard when Lisette leaned against Stone, resting her head on his shoulder, trying to give him comfort.
There was no romance, not among any of them. But they all loved one another just the same. In many ways, he and Stone had ended up far better than Marcus had ever hoped. He liked to think his grandfather would be happy to see this. And maybe a little proud.
He cleared his throat again. ‘Anyway, John and I got to talking. He was sad because, of the three of them, only he was going away to the college they’d picked. The third boy got accepted and would have been a scholarship student, but right before graduation, he “went all zombie”. John’s words. He said it was like the lights went out overnight. The boy failed his finals, his GPA dropped and he lost his scholarship. John’s afraid to go away to school now, worried that his friend might do something stupid, like kill himself.’
‘Hell of a burden for an eighteen-year-old boy to carry,’ Cal said gruffly.
‘The kid was molested,’ Stone said flatly. ‘He was in foster care?’
Marcus nodded. ‘Yeah. John said he tried to get him to go to the authorities, but the boy wouldn’t – and made John promise he wouldn’t call the hotline. Apparently there are other kids there who would suffer. Kids this boy was protecting. John thought that he could get around his promise by asking me to call, but I told him to give me a few days. That I’d see what could be done so that all the kids would be protected.’ He turned to Diesel, who looked ready to kill. ‘You want a shot at this foster scum’s computer before I go to Children’s Services?’
Diesel huffed. ‘Try to stop me.’
‘D,’ Lisette murmured, ‘be careful.’
Diesel bared his teeth in a parody of a smile. ‘You always say that, Lissy. And I’m always careful. No way I’m letting some sick sonofabitch off the hook because I got careless.’
She nodded, still wary. ‘You’re already tracing the emails for Marcus and digging into Mr Rich and Arrogant. Let me help you. You don’t have to carry this one alone.’
‘Yeah, sweetie, I do,’ Diesel said grimly. No one ever talked about Diesel’s background, but everyone knew that child rapists were his temper’s trigger. It didn’t take a genius to connect the dots. ‘I’ll back-burner Rich and Arrogant for a day or two. If I haven’t found anything to nail Foster Dick, then I’ll come to you for help.’
‘All right,’ Marcus said. ‘What about legit business? What stories are we covering today?’
‘Well, the girl in the alley is our lead,’ Lisette said. ‘There were a few minor stories that showed up in the police reports this morning. Nothing as big as yours.’ She briefly went through each one, detailing which of her small group of reporters she planned to send, and it started to sound like a normal staff meeting.
Lisette glanced over at Diesel, who was already on his laptop, his expression too intense, then back at her brother. ‘I’d like you to do the groundwork for Diesel on Mr Rich and Arrogant. His plate is full.’
‘I’m fine,’ Diesel growled.
Phillip nodded at Lisette, ignoring Diesel. ‘Will do.’
They spent another twenty minutes discussing the more routine business – sports, the arts, all subjects that were unlikely to get any of them threatened or shot at.
‘If no one has anything else, then we’re done,’ Marcus said. ‘Keep me informed.’
The team filed out of the conference room, Cal bringing up the rear. The old man paused at the door, looking over his shoulder. ‘Have you told your mother what happened this morning?’
Marcus shook his head, feeling nauseated at the thought. ‘No, but I will. She needs to hear it from me and not from Stone’s story.’
Cal gave him a nod and closed the door behind him, leaving Marcus sitting alone, dreading the conversation with his mother. Either way he cut it, she’d be devastated. That he’d been protecting ‘a stranger’, as she’d put it, would make it worse. Protecting ‘a stranger’ was how she’d nearly lost him nine months ago. She couldn’t see past that point.
His mother had buried Mikhail. And Matty, so long ago. They never spoke of the third of her five children. No one wanted to hurt her. But Marcus had hurt her again by getting injured that day nine months ago. He’d hurt her when he joined the army, too. He would hurt her again when he told her about this morning. Hell, maybe Stone was right. Maybe I do have a death wish. But he wouldn’t change anything he’d done. Not even that one most despicable thing that haunted him more than all the others put together. But none of that was relevant. Those mental images flashing through his mind had nothing to do with the reality of what he had to do today, so he pushed the memories from his mind and focused.