24. Sinclair

It was nearly midnight. Matt and I were both half asleep, despite the coffee we'd had, and I was wondering if he was ready to call it quits when I spotted a figure moving in the darkness. I sat up, my fatigue gone. "There. Look."

He shook himself. "Where?"

"At the far corner of the building where the light from the streetlamp doesn't reach."

"I don't see anything."

Of course he didn't. My eyes had a supernatural enhancement his didn't. "Trust me. There's someone there."

Matt looked at me. "How fast can you move?"

"Pretty fast." Again, thanks to the boost of my supernatural side.

"I don't want to tail this guy and draw this out. I'm ready for this to be over. If it's Tony, then he's probably working by himself. If it's not Tony, we know whoever's in the shadows is his partner. I say we take him down and deal with him on our own. You in?"

I would have preferred to go to the cops, but this way would be quicker. "Yeah, I'm in. Once he goes into the building, I'm going to get into position at that same corner. I'll watch you. You nod at me when he comes out. That way I can stay hidden."

"Okay. And after you jump him?"

"You come help." I punched Matt in the shoulder. "You think I'm doing this on my own?"

He snorted. "No, sorry. I just … I didn't know if you'd need help. I don't know what you are capable of."

"All kinds of things. A lot of them you should pray you never have to see."

Matt's brows lifted slightly, but he didn't say anything.

We went back to watching the figure. Definitely male, maybe Tony's height. He was wearing a flat cap pulled down low. Between that and the darkness, even my eyes couldn't make out his face.

He slunk closer to the glass door, putting himself in silhouette. The storage place was open twenty-four hours, so the interior was dimly lit. I wondered if more lights would flicker on when someone entered. A lot of places used motion sensors like that.

With a quick turn of his head in both directions, he ducked into the alcove where the door was and went inside. No additional lights went on. Was that just standard operating procedure or had he rigged it that way?

I put my hand on the SUV's door. "All right. I'm going to get into position. Remember, nod at me if he comes out with the bag. Shake your head if he doesn't."

"Got it."

I slipped out of the car, closing the door softly. I didn't think the man in the storage facility could see me, but I stayed in the shadows as much as I could. I got into position and waited, fixing my eyes on Matt.

He was laser-focused on the front door. I heard a sound. Matt's eyes narrowed, then he nodded vigorously, looking at me.

I burst into action, using the advantages of speed and surprise to catch the man off guard. He made a soft whoof as I careened into him and took him to the ground. The bag of money hit the sidewalk with a dull thump.

Matt grabbed it up as he arrived. I held the guy down. Matt yanked off his cap. Matt's lip curled in disgust. "Tony."

Tony's eyes widened.

"Yeah," I said. "We know who you are. Anthony Cipriani. Blackmailer." I leaned in. "And murderer."

His eyes went wider. "What? I didn't kill nobody."

I looked around to be sure we weren't being watched. Someone might think we were mugging this guy. "We need to get off the street."

"Get him up," Matt said. "I know a place we can take him. And I've got some zip ties in the glovebox."

"Get them."

Matt ran back to the SUV, taking the money with him.

Tony opened his mouth like he was going to yell for help.

I pulled power into my eyes, turning them silver-white, and leaned in so he could get a good look. "Go on. Give me a reason to shut you up."

His mouth stayed open a moment longer, but he didn't make a sound. Still, I was glad Matt hadn't seen that. I didn't want my friend to be afraid of me.

We got Tony's hands zip-tied behind his back, then hustled him into the car. If anyone was watching, they were keeping to themselves. And if the cops had been called, hopefully, we'd be gone soon enough to give them the slip.

An odd thing to think when I would have rather let the cops handle it, but we were in it now. Unless we were taking Tony to the police station. Which I doubted. "Where are we going?"

Matt glanced in the rearview mirror as he pulled away from the curb. "Let's just call it a place I have access to."

I understood him not wanting to say too much with Tony listening. "Works for me." I looked at Tony. He was lying across the rear seats, glaring back at me. As soon as I made eye contact, I saw fear in his gaze. He was wise to be afraid of me. He'd targeted my friend and who knew how many other people.

Worse, he might have killed Charlie. Or been the reason she'd died. We'd soon find out. I turned back around.

We drove about twenty minutes, arriving in an area filled with large parcels of land divided by chain-link fence that separated warehouse after warehouse. Some looked old and run-down. Some, like the one we were approaching, were in much better shape. And judging by the gate that automatically began to open as we arrived, high-tech.

This had to be one of Matt's properties, but there were no signs identifying the place.

He pulled through the gate, which closed behind us, then drove in a big circle so that we ended up parked alongside the warehouse door, the front of the vehicle facing the gate we'd just passed through.

Was he expecting us to have to make a hasty getaway? I didn't think it would come to that.

He turned the engine off. "I'll get the door open. You want help bringing him in?"

"No, I got it."

Matt unlocked the warehouse door, then I hustled Tony in, half-carrying him to speed up the process. He stayed quiet. Not sure yelling would have helped. The area seemed deserted. Inside, Matt switched on one set of lights. Sodium bulbs flickered to life overhead, dim as they warmed up.

Crates of equipment stood stacked and ready for shipment, but only about two-thirds of the warehouse was full. There was a small office off to the right, glass windows giving anyone inside a complete view of the rest of the building.

"Hang on." Matt went into the office, grabbed an old metal folding chair, and set it up on the floor. "Stick him on that. I'll be back."

I settled Tony onto the chair and stepped away. He watched me closely, clearly wary of what was about to happen next. "What are you guys going to do to me?"

"We're just going to have a little conversation."

Matt came back in, locking the door behind him. He had a wrench in one hand. He approached Tony. "Thought you were going to rip me off and get away with it, huh?"

Tony stared up at him, a sudden sneer curling his lip. "I saw that picture. You deserve to pay. Who knows what you did to that little girl?"

Matt jerked the wrench into the air, making Tony flinch. "That little girl is my niece, and my brother-in-law took the picture. Nothing was going on. But you'd have been fine to use that photo against me, wouldn't you?"

Tony's eyes narrowed. "You really think I'm going to believe that?" He laughed. "Say whatever you want, but that picture tells a different story."

Matt pulled the wrench back again. I grabbed it before he could hit Tony and looked him in the eyes. "Give me a second."

Matt scowled. Giving me a quick nod, he backed off.

I let go of the wrench and positioned myself in front of Tony. "What he said is true. You're the one in the wrong here. But what I'd really like to know is, why did you kill Charlie?"

Tony's jaw dropped open. "I didn't kill Charlie. I loved her."

"Right. You loved her, but you were okay with making her life miserable. Forcing her to find dirt on her clients that you could use against them. Definitely sounds like love to me."

His brow furrowed. "I didn't make Charlie do anything."

Matt exhaled loudly. "Liar. We know you killed her. Or you were the reason she killed herself. What did you threaten her with? Did you have some kind of dirt on her, too?"

Wild-eyed, Tony glared at him. "Seriously, I don't know what you're talking about."

I decided to try another tack. "How many other people have you blackmailed? Or are planning to blackmail?"

Tony clammed up.

Since Matt was behind me, I leaned in and took the opportunity to show Tony my eyes again, filled with the silver-white presence of my unique gifts. "Answer the questions."

He swallowed and reared back. He turned his head away, doing his best not to look at me. "I swear I didn't hurt Charlie. I loved her."

"Then why"—Matt started—"was she acting like she was upset for the last month? Why was she arguing with you on the phone? Why did she tell me you'd broken up? Make it make sense for me."

"I don't…" Tony sighed. "We had broken up. She said I was…"

When he didn't finish his sentence, I kicked the leg of the chair, jolting him. "Said you were what?"

"I was too controlling." He glared at Matt and me again. "I was just trying to help her make better decisions. Pet-sitting was no kind of career for her. She could have been making real money."

Matt shook his head. "By blackmailing people?"

"By going back to school to be a vet. It was what she wanted. I told her if she married me, I'd take care of everything. Pay her way. That's what I was going to use the money for."

I didn't know what to think of that. He sounded sincere. Even if his means had been shady. "Then why still collect it with her gone?"

Tony looked at me like I was stupid. "Because it's a hundred grand, dude."

"I would have loaned her the money for school," Matt said softly. "All she had to do was ask."

"She wouldn't have asked you or anyone else," Tony said. "That was the problem. She was stubborn and proud. Didn't want help from me. Didn't want help from anyone. But I would have gotten her the money. I would have found a way. I did find a way."

I went back to our original questions. "How many other people were you blackmailing?"

Tony heaved out a breath. "A few. They could all afford it. One of them was siphoning money from his employer. Another was running drugs through his workplace. These are shady people. The kind the cops never catch. They deserved what was coming to them."

Matt looked like he wanted to hit Tony again.

I shifted so that I was between him and Tony. "Let's not pretend you were some kind of vigilante superhero. Stealing from thieves doesn't make you less of a thief."

Tony lifted his chin. "Robin Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor."

Matt laughed. "Yeah, you're freaking Robin Hood. You might not have killed Charlie, but you could still be the reason she took her own life."

"No," Tony spat out. He looked almost like he might cry. "I loved Charlie. I mean that. I would have done anything for her. I don't care if you believe me or not; it's the truth."

"You want us to believe you?" I asked him. "Then tell us how you got that photo of Matt and his niece."

The muscles in Tony's jaw worked. "It wasn't Charlie, if that's what you're thinking. None of the people I was blackmailing came from her. They were all from…"

"Spit it out," Matt yelled.

Tony stared angrily at him. "They were all from a woman named Eileen Toussaint. You know her better as Isla Larson."