Chapter Twenty-Eight Brigit

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: brIGIT

"I take it you have computer records. Not everything is on hard copy, right?" I ask.

"We have records on the computer, but only Spark knows how to access them," Trouble says. I look at him, and he shrugs. "What? We're old school."

I shake my head.

"There is a computer in the HR office," Chill says. "I can take you there and we'll get you access."

I look around the room. "I thought this was the HR office?"

"No, this is your HR office because Wildcard wants you nearby," Chill says with a smirk. "I'll take you to the other office."

Viper and Max follow us out the door, and we head down one floor. Chill unlocks a door and lets me precede her inside. Most of the office is clean and orderly, but the desk looks like someone's dumped out all the drawers.

"Did someone search in here?" Viper asks.

"Yeah, me," Chill says with a shrug. "I was looking for the contact information for the temp agency. Couldn't find it and got frustrated."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but why did they put you in charge of HR?" I ask her.

The three of them laugh. "I know, right? I told Puma he was making a mistake, but since I fired the last bitch, he told me I had to do the job until we hired a replacement. Pretty sure he regrets it, but he won't give in. So believe me when I say that I'm grateful Wildcard has talked you into taking the job."

"Why did you fire the temp?"

"She snapped at me," Chill says. I just stare at her without blinking. "What? I came in here to talk to her about something and she snapped my head off. She's lucky I only fired her."

"Okay, let me see what I can find." I say, taking the seat behind the desk. The others spread out around the room.

"This fake Max guy…" Viper starts, and Max groans.

"Can we come up with a different name?"

Viper chuckles. "Brigit will find his name. But I was thinking. If he looks so much like Max, is it possible dear old dad left us another surprise gift?"

"You think he might be your brother?" I ask.

Viper shrugs. "Maybe. We just discovered that we have a little sister. Half-sister. Maybe we have an older half-brother?"

"Angel is your half-sister, right?"

"She is. We found out when we ran a DNA test. Avery noticed how much Angel looked like she could be our daughter." Both she and Max shudder at the thought, making me laugh.

They entertain me with the story of how Viper learned Max was her long-lost twin and the chaos that followed when their dad showed up at the clubhouse to claim Angel.

Viper tells me about her father's murder and how someone tried to frame Viper. How Rafe broke rules to protect her. That makes me feel better about trusting him. I'm clicking through the HR records looking for a photo of anyone who looks like Max. I start several weeks back since that's when Bianca said he first showed up. Doesn't take me long to locate him.

"Got him," I say. "Walt Turner. He started working here three months back."

The three of them shift to stand behind him.

"Damn, he could be your twin, Max," Chill says.

I hear a punch and Chill's chuckle. "I'm his twin. He can only have one."

"Who's his manager?" Chill asks.

"Pamela Clark."

"That fucking bitch. I bet she's in on it, whatever the fuck this is. She's the temp who started when Liz went on maternity leave. She put him in the system three days after she started. Do we have an address?"

I read off the address and Chill swears. "That's the address of the hotel. Well, damn."

"Looks like I have access to payroll. Maybe we can learn more."

I click through to the payroll program and find that his paycheck is automatically deposited every two weeks to a local bank. So no help there.

"At least we have a picture. Send that to me and I'll forward it to the guys. They can share it with security. I'll also send his information to Spark. Maybe he can find him."

"What if he isn't working alone?" Viper asks. "Security should have caught this guy harassing the women."

While they discuss this thought, I follow up on a different hunch and type in Pamela Clark's name. I'm not surprised when she pops up. I click through to the payroll section and see she's been receiving a paycheck deposited into the same bank as Walt. In fact… "Pamela's listed as an employee and she's been earning a paycheck. Even after you fired her. It's not only going into the same bank as Walt, but into the same account. If she came from a temp agency, wouldn't you be paying them?"

"Yes, god dammit. That bitch. Show me." Chill comes back around the desk and nods. "Yep, that's her. Her timesheet shows she checks in daily. Someone is clocking her in. Let's see…" She clicks a few keys and then nods. "Walt keys in at the same time. He might clock her in, too. He usually clocks in at 3:00. We're coming up on that soon."

"How does that work? Is there a computer where they log in when they arrive?"

"Any computer will take their employee id and log it. But we can find out which one she used. I'll call Spark and get him searching. He can grab the image off the security feed."

"Are you calling the cops?" I ask.

Chill shakes her head. "No. Not yet. I don't think we have the complete story."

"How about I talk to the other girls Walt harassed? Might learn more." I offer.

"Good idea. I'm going downstairs. It's almost time for Walt to show up. Viper, you coming, or do you want to stay and help Brigit?"

"I'll stay. I can help convince the girls that Max isn't the bad guy they think he is," Viper says, punching her brother on the arm as he rolls his eyes.

I go through the stack of employee files Trouble gave me and call up the next one. Tanya is a blackjack dealer who I catch on a break. When she knocks on the door, Viper opens it and lets the girl come in. She's vastly different from Bianca, with short blonde hair, pale skin, and big brown eyes. Although she has a forceful personality and it shows the minute she sees Max.

"What the hell? I'm out of here." She turns to the door, but Viper stands in her way.

"Wait, this isn't Max. Well, yes, it is Max, but it isn't the Max who harassed you. In fact, that guy isn't Max. His name is Walt." Viper rushes through the explanation. Her explanation seems to cause confusion instead of comfort from the look on Tanya's face.

"What?"

"I didn't explain it right…" Viper looks at me.

"We spoke with Bianca. She told us why she turned in her notice and why others have as well. She mentioned a man named Max who made threats against her. He told her he was a member of the Demon Dawgs. He isn't. However, this Max is. But he's rarely at the casino. Bianca confirmed that this wasn't the same man, even though they look similar."

Tanya glares at me, but turns to look at Max, who is standing a few feet away. Close enough for her to see him, but far enough away so as not to intimidate her. I see it when she realizes the truth.

"That isn't the same man. You could be twins."

Viper chuckles. "They're not. We are. Look, I'm an Enforcer with the Demon Dawgs. Max is my twin brother, and he's a prospect. We learned that there is a man working here who looks like Max and is pretending to be him. His name is Walt. We understand that he's been harassing women. Bianca admitted that the only reason she's leaving is to get away from him. We're searching for Walt and we will find him. We're hoping you and the others will stay once we do."

"If that's true, then yes, I want to stay. But he scares me. I'd seen him around the casino, but he didn't talk to me until a week ago. He said he was with the club and that he could help me move up. I'm a blackjack dealer and I love it. Told him no thanks. He didn't like it. He said that women don't say no to bikers and that I should get used to doing as I'm told."

Max and Viper frown at each other. "That's not true. I mean, maybe for other clubs. But not the Demon Dawgs. Did you believe him?"

"No. I know Trouble and Dice. They've both sat at my table. I considered talking to them, but then Bianca said she talked with the HR lady, Pamela. Pamela told Bianca that things were changing. I figured that was my cue to leave."

"Okay, thanks Tanya. We don't want to keep you any longer. I hope you stay on," I say to her. She nods and turns toward the door.

"That's two down. Five more to go."

We repeat the process five more times. Their stories are the same, so we learn very little more, but we convinced all of them to stay on. I also speak to the sole male who is leaving, only to discover that he's moving across the country to be with his girl. As he leaves, Bianca shows up. She's out of breath when she enters the room. Almost as if she ran up the stairs.

"I caught you, good. I was talking to some of the other servers and they reminded me of something. Max, the fake Max, talked to other girls who worked here. They quit, too. I can get some names if you want to call them. I knew two, casually. Ingrid Bolger and Jasmine Lee."

I look up their names and find the girls, but both are listed as currently employed.

"You said they quit?"

"I think so. I haven't seen either of them for several weeks. They were the two who warned me about Max."

"Thanks, Bianca. Here's my number. If you think of any other employees who fake Max approached. Call me." She takes the scrap of paper with my number, waves and leaves us.

Viper looks at me. "What?"

"Both women show as being employed by the casino. I checked and they both usually check in at the same time as Max. They're getting paychecks sent directly to the bank."

"Let me guess. The same one as Walt and Pamela?"

"Same account, too."

"Can you search on that account? See if others are set to that account?"

I complete the search and look at Viper and Max. "Twenty-seven."