Dark Secrets(39)

"And this isn't the first time you've gotten physical with one of the girls. But this is the first time I think there might be more to it than a fuck to blow off the steam."

"You're not wrong," Daniel agreed.

They didn't lie to each other as a rule. It was bad for the job. It didn't allow for trust to grow between them. And, beside that, they were friends and friends just didn't do that shit.

"Well, like I said when I came in... she's not dirty as far as I can tell. There aren't any cash deposits that equal anything near what you said was in that envelope. She deposits cash once a week which, I'd think, equals what she earns in tips per week. She's got a shitton of money saved though. Lives pretty frugally."

"Then what is she doing with that kind of cash? Doing hand-offs?"

"Dunno," Max said with a shrug. "But she has no record at all. She has a direct deposit from Lam every two weeks and erratic deposits from various classes she teaches. Her bills withdraw automatically and there aren't many of them. Financially, seems like all she does is work either at the bar or teach self-defense."

"Did you look into her friends I mentioned?"

"Yep," he said, getting up and going to get more coffee. "Xander Rhodes, well, he's a good PI and sometimes he doesn't operate fully within the law, but generally toes the line. He's expanding his team. Gabe chases skips. Has a fucking flawless track record of it. But everything he does is above-board. K is somewhat new around here. Can't find out shit about him. Everything he's got is locked up tight. Has a bank account under the business name, but no personal one. Pays everything in cash. I couldn't even find a real name for him. Kinda fucking crazy actually."

"And Corey?"

"She's pretty clean too. Owns that kinky club, Limits. But there's never been anything illegal reported there. She has no connections into any of the skip chasing or private investigating or even any martial arts. Just a normal chick. Work-obsessed. Financially stable. Lives in a nice place. That's about it."

Daniel nodded, not surprised by any of that. He hadn't gotten a lot of time to get to know them all, but from what he got to hear from them, they all seemed like good people. He got nothing on them that said they were criminal.



       
         
       
        

"Got some new names for you to look into," he said, thinking of the information she had given him. "All the guys who work or teach at Axe's Self-Defense. It's the gym where she learned all her skills. I met Trey today and he just seems like a normal guy. I want to make sure they all are. Also, what did you dig up about her parents?"

"Yeah, well, that's the weird thing..."

Daniel felt himself stiffen, feeling like Max was purposely holding that information for last- to gut punch him with it. "I don't like suspense, man. You know that."

"They were a lot like K. Couldn't find shit on them except the usual birth and marriage certificates. No bank accounts. No arrests. Bought their house in cash. The dad, Benny, was reported missing, presumed dead. The mother was admitted to the hospital where her records reported she was beaten and raped. But she was completely catatonic. And she never recovered mentally. From what I found, she is a permanent resident at Clearview."

"Clearview?" Daniel prompted.

"Mental hospital. Or whatever the fuck the P.C. term is these days. Has been for the past decade."

"She was sixteen when it happened. How the hell did she not get taken into the system if her mom was out of her mind?"

"Fuck if I know," Max said with a shrug. "The house got sold and the money went to the mom's bills. There's no record of Faith from sixteen until eighteen when she popped back onto the map with bank accounts, work checks from Lam, an apartment in a shitty area, and a GED. Exactly what she did or where she was for two years is a complete mystery."

"She didn't have a medical record the same night her mom was brought to the hospital?"

"Nah. Nothing. Not a trace of her."

That was interesting.

It was equally troubling.

She was sixteen. She had watched her father and mother get beaten. She got beaten herself and almost raped. She witnessed the aftermath of her mother's rape. Her mother was not mentally there for her anymore. She was utterly alone in the world and traumatized. Where the hell had she gone? Had she been homeless? Just scratched up enough money to be able to pay for classes?

Then why had she started working at Lam at eighteen? Why was that where she popped up?

Unless...