Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Eight
The silence after Durandt Black's speech felt almost uncomfortable. He couldn't read any of their faces, they showed no emotion and Durandt Black had to admire that. This group of men went beyond a simple brotherhood, there was real loyalty between them. As he studied each of their faces he focused on Kelley's, their leader and he knew in that moment that he wouldn't find out anything they didn't want him to know.
“I have to admit, you’re good, Detective.” Durandt Black turned in his seat to look at the source of the voice behind him and saw Kirk Goodwin leaning against the doorframe.
Durandt smiled. “Like I said, I’m good at what I do.”
Kelley smiled then and stood up, crossing his arms over his chest. “What do you want, Detective?”
“I want in, Kelley.”
“You what?” Lee’s mouth fell open in disbelief.
“My sister disappeared fifteen years ago in Meadow Lake. She’d gone there for the weekend with two of her friends, who also disappeared. No trace was ever found but the more I dig, the more I’m convinced that she was taken by a prostitution ring, by men that use women for their own pleasure, men that make them slaves.”
“You think the Elites took her?”
“I found video footage, grainy at best, but I’m convinced the man that walked out of that guest house with my sister was Charles Alexander.”
“And your claims were dismissed by your seniors.”
Durandt looked at Connor and nodded his head. “They all thought I was crazy. Charles is a respected member of Yorkdare Bay’s community, a successful businessman, but the guy’s slimy. So I want in on whatever you’re planning. I can help you guys take them down because I know that’s what you’re doing.”
“Detective, I have to warn you that if this is some ploy to get Kelley Alexander to admit to cutting Petey Johnson’s brakes then this is entrapment.”
“I’m not here as a detective, Lee, so call me Durandt or Black. My only goal here is to find out what happened to my sister, to find her if she’s still alive. Petey Johnson got away with murder. I read the case file, he was drunk when that girl died in that car accident. He got what he deserved, whether Kelley admits to it or not, I don’t care.”
“If you give us a picture of your sister, Blaire can scan it and run an aging algorithm to see what she’d look like now. He can then run it through traffic cameras, personal cameras, and mall cameras for facial recognition.”
Durandt pulled an envelope from his coat pocket and handed it to Kelley. “Thank you.”
“Durandt, I’m really sorry about your sister, but ….”
“I’m here for my own revenge. I want my sister, I don’t care what you do but the men responsible for all this shit needs to pay, Lee.”
Kirk sat down next to Durandt and placed his hand on his shoulder. “They have a mainframe with pictures of the women they own. The members use it to pick who they want for a weekend or a night. I’ll give Blaire my login details so he can compare pictures.”
“Do you have Andrea or do they have her?”
Kirk lowered his head slightly. “They had her but I took her from Marcus’s house and brought her to Mason, that’s how I found myself here.”
Durandt briefly closed his eyes. “So she didn’t disappear, she was kept from that paternity hearing. If she makes a statement the judge will have to review the case.”
Mason shook his head. “The judge is in their pocket. She refused to even interview Grace or consider the fact that I’d been looking after her for seven years. The judge is dirty.”
“Aren’t you worried about her safety?”
Lee pushed himself off the couch and glared at Durandt. “Don’t presume to know what we’re feeling where Grace is concerned!”
“What Lee means is that Grace has another eight years of safety. That gives us time to formulate a better plan to get her back. They’re not interested in little girls, once she’s fifteen the game changes. For now she’s safe and he’ll treat her well. We have time on our side.”
Lee glanced at Kelley and settled down back on the sofa. “I didn’t mean you didn’t care, Lee. We’re all on the same side here.” Durandt glanced at Kirk. “How are you going to fake his death?”
“I’m also very good at what I do, Durandt.” Connor grinned and Kelley sat back down. He had not expected this twist from Durandt.
“The police will only react if they have sufficient proof to link you to Kirk’s murder. They’ll send a detective to talk to you, probably me and I’ll have to record the conversation so make sure you have an alibi for the time the picture is sent and for some time before that.”
“There’s no proof of anything we’ve done so far, there won’t be any this time either.”
Durandt nodded his head and stood up to shake Kelley’s hand. “Good. Let’s take the scum down.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
Durandt walked with Lee, a shoulder underneath his arm, as he helped him up the stairs and to Kelley’s study. He wouldn’t let Durandt leave the house without the paperwork in order. He'd make sure Durandt signed an NDA. Connor looked at Kelley and then motioned his head towards the kitchen.
Mason still sat on the couch, thinking about Grace. She still saw him as her father. His fists clenched as sadness enveloped his heart. He missed her so much that it was almost too much to contemplate. He didn’t know how much longer he could wait.
“Have you spoken to Milana today?” Connor leaned back against the counter in the kitchen.
Kelley quirked a brow. “Why do you ask, Connor?”
Connor shifted on his feet and looked down. He rubbed the back of his neck and finally looked up at Kelley. “Steel bought a pregnancy test on his employee credit card this morning.”
Kelley blinked a few times as he looked at Connor, trying to understand what he was saying. “You’re sure?”
“Would I be telling you this if I wasn’t?”
Kelley seemed to snap out of it as he cleared his throat and straightened his suit. “Right. Thank you.”
