Sevastyan handed back the snapshot of Rhia. “If you already knew all of this, then why are you here?”
“I had to look you in the eye, Mr. Volkov, and see your answer for myself. As you know this is not the first time my precinct has visited your establishment. We are very familiar with your family.”
“You mean my brother.” He appreciated directness and didn’t stumble over the facts as he saw them. He’d read the news articles that labeled Mikhail nothing better than a glorified pimp. One went as far as calling Mikhail and everyone in the Volkov family criminals of the worst kind and so on and so on.
The truth, but it went deeper than just a few labels. They also accused his brother of running everything from sex slaves to drugs and guns. Only two of those things were true and acceptable to him. The deeper he dug the sicker he became because all the clues pointed to the rumors holding some truth about the trafficking. How much truth he still needed to find out.
But to the outside world, Sevastyan now sat in that same seat as his brother and adopted those twisted labels as his own. Anger boiled to overflowing in the pit of his stomach, and he swallowed it like he did every day he drew air.
“Did you have any proof of anything back then? News articles and the press are not one hundred percent accurate nor can you build a case on hearsay.” He didn’t have to hand her answers and felt no obligation to do so.
He leaned back and leveled a challenging gaze on hers.
“There’s always a level of truth in everything if you dig, a basis for the rumors. But I didn’t come for a verbal sparring match. I get that enough with my captain, I assure you.”
He called bullshit. Lies spread like fungus and infected everything and everyone they touched and often masked themselves as the truth. Hadn’t he depended on that in order to build his cover here? His men relied on lies to mask their true purpose.
“Then why did you come? Any development in the missing persons case? I’ve asked Lucian to keep me abreast of any new developments or if your department needs anything else from us. I’ve offered full cooperation on Haven’s part.”
She turned to Lucian, eyeing him for a long moment, “Yes. Yes. I know. All pretty words.” She waved a hand in the air, dismissing him.
Sevastyan didn’t like the sound of that or what it implied. Nor did Matteo, whose expression turned dark.
“Why don’t you cut to the fucking chase, already and spit out what the fuck you have to say. It’s getting late and I’m sure you still have reports to file or something.” When he turned the dismissive tables on her, he physically saw her spine stiffen. The energy in the room sharpened and grated against his nerves.
The detective’s sly smile told him there was more. She pulled another picture out of her folder and tossed it on the desk between them. This one was blown up to the size of a magazine and crystal clear.
“What does Sevastyan’s deceased brother have to do with any of this?” Matteo snatched the picture off the desk and shoved it back into her hands.
His loyal friend didn’t have the same suave approach he preferred. Matteo was more to the point. Even if it meant pissing others off in the process.
“You should know, before his death, I was building another case on missing persons. There was one suspect on my list for her death for a long time. Your brother.” She nailed Sevastyan with a pointed look and did the same to Matteo.
“When he vanished and a week later turned up dead.My captain issued the missing persons case closed and filed. I did. Until someone started looking into my case again and sending up little red flags for me to follow back to you.”
She tapped Rhia’s picture, confirming Sevastyan’s thoughts.
“Ms. Crowne went looking into your case?” Lucian’s gaze cut to his.
“Like I told your department in the past, Haven is clean. Whatever my brother did in the past is just that, in the past. His past. Let the man rest. As for what Ms. Crowne does while not on Haven property is out of our control.”
She shrugged. “We’ll see about that. Every city has a dark underbelly and every murder holds a secret, gentlemen. I plan to find out with this one holds. I don’t care how long it takes.”
And he fucking believed her.
She paused and looked at each of them before continuing. “As far as theCrowne chick, when I ran a facial recognition to ID who was looking into my case, I was surprised by what I found and why the daughter of the Crowne shipping would be working here. I think you and I can both agree on a girl like her, the shipping princess daddy never seemed to let out of his sight, doesn’t look like she belongs here. Something is going on. I will find out what.”
“We don’t ask people why they need a job. We determine if they can handle the task and move forward from there.”
“So you know nothing of her father’s murder?” She’d done away with playing coy and went straight for the jugular.
About damn time. This dance was getting damn tiresome.
“Not our concern.” Lucian rolled with the lie.
She tossed another photo on his desk.
“How many more photos do you fucking have? And why should I care who this hell this guy is?
“Dominic Dimitris. Known terrorist currently tracked to this very city. Don’t tell me you don’t know who your brother’s silent partner is?”