“That’s what I’m hoping is in those papers.” Jax nodded to the back seat, where he’d stashed them. “I want them all copied and in the cloud before we go much farther.”
“Are we good to go then, if Pendleton can email you what he has? I need to get back and file the election paperwork before the deadline.” Evie hoped he would say they were leaving immediately. Even geriatric killers from thirty years ago made her nervous.
He scowled. “Can’t Afterthought find anyone else to take the mayor’s job? Just because we uncovered his fraud doesn’t mean you’re obligated to take his place. Let’s face it, even your mother is a better candidate than you.”
She stole one of his fries and flung it at him. “Someone with ethics needs to clean house. If I don’t do it, then we’ll be stuck with Paul Clancy, a stooge from the town council who’ll do the mayor’s bidding, even from jail.”
“Fine. It’s your time you’re wasting. I can probably do most of my interviews by phone, now that we have these documents and Pendleton is sending us what he has. I don’t like hanging around anymore than you do.” He opened his phone and began searching. “We’re near I-40. If we’re ready to head home, I’d rather find a place down the road to scan and mail this stuff. I’m not showing anything resembling a FedEx office ahead though.”
Evie was playing with her map app much more slowly. “Wow, this really is desert. Look, there’s Needles! Isn’t that where Snoopy’s brother lives?”
Jax shot her an incredulous look. “Right. Think he has a scanner?”
“Probably. But Yucca might be closer. There are two places there. Are you sure we shouldn’t read some of the papers first?” Evie finished off her salad and rewarded herself with a big chocolate chip cookie.
“You read while I drive.” He finished off his burger, wiped his hands, and reached behind the seat for the folder.
Evie handed him half her cookie. “Sweeten up, tiger. I’ve never seen the West before. Drive slowly and let me enjoy it between pages.”
The look Jax gave her was smoldering and nearly melted her spine. Three days in the car with all those hormones...
With a sigh, probably of frustration, Evie pulled out the first of the yellowing documents. “Herewith and henceforth...” She stopped reading. “Really? You really want me to read a contract?”
Jax halted the car before it left the parking lot. “Do you drive?”
Evie widened her eyes and shoved the papers into the folder. “I have a license, honest. I just don’t have a car. Can I put it in power drive?”
To give him credit, he didn’t roll his eyes. “You drive, I’ll read. Then you can enjoy the scenery.”
She really could kiss him. She refrained. They played musical seats, and Evie happily pulled out of the lot, following the GPS lady robot’s directions and heading northeast. “I was made to drive. I have eyes in the back of my head.”
Jax removed the papers from the file and read silently, for which she was grateful.
A few minutes later, he whistled sharply. It wasn’t a good whistle.
“What?” she demanded. She couldn’t look at him. It had been a while since she’d been behind the wheel.
“Stockton and Stockton were the attorneys for Sovereign Machinery.”
S&S was the firm Jax had worked for, until Stephen Stockton turned out to be running a form of fraudulent Ponzi scheme involving stealing from client escrow accounts.
S&S was where Aaron Ives/Franklin Jackson had accepted a position after moving east. He’d been investigating Stockton’s fraud when he died in a car crash.
Well, crap-a-doodle.
Five
While Evie drove,Jax took photos of the more important documents and shot them to Reuben, Roark, and Ariel. One was the partnership agreement between Franklin and Jackson leaving the mine and the law firm to each other. He whistled and sent that off.
This material was too important to be left unsecured. He was debating how much needed scanning when he noticed the car slowing down. Evie had been driving well over the speed limit with the rest of the traffic. He glanced up to see if there were cops along the roadside.
She pulled in between two lumbering semis.
“Tired? Want me to drive?” he asked.
“I’m not pulling off the road in the middle of nowhere. Keep an eye out for a battered silver F100 with a taped front fender.” She tapped her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel as they practically crawled down the road.
Jax pulled up his map app and began checking off-ramps. “We’re almost in Yucca. I doubt it’s big enough to lose anyone. Why would anyone follow us?”