Page 6 of Axel (Reed Hawthorne Security #6)

Axel

As much as I enjoyed the cabin, I’m happy to be back at work today. It hurt too much to try to kayak because it pulled on my stitches, so I found myself sitting around, thinking too much about everything that happened. We still aren’t certain who the target was.

Ten minutes before I’m scheduled to meet with Reed, I hear him yelling at someone near the front door. Reed isn’t one to raise his voice, so something is wrong. I leave my office and find Durango heading that way, too.

Next to Piper’s desk stands a man with a well-groomed beard and a smile, holding his phone up as Reed yells.

“Hawthorne was a good man, and I will not stand for someone to speak ill of him just to try to get their fifteen minutes of fame. Get out!”

The guy glances at Durango and me. “Would either of you like to speak on the record?” he asks, wiggling his phone and still smiling. Why is he smiling ?

“No, they would not. This is private property. Get out now,” Reed says.

“Whatever you say.” He turns and leaves.

Reed steps up to the front window and watches.

“What was that about?” Durango asks.

Reed’s shoulders slump as he turns around. The man went from angry to defeated in a mere second. “That man says he’s doing a podcast about Stacy because he believes she was set up and had nothing to do with Hawthorne’s murder.”

Hawthorne was Reed’s best friend and business partner and our old boss.

He was a great man. Unfortunately, he made a poor choice in a wife.

Hawthorne loved to skydive, and Stacy used that against him.

She paid someone to tamper with his parachutes, and Hawthorne fell to his death.

Stacy was convicted by a jury and sentenced.

There is no doubt about her guilt. Her motive was clear—she wanted his money.

“Wait! What? Why now? And why about Stacy? There is no doubt she’s guilty,” I say.

“No idea. Frankly, I don’t want to know. I don’t want to hear that woman’s name ever again.” Reed storms to his office and slams the door.

I’ll bet Stacy is using this guy and his podcast to rewrite history. She doesn’t care what this will do to Reed or to Alicia, Hawthorne’s daughter.

“He gave me his name before Reed came out,” Piper says. “It’s Peter Graham, and he has a website.” She points to her monitor.

“There’s something familiar about him,” Durango says .

Durango and I step behind her and stare at her screen. The website comes up for a podcast called Wrongly Accused .

“It looks like this is his second season,” Piper says. She clicks on a link for season one. “His first season claimed a guy was wrongly accused. He appealed based on the information Peter found during his investigation,” she reads. “Let’s find out if that appeal was successful.”

She searches the man’s name, and several news stories come up. We scan them quickly.

“He represented himself, and his appeal was denied. Peter was accused of fabricating most of his so-called new evidence,” Piper summarizes.

“Wow, so he got some guy’s hopes up based on lies?” Durango asks.

“That’s what it sounds like,” Piper says.

“Then why is his podcast still popular? Shouldn’t he have been canceled or something?” I ask.

Piper clicks a few more times. “Nope, he’s independent. He answers to no one, apparently.”

“Great. We have some guy who will make up evidence to get ratings, claiming that Stacy is innocent. That shouldn’t be a problem,” I say.

Piper continues to read more, but I’ve seen enough.

“Peter claimed he never lied, but his source did. And that’s probably why people are still listening. Unfortunately, his podcast is the fourth most popular right now,” Piper says. “People seem to like it.”

“Has he put out any episodes about Stacy?” Durango asks.

“Yes, one so far. The description states it includes an interview with her. And there is another item here he calls ‘Breaking News.’”

I lean over as Piper clicks on the link. A video of Reed telling him to get out is already posted and getting a lot of views.

“What the hell?” Durango asks. “How is that up already?”

“It only takes a minute at most to upload a short video,” Piper says.

Durango shakes his head. “I get that, but he posted it? A video? Without explanation?”

I scan the comments. All are pretty much negative and claiming Reed is hiding something.

“He doesn’t need an explanation. Public opinion is going to fill that in on their own,” I say.

“What an asshole,” Durango says.

A woman steps into our office, and I tense up. She’s wearing a black suit and appears more FBI agent than podcaster, but I could be wrong.

“Hello, I’m here to see Mr. Reed. My name is Agent Stevens.”

I relax. Thank goodness. This will be work-related.

“Yes, he’s expecting you,” Piper says.

Reed’s door opens, and he steps out. “Stevens, good to see you again. Come on in. Axel and Durango, please join us.”

Good. I’ll be getting a new assignment and can leave.

If a podcaster is sniffing around, I’d rather not be here.

I was worried Reed would put me on desk duty after the explosion last week.

Aside from a few stitches on my upper back that are healing nicely, I’m fine.

Reed worries about our mental health. I understand why, but I’ve been in much worse situations.

Although part of me worries about Savvy, but Maria did confirm Savvy was staying with her, and she would be safe.

Durango sits next to Stevens. I take a seat on the other side of her.

“I’d like you both to meet FBI Special Agent Carly Stevens.”

The woman extends her hand, and we take turns shaking it. She appears young, in her twenties, with dark hair that’s pulled back. She’s in a black pantsuit and gives an air of seriousness. She reminds me of CIA Agent Harding, whom we occasionally work with.

“Agent Stevens needs our assistance on a local assignment. I’ll let her tell you all about it.” Reed motions to Stevens.

Stevens moves a stray hair behind her ear before she begins. “We received an anonymous tip about weapons being held and possibly sold illegally. A lot of weapons. We believe they are coming in on ships and being stored in a warehouse down by the docks.”

“Anonymous tip?” Durango asks.

She pulls out a paper from the folder on her lap and hands it to him. “We have a website where anyone can anonymously send in a tip.”

“What kind of weapons?” I ask.

“We believe it’s guns.”

Durango hands me the sheet. It appears to be a printout of the online form. The person wrote, “I’m pretty sure Robert is doing something illegal because he has no reason to have guns.”

I toss the paper onto Reed’s desk. “Why us? Why not use other FBI agents?”

Stevens glances at Reed, then back at us. “Because this involves the cartel. The other agents in my office pissed them off recently. I’m assured you haven’t.”

I groan but then cough to cover it up. The cartel is not my favorite group to deal with for many reasons.

“The tip states a man named Robert Kuffel is storing a lot of weapons at a warehouse he owns here in New York near the docks. A background check shows he’s not a gun dealer, nor does he have any reason to have a lot of guns.

He’s a real estate broker. We believe these are stolen, and he is storing them temporarily for someone in the cartel. ”

Robert Kuffel? Savvy’s boss?

“Did you say Robert Kuffel?” I ask.

“Yes.” Stevens turns to me. “Do you know him?”

“The woman who was with me in the explosion? He’s her boss.”

Stevens glances at Reed. “Explosion?”

I fill her in about what happened.

“I spoke to an officer this morning. He stated they don’t believe Clinton was the target and that Savvy was,” Reed says.

“Did they say why?” I ask.

“Because Clinton Jones does not exist. Apparently, the man used a fake name, and the police believe he’s possibly a suspect. ”

Savvy was the target? I’m relieved she agreed to stay with Maria.

“That might be a coincidence, but I’ll have someone look into it just in case. What is Savvy’s full name?” Stevens asks.

“She’s not involved,” I say.

Stevens arches a brow. “You’re certain?”

“Yes.” My gut is certain, but I do want to talk to Savvy and find out what she knows.

“But someone tried to kill her? You think that’s a coincidence?” Stevens asks.

I really don’t know. “I’ll call her after this meeting. She’s in hiding now.”

“Okay, I’m willing to go to her.” Stevens turns her attention back to the assignment.

“You don’t think Kuffel is selling the guns himself?” Durango asks.

“No, I don’t. He’s clean. Too clean. Not someone you’d expect to be running in these circles.

But that’s why the three of us are going to watch his warehouse.

There’s another ongoing investigation regarding guns being sold by the cartel.

We have reason to believe these are related.

We need to gather enough evidence to connect the two. ”

I read the tip sheet over a second time. There isn’t much information other than the name, address, and what the person suspects about the guns.

“Once we know Robert’s schedule at the warehouse, we can get inside for a closer look. Fortunately, I was able to make a deal with the owner of the place across the street. We have full use of this building for three days. ”

“Sounds good,” Durango says. “When do we get started?”

Stevens grabs the photos and paper and tucks them into the folder. “Meet me in two hours. I’ll send you the address. Reed, can you check with any contacts you have with the cartel to see if they are involved?”

Reed frowns. “Contacts?”

She holds up her hand. “I don’t need to know any details. The Bureau appreciates your help.” Then she nods at each of us. “And Axel, I’ll text you shortly for an address where I can question Savvy.”

Once she’s out of the office, Durango stands and stretches.

“She’s quite formal,” Durango says. “Reminds me of Harding a little.”