Page 143 of Merciless Obsession

“Watz was a shit cop.” Ziora cleared her throat and adjusted herself. “He barely investigated my sister’s case before chalking her up as a bad seed who got caught up in the wrong things.”

“He was a homicide detective?” Nazai asked. “So why was he working the live cases too?”

“The Sticks’ precinct is smaller than the one over here so the detectives take on more,” I revealed.

“Okay, we need to back up for a minute,” Nazai called out and stood. He paced back and forth for a second then paused. “Watz, we know he was involved, right?”

“Yeah, I’m almost positive. The consistent deposits in his account proved it. Plus his wife was sick. Insurance only covered so much and on a cop’s salary I doubt he could manage the cost alone. If I remember correctly, they owned their home but never put out a second mortgage on it. There were no outstanding loans,” Ziora answered.

“So he was desperate. In order to make money to secure his wife’s treatment, he made a deal with the devil,” Inaya mentioned, looking around the room before stopping on her friend.

Ziora bobbed her head slowly. “And I believe it’s what got him killed. When I tapped into her medical reports, it showed a clean bill of health. So my guess is that Watz was about to retire and wanted out. We know The Veil doesn’t allow any loose ends.”

“So they killed the cop,” Lucas stated.

“Just like the guy who was charged with my sister’s death, his death was ruled as an accidental overdose. Lucas, can you hand me a file?” Ziora pointed.

“Okay, can I just ask…” Inaya spoke up again. “I get you guys are good at your jobs and have been doing this for a long time. But how the hell do you expect to take these guys down? You’re not cops, and even with all the skills on our side, these guys obviously make sure to cover their tracks.”

Nazai twisted and focused on Inaya. He crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance. “By outsmarting these people. So far they’ve been working under the radar, covering and erasing their tracks. No one suspected them and the ones who did or were a threat to them were killed. Their attack on Ziora is proof that we’re on the right track. The dots are all there,we just need to connect them. There’s something we’re missing.” His eyes shifted to Ziora. “Your board at home is what we need right now. You’ve been mapping all of this out for a long time. Our answer might be there.”

“I would be happy to give it to you, if it wasn’t removed without my knowledge.” Ziora turned and glared at me, causing me to grin.

“Don’t worry, Bumblebee, all of your stuff is safe.”

“I built my computer to meet all my needs and it wasn’t cheap. I hope it wasn’t damaged and don’t think we’re not going to talk about what you did either.”

“Later, right now we need the board. Where is it, Ez?” Nazai asked, clearly losing patience.

“In my office. Down the hall.”

“I’ll get it.” Lucas stood.

While he headed down the hall, Nazai spoke. “We know that Winston and a few other people in his gang were the ones who hurt Tiffany and helped him cover his tracks. Me and River took care of the two guys whose semen was found in her. The friend sang like a bird, but they knew nothing about how Winston got the girls. Since he’s dead, the only thing we can do is set a trap.”

“A trap?” Inaya asked.

“Yes, a trap. We have Winston’s phone and no one knows he or Titan are dead yet. We need to set up a fake inquiry for a girl. Depending on the location, we can set up to follow whoever picks the car up and get the answers we need. Major found Rock and handed him over. River’s with him at The Barn. We get what we need out of him then set up the meeting.”

Lucas walked back into the room, pulling the board with him.

Nazai walked over and studied it. “Ezra, get with Ryan again. Find out if this Watz guy had any negative marks against him. He obviously was the one who was keeping the cops off the trail of The Veil. Now that he’s dead, someone else had to take over.”

“The new detective’s name is Vincent Parks. I already looked into him. Nothing about him came back,” Ziora mentioned.

“Look again. The Sticks’ police force obviously can’t be trusted. We don’t know how many of them are working against finding out who’s taking these girls. I want you and Emmet digging into everyone in their precinct. The coroner being the first priority. Lucas, find out what you can too and see if anyone has any knowledge of organs being acquired illegally.”

“I can do that.” He nodded.

Inaya spoke up. “I’ll see what I can find out too. I got some people that might know something.”

Nazai shifted his eyes in her direction. “Who?”

“An acquaintance. His daughter needed a heart, but she had a rare blood type, so while they waited, she got worse. One day he was telling me the doctors were telling him to prepare himself for the worse, next thing I knew she had a donor and was getting the operation. I thought it was odd that it happened so suddenly, but I didn’t question it. Looking back, I could see him paying for the heart.”

“Who is it? Do you think he’ll talk to you?”

“Someone I met in the casino and hung out with a couple times. And trust me, he will.”