Something was wrong. Something didn’t add up in this story. It had felt odd when Tally told it to me, and now something was screaming at me.
“Find out everything you can on him. I don’t want to chase shadows.”
He nodded, his eyes focused on the screen. After a while, he looked up, his gaze serious. “He isn’t a shadow, Julian. Tally’s mother was married to a man named Trevor Bedford. Her father was Wells. I can’t find an official death certificate for anyone by the name of Dean Bedford.”
“Tally read of her brother’s death in the paper.”
“And we all know everything you read in the paper is true,” he said sarcastically. “Maybe he planted it, knowing she would see it.”
He was right.
“This makes no sense.”
He cracked his knuckles. “It will when I’m done.”
I nodded, knowing he was right.
How was I going to tell Tally?
Three days later, it did. The entire sordid story made sense. Dean wasn’t the nice guy caught up in the wrong crowd Tally thought him to be. Her trust and love had been misplaced.
Dean had a long string of crimes against him. Including swindling. The “bit of scrub brush” he’d told Tally it was had been worth a lot of money. Over a million bucks. Her grandmother had owned all the land around her house, not just the piece the house sat on. He’d obviously had people lie about the value. He’d made up the whole story about gambling it away. The gang coming after her. Protecting her. The greedy bastard had frightened her into running and living in fear for years. Mourning his death.
And he was very much alive.
And he ran a dirty, criminally active bike gang. Drugs and prostitution were rampant. Unsolved murders were attributed to them, including that of the ex-president of the club, but never proved. It had been a fairly low-level club until Dean took it over. Now the members were a law unto themselves. We studied the records, the revenue. All the top members were wealthy. Living high.
It took Damien and me an entire day to realize how often the top members of the club changed. And each time, Dean became richer when they disappeared.
Her half brother was a piece of work. And he needed to be stopped.
I sat with the evidence surrounding me. RCMP had done nothing. They were never able to make charges stick.
“Inside man,” Damien mused.
“Feels like it.”
“What do you want to do?”
I scrubbed my face. “I don’t know.”
“Do you think Tally is a target still?”
I tapped a picture of Dean. “He doesn’t leave loose ends. I fear Tally is alive because he hasn’t found her. He told her to go to Alberta. If he isn’t looking here now, he will be soon. If he does…” I trailed off, unable to say the words.
“He could have killed her instead of making her scared enough to run.”
“She’s his sister. I think a few years ago, that counted for something. The man he’s become, I’m not so sure.”
“A great deal of missing women are linked to his club.” Damien met my eyes. “I think he’s starting to dip his toes into dangerous territory. Territory we can’t ignore. I’ve been watching video surveillance around his clubhouse. There’s an awful lot of activity for some bikers meeting for beers and to discuss their rides. The money they control is scary.”
“Maybe it’s time we step in. I need to ascertain if she’s still in danger.”
“Will you tell her?”
I barked a laugh. “That the man she thought of as her big brother lied, cheated, and stole from her? Allowed her to live in fear for the past few years without a second thought?” I shook my head. “If he’d handed her the fifty thousand he’d told her was her share of the house sale, she would have left. Never bothered him except a call or Christmas card. But the greedy, selfish bastard wanted it all, so he made everything up. I bet he even sent the bikers to rough her up and scare her—add credence to his story. The lowlife gave her a few grand and sent her off on her own, scared and thinking she was all alone. I want some answers from him, then I’ll tell her.”
“You’ll have to tell her about Hidden Justice, then.”
“I know. When I’m ready.”
He stood. “Don’t wait too long, Julian. Sometimes things happen and our decisions are taken away from us. Omission is another form of a lie. She’s had enough of those.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“Give me some time to dig into everything. Then we can figure out our plan.”
“I’ll bring in the local team, and we’ll join them.”
“Not until I know everything. The setup, the escape routes, what I think we’re dealing with.”
He was right. We weren’t going to rush into this. Tally was safe, and we needed to be sure of everything before we stepped in. “I’ll call the team leader in Montreal and fill him in. You can link up with their guy and get us everything we need. We’ll get eyes on them.”