Dmytro held up a hand. “The leasing agency was bogus. The payment was made in cash, deposited into the landlord’s bank by a private courier service.”
“Not traceable.” Cate sighed. “Anything else on Brunner?”
“Other than that, he has a wife, two children, and a nice townhouse in the city, no,” Dmytro said. “The bank where he works has an extremely effective firewall.”
In other words, Dmytro hadn’t been able to hack into their data.
Not that Cate condoned illegal methods of gathering data. It might not be right to hack, but it sure as hell wasn’t right for Dana to go to jail for murder, especially when the son of a bitch husband of hers most likely wasn’t dead at all.
Every time she thought of Marcus framing Dana, her anger spiked.
“Worried about tonight?” Draco asked when Hammer left the conference room to make a phone call.
“A little,” she admitted. “More anxious than anything. I know patience is part of my job description, but something about this case makes me feel like there’s a clock ticking, ready to explode at any moment.” She sat at the large conference table and drummed her fingers on its surface. “I feel like I need to be moving, not waiting for nine o’clock. Surely, there’s something we could do in the meantime to move this case forward.”
Draco sat beside Cate and draped a hand over the back of her chair. “Dmytro is still combing through the internet and the dark web. He’s very good at it. If there’s information to be found, he’s our man.”
“Thanks for the endorsement,” Dmytro said from his corner, tapping away on his keyboard.
Cate popped out of her seat and paced the length of the room and back. “Dmytro’s good at data mining. My expertise is people. Who else can we talk with that might give us another clue?” She flung her hand in the air. “At this point, I want to run out in the street and confront our gray man.”
Draco stood and watched as she passed him again. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. They tried to snatch you once. If you confront the man who’s been following us, he might take the opportunity to grab you.”
“At least it would force his hand.” Cate frowned. “I’d love to interrogate him. I don’t think he’s our nine-million-dollar thief, but someone hired him. At the very least he could point us in that direction.”
“If he’s good at his job, he won’t be cornered or caught,” Draco said.
“What if we employ more of Hammer’s people to help us catch him?” Cate asked.
“We might consider it if Brunner doesn’t come through,” Draco stepped in front of her, bringing her pacing to a halt. “Why don’t we get something to eat? You didn’t have lunch.”
“You haven’t had lunch, either.” Cate rubbed her belly. “It is almost four o’clock, and I guess I am getting a little hangry.” She looked at Draco. “You must be starved.”
“I could eat,” Draco said with a grin. “And I’d rather find food while it’s still light outside. Maybe we’ll see our gray man.”
Cate brightened. “Maybe we will.”
Draco’s lips pressed together. “On second thought, it might be better if we have food delivered here. I can’t have you accosting a potential mercenary to demand answers.”
“You can hide in here.” Cate headed for the door. “I’m going for food. If I happen to corner a man in a gray overcoat...well, it could be an accident…or not.”
“You better go with her,” Dmytro called out.
Cate grinned as she pushed through the conference room door with Draco on her heels.
“You’re running roughshod over one of my rules,” he grumbled.
“What? Because I’m hungry and want food?” she said as she marched for the exit.
Draco swung her behind him before she could open the door and step out onto the sidewalk. “I’m in charge of safety.”
“And I’m in charge of the investigation.” She stood in front of him, hands on her hips. “I can’t investigate if I’m cooped up in an office. Waiting hours for a meeting is time I could spend talking to other people.”
Draco gave a single nod. “Point made. Who would you like to talk with?”
Cate opened her mouth and then closed it. “Someone.”
“Exactly. Brunner said he’d give us names. Those are the people you’ll talk with—after we meet with him tonight. Now, unless you have another thread to pull, can we get something to eat?”