Open Wounds (Harbour Bay #2)(51)
Amelia went to her computer and typed his name into a database. Within a minute, the many results appeared on her monitor. Kellie peered over her shoulder.
“Okay, he has fifteen businesses, including the youth centre, strip club, and restaurant. The rest are low yielders, probably nothing more than a way to launder his money,” Amelia informed them.
Darryl joined Kellie, and she felt the heat of his body, yearned for him to wrap his strong arms around her and chase away the chill. She savoured his scent as it unfurled in her lungs, subtle, yet it still unhinged her. She would never forget that smell for as long as she lived.
“That’s not even mentioning the businesses he shakes down once a week,” Nick added, jarring Kellie from her distracting thoughts. “There’s no doubt Coleani feels they belong to him simply because of their locations.”
“A man’s got to be able to pay his minions some way. Why not employ them in his businesses? That way you get the hired gun and the free labour,” Dean said.
“You’ve thought way too much about that,” Amelia commented.
He shrugged, continuing to type up his report, while Nick studied the large map of Harbour Bay pinned to the wall. Amelia had marked Coleani’s territory with a red marker.
“I never realised just how much of this city is under Coleani’s control,” he stated.
She nodded. “I know…and seeing it outlined like that. How can one man exert so much influence?”
“Easy when you start moulding children into doing your dirty work. Kids are so susceptible. Especially when they come from broken homes,” Dean said. “He obviously tests the kids, has them commit a crime just so there’s no out. No place to turn should something go wrong like having second thoughts. It’s a hold on them that gets them to move further into Coleani’s lies.”
“Start small and progress onto bigger and better things,” Darryl finished.
“Like murder,” she said, shivering.
Amelia frowned. “Kellie, maybe you ought to think this through before you lay a full attack on Coleani. He will fight back.”
She wasn’t interested in warnings. “Amelia, get me the names or I’ll get them myself.”
Raising her hands in surrender, she replied, “Just some helpful advice, Kel. Don’t worry, I won’t be offering it again anytime soon.”
“I’m sorry, Mia, I didn’t mean to snap.”
“All right then, as long as we’re on the same page. You know I’d look out for you to hell and back. So, what are the other parameters for the search?”
Amelia turned her full attention to her computer screen and began typing into the search fields while Kellie mulled over the question. She nibbled on her lower lip as a frown creased her forehead. “Coleani desires loyalty above all else, and you don’t get into his pocket until you prove your worth. So focus on the older ones. The men who’ve been with him the longest.”
Amelia nodded and continued to type. The computer beeped as it finished searching and brought up the results. The first picture was the behemoth of a man that had brought them to Coleani at his restaurant. His name was Aaron Huber.
Darryl leaned forward. “That’s the man from the restaurant.”
She skimmed his rap sheet. The usual offences were there—assault, credit card fraud, car theft, and drug possession.
Amelia kept flicking through the digital files of those within Coleani’s employ who were also registered at the youth centre and DoCS.
After five minutes of searching through Coleani’s recruits, who each had a record to call their own, every mug shot began to bleed together. Tattoos of every design and colour filled her head until she had to work to see the images.
She yawned. The day had been long and exhausting; the discovery of Lambert’s body knocked what little energy she had left out of her. She sipped on a mug of strong coffee, which gave her a zing, evident in her annoying habit of tapping her fingernail against the porcelain mug.
Twice, Amelia glared at her. She ignored her. She was on a mission, along with the collective efforts of Harbour Bay’s Detective Unit, and together they would bring Coleani down. She could feel it. Excitement began to restore her depleted energy level, making her edgy.
They were close to being free of him. For all of Coleani’s people to be free, to be able to live their lives without fear. She pulled at the clip in her hair, freeing the strands, placing the clip in her pant pocket as she watched another face flick across the screen.
She blinked, adding moisture to her dry eyes. Around her, voices murmured, and Dean’s keyboard clicked as he continued writing up his report. It was one thing she didn’t like about the job—the countless reports detailing everything that happened during their shift, from the mundane to the downright bizarre.
The air conditioning unit huffed like an out of shape man running up a steep incline, humming continuously as it pumped out chilled air into the stuffy room.
A photo of a man in his thirties, appeared on the monitor. His brown hair was greasy and his face sported several days’ worth of growth. Kellie blinked as Amelia hit the enter button, bringing them to the next photo.
Gripping the back of Amelia’s chair, Kellie’s breath rushed out and she gasped. “Wait. Go back to the last one.”
Something about her voice had Amelia glancing over her shoulder at her. She jerked her head towards the monitor and impatiently waited for her to hit the back button, bringing the picture onto the screen. Kellie studied the image, the sharp facial bone structure with an aquiline nose.