Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 195

Scott POV

News of a number of people we knew were low lives have been coming up dead, and someone has been on a killing spree; Jacko asked me to snoop around since some of the worst criminals in our city are dying.

The first place I stopped at was a flat belonging to a man named Spider; he would know if someone was on our turf killing people. This area he lived in was dirty and dangerous, with burnt cars littering the streets and full of violence; even the rubbish collectors didn't come to this area for fear of being attacked. I was almost up the stairs to his dirty flat when I heard a gunshot. I immediately stopped moving and waited for some sign of movement.

I heard the distinct sound of a body hitting the ground and then the footsteps of someone coming my way.

A man head covered by a balaclava arrived at the top of the stairs, then turned and bolted the other way. I reached the top of the stairs just in time to see him disappear over the balcony at the other end of the hallway. I presumed down the fire escape, and there was no way I was chasing an armed man. I rushed to the balcony and looked over, watching him jump the last two floors and limp away to a waiting black van. That took off in a hurry. I turned back to head into Spider's flat, already knowing what I would replace. Our coroner is going to be annoyed as we rack up more bodies for him to go over.

I phoned Jacko to give him the news.

'What now? You never seem to phone with good news lately. Is today going to be better?' Jacko knew I was headed here and must understand that things were not right for me to phone so soon.

'I arrived in time to hear the gunshot and watch a man in fatigues and balaclava rush over the fire escape and limp to a waiting black van. I gave him the license plate number or what I thought was the number; it could be false plates.

'So I need the coroner over there? Or an ambulance?'

'A coroner, his brain is all over the computer. It would be best if you got someone with computer experience in here. He has lots of freelance equipment. If the man you send is good, you should be able to see what he was up to! I was itching to get my hands on this, but I had to be careful and not damage the crime scene.

'When the coroner and the team have collected what they can, can you look at the computer? It might still be linked to what he was watching, and it is quicker if you were there to do it; mine are already stretched to the limit, and you are already familiar with the case and what we are looking for.'

'You give me the go-ahead, and I will work on it when the team is done. Do you want me to stay here and wait or go to the next person's home and come back later?' I could call in some of my team, but I would love to get my hands on this and do the search myself. 'No, Stay there. I will let the team know why you will be there so they can assist you. Give your statement while you are there, too.' Jacko hung up; I have done freelance work for the police and have the clearances to do what Jacko needs. He had his hands full. This was not a gang war but a gang wipeout. I sat by the door in the hallway and waited. In less than half an hour, the coroner arrived.

'Hi Scott, I should have known you would be nearby. What have got for me today?' Manson greeted with a smile, his eyes twinkling with mirth at his little joke.

'Brains on the computer. I arrived to hear the shot and watch the shooter run.' I gave him the time of my arrival to help with his time of death, not that it would be difficult in this case, and the cause of death should be easy, but you never know; he may have been beaten up or something beforehand. I have not touched his body to turn him over to see, and I would only be presuming.

'What, you did not give chase?' He was still chuckling as he put on his slippers before entering the flat.

'Nope, I am not suited for a gunfight; I thought it would be an easy chat up and leave. The shot caught me by surprise, and I did not know for sure it was coming from Spider Flat. I needed to move in quickly and quietly, but it was a one-shot-and-run deal, and before I knew it, I was running down the hall to see where he went after he headed out the other door and for me to chase him down the fire escape would be suicide on my part. I am sure Jacko would have hauled my b**t to the station for using my firearm.' I enjoyed the banter I had with Manson. As a person who plays with dead bodies all day, he has an excellent sense of humor, which I appreciate. I gave my statement and watched as Manson did his job and the others worked in the flat. Once they were satisfied they had all they could get in the area I needed to be, they gave me the nod to enter; the first thing I did was get one of the other keyboards that were in the room and replace the one covered in muck. I switched on the computer, and breaking his password took a little time. I then started looking around. Jacko arrived an hour late.

'Find anything?' Came Jacko's voice behind me as I worked on securing the information so the computer could be moved and not lose the links.

'Yep, look at this,' I moved to the side to let Jacko see the computer. A still active link was watching the jail and one in the hospital. I was going to see Robson about that one and get it fixed. Better firewalls. Then, the best part of all, a link to the money offshore, one that, according to what Spider had been keeping track of, was the closure of all the syndicates here. 'Who does that account belong to?' Jacko asked as he moved in closer to watch what I was doing.

'The prince. He has been busy by the look of it. The bank was accessible; Spider had left the passwords saved on the computer.

'Can we move it all?'

'Yep, give me a moment; Spider had kept records of all the passwords to everything he has; it appears he did not trust the prince, and seeing where his brains ended up, I can see why he was concerned.' Jacko was breathing down my neck, eager to get the funds moved and see if that would draw out the prince.

'Where do you want the money?' I asked, and Jacko handed me his black book with the police central banking information. I clicked transfer and watched as the amount slowly disappeared from one account to another. Half an hour later, all the billions of dollars in that account were moved, and I wiped all the traces to the police bank but left the trace to Spider. That is going to peeve the prince off to no end; he is going to think that he has killed the man who took all his money.

While the money was being transferred, Jacko called some people and let them know what was going on, so they were not shocked when they saw the sudden boost in funds.

'Good work. Do you think we can move any of this now? I want this place cleaned out before the prince catches on and sends someone back to trash the place. Good work on catching those cameras. At least it gives us some answers. Jacko seemed to be pleased with today's results. I know I am.

'Yes, I have his wealth of information now, and it is safe to move. Where do you want it taken to?'

'I will send a team over to clean the place out. Is there any part of this you wish to keep looking at?' I had not expected him to let me take any of this home.

'Yeah, this one, if you do not mind?' I pointed to the computer I had been working on.

'Take and go before they arrive; I will cover this. I did not wait to be told again. I unplugged the computer and headed out the door.

I took the computer to my place, which had a room out the back. It was a shed, but I had modified it; it was the best-protected shed in the city. I placed it on the table and let it sit there. As tempted as I was to start on it, the day was done, and Hank would be expecting me soon for dinner.

At Hank's place, it was just the four of us. Pam and Bob had gone to a restaurant, and Theo and Bethany headed to visit Thomas. I think they were going to give the news of four babies today and give other news about Pam, too. This will affect them, as the stepson; the whole royal status has spread relatively wide already. I wonder where they would stand in the scheme of things: could one of them be king one day, or only Pam's triplets? I just wanted to give you something to ponder another day.

At the dinner table, all was going well. The woman had cooked, and the food was delicious.

'Girls, I'm sorry, but Hank and I cannot do the foursome. We're not sure about sharing either. I think it would be best if we parted ways and you found someone more suited to your lifestyle!

The girls looked sad but understood it is not easy to be part of a group thing. I do not know how Thomas does it, but I cannot share. Call me selfish, but it is just me. We tried and found that it was not what we wanted.