Wild Secret

took a loss on the vehicle.”
“And what records are those?”
“I can’t disclose my sources.”
He shrugged. “You win some, you lose some,” he said, growing uncomfortable.
“You strike me as the kind of guy that doesn’t like to lose money on deals."
His face tensed. "Perhaps we should have this conversation in my office."
He led us down a hallway and ushered us into his office. He shut the door and offered us a seat. It was an elegant space. Sleek and minimal. There were pictures on the walls of Nick with various celebrity clients and expensive cars. The furniture was stylish, and the office was tidy. There was a large flatscreen display on his desk and a keyboard.
He took a seat behind his desk.
“I’ll cut to the chase," I said. "I know you received favorable treatment from Stella in the past. In case you haven’t been watching the news, those days are over."
He tried not to frown.
“In light of your son's current legal problems, I think you might want to cooperate with me."
"What are you offering?"
"The car you sold Stella… that was part of your agreement to make your son's legal problems go away. I need you to testify to that fact—full immunity, of course.”
“I deal with a lot of clients that require discretion. Some of them will be leery of doing business with me if I become a prosecutor witness.”
"Your boy is facing another DUI and reckless driving charge, among other things.”
"At the rate he's crashing my cars, maybe I should leave him in jail.”
I chuckled.
“I help you put away Stella Turner on corruption charges, and Cameron’s DUI goes away?"
As much as I hated to see that little punk get off, I wanted to see Stella behind bars more. "It would appear that way."
"And you've talked to one of the assistant district attorneys about this deal?”
"I have," I said, though I hadn't yet talked to Todd McLean.
Nick thought about it for a moment.

45
"Okay," Nick said, nodding his head. "I sold her the car. I took a $20K hit on it. She said if I did that and contributed another $20K to her fund," he said in air quotes, "Cameron's latest indiscretion would disappear.”
"Would you be willing to come down to the station now and make a formal statement?” I asked.
"If it gets Cameron’s latest charge resolved, sure. Let's do it. But keep my name out of the papers."
"I'll try."
I made a few phone calls. McLean signed off on the deal. Nick made his statement, and we got another warrant. This time we arrested Stella at her home.
Again, she said nothing.
She was arraigned the next morning and made bail. She put up the million dollars and was back on the street.
It was depressing to see. But I had to keep faith in the system.
We kept digging into the Forward Fund and the transactions the organization made. Ellie agreed to let us search Chuck’s laptop, and we found a goldmine of information. He’d done his homework and had found numerous suspicious transfers, donations, and consulting agreements. He was on the verge of exposing everything.
Paris started an ongoing investigation series. And I alerted the Florida Election Commission.
Stella was on her way down—for good this time.
I saw on the news where Randy Murdoch had died from a heart attack. The stress must have been too much for him. There was no doubt in my mind he’d had an inappropriate relationship with Skyler. But that was moot now.
I felt bad for his wife.
JD and I took a couple days off to relax. We fished, drank, searched for treasure, and chased skirts. So, it really wasn’t any different from normal.
Faye reached out to Katie and tried to mend fences. She blamed her actions on too much alcohol and poor choices. It didn’t really change things between them, but at least she made the effort.
Crash agreed to sit in with Lip Bomb for one show. In the meantime, he gave me lessons, and I practiced as much as possible. I was having fun with it. The guys let me jam a few songs with them at practices.
Things were going good. Summer was almost upon us. Crime was at a minimum. No assassins showed up in the night to kill me. It almost seemed normal.
That would end soon.
We made our plans to attend the red carpet premiere of Bree in LA. The studio flew us out on a private jet, and JD got a chance to reconnect with his daughter. He hadn’t seen Scarlett in a while.
The limo driver picked us up from the FBO at Burbank, drove over the hill, and headed down Highland. We turned onto Sunset, traveling west, then winded our way up to a nice home in the Hollywood Hills. The driver pulled into the circular drive, hopped out, and grabbed our doors. He pulled our luggage from the trunk as we walked to the front door and rang the bell.
An excited Scarlett answered with a shriek. She bounced up and down and gave us both hugs. JD held on for a long time. The Skyler Locke case had struck a chord with him, as it would with any parent. He was lucky to have her in his life, and he was going to soak up every minute with her. His eyes grew a little misty.
"I'm so glad you guys are here!” Scarlett said. “Let me show you around."
She ushered us into the foyer, and I tipped the limo driver after he brought the bags inside.
“So this is what you wanted to show us,” Jack said, looking around in awe.
“I wanted it to be a surprise.”
With Scarlett's newfound success, she had purchased a home in the hills. It wasn't the biggest house in Hollywood, but it was sleek and modern with a pool and a stunning view that looked over the hills and Century City.
“What do you think?”
JD was impressed. "Can you afford this?"
She looked at him flatly. "I can right now." She crossed her fingers. "Hopefully, Ultra Mega 2 does well. Ultra Mega 3