Race With a Heart
Chapter 139: A Solid Suspect

Chapter 139: A Solid Suspect

Waiting for Kevin to come back was a pain for Jack. Moore was late, not warning that it could be so, which meant something sudden and not very good had happened. Lambert mentally pleaded that this something sudden and not very good should not happen to Kevin himself.

Nothing bad should have happened to him. Kevin’s job, even when he was helping the police, was not dangerous. As a civilian, Moore didn’t show up in hot spots. He did not take part in arrests of dangerous criminals or in pursuits. His assistance to the police was usually limited to analyzing documents, testimonies of witnesses, compiling a profile or seeing a crime scene. Even if there was any potentially dangerous situation, every policeman had a duty to protect him like an ordinary citizen, or even more so, Kevin was really safe.

But if someone like Steve Paxton was mugged and nearly killed, if there were random acts of aggression on the street, if there were drunk drivers on the road...

Jack shook his head to ward off anxiety. People are late. Sometimes they get stuck in a traffic jam, sometimes they talk to a friend and don’t notice how fast time is running out, sometimes they get buried in books in a reading room or in documents in their office and don’t even know that instead of the planned five minutes to check one piece of information, it’s been an hour. Kevin, of course, had warned Lambert when he planned to be late, but he wouldn’t have been a professor if he hadn’t been stuck with his nose in the books once or twice and lost track of time. So there was really no need to worry.

In this case, Jack should be more afraid for himself.

Waiting can be divided into waiting for something pleasant, such as unwrapping a gift that you know will be great, and waiting for something unpleasant, such as being punished for breaking your mother’s favorite vase. Lambert knew perfectly well that he was in the latter situation at this point.

Plus, Jack knew he deserved Kevin’s wrath. Meeting older Moore behind his son’s back was just wrong, and no good intentions can justify it. You cannot betray the trust of a person you love for the sake of others.

Jack’s waiting was unbearably long, and when night fell he was about to call Kevin to check that he was okay, or at least remind him of the late hour, but just then Moore’s car pulled up in the driveway. Although Lambert knew he would be punished with the professor’s arrival, he breathed a sigh of relief that Kevin was okay.

Of course, Jack might not have told Kavin that he had seen his father. Michael will not tell his son about their meeting, so the secret will not be released. At least it won’t come out right away. But Jack couldn’t live with the thought that he might lie to Kevin. Yes, there were secrets he couldn’t tell, but that was because they were too deep into his heart, and he felt excruciating pain when he reached out to reveal them, so he quickly pulled his hand back. But those were secrets from many years ago, and they no longer influenced shaping the present, and meeting Michael Moore did. After all, Jack had brought him to the Fergus Stables as an investor, so business contacts between them will tighten significantly. Perhaps there will also be parties where Lambert and the elder Moore will have to attend. One day Kevin will find out or figure out how it happened and feel cheated.

Besides, Jack couldn’t have imagined that he would meet Kevin every day and would constantly hide from him that he had made a deal with his father. The deal was purely business and had nothing to do with Kevin, so maybe the professor wouldn’t be that furious after all?

It was worth clinging to this hope. Dinner also waited for Moore to show up, it was just enough to heat it up.

Kevin stumbled into the house as if he weighed three times the normal weight. It was enough to make Jack realize how tired his partner is. But as he looked into Moore’s face, he felt his heart tighten with pain.

"Any new business?" Jack asked worriedly. Kevin sat down heavily on the couch and, tilting his head back, closed his eyes.

"Old," he replied. "But today there are new traces. Lots of traces. "

"Is this about the dead prostitute?" Jack asked.

Kevin looked at him apologetically.

"How did the interrogation go? Did they tire you out too much? "

"No, but what is it?" Jack became concerned and sat down next to Kevin. "What information? What does her death have to do with our stable? "

"I can not say..."

"You can and you must. As for our stable, you know I’m the best source of information. I can know more than you think."

"That’s true," Moore sighed, and to Lambert’s growing concern, he looked at him again apologetically. "Forgive me for saying this, but I must ask you for complete discretion ..."

"Okay," Jack replied. He didn’t feel offended by the reminder from Kevin. "Speak."

"As you know, a young stripper was brutally murdered some time ago. The girl earned extra money as a prostitute. Today we found out that she was blackmailing Steve. "

"WHAT?!!!"

"She threatened to reveal to the public that Steve was having an affair with a mechanic."

"WHAT?!!!!!! How could she ... "

"Exactly, where from?" emphasized Moore. "We interviewed Steve as a suspect ..."

Jack didn’t shout anything more. He just opened his mouth, sucked in a breath, but waited patiently for the continuation.

The idea that Steve might be a suspect in the murder of a prostitute was ridiculous, but since Lambert knew Paxton was innocent, he didn’t have to worry about him. He trusted Kevin anyway, and knew this guy would never draw unfounded conclusions. Also, if that girl was blackmailing Steve, it was only natural that he was among the suspects.

But seriously, how could she get the information?

"Shit, that’s Don," said Jack as if it were obvious.

"Don knew about their affair?"

"Yes. I didn’t tell you? " Jack really couldn’t remember whether he had given Kevin the information that Don Alston had harassed Martin. "Don saw them together and went a little crazy. He tried something with Martin, but it didn’t work out ... "

"Do you know what you are just saying?" Kevin looked very moved. Instead, Jack decided he must have said something extremely stupid. "Jack, you gave us a solid suspect!"

Kevin’s reasoning did not appeal to Lambert at all.

"Come on! Suspect for what? Don’s just a kid, a kid who still has milk under his breath. He played with the prostitute, yes, some men do. Maybe he was drunk and told her he saw what Steve was doing with Martin and maybe the girl found an opportunity to unfairly earn extra money, but what more can you suspect Don? "

"Jack, you know."

Bloody hell, of course Lambert knew, he just absolutely didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t want to admit to himself that he might suspect this kid of something ugly, but so many people’s intuitions couldn’t be wrong.

It was Don Alston, the boy who was the reserve driver of the Fergus Stables, that could gain the most from Steve’s exclusion from the racing. Don was accidentally there when a gang of kids tried to murder Paxton, and he too accidentally had contact with a prostitute who was blackmailing Steve. But it was all ACCIDENTAL.

It was enough for Paxton to begin to distrust him more than the others.

It was enough for Kevin to put him on his list of suspects.

It wasn’t enough for Jack to point a finger at him and look at him as on someone guilty.

Some of these thoughts must have appeared on Jack’s face because Kevin touched his cheek tenderly.

"Jack, I’m not going on a witch hunt. I am not going to accuse anyone without evidence and I am not going to let Sullivan do it. But the young girl lost her life, and the young man almost lost his. I can’t ignore the leads. I didn’t ignore them when I interviewed Steve and I won’t ignore them now. If Don is innocent, I promise he won’t be hurt, but if he’s guilty, we have to punish him. "

Lambert was still dissatisfied. Of course he trusted Kevin to get to the bottom of the truth, but he really didn’t want to accept the thought that a boy he knew, who had his whole life ahead of him, could be involved in such horrible activities.

"Jack ..."

Kevin gently caressed his cheek as if to comfort him. It wasn’t a very erotic gesture, rather full of warmth, comfort and support, yet Jack’s body shuddered. Even Kevin’s most innocent touch felt like an electric impulse to Jack, stimulating all his cells with a desire for pleasure ...