The Heart of the Jungle, стр. 18

hopeful for the first time since the murders, he knew he had to keep his burgeoning optimism in check. "When do we start?"

"Did you look at the papers I left at your house?"

"Actually, I threw them away," Chris admitted sheepishly.

Jason smiled. "Don't worry about it. I have copies here." He turned and pulled a folder from a drawer at his side and opened it on the desk. It contained police reports, photos, sketches, and notepaper scribbled with notes.

"Let's start with what I know about Brunner," he began, drawing on the vast knowledge he'd accumulated about this topic during his previous investigation. "Brunner Investments, prior to its dissolution, was a front company for his less-than-legal business dealings. When I was trying to track down Eugenia Hathaway's statue, I did a lot of digging, I was able to determine that the investors were unwittingly involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorist organizations, the black market... baby brokering."

Chris gasped. "You can't be serious."

"I'm afraid I am."

"You don't think he would have sold my daughter?"

"As much as the thought sickens me, I can't ignore the connection. Anyway, it's another possibility."

"But to who?"

He shook his head. "Lots of mysteries here." He moved on, sliding a page torn from a magazine toward Chris. The clipping contained a photograph of Brunner hoisting a beer aloft with one hand. His other arm was draped around Michael's shoulder. Both men were gazing into the camera languidly.

"This clipping is from a magazine called The Dish. It's a monthly gay publication from West Hollywood where Brunner owns---owned---a flat. It was taken about a month before the incident."

"George told me they didn't have any contact after he chased Brunner out of Seattle," Chris said, disbelieving. "He said almost a full year before the murders."

"He probably had no idea," Jason said, then returned the clipping to the folder. "Brunner is more slippery than you can imagine." He passed a black-and-white photograph of a cheerful-looking Hispanic woman to Chris. "This is Rosalita Morales. She's the woman you heard in the recording. She was employed by Brunner as a maid for about four months, specifically from August through November of last year, right around the time this was all going down. I spoke to her yesterday to follow up on what she said in the recording. She was positive she'd accurately relayed the conversation. She said she still has nightmares about it. She also said that Michael stayed with Brunner frequently and that she recalls seeing him in early November, just after Halloween. Right before Brunner liquidated the flat in West Hollywood and disappeared."

"But that's---"

"After the supposed murders. I know. That's why I think there's a good possibility this was all staged and that he and your daughter are still alive. She wasn't sure about the date, though, so don't get too excited yet."

Chris clenched his fists in his lap and swallowed hard. The further Jason went along, the more likely it seemed his daughter was still alive.

If some woman had seen Michael after he was purportedly murdered, then Brianna had to be alive too.

"Brunner has since dropped off the face of the earth. Nobody's heard from him for the past nine months---just as George said. I checked with every connection I can think of. His bank accounts are closed and emptied, and his name doesn't come up in any of the databases I have access to. It's like he's dead."

Chris's elation diminished slightly. "Do you think he is?"

"Doubtful," Jason said. "He's got all kinds of connections. More than likely, he's changed his identity and gone underground."

"Where do you think he is?"

"Morales said they needed Brianna to get to the Heart of the Jungle. That's important. Are you sure Michael never said anything about it?"

Chris wracked his brain, struggling to recall. Coming up empty, he shook his head. "I don't know. Michael wasn't the outdoorsy type. I can't imagine him traipsing through a jungle. He hated walking through the park."

Jason's forehead furrowed and he gnawed at his lip. "Damn." He heaved a sigh. "Well, we'll keep working on it. I have a meeting with one of his former associates who may be able to shed some light on it. Man by the name of Cross. He owns a pub called Lafferty's on the Pier."

"I know Jeff Cross," Chris said. "I wrote up Lafferty's a long time ago."

"I know. Your review is probably the only reason Lafferty's was able to stay afloat after the Brunner Investments scandal---something else I looked into."

"I know they tried to pin a lot of that on him, but I'm sure he didn't have anything to do with it. In fact, Michael and I had a fight about it during Brunner's trial. I tried to tell him that Jeff Cross was a decent man, that he couldn't have been the criminal mastermind they were trying to make him out to be."

Jason grinned. "I bet Michael loved that."

"Actually, now that I think about it, he did get really worked up over it. At the time, I just chalked it up to courtroom stress. He told me to keep my mouth shut and that I was naïve and didn't know what I was talking about."

Jason shook his head and frowned in distaste. "Michael knew Cross was innocent all along, but Brunner was a paying client. In more ways than one. In any case, I'm counting on Cross's grudge against Brunner and his soft spot for you to get some information out of him that he'd be... hesitant to talk about with the police."

"Are you sure that Cross was really mixed up in all this?" Chris was skeptical. He was having a difficult time picturing the affable restaurateur as a hardened criminal.

Jason chuckled softly. "Michael was right about one thing, Chris: you are a little naïve. Some bad guys are actually pretty nice."

Chris blushed in response to the mild ribbing. "It's just... well, Jeff Cross is a family man. He has twin daughters a couple of years older than Brianna, and he seems so... normal.