“Hardy King has been shipping guns up north,” I explained. “It seems that he, Jonathan, and Max are all part of some executive-level white supremacy group called the Brethren. A few weeks ago, he started shipping them down near the border, part of that Libertad deal mentioned in Gallagher’s memo. You’d have to talk to Jonathan Everett about that. You might want to talk to him about the money he’s laundering for Libertad, too.” I stood, reached inside my coat pocket and pulled out the flyer, Max’s thumb drive, and the envelope from Hardy’s office. I handed it all to the detective. “There’s a shipment of guns scheduled to go out Tuesday from a gun shop in Shelton called Tri-County Outfitters. I don’t know what the Brethren are planning, maybe some sort of race war. Whatever it is, it can’t be good. You should be able to piece it together from this stuff.”
Bradford took the items and stared at me, stunned. “Why didn’t you tell us about this before?”
“Because I didn’t know about it before.” I rubbed the back of my neck and stared at the detective. “They were trying to blackmail me into going along with all this. That’s on the thumb drive inside there, too.”
“What do you mean? Blackmailing you how?”
I didn’t answer her question directly. “I’m going home now. I didn’t kill my brother, Detective. But Hardy King did, and it still doesn’t make any sense to me. It was like my brother was some loose piece of trash they could discard as part of their racist criminal plans. I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life. I have to live with the fact that I worked beside people who killed my brother. I sat in meetings with them and ate lunch with them. And they smiled at me, the whole time. Men who wanted to see people like you and me dead simply because of the color of our skin. I’m just hoping you can stop whatever these cretins are planning to do. Don’t let them kill anyone else.”
Chapter 42
Four days later, Anita walked into my office, eyes bloodshot and her cheeks flushed.
“Stop it, Anita. You’re gonna make me start and I’m an ugly crier,” I said.
“I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it. I don’t want to work here either. Who will I buy flowers for?”
I shook my head and giggled. “You’ll be just fine.” I hugged her, then released the hug and squeezed both her hands. “And not too many Snickers bars from the breakroom, okay?”
“Okay, but you have to promise me you’ll hang up a picture or two the next place you go.”
“I promise.”
She laughed and hugged me again before she left the office.
I didn’t really need to return to my office. Frankly, I was surprised I did. I was surprised at how well I handled the imbecilic stares and awkward greetings when I walked through the building. I could have avoided it all and left everything as is in here. Like Anita said, I didn’t have a single thing of sentimental value in my office. But maybe I came back to make real the fact that I was actually leaving Houghton. Or maybe I returned because my work ethic compelled me to at least organize things for the hapless soul who had to sort through the legal mess Jonathan, Max, and Nate had created. I paused for a moment and gazed on the playground in the park below. I would really miss this view.
“Hello, Ms. Littlejohn. May I speak with you?”
Detective Bradford strolled into my office in a navy-blue wool coat that looked like something I might wear. Nice cut. Quality material. She really was pretty.
“Detective, come in.” I stiffened, steadying myself for what was inevitable. There’s no statute of limitations on murder. And Detective Bradford was a lot smarter than Sheriff Butch Coogler. By handing over that thumb drive, I’d opened wide the entryway into all my darkest secrets.
“I wanted to thank you personally.” She took a seat in one of the white linen chairs. “The information you provided was extremely helpful. We turned it over to the FBI and the ATF. Apparently, the Brethren was aligned with several other white supremacy groups, including one particularly dangerous organization called the Heritage Brothers. The Brethren funneled guns and money to the Heritage Brothers. Together, they were planning an attack on MLK parades and events in Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago. You kept a lot of people from getting hurt.”
“So everyone on the executive team was part of the Brethren?”
“We know for sure Jonathan Everett, Maxwell Lumpkin, and Hardy King were all involved. Because of Mr. Ashe’s cognitive state, it’s hard to say. We’re also unclear about how much Mr. Ashe knew about the guns. Apparently, there were more than a few other vice presidents around Houghton involved in the Brethren. We’re tracking the group down in at least six other companies across the country. You’re lucky. Seems Mr. King really liked you and talked Max Lumpkin out of killing you.”