Ten minutes later, everyone was seated around a small conference table in Sam’s office.
“I guess I’ll tell you what it’s all about and you can let me know if you have questions.” Jake heaved a sigh. “Ashley’s dad and Brian’s mom didn’t run away together. They were put in witness protection on opposite ends of the country, because for whatever reason we can’t fathom, these men believe that either your father, Ashley, or your mother, Brian, have hidden away their missing millions somewhere. Killing Tom Ashford was a warning of what they would do if the money wasn’t returned.”
Confused, Brian asked, “Why would either of our parents have access to that kind of money?”
“Let me start from the beginning,” Jake murmured, settling back in his seat. “It all begins with the investment opportunity Tom Ashford began collecting money for. Supposedly, the investment was proposed to him by a reputable source. Apparently, the person who the scheme originated with was someone Tom trusted, so he had no problem gathering funds for the investment.” Jake’s expression turned grim. “Until he found out what the actual investment was. The person Tom’s friend works for is behind one of the largest human trafficking rings in the country, and his cover has remained so well-hidden, he’s avoided capture for years, possibly even decades. For all we know, it might even be a family business. But we do know it was the same person running the trafficking ring here in Crystal Rock when I returned to restore the Dragonfly Pointe Inn years ago. There were several arrests, but we never felt like it was over.”
“We didn’t know the reasons, but Brian and I have known for a while that the story about our parents running away together wasn’t true,” Ashley admitted.
Jake answered, “Your mother mentioned something about it to me Ashley, a couple years ago. In fact, your mom came to me because she was worried about you, so I offered you the management training. And Danielle was right to suggest it, because you’re one of the best promoters we’ve ever had working for our hotels.”
Reaching out and squeezing Ashley’s hand, Brian spoke. “I didn’t understand right away, but after I thought about the story for a while, I realized my parents never seemed to have any observable marital troubles, and dad wasn’t acting like a man who’d lost his wife to another man. But I didn’t have much time to think about that immediately after everything happened ten years ago, since you had to get me out of town right away.”
“I don’t understand,” Ashley murmured, looking at Brian. “Why did you have to leave town so quickly?”
Brian gazed into her eyes. “That night I discovered you and your mom had already moved away? I realized I still had the realtor’s key to your house at Stone Lake, so I decided to take a drive and look around again while clearing my head before going home.”
Jake continued, “And that’s when he ran into trouble, Ashley. He overheard some men who’d gathered on the property pier discussing Tom Ashford’s death. When he was killed, they attempted to set it up to look like a suicide. Even though Brian didn’t see the faces of the men, I think they thought he did.”
“And I was sure they got my plate numbers, so I went immediately to Jake because I saw at least one of them with a weapon. Jake sent a couple of the local cops to our house for a few days until my dad and brothers were packed and had me fast tracked and shipped right away to Fort Benning, Georgia for basic training.”
Jake turned to Ashley. “They left Tom’s body in your dad’s office.”
“So that’s why my parents were in and out of the house during those last few days before Dad left?”
“Yes. We talked with both your mom and dad and came up with this scheme hoping to draw out the kingpin of the ring. But during our surveillance from the last ten years, he’s never used the same people twice, and seems to be hiring out using aliases.”
“What surveillance?” Ashley asked, appearing taken aback.
“You, for one,” Jake answered. “You had to know we weren’t going to let you move into that house on Stone Lake without having eyes on you.”
Jake gave Brian a side glance, so yep, Jake knew that Brian had spent the night with Ashley.
Jake grinned momentarily. “I’ll have to give my wife credit. No matter how clueless I am, she has a way of sniffing out romance no matter what.”
Ashley snorted. “So what’s the deal?” she asked. “Why were they in Brian’s office?”
Jake answered, “Probably trying to discover where Brian’s mother is. I’m guessing they’re still looking for that money. The thing is we don’t have a clue at all where it could be. As you can imagine, we’ve been over every account not only belonging to Tom Ashford, but also his daughter, Michelle, as well as both of your parents. We don’t even know how much we’re looking for.”
Sam Danielson finally spoke. “So, what’s next?”
Looking at Brian first and then at Ashley, Jake answered, “All of your parents are considering returning to Crystal Rock. Even though it’s a risk, everyone’s had enough.”
When Ashley’s eyes filled with tears, Brian wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Jake heaved a sigh. “After what happened with Brian discovering someone had been inside his office last night, I asked them to wait a few more months so we could keep an eye on the two of you and follow up by fingerprinting and checking for bugs in Brian’s office.”
Ashley announced tersely, “Brian’s moving in with me.”
Brian grinned, squeezing her shoulders. “I am?”
“Yes. It’ll be safer for us both,” she growled.
Jake smiled wryly. “Believe it or not, I was just going to suggest the same thing.”
Sam asked, “So how do you want to handle the search, Jake?”
“The least visibly as possible,” Jake answered. “I suppose Brian needs some of his things?”
“What I really need to do now is change clothes,” Brian said.
“Not a problem,” Sam answered. “How about I handle the search myself, Jake?”
“I don’t have anything going on this morning,” Jake answered. “So I’ll give you a hand.”
Sam stood up. “Brian, why don’t you come along with us? You can change clothes and pack a few things for the next few days.”
Brian stood, looking at Ashley. “You can wait for me here, and we’ll head to the inn and have that meeting we were supposed to have.”
“Alright,” she answered.
“That’s exactly what I was going to suggest,” Jake admitted, looking at Ashley first and then at Brian. “Let’s keep it business as usual and not make anyone suspect that you have that good of an eye when it comes to seeing that things aren’t as they should be.”
Brian nodded his agreement, following Sam and Jake from the office.
Chapter Eighteen
Ashley didn’t know what to think about their parents coming out of hiding. It scared her to think that something worse could happen. Mom deserved to be happy again, since she’d only been going through the motions, but what would they do if Dad got killed? At least right now, she knew they were both safe.
She gave Brian a side glance, where he sat behind the driver’s seat of his truck, heading towards Dragonfly Pointe.
How in the heck did he manage to look so hot in a suit? Right now she wanted to…
“Stop thinking about that,” he muttered and smiled.
Suddenly, she laughed. “How did you know?”
“I saw that look in your eyes when you took off your sunglasses just now, and then touched the stem to your mouth. You used to do that all the time in high school and it used to drive me nuts. I was so jealous.”
“I had no idea.” Grinning, she sighed. “Yes. It’s time to concentrate on work. After Danielle mentioned that they needed some ideas to bring tourists here during the fall, I had a whole agenda planned for a month of Autumn Harvest before and after Halloween. I never had a chance to talk with you about it yesterday.”
Brian laughed. “I had a similar idea, but it’s
been so long since I’ve lived in Crystal Rock, I wasn’t sure about the venues.”
“Like where to have a haunted house?”
“Of course. Remember how we used to talk about why our town didn’t do much in the fall, after you, me, Jeff and Michelle used to tag along with Jeff’s parents to some of the events in other communities? His parents were so good about doing things like that with us.”
“They were. I wish I would have appreciated it at the time,” Ashley answered.
“None of us did, Ash,” he answered softly, driving into the Dragonfly Pointe Inn parking lot. “Anyway, here we are. Where do you want to work – in your office?”
“For a while. Then I’ll show you the place I have in mind for the haunted house later today.”
“You already have a place in mind? Great,” he answered.
They spent the remainder of the morning as well as early afternoon in Ashley’s office with coffee, going over the ideas they’d each come up with. They’d decided to have contests for different age groups and either host the events on the Dragonfly Pointe property or possibly at the Airport Park near the public beach which was closer to town. A parade would be nice if they could manage to get other businesses involved, and possibly a concert could be held to help pay for the setup costs. Brian had come up with an idea of a scavenger hunt taking place around town for all age groups, with specific items on the lists common to individual businesses in the area. The more familiar you were with Crystal Rock, the more likely you would know where to retrieve the items.
They were still enthusiastically discussing the events when they made their way down the elevator and headed toward the restaurant to have lunch during mid-afternoon when Brian’s cell phone suddenly vibrated.
Checking the number, Brian answered, “Jake?”
Brian frowned, listening to whatever Jake was instructing him to do.
“Alright,” Brian finally answered. “I think I can manage to keep it impersonal. I’ll only talk with my dad when I’m at Ashley’s place or here at the inn.”
Brian was listening intently again. “I understand. Talk later. Thanks, Jake.”
Ashley raised a brow when she was seated in a booth near the window.
“My office has been bugged. I need to focus on work and keeping my conversations impersonal when I’m there. Jake would set up a place for me to work here, but he’s afraid that they won’t discover anything if whoever is spying on me knows we’re onto him.”
“That makes sense,” Ashley answered and sighed. “I’ve been worried off and on myself. As much as I want my dad back in my life, what if something worse happens if he comes back here to Crystal Rock?”
“I was thinking the same thing too about my mom,” Brian confessed. “But if nothing has come from having them in hiding for ten years, it’s time to come up with a much better plan. My dad is so unhappy. He and my mom were high school sweethearts.”
“I understand. My mom and dad had a really great relationship too.”
They remained quiet for a few minutes, until the waitress came and took their order.
The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, and it was nearly six o’clock when they both decided it was time to leave Dragonfly Pointe.
Walking outside along the porch, Brian looked at Ashley before they began their walk to the parking lot. “I thought you were going to show me the place you thought would make a good haunted house?”
“I’ll show you what I had in mind. Just follow me back to my place,” Ashley answered.
“What about groceries?” Brian asked.
“I guess we should pick up a few things. I have plenty for breakfast. Why don’t we stop off at the Crystal Rock Tap and pick up something to eat before we go back to my place? That way, we can go for groceries tomorrow evening. It’s getting late, and I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to feel a little tired.”
Brian smiled widely. “I wonder why?”
She rolled her eyes upward.
Brian finally answered her question. “Yes, I’m pretty worn out too. The Crystal Rock Tap sounds good. I’ll follow you there.”
“Why don’t I phone in the order?”
“Do they still have those mushroom-swiss and bacon burgers?”
“They do,” Ashley answered, grinning.
“I’ll have a couple of those and some curly fries.”
“Alright. Give me a minute to call it in and then follow me in your truck.”
Fifteen minutes later, when they arrived in the parking lot of the restaurant, Ashley scrambled out from her truck, holding up a staying hand. She’d noticed that Brian had been limping a lot today, so it’d be quicker if she went inside and picked everything up herself.
Another ten minutes later, they were back on the road, and within the next twenty, they were pulling into the driveway of the Stone Lake Property.
“Let’s go eat,” Ashley murmured, slamming shut the door of her truck after grabbing the food. “And then we can move our vehicles into the barn.”
“Works for me,” Brian answered, stepping out from his truck and heading towards the back door, carrying his luggage.
Ashley heard a noise as they approached the staircase leading onto the porch.
“Spook,” she murmured, heading up the stairs with the food. “I wish I could figure out all your hiding places.”
Brian took a moment to bend over and scratch the cat behind the ears before following Ashley up the staircase.
When Ashley opened the door, Spook ran into the house.
“Who does he belong to?” Brian asked as they made their way into the kitchen.
“Me,” she answered. “I’ve asked everyone around the neighborhood, and even took him into the vet to make sure he didn’t have a chip. So I’ve decided he’s mine through squatting rights.”
They laughed at the cat who was sitting near his bowl, waiting for food.
“Alright,” Brian muttered. “I’d better get your intentions clear, right away. I don’t want to presume too much.” He drew in a deep breath. “Where would you like me to put my luggage?”
She huffed out a breath exaggeratedly. “Well, duh. In my room, of course. Where else would you sleep?”
“Well, you were always hot and cold with me during high school, you know. You were my teenage obsession.”
“Of course I was. I guess I knew it all along.” She scrunched her nose, avoiding his eyes. “I’m kind of disappointed in myself though. I never thought I’d be so easy.”
Brian barked out a laugh, dropping his luggage near the hallway while Ashley took the food out of the bag and laid it on the island, before putting some cat food in Spook’s bowl.
“Want a beer or something?” Ashley asked, moving toward the refrigerator.
“Sure. Beer would be great,” he answered, sitting on a stool and unwrapping his food, taking a bite of his burger. “Mmm, this is good.”
“It is,” Ashley said, sitting down after resting a beer on the table for Brian and opening a wine cooler for herself. “It’s what I usually order too. All this physical activity has me starving to death most nights.”
“It looks good on you, Babe. I think I might have mentioned that a time or two when we were naked last night.”
She bopped him over the head with a paper napkin before unwrapping her burger.
He suddenly looked thoughtful. “So, tell me how you ended up with this property, Ash?”
“I’m not exactly sure. I think my dad picked it up for a song before he invested money in Aaron Mitchum’s business proposal. I brought this place to my dad’s attention, since you were always asking me about getting inside once the house was listed for sale. Mom said he put the property in my name before he left town when he was trying to quickly get his affairs in order.”
“It’s going to take a lot of money to restore this place,” Brian murmured, looking thoughtful. “I might be able to be talked into investing in it if I’m living here.”
“Quit being pushy,
” she murmured. “You’ve already gotten to first base, so now you need to slow down a little.”
Brian grinned. “What does that mean?”
“It means you’ve been back in my life a little over twenty-four hours. Don’t rush me.”
“You’re the one who insisted I move in.”
She frowned. “That’s different. Something might happen to you. Someone needs to keep an eye on you.”
“In the old days I probably would have asked, what are you going to do if you see someone coming after me? Go after him with your designer purse?”
“Like I said last night. I’ve changed. I have power tools, and I know how to use them. I own a chain saw.”
Brian went cross eyed after she said it, and then he snorted.
She knew he was envisioning her chasing down some villain with a chain saw, because she was doing the same thing herself.
Suddenly, they were both cracking up, laughing.
.
Chapter Nineteen
A few hours later, Ashley was showing Brian around the barn, running some ideas past him about the haunted house.
What she had in mind was sound, since the barn was huge inside – Brian guessed it had to be close to ten thousand square feet alone on the ground level. And there was a staircase leading up to two upper storage levels which would equal the size of three bedrooms each in a split-level house.
“So you’d like to build an entire façade in front of those two lofts built into the rear of the barn?”
“Yes. Since each loft is bordered by fencing like a deck anyway, which has been installed to code, the safety factor is taken care of. I’ve already checked the structural integrity of each level.”
Structural integrity? Brian grinned. Who’d have thought?
Ashley pretended she didn’t notice his grin and continued, “It would be put together kind of like a theatre production backdrop. Maybe we could get Callahan Construction to donate the lumber and rigid plywood, find someone who’s an artist to paint the design first and make a template for when we put it together. But we might be able to disassemble it and use it every year.”
That Incredible Kiss Page 11