by Caila Jaynes
What had attracted Claire to Gabe? Was it his looks? His status? His money?
Grayson put the brakes on that line of thinking as Edward Patel, a middle-aged man with the SEC, made introductions.
Patel addressed Gabe’s attorney. “Why don’t you tell us why we’re here?”
“I’d be happy to.” The attorney folded his hands on the table. “My client is here to give a statement about the abduction attempt on Claire Parker.”
“What about his involvement in the Ponzi scheme?” Patel asked. “Will he speak on that as well?”
“We won’t be addressing the allegation that Mr. Rogers ran a Ponzi scheme. We’re only here to give the statement my client has prepared.” He turned toward Gabe. “Go ahead.”
Gabe’s gaze briefly met Grayson’s before it moved down the line of Feds seated opposite him at the table. “I dated Claire for a year and intended to marry her. I love her and would never do anything to hurt her. I had nothing to do with what happened to her.” He continued his prepared speech, repeatedly denying involvement in the kidnapping attempt.
“We’ve identified the other men involved,” Eli said. “Jack Lawson and Roy King. They stabbed one of our team members, killing him.”
Gabe’s eyes widened. “I’ve never heard of either of those men.”
Eli sat forward in his seat. “You hired them.”
“No! I didn’t!”
Gabe’s attorney placed a warning hand on his client’s wrist and addressed the agents. “Mr. Rogers is telling you the truth.”
“The truth?” Patel scowled at him. “We’ll have to agree to disagree on that. Is there anything else?”
Gabe visibly deflated. “No.”
“Actually, there is,” Gabe’s attorney said, and he spent the next few minutes encouraging the agents to drop the kidnapping charges against his client.
“What a bust,” one of the SEC’s reps muttered after Gabe and his attorney had left the room.
“Did you notice he never objected to the allegation that he ran the Ponzi scheme?” Grayson asked. “He only bristled when we accused him of the kidnapping.”
Eli nodded. “I noticed that too.”
“How’s Miss Parker doing?” Patel asked Eli. “Your team’s still guarding her, correct?”
“We are.” Eli’s gaze flicked to Grayson as he said, “She’s doing fine.”
Grayson looked down at the table. He’d done his best not to think about Claire these past several days, but it was nearly impossible. Raising his head, he met a curious gaze from Eli. His boss had the same look on his face that he’d had the prior week.
“I don’t understand, Gray. You don’t want to protect Claire anymore?”
“No. It should be Alex or another member of the team guarding her.”
“What happened? Are the two of you still having trouble getting along?”
“Yeah.”
When Grayson hadn’t elaborated, the boss had let things go. But it seemed Eli hadn’t dismissed the topic completely.
They’d left the meeting room and were alone inside the elevator when Eli asked, “It must be tough seeing her ex.”
“What?”
“Come on, Gray. No more denying it.”
Grayson reached out to press the button for the ground floor but didn’t answer.
“The task force doesn’t need any bad publicity. You realize that, right?”
“Yeah.” Grayson rubbed a hand against the back of his neck, knowing his boss was right. It was time to take ownership of what he’d done. “Something happened between Claire and me, but it won’t happen again.”
“You broke it off?”
“Last week. The day I told you I couldn’t guard her anymore.”
Eli gave him a satisfied nod. “It’s not like I’m trying to tell you who to date. It’s just that family is so high-profile, we can’t afford any more mistakes.”
Shame and grief filled Grayson. The knowledge that he’d been responsible for Jeremy’s death had dogged him since that night.
If he hadn’t been out of town . . . If he’d made sure Jeremy had backup the entire night—
Enough. Get your head on straight.
Glancing at his boss, Grayson said, “I understand.”
Eli leaned back against the wall of the elevator. “What’s your take on Gabe Rogers?”
Grayson shifted on his feet, thankful for the change of subject. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I believe him. We never did figure out who was on the other end of the burner phone, who actually hired Rex Gibson to arrange the kidnapping. Are you okay if I keep digging?”
If Gabe was telling the truth, then someone was still after Claire. The thought sent worry spiraling through Grayson. He’d been working her case, going through the files, but it wasn’t enough. They needed hard evidence. If he had to ruffle feathers at the lab to move things along, he’d do it.
“What are you thinking?” Eli asked.
“The surveillance footage. The lab never finished going through it. Finding whoever bought that damn burner phone is still our best lead for figuring out who’s behind all this.”
For a moment, Grayson was afraid the boss was going to say no. But as the elevator jerked to a stop on the ground floor and the doors slid open, Eli met his gaze and nodded.
“Do it.”
Later that night in the Phoenix Task Force offices, Grayson paused the computer’s video player and rolled his shoulders. Since getting back from the meeting at the jail, he’d reviewed days of video surveillance from the big-box retailer.
The task force knew which chain Rex Gibson’s burner phone had been purchased from, but the retailer’s inventory system didn’t track the sales by serial number. Instead, it simply listed how many of that model number of phone were sold and when. There was no way to know which of its locations had sold the particular phone in question.
Phoenix’s computer specialists had obtained surveillance for all the retailer’s DC-area stores for two weeks prior to Grayson’s learning of the kidnap plot. So far, they had only completed a review of the footage of some of the store’s locations, searching for someone purchasing this type of phone.
Grayson was now reviewing footage from stores his team hadn’t checked yet. Unfortunately, he’d found nothing.
By eight p.m., he’d nearly reached the last of the stores on the list when he saw a man in his early twenties wearing a suit and tie purchase a burner phone. Adrenaline surged through his veins as Grayson zoomed in, praying he’d caught a lucky break.
There! The packaging on the phone matched that of the model they were looking for.
Elated, Grayson bookmarked the video and sent it to the lab with instructions for them to run the man’s photo through facial recognition. If this wasn’t the right buyer, Grayson would finish going through the remainder of the videos tomorrow.
His spirits lighter than when he’d walked in, Grayson left the building and walked out into the cool, damp night toward his Suburban. He’d been hoping to see Alex in the office these past days and casually ask how Claire was doing. Instead, Alex had been staying with Claire 24/7.
He forced his jealous thoughts aside as he reached his car. Alex was a good guy who took his job seriously. He wouldn’t jeopardize anything by making a move on Claire, which was more than Grayson could say about himself.
On his way home, Grayson stopped to pick up takeout for a late dinner. Back in his apartment, he transferred his food to a plate and sat at his kitchen table to eat. Alone.
He put the plate in the dishwasher when he’d finished and headed to the living room to watch a little TV before bed.
Flipping through the channels, he tried to focus, but his gaze was drawn to the box he’d brought from his mother’s house. It still sat on the coffee table, taunting him.
Damn it, I guess it’s time.
Grayson dug through the box for the right photo album and pulled out his mother’s letter. A lump formed in his throat as he unfolded
the paper.
My dearest Grayson,
Words can’t express how much I love you. If it weren’t for you, I’m not sure I could have gone on after your father died. You were the sole reason I was able to get out of bed each morning.
I’m so proud of the path you’ve taken and the man you’ve become. My greatest wish is that you live a long and happy life, and that you don’t spend it alone. There’s no better feeling than being with the right person.
Find someone who will make you smile, Gray, someone who will challenge you, someone you’ll do anything for. A family will give you a reason to get up each morning—even in the darkest days—just like you did for me.
I’ll always love you,
Mom
Grayson set the letter down and walked toward the glass sliders leading to the balcony. As he stared out at the city lights glistening in the mist, his thoughts swung between the letter and Claire.
His mother’s final words hadn’t made him miserable in the way he’d expected. As it turned out, most of his regrets seemed to center on Claire.
There’s no better feeling than being with the right person.
While he knew his mother was right, so was he. He’d done Claire a favor by letting her go. But there weren’t many women who’d captivated him the way she had. Hell, there weren’t any.
Grayson shook his head and turned out the lights, deciding to head to bed. Other than the one night with Claire, he was still getting barely any sleep.
Maybe if he focused on resting, that would take the pressure off of trying to get some sleep. Rest was supposed to be better for the body anyway.
Chapter Fifty-Six
When Claire and Alex entered her condo after her classes the next day, she was surprised to find her mother seated on the sofa.
“Darling.” Eva stood and kissed the air on either side of Claire’s face. “I’m on my way to the club for lunch. Come with me.”
“I can’t. I have work to do.”
“You’ve been locked up here for days. You need an outing.”
“I just had an outing.”
Her mother gave her an exasperated look. “School doesn’t count.”
“I’m sorry, Mother. I can’t.”
Eva’s features drew into a frown. “Next time, you’re going. That’s all there is to it.” She glanced at Alex as if she’d just noticed him and turned back to Claire. “If I have to, I’ll have the muscle drag you there.”
“Next time. I promise.” Claire walked her mother to the elevator, relieved that Eva hadn’t put up more of a fight.
Speaking of a fight, it’s probably time to ask Mother for her key. Or better yet . . .
Maybe it was time to have her own place, one that hadn’t been bought and paid for by her parents. Claire had money of her own that her grandparents had left her, money she’d never touched. It wouldn’t buy an outrageously expensive place like this one, but it would give her enough to rent a decent apartment all on her own, and a cushion to pay her expenses until she graduated in the spring and got a job.
And maybe, just maybe, it would buy me some freedom.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
After yet another night with only a few hours’ sleep, Grayson walked into his office Friday morning to find a message waiting from the forensics lab. As he listened to it, a thought clicked into place. He hung up the phone and sat at his computer to pull up a map of Virginia, and then headed for Eli’s office.
The boss looked up from the paperwork he was signing. “How’s it going, Gray?”
“The lab left a message. They found soil in the treads of Roy King’s tires, a type of red clay that puts his car in the Blue Ridge mountains recently.”
“Is that significant?”
“I think so.” Grayson described what had clicked into place—the photo he’d seen in Claire’s kitchen that was taken at her family’s mountain property. “The type of soil the lab found is specific to the Shenandoah Valley area. The Parkers own a cabin on mountain acreage near Front Royal, at the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley. And Claire said her dad’s press secretary goes out there all the time with him to hunt. I want to check it out.”
Eli’s gaze narrowed. “Will you involve Claire?”
“No.” I’m the last person she wants to see. “Can we get someone to start looking into the press secretary? His name is Nick Papadakos.”
“But what would be his motive?”
“Money. I went over the list of Gabe’s investors and found some familiar names. It wasn’t just Claire’s father who lost money investing with Gabe Rogers. Several of the senator’s staffers did, including Papadakos.”
Eli reached for his phone. “I’ll have his background check expedited. Let me know when you get there, and keep me posted.”
“I will.”
Grayson walked back to his desk, happy to have a good lead to follow. While they hadn’t eliminated Eric Sewell as a suspect, they still hadn’t found anything to link him to the plot against Claire, and he’d had no word yet on the facial recognition search on the video surveillance. Pursuing Roy King was their best bet at the moment.
It might be a long shot, but if he could obtain a sample of the soil from the Parkers’ mountain property for the lab to compare against the soil found in King’s tire treads, it could strengthen the case they were building against him. And it could give them another clue as to who put out the contract on Claire in the first place.
Based on the map he’d seen, the drive from DC to Front Royal was mostly interstate, so it wouldn’t take more than an hour and a half to get there. It was worth checking into.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
As Claire and Alex were making lunch in her kitchen, her cell phone rang. The caller ID was blocked, so her tone was wary as she answered the call.
“Hello?”
“Is Gray with you?” asked a familiar deep voice.
Surprised that Eli was calling her, Claire glanced at Alex. “I haven’t seen him since last week. Why do you ask?”
“He was supposed to report in and I can’t get ahold of him. Please let me know if you hear from him.”
“Wait!”
She took in a breath of relief when he stayed on the line. Had Grayson’s boss really thought he could worry her like that and then just hang up? Something had to be very wrong if Grayson was out of touch with his teammates.
She swallowed hard. “What’s Gray working on?”
There was silence for a few seconds before Eli said, “He was headed to your family’s property in the mountains.”
Confused, she frowned. “Why would he go there?”
“Dirt was found in Roy King’s tire treads that came from the Shenandoah Valley area.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “The kidnapper’s car?”
“Yes. How big is the property?”
She struggled to answer as her mind spun. “Huge. Hundreds of acres.”
“Has Nick Papadakos been there often?”
Nick? What did he have to do with anything?
“Yes. He and my father hunt there several times a year.”
“My team and I are heading to Virginia. Please don’t tell Nick or anyone else we spoke.”
“Eli, I know the property. I can help. It’s heavily wooded and remote, and those gravel roads aren’t well marked. You won’t find your way to it easily without help, which is exactly why my parents chose it. They wanted privacy.”
Alex had abandoned his sandwich-making and stood leaning against the kitchen counter, his arms folded over his chest as he listened intently to her side of the conversation.
Eli huffed out a frustrated breath. “Grayson wouldn’t want you involved. And neither would your father.”
“With or without you,” she insisted, “I’m going.”
There was silence so long that Claire was sure the call had ended. Then Eli sighed.
“All right. I’ll pick you and Alex up in twenty minutes.”
A thought occurred to
Claire. “You know, the cell service on the property is spotty. If Grayson’s there, that’s probably why you haven’t heard from him.”
“Good to know,” Eli said. “I’ll make sure the team is equipped with radios. We’ll see you soon.”
When the call clicked off, Claire lowered her phone and turned to Alex to explain.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Grayson pulled onto the Parkers’ Blue Ridge property over two hours after leaving DC, later than he’d expected. It had taken him a while to find it . . . there were numerous dirt and gravel roads in the forested area, some marked with numbers and others not marked at all.
As he stepped out of the Suburban, the smell of smoke hit him, making his eyes water.
Must be smoke drifting from the forest fire they were talking about on the radio.
He turned his gaze to the hazy sky before scanning the area around him. The ground was rocky here, with none of the red clay described in the report. Hopefully, he’d have more luck as he drove farther in.
He tried to call Eli once he was back inside the Suburban to tell him he was on the property. The call didn’t connect, and Grayson cursed when he checked his phone and realized there was no cell service here.
Deciding to check in once he was on the way back to DC, Grayson drove slowly down the gravel road and squinted once he was about a half mile in. Along the shoreline of a nearby creek, the dirt was tinged red, different from the orange-tinted clay often seen in the DC area.
He parked his vehicle and grabbed an evidence bag from his glove compartment. Kneeling at the water’s edge, he scooped an ounce or so of dirt inside the bag.
That task done, he shifted his gaze across the road. He’d planned to search for the cabin he’d seen in the aerial view of the property he’d found online, but maybe it was better to explore around here first.
Cabin. What an understatement. From the surface area of the roof he’d seen in the aerial view of the property online, that cabin was more like a resort lodge.