by Carsen Taite
“Should I have a lawyer?”
“If you want to get a lawyer before you talk to me, that’s fine, but can I make one suggestion?”
“Go for it.”
“Get your own lawyer. A lawyer should only represent one client at a time, and Nester Rawlins represents your father. Do you get my meaning?”
She did and she didn’t. Yesterday, federal agents threatened her with prosecution. Today, one was handing out advice. Everything about this day was so surreal, but she could see no harm in hearing Dale out. Plus she needed to hear the whole story if she was going to figure out what to do.
For the next half hour, she listened as Dale gave her a play-by-play of the investigation into her father’s business dealings, starting from an FBI investigation into fraud allegations to the discovery that his business records reflected unusual activity. When she got to the shooting, Lily couldn’t help but gasp at the description of Dale and Peyton, pinned down under automatic gunfire.
“How badly were you hurt?”
“It’ll heal. Peyton saved my life that night.”
Lily nodded, afraid if she spoke Dale would hear the shake of fear in her voice. If someone would try to kill a federal agent and a prosecutor to protect their crimes, what else would they do?
Dale finished her story with the execution of the search warrant. “I’m going to tell you something I shouldn’t. Peyton didn’t know they planned to search your father’s offices and go public about the investigation. She wasn’t even at work when it all went down.”
Of course not. She’d been home dealing with her own family troubles. Lily knew that, but she’d suppressed the information and assumed the worst. Peyton had warned her about her father, maybe not as strongly as she could have, but Lily hadn’t listened, choosing to brush off the warning. Still, the sense of betrayal was still there. Peyton must have known something was on the brink of happening, but Sunday afternoon she’d acted like everything was perfect.
Except Peyton had said she had something important to tell her. That she would tell her when they met again, Monday night. Damn. Caught up in the passion of arousal, Lily had completely forgotten Peyton’s words.
“Why are you telling me all this?”
“I have my reasons. Now, I’m going to show you something, and it’s totally up to you to tell me what you know about it or not. Your call, okay?”
Lily nodded and Dale handed her an envelope. In the upper left hand corner was the return address for Gantry Oil. She hefted it in her hand and asked, “What is this?”
“You don’t know? The FBI agents you spoke with yesterday found it next to the chair you were sitting in at your father’s office. They seem to think it was yours.”
Lily flashed to the memory of her father, pulling papers from his desk drawer, shoving them into an envelope, and handing it to her. Take this with you, and I’ll get it back at lunch. I need to run it by one of the sites later. He’d lied to her. He’d wanted those papers far away from the prying eyes of the federal agents. She was certain, but she didn’t know why.
She debated how to reply to Dale. She had no idea what was in the envelope. Would telling the truth get her father in trouble? Did she care? She looked at it again. It was stamped with the Gantry Oil address, and they’d found it in his office. There was no sense denying the truth, and she’d had enough of falsehood lately. “It’s not mine. My father gave it to me and asked me to meet him with it later. I have no idea what’s inside, and I must have forgotten it when I left the office.”
“So you’d be surprised to learn this envelope contains coded records, just like the ones we found in your father’s warehouse. If there was ever any doubt that he knew about the records at the warehouse, these prove otherwise.”
“And your buddies think I knew as well? Well, I didn’t. Up until a few months ago, I wasn’t even in the country, and I haven’t been working for my father. I know plenty about the science of energy and business in general, but I don’t know anything about his private business dealings.” She braced for the answer to her next question. “Are you going to arrest me?”
Dale drummed her fingers on the envelope. “Fact is, I’ve done a bit of checking around, and what you’ve just said is true. I know you’ve pitched some ideas to the company, but that’s about the extent of your involvement. I believe you didn’t have a clue what was in this envelope. So, no, I’m not going to arrest you. I suppose it’s up to you as to whether you’d like to work with us or against us.”
Lily supposed she should feel indignation at being tricked into ratting out her father, but all she felt was relieved not to be a target of Peyton’s investigation. “Does Peyton know you’re here?”
“Yes.”
“I guess you’re going to report to her now.”
“We’ll talk soon. I’d like to be able to tell her whether we can count on you.”
“You’re good at this.”
“Pardon?”
“Pressuring people without seeming to. You should give lessons to those other agents.” Lily leaned back against the bench and closed her eyes. Her head swam. Her mother was alive, her father had lied to her, and he might be a criminal. Everything she had believed to be true was crumbling down around her. It was just too much.
“Tell Peyton, I’m sorry, but I have nothing left to give.”
*
Peyton spent the afternoon on edge. Waiting for news from Roscoe. Waiting for news from Dale. She could barely concentrate on the evidence logs detailing the items that had been seized from Gantry Oil. Every entry triggered thoughts of Lily and the expression of betrayal she’d witnessed the day before. When the phone on her desk finally rang, she grabbed the handset and answered on the first ring. “Davis.”
“Peyton, it’s Roscoe. I don’t suppose you’ve heard from Neil yet?”
“No, have you?”
“I have my top investigator looking for him to serve these papers, but he’s nowhere to be found. The judge has scheduled a hearing on a temporary injunction first thing tomorrow. If we can’t find Neil to serve him, I’ll put my investigator on the stand to tell the judge what he’s done to try and find him, but I’d like to have you there on standby in case the judge wants to hear from you.”
Peyton glanced at her calendar. “I’ll be there.” They discussed the time and where to meet, and she hung up the phone to contemplate what she would do between now and then.
She’d barely seen Gellar since her confrontation with him that morning. No doubt he was on another circuit of press appearances to discuss his latest coup. The problem was the more she reviewed the evidence the more convinced she was they’d chosen the wrong method to flush the Vargases out of hiding. Gantry had too much to lose in terms of reputation and investor money to come clean on his involvement with the Zetas. And he had enough money to keep Nester Rawlins and his fleet of lawyers working twenty-four seven on his defense. She knew from Bianca that Gellar had already raised the possibility of investigating Rawlins’s firm to see if their fees were paid with funds from legal sources, but Peyton knew that path would result in a logjam. Indictments of lawyers had to be approved by the Justice Department and, after working there for a few years, she knew such requests were rarely granted. Lawyers took care of their own. Gellar’s tactics would only delay a resolution of the case.
What she needed to do was assemble the task force and brainstorm another solution, and the best time to do that was when Gellar was out of the office so he couldn’t interfere. She started to pick up the phone to call Ida and check Gellar’s schedule, but stopped when she saw Dale standing in her doorway. “What did you find out?”
Dale shut the door and sat down. “I don’t think she knew a damn thing about what her daddy was up to. Not many people can fake shock that well.”
Peyton sighed with relief, but she needed to know more. “What did she say? Is she okay?”
“She’s as okay as someone can be who’s watching their world fall apart around them. She was le
aving a lawyer’s office with an ex-Dallas cop right before I talked to her. I think she realizes she needs to put some distance between her and the family business.”
“Was the ex-cop a blonde with short, spiky hair?”
“That’s the one.”
“I think that’s about something else entirely.” Peyton was certain the blonde was Skye Keaton, the investigator Lily hired to help her find her birth mother’s family. At least Lily had that venture to distract her from everything else that was going on. Peyton desperately wanted to call her, ask her how she was doing, talk to her about something, anything other than this case. Maybe this was an opening. She could ask about her quest to find her mother’s family, assure her she would shield her from prosecution. “How did you leave things with her?”
“She gave us what we need to confirm that her father knew about the records in the envelope, but that’s it. She’s not going to have anything more to do with us.”
“Us? What does that mean?”
“She’s hurt, Peyton. Her world just fell apart and she thought you were to blame. I made it clear you weren’t, but she’s not going to just bounce back.”
Dale was right and she knew it. The best thing she could do right now was leave Lily alone and focus on the job. There was no way they could mend the break between them while she was still working on evidence to put Lily’s father behind bars.
Lily’s father behind bars. That wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. The nagging thoughts from earlier came roaring back. She knew they were going about this the wrong way, and she told Dale her concern that the only thing that was going to come out of yesterday’s raid was a protracted battle in the media.
“So, what do you want to do about it?” Dale asked.
“I’ve been thinking we need a different approach. Maybe we should get the team together and brainstorm while Gellar’s out.”
“Remember what I said before about having your back?”
“You think we can’t trust everyone?”
“I won’t go that far, but I will say maybe it would be a good idea to start with a small circle and branch out when we have a plan.”
“Good thinking,” Peyton said. “Who do you trust?”
“Bianca.” She held up her hand. “Before you say anything about yesterday, that was all Gellar’s doing. She’s young and inexperienced, but she was just following orders. She’s got good instincts and I trust her.”
“Who else?”
“Mary Lovelace, ATF. You met her your first day, but she’s been working an angle in the field the rest of the time. I’ve known her for a while. We served together in Afghanistan.”
“Perfect. You think they would be up for coming out to the ranch tonight? Give us a little privacy.”
“Now you’re talking. We’ll be there.”
After Dale left, Peyton started jotting down an agenda for the meeting as the beginnings of a risky plan already began to form. She should call and warn her mother and Fernanda to expect guests. Peyton hated that she didn’t trust the rest of the group enough to have the meeting at the office, but better safe than sorry. Was this how Lily felt right now? That she couldn’t trust the people who were supposed to be in her inner circle?
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lily stood in front of the open closet doors, scouring the racks for her garment bag.
“I moved your clothes to the guesthouse.”
She turned and faced Courtney who’d just walked into the room. “What did you do that for?”
“Because it’s obvious you’re not going home anytime soon, and as much as I like you, I think you need your own space. You’ve been living out of your suitcase for a week.”
Lily sank onto the bed. She’d spent the last seven days hunkered down at Courtney’s house in East Dallas, ducking reporters, her parents, and anyone else who wanted to pry into her private life. She’d hadn’t planned to stay in the small Tudor for more than a couple of nights, but since she’d arrived, she’d been paralyzed by indecision about what to do next. It was clear she was cramping Courtney’s style.
“I’m sorry. I’ll check into a hotel tonight.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll do no such thing. You’re welcome to stay. I like having you here, but the guesthouse will give you more privacy and space.”
“You’re sweet, but I can’t hide out here forever. At some point, I need to make some decisions.”
“Can I help?”
Lily wished she could, but the list was long, starting with what to do about her father. Nester had called her every day, the level of pressure in his tone increasing each time. His requests sounded simple enough. Come to the law firm to talk, but talking to him would not be simple. He would want to know everything she knew about Peyton Davis. She wasn’t prepared to tell him the things she knew, things he wouldn’t believe. Peyton was kind and funny, handsome, and smart. According to Agent Nelson, Peyton was a hero and a pursuer of justice. Nester wouldn’t want to know any of those things. He was only interested in dirt, something he could use to discredit Peyton and her office’s investigation of her father. Even if she had any mud to smear, Lily wouldn’t use it, not when she was so conflicted.
Ignoring Nester had only given her more time to fret over whether she should attempt to contact Sophia. She’d had a lifetime to contemplate their first meeting, but now that she knew more about the lies surrounding her supposed adoption, the dream of a beautiful reunion threatened to become a nightmare. Skye had sent her a couple of texts during the week, just to check in and see where things stood, but the fear of the unknown left her undecided.
“You could get in touch with her. I bet she’d be glad to hear from you,” Courtney said.
“Who? My mother?”
“Well, her too, but I was talking about Peyton. She’s been working from the ranch quite a bit over the last week, and Zach said she seems to have a lot weighing on her mind, more than just Neil. I bet she’s missing you.”
Lily sighed. “It’s not that simple. I wouldn’t know what to say. Besides, I think the only reason she’d want to talk to me is if I can help prosecute my father. Don’t get me wrong, if he broke the law, he deserves whatever’s coming his way, but I don’t want to be in the middle of it.”
“But, honey, you kinda already are. I saw the way you and Peyton were acting at the ranch, and I’ve never seen you look so head over heels before. You like her. She likes you. The rest is just background noise.”
Could Courtney be right? Maybe she should pick up the phone and call, gauge Peyton’s reaction, see if there was any chance they could mend the broken trust between them.
The idea was a good one in the abstract, but the reality of their situation was that Peyton was out to get her family, and Lily could never be sure Peyton wanted to be with her for her and not for the access she provided. “If only. It’s not going to happen.”
Courtney’s narrowed eyes signaled she wasn’t happy with her answer, but she pressed on. “Well, then what about your mother? Sophia. Why not get in touch with her? You have all these unanswered questions. You deserve to know the truth. Maybe you need to know before you can move forward. Face it. You’ve had a week full of open wounds. Why not get some closure? What’s the worst thing that can happen? She’s already abandoned you.”
Good question, and Courtney’s blunt assessment was a wake-up call. She already thought the worst about Sophia and her father. If she met Sophia and the truth of why she’d given her away was ugly, it wouldn’t be a big surprise and she had time to brace for it. But if there was some good reason, some vital reason, why her mother had chosen not to raise her daughter, or to know her at all, she wanted to know what it was. Maybe then she could pick up the pieces of her shattered trust and move on.
*
Judge Nivens’s secretary looked up from her desk. “He’s ready to see you now.”
Peyton followed Bianca and Dominic Fowler into the judge’s chambers. He waited until they were all seated to start talking.
“Ms. Cruz, I’ve read your motion, but it was a bit sparse on detail. I get the impression there were a few things left unsaid. Would you like to fill me in?”
Peyton met Bianca’s eyes and nodded, confident they’d gone over what she needed to say enough times for her to handle this on her own.
“Yes, sir,” Bianca said. “Although charged as an equal party in this conspiracy, we have met at length with Ms. Chavez and her defense counsel, Mr. Fowler. Based on these interviews and other evidence we have developed, it is the government’s intention to reduce the charges against Ms. Chavez such that she would be probation eligible. Because of this, we would like to rescind our earlier request that she be held without bond.”
“Interesting, Ms. Cruz.” The judge turned to Dominic. “Mr. Fowler, I assume you have no objection to the Court considering bond conditions for your client?”
“No, your honor. None at all.”
“And, Ms. Cruz, I assume you would like this motion to be sealed?” Nivens asked.
Bianca shifted in her seat and looked back at Peyton who simply nodded. “Yes, sir,” Bianca said. “We would like that.”
Peyton was staring at the judge, watching him talk to the others, when he looked up and met her eyes. His wink was almost imperceptible, but she was certain she’d seen it.
“Ms. Davis, do you have anything to say or are you just here to observe?”
“I have nothing to add, Judge,” Peyton said with a smile. The wink had told her the judge probably knew what they were up to and he was going to do as they asked. There was no point in piling on.
“Fine then. I’ll implement the usual bond conditions,” Nivens said.
A short while later, the three attorneys stood in Peyton’s office with the door shut. “That went as well as could be expected,” Peyton said. “Dominic, you sure Carmen’s up for this?”
“You picked her. She’s not a criminal, so it’s not easy for her to think like one, but she’ll do what you ask and that’s all you can expect.”
“Fair enough.” Peyton knew the plan was a long shot, but when she’d pitched the idea of releasing Carmen Chavez and using her to lure the Vargases out of hiding, Bianca, Dale, and Mary Lovelace had all signed on. The past week had been spent working out the details, including meeting with Carmen several times to get her ready to be the bait in their trap. Peyton knew they were asking a lot from her, but the promise of her freedom and protection for her family had convinced her to cooperate.