The Queensbay Series: Books 1-4: The Queensbay Box Set

by Drea Stein

  Noah shook his head, feeling sick. “Do you know where the money’s gone?”

  “Like I said, some of it was just spent as cash on day-to-day stuff, but we’re pretty sure it’s been stashed somewhere. Doesn’t mean we won’t find it, just might take awhile.”

  “How much?” Noah asked.

  “Well, it’s been going on for a while,” the Ted aid.

  “What, like a couple of months?” Noah said, hoping Ted would put his fears to rest.

  Ted ran his hand through his light, buzz-cut hair and looked at him and laughed. “More like a couple of years. Try almost a decade.”

  “What?” Noah’s voice went up, and he felt his stomach twist.

  “Oh, yeah. For quite a while.”

  “But, he’s only worked here for a couple of years.”

  “He had a partner,” Ted said, and Noah pushed back in the chair as the full implications of this hit him.

  Oblivious, Ted went on. “Obviously, the authorities will have to be called in, but you can keep this quiet if you’re willing to personally guarantee the money…”

  Noah waved his hand in consent. The money meant nothing to him, now that he knew the truth. Was this what Caitlyn had been trying to protect him from? That his father had been stealing all along?

  Chapter 54

  Caitlyn had left Noah’s and gone straight to Adriana’s. What she had found on Maxwell’s computer indicated that money had been going missing from accounts for a very long time. It wasn’t a recent occurrence, and Caitlyn was sure that Adriana knew more than she was letting on.

  She pulled her coat more tightly around her. It would snow soon, she was sure. The air was still and heavy, and everything was gray, with a deep silence.

  “Caitlyn, what are…?” Marion answered the door.

  Caitlyn pushed into the foyer, glad even for the marginal improvement in warmth.

  “I need to see her. Is she here?

  Marion looked at her, surprised at the grim look on Caitlyn’s face.

  “She was on her way out.”

  “This won’t keep,” Caitlyn said and started to walk down the hallway that led to the library. She hadn’t made it far when Adriana, dressed in a buff pants suit, stepped out into the hallway.

  “We need to talk,” Caitlyn said when she saw her.

  Adrianna looked older somehow, less vivacious. But her voice was perfectly even as she nodded and said, “I suppose we must.”

  Without another word, Caitlyn followed Adriana towards the back room, where the lamps were all on, casting pools of light over the dark wood and crimson tones of the leather chair and wool rug. She took off her coat, and Marion reached out a hand for it.

  “Coffee?”

  Caitlyn nodded and raised a hand, dismissive and appreciative all at once. Adriana gestured towards a chair, and Caitlyn sat, running her hands through her hair, fighting the urge to shiver.

  “Will you light the fire?” Adriana asked, and Caitlyn did, finding the matches in the small box on the mantle, dropping to one knee and watching as the light curled around the edges of the paper and kindling that had already been laid on the hearth. She stayed as close as she could until she could take no more and then sat back in her chair, the two of them catty-corner to each other, flanking the small but bright fire.

  Marion brought in coffee before they began to speak, and Caitlyn poured it for them both, adding milk and sugar for herself and eagerly taking advantage of the oatmeal raisin cookies that had been provided.

  Now alone, Caitlyn asked, “What really happened?”

  Adriana snorted and answered, “I already told you.”

  “Not all of it.”

  “First, tell me what you know,” Adriana said.

  Caitlyn continued, “You wouldn’t have agreed to see me so easily, if you didn’t think I knew.”

  “True, but I promised to keep it a secret.”

  “For how long?”

  Adriana moved her shoulder. “Forever, I suppose.”

  “Does it matter now?” Caitlyn asked.

  “No, it probably doesn’t. Time has a way of changing things. What seemed so vitally important then … well, now it seems to have little power to shock or scare. What was once considered damaging, now most likely isn’t. So, don’t judge us too harshly.”

  Caitlyn felt her heart sink. It was as she had thought.

  “How did you find out?” Adriana said.

  “I didn’t until now.”

  “So, you bluffed me,” Adriana said, but she didn’t seem upset.

  “You said it yourself. My grandfather was too full of life to not fight for it. No matter what odds the doctor gave him.” Caitlyn said.

  “We told some lies.” Adriana said simply.

  “Why?” Caitlyn spat out the word.

  “You know that your grandfather and I had an affair. But what you don’t know is that it started almost thirty years ago, and went on and off, while your grandmother was still alive, while I was very much married to Trip Randolph. I am not proud of it, but I cannot deny what we had.”

  Caitlyn shook her head. “Wasn’t she your best friend?”

  “I told you I wasn’t proud of what happened. But Lucas and I couldn’t stay away from each other. Well, you would think that divorce would be easy, especially after your grandmother died. But Trip was another story. As I told Heather, divorce would have been expensive, complicated. And Trip would have gone after Lucas, destroyed him first.”

  “So, what happened?”

  Adriana shook her head. “Lucas broke it off with me, suddenly, a few weeks before the end of the summer. No explanation, and then he was dead. Cancer was the official reason, but then Maxwell came to me. He was worried, panicked. Begged me to help him, told me Lucas would want that.”

  The pulse in Adriana’s cheek moved, and she stared into the fire.

  “He had pictures, of me and Lucas. Not a pretty sight in black and white, middle-aged love. You would think that I wouldn’t care anymore, that the world knew about me and Lucas, but as I said, I knew Trip would, and would turn his anger to me.”

  “So?” Caitlyn prompted, though she had an idea where this was going.

  “Max blackmailed me. Said he wouldn’t go to Trip if I would give him the money he needed to get the firm back on its feet.”

  “And you did,” Caitlyn said.

  “Yes, with one provision.”

  “And that was?”

  “Take care of you and your mother. Make sure that you had what you needed in terms of money and education and opportunities.”

  “I see,” Caitlyn said, so much becoming clear. All the internships that had seemed like long shots, mysterious opportunities complete with stipends, had opened for her, chances to go to London, to Europe, to travel, to study abroad. Now she could see the invisible hands that had moved them all, the phone calls, the favors that had been traded and dealt. The currency of guilt, not any sort of adoptive paternal instinct.

  Adriana looked at Caitlyn. “All this time, you thought there was something you could have done to stop him? That if you had been there that night, been there for him, it would have made a difference.”

  “Haven’t you thought that, too?” Caitlyn asked.

  Adriana nodded. “Yes, of course. But it seemed like Luke had his own plans. I think he thought that Maxwell could make him a fall guy – blame the money problems on him, and it would all work out. I don’t think he knew the extent to which Maxwell was in trouble.”

  Caitlyn wiped away the tears, and Adriana handed her a tissue.

  “Do you feel any better?”

  “No. Yes.” Caitlyn laughed. “Maybe. I guess we won’t ever know the whole story.” She thought for a moment, and then decided she owed it to Adriana. “Maxwell never stopped, you know. His financial shenanigans.”

  Adriana leaned back in her seat. “I thought you might have figured that out. That’s why you wanted those names, right?”

  “It was a pretty simple scheme. M
axwell was making false statements and sending them out to account holders who rarely withdrew money from their accounts. He showed a nice, steady growth of return, and he raided their accounts and moved the money around. If ever they needed it, he just moved it back in. If someone, like Sully, did something unexpected, he claimed an administrative error, and most people were satisfied.”

  “But?”

  “Well, you can only keep that kind of game up for so long. That’s why he needed me. At first, he thought I would bring some money to the firm. But I wanted to buy him out. I think he was considering it, until Noah. I think he thought Noah would have been so desperate to mend fences, especially now that he made it, that he would give him the money, no questions asked.”

  “So, he thought he was going to fix it all again?” Adriana said.

  “Boom and bust. I am not sure where all of it is, but I think Maxwell just wasn’t very good at making money or keeping it. Sure, there was the house and the club membership, the cars, but as far as I can tell, there’s no secret bank account in the Caribbean.”

  “And Noah?” Adriana asked.

  “He knew nothing about it. But I think Sam Harris was in on it, and he’s trying to set me up to take the fall.” Caitlyn explained what had happened with Sam Harris.

  “You don’t think Noah thinks that, really?”

  Caitlyn felt restless. Noah had said he didn’t, but she knew that the evidence, when weighed with her past, would look damaging.

  “I don’t know. It’s complicated.” Caitlyn said.

  Adriana made a tsk-tsk sound. “I think your generation uses that phrase when they want to avoid the fact that loving another person is difficult. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be love. It would be lust.”

  “And I suppose you know a thing or two about it?”

  Adriana drew herself up in her chair. “I do. I loved Trip Randolph for a good while, and then I met your grandfather. Nothing could keep us apart. We knew it was wrong; there was every reason that it wasn’t right. And we never made it work. We were too scared, too proud, too complicated. Don’t make the same mistake.” Her gaze held Caitlyn’s. “Do you love Noah?”

  “Yes,” Caitlyn whispered and felt her heart soar.

  “Well, then you need to tell him that.”

  “But how? I just got fired for stealing money.”

  “You didn’t do it.”

  “It’s hard to prove.”

  There was a sound, footsteps entering the room. They both looked up.

  Chapter 55

  “I thought I would find you here.” Noah said. There was someone else with him, and Marion was hovering in the background, wringing her hands.

  Adriana looked at Caitlyn, who was just staring open-mouthed at Noah.

  “Perhaps some coffee, or tea, Marion.”

  “Of course,” Marion said, obviously thankful to have something to do.

  “What are you doing here?” Caitlyn said, feeling her heart thudding in her chest.

  “We need to talk,” Noah said.

  “Is he here to arrest me?” Caitlyn said, her eyes flitting to the man who was standing behind Noah.

  “Ted Waters, security expert and investigator. You must be Caitlyn Montgomery. Pleasure to meet you. That was some great work you did, digging that stuff up.” Ted moved forward, shook Caitlyn’s hand, then Adriana’s.

  Of all the things Caitlyn had expected to hear, that was not one of them.

  “Excuse me?”

  Noah came to her, stood before her and held out his hands. She let herself be pulled up and drawn into his embrace, his strong arms coming around her, his lips brushing the top of her hair. She knew that they had an audience, but she didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was that he was there.

  There was a discreet clearing of a throat, and she smiled at Noah. They could talk later.

  “Sam came to me a few weeks ago and said there were some irregularities with some of the accounts.” Noah began, as he and Ted sat.

  They had gone through two pots of coffee and a plate of cookies before they were done hashing out the details of a plan.

  “I don’t like it,” Noah said again, shaking his head.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “It’s the cleanest way,” Ted agreed. Caitlyn had come up with the plan herself, but Ted had latched onto it quickly, refining the details, while Adriana had thought it sounded exciting. Only Noah had reservations.

  “It could be dangerous,” Noah said. “Have you forgotten that my father is dead?”

  “The police said it was an accident.”

  “For lack of any compelling reason to say otherwise. But now…”

  “I’ll be fine.” Caitlyn took a hand and placed it in Noah’s. He looked at her, his brown eyes worried, but she leaned forward and kissed him lightly. “Trust me?”

  He managed a smile. “You’re the best poker player I know.”

  Chapter 56

  “How did you get in here?” Sam Harris looked up in surprise.

  Caitlyn dangled a key in front of her. It was almost nine at night, and the offices were deserted, except for his. Only the desk lamp was on, and Sam was mostly in the shadows, surrounded by stacks of paper.

  “I have my ways. Going someplace?”

  Sam swallowed, then flashed a quick smile. “Perhaps. I never was a big fan of the winter.”

  “Interesting. I suppose getting rid of me was just so you could buy some time.”

  Sam shrugged. “I’ll be gone soon. They’ll sort it all out. I doubt it will stick to you, but it looks pretty bad. Hopefully you won’t actually get arrested. Just spend some uncomfortable time explaining your actions.”

  Caitlyn laughed. “Pretty smart. You’re right; no one would believe me, even if I said something. Besides, I am sure there’s just enough money sitting in some offshore account to make me look pretty damn guilty.”

  Sam shrugged. “There might be.”

  “But just enough right? The rest you have. What did you do? Did you and Maxwell spend it over the years? Or is it all sitting someplace safe for you?”

  Sam Harris gave a bitter laugh. “The fool wanted to stop. After all these years, he wanted to stop. We’ve never been caught, but all of a sudden you come back and Maxwell feels guilty.”

  “So, what did you do, go for the big score? Is that why Maxwell needed his son’s money?”

  Sam shrugged. “Things have been in place for a while. Maxwell just wasn’t aware of it. But you asked too many questions. So he looked deeper. Found out I wanted more than a new car every year. I wanted the big one – the score that would set me up for life.”

  “So you took it … and you were going to let Maxwell swing for it?”

  Sam laughed. “Not like it hadn’t happened before.”

  He came around the desk, and Caitlyn tensed, but saw that his hands were just at his sides.

  “So, what will it take, Caitlyn?”

  “For what?”

  “Six hours.”

  “Six hours of what?”

  “Your silence. You cover my tracks for six hours, and I’ll make it worth your while. You will walk away a very rich woman. All you have to do is not tell anyone you saw me tonight. By tomorrow, I’ll be long gone. You can protest your innocence all you want. I am sure they’ll figure it out, too, but by then I’ll have disappeared.”

  “You think you can buy me off?”

  “Sure. That’s what happened in London, right? Your fingers got a little sticky? Everyone has a price, don’t they? That house, your lifestyle. All must cost a pretty penny. I know what we paid you, and it doesn’t add up. That’s why you were the perfect target. Not to mention all those pesky rumors from across the pond.”

  Sam Harris was actually leaning against the front of his desk now, his arms crossed, looking perfectly at ease.

  “I guess we can’t run from our pasts, no matter how hard we try.”

  “Well said. So, do we have a deal?” Sam’s eyes flashed in triumph.

/>   Caitlyn hesitated. She knew that she had enough, that Noah and Ted were waiting, listening to what was going on through the little recording device Ted had strapped on her. She had only to say the word, and it would be over. But there was something she needed to know.

  “Maxwell … did you?”

  Sam smiled a thin, chilling smile. “Maxwell’s time was up. When the game’s up, the game’s up.”

  Caitlyn didn’t have time to say any more. Noah pushed into the office then, almost knocking her over in his haste to reach Sam.

  Noah had just enough time to throw one punch before a police officer intervened. It landed square on Sam’s jaw with a sickening crunch.

  Ted pulled Noah off. The office was suddenly filled with people, and Caitlyn found herself pushed to the side. But it was only a moment before Noah found her and pulled her to him.

  Chapter 57

  Noah sent Caitlyn home. She looked exhausted, and though he knew she wanted to be there for him, it was better for her sake to wait it out, let the investigators do their job. Sam was taken into custody, and Noah heard just enough to know that Sam was willing to cut a deal. He’d tell them where the rest of the money was, where he had hid it, in return for not being charged in Maxwell’s death, which he claimed had been an accident, despite what he had said to Caitlyn.

  Noah was ready to go find her after that, when found himself standing in the doorway of her office. Everything was still here, as she had left it. This was where she belonged, he thought. There was a movement, and he turned and saw her assistant, Heather, behind him. She had a strange look on her face, a cross between puzzlement and disgust.