by Maria Geraci
“Crack cocaine?” Kate asked breathlessly. “So addictive you need to have it over and over again?”
“What’s your book club been reading? I was about to say that if Ben Harrison is a drug he’s like a…Z-pack. You take it till you’re done and then you’re over it.”
“Mmm…too bad.”
“Not really. He’s eventually going back to Miami, and I have this terrific future here in Whispering Bay. Our lives are on totally different planes.”
“Is that how the two of you left it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is that what he said, or is that what you said?”
“Neither of us said anything. I just…left.”
“Wait. Don’t tell me you snuck out of bed last night while he was still sleeping and left him a note that said Had to go, talk to you later. Please don’t tell me you did that.”
A trickle of unease ran down Jenna’s spine. “There was no sneaking involved. I calmly and deliberately got out of bed this morning. And there was no note.”
“You left while Ben was still asleep?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Jenna!”
“What?” Although she already knew what Kate was thinking. “This wasn’t payback. I just didn’t have anything to say to him.”
“Didn’t have anything to say or were too afraid to stay and hear what he might say?”
Leave it to Kate to make this bigger than what it was. “Whose side are you on?”
“I didn’t realize there were sides, but when you put it that way, I’m on yours. I love you. That’s why I’m always going to tell you the truth.”
“And I appreciate it. But you’re over-romanticizing. Last night was just a moment of…temporary insanity. Believe me, I’ve done Ben a huge favor. No awkward morning small talk or any of that stuff. He was probably thrilled to find me gone.”
“If you say so,” Kate said skeptically.
* * *
Damn it.
She was gone.
She must have left sometime in the middle of the night—no—he’d gotten up at four to check on Rachel, and Jenna had still been here. He’d been tempted to wake her up for round four, but he’d held back. He could kick himself for that now.
She must have sneaked out of the house sometime in the last couple of hours.
He’d envisioned them having breakfast together. Maybe even taking Rachel to the beach for the day. He’d made plans. And he never made plans with anyone.
His cell phone rang. Ben lunged across the room to answer it, then realized that he’d never given Jenna his number. The call was from his personal office line.
“What is it?” he snapped.
“So sorry to bother you, sir, but you said to tell you when something was wrong. Um, normally, I would never…since you’re an early riser, I thought…”
No need to take his foul mood out on Gavin. “Not a problem. What’s going on? Is this about Greta?”
“Absolutely not. I took care of that creature last night. She’s already back in Miami and her agency has received a blistering review on her substandard performance. I’m calling you about the inspection for the house.”
Ben didn’t have to ask what house Gavin was referring to.
“Go on.”
“It appears there was some major flood damage in the past. It can be repaired, but the initial estimates are coming in way over budget for this project.”
“How much over?”
“Twenty percent.”
“Shit.”
“My sentiments exactly.” There was a pause. “May I suggest something, sir?”
“That’s what I’m paying you for.”
“When we put the bid on the house, I took the liberty of looking at some additional properties in the neighborhood. Just in case things didn’t work out. There’s a very similar house just a block away that we can probably get for the same price. With your permission, I’d like to exercise the clause that allows us out of the current contract.”
“What does Tiffany think?”
“She’s all for it. But she wanted me to check with you first.”
“Then do it.”
“Yes, sir. Excellent, sir. Thank you—”
“Gavin?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Good work.”
Ben hung up then got dressed. He was lacing up his sneakers when Rachel came padding into the room. Her hair was a tangled mess, and there was a sleep mark on her right cheek. Before she could say anything, he grabbed her into a bear hug making growling sounds until she was laughing so hard her tummy shook.
“Uncle Ben!” she squealed. “It’s to-mo-rrow!”
“So it is, cupcake.”
She beamed at the nickname. “Can we watch Annie again? Can Jenna watch it with us?”
Now that Jenna had skipped out on him, he’d thought to get some work in. And he should probably give Tiffany a call. It had been over a week since he’d last spoken to her. But right now, nothing else seemed to matter except this little girl with his brother’s eyes.
“Sure. We can watch Annie again, but Jenna’s at work right now, hon. Maybe we’ll see her later.”
“Okay.”
He felt the same disappointment she did. He could drop by Jenna’s office later this morning. It wouldn’t be completely out of line. Just a friendly hello while he was doing something official on the Earl Handy case. But he didn’t want to crowd her, and he also knew she had a full day planned.
He’d never been a patient man. Not when he wanted something this badly. But if the last couple of months had taught him anything, it was that no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t control everything. He’d have to be satisfied with seeing her at tonight’s meeting. She couldn’t run away from him there.
“Grandma’s not here,” Rachel said, “and Greta is back in Mami, so who’s going to make breakfast?”
“We are.”
“We are?”
“I’ll tell you what. If we can eat pancakes for dinner, how about hamburgers and milkshakes for breakfast?”
Her face split into a grin. “Wow! I say yes!”
Chapter Fifteen
After her conversation with Kate, the rest of the day went by agonizingly slow, which was odd because her days usually flew by, especially when she had so much work piled up. And she was curiously nervous, too. Every time the phone rang, she’d jump. Must be jitters about tonight’s town hall meeting. It was her first public meeting as city manager, and although she wasn’t scheduled to speak directly, if anyone had a question that pertained to city business, it was her job to provide an answer.
She was jotting down some notes about the new rec center when Darlene popped her head in the door. “You busy?”
Jenna’s pulse hitched. “What? Why? Who is it?”
“Boy, you’re on edge today. Remind me to make the next pot decaf. I came to tell you there’s someone here to see you.”
“Do they have an appointment?”
“No, but I didn’t think you’d mind. At least, I know I wouldn’t mind if a good looking man was asking to see me.”
Oh no. It had to be Ben. What other good-looking man was there?
Jenna quickly flung open the top drawer of her desk to take out her compact mirror. After running by the house this morning to shower, she’d changed into her signature power outfit—a tan-colored pencil skirt and a crisp white blouse with black heels. Her hair was pulled back in a low chignon, and her red lipstick proclaimed to the world that she wasn’t afraid to look both feminine and in charge. As for the blotch on her neck, a little beige foundation took care of that nicely.
She looked presentable enough. But what was she going to say to him?
The conversation could go one of three ways.
The first way was completely silly.
Hey, Ben! I had a great time last night. Hope you did too!
Then, there was the absolute truth.
Last night was scary
as hell. Not in a Friday the thirteenth kind of way. No, of course not! But now, there’s all these crazy feelings I thought were long gone, and even though I didn’t want to admit it to Kate, the thing is… I could so easily fall in love with you. All over again.
Or she could go with a less dramatic, but still honest version.
Was there a full moon last night? Because we must have been insane!
Okay, so maybe that was still a little dramatic.
The more she thought about it, the more she hated to admit that Kate, as usual, was right. Even if she and Ben didn’t have a future (which they didn’t) she shouldn’t have left this morning without waking him up. It would make this next meeting all the more awkward between them.
“No need for any formalities,” said a familiar male voice that was definitely not Ben’s. “I know my way around here.” Zeke Grant walked into her office and took the seat across from her desk.
Before closing the door, Darlene turned and made a face that said wow.
Okay, so yes, obviously there were other good-looking men in town besides Ben. Jenna mentally shook her head. Whew! What a relief! How silly of her to think that it might be Ben who’d stopped by. No. She certainly was not disappointed that it was Zeke in her office.
“Hope I’m not disturbing you, but I came by to see Mimi and I thought I’d stop in and find out how the rest of last night went.”
“Last night? Why? What do you know about last night?”
Zeke blinked. “I was there, remember?”
“Oh! You mean Rachel running away.”
“What else did you think I meant?” He looked at her strangely.
Jenna laughed, but it sounded more like a duck quack than anything human. She cleared her throat. “That’s really nice of you to check up on Rachel.”
“I’m not being nice, Jenna. It’s my job. Tell me, how well do you know Harrison?”
I know he has a little scar along the inside of his left thigh…
“Earth to Jenna,” Zeke said.
“Sorry.” She shook her head to clear the image in her brain. “What was the question? Oh, yeah, how well do I know Ben Harrison? Let’s see… Not much, really, I’m afraid. We were at the University of Miami together, but I haven’t seen him in thirteen years. Not till he showed up here in town. Why?”
“He seems like an okay guy, but I want to cover all my bases.”
Jenna stilled. It finally occurred to her what Zeke was really getting at. “Are you asking me if Ben is a good guardian?”
“He gave me some of the little girl’s background. Pretty rough if you ask me. I just want to make sure I’m not missing anything here.” If it had been anyone but Zeke asking the questions, she would have told them to get the hell out of her office.
“Are you implying that Ben is somehow responsible for Rachel running away?”
“Not at all,” he said. “But when a little girl is unhappy at home I want to make sure I can identify what the problem is.”
“I’ll tell you what the problem is, or rather, what it was. It’s called the Wicked Witch of South Florida, and thanks to Ben she’s on a broomstick back to Miami. Did you know that Ben’s mother is formally adopting Rachel and that Ben is helping her? Both financially and emotionally? And as for Ben, you should ask your wife about him. Or better yet, Google him! Besides being one of the top lawyers in this state, he’s a vet. He served two tours in Afghanistan and has a Silver Star for bravery. Does that sound like someone you should be investigating?”
Zeke put his hands up in the air. “Whoa! I didn’t mean to hit a nerve. I thought you barely knew this guy.”
“I… I’m sorry, I guess I got a little carried away, but believe me, Zeke, you’re totally barking up the wrong tree here.”
“I hope you’re right, but I still need to put a call in to Child Protective Services.” He took out his notebook and jotted something down. “Afghanistan, huh? Any signs of PTSD?”
“What? No!”
“Not everyone with PTSD is homeless and on drugs. As a matter of fact, that’s a stereotype. Most are regular people with jobs and strong ties to the community. Anyway,” Zeke said, putting away his notebook, “I’m sure everything will check out all right.”
Jenna nodded woodenly. What else could she say to that?
Zeke’s gaze drifted around the room. “Weird. Last time I was in this office Wentworth was behind that desk.”
Doug Wentworth wasn’t her favorite subject, but Jenna was glad they weren’t talking about Ben anymore.
“I’m taking steps to exorcise his ghost pronto. I’m getting a new desk, chair, the works. It should all be in by next week.” She looked at Zeke sitting across from her in his police uniform. She hadn’t said anything to anyone, but he was the most logical person to have a discussion about this. “How well did you know him, by the way?”
“Wentworth? More than I wanted to.”
“Sounds like you didn’t like him.”
“The asshole had the nerve to make a play for Mimi.” When Jenna raised a brow, he went on to explain, “It’s a long story, but she and I were separated for a few months.”
“Really? I find that hard to believe. I mean, you and Mimi are like the poster children for happy marriage.”
“I love her like crazy, but every relationship has its ups and downs.” The goofy look Zeke got on his face when talking about Mimi made Jenna smile. “What do you want to know about Wentworth?” he asked.
“Hear me out,” she began. She wasn’t a forensic accountant, but it was hard to get the niggling suspicion out of her head that not only was Wentworth a thief, but an embezzler as well. “I know that he was basically fired from his previous position and that his old boss suspected he was padding accounts, but there was no concrete evidence of wrongdoing.”
“That would be correct.”
“I’m not an expert, but I can’t help but think maybe he’s doctored the books somehow. If he’s crooked enough to steal money from a community festival, then stealing from the city isn’t that far off. For one thing, it’s a lot more profitable. And—” she flushed “—to be honest? The way this city’s finances are structured, it wouldn’t take a genius to do it. An old friend of mine is doing another audit as we speak.”
That definitely got Zeke’s attention. “From what I hear, Wentworth’s confession is going to go a long way to getting the guy a reduced sentence. I’d love to nail him for embezzlement and get another twenty or so years tacked on to his time.”
“And I’d love to find out if we could recuperate any of the money he might have taken.”
“What did Mimi think about all this?”
“Naturally, she knows about the audit, and she also knows I’m not a fan of Doug’s, but I haven’t told her about the embezzling part, not until I have some concrete evidence. I wanted to give you a heads up, though, in case my friend finds anything suspicious.”
“Good idea,” said Zeke. “It’s best to keep this on the down low until we can prove it. If he did take money, he’s managed to do a good job of hiding it. All his financials came back clean.”
“I’ve been thinking, he must have had an accomplice. Someone who might have helped him launder the money. Maybe he’s got an account in the Cayman Islands.”
“Are you sure you’re in the right profession? You’re beginning to talk like a cop. Or someone who’s been watching too many reruns of Breaking Bad.”
“Too many episodes of Sherlock, I’m afraid.”
Zeke grinned, then stood to leave. “If your friend finds anything, let me know right away.”
* * *
It was almost four when Jenna glanced up from her desk to see Pilar standing in the doorway. “The city council meeting starts in ten. Grab your beverage of choice and meet me in the conference room.”
The Whispering Bay city council consisted of the mayor, the city manager, and three elected representatives; sweet old Gus, Larry Jefferson (the original Mr. Grouchy), and Denise Holbert, a sixt
y-something former PTA president. Normally, the previous mayor was also on the council, but since Bruce Bailey had been involved with Doug’s plot to discredit Mimi, he’d been not-too-discreetly asked to resign. This meant that for now, as the city attorney, Pilar also got a vote.
Since this was the end of the fiscal year and today’s meeting centered around approving the budget, Jenna was the first to speak. “I’ve sent you each a copy of—”
“Yeah, yeah,” interrupted Larry. “Let’s get down to the chase. Are we gonna accept Nora’s offer to split her daddy’s land or not?”
“Thank you for speeding things up, Larry,” Mimi said sweetly.
“Not a problem,” he said, waving her off with his hand. Either Larry completely missed the super saccharine sarcastic southern debutante voice Mimi could so easily pull off or he simply didn’t care.
“But we need to approve the budget first,” Mimi added trying to keep Larry on task.
“I don’t mind if we discuss Nora’s offer before we go over the budget,” Jenna said. It didn’t hurt to make the old curmudgeon think he’d gotten the upper hand. Besides, she needed the council’s complete attention when she discussed the budget. If Larry was distracted by Nora’s offer, then it was best to get that out of the way.
“All right,” Mimi said. “Why don’t we let our attorney fill us in on what’s going on with the Earl Handy estate.”
Pilar handed out copies of the motion Ben had filed on behalf of his clients as well as their formal offer. “I’ve already sent each of you an electronic copy of this via email but I thought it would be nice to have it in front of us on paper to discuss the pros and cons. And please remember, the city is now involved in a legal action. Everything about this case should be considered sensitive and highly confidential.”
“We don’t need to discuss anything,” Larry said. “I say we vote, and my vote is yes.”
Gus cut Larry a steely gaze. “Not so fast, Jefferson. Don’t you even want to talk about it?”
“What’s there to talk about? I’ve looked up this Ben Harrison fellow and his fancy law firm. They aren’t going to stop until they bleed us dry. I say, let’s get it over with and accept the inevitable. This compromise still gives us lots of beach left. Let Nora have the rest. It’s what her daddy wanted, isn’t it?”