“Do you have the birth certificate?” Charlene asked.
Arizona slipped the copy out of an outer pouch in her purse and handed it to her. Charlene looked up from the paper.
“Your sister had this at her house?” she asked Braden, who nodded.
“We think Tatum and Courtney may have known each other,” Arizona said.
“Courtney never talked about her. But she must have contacted her for a reason.” The furtive fluttering of her eyes gave away her hesitance.
“What reason would she have?”
Charlene sighed. “You’d both better come and sit down.” She led them to her kitchen and sat at the table.
Arizona didn’t feel like sitting, but she did, Braden beside her on one of the wooden chairs.
Charlene handed the birth certificate back to Arizona, who took it and put it back into her purse.
“Courtney was looking for her biological father before she disappeared. I had no idea your sister had her birth certificate, or I’d have mentioned it to you sooner.”
The father’s name was left blank on the certificate. Arizona saw Braden’s lowering brow. Had Courtney thought his father was also hers?
“Our mother was married briefly to my father. After the divorce, she had an affair with a man and gave birth to Courtney, my half sister. Our mother died two years ago, which prompted Courtney to start searching for her father. Our mother never spoke of him, but the last time she saw him she lived in Denver. The hospital where she was born was no help. She was in the process of looking for our mother’s neighbor during that time. They were friends who drifted apart once we moved, but Mother talked of her every once in a while.” Charlene humphed incredulously. “Courtney must have found her.”
And the neighbor must have remembered Braden’s father. Courtney’s mother must have told her.
“Does he know?” she asked Braden.
“He never told any of us,” He turned to Charlene. “How old is Courtney?”
“I’m thirty-five and my sister is thirty-two.” Courtney’s mother must not have intended for anyone to know who the father of her child was. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have left the name blank on the birth certificate.
“Your mother was protecting him,” Arizona said to Charlene. This was going to make a great article!
Then she saw Braden’s tortured eyes and checked herself.
“I would have never dreamed this was connected to my sister’s disappearance,” Charlene said. “Surely it can’t be a coincidence.”
Was Courtney somehow responsible for Tatum’s disappearance? And her own? “Tatum may have gone looking for Courtney and got herself into trouble.”
She hadn’t told anyone because she’d taken the files from Braden. Why? To try and save Courtney? A perfect stranger who could break up her parents’ marriage? There had to be more.
“Do you mind if we look through her things?” Braden asked.
“No. Not at all. Most of her belongings are in storage. I haven’t had the heart to go through anything. I keep hoping...”
She led them to the guest room. Arizona entered. A frilly, lavender-and-green floral comforter drew the eye, matching an equally dated valance. Braden went to the small wood desk under the window and began searching.
Arizona moved to a tall dresser. On top was a stack of bills and receipts. She flipped through them all, slowing when she noticed the receipts were from Atlanta, Georgia.
“Braden.”
He stopped what he was doing to join her at the dresser. Charlene appeared on her other side.
“Wasn’t Tatum’s job in Atlanta?”
He took the receipts from her. “Yes.” He stared down at a receipt. “This coffee shop is on the same street as the freight forwarder.”
Arizona looked up at him. He met her thoughtful introspection.
“If she knew how to find my dad, why would she go to Atlanta? Why single out Tatum?”
Charlene’s befuddled glance offered no insight, so Arizona turned back to Braden. “Maybe she wanted to test the waters first. She must have known your dad was married at the time she was born.”
“And when she got there, she was caught in Tatum’s arms dealing scandal?” Arizona nodded.
Braden looked down at the receipt again. “The timestamp on this is before Tatum’s resignation.”
“Right before.” Arizona again met Braden’s eyes as they each filtered through the possibilities.
“Are you saying my sister was involved in an arms deal? What arms deal? My sister wouldn’t do anything like that. She was a normal person. With a normal job. And a normal curiosity about her biological father.”
“We’re not saying she did anything willingly,” Arizona carefully said.
“She always was the one who asked too many questions,” Charlene said anxiously.
“Anything’s possible at this point,” Braden tucked the receipts into his back pocket and looked at Arizona. “You ready for a trip to Atlanta?”
“Why not?” She was accustomed to a lot of travel, but not to track down a criminal who may have done something with Courtney and Braden’s sister.
He kept up a light facade about going to Atlanta, but she could feel his angst. Tatum had stolen weapons information from him. He could no longer believe in her innocence. Not one hundred percent. She didn’t doubt he still meant to find her. She was his sister and he loved her. But there was more at stake than that. His job and the safety of everyone around him was, too.
His cell phone rang and he answered.
“Where are you?” He started moving for the front door. “What?”
Something had happened. Hearing a high-pitched voice coming from the phone, she had a sick feeling that it was related to Serena...and his son.
“Stay there. Don’t go anywhere.” The frantic voice continued. “I’m on my way back to Denver right now. Just stay where you are, Serena.”
* * *
Hours later, Braden finally reached Serena’s parents’ house. Parking on the stone driveway, he ran toward the wide stone stairway leading to the double front entry. One of the doors opened and Aiden burst out, Serena in the doorway. Near the first step, he scooped up his son and held him against his chest, relief so great it nearly brought him to his knees.
He didn’t know what he’d do if anything were to happen to Aiden. Closing his eyes, he kissed his son’s cheek and forehead. “You okay, buddy?”
“A man was looking at us in his car,” his child’s voice said. “It scared Mommy.”
Braden smoothed his brown hair and soft skin, reassured that his son was indeed all right.
Serena approached. “What’s going on, Braden? Why are you traveling all over the place and why is a strange man spying on us?”
Adjusting his hold on Aiden, he noticed Arizona watching him and it had little to do with the conversation. She was absorbed in his reunion with his son, as though this kind of love were foreign to her, but fascinating. It worked to lighten his mood. She was such an oddball when it came to children. She didn’t even know her own affinity. Arizona was a lot like a child, still discovering the world around her.
“Braden? Does this have something to do with your sister?”
He turned, realizing not only Serena and her parents had seen his affection, so had Arizona, who’d averted her gaze as though cornered.
“I can’t explain everything now,” he said. “We’re trying to find her.”
“Braden, you tell me what’s going on right this instant. Our son could be in danger because of you!”
There she went again, blaming instead of trying to resolve. “Did the man try to contact you?”
“No. I called the police.”
“What was he driving?”
“A white BMW.”
Braden exchanged a glance with Arizona. The same man who’d tailed him and who’d tried to abduct Arizona.
“Mommy’s new friend came over,” Aiden interjected. “He scared the man away.”
Mommy’s new friend?
“The police said they’d patrol the neighborhood. My father has some friends in the force,” Serena said.
“I take it your new friend is a man?” Braden said.
Her chin went up and she shot a hesitant glance at Arizona. “He’s a chief accounting officer.”
Of course she’d focus on that. “An accountant scared him off?”
“He’s big,” Aiden said, his little arm looped around his shoulders. “But not fun like you, Daddy.”
Braden kissed his son. “I’m sure he’s not that bad.” He put his son down and ruffled his hair.
When he straightened, he saw a man step out of the house, Serena’s father behind him.
“What’s happening, Braden?” Serena asked again.
“I don’t know,” he relented. “It might have something to do with Tatum’s resignation.”
“From the freight forwarding company? What does that have to do with you?”
Exactly what he’d like to know.
“We’re working on that,” Arizona said.
Serena eyed her uncertainly while Braden scanned the house and surroundings. This was a gated community and he already knew the house was alarmed. Serena’s boyfriend and her father stood on the front step, waiting. “Is he going to stay here?”
Again, Serena stared at Arizona. Was she reluctant to answer, or was she curious as to why Arizona was helping him find his sister? The idea was probably foreign to her. Serena was anything but adventurous. Adventurous to her was going to a health club for a workout. Nothing outdoors.
“Yes,” Serena finally answered. “He’s staying in a guest room...with Aiden here.”
The way she said that suggested she’d already slept with the man. At least she wouldn’t while Aiden was in the same house. He waited for pain to grip him with the idea of another man sleeping with her. He felt nothing.
Would he get over her this fast? He never truly loved her from the start. He’d thought the sex had been a good-enough indicator. But he’d neglected to take into account the woman as a whole.
“Will you be safe here?”
After a moment of consideration, she nodded. He wondered if she’d expected him to be jealous.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“Find Tatum. Just promise me you’ll watch Aiden until I come back. Don’t let him out of your sight.”
“I promise.”
“Can I go with you, Daddy?”
Braden knelt to his son’s level, love mushrooming inside him. “Not this time. I’ll be back soon and we’ll have a fun weekend together, okay?”
“The zoo?” Aiden bounced up and down.
“Sure. Whatever you want to do.”
“Yay!” More bouncing.
He stood up. “Make sure your father keeps the alarm set and don’t go anywhere alone. I’ll call you to check in.” He turned, slipping an arm around Arizona’s waist.
“Wait. Braden.”
He stopped and looked back, seeing her gaze pass from the way he held Arizona to his face. “Thanks for coming by.”
“I’ll talk to you soon.”
Seeing him with Arizona made her question her thinking, that was for sure. He hoped it helped her make better choices from now on, for Aiden’s sake. He no longer loved Serena, probably never truly did, but one thing was for sure: he would never make the same mistake again. Good relationships had to be about more than sex. He wished he could eliminate Arizona from that analogy. If they had a relationship brewing, he could say with complete certainty that it wasn’t based on sex. That made him want to make good on his promise to give her good sex and also made him want to run the other way.
Chapter 12
As soon as Braden asked to talk to Tatum’s ex-boss, Arizona watched word travel around the open area of cubes behind the reception desk. The receptionist returned with a woman in tow. She was tall and skinny, with hair up in a tight, plain-girl ponytail and eyeglasses small and rectangular. She was dressed in a brown knit vest that Arizona envied, but there was nothing to envy about the brown blouse, brown knit skirt and brown pumps. Those were too prim and boring for her.
“Hi, I’m Rebecca Owens,” the woman said as the receptionist made her way back to the front. “The human resources director. You’re here to ask about Tatum McCrae?”
“She’s my sister, and she’s gone missing,” Braden said.
Rebecca angled her tight-haired head. “Missing?”
There had been nothing in the news yet, so it wasn’t surprising she didn’t know.
Braden glanced at the open room of cubicles. A woman leaned around the edge of her cubicle wall to stare and two men walked by, taking notice of what Braden had said.
“Follow me.” The director led them to her office, one of six that surrounded the open area.
She closed the door behind them and then moved farther into the office, facing them with folded arms beside a desk. “What can I do for you?”
“We were hoping you could tell us something about Tatum,” Braden said. “Who she may have been talking to before she resigned. Any strange behavior.”
A long moment passed as the woman contemplated how to reply. “No. Nothing like that. She behaved rather normally. No one suspected a thing.”
“Nothing that would indicate she was being coerced, or working with someone?”
Rebecca’s mouth pinched with the hint of cynicism. “I understand she’s your sister, Mr. McCrae, but the only reason she isn’t in jail right now is we couldn’t prove she was working with an arms dealer when the shipment went through.”
“What makes you think she did the shipment?” Arizona asked.
“The paperwork was done on her computer.”
“She wasn’t in town during that time,” Braden filled her in. “An arms manufacturer authorized a front company to take responsibility for the export from the United States and designated American Freight Forwarding Services to handle the shipment. Someone picked up the shipment and used Tatum’s credentials to run the paperwork.”
“Without a license,” Rebecca added, quite offended. “The arms manufacturer had a written agreement from the front company stating they’d take responsibility for the shipment. That makes American Freight Forwarding Services the exporter, and responsible for the routed shipment.”
“The front company took responsibility for any license requirements?” Arizona asked.
“Yes. And in this case, there were some. It hasn’t been ruled out that we’ll be charged with a violation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking for the man behind the front company. We can only hope they find him. Export violations cost companies millions in addition to debarment of export authorizations.”
No wonder Rebecca, and probably many others, was so uptight over the incident. She was probably fearing for her job.
“Who else could have done the shipment?” Arizona asked.
“We’ve done our own internal investigation. It wasn’t anyone else working here.” She thought Tatum should be held responsible, not the company.
“Did Tatum ever bring in or mention a woman named Courtney Andrews?” Braden asked.
Rebecca thought a moment. “No. Who is she?”
He showed her a picture that Charlene had given them.
Rebecca shook her head. “What does she have to do with any of this?”
“Thanks for your time.”
Not expecting the meeting to end so abruptly, Arizona reluctantly followed him to the door.
“If you know something t
hat could help this investigation...” Rebecca said.
Braden opened the door, ignoring her, a deliberate shun. The woman was convinced his sister committed a crime. Why would he help her?
“You should at least talk to the ICE agents,” Rebecca said before they left the office.
Arizona glanced back to see her leaning with her hands on the desk, face grim and disapproving.
“She’s going to call the Immigration and Customs agents,” Arizona said when they stepped outside.
“Let her. Maybe the agents will help find the arms dealer. I’m sure they’re more capable than we are. Or Rebecca.”
His main concern was Tatum. He felt confident the ICE agents were doing their job in looking for the dealer. They were not, however, looking for Tatum.
“Excuse me?” A woman’s voice called from behind them.
Arizona turned with him in the parking lot. A twenty-something woman with fine, long blond hair glanced around and approached, looking behind her toward the building. She was shorter than Arizona and rail thin.
“I’m Sophie Reynolds. I’m a friend of Tatum’s. I heard you say she’s missing.”
“You worked with her?” Braden asked.
“Are you her brother?” she asked instead of answering.
“Braden McCrae. This is Arizona Ivy, a—a friend of mine.”
Sophie looked at her. “You knew Tatum?”
“No...” Braden’s stutter over how to introduce her had her befuddled. How did he see them? A couple? They weren’t really friends. They’d only just met. “I’m helping Braden.”
That drew a perplexed expression from Sophie, as if she were thinking how a woman could be of help to a strapping man like Braden.
“Rebecca Owens couldn’t tell us much about Tatum’s last days at work,” Braden effectively directed the focus.
“She wouldn’t.” Again, she glanced behind her at the building. “Tatum asked me not to talk to anyone unless something happened to her. I—I mean, I told the feds the truth, but she said this had nothing to do with that.”
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