Broken Trust

by Shannon Baker

  Abigail’s voice floated out from her tightly wrapped pashmina. “Cole is more than a good soul, Nora. He’s got integrity and is a commanding presence.”

  The overcast sky blended with the gray of the street. Nora kept her head down to avoid the wind. “He’s not rich, you know that, right?”

  Abigail huffed. “I’m not that shallow. You’re perfectly capable of earning your own living.”

  Damn right. Maybe Abigail was evolving.

  “Besides, his family owns one of the largest ranches in Wyoming. There’s money there.”

  And then again, maybe not. They crossed the street, huddled together as the pedestrian light blinked a warning.

  The roar of an engine cut through the icy air. Startled, Nora instinctively reached for Petal.

  The shiny black windshield of a sports car careened toward them in the far right lane. The crazy driver must not see them. He accelerated.

  Petal froze in the sights of the deadly bullet.

  Good thing Abigail and Nora had her by either arm. They weren’t willing to be smashed on the pavement by some careless driver. Both of them lurched for the curb, dragging Petal with them.

  At the last minute the car veered from them and screeched around the corner. Nora’s hair blew back from her face in the rush of wind from the retreating car.

  Her heart thundered in her ears.

  Abigail caught her eye over the wild tangle of Petal’s dreds. “Was that …?”

  “Sylvia.” Nora finished the sentence for her.

  Petal’s red-rimmed eyes traveled from Abigail to Nora. “She doesn’t like me.”

  twenty-seven

  Sylvia hummed as she lay back and savored the beauty of her bedroom. She’d had Petal set the beam to send into the ionosphere in a few hours. The fruits of years of study and sacrifice would culminate in this monumental success. Eduardo would get what he wanted and he’d know her genius. Then the money would flow.

  What a perfect way to wrap up a morning. The snowy Egyptian cotton sheets with a weave so tight it felt like silk made her skin glow, and the color contrasted nicely with her dark hair. She resembled Cleopatra in all her royal splendor.

  Her broad-shouldered Latin lover lay next to her, catching his breath from his final passion. She’d provided the kind of lovemaking he could only dream about with younger, less experienced women.

  True, the day hadn’t started out well. She’d had a fight with Mark. He wanted her to wait for any money until the heat died down from the board. She’d had to attend that tacky funeral, nothing more than a waste of time. Then there was that nasty episode with Nora trying to hone in on Daniel.

  Sylvia teased Daniel’s nipple. “It’s pathetic the way Nora Abbott throws herself at you. I suppose it’s to be expected. You are a Cubrero.”

  Sylvia had succumbed to that silly moment of jealousy. The pressure of her genius sometimes needed to blow off steam. She wouldn’t have actually plowed into Petal and Nora and her pretentious mother. But it made Sylvia chuckle to think of them scrambling to the curb.

  “Nora is not an ordinary woman and she isn’t throwing herself at me.” He sounded bored. As he should be with someone as common as Nora.

  Sylvia needed to be subtle. “She doesn’t like me much. I think she senses you and I are … close and she’s jealous. You know, I think she’s the one who set me up with the police.”

  He studied her. “You were set up?”

  “Of course I was, darling. Someone told the police about my gun and stole my credit card number to make plane reservations. I’m positive Nora did it.”

  “It is your gun, then? So, if it is your gun, did you kill Darla?”

  Sylvia laughed. “I couldn’t kill anyone.” She didn’t kill Darla any more than she’d run down Nora. It was all just blowing off steam.

  He didn’t say anything as he enjoyed the feel of her hands on his chest.

  She scooted close to Daniel and traced his mouth with the tip of her tongue. He jerked his head away and she laughed. “Did I tickle you?”

  He stared at the ceiling, ignoring her.

  She knew what he wanted and it wasn’t conversation. She’d give it to him, slow and excruciatingly delicious. She swirled her tongue along the skin of his belly, tantalizing him as she worked her way lower. A young man like him wouldn’t be done with one blast. She’d make him explode with desire for her. Then he’d protect her from Eduardo, if needed. To keep her in his life, in his bed, he’d do anything.

  He definitely rose to her bait. Her mouth closed around him, teasing him with her tongue.

  Her phone blared. Daniel pushed her head away.

  She smiled at him. “I’ll call them back.” She leaned over him again.

  “Answer it. I’ve got to get back to the Trust anyway.” The sheets bunched around the bottom of the bed and the duvet spilled to the side, splashing scarlet orchids on the white carpet.

  The Trust and Nora.

  Stupid ignorant people always calling, always needing something from her. They wouldn’t leave her alone for a minute.

  She reached for the phone. Every great leader dealt with idiots. “Yes,” she said, sounding powerful and competent.

  “Sylvia, it’s Adrianne.”

  She couldn’t place the name or voice.

  “Your attorney?”

  “Yes. What is it?”

  “We need to go over your deposition as soon as possible. Can you meet me at my office in two hours?”

  Sylvia laid a perfectly manicured hand on Daniel’s chest. Taking the phone from her face she whispered, “Stay. This won’t take a second.”

  He sat up and her hand fell away. He didn’t say anything as he stood and reached for his pants.

  Adrianne ruined everything.

  “Your office is in Denver. With the traffic, I’d have to leave now. That won’t work for me.”

  Daniel pulled on a cobalt blue shirt and worked at the buttons. He didn’t pay any attention to Sylvia. Damn Adrianne for destroying her perfect afternoon.

  “You realize you’re being indicted for murder? This isn’t a picnic, Sylvia. It’s your top priority.”

  Sylvia employed Adrianne, not the other way around, and she needed to realize that. “I can’t drop everything and run up there. Just because some idiot police want to accuse me of killing someone doesn’t make my work any less important. We’ll have to schedule something later and it must be in Boulder.”

  Daniel sat at the edge of the bed to pull on his shoes and socks. Sylvia ran her nails lightly down his back. He arched away from her, stood, and tucked his shirt in.

  “Maybe you don’t understand the serious nature of the charges,” Adrianne said.

  Daniel zipped his jeans and buckled his belt. He walked out the bedroom doorway.

  “I understand that I have important work to do. This is your job and you’re being paid a fortune.” Sylvia punched the call off and wound up her arm, ready to fling the phone at the wall to watch it splinter. She lowered her arm.

  Dignity. Control. Poise.

  Then she threw the phone anyway.

  She climbed out of bed and considered her naked body in the full wall of mirrors attached to the closet doors. Daniel must have important business to leave this.

  Sylvia pulled a silk kimono from the closet.

  A shower would restore her composure, and then she’d scurry back to the Trust to make sure all was ready for tonight’s launch of the ELF beam.

  She hummed as she turned on the shower sauna to let it warm. She’d be more energetic and productive after relaxing for a bit. Maybe a glass of wine would help her unwind as she let the heat soak into her skin.

  twenty-eight

  Nora leaned back in her desk chair and rubbed her eyes. After she’d taken Petal and Abigail home and made plans for going to Mo
unt Evans later, Nora changed into her hiking boots and jeans and hurried back to the Trust. Abbey settled in his now-usual place by the coat closet and Nora pulled her chair up to her desk.

  For two hours she’d been waiting for her meeting with Mark and going through the financial statements and monthly project reports. She’d discovered the $400,000 had been withdrawn from a long-term investment account over a year ago, though the Trust’s accounting program didn’t reflect that. She guessed Darla didn’t actually reconcile savings and investment statements often. If they weren’t used for general transactions, they shouldn’t change and maybe Darla counted on that. If someone else had passwords and could transfer, and if the Financial Director didn’t pay attention, the $400,000 could go missing.

  Who would have those passwords besides Darla?

  Mark.

  The initial transfer was deposited in a short-term savings account for one month. It had been moved from one account to another over the course of several months, sometimes in a lump sum but more often in two or three transactions. If you weren’t zoned in on that sum, and you weren’t a particularly good accountant—or lazy—you’d never notice it.

  Last month, the money had been transferred to Sylvia’s restricted account and soon after, an ACH payment went out to an unnamed bank account.

  “Excuse me, Ms. Abbott?” The authoritative voice belonged to a thin man in his mid-fifties standing at her office door. He’d combed his gray-streaked hair neatly from his head and smelled of Old Spice. He wore khakis and a navy blue blazer. “I’m Detective Ross from the Sheriff’s office. Can I ask you a few questions?”

  She stood and shook his hand and indicated the wicker chair. “Have a seat.” She wheeled her desk chair over.

  Detective Ross sat and pulled a small notebook from his blazer pocket. “I was supposed to meet with Mark Monstain but he’s out. Do you know when he’ll be back?”

  Guess she wasn’t the only one Mark had stood up today. Nora shook her head. “Sorry.”

  He flipped open the notebook. “That’s okay. Can you answer some questions?”

  “I’ll try.”

  He clicked his pen. “Did you know Darla Barrows?”

  She shook her head. “No. I was hired to replace her.” She indicated a box on the floor near the door. “That’s all the personal stuff I found here. I didn’t know who might want it.”

  He gazed at the box. “No one’s come to claim it?”

  Nora studied the framed picture of Abbey on her desk, her iPod dock, a silly figurine of a polar bear, and her Tree Hugger mug. If Nora disappeared suddenly, Abigail would collect her things. Darla’s remained unclaimed.

  He studied her. “I understand you were here when they were notified about Darla.”

  The thought of that scream sent a chill over her skin. “Petal found out. She was a friend of Darla’s. I think the police called her.”

  “Petal. I see. What’s her last name?”

  Good question. Part of Nora’s duties involved payroll and some HR. Nora fished in a desk drawer and produced the file cabinet key. She unlocked the employee file drawer. She flipped through searching for Petal’s file. She finally found it and pulled it out. “Petal Rainbow.”

  The detective didn’t crack a smile. He flipped open his notebook. “Address?”

  Nora scanned the papers inside the folder. “62 Canyon Boulevard.”

  He started to write and stopped. “That’s Loving Earth’s address.”

  That was stupid. “You’re right.” She paged through the rest of the forms. “They all have the same address.”

  “Do you have a phone number for Petal?”

  Nora snatched a staff contract printout off a bulletin board next to the desk. She ran her finger down the list. “I guess not.”

  He closed his notebook and stuffed it into the chest pocket of his shirt. “I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. One last question: Do you have any theories why someone would want to kill Darla Barrows?”

  She really needed to talk to Mark about the missing money before going to the police. Maybe he had a perfectly good explanation. If she didn’t meet with him by the end of the day, she’d go to the cops with her financials tomorrow. “Sorry,” she said again.

  Detective Ross picked up Darla’s box of things and walked to the door. “Thanks for talking to me.”

  Nora wanted to dive back into the books. Why had Abigail volunteered her to go with Petal to Mount Evans? She needed to investigate the missing money.

  Bright blue flashed in the corner of her eye and she jumped and gasped.

  Daniel stood in the doorway wearing a deep blue shirt. “Sorry I couldn’t get here any sooner.”

  His jeans hugged his long legs and all his shapely … shape. The top buttons of his shirt were undone, showing a bit of black hair. Man, oh man. “No problem. I need to go to the mountains with Petal in a few minutes, anyway.”

  “And Cole, no?” He stepped into her office and rolled up his sleeves. Like a strip tease, his fingers played with the fabric. Dark hair lay soft against his forearms. Who knew arms could be so sexy?

  “Where would you like me to start today, boss?” His lips formed a smile but Nora imagined those lips kissing someone. Okay, kissing her.

  She grabbed a handful of files and set them on the work surface. “These are invoices and payments. I’ve been going through them for this fiscal year, sort of hunting for …”

  A light touch on her shoulder startled her. She paused and saw Daniel’s dark eyes fixed on her face. She straightened.

  His hand traced down her arm, his fingers light. “You are beautiful.”

  How did her legs continue to support her weight when her knees felt like peanut butter? Breathing was out of the question. “Um.” That was witty conversation.

  His hand traveled up to her cheek, his touch like satin. “Not only beautiful but brilliant. Do you have any idea how sexy you are?”

  Tongue-tied would be super compared to how she felt at the moment. Good thing he didn’t seem to expect a response.

  Daniel leaned into her. His lips captured hers with the same gentle touch of his fingers on her skin. He kissed her slowly, and even if it sounded like a line from a bodice-ripper novel, he kissed her thoroughly. Her knees weren’t the only body part melting.

  He drew away slightly and gazed at her with intensity from his bottomless, fire-lit eyes.

  Then he kissed her again. Sweet, with deep undertones and a hint of restrained passion. For dog’s sake, she sounded like she described a glass of wine. Really good wine. Like the five-hundred-bucks-a-bottle kind. The sort of wine she couldn’t afford.

  Right. She didn’t drink wine like that because, well, because. It would end up making her throw up in the morning … or something like that. What she meant was that she didn’t really want him.

  Nora stepped back. “Okay. Well. So.”

  He laughed. “Nora. You can take a little pleasure, no?”

  She reached for her coat. “I think I ought to go find Petal.”

  He leaned back on the counter with a cat-chomping-canary smile on those full, warm lips. “You looked radiant this morning. You should wear a dress more often. Your legs are exquisite.”

  If only he weren’t so gorgeous. She zipped her coat. “Knock it off.”

  “Life is short, mi amor. Why not enjoy each other?”

  “I’m an accountant. We don’t enjoy things.” She unzipped her coat.

  He laughed. “You are ripe for pleasure.”

  Her face could not burn any hotter. She zipped up again.

  A vibration in Daniel’s pocket—not the kind he’d been hinting about—thankfully ended the talk of juicy fruit.

  Daniel’s face clouded with annoyance as he listened to the phone call. He slid the phone back in his pocket. “Sadly, we will finish this conversa
tion at another time. I must go.”

  He hurried away and Nora plopped into her desk chair. It took a few moments for her vital signs to return to normal.

  “ ‘You should wear a dress more often. Your legs are exquisite.’ ” Cole’s mocking voice made her jump. He leaned against the door frame.

  “You were spying on me!” She flamed in embarrassment.

  He walked into the room grinning. “Petal’s waiting in the pickup. Are you ready to go?”

  How long had he been there? Had he seen Daniel kiss her?

  Nora followed him out the door, wondering why she cared what he thought.

  twenty-nine

  The doorbell rang as Sylvia opened the shower sauna door. She set her wine glass on the bathroom counter and tightened the kimono. Had she ordered anything and forgot about a delivery?

  Sylvia padded down the stairs and peered out the window at the side of the door. That irritating stray cat would have been a more welcome sight than what stood on her porch. What was Mark doing here? She unlocked the door and opened it. A whoosh of cold air followed him in, making the kimono feel like a sheet of ice. A few flakes swirled outside. “I’m in a hurry to get back to the Trust, Mark. What do you want?”

  That supercilious grin begged for a slap. “Sorry. I need to talk to you.”

  She left him in the foyer and started up the stairs. “Can we schedule a meeting? How about sometime tomorrow?”

  He seemed to be trying for coy. “Oh, I think you’ll want to talk to me.”

  “What is it?” The sauna would be warming up nicely by now.

  He stayed just inside the door. “Nora Abbott and Daniel Cubrero are combing through everything.”

  She stopped and gave him a frosty stare. “So what? I have nothing to hide.”

  He licked his fat lips. “We know better, don’t we?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  His eyes had a weird gleam. “It can be our secret. We take care of each other, isn’t that right? We’re special friends.”

  What would get him out of here the quickest? “Yes, Mark. We’re good friends. But I don’t think I need to be protected.”