The Dragon's Gold (Exiled Dragons Book 12)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “I do mind. I don’t really appreciate having my personal business poked around in.”

  “I urge you to cooperate.”

  “I urge you to do your job and talk to someone actually pertinent to the case. I’m leaving.”

  Claire saw him nod his head and the officer standing behind her opened the door and motioned her out. He walked down the hall with her as her heart pounded so heavily that it felt like it might drive itself out of her chest. How could this be happening? Things had gone mad ever since she had arrived in New York. he should have stayed in Tennessee and helped her parents farm for a living.

  Chapter 41

  “Are you okay?” Harper said from the other end of the line.

  “Yes,” Claire said, unsure of what to say beyond that.

  “I know I shouldn’t have called you, but I just wanted to say I’m sorry for all this. I hate that you have been dragged into it.”

  “I don’t think we should talk, Harper.”

  “You are probably right. I just wanted to make sure you are okay.”

  “As okay as I can be.”

  “Same here.”

  They said their goodbyes and she sat down on the sofa, staring at the wall. She had taken a few days off work in hopes that some of the reporters doing their best to slip past Hannah’s reception desk and the extra security that had to be brought in gave up and went away. It was only a matter of time before she was let go with all the havoc she was creating for the company. News of her relationship to Harper was everywhere. She didn’t dare leave her apartment for fear of running into cameras.

  Claire hadn’t asked Harper the one question she had wanted to. The question that she couldn’t ask for many reasons. The words had bounced around her head during their conversation over and over, but she didn’t dare say them out loud.

  Did you kill her?

  By now, Claire knew she had been found floating in the pool, dead before she hit the water according to the coroner, having hit her head on the concrete as she fell from a second story balcony and tumbled over into the water. Ordinarily, it would have been considered a drunken accident since her blood alcohol level was well beyond the limit. However, neighbors had heard arguing just before it had happened and had seen Harper leaving in a haste.

  A part of her had a tough time grasping that he was capable of such a thing, but Claire couldn’t honestly say she believed that beyond a shadow of doubt. He was very frustrated with her blackmailing him with the tapes, one of which that had now been leaked to the media by the woman who had made it.

  Claire could only assume that Anka had been paying her to keep her mouth shut about the card she held that kept Harper on his tiptoes. Now, with her gone, she had opted for notoriety and whatever she could parlay that into, as well. Claire turned toward the television as the news came on and she heard her own name.

  Chapter 42

  In breaking news, we here at Channel Six have learned that Howard H. Tanger was having an affair with his former graphic artist, Claire Ronson. Miss Ronson has not yet been available for comment, but we will keep you informed on the latest news as it develops,” Claire groaned loudly. Whereas only a few reporters had managed to find out about her involvement with Harper thus far, the police had obviously leaked the news to local media in order to twist her arm into talking with them further. She was ready to just call it quits and move back to Tennessee, far away from all of this.

  “Claire, it’s Hannah. I’m afraid I have some unwelcome news.”

  Claire had been expecting the call. She wasn’t the least bit surprised when Hannah terminated her employment and told her she would have her personal things from her office sent over to her apartment to save her a trip. She knew it was more a matter of not wanting her and her circus anywhere near the firm and she couldn’t blame them. It just confirmed her fears that her career was ruined. No one would ever hire the former lover of a suspected murderer in a PR firm of any sort.

  After hanging up the call with her, she went to her cabinet and pulled out a bottle of wine, not even bothering with a glass. Sitting in the floor and leaning against her sofa, she drank the whole thing and then retrieved another. She wanted to just forget for a while and that is exactly what she did.

  Claire awoke the next morning to find herself looking at yet another photo of Harper and Anka Tanger on her television screen. This one had been digitally torn in half and a photo of herself had been placed between them. She wasn’t even sure where the photo had come from. It looked like a snapshot of her walking down a nearby street. Were they following her and snapping pictures? She pushed the off button on the remote and climbed into her bed. Morning or not, she was going to hide there for as long as possible.

  Chapter 43

  “It’s over,” Harper had told her finally.

  Weeks had passed since the day his wife had been murdered. Claire had expected many more before any of this was put to rest.

  “What do you mean, it’s over?” she replied.

  “Well, there is still a lot to be dealt with, but they have dropped the charges against me.”

  “That’s very nice for you.”

  “Listen, Claire. I know this has been hard on you. I’m aware that you were let go from your position and that you’ve had to keep out of the public eye. I know the police have questioned you. I will take care of you.”

  “Take care of me? You did this to me, Harper! You did this by not telling me the truth.”

  “I did. Yes. I know. I had no idea things would go like this and I can’t tell you enough how sorry I am that you’ve gotten dragged into it,” he told her

  “Fine. You’ve apologized. I think you can just go on about your business now.”

  “No. I can’t. There are things I need to say to you.”

  “Then say them and let’s get this over with,” Claire replied.

  “Not on the phone. I need to see you in person.”

  “No.”

  “Claire, please.”

  “No.”

  “Just a half hour of your time. Give me that and I will never bother you again, Claire.”

  “If it will end this, then a half hour it is. That’s all.”

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he told her before hanging up.

  Claire paced back and forth across the floor until Harper arrived. She couldn’t imagine what he might say that would ever make a difference in what he had done, but she had to admit to herself that she felt like she had to hear it. She wanted to hear it. Perhaps some part of her even hoped he could make this okay. She still loved him, she knew that, but love didn’t resolve the problems they had.

  Chapter 44

  Sitting on the sofa across from him, Claire watched as he fiddled with his fingers for a moment. It wasn’t like him at all. He was usually so self-assured, confident. After a few moments, he looked up at her and spoke.

  “I know you know some of this with everything that has been posted in the media and I’ve told you a little myself, but I want to tell you everything now.”

  “You should have told me everything from the beginning.”

  “I know, but I can’t change that. I can only try to do so now.”

  “Okay.”

  “I had a daughter named Molly. I was supposed to take her to the park, but I got called away to meet with a client. I told her I would take her when I got back and left her with her mother. I don’t know what happened to her other than her mother left her alone long enough for her to make her way downstairs and drown in our pool.”

  “I’m sorry you had to endure that, Harper.”

  “Me, too, but let me just get through this and then we will talk if you want.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “Anka had been having affairs almost since the day we were married. She never loved me. I thought she did, but I came to understand that she had just married me for money. I had planned to divorce her, but then found out she was pregnant. So, I stayed. I loved our daughter enough to have staye
d with her hideous gold digging mother forever. When she died, I died right along with her. Knowing that it was her mother’s neglect of her that allowed it to happen tore me apart and I had to move out for my own sake.”

  Claire could tell he was near tears as he spoke of Molly’s death and she had to resist the strong urge she had to just reach out to him and hold him. Instead, she sat quietly and expressionless as she listened.

  “I couldn’t cope well for months. I worked long hours and then went back to my apartment and drank myself to sleep. Then, I met Cheryl, the temp I told you about, and that happened. Anka held my feet over the coals and I let her for far too long.

  The last night I left here, I went straight over there to tell her I was done letting her dictate to me and was filing for a divorce, but when I got there, I could hear people yelling. It sounded like Anka and a man.”

  Claire looked at him, surprised. The reports had all claimed that he had argued with her. Now, he was telling her it was someone else? No wonder the police had been suspicious of him.

  “I got out of her car and walked up the front entrance. About the time I got to the front door, I saw her come flying over the balcony. She hit her head on the concrete and then flipped over into the pool. It was so surreal and I wasn’t sure what to do.”

  “I looked up and saw a man standing at the balcony and he was looking right at me. He turned to walk back into the room and I figured he would come down to attack me. I wasn’t scared of him, but feared shifting to protect myself would draw attention that I didn’t need. So, I fled.”

  “Have the police arrested him now?”

  “No, not yet. I didn’t know him. When I left, I called 911 and told them she needed help and what had happened, but when the police came to my apartment later, they arrested me on suspicion of murder. I tried to tell them I hadn’t done anything, but they wouldn’t hear it, especially after the neighbors claimed we argued and they saw her leave in a hurry. Then, they found the sex tape and large payments going into both Anka and Cheryl’s accounts.”

  “Those came from you?”

  “The ones to Anka did, but not the ones to Cheryl. Anka must have been paying her, but she had done it with a shared account, so it could have been me as far as police were concerned. They’ve grilled me over and over about everything and I’ve told them the same thing each time. I didn’t kill her and didn’t recognize the man that did.”

  “Then why did they drop the charges?”

  “DNA. Apparently, she got her hooks into him solidly before he pushed her and the DNA under her fingernails didn’t match up to mine. It didn’t match up to anyone yet. So, they aren’t sure who killed her, but it wasn’t me.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Listen, Claire. I know I fucked up and I know that asking you to give me a chance under current conditions is asking a lot, but I love you and I need you. I am sorry I didn’t tell you about Anka upfront. I just didn’t know how. I didn’t know what to say for a change. I didn’t want you to leave me and it was selfish to withhold the truth from you just so that you would stay with me.”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “We’ve both made mistakes, Claire. I would have acted differently if I had known the truth about Samuel upfront, and you would have maybe understood my position if I had told you about Anka upfront. I’m not saying you would have stayed with me. I realize that helping an old flame and being married are two vastly different circumstances, but I should have been honest. I should have been fair to you.,” he blurted out, as if the words might not make it from his heart to his mouth if he didn’t get them out quickly.

  Claire looked down at the floor for a minute, biting her lip. she wanted to forgive him, but it was going to be hard. Every fiber of her being told her that she needed to get as far away from him and the remaining media frenzy that was bound to continue until the real killer was caught and speculation died down about his involvement in his wife’s death.

  “I love you, Claire.”

  Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him and nodded. “I love you too, Harper.”

  “Then we can try to work this out? We can give it a shot again?”

  “Yes. I would like that.”

  Harper pulled her toward him and kissed her, then folded her into his arms and just held her there like he would never let her go again. When he finally eased away from her and looked down at her, she could see that tears were falling down his face.

  “I’ve never loved anyone the way that I love you, Claire. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I promise you right now that I will never leave you and never let you down. We will get the world turned right side up again. I will make sure of that.”

  “I believe you.”

  “Can I stay?”

  “Of course, you can.” Claire led him to the bedroom by the hand and they curled up in bed together, both mentally exhausted. It felt like she had come home from a very long, very difficult journey. She knew that things weren’t going to run smoothly with all they would still have to face, but she felt certain that they would make it through.

  Chapter 45

  It took several months, but the day finally came when they could walk down the sidewalk mostly unaccosted by reporters and thrill seekers. After a long while of having dealt with an ongoing media frenzy and public speculation, they got the one call that would do them more good than anything else. She sat listening as Harper took the call.

  “Mr. Tanger?”

  “Speaking.”

  “This is Detective John Branson. I wanted to call you personally and tell you that we’ve arrested a suspect in the murder of your estranged wife this morning.”

  “Who is he?”

  “A man named Derrick Carter. He worked for your wife as a carpenter.”

  “Has he admitted to what he has done?”

  “Not yet, but he matches the sketch of the man you described perfectly and he has no alibi. Witnesses put him at Mrs. Tanger’s home around the time of the murder and we have him on surveillance from nearby security cams fleeing the scene. I feel confident that the DNA swabs we took this morning will match the samples in our evidence locker.”

  “Thank you so much, Detective. Will you keep me posted?”

  “Of course. Oh, and Mr. Tanger, I’m sorry for all of this.”

  “Done and dusted, Detective. We will talk again soon.”

  Harper relayed the conversation to her and they both breathed a sigh of relief, hopefully not a premature one. It would take days to hear back on the DNA tests and they’d have to wait and see how it panned out. Or so they thought. Both were surprised when Detective Branson called again the next day.

  “I wanted to let you know that Mr. Carter has confessed fully to the murder of your wife, Mr. Tanger.”

  “What? When?” Harper replied.

  “Early this morning. He called for us to speak to him again and when we all sat down with him and his attorneys he told us that he was ready to just tell us the truth. His statement matches what you witnessed. He said they had been seeing one another for months and he had caught her with another man at a club the night before. When he confronted her, they argued and he shoved her without thinking. She went over the balcony and well, you saw the rest.”

  “Yes. Yes, I did.”

  “Mr. Tanger, there is one more thing and it’s hard for me to say to you, but I think you’d want to know the truth.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Mr. Carter said he had been having an affair with your wife for years, even when the two of you were still living together. He claims he was there the night your daughter died.”

  Claire saw Harper draw in his breath and look at her wearily as he spoke. “And?”

  “He says that your daughter went down for a nap and the two of them were having sex in the master bedroom. Sometime later, Molly was knocking on the door and asking if she could swim. Mrs. Tanger told her, through the door, to put on her suit and she would be down in a mi
nute, but she never went.”

  “Thank you for that, Detective Branson.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Me, too, Detective. Me, too.”

  Claire held him as he cried. Knowing the truth finally must have given him some sort of closure, but there was no doubt that it didn’t even put a dent in the pain still lingering all these years later. It would be a long time before Harper would truly find any peace in any of this.

  Chapter 46

  It was a beautiful day as they sat on the front porch of Taylor Turner’s ranch house. He had invited them up for a weekend to celebrate the wildly successful campaign they had put together for him last year. They were watching Taylor’s sister, Alexandria, work in the nearby tea roses. She was wearing a cowboy hat, which Claire found a little unusual, but it was hot, so perhaps she was just keeping the sun off her face.

  “So, Alexandria is staying? She isn’t going back to Texas now that her divorce is final?” Claire asked Taylor, who sat in a nearby chair, as they continued to watch her whistling happily among the roses.

  “Yes, she is going to stay. I told her that there was plenty of room in the main house and that I liked having her around, but she wanted a bit more privacy. We’re going to build her a smaller house on the south point next spring. In the meantime, she’s moved into the guest house. She seems to think that I’m not bright enough to realize it is because my ranch foreman, Ross, sneaks in there every night to be with her.” He laughed a little as he spoke.

  “Oh, wow. She hasn’t said anything. Does that bother you that she’s sneaking around with him?”

  Claire could certainly see what Alexandria saw in Ross. He was gorgeous and incredibly smart. Claire had been surprised during her first visit to the ranch to realize just how intelligent he was, but it seemed that he lacked motivation. He would rather work with his hands than get a degree and do a number of things he could probably make much more money at. His only dream was to one day own a ranch of his own.