“There’s something inside,” she said as she felt its bulk. Carefully she peeled the flap back. “There’s a letter and two Jumpdrives.” Her voice was tense with hope. “I’m pretty sure this blue one is the one from his office. The one I took the information from. I’ve never seen the red one.”
“This has to be it,” he said. “It’s what we’ve been looking for.”
He hoisted the painting back up on the wall, not wanting to leave any evidence of their visit behind.
“There’s something else,” Claire said. Folded up neatly with the letter was a newspaper clipping. Her eyes narrowed. “It’s a piece covering the murder of a woman named Penelope Goodman. According to the date on the article, she was killed only a few weeks before Jared. She was a curator for a prestigious antiques gallery in Los Angeles.”
“Well, if that doesn’t sound suspicious,” he scoffed, “I don’t know what does.”
Claire scanned Jared’s letter before handing both pages to Alex. “His note doesn’t say how Penelope is tied into this. But she has to be.” She clenched the Jumpdrives in her fist as Alex read what Jared had written. The red Jumpdrive, she hoped, would hold the key to it all.
Claire,
I knew that if something happened to me, you wouldn’t be able to resist taking down this hideous thing. I imagine you’re relieved to be rid of me. But do me one last favor, would you? Take this information to the police. With it, they should be able to link my business partner to my untimely demise. To be honest, I didn’t think he’d have the steel to do it. If you’re reading this, I misjudged the snake.
Make him pay.
Jared
Now that they had what they’d been searching for, he realized how much time they’d let pass. He slid the pages back in the envelope, folded it and stuffed it in his back pocket. Claire did the same with the Jumpdrives.
“We need to get out of here,” he said. “We have to see what’s on those storage devices. It’ll be safer if we wait until we’re back at Mason’s.”
They hurried from the room, anxious to see what sort of information Jared had provided. The man had obviously thought he’d had something worthy of taking to the police. If the newspaper clipping was any indication, hopefully he had left proof that his partner was a murderer.
Claire was visibly shaking by the time they reached the entry. She shoved her feet into her soggy shoes and grabbed her bulky jacket.
“I can’t believe Jared came through for me.” Astonishment colored her tone. “I know he had no idea how this would all unfold, so it wasn’t his intention. But I’m grateful all the same.”
Alex refrained from saying it was the least the louse could do. From everything he’d heard, Jared had been a poor excuse for a husband. The letter he’d written had even alluded to the fact.
He had more important things to worry about at the moment.
“We should’ve left way before now,” he said. Anxiety marched a trail up and down his spine, warning him to proceed with caution. He moved to the dining room window. It overlooked the backyard. Though the window was covered, there were cracks along the side that allowed just a hint of visibility.
Rain still fell from the sky. Lightening flickered, causing the lawn and flower gardens to light up in dizzying flashes. He strained his eyes as he scoured the tree line. The hairs on the back of his neck rose when he contemplated entering the woods again.
His muscles stiffened as something caught his attention. Something had moved within the shadows. Had it been a person? Or had the wind simply rustled branches? He didn’t think so. It was possible he was being overly cautious, but he was almost certain he’d spotted the silhouette of a man darting behind the thick base of a fir.
“Let’s get out of here.” His breath was a low hiss.
He grabbed Claire’s hand. Ignoring her startled gasp of surprise, he tugged her away from the door they had entered through. They moved through the lower level of the house as quickly as they could in the darkness.
“Alex?”
“Trust me on this.”
They reached the front door and he yanked it open. Together they bolted down the front steps and raced down the long, tarred driveway toward the street.
“What are we doing?” Claire’s voice quaked with fright as she glanced over her shoulder.
“I’m just about positive there were men hiding out in the trees.”
He’d been ambushed a few times. It had never turned out well. Lately he might be cautious to a fault, but it would probably save his life someday.
Maybe even today.
Claire didn’t ask any more questions. He knew she understood the seriousness of the situation. If Xavier had men staking out the backyard, taking an unexpected route would be their best chance at escape.
Though the Henderson home wasn’t far, it felt as if it took an eternity to get there. Their wet shoes slapped against the tar in a steady rhythm. It was impossible to tell how many men there had been.
If there had been any at all.
His gun was drawn. He did continual visual sweeps of the neighborhood as they ran. He hated being so out in the open but felt there really was no other option.
When they turned down the Hendersons’ driveway, he withdrew Mason’s keys. With one click he unlocked the doors. He followed Claire to the passenger side.
She pulled the door open and as she leaped inside she heard a soft “pop” hiss through the air. The bullet flew over the hood, hitting a tree on the other side, throwing chunks of bark into the air.
“Get down!” Alex shouted as he slammed the door behind her. He caught a glimpse of a figure in black, darting behind a tree. Alex returned fire as he raced to the driver’s side and hopped in.
He jammed the key into the ignition. In seconds they were tearing out of the driveway. The tires squealed against the wet asphalt. He didn’t slow down. If there was one gunman, he didn’t doubt there would be more following.
Claire’s head swiveled around as Alex drove. “There were others. I saw at least two more men running across the Hendersons’ backyard.”
“I’m not surprised. Whatever is on those Jumpdrives, Xavier wants.”
Her tone was frantic. “Why didn’t they ambush us when we went in?”
“I think—” Alex reasoned out as he sped onto a main road “—they were hoping you would find the insurance policy Jared warned Xavier about.”
“How did you know they were there?”
“I had a feeling.” Some would call it gut instinct. Some would call it intuition. He knew what it really was. The still, small voice of God warning him to be careful. He’d learned to rely on that voice many times over the years.
Mason had canvassed the neighborhood during the day, giving the all-clear. But Xavier’s men had correctly figured a nighttime break-in was more likely.
He continuously glanced in the rearview mirror. The housing development loomed behind them as he sped toward town. He was no longer wary of being pulled over by the police. In fact, he would welcome it. Hopefully they had the evidence that would clear Claire. At the very least, they had a hand-written note from Jared, stating he suspected his business partner was going to come after him. That had to count for something.
“Where are we going?” Claire asked with a frown.
“I’m heading downtown,” Alex admitted. He felt safer there than on a deserted road. He glanced at the mirror again and frowned. “Except I don’t think we’re being followed.”
Claire corkscrewed her neck to peer out the back window. “Is that a bad thing?”
“It’s surprising,” Alex admitted.
“Maybe it’s taking them a while to get to their vehicle.”
“That could be,” he agreed. “Or maybe they took down the license plate number and plan on tracking us that way.”
“We can’t go back t
o Mason’s,” Claire said. “Not if they track the plate.”
Alex winced. “Well, about that. After I dropped Mason off at the airport I took the liberty of switching out his plates.” He’d driven by a closed used-car dealership and had made a hasty decision. It was one he did not regret.
Claire frowned. “Why would you do that?”
“It was for his safety. If Xavier’s men caught up to us, and they realized Mason was helping us, what do you think they’d do?”
“They’d go after him, probably kill him,” Claire said without hesitation. “You didn’t want them to be able to track Mason down.”
“Right,” he agreed. He made a few loops around the downtown area, staying clear of the police department but close enough that they could get there quickly. Finally, he was satisfied that they had definitely not been followed. He turned the vehicle in the direction of his friend’s house. “Looks like the switch worked in our favor because now we can go back to Mason’s, look at that evidence and hopefully have your name cleared by morning.”
TWELVE
Claire’s heart pounded painfully in her chest as they walked through Mason’s front door. For the first time in weeks her erratic heartbeat was due to excitement rather than fear. After several long, agonizing weeks, the end was in sight.
Alex had taken a roundabout way back to Mason’s. This early in the morning, traffic was light, and a tail would’ve been easy to spot. He was confident they’d made it back without being followed.
“I’ll get the laptop ready,” Alex said as he took a seat at the table.
Roscoe made a grumbling sound.
“I’ll take care of our boy,” Claire said.
She filled Roscoe’s makeshift food and water bowls. The dog drank thirstily when she set them on the floor. She gave him a grateful pat before moving to the kitchen table.
She glanced longingly at the coffee maker. She’d gotten very little sleep and dawn would break soon. She decided taking the time to make a pot would be a luxury they couldn’t afford. She wanted to see what was on those storage devices and that took precedence over everything else. Even her lingering exhaustion.
“Is it just me,” Alex asked in frustration, “or does this seem to be taking longer than usual for this computer to load?” He tapped his hands against the table restlessly.
It did feel like it was taking forever, but Claire thought it was probably the intensity of the situation rather than the actual laptop.
“Here we go,” Alex murmured.
Claire wrapped her arms around her stomach. She was so anxious to be done with this. If Jared’s information was as valuable as she hoped, maybe all charges against her would be dropped immediately. It was possible Mia could be back in her arms by tonight.
Please, God. Please let this be the proof we need.
The computer was finally ready. Alex connected the blue Jumpdrive. With a few clicks, the screen filled with files.
“That’s the one I took information from, the one that used to be in his desk drawer,” she confirmed. After spending a few seconds scanning the file names she said, “I’ve read through all of those. There’s nothing new. I’m sure the police will be happy to have it. Put the other one in.”
Alex did as directed.
Unlike the other Jumpdrive, this one contained a single file.
He glanced at Claire with raised eyebrows. “It’s an audio file. Are you ready for this?”
She pressed her fingers to her lips and nodded.
With another click, a voice flowed from the speakers.
“Jared,” Claire whispered. Though she’d expected it, hearing a dead man twisted her up inside. A moment later she recognized Xavier’s voice. The two were caught mid-argument.
They both leaned forward, anxious to hear what this pair had to say. Xavier and Jared squabbled a bit over who had the right to employ Bernard, the smuggler. Jared claimed he didn’t steal Bernard from Xavier, but rather that Bernard had approached him because he no longer trusted Xavier. The reason he no longer trusted Xavier was that he believed his boss had killed Vincent Monroe, the man in charge of deliveries.
“I understand why you did it,” Jared’s recorded voice said amiably. “You have millions at stake here. When the delivery man is running off with the deliveries, and probably fencing them on his own, he should pay.” Jared chuckled. “It’s not as if you can turn him in to the authorities. I guess you had to ice him. Fortunately he wasn’t the sort of man people miss so no one has gone looking for him.”
“You’d have iced Vincent, too,” Xavier sneered. “It’s not like I wanted to do it. I gave him fair warning. He didn’t listen. At least I made sure it happened quickly.”
They listened a few more moments before Alex paused the audio.
“Xavier had the delivery man killed because he thought he was stealing from him,” Claire said, her tone breathless with excitement. “We have motive and what sounds to me like a confession, and if the authorities start looking into this guy, Vincent Monroe, they have to be able to turn up something on him.”
“There’s our proof right there,” he agreed. He glanced at the newspaper clipping resting on the table next to the envelope.
“There’re still a few more minutes of audio left,” Claire said. “Even though we have enough proof already, I want to hear what else he has to say. I want to know if he killed Penelope Goodman, as well.”
They were only a few more seconds into the audio before they received the rest of the information they’d been hoping for.
“Vincent was a lowlife no one has missed,” Jared said. “But Penelope? I suspect her death will come back to haunt you. A week before she was murdered she called me, asking for help. She said she wanted out. Her boss at the gallery was becoming suspicious. She said she didn’t dare forge any more documents for you. I understand that believable provenance is hard to come by, so I understood your reluctance to let her go.”
Penelope had wanted out, had threatened to go to the authorities.
Over the next few minutes Jared laid it all out, explaining Xavier’s part in Penelope’s murder. He’d been doing some investigating, digging into Xavier’s past. Xavier had hired an old acquaintance, someone he’d known on the streets in Chicago.
Tony Brunetti was a two-bit thug, had just gotten out of prison and had been readily willing to take Penelope’s life for the right sum. Xavier had purchased his plane ticket, a nonstop flight from Chicago to Los Angeles. Xavier’s mistake had been putting Tony up at a hotel he and Jared owned.
Jared became suspicious when Penelope was found dead. On a hunch, he’d looked at records from the hotel they owned near Los Angeles. He’d found that Xavier had comped a room to Tony Brunetti the night of the murder. With a name to go on, Jared had been able to compile all the information he needed.
“Tony’s flight stopped in Portland on the return trip,” Jared said. “I think it’s safe to say you met up with him. Paid him cash. Sent him on his way. You know why I think that? You had fifty grand withdrawn from an offshore account just the day before. The day after he returned to Chicago, he bought a new sports car. You know how he paid for it? Cash.”
“Don’t cross me, Jared,” Xavier warned. “It never ends well for those who do.”
The audio ended there, and a moment of silence filled the room.
Claire shook her head, feeling sorry for Penelope Goodman, a woman she’d never heard of until an hour ago. Penelope realized she was in the wrong, had wanted out, and Xavier had her killed for it. He’d also killed Vincent Monroe and Claire knew, without a doubt, he’d killed Jared, as well.
“That’s it,” Alex said as he shot up from his chair. “That’s the information we’ve been looking for!” He grabbed Claire’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “We did it. We found what you’ve been searching for. This is going to clear you. Xavier admitted to killing
Vincent. I’m sure that with Jared’s legwork, they’ll be able to prove he killed Penelope, as well.”
Claire wanted to smile but she felt numb. After all this time, could it really be over?
“Claire?” Alex brushed his fingers against her cheek.
The numbness faded at his touch and her emotions sparked to life. Excitement, relief and gratitude overwhelmed her. When Alex reached for her, she willingly went into his arms.
“Thank you!” she cried. “I never could’ve done this without you. I never could’ve made it past my own front door without alerting the police.”
“We make a good team,” he agreed.
She leaned back, a smile finally managing to break free. “We do, don’t we?”
This time when he leaned down to kiss her, she allowed herself to become lost in the moment. She allowed herself to wonder what it would be like to have Alex kiss her like this every day for the rest of her life.
When Alex pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers. “I think, sometime soon, we need to talk about us.”
Reality came crashing back, hitting Claire with a big dose of common sense. “What’s there to talk about?” she asked.
Alex leaned his head back, a quizzical look on his face. “‘What’s there to talk about?’” he asked incredulously. “We have everything to talk about. You. Me. Our daughter. I want a chance at being the family we never had a chance to be before.”
Claire frowned. Though she wanted that, too, she didn’t think she was ready to risk her heart again.
“Alex,” she said gently, “I need a man who can be there for me. Who loves God first, and who will put Mia and me before anything else that comes his way. I need someone who can completely commit to his family. Someone I can count on no matter what. Can you be that person?”
Alex’s brow furrowed. “I...” He faded off, seeming to struggle to find a way to finish that sentence.
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