by Kelly Wood
“Peter’s computer.” We answered at the same time. We needed to compare the lists of girls and dates with the actual money coming in. I was lucky to get into it once. The question would be if we would manage it again.
“You never answered my question about who needed the money laundered?” I’m so far out of the criminal loop, the only option I could conceive of was a Walter White: Peter was cooking meth. I ignored that option as quickly as I thought of it. I didn’t even voice it out loud.
“You said the restaurant was failing when we left?” Gray asked.
“Yes. Well, maybe not failing but definitely struggling. A lot.”
“Maybe Peter was forced to get into bed with someone. The mob is still pretty active in Chicago.”
“How would he even start something like that?”
“Subtle inquiries. A friend of a friend of a friend. It happens.”
“We have more questions than answers.” I rested my cheek on the back of the bench. The metal was cool to the touch. “Back to Ben and Liam. Devil’s advocate here. What if we misunderstood what he was saying to us in the gallery?”
“What do you mean?” Gray shifted in his seat. Moving sideways too to face me.
“Liam and Ben have been friends for a long time. Liam told me that himself. What if he didn’t send Ben into Peter’s this afternoon. What if Ben is working on his own?”
“How does that make sense?”
“Ben runs a security company for high-profile clients. What if Ben is working on behalf of a client, not helping Liam? Ben and Liam would still have similar goals, but not the same ones.”
“Why are you suggesting this?”
“When I talked to Liam at the police station, he seemed genuinely shocked when I said Ben broke into Peter’s condo.”
“He could’ve been shocked because you were there,” Gray suggested.
“Maybe, but my gut says it wasn’t that. Plus, tonight when we were talking, Liam never said he sent Ben there, but my gut says he knew more tonight than earlier today.”
“Your gut has been busy.”
I gave him a sarcastic, “Ha, ha,” dragging out the two words. “You know what I mean. Where do we go from here?”
“We need more information. Primarily on Ben and Liam.”
“How do we get that?”
“I know a guy.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Gray and I returned to the party, staying away from Liam. The whole show went rather well. Jax sold quite a few pieces, and the gallery owner asked her to return. Other than the confrontation with Liam, the party could be classified as a success.
Our small group was now back at Peter’s for a personal celebration. Only Peter could have his place back to looking like a display condo in such a short time. The vase had been cleaned up, along with the blood. A new vase sat on the dining table, filled with more fresh flowers. Appetizers were laid out on the island. There was enough food for twenty. Bottles of wine lined the kitchen counter. The condo was ready to play host to yet another get-together. Our small group had returned to Peter’s for the after party and to socialize. I bowed out of the gathering. Using my foot as an excuse. I pleaded needing to rest and to elevate my foot.
It was actually part of our plan. Gray and I fully admitted that when I got mad, my mouth ran on its own power. The chance of that happening was much greater on pain meds, so I hid in my room. I didn’t want to get mad and yell at Liam, but I especially didn’t want to ruin what had amounted to a great night for Jax. She had worked too hard and had earned this night. Gray was going to stay downstairs and monitor everyone’s behavior, but he did come up to help me get settled in bed.
“Did you talk to your ‘guy’?” I asked as Gray moved around the room. He set out water, pain pills and crackers next to my side of the bed.
“I did. He is doing a background search on both Ben and Liam. A deeper one.” Gray dug through my travel bag trying to find me some magazines and a book to read, in case I got bored. I was so exhausted I’d be asleep before he even made it down the stairs. I kept that information to myself, preventing his worrying more.
“Who is this guy?”
“My uncle. His job is hard to explain, but he can help us. We should hear from him tomorrow.” Gray put the book and magazines on my nightstand. “You all set now?”
“I’m good.” He kissed me and headed for the door. Jax came in as he was leaving. Other than our hug hello at the gallery, we hadn’t spoken all night.
"I think tonight was a success," I told her.
"Yes. Yes, it was. I got great feedback from the critics." She lowered herself onto the bed, trying not to jar me. "I just wanted a few minutes alone with you, if you aren't too tired."
“Of course," I said and pulled back the covers so she could snuggle in too. "What's up?"
"I’m going to be mushy for a minute, so bear with me. Nice surprise with my mom, by the way. I thought I was seeing her doppelgänger when she walked in."
"We had to. I would be heartbroken if my mother weren't there for me."
Jax nodded and then paused before asking the question she really wanted the answer to. I expected her to ask about the show. Did it really go well? Do you think people liked the pieces? Was my outfit right? Instead, she could’ve knocked me over with a feather with her next comment.
"How did you know that you loved Gray? Like really loved him? Was it a moment?" she asked. She stretched out on her side looking at me intently.
“I am the wrong person to ask.” I tried to delay answering. I needed to come up with a plausible way to steer this conversation away from the L word.
“You want me to ask Peter? He falls in love every week?”
“So do you.”
“This is different.”
“You don’t know him.”
“You didn’t know Gray when you decided to run off with him. After two weeks, I might add.”
“I didn’t claim to love him! I just wanted an adventure. The love came later.”
“So, you think it’s too quick?” In her ire, Jax climbed off the bed. She stood on the side of the bed, staring down at me with her fists clenched.
“It’s been five days!” I sat up. I couldn’t argue with someone while laying down like an invalid.
“I thought you liked him.”
“I did . . . I do . . . I don’t know. I don’t really know him.” I took a deep breath. “Listen, Jax, I’m sorry I’m not giving you the answer you are looking for. I’m just suggesting you take your time. Why rush?”
“You want me to take five years like you did before realizing you really loved Gray?”
“Hold on a minute. You can’t say I moved too fast in one breath and then too slow in the next. Which is it?”
“Both. Neither.” Jax stamped her foot with the statement.
“Well, crap.” I laughed, falling back against the pillows.
“What’s so funny?”
“You are in love. Listen to your argument. I moved too fast, I moved too slow. Only a person in love loses their rational thinking that quickly.”
“Well, you answered my question then.”
“Didn’t expect a fight to do it, though?”
“No. So, answer my original question. When did you know with Gray?”
"I had just showered at his place after bartending one night. When I came into the front room, he had Frank Sinatra playing. We danced together right there . . . in the middle of the night, wearing pajamas, for no other reason than just to dance. I remember resting my head on his shoulder and thinking ‘Oh no’ because I knew. I wasn't looking for it, but there it was."
"You never told me about that before."
"It was one of those private moments. The kind you keep locked up inside, just for yourself,” I said. My body tingled from the memory. It was a personal favorite.
“You were still bartending, so how long into the relationship was it?”
My cheeks flushed hotly with the blush. I am a hypocrit
e. I whispered to her, “Two days.” Jax didn’t respond verbally but gave me an I-told-you-so look.
"I think I had my moment today. When we got to the police station, Gray was almost out of his mind with worry, Peter couldn't even form a sentence, and I was just shocked. I think we all just needed to see you to be sure you were truly okay. When we got to the back room, I stood back to let Gray get to you first, but I couldn't take my eyes off of Liam. He was looking at you with such concern. I thought, 'Wow, I hope he looks at me like that one day.’ And then, he turned his head to meet my eyes, and poof, I just knew. He looked at me like that and more, but I thought it was too soon."
"No, it’s not too soon. That’s how it happens, sometimes. I just warn you, be sure you really know him. It is still rather early in the relationship.” I decided to throw her a bone. “But, he does seem nice.”
“And he has a hot body.” We giggled like school girls.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
I woke up the next morning to my phone going off. I was terrible about carrying it with me here in the States since I didn't use a cell phone when traveling. The caller ID showed my mother’s number, but I hit the ‘ignore’ button, rolled over and pulled the covers up over my head. The ringing started again. I didn’t ignore the call this time. I let the ringing continue until it rolled over to voicemail. No sooner had that happened than the ringing started again, but it wasn’t my phone this time. Gray picked up his phone and answered.
Without saying a word, he handed it to me.
“What are you doing?” Mom asked.
“Mom, it’s too early.”
“It’s ten o’clock.”
“In the morning?”
“You are not a child of mine. I’ve been up since five. I’ve already eaten breakfast twice. When will you get here?”
Gray had called her yesterday while I slept and told her not to come to the show. He had explained about my foot, but not the other stuff. In return, he had promised that we would go to Indiana today to spend some time with them.
I groaned when the memory came back to me. The thought of more people was overwhelming. I just wanted to rest. Knowing my mother, she would demand that I come home unless I could give her a really good reason not to. I didn’t have one, but I did have something she wanted.
“What will I have to do not to come home?”
“You’re coming home,” Mom said.
“What if I do all your laundry next week?”
“You’ll turn all my whites pink.”
“What if I cook you a nice meal?” I asked.
“You’d burn down the kitchen doing it. Not a fair trade.”
“What if Gray and I got engaged?”
“Don’t tease me,” Mom said.
“I’m serious.”
“I’m going to need proof.”
“I’ll send you a picture of the ring,” I said.
“It could be any ring.”
“What will it take to convince you?” There was a long silence while my mom pondered the question.
“I’d believe Gray if he told me,” Mom said.
“But not your own daughter?”
“No. I knew you as a teenager.” Ditch curfew and you were labeled for life.
“I’m offended.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“Okay, I’m not. Gray, wake up. I’m putting you on speaker phone.” Gray rolled over with murder in his eyes. It was definitely too early for my mother. I clicked the speaker icon and held the phone between us. “Mom, talk to him. He can hear you.”
“My daughter says you are going to make an honest woman of her. Is it true?”
“Yes, it is. Finally.”
“You took the word right out of my mouth.”
“Are you happy now, Mom?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“May I stay home now?”
“No,” Mom said.
“What?!”
“I’m kidding. Stay home. Just don’t lay around all day like a lazy person. Get moving.”
“Yes, ma’am. Anything else?”
“When’s the date set for?” I hung up. I love her. I do. I swear.
“It’s too early for that, Regan.” I could barely hear Gray. His head was buried under his pillow.
“Welcome to my childhood.”
Gray found my family endearing but exhausting. He grew up in a family that always smiled on the outside to hide the troubles actually happening on the inside. My family put it all out there. Whatever emotion we were feeling, we felt them, out loud. He said it was like traversing a minefield. He never knew when someone was going to blow. I felt the same about his family. For years, I assumed they were just happy people. I learned the hard way that I was offending them on a daily basis when I said whatever came into my mind.
“What are we going to do today now that we don’t have to go to Indiana?” I asked. Gray rolled over. There was mischief in his eyes.
“Detective work, Nancy Drew.”
“I like the sound of that.”
Gray and I got up and ready for the day. My foot was actually a lot smaller today. It still hurt to put any weight on, but I could move around much better. It was a nasty purple color though on the side. Gray had me call Peter to check in with him. I covered the purpose of my call by asking him if there was anything I could do for him today. What I really was trying to find out was if and when he would get home. I gave Gray a thumbs-up when Peter said he would be at the restaurant until early evening and then he was going to Anais’s house for dinner. This gave us a good five hours of freedom.
We didn’t waste any time heading down to his office. It looked the same as it had yesterday. I logged into Peter’s computer. Gray stood behind me, looking over my shoulder. I pulled up the file I found yesterday.
“Here it is.”
“Let me get a notebook. Go to each tab and check any dates listed for each of the girls that coincide with the last paycheck period.” He left the room.
I started by checking the four I actually processed a check for. Gray came back with a notebook and pen. I called out the dates and amount. He listed the girls by their initials, making a column underneath with the dates and amounts. He left the times off since we could easily see how long each one was by the amount.
After we had that information written down, I pulled up the next few girls. They didn’t have any dates that coincided with the pay period. It took us a few minutes to go through each of the other girls.
“They don’t have any listed for this pay period, but they have times for previous ones.”
“My theory doesn’t pan out about money laundering then.”
“Not from this angle.” I looked up at him, waiting for a suggestion on where to go next.
“Do you still have a copy of the last profit and loss statement?” he asked.
“No, but Peyton does.”
“Let’s total up for each girl’s amount earned for the whole period last month. Text her and ask the total. You said it was all listed under Miscellaneous Sales?”
“Yes, but so are any private parties, and I don’t have their sales numbers handy. I think there were three.”
“Is that information on this computer?”
“I’ll check, but I don’t think so. At least, back when I worked for Peter full-time he never had the computers linked. And the program isn’t cloud-based, so it can’t be logged in outside of the office computer at the pub.”
“We need to get into the office there, then.”
“Yep.” My nerves were frayed from being in here for so long. I wanted to get the information we needed and get out. Quickly. Gray handed me the notebook and told me to finish writing down all of the numbers.
“Can’t we just email this to ourselves?”
“I don’t want an electronic trail. It’ll be safer to keep the numbers on us in a notebook.”
“Isn’t there a way for Peter to look up any recent files accessed?” I asked.
“Yes, but
we are going to erase the history. I’ll be upstairs. Hurry.”
“Wait. What are you going to be doing?”
“Trying to hack into the computer at the office.”
“You can do that?” I was shocked. He’d never mentioned this talent before.
“Probably not, but I’m going to try.” He kissed me and headed for the door. Before he made it through, his phone rang. He paused to check the display. His eyes me mine, and I knew instantly. It was his guy.
I turned back to the computer and hastily wrote down the information we needed. I wanted out of here. Gray talked behind me softly. His phone conversation was making me even more nervous. It added to the stress of being caught in here. I finished up the last bit and closed out the files, but I left the computer running for Gray to do his thing.
Gray motioned me to follow him. He didn’t show any physical signs of nerves, but I thought they were starting to get to him, too. Even though Peter said he would be busy, he might run home for any number of reasons. Or worse, Anais might stop over. She had a key to the condo and regularly liked to stop by while Peter was working. I only knew this because it irritated him so much. He used to complain frequently that he was too old for his ‘mommy’ to wash his laundry. I didn’t think Anais liked not having someone to care for, so she forced it on Peter.
Gray took me up to our room and closed the door. I followed behind him, forgetting completely about the computer I’d left up and running.
“I’m putting you on speaker phone. Tell Regan what you just told me.” He lowered his phone and pushed the icon. “Go.”
“What have you two gotten mixed up in?”
“We don’t know,” I said. I’d never met this person, but he was talking like we were old friends.
“Alright, this Liam fellow. Great reputation in the department. Closes cases quickly and above the national average for detectives. Known as a straight shooter when it comes to evidence.”
“Really?” I thought back to his possibly sending Ben to break in.
“Oh, yes. Well-liked. Moving up quickly. Parents still married. Seemingly happily.”
“Why does he have an Irish lilt to his voice?” I knew the question didn’t pertain to what we needed, but I’d been curious.
