Not in the Cards

by Amy Cissell

  Misty took two steps to Vincent and threw her arms around him. “Thank you,” she said again, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t have a lawyer, but I’ll find one to look this over tomorrow so we can get this deal finalized as soon as possible.”

  “I’m just glad I could do right by this town. I’m sorry I caused so much disruption.”

  “Everything’s forgiven,” Misty said.

  Vincent looked at each of the others in turn. “I don’t know any of you that well, but I’m looking forward to changing that. I won’t be around much in the next few weeks as I get my own legal issues sorted, but when that’s over, I’ll be back to stay. If anyone knows of a nice house for sale, I’d appreciate the information.”

  “The place next to mine is going on the market soon,” Drew said. “The couple that lives there are finally empty nesters and are downsizing. What are you looking for?”

  “Nothing too big,” Vincent said.

  “This one might work. It has a nice master suite and enough other bedrooms that you could fill them up with a little effort on both of your parts.” He winked.

  “Drew!” Sandy gasped. “That is presumptuous and inappropriate.”

  “How many bedrooms?” Vincent asked, a twinkle in his eyes.

  “Three besides the master.”

  “That sounds about right,” Vincent said, taking Sandy’s hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Thanks for the scoop.”

  Vincent and Sandy stood hand-in-hand in the freakishly long line at Caffiend Dreams the next morning.

  “Thanks for meeting me for coffee,” he said.

  “Of course. I can’t let you go back to Portland under-caffeinated, or worse—caffeinated with inferior coffee.”

  He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her upturned lips, then whispered into her ear, “I’m looking forward to the day when we’re not meeting in the morning; when we’re walking here together.”

  “Me, too.” She ran her fingers through his hair and turned his head back so she could return the kiss with interest.

  “Did you guys want some coffee, or are you just here to sweeten everyone else’s?” Bill asked.

  Sandy jerked away from Vincent, blushed, and said, “Sorry.”

  Bill grinned at them. “It’s not a big deal. I don’t mind a little lovey-dovey as long as I don’t have to see anyone’s tongue. I’d also appreciate it if you kept your clothes on if you’re getting your drinks for here.”

  “I think I can manage to stay dressed for a little while longer. Can I get a peppermint mocha?”

  “Of course. And for you?”

  “Quad shot Americano. No room.”

  “You got it. Any food for you?”

  “Nothing for me,” Sandy said. Vincent echoed her response. They paid and got out of the way to wait for their drinks. The bells over the door jingled signaling another new arrival. Sandy glanced instinctively at the door and immediately tensed up. She squeezed Vincent’s hand.

  “What’s up?” He followed her gaze. “Oh. Have you seen him since lunch the other day?”

  “No. Well, that’s not completely true,” Sandy replied quietly. “A couple times I thought I saw him across the street from my shop when I’d open the front door to let clients out, but I couldn’t be sure.”

  “Are you dissembling because you’re really not sure, or because you got into a habit of doing so when everything you said was called into doubt?”

  Sandy thought about it for a moment. “Son of a gun,” she said. “I had no idea I was doing that. It was definitely him. I suppose it could all be coincidence, but I doubt it. Doesn’t he have better things to do? What could his endgame possibly be?”

  “Do you want me to ask Bill to refuse service?”

  “No. This isn’t like the large brewery in Astoria. I don’t want to cause a scene and irritate the people in my new hometown.”

  Vincent squeezed her hand. “It’s your choice.”

  “Thank you.”

  Aaron took a step forward until he was level with them, looked them up and down, and sneered. “Guess you couldn’t really improve on me, so you went all the way down to a career criminal.”

  Sandy tried to force a pleasant smile onto her face but was certain it was more of a grimace than anything. “I’ve nothing to say to you, Aaron, unless it’s in court.”

  “We’ll all get our day in court soon, won’t we? Can’t wait to take the stand in Vinnie’s trial.”

  “I, too, look forward to sharing a courtroom with you,” Vincent said. “It should be…illuminating.”

  Aaron suddenly looked less sure of himself but recovered quickly. “Do the other people in this town know what you’ve done? Do they know they’re harboring a criminal?”

  “Most of the people here know what I’ve been accused of, but no one is harboring me. I’m not a fugitive. I’ve not even been arrested or charged with anything. Did you have a point you were trying to make? If not, I think it’s your turn to order.”

  Aaron glared at Vincent, stepped to the counter, and ordered from a distinctly stony-faced Bill. After taking Aaron’s money, he turned to Vincent and Sandy. “Your drinks are up next and then you can get out of here if you want.”

  “We ordered our coffees for here, and we’ll stay and drink them here. Aaron can leave once he gets his,” Sandy said.

  “In that case, I’ll make his next if no one has any objections.” No one in the shop objected except Aaron.

  “You can’t make me leave if I don’t want to,” he said.

  Everyone ignored him, and he turned his attention back to Vincent and Sandy. “He’s not the only one with secrets, you know. Has Sandy told you all her secrets? She’s impractical, frivolous, and frigid. Good luck with that, if you manage to stay out of jail. It’ll be even harder if you avoid jail, but have no money left. She’ll burn through your reserves in no time. I’ve never seen a woman with more extravagant tastes.”

  “You bought two custom Aston Martins,” Sandy said. “I hardly think my taste for loose leaf tea and the occasional twenty dollar bottle of prosecco can compete with that.”

  “I think I can manage to keep you in tea and bubbly,” Vincent said.

  Sandy looked him straight in the eye. “I appreciate that, but I can keep myself in tea and bubbly.”

  “Oh, right. With your ‘job,’” Aaron said with over-exaggerated air quotes.

  “Skinny vanilla latte with extra syrup,” Bill called out. “To go.”

  Aaron marched up to the front counter, grabbed his coffee, and pointed at Sandy and Vincent. “You will both regret this.”

  Sandy was burning to ask ‘what’ they’d regret, but didn’t want to give him an excuse to linger, so she smiled at him. He pulled open the door violently, then froze. A woman stood in the entryway.

  “Holy mackerel,” Sandy whispered. “That’s…”

  “Samantha,” Vincent finished. “What is she doing here? No one’s been able to find her.”

  She stared at Aaron, clearly surprised to see him, and not in a happy way.

  “Skinny vanilla latte guy, keep walking out and close the door behind you. Ma’am, you can come in and get some coffee. Vincent and Sandy, your drinks are up.”

  Vincent walked up to the counter, grabbed their coffees, and found the most out-of-the-way table. After glaring at everyone one last time, Aaron did as he was told and left, leaving Samantha standing uncertainly just inside the doorway. Her eyes flicked over to Vincent and Sandy, but she didn’t say anything and got in line.

  Thirty minutes later, Vincent, Sandy, and Samantha were back at Sandy’s gathered around her small kitchen table. Samantha was fidgeting and wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes.

  “Can I get you some more tea?” Sandy asked Samantha. Sandy was trying really hard to mask her impatience but didn’t think she was doing a good job. Vincent reached out and squeezed Sandy’s hand. The message was clear: let her get to the point in her own time.

  Sandy squeezed back, then stood up
to refill the electric kettle. Maybe no one else wanted more tea, but she did, especially if she was going to have to wait.

  Sandy had just sat down again with her fresh cup of English Breakfast tea when Samantha started speaking.

  “I’m really sorry, Sandy,” she said, not looking up from where her fingers were twisted together. “I know that what I did was wrong. I knew he was married. He told me that your marriage was in name only, that you were in the process of separating, and what we were doing wasn’t really cheating. I believed him, but looking back, I know that it was just more lies.”

  Sandy murmured something non-committal. She believed everything Samantha said. It wasn’t a stretch to believe that Aaron would’ve said those things. He and truth weren’t exactly acquainted. But still…it’d take a lot more than an apology and a logical explanation to erase the hurt she’d felt walking in on her husband—awful though he may be—and another woman.

  Samantha seemed to understand. Or at least she didn’t push the issue. She straightened her shoulders, looked at Vincent, and continued. “I betrayed you, too. When you asked for the audit to figure out where the money was going, I shared that information with Aaron. I didn’t make the connection immediately after you were fired. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I started connecting the dots and came to a very different conclusion than what I’d been told. As you know, IT never finished the audit because the next day, you were accused of embezzlement, the accounts were locked, and the assumption—at least among most of the staff—was that you were guilty so there was no reason to look further.

  “A few weeks ago, Aaron started encouraging me to quit. He was mid-divorce, which he said proved he’d been honest about the state of his marriage. But I couldn’t erase the memory of when you—” she looked at Sandy, then away “—found us. I never saw him after that, and he was trying his hardest to change my mind. He offered me an Aston Martin and a life of leisure to quit my job and move in with him.”

  “He what? He offered me an Aston Martin to come back to him,” Sandy said. “I don’t know why I’m so upset about that. I’d no intention of going back, but seriously?”

  “Was it the ugly yellow one he insisted was lime green?” Samantha asked.

  “Yes. It was hideous. I can’t believe he paid six figures for that.”

  They shared a moment of solidarity, then Samantha continued. “He kept telling me to quit my job and wouldn’t let go of the idea. I wouldn’t need to work if I was with him, and I started to wonder where the sudden influx of cash had come from. I did a little investigating on my own—completing the audit I’d been asked to do by Vincent. And that’s when I found the proof.”

  “Proof of what?” Vincent asked. His voice was tight with nervous excitement.

  “I can prove that Aaron embezzled the money and framed you. I made copies of everything, but by the time I had the proof, Aaron’s behavior had escalated from annoying to harassing. I’d have days where he’d leave me alone, and then he’d start showing up everywhere I was, making a scene, and being generally intimidating. I took a couple weeks off work, pulled everything together, and FedExed the proof to the CEO, the acting CFO, and most of the board. I’ve been staying with a cousin to hopefully cut down on the stalking incidents.”

  “I guess we know where he was on the days he wasn’t stalking me,” Sandy said. “I’m sorry he’s been harassing you.”

  “I’m sorry that I caused this whole mess,” Samantha said. “I’m ready to turn myself in, even if it means I go to jail as an accessory or whatever.”

  “I’d be surprised if anything happened to you,” Vincent said. “The worst case scenario that I can think of involves you losing your job at Crystal Corp. You did the work to catch the real criminal. You may have made a couple of bad decisions along the way, but they weren’t criminally bad. If the proof you have is as definitive as you say, Crystal Corp will be grateful to you for doing the work. You may have to take the stand and reveal your relationship with Aaron, as well as the fact that you’re the one who alerted him to the audit, but nothing you did was with criminal intent. We can talk to my lawyer tomorrow and see if she recommends you get your own representation.”

  “All the FedEx packages should arrive tomorrow, as well.”

  “That’s excellent timing. We’ve been trying to find you, you know. We suspected you’d know something.”

  “I don’t know how I ended up being seduced by that jackass—sorry, Sandy.”

  Sandy waved away her apology. “No need to apologize for finally seeing him as he is. It took me a lot longer to see the light. Just maybe, in the future, stay away from married men. I’m a little grateful to you, though, for helping me see the light, too. Who knows how much longer I would’ve stayed married to the jerk if I hadn’t walked in on you two.” Sandy smiled, trying hard to feel the gratitude she’d verbally expressed, and bit her tongue so she wouldn’t make a snarky comment about Samantha’s butt tattoos.

  “Are you staying in town?” Vincent asked, changing the subject in the nick of time.

  “No. Your lawyer told me I’d find you here, Vincent. I wasn’t expecting to see Sandy and Aaron, as well. I’m driving back to Portland this afternoon.”

  “I’d recommend staying in a hotel on the other side of town from where you live,” Vincent said. “Aaron was as surprised to see you as you were to see him, and I don’t think he’ll be able to leave it alone.”

  Samantha nodded once. “I’ll go back to my cousin’s place. “He hasn’t bothered me since I started staying there.”

  “I have a meeting at Crystal at one o’clock tomorrow. I’d be delighted if you’d meet me there.”

  “I can do that. Thank you for listening. I’m so sorry about everything.”

  She stood, bobbed her head at them both, and walked out of the room.

  “Holy crap,” Sandy said after the door screeched shut.

  “I think we found what we needed.”

  “Did you get her number?”

  “Damnit, no. I hope she shows up tomorrow.”

  “She will,” Sandy said.

  “Do you know because the cards told you?”

  “Nope. I know because she has to or I will hunt her down and make her very, very sorry.”

  “You’re kinda hot when you’re a badass,” Vincent said, pulling her chair to him so he could plant a kiss on her upturned lips.

  Sandy hooked her arms around his shoulders. “Tell me more about how attractive I am.”

  A throaty laugh erupted from Vincent, and he pulled her out of her chair onto his lap. “I plan on spending the rest of my life doing that.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sandy sat in the courtroom with Bela Naman, the lawyer she’d hired a few days before, another lawyer she assumed was Aaron’s, and an increasingly impatient judge. Everything was as hammered out as possible, although the preliminary paperwork and mediation hadn’t made any mention of Aaron’s sudden influx of cash.

  Now, knowing what she did, Sandy thought it prudent to pay someone to be on her side.

  “I’m sorry,” the clerk said as time marched on with no show from Aaron. “Either we’ll have to proceed without Mr. Bell, or we’ll need to reschedule.”

  “I am not authorized to proceed without my client,” Aaron’s lawyer said.

  “We would like to enter a request for further discovery,” Sandy’s lawyer replied. “It has come to the attention of my client that Mr. Bell seemingly has greater assets than he initially disclosed. He was seen driving an Aston Martin that can conservatively be estimated to cost at least one hundred thousand dollars. He claimed to have a second one as well. Based on the financial situation which Ms. Franklin is familiar with and the documents that were shared with my client and the court, we believe that there are other assets that Mr. Bell is attempting to hide.”

  Sandy didn’t want a penny of the illegal money—especially since it would likely disappear soon—but she and her lawyer agreed that it was best to get i
t out into the open. Both the fact that it existed and the fact that he was trying to hide the extent of it from Sandy.

  “You’ve seen this car with your own eyes?” the judge asked Sandy.

  “Yes, Your Honor. He said it was lime green, although it was more of a yellowish green, in my opinion. He also stated that he had a second, purple one. In addition, he said that he’d received a large reward for unmasking an embezzler at Crystal Corporation, his employer, and that it had already been taxed, so he didn’t have to report it on his taxes next year.”

  The judge tapped her chin thoughtfully and rifled through the paperwork. “That isn’t a lot of evidence. He could’ve been trying to impress you to win you back. However, the car does sound like something should be out of the realm of possibility. Either he has money he’s not disclosed, or he is incurring a staggering amount of debt that he’s not disclosing. Regardless, that needs to be part of discovery. In lieu of finalizing your divorce today, I grant the request for further discovery. Please reschedule for one week from now with my clerk. And Mr. Bolt? Tell your client he’d better not skip court again, or I will rule in his absence.”

  Sandy walked out of the courtroom trying not to let her dejection show. The lawyer patted her on the arm. “I know you’re disappointed. You were hoping to walk out a single woman. I know this judge, though, and she’s suspicious and irritated. She’ll pay even closer attention to the case now than she would’ve before.”

  “I just want it done and behind me,” Sandy said. “He’s been in charge of my life too long, and I’m ready to write this chapter off.”

  “One week isn’t too long in the scheme of things,” Bela said. “And it’ll be worth it if it helps you out and helps him on his way to the big house.”

  “The big house? Really?” Sandy laughed.

  Bela grinned. “I wanted to amuse you.”

  “I’m worried about what will happen to me and my very few assets once Aaron is caught. I don’t want to be tied to him. I don’t want any guilt by association.”