by A Lexy Beck
I stared at the card from the flowers for a moment before ripping it in half and tossing it in the trash. I walked the vase of flowers to the receptionist’s desk and plopped them on top of the high counter.
“Here’s something to brighten up your day!” I smiled at the temp working the phones. “Did you happen to see who delivered these, or what company they were from?”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Dunning, I wasn’t at the desk when they came through. I actually never saw the delivery at all.
“Hmm, Ok. Thanks. Well, enjoy them, anyway.” I walked back into my office and plopped back down in my leather office chair. Between the break in and the anonymous flower delivery, I was more than a little on edge.
The flashing light and soft tone of my desk phone prevented my mind from drifting further into the worrisome thoughts running through my head. “Jennifer Dunning.” My sudden shift to a professional voice caught me off guard.
“Good afternoon, Miss Dunning.” The voice on the phone belonged to Dylan Rogers.
“Mr. Rogers, how can I help you?”
Dylan sighed. “I thought we had this settled. Please, call me Dylan.”
I sank down in my seat, waving at Reese as he walked into the office. I pointed at the phone, trying to signal to my partner who I was talking to. “Okay, Dylan…how may I help you?”
“I could pretend that I had something to ask you—maybe something about the next meeting—but what I really want to know is if you’re free for dinner this evening.” His voice had a joking tone to it, but I knew he wasn’t kidding. That was his way of saving himself from embarrassment. I had only met Dylan Rogers a few times, but I knew he wasn’t a man who enjoyed humiliation—or being told no. He must have sensed my hesitation. “Did you like the flowers?”
“Um, yes—the roses were lovely, but you really shouldn’t have.”
“Oh, I see. Well, I just felt for all of the work you’re doing for our company…”
“That isn’t necessary, Dylan. It’s my job.”
“I understand. Really, though, I just wanted to make sure you knew how much you were appreciated.” The creepiness in his voice put me back on edge and I stared at Reese from across the room with wide eyes.
“Well, thank you again, Dylan, but…” He didn’t let me finish.
“Are you seeing anyone? When we first met, I kind of got the vibe that you were single. Was I wrong?”
“I’m sorry, Dylan. I know we’ve had this conversation before, at the coffee shop. This really isn’t appropriate. I’m working on your case and...”
“Is it Cain?” His voice dropped and I could feel his intensity.
“Cain? I’m not sure what you mean.” How did Dylan find out about Cain and I? I played off the conversation.
“You know, did he tell you not to get involved with me? Or do you like him?” Dylan paused, waiting for my answer. Nothing I could say would be the right thing. “You know, he’s kind of out of your league, Jennifer. I mean, he’s more into the glittering society types…or young college girls. Trust me; I’ve seen the guy in action.”
I wanted to slam the phone down repeatedly, but I controlled myself. Reese had picked up the line and had been listening in to hear more than enough. I was thankful he heard the last few minutes.
“You seem like a nice girl. Why would you want to get tied up with him?”
“Mr. Rogers, thank you again for the flowers, but I don’t find this conversation very appropriate. I’m afraid any relationship you and I have will always be strictly professional.”
He laughed softly. “Okay, Miss Dunning. Message received. Thank you.” With that, he hung up and I was left shaking, holding the phone in my hand.
“What a jerk.” Reese hung up his phone and slid his crumpled suit jacket off and tossed it onto the desk. “You okay?” I nodded, but truthfully I wasn’t sure. “From what I heard today, this kind of behavior is par for the course, with this guy. Now that you’ve refused him, it might get even weirder.”
“What did the campus police chief tell you?” I pulled my chair under my desk and listened intently.
“Dylan has a history of bad behavior when it comes to women. Fortunately for him, he’s always had someone there to bail him out, including his friend, Cain Parker.” Reese dug his mini notebook out of his coat and read from it. “Rogers was accused of repeatedly harassing a student as she walked from the library to the female dorms. Complainant said she felt afraid and intimidated. Chief Watson says he didn’t think much about it at first—you know, first year jitters—but then the same young woman had items stolen from her dorm room—some underwear, her computer. A few weeks later, her campus account was hacked and her grades were changed. Nobody was ever caught but Bill says Rogers was on the top of his suspect list.” Reese licked his finger and flipped the page. “Next we have another complaint about harassment, but apparently this young lady had been dating Rogers, and when she tried to break it off with him, he threatened her. Watson says he tried checking in with her later but she left the school. He thinks she may have pressed criminal charges too, but no one ever copied him on it.”
“What else did you find out, Reese?”
He flipped another page. “Now this one is a doozy. This was Mr. Rogers’ senior year. He got busted for hacking into the campus computer system again, and was caught tinkering with grades. You won’t believe who was on the list of kids who got new grades.”
A feeling of dread crept over me. “Cain Parker?”
He shook his balding head. “Nope, Rachel Murant and a few others, but it all got straightened out. Old Mr. Parker stepped in and intervened right before Rogers got expelled for cheating.”
“You mean Cain’s dad?” I was shocked by the news.
“Yep. Bill Watson says he was ready to toss the kid out, and the whole board agreed with him, until Parker paid them a visit. Bill wasn’t invited to attend that conference, but he says when they came out, they were all singing a different tune. I have a feeling, and so does Bill, that the Parkers paid the school a tidy little sum to keep that quiet.”
“But why? Why would they do that? He’s not their kid? I mean, Cain wasn’t implicated in any of this, right?” I tapped my forehead nervously, leaning on the desk with my head in my hands.
“No relationship that I can find, but it is interesting to note that Dylan’s parents aren’t nearly as loaded as the Parkers, or as squeaky clean. Have you ever heard of a grifter?”
I stopped and stared at him. “You mean people that run scams? Confidence games?”
He nodded. “Let’s see.” Reese consulted his ragged notebook. “Mom’s been pinched twice and his dad is still upstate, serving time for some scam he ran on some car dealerships about five years ago.”
I shook my head. Obviously the Parkers felt sorry for him. I wonder why Cain didn’t tell me all this?
In a gruff voice, the older investigator questioned me. “So what did you do today? Get those background checks back? Anything there? You know we have to let the bigwigs make the decisions; our job is to gather information.”
“You won’t believe who visited us today!” I filled him in on Alice Bennett’s claims and the probable stance that Pegasus would take.
“Well, Miss Dunning, in your professional opinion, as ‘chief profiler,’ what do you think?”
I laughed. “I haven’t really been doing anything remotely related to profiling. But this has been interesting. A real learning experience, for sure.”
“You’ve spent time with Cain Parker. Is he being honest?”
I held back my smile at the thought of the real time I had spent with Cain. I tried to push those thoughts out of my head so I could give Reese an honest answer. “I think Cain is blind to what’s going on in his company. Either that or he’s really good at pretending. He’s giving Dylan far too much access, considering the trouble he’s been causing. Personally, I think Cain feels sorry for Dylan.”
“And what do you think about Dylan?”
“It’s not good, Reese. Nothing he says or does makes me feel good. His history shows it. His actions show it. But, for some reason, no one wants to believe it’s true.” I shook my head in disappointment. “Vawter has a lot to lose here. Pegasus has warned them, we’ve warned them.”
Reese laughed. “I asked for a profiler’s input and all I heard was a lawyer.” He tossed his notebook onto the table between us.
I gave him a rueful grin. “You know what they say, ‘You can take the girl out of law school…’”
“Well I’m not a lawyer or a profiler, but if I were you, I’d watch myself. It doesn’t take an Einstein to see there are a lot of moving parts here, and lots of people covering for one another. Just be careful, alright?”
“Ok, Reese. I promise.”
I began to type up all of the notes and findings Reese and I had uncovered over the last week and half. When I had started on the case, I fully believed I would be spending my time interviewing people and actually using my experience. I now realized why my father’s firm was so sought after. They find out things others can’t, in order to protect their clients before their clients have problems. It was a stretch for me, but I was beginning to enjoy it.
I looked over the thirty pages of notes, numbers and documents. Reese was correct in that there were lots of moving parts, but my suspicion was one person was responsible for all of this. It was time to talk with Cain, carefully.
Chapter Thirteen
Tarrant’s parking lot was unusually packed for a Thursday night. I arrived early, hoping to have a drink and think about how I was going to unload the details of everything I’ve learned to Cain. I needed to be careful how I handled it, but I only had thirty minutes to practice my speech.
I slid into an empty spot in the back of the lot as my phone rang. It was the Vawter office number. I smiled and answered in my sweetest voice. “Hey you, don’t tell me you’re going to be even later?”
“Um, Hi, Miss Dunning, this is Ashley. I’m calling for Mr. Parker. He’s still in his meeting and has asked me to cancel his dinner appointment this evening. Apparently he’s going to be a while.”
“I see.” The disappointment was apparent in my voice.
“He mentioned that he would reschedule with you another time, or catch you in the office tomorrow.”
“Oh, Ok.” I hesitated, not sure what to say or do. “He sure has you working late tonight.” I felt a twinge of jealousy take over. I knew it was irrational, but it upset me that Ashley was still at the office with Cain and yet I didn’t get to see him.
“It’s my job to be here for him, whenever he needs it. If I need to spend the night here with him, I’d be happy to.” I could hear her smiling on the other end of the phone. “I have to run. Good night, Miss Dunning.”
I hung up the phone and took a deep breath. It is just business, Jennifer. It will be alright. It was obvious what feelings Ashley was trying to provoke and the message she was trying to send. I left the lot and headed to the market to pick up a few bottles of wine and made it home about an hour later. I had taken my time feeling sorry for myself along the way, but I was now content drowning my sorrows in a bottle of white wine.
There was a package on my doorstep, so after dumping the bags on dining room table, I went back to retrieve it. I carefully studied the box before picking it up. After the last few days, nothing would surprise me. The bold return label gave me satisfaction that it was legitimate and I quickly opened it to find a new laptop, shipped from Cain. So thoughtful.
I put everything away, slipped into some comfy clothes and landed on the couch, glass of wine in hand, ready to put the day behind me. I couldn’t help but think I should be celebrating with Cain, rather than spending an evening home alone.
My phone vibrated on the coffee table.
Cain: Hope you’re hungry and home!
I had just finished reading the text when Cain tapped on the door. I let him in and locked the door behind him.
I greeted him with a long kiss. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I’m sorry I had to cancel. There was a situation I needed to deal with and I couldn’t put it off. Unfortunately it ran much longer that I thought.”
I thought of saying something about making me wait, but I could tell by the look on his face that he was in no mood for joking. “It’s fine. I had plenty to do anyway. I got my gift, thank you so much!” I pointed to the wide screen laptop sitting on the coffee table.
“Great, I’m glad you like it. I brought Thai. I hope you’re hungry.”
“I’m starving. Want a glass of wine?”
“Yes, that sounds great.” He sat at the table and reached for a container of fragrant food.
“What’s up?” I was curious about his meeting, but didn’t want to ask.
“A lot, actually, but first I want to hear about these flowers. Did you figure out who they were from?”
“I did.” I held my breath for a moment and finally let out the words. “Dylan Rogers”
“Dylan sent you flowers? Why?” Cain seemed confused.
“Well, he said it was to thank me for working on your case and he wanted me to know I was appreciated. Then he proceeded to ask me out, and even more, then decided to tell me how you were out of my league.”
Cain shook his head. “Unbelievable. Just wait ‘til I...”
“Cain, don’t. I learned a little something today about Dylan Rogers that I didn’t know before. He doesn’t like being told ‘no’ apparently.”
Cain froze. “Did he hurt you? Did he say something to you?” He was visibly angry.
I was shocked and a little afraid; I’d never seen Cain ticked off before, and it worried me that his first thought was that his so-called friend might have hurt or threatened me. “No, he didn’t hurt me or anything like that, I’m talking about information that Reese uncovered—you know, from Dylan’s college years. I want to know why, if you knew he had certain problems, you didn’t tell me about them? Didn’t you think that Dylan’s issues might affect your business?”
Cain sat up and leaned forward, ready to talk. “What are you suggesting, Jennifer? That I’m responsible for what’s happening at Vawter? That I’m not doing my job?”
“I’m not suggesting anything—I’m just asking a question or two. Questions that others will be asking. It’s obvious that Dylan has had some problems with women—and computers—which might suggest that these difficulties that Vawter is facing shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. At least anyone that knew about them.”
Cain didn’t say anything, he just stared at me.
I continued on, careful to avoid sounding accusatory. “You knew about them, didn’t you? I mean it was your dad that made it all go away when you two were at Brown, wasn’t it?” My voice was soft but steady; I didn’t believe Cain was to blame, but we had to clear the air about this. Now that Reese had dug up the dirt on Dylan, there was no way it wouldn’t be slung around a little.
He played with the food in his container. He still didn’t say anything, and seemed lost in thought. Cain walked over to the sliding glass door and opened it. I followed him, slipping into the chair beside him.
“I’m not the enemy, Cain. I want to help you.”
“I know that.” Cain’s blue eyes shimmered in the light from streetlamps below. “I guess I am to blame, in a way. Dylan and I were more like brothers when we were younger. He spent almost every waking moment with my family when we were in high school. My parents loved him, especially my father. Dad really missed my brother—he died when I was thirteen. Jase had leukemia and I guess, in a way, having Dylan around was like having my brother back, to my father at least. No matter what he did, Dylan couldn’t do any wrong. I think Dylan loved him, too. But when Dad died, I began to feel like Dylan resented me. Dad left him out of his will and that angered Dylan.”
“So your relationship deteriorated after that?” I could see how Dylan would be motivated by money.
Cain looked sad, even tired. “
No, we were still close. We continued to build our business together, but Rachel was there for me and that sort of kept Dylan away. I didn’t know that he had a crush on her. Things just happened between us in college. We hit it off. She complained about him a few times, but I promised her I would talk to him. I confronted Dylan about it once, but he denied everything. I warned him to stay away from her. It didn’t really matter, in the end, because she died about a month after that.”
I reached over and held his hand. He squeezed mine back. “Are you ok? I know this has to be hard on you.”
“It is. That’s why I was late tonight. Dylan and I had a meeting. I confronted him about my suspicions. He denied everything and I suggested he take a leave of absence for a while, to clear his head.”
“How did he take it?” I could only imagine the tension during this meeting. First Dylan had been rejected by me today, then his best friend pushed him a way while accusing him of causing the problems at the company.
“Not well. He was upset. He said I would regret this. I know it’s just talk. He’s overworked. There’s a lot going on with these breaches and I know he’s concerned about them.”
“Cain, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about all of this. Aside from Dylan’s history in college, we found out he was pushing Pegasus away. He told Alice Bennett she could only speak with him, and then proceeded to decline their assistance and modify their software.”
“What? I was aware there was a software issue, but I never knew anything about Alice.” Cain’s face turned pale. The stress showed in his eyes. “So you think Dylan…”
Cain’s phone rang stopping him mid-sentence. “I’m sorry, I have to take this.”
He got up and walked inside. I could hear him whispering, and it seemed liked he was in an argument, but it was difficult to tell for sure. He returned a few minutes later.
“I’m really sorry. I have to go back to the office.” He seemed a distraught and on edge.
“Cain, what’s wrong? Can I help with anything?”
“It’s Ashley. She needs me back at the office for something, she wouldn’t say what over the phone. That’s really unlike her.”
