by D. B. Henson
By the time she found the courage to look at Brian again, she had sipped more than half the bottle of Coke. He was still staring at his computer screen.
“You really should go up to bed,” she said.
“I know. I wish I could take a shower. That would probably help, but I can’t get these stitches wet.”
“I just might have a solution for that.”
Toni left the room. She returned a few minutes later with a roll of Glad Wrap and some first aid tape. “Hold out your arm,” she said.
Starting at his wrist, she began wrapping the plastic around his arm, all the way up to his elbow and then back again. Once she was satisfied his wound was properly encased, she sealed off the edges of the Glad Wrap with the first aid tape. “That should keep the water out,” she said.
“What gave you this idea?”
“Experience. We lived on a cul-de-sac when I was little and I used to ride my bike up and down our street. My father had a strict rule that I was not to get out on the main road of our subdivision. He said there was too much traffic. Well, one day when I was around ten years old, I decided I was big enough to go anywhere in our neighborhood I wanted. So off I went. I was doing pretty well too. Using my hand signals when I turned, making sure I was far enough over to the right so the cars had plenty of room to pass me. Oh, I was feeling all grown up – until I came to the big curve. I looked up and there was this huge truck right in the middle of the road. It looked like it was coming straight toward me. I panicked. My tires went off the edge of the pavement and I ended up hugging a tree.”
Brian couldn’t help but laugh. “How bad were you hurt?”
“Not too bad. No broken bones. But I did get a pretty good gash in my right calf. The doctor gave me five or six stitches. There was no way I was going to go to school the next day without taking a shower. So my dad came up with the plastic wrap fix.”
“Did you get in trouble for breaking your dad’s rule?”
“No, not that time. He was so glad I was still alive, he let it slide.”
She hadn’t thought about that day in years. And why in the world did she tell Brian about it? She could easily have said she’d had stitches once and left it at that. She’d be glad when all this was over and he was back in Washington.
After Brian went upstairs to shower, Toni picked up his laptop. She searched the tax records for Sylvia Keith but didn’t find any property listed under that name. Then an idea hit her. She typed in the address for the house where Nico lived. She wasn’t a bit surprised when she read the property owner’s name. AlquilaCorp. And as she suspected, the tax bill went to Chadwick & Shore.
She clicked back to the main search page. She typed AlquilaCorp into the property owner’s name field and was about to hit enter when a phone rang.
Brian’s cell phone.
She wasn’t in the habit of answering another person’s phone, but what if it was his friend Sam? What if he had figured out the spreadsheet? She put down the computer and picked Brian’s phone up off the coffee table. She glanced at the caller ID.
The number on the screen was one she knew well.
Jill’s private line.
CHAPTER 31
Shocked, Toni stared at the number.
Why was Jill calling Brian?
Maybe it didn't mean anything. It could be completely innocent. She probably just wanted to let him know Toni was missing. Find out if he had seen her.
The phone rang four more times before switching over to voice mail. Toni waited a few seconds to see if a message alert popped up. When none did, she flipped open the phone.
She opened the menu and scanned through the call log. Brian had received six more calls from Jill’s various phone numbers during the last few days. He had dialed out to her private line twice.
Why would he be talking to Jill? As far as Toni knew, they were not exactly friends.
A knot began to form in the pit of her stomach.
She returned to the call menu and pulled up the text messages. As she feared, there was one from Jill, sent on Wednesday at 4:28 PM. Two little words that turned her bones to ice.
“It’s done.”
Jill had typed the message within fifteen minutes after Toni crashed into the river.
What she originally suspected, but didn’t want to believe, had now turned out to be true. Jill had been checking in, shouting the all clear.
Letting Brian know Toni was dead.
So Brian was guilty too. He was involved with Jill, Gloria, and Nico.
After everything Toni had uncovered, why had she allowed herself to trust Brian? In her heart she knew the answer. She had let his physical resemblance to Scott impair her judgment. She had made it easy for Brian to con her.
No wonder he hadn’t wanted to brainstorm ideas about the rental properties. He didn’t want her to figure out the connection. If she had hit upon the truth, his eyes, or his body language may have given him away.
“Let’s just wait on Sam,” he had said. Sam probably didn’t even exist. Brian most likely sent the email to Jill. A slick way to let her know exactly what Toni had found out.
Cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck.
Why was she still alive?
Brian could easily have killed her when she came back to Josh’s that morning. There had to be a reason he let her live. Maybe they hadn’t decided what to do with her body yet. The police had found her car in the river. Maybe Brian was waiting for the cops to clear out. Then he could drown her and let her body wash up on the bank. There would be fewer questions that way. Her death would be ruled accidental. If she just disappeared, people might start to wonder.
She had to get out of there.
Brian still had her car keys. She would have to leave on foot.
Toni popped open the DVD drive on Brian’s laptop computer. Scott’s disk wasn’t there. She had to find it.
Brian had stowed the computer carrying case underneath the coffee table. She slid it out and noticed a bulge in the outside pocket. She stuck her hand in and pulled out a spiral notebook. A loose paper was stuck to the back.
Brian’s hotel bill.
She glanced at the charges and realized something was off.
When Brian agreed to come to the wedding, he said he would be arriving in Nashville the afternoon of the rehearsal dinner. That night at the restaurant, he acted as though he had just flown in. But according to his bill, he had checked into the hotel a full week prior.
What had he been doing all that time?
She was about to unzip the main compartment of the carrying case when she heard footsteps on the stairs. She crammed the notebook and bill back into the pocket.
“The plastic wrap worked,” Brian said. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” She struggled to keep her voice calm. “You should try to sleep now. You need the rest.”
“I will, in a bit. I’m actually kind of hungry. Do you want any more of the chicken?”
“No. You eat it.”
Choke on it.
Mark turned the shoe over in his hand. A woman’s brown leather loafer, size eight. One of the volunteers had found it caught in a brush pile along the edge of the river. Jill had recognized it immediately. His worst fear was confirmed. Toni had been in the car.
The search party had continued their quest throughout the day. After scouring the river for several miles, they had gone door to door asking the residents in the area if they had seen Toni. No one had.
Now, as darkness threatened the sky, the divers had come to shore. They avoided Mark’s eyes as they passed. He knew what they were thinking. He didn’t care. He wasn’t ready to give up hope. Not yet. He wanted to believe there was still some chance Toni had survived.
Until they found her body, he would refuse to accept she was gone.
Act normal.
Toni had repeated the phrase in her head a million times since Brian came back from taking his shower. She had to make it seem as though nothing had changed. That she s
till trusted him. Just make him feel comfortable, let him fall asleep, then find the computer disk and get the hell out of there.
There was no way she could risk talking with him. She was sure he’d be able to read her thoughts through her eyes. Instead, she had turned on the television and pretended to be engrossed in an old black and white movie. She appeared focused on the screen, but in reality, she had no idea what was going on. She was too worried Jill would call again. Call and tell Brian it was time to kill her.
Why was he still awake? Was he afraid she would slip away? If he had been up as many hours as he’d said, he should be dying to shut his eyes. Yet, he refused to go upstairs.
Was he really watching the television, or was he studying her?
The urge to bolt from her chair and tear through the back door was almost more than she could bear. She had to calm down. Without Scott’s disk, she had nothing to show the police.
“That was pretty good,” Brian said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before.”
Toni realized the movie was over. She began flipping through the channels.
“What’s wrong with you?” Brian asked.
“Nothing.” She hoped her voice hadn’t sounded too sharp.
“Look at me.”
Toni tried to keep her heart from pounding.
Take deep breaths. He doesn’t know you’re on to him.
“I’m okay,” she said. “I’m just tired and I want all this over with. I guess the wait is eating away at my nerves.”
Brian moved to the edge of the sofa and put his hand on her chair. “I’m sorry it’s taking so long. But I promise you, we will find out who killed Scott and why. And once we do, I’m going to make sure they get put away for life.”
She wanted to scream. Grab him by the collar and shake him. She didn’t just want him put away. He deserved to die for what he’d done.
She bit down on her tongue until she tasted blood. If she opened her mouth, she would be the one that ended up dead. Instead, she turned away and continued her channel surfing.
She couldn’t believe he had looked her straight in the eye and vowed to punish Scott’s killer. Brian was an expert liar. Just like Jill.
“Hey wait,” he said. “Turn that back.”
Toni flipped back a channel. The local news was on. Mark stood next to the river talking to a reporter. He hadn’t shaved and his face appeared haggard.
“She may be disoriented. It’s possible she doesn’t remember her name,” Mark said. If you think you’ve seen her, please call.”
“We hope she’s found soon,” the reporter said.
The broadcast switched back to the studio. Toni’s picture flashed on the screen, her name and the police department’s telephone number below it.
“I hate putting Mark through this,” Toni said.
“I know, but you can’t call him. Nobody can know you’re alive. It’s too dangerous.”
Somehow she knew Brian would say that.
His cell phone rang and Toni jumped.
Brian cut her a strange look before answering.
“Hello? Okay … great … I’ll be waiting.” He snapped the phone shut. “That was Sam. He just got in and read my emails. He said he’d probably know something in a few hours.”
So they weren’t quite ready to kill her yet. Or were they? What if it had really been Nico calling to say he was on the way over? Was that what Brian was waiting up for? She couldn’t take that chance. She had wasted too many hours hoping he would go to sleep so she could search for Scott’s disk. That didn’t matter anymore. She had to get out of there. Now.
Toni fought the impulse to run.
“I’m going upstairs to get some rest,” she said. “Wake me when Sam calls.”
She made sure Brian wasn’t following her, then slipped into Josh’s study. She grabbed the phonebook off his desk before heading upstairs to the guest room.
There were several cab companies listed in the yellow pages. She took her cell phone from the nightstand and started to dial, but stopped. Brian might be lurking in the hallway. It would be best to wait until she got outside to call.
Toni tore the page from the phonebook and stuck it in the pocket of her jeans, then locked the bedroom door and switched off the light. She sat on the bed letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. Once she was able to see, she went to the window and raised the blind.
The guest bedroom window overlooked the sloping roof of the covered patio below. Toni popped out the screen, went through, and then pulled the window back down. She didn’t want the cold air rushing into the house and alerting Brian. Sitting on her behind, she scooted her way across the asphalt shingles to the edge of the roof. She looked down. The distance to the ground seemed a lot further than she had imagined.
Great plan, genius. You’ve come this far, now you’re going to fall and break your neck.
Toni tossed her purse from the roof. After saying a silent prayer, she rolled over onto her stomach and then dropped onto the lawn. She sat still for a moment, hoping Brian hadn’t heard her.
The den light went out.
CHAPTER 32
Toni flattened herself against the ground.
Why had the light gone out? Did Brian hear her slide off the roof? Was he peering through the blinds, scanning the lawn for any sign of movement?
She lay just a few feet from the raised patio. She doubted her body was visible from the angle of the window. But if Brian came outside, he would be sure to see her.
The knife.
She had left it in the bedroom. There was no going back for it now. If Brian opened the back door, she would have to take her chances and run.
Toni remained motionless for several minutes. Her body tense, she listened to the sounds of the night, alert for any warning that Brian was in the yard. Finally convinced he was still inside, she crept from tree to tree until she reached the driveway.
Once at the street, Toni phoned a cab company. She gave them the address of the house across from Josh’s and told them not to pull into the driveway. Crouched between two evergreen bushes, she waited nearly thirty minutes before seeing the taxi’s lights approaching.
She jumped into the back seat, gave the driver her street name and asked him to hurry. By the time they reached Toni’s neighborhood, a steady rain was falling.
“Stop right here,” she said.
The cab driver pulled over a few houses down from where Toni lived.
She handed him his fare. “I’ll give you an extra hundred if you’ll wait here for me. I won’t be long.”
Toni pulled up the hood of her jacket and ran across her neighbors’ yards and then around to her back door. She couldn’t believe she had been stupid enough to give Brian her keys. Thankfully, she had put her spare house key back under the patio table.
Once inside, she headed for Scott’s study. He was bound to have saved a copy of the spreadsheet on his computer. She would print out the file and take it to the police station. Demand to speak to the police chief, tell him everything she had discovered, and refuse to leave until he agreed to reopen Scott’s case.
She would also request police protection. After dodging two attempts on her life, and then getting caught by Brian, she had no other choice.
Toni sat down at the computer and opened Scott’s documents file.
The folder was empty.
What the …
She clicked on her own folder.
Empty too.
Someone had erased all the files.
Had Brian been in her house after he checked out of his hotel? He was the only other person who knew about the spreadsheet.
What now?
How would she convince the police to help her with no evidence?
The safe.
She had seen computer disks when she took out the money. Maybe Scott had made a back-up file.
As far as she knew, he had not told anyone else about the secret safe behind the bookcase. She didn’t even know it existed until after t
hey had moved into the house.
One by one, Toni put the disks from the safe into the computer’s DVD drive. She searched through all the files. They were mostly architectural drawings and random notes Scott had made on the various projects he had completed. Nothing even remotely resembled the spreadsheet.
She felt like crying as she removed the last disk from the computer. She knew there were ways of recovering deleted files from a hard drive, but that would probably take days. And she would have to find someone with the expertise to do it.
Where would she go until then? In order to get far enough away so Brian couldn’t find her, she would need more money.
She went back to the safe and pulled out the metal box containing Scott’s cash.
Then she saw it.
A flash drive.
It had been behind the money box. Scott had written her name on the drive with a black marker, the same as he had the computer disk.
Toni plugged the drive into one of the computer’s USB ports. Using the same password that had opened the spreadsheet, she gained access to the flash drive files.
The words she read amazed her.
Everything made sense now. The abbreviations on the spreadsheet columns, the amounts, and the addresses. Scott had laid it all out.
She realized now he had meant for the information on the disk he left in the car to be cryptic. In case someone else had somehow found it. Scott knew she would end up searching the safe.
Toni burned a copy of the files onto a CD and then returned the flash drive to its hiding place. She now had enough to put Jill and Clint away for a long time.
Why hadn’t Scott gone to the police?
She bet it was because of the wedding. He wouldn’t have wanted anything to spoil their special day. The arrest of a well-known businessman like Clint would be big news. The press would be all over it. And all over Chadwick & Shore. Scott probably planned to wait until they got back from their honeymoon. There would have been no way he could have left town once Clint was arrested. He would have had to stay behind and handle the fallout.
