Romance: Brooke and Peter - A Christian Romance as a Love Story: (Romance, Christian Romance, Romance Novel, Romance Book) (Cathedral Hills Book 3)

by Morris Fenris

  Michelle nodded her head and then offered, “I have a contact with the Denver bureau. I could make a phone call and just test the waters.”

  Jenna looked at Tyler and nodded, “It couldn’t hurt. She wouldn’t even have to give them Brooke’s name unless it sounded like they could help.”

  Tyler hesitated and then looked at Trey, “What do you think?”

  “I think you don’t have a whole lot of other options, and neither does Brooke. We can’t just let this guy get away with what he’s done.”

  “All right, make your phone call, but keep Brooke out of it until you find out if he can help.”

  Michelle smiled and then reached for her cell phone. Tyler stopped her, “Do you know what time it is?”

  Michelle nodded her head, “Yes, I know what time it is. Believe me, Chandler doesn’t work normal office hours, and he won’t mind me calling him at 8:30 at all.” She pulled her hand away from Tyler’s, and scrolled down until she found the number she was looking for.

  “Hey, Chandler. Michelle Cottrell here. Call me back when you get a chance. Thanks.” She had no sooner disconnected the call then her phone rang. Picking it back up, she answered it casually, “Screening your calls these days?”

  “You know it. What’s up doll?” Chandler Hanson asked. He’d been working in the Denver bureau for fifteen years, and was planning to retire next month. He’d met Michelle years earlier when one of his cases had overlapped a case of child protection being handled by the State of Colorado.

  “Hey, just a warning, but I’m sitting here with my brother, his fiancé, and my own fiancé.”

  “Congratulations! When did this happen?”

  “Just a few days ago. Anyway,” Michelle said, shaking her head, “I’m going to put you on speaker phone so that everyone can hear our conversation.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got problems?”

  “Not me. A close friend. I’m going to paint you a picture, and then you give me your honest opinion about what she should do.”

  “No names, huh? Don’t you trust me?” Chandler teased her.

  “I trust you, but my friend has good reason to be wary.”

  “Got it. I’m all ears, doll.”

  Michelle smiled at his continued use of the vintage term. Ever since she’d first met him, he’d reminded her of the old black and white movies with the private investigator who went around solving crimes without ever breaking a sweat.

  “So, this friend of mine kind of allowed herself to get hooked on sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medications. Her agent helped, and then took advantage of the situation. Money changed hands, pictures were taken, and her services as a photographic escort were even advertised. All without her knowledge.

  “When she attempted to gain the backing of the DA’s office in exchange for providing them with enough evidence to make an arrest, she found herself at the mercy of a member of said office. That same individual, unbeknownst to this friend, took advantage of her further, making sure that she was at his mercy and indebted to him by the use of emotions and fear tactics.

  “This friend was also given drugs by this same individual, but was told they were vitamins and in her drugged state, she believed what she was told. She was kept in their apartment, unable to leave without his escort, her finances and every aspect of her life was controlled by this individual. He acted as her agent and her keeper. And he convinced her to marry him four months ago.”

  Chandler whistled and then asked, “Your friend sounds like she landed herself in more than a little mess. Is this friend still living with this person?”

  “No. Another mutual friend helped her escape the situation, but she is going through withdrawals from the drugs and running scared.”

  “What State did all of this take place in?”

  “New York.”

  Chandler gave a little whoop of glee, “Well, that’s just fine. The head of the New York City bureau is a personal friend of mine. We went through firearms training together many, many moons ago. I happen to know that his team has been tracking a human trafficking ring operating out of the city for several years without much luck.

  “Last update I heard, they were almost sure there was someone inside the DA’s office helping orchestrate things. Too many coincidences kept happening. He’s going to want to talk to your friend. Can she get to his office in the morning?”

  “No, I told you, she’s running scared. She’s on the road back to Colorado.”

  “Where’s she at?”

  Tyler leaned forward and introduced himself, “Chandler, my name is Tyler Jameson, and the girl in question is my sister. What good would talking to your friend do?”

  “Well, first we need to get a blood sample analyzed so we can have proof of what types of drugs he was giving her, and also get her any medical treatment she might need. Then we need enough information from her to get a judge to issue a search warrant for the place where she was being kept. From there, hopefully we can get enough material evidence to corroborate her story and arrest her husband.”

  “She’s not going back to New York,” Tyler told him.

  “Well, hang on a second and let me think. If she won’t go back to New York…we’ll just find a way for her to give her statement to someone else who can be trusted.” It grew really quiet on the other end of the line, and almost sounded as if Chandler had left the room.

  Tyler looked at Michelle and she just shrugged her shoulders, “He needs to think for a minute.”

  In all, eight minutes went by before Chandler and Tyler had a workable solution. Peter and Brooke were currently in Columbus, Ohio, but Chandler didn’t have any contacts there, nor was he owed any favors from that bureau office. The closest bureau office he had connections to was in Springfield, Missouri. A bureau office that also had its own chemistry lab and could run the blood samples immediately.

  “So, I will contact Peter and have them head towards Springfield in the morning. They should be there before it gets too late into the evening.” When he saw Jenna waving at him, he paused, “Hang on a sec, it seems someone else has something to add to our plans.”

  Jenna nodded her head and then told him, “Remember I told you my counselor friend took a new job in Missouri? Well, she’s in Springfield! Peter could take Brooke there, and maybe Chandler’s friend could go there to speak with her. It might be less stressful on her.”

  Chandler had heard the conversation through the phone line and echoed his agreement to that plan, “That works. He’ll need to bring a nurse with him…”

  “No, he won’t. Teresa runs and operates a faith-based half-way house and live-in rehab facility. She has a nurse on staff twenty-four hours a day. If your friend can make sure he brings the right vials with him, I’m sure Teresa can find someone to draw Brooke’s blood.”

  “Brooke? Is that her name?” Chandler asked, not having missed Jenna’s little slip.

  Tyler grimaced but he answered him, “Yeah. Brooke Jameson, or…Brooke Grayson.”

  “Well, let’s just see if her husband has people on his payroll working in the bureau.” Chandler typed away on a keyboard for a few minutes and then laughed, “Her husband is either stupid, or incompetent. He’s been conversing with one of our undercover agents and trading bits of information for over a year now.”

  “What does that mean?” Tyler demanded to know; afraid he’d just placed his sister in more danger.

  “It means that Mr. Zachary Grayson has been frying his own goose for a year, and they are only waiting for another piece of evidence to come to light before they have enough to arrest the man and put him away for a good long time.”

  “More than three years?” Michelle asked, remembering what Peter had told Tyler about Brooke’s chances of getting a quick divorce.

  “He’ll be lucky if he ever sees the light of day again where he’s not wearing an orange jumpsuit and eating his meals off a stainless steel tray.”

  “Can’t think of a better ending for a man like that,” Tr
ey commented, while everyone in the den nodded their heads.

  Plans were made, and a few minutes later Jenna was talking with Teresa and letting her know she had guests coming for a short visit. Tyler decided to wait until morning to call Peter back, hoping that by now his sister had managed to calm herself down. Tyler didn’t want to get her all worked up again just before bed. He had a very bad feeling that the natural course of things was going to cause her enough stress for three lifetimes before this was all over with!

  Chapter 10

  Late the next day, Springfield, Missouri…

  “So, is there anything else you can tell me about these vitamins Mr. Grayson was giving you?” the FBI man, who’d only introduced himself as Mr. Black, asked. He was sitting in a casual living room in a chair directly across from a floral printed couch.

  “Not really. After I realized what was happening, I started trying to not take them, but I would get so sick, that I would have to take a partial dose of them just to keep functioning.”

  Peter had received a phone call from Tyler just before dawn, advising him of the plans that had been made. Columbus was well over an eight hour drive from Springfield, so he woke Brooke up, and they had been on the road again by 7 o’clock that morning. They drove straight through with only a few stops for food and gas along the way, and he could see the toll the long drive had taken on her.

  The nurse on staff at the facility they had ended up at had already drawn three vials of her blood, and Mr. Black told her the results of her drug screen would be waiting for her when she arrived back in Colorado.

  It had been agreed that returning to Colorado was the best course of action. The FBI agents in New York had been apprised of the situation, and the agent in charge was making plans to fly into Denver and would be travelling to Cathedral Hills in the next few days to meet with her personally if they didn’t find the evidence they needed in her old apartment.

  The agent conferred with the nurse for a moment, and she smiled and nodded her head before leaving the room. “She’s going to get you some pills to help with the nausea and bad dreams. Don’t worry,” he assured her when she started to shake her head. “Nothing she’s going to give you is habit forming, nor will it have any side effects that you need to worry about.”

  Brooke tried to feel relieved, but she was still worried that Zachary was going to find out where she was and cause problems for her. “When will they be able to arrest him?”

  Mr. Black smiled, “I’ll be sending my notes to New York as soon as I leave here and can get them typed up. They should be enough for a search warrant, and the agent in charge has already promised to serve your husband with the search warrant immediately. Regardless of what time of day or night it is.”

  Peter patted her shoulder, and then leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Everything’s going to be all right. Are you starting to believe yet?”

  She tipped her head up and slowly nodded her head, tears shining brightly in her deep grey-blue eyes. “I’m trying.”

  Teresa had watched the small exchange, and couldn’t resist trying to offer this lovely young woman a bit of hope, “Brooke, I thought maybe you’d like to come sit out in the sunroom with me for a while. We could have a cup of tea and just talk for a little bit.”

  Brooke gathered her dark hair in one hand, and lifted it off her neck. The chills had given way to unexplainable sweats, the current one leaving the hair damp where it lay on the back of her neck.

  She’d taken a liking to Teresa Martinez the moment the woman had first greeted her at the door to the facility with a warm hug. She exuded hope, and Brooke longed to have the kind of faith this woman did. Maybe if I spend a few minutes talking with her, I can gain some insight into how she does it.

  Peter could see her hesitating, and urged her forward. “Go. Relax. I’m going to spend a few minutes with Mr. Black here, and then make a phone call to Tyler. I’ll come get you when I’m done.”

  Brooke turned to Mr. Black, “Thank you for doing this so I didn’t have to go back to New York City.”

  “No problem, young lady. I just hope we can put this guy and anyone else involved away for a good long time.” He started to put his papers away and then stopped, “Oh, I almost forgot. Chandler mentioned something about you wanting to ask the judge for a quick divorce?”

  “Is that a possibility?” Brooke asked, not daring to hope.

  “In these types of cases, as long as there is no evidence tying you to the crimes, the judge has it within his power, or her power, to grant you an immediate no-contest divorce based upon the seriousness of the charges against Mr. Grayson.”

  “This case most likely won’t go to trial for months yet. If you want, Chandler can have the agent in charge start the paperwork for the divorce immediately. It probably wouldn’t become effective until the first of the year, but that’s still a lot faster than waiting for months before you can even file.”

  “Yes please. I don’t want to be married to that man for one more day than I have to be.”

  Mr. Black smiled at her and said, “Consider it done. Go enjoy your tea.”

  “Thank you.” Brooke smiled towards the doorway where Teresa waited on her. “Tea sounds very nice.”

  Peter waited until the two women were out of earshot before he asked the FBI man, “Did you get enough from her to put this guy away?”

  “If her blood tests come back positive and they can find evidence of the same drugs in the apartment, her testimony should help. If we can find some connection between her agent and husband, especially a money trail, it will be cut and dried.”

  “They won’t let him turn State’s evidence against his other business partners will they?” Peter wanted to know.

  Mr. Black grinned, “You’ve been watching too much TV. Zachary Grayson is definitely going to go down for this. The fact that he is so embedded into the DA’s office will spark its own investigation, and if he has others working on the inside, it will be over for them as well.”

  “That is the best news I’ve heard yet. Thanks.”

  Chapter 11

  “So Brooke, I sense that you may be struggling with how to handle things when you get back around your friends and family,” Teresa told her, after they both had their tea, and had seated themselves.

  “I guess I am. Two weeks ago, when I found out what Zachary had been doing to me, I was furious. First Marco deceived me, and then I let Zachary do the same thing, only on a much broader scale. But then I started to realize that I let those things happen to me. It started back in California, and I let it spiral out of control.”

  “You were what, eighteen or nineteen when your California agent made it possible for you to get some chemical help?”

  Brooke nodded her head, “I was nineteen, almost twenty.”

  “So, what experience in your life up to that point would have made you doubt that the help being offered wasn’t genuine and with your best interest at heart?”

  Brooke stared at Teresa as if she’d suddenly had an epiphany, “I didn’t have any experiences in my past that could have done that. I grew up in Cathedral Hills, where people are honest and for the most part, always acted towards my best interest.”

  “Exactly! So would you also agree that it’s wrong for you to feel guilty over something that happened to you, and I did say it ‘happened’ to you! You didn’t ask to become addicted to sleeping pills. You didn’t ask to have your agent act without honor or integrity. You didn’t ask to be kept a drugged up prisoner by your husband. Did you?”

  Brooke shook her head, “Of course not!” She realized that she was getting angry, and had to pause for a moment to make sure it was being directed at the right person. Mainly, her husband!

  “So, what you’re trying to get me to see is that I shouldn’t feel guilty over something you don’t think I had any control over.”

  “Well, you’re partially right. You feel taken advantage of, and you were. You trusted the wrong people, and it backfired on you. Coul
d you have stopped taking the sleeping pills before they became a habit? Sure. Did anyone in your life seek to help you deal with your insomnia in another way? No. And I don’t think these are the things that are causing you the most guilt.”

  Brooke looked at her and then dropped her gaze. This woman sees too much!

  “So, want to tell me exactly what is causing you to feel so guilty and unworthy?”

  “There were pictures…and my photo on advertisements for escort services…”

  “And you’re wondering what would happen if your friends and family saw those pictures.”

  “Yes, wouldn’t you?” Brooke asked, blushing as she recalled some of the pictures she’d seen of herself.

  “Most assuredly,” Teresa informed her. “But, that is a real possibility and you can’t just hide away from society for the remainder of your life in fear that they will surface.”

  “I just feel so dirty,” Brooke cried out.

  “There’s a solution for that, you know?”

  “God?” Brooke asked.

  “Yes. He has the power to help you deal with this misplaced guilt you’re carrying around. I want you to remember; those feelings don’t come from Him. They come from the same one who would like nothing better than to destroy you over this.”

  “But how do I get rid of these feelings? Am I just suppose to pretend those things didn’t happen?”

  “No, that doesn’t serve any purpose. You need to look at the situations clearly, and then ask for God’s forgiveness over anything you did to knowingly encourage them. You need to realize that humans make mistakes, and sometimes they carry with them hefty penalties. You’ve been experiencing a penalty for trusting the wrong people.”

  “God’s giving you another chance, not only with Him, but also with that young man out there. You two have history together.”

  “We were engaged to be married before I left for California.”