Payback (Otter Creek Book 5)

by Rebecca Deel

  “Let’s hold off on the speculations about Ian’s death until we have more facts,” Josh said as he handed out containers of fries. He glanced at Alex. “However we get them.”

  “Stella, after you eat, find out who’s keeping tabs on the Blue Ridge Militia.” Alex pulled bottled soft drinks from the refrigerator. “See if there’s been any unusual activity around the compound. It would be helpful if the feds confirm Evans is not in the area before Eli and Jon arrive with their wives. If Evans is here, like we believe, I want to know if anyone else from the compound is missing.”

  Blood drained from Ivy’s face. “You think Evans brought help?”

  “He’d be stupid to take on Durango by himself, angel.” He brought her one of the salads and a soft drink.

  “How did you know I needed the salad?” she whispered.

  He just smiled, dropped a quick kiss on her lips.

  Once their meal was complete, the team separated to continue their research. Ivy curled up beside Alex on the couch. While he fired up his laptop, she grabbed her cell phone and called her friend. “Henry, it’s Ivy.”

  “Perfect timing, my dear. Tell your boyfriend the portrait seller contacted me this evening, offering another painting.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “To bring it by tomorrow morning at 10. Was that all right?”

  “I’ll tell Alex. We’ll be there before your meeting. Any scuttlebutt on the art circuit about these paintings?”

  “There is great excitement in the community, as you might imagine. Lots of speculation as to the circumstances surrounding the sales.” Worry was evident in Henry’s tone. “Some of the patrons know who owned the paintings, Ivy. They’re beginning to question the stability of the Morgan financial empire. Makes no sense to them that Cynthia Morgan would sell them in light of her pride in the art and now her husband’s death.”

  “You had no way of knowing the man who sold you the paintings wasn’t the owner, my friend. You did your due diligence so this isn’t on you.”

  “You know the circumstances won’t matter if word of this gets out.”

  “Don’t worry, Henry. When this is over, we’ll make sure word spreads that you were cooperating in a fraud investigation.”

  “I hope it will be enough, Ivy. Art has been my life for over 40 years.”

  She slipped her phone in her pocket.

  Alex glanced at her. “Porter made contact with Henry again?”

  “He’s bringing another painting tomorrow morning at 10.” She glanced at his computer screen. “Find anything?”

  “Maybe. Ethan dug into the Morgan trust fund for me.”

  “What did he find?”

  “It’s nearly empty.”

  “That explains Porter selling the paintings. Was your family just blowing through the money?”

  “From what the forensic accountant Ethan tapped could tell, Porter’s made a series of bad investments for the last six months and Dad drew out close to a million dollars in the past eight weeks.”

  She frowned. “What companies did your brother invest in?”

  “That’s the question, isn’t it? He didn’t invest in individual companies. Porter invested a lot of money in hedge funds that don’t exist.”

  Ivy thought about that for a minute. “He was scammed?”

  “Nailed it, angel.”

  “And the money your father withdrew?”

  “No record of where that went, but the timing makes me believe it’s connected to Evans. Eight weeks ago is when Dad started receiving pictures of us.” Alex’s voice thickened. “I think my father was trying to protect me.”

  “Blackmail.” Ivy’s stomach churned. Despite the strife between them for so many years, James Morgan had loved his son. “What are the chances the bogus hedge funds are connected to Evans as well?”

  Alex’s eyebrows winged up. “Why do you think that?”

  “You said Evans’ ultimate goal was to kill you, but he wants to do as much damage as possible to those you love. What better way than to kill your father and destroy your mother’s security? Porter was responsible for the trust fund. That’s been his career. By investing in those fake funds and losing the family fortune, his career is finished. No one will hire him to mange their money when he couldn’t even manage his own.”

  “And if he kills you, he will have taken everything that matters to me.”

  “You would still have your life, Alex.”

  He traced the line of her cheek with the back of his finger. “No, angel, I wouldn’t.”

  Ivy blinked. No life without her? Her heart turned over. Could he be falling in love with her? She prayed that was true, because she was head-over-heels in love with Alex Morgan. The once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. A Cahill kind of love.

  She swallowed hard. If something happened to Alex, Ivy knew she wouldn’t have a life, either. Somehow in the last few weeks, he’d burrowed so deep in her heart, she had no hope of ever getting him out. Losing him would devastate her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Alex signaled Quinn to wait in the shadows. He moved to the stand of trees near Ian’s house outside D.C. and scanned the area. Trees and bushes swayed in the breeze. A dog barked at some disturbance in the night. An occasional car drove past, but no one stopped. At three o’clock in the morning, most people were still asleep. For members of Durango, nighttime was prime working hours.

  Hugging the shadows, he made his way to the back of the house, peered in a couple windows. No movement. No light. They had driven by a couple times. No police in evidence. Apparently the crime scene team had wrapped up for now, leaving behind the yellow tape to block entrance to the house.

  Motioning to Quinn, Alex freed his lock-picking tools and went to work. Within twenty seconds, the back door was open. He and his friend slipped inside, eased the door almost shut, and waited in silence.

  The house was still with only the sound of the air conditioner to break the quiet. Still they waited. At the five minute mark, satisfied they were alone, Alex clicked on the penlight. The pinprick of light revealed utter chaos.

  Quinn whistled softly. “Wonder if this place was trashed when the cops were on the scene?”

  “Don’t know. I’ll try to find out from Clay.” Without letting his friend know Alex had been in the house. Didn’t want to find himself behind bars. He couldn’t protect Ivy from there. “You take the living room, dining room, and kitchen. I’ll take the bedrooms and bathrooms.”

  “Roger that.”

  The two men separated and began searching. For what, Alex didn’t know. He just hoped something important would stand out. For a few minutes, no sounds in the house except the soft rustling of their search.

  Half an hour in, Quinn came down the hall to the master bedroom Alex had just finished searching. “Got something,” he said.

  “Show me.”

  Quinn led the way to the living room. He’d unscrewed the air intake and moved it aside. Secured on the inside of the opening was an envelope. Alex reached in and freed the envelope. Inside was a dossier on every staff member in his father’s office. It also contained information on Porter and his mother and each member of Durango. What was Ian doing with all this? What was so important about the information that Ian felt he needed to hide it? “Did you find anything else odd?”

  “Nope.”

  “Same. Let’s go.”

  Alex and Quinn secured the back door and slipped into the shadows. They were at the edge of the yard when lights flashed across the tree line. A car pulled into Ian’s driveway. They dropped flat to the ground, waited. The car engine shut off and the dome light kicked on when the driver opened the door.

  Sloppy. If he’d been in a better position, he could have identified the driver. Light, hurried footsteps rounded the back of the house. A woman?

  The intruder used a key to open the door and slip inside. Alex signaled Quinn to wait while he examined the car. Rounding the back, he glanced at the plates, returned to Quinn
and motioned for him to move out.

  Inside the SUV with no further encounters, Quinn asked, “Recognize the car?”

  “Nope. Memorized the plates, though. We’ll let Josh run them.”

  “Without telling him why we want to know?”

  “Exactly.”

  “He won’t like it.”

  “He knows not to ask too much about what we’ve been up to.”

  “What was in the envelope?”

  “Dossiers on the staffers, Porter and Mother, and Durango.”

  “Huh. Not Ivy or Del?”

  Alex shook his head. “Got a feeling the key to Dad’s murder might be contained in those papers. We’ve just got to figure out what was worth killing two people for.”

  “Piece of cake,” Quinn muttered.

  The drive back to Hunter’s Glen was made in silence, except for Quinn’s snores. If they encountered a problem, his spotter would be awake in an instant. They pulled into the hotel parking lot just as the sun peeked over the horizon.

  Slipping into the hotel unseen, they carded into their room. Alex glanced at his watch. Two hours until the team would reassemble in Josh and Del’s suite. Just enough time for a quick nap. He removed his boots, dropped onto the bed, and was asleep in seconds.

  At seven, he tapped on Ivy’s door. He nodded in approval when Stella opened the door, weapon in hand. The marshal glanced over her shoulder. “It’s Alex.”

  When his girl appeared, Alex frowned. “You look tired, angel.” She shouldn’t have been. He’d nudged her off to bed around ten the night before.

  “Late night. Classes resume today so I had to come up with assignments for my students and zip off an email to my department chairman. After all that, I didn’t sleep well.”

  From the expression on her face, Ivy must have been plagued with nightmares. No surprise given what had happened since they arrived in Hunter’s Glen. “Coffee and breakfast is waiting in the suite.”

  “Perfect. What time are we leaving the hotel?”

  “As soon as we eat. Elise Fredrickson is expecting us in an hour.” He clasped her hand, led her into the hall, and motioned Stella to go on without them. As soon as the marshal was inside the suite, Alex wrapped his arms around Ivy, rested his chin on the top of her head. “Need another charm this morning?”

  She lifted her head from his chest. “So soon? You gave me one last night.”

  “Figured you could use the boost.”

  “How did you do this all the time in the military? I’m exhausted from the little bit I’ve been exposed to.”

  “On an op, you learn to take minutes for yourself, short stretches to relax. Even the best soldiers can’t be on guard all the time. That’s why someone is always on watch while the others rest.”

  Ivy held up her wrist with the bracelet. Alex dug in his pocket and attached the latest charm. Before letting go, he kissed the inside of her wrist. Her shiver made him smile.

  His girl twisted the bracelet, grinned at the latest charm. “A book.”

  “Since you always have a book close at hand, this seemed a perfect fit for you. I couldn’t find a charm that represented a romance book, but I’ll keep searching.”

  Ivy wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you,” she whispered before tugging his head down for a kiss.

  Alex indulged for a long minute, knowing they wouldn’t have much time together. Their schedule was tight today. The charms and stolen moments weren’t just to help Ivy cope. They were a gift for him as well. To have the right to share this with Ivy, he didn’t really have the words to describe how that made him feel. Honored, maybe, and blessed. Incredibly blessed.

  He drew back. “We’d better go before our team sends out a posse.”

  After breakfast, Josh pulled him aside. “That plate you had me run belongs to Elise Fredrickson.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I figured. Quinn has a file. I need Durango to go through it. Have a feeling, Dad and Ian’s deaths are connected to the information.”

  “Do I want to know how you got it?”

  “Nope.”

  His friend rolled his eyes. “Okay. Check in before you see the art broker.”

  “Keeping tabs on me?”

  “Watching your back.”

  Alex punched Josh lightly in the shoulder. “Thanks. Ivy and I will meet you at Charlotte’s.” He scanned the suite, smiled at the sight of Ivy showing off her bracelet to Del and Stella. Del glanced up at that moment, grinned.

  “Ready, angel?”

  She nodded and snatched her cell phone from a nearby table.

  A couple minutes later, they drove from the hotel parking lot. “First stop is Elise Fredrickson’s place.” He glanced at Ivy before returning his attention to the road. “Quinn and I went on a fishing expedition overnight.”

  Ivy twisted in her seat to face him. “I know you didn’t go fishing for things with gills and fins. Information?”

  “You’re beautiful and smart, baby.”

  “What did you find?”

  “A file with information on the staffers, Durango, and Porter and Mother.”

  She frowned. “Nothing on me or Del?”

  “That’s right.”

  “So it wasn’t information fed to Evans.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “He’s made several threats against me. If the file was for Evans, it would also include me and Del because we’re the weakest link.” She laid her hand on his arm. “It also didn’t have information on Stella, did it?”

  Alex shook his head.

  “To be complete, the file should have information on her as well. It’s no secret Nate is sweet on her.”

  “True. But Stella is a cop. If something happens to her, not only would Durango be on the case, but so would every law enforcement officer in the country. They take threats to their own seriously.”

  “So she’s a target, but not as much of one.”

  “Not yet.”

  “We need to throw Evans in a cage and toss away the key before he hurts Del.”

  And Ivy, Alex added silently. No matter what it took, he would stop Evans before he had a chance to hurt his angel.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Alex parked in the driveway of a small house on a tree-lined street in a small town outside D.C. The yard was tiny, but Ivy thought the landscaping showcased fall foliage and flowers. Truly a beautiful representation of autumn.

  Elise opened the door before they reached the small porch. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. She motioned them inside, closed the door behind them.

  “You heard about Ian?” Alex asked.

  More tears trickled down her cheeks. “I can’t believe it. What’s happening, Alex? Who’s doing this? Ian would never hurt anybody. He was a sweet guy.”

  “I don’t know what’s going on yet, but I will find out.” He cupped her elbow, helped her to the sofa. “Can I get you anything? Water, soft drink?”

  “Something warm.” Elise shuddered. “I’m so cold.”

  Shock, Ivy realized as the other woman’s teeth began to chatter. “If you don’t mind me puttering in your kitchen, I’ll fix you something.”

  “No, it’s fine. Thank you.”

  She walked into the kitchen, started searching through the cabinets and drawers. No coffee, but a lot of herbal tea. Guess she was like Ivy’s friend, Serena, a confirmed tea drinker.

  Ivy pulled out a mug, filled it with water, opened a packet of chamomile mint tea and nuked it for a minute. Not knowing how she took her tea, Ivy grabbed a packet of sweetener and a spoon before taking the drink to the living room. Elise was huddled under an afghan in the corner of the sofa.

  The other woman wrapped her hands around the mug, sipped. “I can’t believe Ian’s gone.”

  “How long had you been friends?” Alex asked.

  “Ten years. We worked for a public relations firm before Senator Morgan hired us on.”

  “So you two were a package deal?”

  A smile flicker
ed over Elise’s mouth. “We worked well together. Ian was positive I’d be a perfect fit to help your father.” She sighed. “I really loved my job and the senator.”

  “You seem really close,” Ivy said. “Were you more than friends, Elise?”

  She nodded, her cheeks flushing a hot pink.

  That confirmed what Ivy had thought. “How long were you together?”

  “Just a few months.”

  “Friends to more than friends.” She smiled at Alex. “The most breathtaking surprise of all.”

  “You and Alex?” Elise asked.

  Alex laced his fingers through Ivy’s. “Took me a while to convince her to give me a chance. Was Ian troubled by anything recently?”

  She sipped more tea. “He was worried about something at the office, but he wouldn’t tell me what it was. Ian said I would find out soon enough.”

  “Is that why you went to his house early this morning?”

  What little color Elise had in her face drained away, leaving her ice white. “How did you know? Have you been spying on me?” Her voice rose on that last question.

  “Answer the question. Why did you go to his house? It’s a crime scene. If the cops caught you, you could have been arrested.”

  “I wanted to know what he was worried about,” she whispered.

  “Were you afraid he had something on you?”

  “What? No! Ian knew everything about me, I swear. We didn’t have any secrets.”

  “Except this one,” Ivy said.

  “Yes.” The woman’s chin trembled. “I’m afraid whatever Ian knew got him killed.”

  “You don’t think it was a home invasion?” Alex asked.

  “Do you?” she countered.

  “If you know anything, Elise, you need to tell me. I can arrange for people I trust to protect you.”

  “But I don’t know anything. The killer would have no reason to target me.”

  “He doesn’t know that, does he? He can’t leave anything to chance, Elise.”

  “I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m afraid to go to work. What if one of them killed Ian?”