by Alice Ward
“I printed the last ninety days of transactions.” She glared at Kennedy before turning to Asher. “I’m not going back to my place, and I’m not leaving here without a guard,” she insisted. “This is really fucking with me, Ash.”
Asher dropped my hand and crossed over to the couch. He sat down beside Rachel and pulled her into his arms. She started sobbing the moment her head hit his shoulder. He stroked her hair and kept his voice soft and soothing.
“I know you’re scared, Rach. But this will be okay. I’ve kept you safe this long, haven’t I? I’ll call the security company now and get extra guards over here asap. And I’ll send someone to your place to get your things.”
I watched Asher comfort his friend and I felt repulsion. I had to get out of the house and spend some time away from the situation. Kennedy sensed my mood and took my hand.
“My bags are already packed and the firm made a reservation for me at a hotel down in the valley. Why don’t you come help me get settled in? You don’t mind, do you, Asher?”
“No, I’m sure Lauren could probably use some fresh air,” he agreed.
“Perfect. I’ll arrange for a rental car once we get to the hotel. Asher, Rachel, I’ll check in with you as soon as I have something to share.”
“Thank you, Kennedy. I don’t know what we’d have done if you hadn’t been here this morning,” Asher replied.
Rachel kept her face buried in Asher’s chest and didn’t respond.
“You’re welcome. I won’t keep Lauren long,” she promised.
“I’ll grab your suitcase and walk you out,” Asher offered.
Kennedy shot a pointed look at Rachel. “Don’t worry about it,” she insisted.
***
“I can’t believe this is the secret they were hiding,” Kennedy announced the moment we were safely in my car. She kept a smile on her face and waved at Asher, but her tone was flat and grave. “Now I know why you were so rattled when we talked on Wednesday,” she continued. “I can’t—”
“I want you to dig up everything you can about Rachel’s past,” I interrupted. The words flew out of my mouth without me thinking about them.
“You don’t trust her.” There wasn’t a hint of a question in Kennedy’s voice.
I shook my head. “Not one damn bit. I don’t know what it is about her, Kennedy. But I think she’s hiding something. I want to know where she came from and who she was before she met Asher. And I really want to know what she was up to while he was at college. Asher’s a tech genius, but he couldn’t find her after he graduated. But Rachel told me she kept tabs on him, which means she has a few tricks up her sleeve.”
“For what it’s worth, I think you might be right,” Kennedy agreed as I drove through the heavy metal gate. “If she’s not hiding something, then she’s quite the drama queen. You’d think she’d have been happy to hear that there’s almost no chance that the Chavez family has found them.”
“Exactly! That rubbed me the wrong way too. And she suggested that they run, just days after giving me a speech about why Asher will never run again.”
Kennedy stared out her window as I navigated the car down the windy mountain road.
“Do you think she might have some sort of sick fixation on Asher?” she suggested.
I gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I don’t know. But I think the timing of all this is too convenient to be a coincidence. I know she’s underhanded because of what she did to me at work. And she’s definitely given me the impression that she resents my relationship with Asher. I think she got some sort of satisfaction from being the only person who really knew him. The second that changed…”
Kennedy was nodding as my sentence trailed off. “A reason for her to move into his house was slipped under her front door. I think you’re on to something. Since they’ve both agreed to let us involve the authorities, it should be easy to get their foster records. I’ll find out everything I can.”
“You have to be incredibly discrete about this, Kennedy,” I warned. “Asher trusts Rachel the way I trust you. I’m afraid he’d never forgive me if he found out what I’m asking you to do.”
“He won’t find out from me,” she promised. “But if I do find anything damning, we’ll have to come clean.”
“I know,” I agreed with a cringe. “Hopefully, I’m wrong and it won’t come to that.”
I did my best to sound optimistic. But in my heart, I knew Rachel was up to no good.
CHAPTER 4
Almost a week passed without incident, unless you count Rachel walking in on Asher and me making love in his shower. Asher brushed it off as no big deal, but I saw it as further evidence that she was trying to disrupt every aspect of our lives. And, holy shit, she thought it was okay to walk into the bathroom with him naked? Lesbian or not, that was weird.
I woke up every morning to find her and Asher making breakfast together. She rode with us to work and back and did her best to monopolize Asher’s attention when we were at home. I retreated to the sanctuary of Kennedy’s cluttered hotel room more than once, but I never stayed long. I couldn’t stand the thoughts of what Rachel might be trying to talk Asher into while I was away.
Parker got in touch with her contacts at the LAPD and made them aware of Asher’s situation. They alerted trustworthy cops in our area, who stopped by our office on Thursday to take Asher and Rachel’s statements. The officers promised to protect their identities and offered to arrange for increased patrols around Asher’s compound and Rachel’s condo.
Like Parker and Kennedy, they seemed certain we were dealing with someone other than the Chavez family. They even suggested that it might not be blackmail at all, since no further contact had been made. It was likely someone recognized Rachel and wanted to make her squirm a little to settle some sort of personal score.
Thursday night over dinner, I suggested that it was probably safe for Rachel to move home. Friday afternoon, chaos reigned again.
I was at my desk reviewing the staff’s ideas for new virtual games when Asher barged into my office.
“What are you doing?” he demanded, a scowl on his face. “We’ve got to get to Kennedy’s hotel right now.”
I looked up from my computer, irritated and confused by his impatience. “What are you talking about?”
He stopped pacing and put his hands on his hips. “Didn’t Rachel call you?”
I double checked that my ringer was turned on and shook my head. “My office phone has been silent all day and I didn’t miss a call on my cell.”
Asher started pacing again and I knew something bad had happened. I saved my files, shut down my computer, and tossed my phone into my purse.
“The envelope guy made contact. He sent Rachel an email over lunch and she went straight to Kennedy’s. I told her we’d be there as soon as possible.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” I said, more to myself than Asher. “Kennedy would have called me.”
“Maybe she’s busy,” he insisted, waving me out the door. “Rachel didn’t give me any details. We’ve got to get out of here.”
I locked my office door and followed Asher out of the building. I held my phone in my lap while he sped to Kennedy’s hotel. The ring I expected never came. We reached the hotel in a matter of minutes and Asher jerked the car to a stop at the valet station. He tossed his keys at the attendant and raced into the lobby, leaving me to wait for the claim slip. When I finally stepped inside, he was nowhere to be found.
I know he’s upset. But when things calm down, we’re going to have a serious talk about the way he instantly jumps when she calls. I mean, I get it. I’d do the same for Kennedy. But I’d like to think I wouldn’t have a one track mind about it and leave him in a parking lot.
I rode the elevator to Kennedy’s floor and made my way to her suite. The door was cracked open and Asher’s panicked voice boomed into the hallway.
“What do you mean she’s not here?” he demanded.
I stepped into the room and closed the
door behind me. Kennedy was on the couch, surrounded by stacks of paperwork. Her laptop and printer sat on the coffee table, surrounded by empty diet soda cans. Kennedy’s strawberry blonde hair tumbled out of a loose bun and she looked more exhausted than I’d seen her in years.
“Would someone please tell me what’s going on?” I asked. I looked from Asher to Kennedy and back again with impatient, pleading eyes.
“Asher says Rachel’s supposed to be here. I don’t know what he’s talking about. That’s as far as we’ve gotten,” Kennedy explained. She unfolded her legs and reached for her phone.
“I haven’t missed any calls.”
“She called me twenty minutes ago,” Asher said, pulling his phone from his pocket. He tapped the screen and brought the phone to his face.
“She said she got an email from the person who left the envelope. She sounded terrified… damn it, it’s going to voicemail. Rach, I’m at the hotel. Call me as soon as you get this.”
He ended the call and turned back to Kennedy.
“When I talked to her, she told me about the email and asked me to meet her here. I begged her to stay on the phone. I—”
A series of rapid, panicked knocks filled the room and Asher jolted for the door. Rachel was behind it, her hair disheveled and her body shaking. Asher took her gently by the arm and led her into the room.
“Oh my God, Rachel, I was a nervous wreck. What happened to you?” he asked.
She let him help her onto the couch and then tossed her phone to Kennedy.
“You can read the email. It’s right there on my phone. You were right, whoever this is knew me when I lived with my parents. But they also know about Miguel. They’ve threatened to contact Luis Chavez unless I fork over fifty-thousand dollars.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. If the blackmailer had known Asher was involved, his price would have been a lot higher than fifty grand. It was really the best news we could have hoped for and I didn’t understand why Rachel was so upset.
Kennedy sank down to the floor in front of her laptop. She hit a few buttons on Rachel’s phone and sat it on the coffee table. She pulled up the email on the computer screen and read it out loud.
“You didn’t recognize me, but I recognized you. You broke your parents’ hearts when you left. Unless you want to break them again, you’ll have fifty thousand dollars ready for me by four o’clock tomorrow. If you don’t cooperate, I will contact Luis Chavez, and Maude and David will lose you again. For good this time. I’ll alert you with further instruction.”
Kennedy finished reading and turned to Asher and Rachel with a frown.
“I’d hoped whoever was behind this wasn’t aware of the link between you and the Chavez family. But this could be a lot worse. They aren’t asking for much money. Which means…”
“That whoever this is doesn’t know I’m really Billy Murphy,” Asher finished.
Kennedy nodded. “That seems to be our one blessing in this situation.”
Rachel was still shaking and didn’t seem to be paying attention to anything that was being said. She sat on the couch, her eyes fixed on the bare hotel wall. I perched on the arm of a chair and cleared my throat.
“Rachel, Asher and I thought for sure you’d beat us here. Did something else happen after you got the email?” I pressed, careful to keep my voice soft and unassuming.
She bit her lower lip and nodded. “I think… I think someone was following me. I was at lunch when I got the email. When I left the restaurant, a white van pulled out of a lot across the street. At first, I told myself I was just being paranoid. But after it followed me through four left turns, I knew I was right to worry. I drove around aimlessly for a few minutes, trying to figure out what to do. I got lucky and a Bentley cut the van off right as I sped through a yellow light. I drove around a little longer before I came here, to make sure the van hadn’t caught up.”
Asher seemed horrified by her story, but I wasn’t so convinced. Kennedy gave me a look that let me know she agreed with me, then dropped her eyes to the floor. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared back at Rachel.
“Where was your guard?” I asked.
As he’d promised, Asher had amped up security measures after the envelope drop at Rachel’s house. Rachel insisted that a guard be with her anytime Asher wasn’t, so the absence of one was more than a little suspicious.
Rachel’s face flushed red and her tone became hostile. “I didn’t think I needed him anymore. Last night, you said yourself that it was probably safe for me to go home. I called the gate house this morning and told them I wouldn’t need an escort.”
Of course you did. And of course it’s my fault.
Kennedy finally looked up from the carpet. “Did you get a look at the van’s tag or driver?”
Rachel shook her head. “No, the driver kept a car between us. And I was busy trying to get away from him, I didn’t slow down long enough to focus on the details.”
“Of course you didn’t,” Asher said. He put one arm around her shoulders and rested the other hand on her knee. “Your instincts took over and they told you to run. Most people would have done the exact same thing,” he assured her.
“I didn’t mean to imply you didn’t,” Kennedy insisted. “I was just trying to gather all of the information. We need to contact Detective Austin and file a report.”
Detective Austin was in charge of the investigation in San Juan and had reiterated several times that we were to call him if we received a blackmail demand.
Rachel’s body finally stilled and she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before turning to Kennedy. “I’m sorry. If I’d been thinking, I would have tried to get a better look at the van. I think Ash is right, my instincts took over. All I can tell you is that it was a full sized white Ford. It was a big, boxy work van, like plumbing and electrical companies use. Not like a soccer mom van.”
“Well, that’s a start,” Kennedy said with a smile that only I could tell was fake.
Rachel gave her a weak grin and turned back to Asher. “I know we have to talk to the police, but I don’t think I’m up for it right now.”
“Of course you’re not. I don’t see any reason this can’t wait a few hours. I’ll take you home. You’ll feel better after a nap.”
Asher took Rachel’s hand and stood without waiting for Kennedy or me to express an opinion. Fury rose in my chest, but Kennedy spoke before I could.
“That will be fine. I’ll go to the station now and let Austin know what’s happening. I’ll tell him to expect you in a few hours,” she offered. “Lauren can come with me.”
“Thank you, Kennedy. You’ve been a lifesaver this week,” Asher replied. He didn’t take his arm from Rachel’s shoulders when he stopped to kiss me; every part of me wanted to scream at the top of my lungs.
“We’ll see you in a little while,” he called over his shoulder as they stepped into the hallway.
I let the door shut without replying and Kennedy turned to me, her eyebrows raised. “Are you sure that woman’s a lesbian?” she asked, her voice dripping with doubt.
“These days, I’m not sure of anything,” I confessed.
Kennedy’s mouth turned up in a grin and she pulled me to the couch. “That’s all about to change,” she promised, typing at her keyboard.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, curiosity rising in my voice.
She pointed at the screen. “I don’t know anything about this sort of stuff, but even I can tell that there’s nothing special about this email. If there had been any malware attached to it, my firewall would have detected it. The address it was sent from is probably bogus, but I doubt it will be hard to trace. I bet Austin’s guys have this wrapped up before Rachel graces the precinct with her presence. I’ve already forwarded it to his tech department.”
I relaxed into the sofa cushions and kicked off my shoes. “Does this mean we aren’t going to see Austin?”
“There’s really no need. I just said that to give you an
excuse to get away from Rachel. Now, you and I can spend the day talking about what I’ve dug up on her.”
My heart raced at Kennedy’s words. The last time we’d had a moment alone, her search into Rachel’s past hadn’t uncovered anything.
“Tell me everything,” I insisted.
“I still have no idea what she did while Asher was at college,” she warned. “But I did find some interesting stuff on her family. Her parents, Maude and David, have been married for forty-seven years. Rachel has two brothers and one sister, all significantly older and all very successful. One’s a neurosurgeon, another is a law professor at Old Miss, you get the idea.”
“Asher has mentioned Rachel’s parents, but never any brothers or sisters.”
She shrugged. “He might not know. Anyway, Maude Goins is a stay at home mom, and David is the founding partner of a huge international accounting firm based in Las Angeles. They aren’t exactly Jackson and Asher wealthy, but Rachel didn’t grow up wanting for anything.”
“To hear Asher tell it, all she ever wanted was acceptance,” I replied. It killed me to play devil’s advocate when it came to Rachel. But as much as I was growing to loathe her, I couldn’t side with the family that had rejected her.
“That’s where things get interesting,” Kennedy explained. “Maude and David are both very involved with their church, just like Asher told you. But they’re not radical conservatives. In fact, they’re almost as liberal as my mother. Maude’s been a feminist activist since the seventies and the entire family has campaigned for civil rights. David’s brother’s husband is CFO of his firm.”
She paused, letting that newsflash sink in before continuing, “These aren’t the kind of people who’d reject their child for being a lesbian. And while Rachel’s foster records say that was the reason she gave for running away, the family’s statements all said she’d become disrespectful and, at times, violent. David claimed she ran away from home the day before she was supposed to be checked into a psychiatric center. But the hospital he listed didn’t have her in their system. Rachel refused to go home with them and they didn’t push it.”
