In Too Deep

by Lynn H. Blackburn

  This was bad.

  This was very, very bad.

  “Have you told anyone else?”

  “Gabe, Ryan, and Anissa. This morning. No one else. And we’ve agreed it goes nowhere else.”

  “Wow. I feel like I’ve been invited to sit at the cool kids’ table.”

  “You’re the coolest person I know.” The words were heartfelt, but instead of hugging her tighter, he stepped away from her. She missed the closeness now that it was gone.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I need to be more professional at work.”

  “You aren’t at work,” she said.

  He shook his head. “But you are, and technically, I’m here on official business.”

  “Fine, if you want to be all rational about things.” It shouldn’t bother her. It was good he was able to do that. She, however, wanted to see what would happen if she—

  “You have to stop looking at me that way.” Adam backed farther away.

  “What way?”

  “Like you might be thinking the same thing I’m thinking. One of us has to hold it together, and if you can’t do it, then we’re in trouble because I’m holding on by a thread over here.”

  He was? “You don’t seem particularly distressed.”

  “Well, distressed isn’t the word I would use, but don’t let appearances fool you. I’ve been trying to hold it together around you for two years, and now that I . . . that we . . . that . . .”

  “To be honest, I’d rather you didn’t hold it together around me.”

  “Not helping, Bri.”

  “Not sorry.”

  That made him laugh. And apparently he was even more distracted by her when he was laughing, because he covered the space between them far faster than she’d been prepared for.

  The laughter faded and he held her gaze. “I promise. I’ll do everything in my power to be sure you’re never sorry.”

  He caressed her cheek with his thumb but came no closer. “I’ll see you tonight?”

  She couldn’t get any words past her throat, so she settled for nodding.

  He reopened her blinds and hurried from her office.

  She watched him chat with Dave for a few moments before leaving. Dave resumed his perch in the main lab.

  She retrieved her coffee and opened a new window on her computer screen.

  Time to dig up some dirt.

  16

  Dave tapped on her office door. “You about ready to call it a day, Dr. Fleming?”

  Sabrina nodded. “I’m sorry, Dave. I hope I’m not keeping you from something wonderful this evening.”

  “I’m not trying to rush you. And there’s not much wonderful waiting on me, ma’am. Just some frozen pizza and TV before I get some sleep and do it all again tomorrow.”

  “This must be an incredibly boring assignment for you.”

  “On the contrary. It’s fascinating. And quite an honor, if you don’t mind me saying so.”

  “An honor? Why would babysitting me be an honor?”

  He smiled. “You’re pretty famous. Plus, it’s obvious that Adam’s crazy about you. Being asked to provide security for someone like you, working on a big case . . . it’s a nice vote of confidence. Adam told me he’d asked for me specifically because he knew I could keep my head on straight and I would take good care of you. Makes a guy feel good to hear something like that.”

  The part about her being famous was ludicrous, of course, but the rest of it made sense. “Thank you for explaining,” she said. “And I do feel quite secure with you here, so I’d say Adam chose well.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  “I need ten more minutes to wrap up what I’m working on, and then I’ll be ready to go.”

  “Are we headed to the sheriff’s office or Ms. Weston’s home?”

  Sabrina’s watch read 5:15 p.m. “I’m going to say Leigh’s house because I need comfortable clothes and a squishy chair to sit in. Those chairs in the homicide conference room are awful. If they want to talk to me tonight, they’ll have to do it at Leigh’s.”

  Dave laughed. “Sounds good, ma’am. You won’t mind if I call it in, will you?”

  “By call it in, do you mean tell Adam?”

  Dave looked everywhere but her.

  “It’s fine, Dave. Go ahead. Tell him I said not to be late.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Dave’s laughter floated back to her as he returned to his self-assigned station at the front of the lab.

  Eight minutes later she’d emailed a copy of her day’s work to a secure server. She also had a flash drive in her pocket.

  She wished she were going to do what she’d told Dave. Go to Leigh’s, curl up in a squishy chair, and relax.

  But everything would change tonight.

  Because she’d found so much more than dirt.

  Adam was late.

  Sabrina’s brain swirled with the information she’d learned today. She couldn’t wander around the kitchen while Leigh cooked anymore. “Do you mind if I walk down to the dock?”

  “Go for it,” Leigh said. “Just let the deputies know what you’re doing.”

  Right.

  She slipped onto the deck and a uniformed deputy whose name she didn’t know materialized by her side. “Everything okay, Dr. Fleming?”

  “Yes.” She started second-guessing herself. She needed solitude. Would she get it? “I’m walking down to the dock. Don’t shoot me, okay?”

  “Of course, ma’am. I’ll be nearby.”

  Awesome.

  She tried to pretend he wasn’t there as she settled into a chair and listened to the water lapping on the shore. It was lovely out here. Chilly but not so cold that she was uncomfortable. A mild evening for December.

  Father, give me the words. Help me know how to explain what I know and what I suspect. Help Adam to hear it. And for the victims . . .

  Even in prayer, she couldn’t find the words to express her anguish. So she didn’t try. She sat with it, with God, and let him carry it for her. The tension didn’t leave, the ache didn’t disappear, but there was something else with them. A confidence that God hadn’t forgotten. That God hadn’t lost control. That even now he was at work. And with that confidence came a peace no scientist would ever be able to measure.

  Steps on the dock alerted her that she wasn’t alone.

  She turned, oh so slowly. After sitting all day, her body ached. But she forgot about that when Adam’s form materialized in front of her.

  He knelt beside her chair. “You shouldn’t be out here. You’re too easy a target—”

  “Seriously?” She didn’t hold back on the sarcasm. “I’m sure someone’s been sitting around waiting for me to come onto the dock so they could take me out.”

  Adam didn’t argue the point. His hand was warm as it slid across her arm and his fingers laced through hers. “I missed you today.”

  “Really?”

  He lifted her hand to his lips. “Really.”

  “Oh.” Should she say something like “Me too,” or would that just sound like she was going along with what he was saying? She had no idea how to do this.

  “I’m trying, Bri.” He kissed her ring finger.

  “Trying to do what?”

  “To take it slow.” He kissed her pinky.

  “Oh.”

  “I thought it would be easier. That knowing that I might get to hold your hand—or maybe even steal a kiss—would somehow make the day shorter.”

  “How’s that working out for you?”

  “It isn’t working at all.” He traced a circle on her hand with his thumb. “It’s much worse.”

  The scraping of a door opening behind them warned her their moment of solitude was coming to an end. She should tell Adam about Barclay while they were alone.

  So why was she leaning in for a kiss?

  When Adam’s mouth met hers, she almost forgot what she had to do tonight. Almost.

  She was fairly sure Adam wouldn’t resent her for being the messenger, bu
t just in case, she couldn’t risk missing out on another kiss.

  A throat cleared from several feet behind them. Wow. That guy hadn’t been joking when he said he’d be nearby. “Excuse me, Dr. Fleming. But your presence has been requested in the house for dinner.”

  Adam pressed his forehead to hers. “I know we need to talk,” he said. “After dinner?”

  “Okay.”

  Sabrina tried to eat. The food was delicious. Leigh had outdone herself as usual. But the pork tenderloin stuck in her throat. She nibbled at the twice-baked potato—something she usually would have had seconds on. She gave up trying to eat the salad.

  She looked up and found five sets of eyes on her.

  She was so busted.

  Anissa was sitting to her right, and she squeezed Sabrina’s hand. “You might as well tell us what you found today.”

  “Is it that obvious?” Sabrina asked.

  Across from her, Leigh nodded. Ryan put his arm around Leigh’s shoulders and gave Sabrina a smile that was somehow both encouraging and compassionate. How did he do that?

  Gabe was between Ryan and Anissa. He leaned back in his chair, blew out a long sigh, and nodded at her.

  They were all ready.

  She turned to her left. Adam had his elbows on the table and his face held more sadness than she thought she could bear. She hated to be the one to confirm suspicions.

  “Before Sabrina begins,” Adam said, “I need you all to know that she hasn’t told me what she found yet. But I did some investigating of my own this afternoon and if her findings converge with mine, I’ll need to remove myself from the investigation.”

  “Why?” Gabe asked.

  “I’m fairly certain the district attorney would frown on me investigating my own family.” Adam shrugged. “She’s a stickler about that kind of stuff. Although in this case she would also have to recuse herself since her mother was a Campbell.”

  “Wait. The DA is a Campbell?” Gabe looked around the room. “Am I the only one who didn’t know that?”

  “I knew,” Ryan said.

  “I didn’t.” Anissa shrugged. “But does it really matter?”

  “No. There’s no way to avoid some family overlap in a case like this,” Ryan said. “Not in Carrington, anyway. The investigation won’t be compromised by your presence in it to this point. We’ll need to document everything from here on out.”

  “Agreed,” Gabe said.

  Sabrina swallowed and looked at the circle of friends around her. “I don’t think I can do this without my computer.”

  It took three seconds, and the entire table erupted in laughter.

  “What’s so funny?” Sabrina looked from face to face. She didn’t see any malice. This was what she’d come to know as good-natured teasing from them.

  “It isn’t funny.” Leigh wiped her eyes. “At all. But we were wondering if you’d be able to present any information without a spreadsheet. You just proved we know you well.”

  “Oh,” Sabrina said.

  Anissa squeezed her arm. “You know we’re only laughing because we love you, right?”

  “And because we needed something to break the tension.” Ryan stood. “Let’s get Sabrina set up and get this investigation moving in whatever direction it has to go.”

  No one got in a huge rush. Food was put away, dishes were placed in the dishwasher, and coffee was brewed while Sabrina hooked up her computer to Leigh’s TV.

  Sometimes Adam forgot that Sabrina was a professor. But when the homicide investigators requested their assistance last spring when Leigh’s life was in danger, he’d learned Sabrina preferred to present evidence with a spreadsheet or some PowerPoint slides. It helped her think and process the information. And kept her from getting nervous.

  Not that she needed to be nervous with this group. Not anymore. Over the past few months, since they’d solved that case, they’d all become friends. Closer than he’d imagined they could ever be.

  But her hands trembled as she connected a flash drive to her laptop.

  The others were in the kitchen, and he couldn’t stand to see her so anxious. He stepped behind her and slid his arms around her waist. He couldn’t deny that he loved the way she leaned into his embrace while still working on the computer setup.

  “Why are you nervous?”

  “Because it’s bad.”

  At her words, the growing unease he’d been experiencing all evening ballooned into full-on dread.

  “Hey.” He turned her around so she was facing him. “We’ll figure this out. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  Her eyes shimmered with tears. “We can’t fix this. Not completely.”

  “We never can,” he said. “Aren’t you the one who told me I can’t stress about what I didn’t know? But that I have to take responsibility for what I can do moving forward?”

  She nodded and a tear dripped from her chin. He tried to wipe the tears from her face, but they wouldn’t stop.

  Lord, help me. Help her. Help us.

  The muscles in her face clenched and she blinked over and over. She took several deep breaths and he found her some tissues from the box on Leigh’s coffee table.

  “I can do this. I have to do this.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.” He could see the others waiting in the kitchen, giving them some privacy. Giving Sabrina a chance to regain some composure.

  A few more breaths, and she gave him a tight smile before taking a position by the TV. “I’m ready.”

  Gabe came in first. Then Ryan. Then Anissa.

  Leigh went straight to Sabrina. “I got called in to work, so I’m heading out. It’s probably for the best. I’m not supposed to be here for this part anyway. But I’m praying, and if you need me, just call. I’m lousy cop material, but I’m a great listener.”

  “Thanks, Leigh.”

  “You guys make yourselves at home. I’ll see some of you in the morning.” Leigh kissed Ryan and slipped out the door to the garage.

  The rest of them found seats. Except for Sabrina. She remained by the TV, swallowed hard, tapped something on her laptop, and without making eye contact with any of them, began.

  “I think we have a major human trafficking ring operating out of Carrington. I need you all to understand that I don’t have the kind of proof we would need for an arrest, but I think when I’m done, you’ll see where I’m getting this from. As always, if you see flaws in my logic, I want you to point them out to me. I’m not infallible.”

  “Close enough.” Gabe’s muttered words generated nods of agreement from Ryan and Anissa.

  “I can’t begin to tell you how desperately I want to be wrong tonight.” Sabrina tapped her computer again and the seven photographs from Lisa Palmer’s briefcase appeared on the screen.

  “When we saw these photographs, there were any number of ways we could have gone in searching out the common thread. We could have looked at location, ownership, clientele, etcetera. But at Adam’s request, I spent today looking at all of these locations to determine how they connect back to Barclay Campbell.”

  Gabe clicked the top of a pen on his notepad. “How’s he related to you, Adam?”

  “He’s my father’s first cousin. His father was my grandfather’s brother.”

  “Sorry for the interruption, Sabrina.” Gabe tapped his pen to his temple. “Just trying to get it straight in my head.”

  “Not a problem. Now, as you all know, the Campbell family is responsible for approximately 30 percent of the business revenue in Carrington County.”

  “That seems a bit high,” Adam said.

  “Well, I did a search today, and it’s actually a touch low. When you take all the branches of the Campbell family into account, going back to your great-grandfather and his four sons, you have a very large family. And while there have been a lot of sons born into the family, the daughters have also been very astute at business, and there are at least six different surnames that I’ve been able to determine are, for our purposes, Campbells.”


  “That’s a lot,” Ryan said, “but how does that tie in to our case?”

  “I’m glad you asked.”

  Adam caught Ryan’s eye and gave him a little nod of appreciation. He didn’t think Sabrina even realized Ryan’s question had been more for her benefit than anyone else’s, but it had been effective.

  “When you look at the business ventures of the Campbells, you can see a rather clear line of demarcation that begins with Adam’s grandfather and then is even more clear with his father. As Adam has already told us”—she tapped her computer and a new screen popped up—“his branch of the Campbells owns and operates CHG, the Campbell Holding Group, and they own and operate most of the high-end hotels and several of the fancier restaurants in town, including the resort on the lake and all of its properties. They also have multiple other enterprises.”

  She flipped to another screen. “You can see how the businesses were handed down from Adam’s great-grandfather all the way to Adam and Alexander when you trace them through CHG. Everything is transparent. Easy to follow.”

  Grandmother would die if she saw this. Grandfather wouldn’t approve either. This was so not anyone’s business.

  Sabrina didn’t seem to notice how uncomfortable this was making Adam. “But when you try to do the same thing with the other branches of the Campbells’ businesses, it gets messy in a hurry. I don’t think most of it was done to be shady, although there are a few transactions I think careful examination would show were intended to skirt tax laws.”

  The screen changed again. “But when you hit the holdings of Barclay Campbell, what was messy devolves into madness.”

  Anissa raised her hand.

  “You guys don’t have to raise your hands, but go ahead.”

  “I thought all the Campbell companies were privately held. How are you getting this information? We don’t have warrants for any of this.”

  “They are privately held, but that doesn’t mean everything stays private. If you know where to look, you can find out all sorts of things from public records. And you can find out even more if you know where to look on the internet. This isn’t the kind of stuff anyone would stumble onto in a basic search, but it’s there if you look hard enough and smart enough.”