Chapter 6
Ollie Prine arrived in Chicago, caught a cab to his hotel, and was trying to remember the name of the guy he’d done time with who lived here. If he could find him, Harley Banks might be high-profile enough in the city for someone to know where she lived. His name was something like Shultz, or Shulter. He’d remember it in a bit when he quit thinking about it. That’s how names always came to him. When he let go of worrying about it.
***
Harley Banks was already packed for her flight tomorrow and was in the living room with her feet up, balancing her laptop as her fingers flew across the keyboard. She was doing what she always did before beginning a new case—getting background on the people she would be working with.
She already had notes on Ray and his family and was running a background check on Larry Beaumont and his daughter, Justine.
She now knew Larry’s daughter had been kicked out and failed out of two different colleges. She had been arrested for shoplifting and picked up on one DUI that was dismissed. Both criminal offenses were in Dallas, Texas, and she had no work history, but she did have a record of rehab stints for alcohol abuse. Harley was still running checks when an update appeared on Justine’s police record. She’d just been booked into jail in Jubilee, Kentucky, on various charges, all stemming from drunk and disorderly.
“What a mess,” Harley mumbled, but she found nothing of note on Larry Beaumont. His credit rating was decent, and he paid alimony to his ex-wife every month without fault.
The last person on Harley’s list was Brendan Pope. She started by running a standard background check, and got a surprise when she learned he’d changed his last name from Wallace to Pope just after he graduated high school, as had his mother and three brothers, just before they moved residence to Jubilee. She’d never run across a situation like this before and was extremely curious as to why this happened until she ran a check on Clyde Wallace, the man listed as the father on the birth certificates.
“Holy shit,” Harley muttered. “His father is a lifer. He nearly beat his wife to death, then killed two random people afterward in a drug-induced spree.”
She kept running searches and found a couple of blurry photos of Brendan during his years at the Culinary Institute of America. She had a list of the places he’d worked in later, most of which were upscale places in New York City, many of which she was familiar with.
By the time she’d finished his background check, other than a couple of speeding tickets for riding a motorcycle too fast when he was still in his teens, he was clean as a whistle. But it was seeing his DMV photo that had taken her aback. Traditionally, those photos were supposed to be a joke. His picture looked like a Hollywood headshot. Ray was right. He was a handsome man.
***
The same night Harley Banks was running Brendan’s background check, he was driving home on autopilot. He didn’t remember anything but the glare of headlights and the noise of Jubilee at night until he turned down the street where he lived. At that point, he began slowing down and then pulled up into the driveway. Remembering the note from before, he glanced toward his front porch, eyeing the security cameras and the motion-detector light that came on at his arrival, but nothing had been disturbed, probably because his stalker was in jail.
Satisfied that his security was in place, he pressed the remote and sat waiting for the garage door to go up, then drove in and closed the door behind him.
Walking into a dark and silent house was never welcoming, but it was his life. It was just the loneliness that got to him.
Sean had Amalie.
Aaron had Dani.
Wiley had Linette and Ava.
He had a stalker named Justine.
He felt like he’d fallen down a rabbit hole and couldn’t see daylight anymore. Nobody knew he felt this way, which made it even worse.
As a kid, he’d always told his troubles to his mom, or his older brothers, but he’d long since aged out of that privilege. And if he said anything now, it would only turn the family into matchmakers who’d start setting him up.
He went through the house, turning on lights as he went, kicked off his shoes, traded jeans for sweatpants and a sweatshirt, and turned up the heat as he went back to the kitchen.
Three scrambled eggs and two pieces of toast later, his last meal of the day was over, and he couldn’t sit still. He needed to outrun the ghosts from his past or he’d never sleep. It was cold and dark, but the roads were clear and dry, and they were calling.
Within minutes, he was in the garage in his biker gear, rolling out the Harley. He mounted as the garage door was going down behind him. The rumble of the engine was fine music to his ears. It was purring like a contented lion as he rode out of his neighborhood. Once he reached the highway, he turned west through Jubilee. As soon as he hit the blacktop road leading up the mountain, he accelerated, riding the Harley like a runaway rocket. The modified LED headlight cut through the dark like a knife, while the roar of the engine blasted through the quiet of Pope Mountain.
He was headed for the top.
***
Cameron Pope was on the back porch with Ghost, listening to the night sounds on the mountain and watching as the old dog investigated the perimeter of their world, sniffing at all of the fence posts and under the branches of leafless bushes as diligently as he’d sniffed out bombs for Cameron and his men in Iraq.
In the distance, Cameron could hear someone coming up the mountain, but it didn’t sound like a car or a truck, and whatever it was, it was coming closer. When it finally flew past, he realized it was a motorcycle.
Ghost was at his side now, intent on protecting if the need arose, but the roaring monster was already gone. Cameron laid a hand on the old dog’s head.
“It’s okay, boy. It’s just Brendan, still trying to break the sound barrier with that Harley. Still trying to outrun his ghosts.”
***
Brendan rode all the way up to the mountain’s peak and then stopped and shut off the engine, toed down the kickstand, then sat astraddle the bike in the dark.
A three-quarter moon was hanging over his head, and he could hear the faint roar of Big Falls off to the north. Pope Mountain was only one peak in the chain of the Cumberland Mountains, but it was theirs…the Popes, the Cauleys, and the Glass families. But for the paved road beneath his feet, it was the same as it had been when the Chickasaw were here, and then the trappers that brought the first Pope to this place.
As he sat, a deer walked out of the woods, crossed the road in front of him, and leaped a ditch only to disappear into the trees on the opposite side. The fact that it did not fear him was surprising.
“Thank you for the honor,” he said, then glanced at the time. It was after midnight. He was already looking at no more than four hours of sleep before he had to get up for work, but the ride had been worth it.
He put his helmet back on, toed up the kickstand, and started the engine. The rumble turned to a roar as he started back down the mountain, but not as fast, nor as desperate as he’d been going up.
***
The wind was whipping the treetops up on the mountain. It was bitterly cold, but Shirley Pope’s house was snug and warm. Central heat was humming, and there was a big log burning in the massive fireplace.
Sean had been in Bowling Green most of the day fixing a glitch in the computer system of a bank, and Amalie had clients in and out of her CPA office all day. They were both happy to be home.
Shirley had abandoned them after supper for a bubble bath, leaving Sean and Amalie in the living room by the fire, watching TV.
Amalie shivered. “The wind isn’t blowing, it’s shrieking. Trouble is coming, but I already warned Brendan when I saw him the other day.”
Sean stilled. “Warned him about what trouble? What did you see?”
“A woman comes. She will need his help. And she will matter in his life. Beyond that, I don’t know.”
Sean sighed. “Well, whatever it is, we won’t let him face it alone.”
Amalie scooted up beside him, then turned to face him and reached for his hands. “I have something to tell you. I wasn’t keeping a secret. I was just waiting to make sure before I spoke it.”
Sean curled his fingers around her hands. “Okay… I’m listening.”
“We’re going to have babies.”
Sean’s eyes widened, and then he was laughing and hugging her. “Oh my God, darlin’…that’s the most wonderful news ever! I’m going to be a father! You’re going to be a… No, wait, you are already a mother. You’re growing our baby.”
Amalie was laughing with him because he still hadn’t connected all the dots.
“Not a baby, Sean. Babies, as in twins. We’re having two.”
His eyes widened. “Oh wow! How did we manage that?”
Amalie smiled. “I would assume the usual way, with gusto.”
He brushed a soft kiss across her lips. “You are my heart…my love…my forever woman. What a gift you have given me.” And then the questions began. “How far along are you?”
“Twelve weeks. I asked for an ultrasound because I had a vision that there were two, and I wanted to be sure it was real and not just a dream.”
“Are we telling everyone now or…?” Sean asked.
“Mom is making dinner for everyone Sunday. Why don’t we make the announcement then?” Amalie said, and then sighed. “We can tell Dad together via Zoom whenever we can get him still long enough to make time.”
“Your dad loves you to distraction. He’ll always make time for you,” Sean said, and ran his finger along the side of her jaw where the burn scars were, then eyed the white streak in her hair that had appeared after the wreck that nearly killed her. “Wolfgang Outen is going to dote on being a grandfather, just like he treasured finding out that you existed.”
Amalie shivered. “I know. It’s just all so new and a little bit scary. I want to be the best mommy ever, but I never had one, so I’m a little afraid I won’t know how.”
Sean cupped her face. “Baby…you’re so full of love that it’s going to overwhelm you when they lay them in your arms. And you have me, and Mom, and a whole family of brothers and sisters-in-law who are going to fuss over who gets to hold them, and I’ll be right beside you all the way. We’re going to be fine. What’s going to be hard is keeping this little secret until Sunday.”
The wind was still shrieking, but Amalie didn’t hear it anymore. She was too full of joy and laughter to let it in.
***
Harley Banks’s flight in the Sikorsky X2 from Chicago to Jubilee took less than two hours. She’d flown in helicopters before, but never this distance or this fast. Flying over the Cumberland Mountains, some of which were snowcapped and dense with forest in winter mode, was a reminder that she was heading into unfamiliar territory. She was used to snow, but not on mountains. The corporate world she worked within was in hugely populated areas, but she felt drawn to the new experience. All of a sudden, the chopper dipped and swooped down the slope of the mountain, giving her the first glimpse of the town below.
It was smaller than she’d expected of a tourist attraction. Insulated from the outside world by the surrounding mountains, but definitely not isolated. She was surprised to see so much activity at this time of year, especially since Jubilee did not cater its tourism to winter sports. Her musings ended when the chopper set down.
“Your ride is on the way, Miss Banks, but it’s thirty-three degrees this morning, so we’ll just wait here until it arrives,” the pilot said.
“Right,” Harley said as she unbuckled her seat belt.
A couple of minutes later, a sleek black car pulled up, and young man in a hooded parka got out on the run. The pilot helped her down from the chopper, and Harley was immediately facing the cold and the rotor wash all at the same time. She zipped the front of her coat up all the way to her chin and started walking.
“Welcome to Jubilee, Ms. Banks. I’m Kevin with the hotel concierge. I’ll get your luggage. Just follow me.”
The pilot was right. It was cold—Chicago cold. She followed the concierge to the car and was soon seated in the back seat of a very warm and comfortable Lexus.
Ray Caldwell is class all the way , she thought as she ran her hand across the luxurious leather, then caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window and sighed. On a good day, her curls were unruly, but right now her hair was in chaos. She hastily finger-combed it back into place as Kevin jumped into the driver’s seat.
“All set, ma’am?” he asked.
“Yes, thank you,” Harley said, then sat back and enjoyed the brief ride from the heliport to the Serenity Inn.
***
Liz Devon was waiting just inside the entrance, but when she saw the woman getting out of the car, she couldn’t help but stare. She’d been imagining all morning what a corporate PI with an accounting degree might look like, but a runway model had never entered her mind.
Harley Banks was stunning. A slim angular face with cheekbones to die for, almond-shaped eyes beneath black, perfectly arched brows, and full lips completely devoid of color, with thick tumbling curls so black they looked blue.
The moment she entered the lobby, Liz stepped forward.
“Ms. Banks, I’m Liz Devon, Ray Caldwell’s daughter and the event coordinator for the hotel. I’ve already checked you in. Your suite is ready and waiting. Kevin will take your bags to your room. You’re on the eighth floor. Our main dining area is on the tenth floor. The views from your room and our dining area are spectacular.”
“Wonderful,” Harley said as she fell into step beside her.
“How was your flight?” Liz asked as they headed for the elevators.
Harley arched a brow. “Fast.”
Liz smiled. “Let me guess. Dad chartered a Sikorsky. He loves to travel in those.”
“That he did,” Harley said. “I have to admit, the location of Jubilee as a tourist attraction is surprising, actually quite unusual. I would have thought there would be more tourist features farther up the mountain. I noticed as I was researching the place that hiking up there is not an option, either.”
“This place was settled by a Scottish trapper in the early 1800s. He settled here and built a little cabin that became a trading post for furs. Took a Chickasaw woman for a wife, and as the years passed, a little community grew. They named it Jubilee. The people who live on Pope Mountain are all descendants of three original families: Pope, Glass, and Cauley. They work in Jubilee and help foster the tourist industry, but they treasure and protect their privacy, too, and the mountain is off-limits to tourists. The town itself is owned by a corporation that controls the growth of Jubilee, because enlarging it would also mean destroying its natural beauty. And controlling it in this way actually makes sense. Our head pastry chef is Brendan Pope. We were really fortunate to bring him in. He’s classically trained and has quite a following. He’s a really nice guy. You’ll meet him and all the rest of the staff soon enough.”
Harley was listening without comment, absorbing everything around her. The little gift shops, a jewelry shop, the small coffee shop off the lobby, a café-style restaurant for casual dining, a barber/beauty shop, and signs directing to the gym, the indoor pool, and a spa. It had all of the amenities, but she was curious about the rooms.
Their conversation ended when they got on the elevator with some other guests, and when they finally reached the eighth floor, they exited.
“It’s just down the hall to your right. Room 800.” Liz swiped the key card, then opened the door and stepped inside to let Harley enter.
Her bags were already on the bed in the adjoining room. The curtains had been pulled away from the sliders leading out to a small balcony, and the view of Pope Mountain was right before her. There was a coffee bar and mini-fridge, a living area with a big-screen TV and comfortable-looking furniture, and they’d set up a whole workspace against one wall, with a hotel computer and a printer/scanner so she could access all she needed.
Harley was impressed. “This is comparable to any of the finer hotels I’ve ever been in. Your father knows his stuff.”
Liz nodded. “He’s been in real estate and hotels all of my life.” She pulled a small notebook from her pocket and handed it to Harley. “This is the log-on info you’ll need, along with a password already preset for you. There’s also a list of every link connected to the hotel, including banking. Our bank has been notified that an audit will be happening, and you have view-only approval to access whatever information you need to see there. If there’s anything we’ve missed, just call me. Oh…beside your room being comped, you have free rein to eat wherever you wish here in the hotel, or use room service. Just sign your room number to the bills and they’ll be covered by the hotel, too. Enjoy the gym, pool, and spa as well, and don’t hesitate to try out the main dining room at your pleasure. Try some of Brendan Pope’s breads and desserts, as well as the food of Chef Randolph, our chef de cuisine.”
“What about Larry Beaumont, the hotel manager, and his daughter, Justine?” Harley asked.
Liz rolled her eyes. “Ask Beaumont anything you need to know, but he gets no information about you other than you’re here to audit, and I’m your contact. As of yesterday, his daughter, Justine, was jailed on numerous charges, including drunk and disorderly and assault, and Larry isn’t forthcoming with what’s happening. Personally, I’m just hoping her behavior doesn’t fall back on the hotel, since this is where she was living when all this happened.”
Harley didn’t let on that she already knew. “You have a plate full here, don’t you?”
Liz’s shoulders slumped. “You have no idea. Now, I’ll let you get settled. This is my card with contact information when I’m not on-site. Otherwise, I’ll likely be on the premises during the day. I hope you are comfortable here.”
“Thank you,” Harley said. “I’m sure I will be.”
Liz let herself out, and Harley turned the dead bolt and fastened the security chain for added security, then turned around and looked at the luggage on the bed.
“Here we go again,” she said, and began unpacking.
***
Except for a court-appointed lawyer who mumbled when he spoke, Justine Beaumont suffered through her court appearance alone. Her father didn’t show. Her mother had promised to be there but wasn’t. She didn’t know if her mother would appear to make bail, and she didn’t want to hang around Jubilee any longer than she had to. But she balked when she found out that if she pled not guilty, a court date would be set which could take months, and she couldn’t leave town. If she pled guilty, the lawyer said she would likely be charged for all the damages she had to pay for, and they’d have to take a chance on the judge not handing down jail time to go with it.
It was a knee-jerk decision, but when the moment came, and Justine was asked by the court how she pled, she turned on the tears, slumped her shoulders, and spoke in a faint, shaky voice. “Guilty, Your Honor. I got drunk and I am horribly ashamed that I hurt others in the process. All I can say is, I will never take another drink as long as I live.” Then she stood there trembling while quiet tears rolled down her pretty little face.
Her juvenile records were sealed. She didn’t have any speeding tickets or priors, and the rehab visits had all been voluntary, so the court had no records, and the judge had a backlog of cases waiting.
“Do we have a firm amount of the cost of damages?” he asked.
The lawyer nodded. “Yes, Your Honor,” he said, and handed the paper to the bailiff to pass on to the judge.
The judge scanned the lists, which also included medical treatment for the injured men and women, and then looked up.
“Miss Beaumont, this list of damages in no way absolves you of any personal charges the injured people may choose to sue you for. Do you understand that?”
Justine choked on a sob. “Yes, Your Honor.”
“The actual damages you incurred are for broken glassware and spilled liquor, and an unpaid bar tab, plus fines for all that you were charged with. The assault charge came as a result of your inebriation, and not an actual, intentional assault, so I am voiding that. The total damage, which includes the medical treatment for the four people who were injured and the fines from your charges, comes to six thousand, five hundred and seventy-five dollars. Once you have satisfied that amount to the court, the case will be closed. You will be remanded to the local jail until such monies have been collected.”
Justine groaned, then flinched at the sound of the gavel. A policeman put her back in handcuffs and took her back to the jail.
She knew she’d dodged a huge bullet, but coming back to the jail only fueled her anger. All she felt was abandonment. She still refused to accept that all of this was the end result of choices she made.
When Randy, the jailer, shut the cell doors behind her, she turned around, threw back her head, and screamed. She stopped to take a breath, eyeing his reaction. There was none. And when he calmly walked out of the cell area and shut the door, she sank down on the bunk in total defeat.
She had no parents. No money. And the chances of getting out of here were slim to none without them. She didn’t know what was going to happen next, but she would die in here before she’d ask either of them for help again.
***
Karen Beaumont arrived in Jubilee just after 2:00 p.m., googled the address of the Jubilee PD, and drove until she found the station. She dreaded this as much as she’d dreaded childbirth, but she parked, then entered the building and approached the front desk.
“I’m here about Justine Beaumont’s arraignment. Can you tell me when and where it’s being held?” she asked.
“That’s already happened,” Sergeant Winter told her. “She pled guilty.”
Karen gasped. “She what?”
“She pled guilty, but she won’t be released until the damages have all been paid.”
“What are the damages?” Karen asked.
Winter pulled up her file on his computer. “Six thousand, five hundred and seventy-five dollars. No checks. No credit cards. Cash money, only.”
The blood drained from Karen’s face. She felt faint, in a panic as to what would happen to her daughter in jail if she didn’t get out, because she didn’t have that kind of ready money.
“Thank you,” she mumbled, and went back to her car, laid her head on the steering wheel, and burst into tears. After she’d cried herself out, she started driving toward the hotel where Larry worked.
***
Larry stomped into his office, slamming the door shut behind him, and then dropped into his chair. He just found out the auditor was already on-site and in her suite. He wanted to be pissed that he hadn’t been notified and that he wasn’t the one to meet her, but he knew better. This was all about Ray getting ready to sell, and the logical go-between for that would be Ray’s daughter, Liz.
Still, he felt it only proper that he introduce himself, but to do that, he first had to find out what room she was in. He was about to call Liz when his cell phone rang. When he saw who it was, he thought about letting it go to voicemail, but knew she’d never stop calling, so he decided to get it over with and picked up.
“Why are you calling me? I said all I ever cared to say to you yesterday.”
Karen frowned. She wanted to argue, but she needed his compliance. “Too bad. We have a child together.”
“No. We don’t have a child anymore. Just a grown-ass troublemaker who shares our DNA. What do you want? I’m busy.”
Karen’s heart skipped a beat. This was the maddest she had ever known Larry to be, and something told her it wasn’t going to get better, but she had to try.
“I’m in Jubilee,” Karen said.
“Peachy. Kindly do not register at this hotel. I don’t want you or her under this roof.”
“Larry, don’t be this way. I came to bail Justine out of jail, only to find out she pled guilty at her arraignment and somehow managed to skip being sentenced to jail time, but she has to pay all the fines and damages before they’ll release her. It’s six thousand, five hundred and seventy-five dollars, or she just rots in jail.”
Larry lost it. “Did it ever occur to you that might be where she belongs?”
“Larry! Don’t!” Karen wailed.
He could hear the fear and tears in her voice. He wanted to hate both of them. He was so sick of their drama.
Karen was desperate. “I don’t have that kind of money. I can’t use a credit card, although I have one paid off that would work. If you’ll come up with the cash to get her out, you can skip the next three months of my alimony. It would come to about the same amount.”
He frowned. “I don’t trust you. You have to put that in writing first, so you can’t haul me back to court and claim I’m not paying you.”
“I will! I promise!” Karen said. “You write it, and I’ll sign it the moment you hand me the cash. You might be ready to abandon her, but I can’t.”
Larry snorted. “Oh, please. You abandoned her four years ago after you dumped her off at rehab. Why do you think she’s been living with me?”
Silence.
“Well?” Larry asked.
“Yes. Fine. You’re right,” Karen snapped. “And when I get her out of jail, I’m taking her back to Dallas with me. We’ll figure something out, and you’ll resume my alimony payments in a timely fashion?”
He sighed. “Yes.”
“I’ll need to go to the penthouse to pack her clothes,” Karen said.
“No. You don’t need to do anything but get the hell out of town. Her clothes are already packed and down in storage behind the front desk. I’m going to have to go down to the bank to get the cash. I’ll meet you outside the hotel in an hour, with her luggage. And then I swear to God, if either one of you ever calls me again, it better be to tell me someone died…preferably you or her.”
He hung up in her ear.
Karen gasped, and then shivered. She’d never been afraid of Larry before, but she was now.
Larry’s thoughts were spinning. He had plenty of money in his special Dallas account, but he’d never had a need to withdraw any of it until now. He ran upstairs to the penthouse to his personal laptop and logged into his banking.
A couple of clicks and he transferred seven thousand dollars from the special account into his personal account here in Jubilee. He waited until he saw the money deposited in that account, then headed downtown, hurried into the bank, wrote a check for the exact amount of cash needed to pay for the damages, and drove back to the hotel. He had fifteen minutes to spare when he raced back inside, retrieved the luggage with Justine’s clothes, and had them taken outside.
The day was cold but clear, and the fresh air in his face felt like a cleanser in more ways than one. He was getting rid of two problems in one blow today. Within a short time, both the women in his life would be on their way back to Dallas. The trouble Justine had caused at the hotel would be behind him, and his life could finally settle into a normal routine.
***
Karen had been parked in the hotel parking lot, making reservations while she waited out the hour, planning where they’d stay overnight on their drive back to Dallas. She had visions of them hanging out together, doing mother-daughter stuff, whatever that was. She’d never done it before, but better late than never.
She’d seen Larry drive away, and she’d seen him come back. She was watching when the bellhop brought out three suitcases, with Larry walking out behind him, and took that as her signal. She started the car and headed for the front entrance, then pulled in and popped the trunk before getting out.
Larry didn’t even look at her. He just pulled a paper out of his pocket and handed her a pen. She signed her name and held out her hand. He put an envelope in her palm and loaded the suitcases without saying a word, then turned his back on her and went inside.
Karen closed the trunk, got back in her car, and headed to the jail.