Chapter 10 #2
She sighed. “I really, really hope that he’s alive and well somewhere, but, if he is, it’ll break his heart when you start telling him what’s been going on.
Yet surely he will already know to a certain extent because he’s always known much more about what’s going on than most of us.
Yet the biggest problem we have had is that he couldn’t stop her—or wasn’t emotionally in a position to stand up to her. ”
“But this is a step too far for Grandma.”
“Do you really think you’ll get that money back from her?”
“From that newest account, not yet, not until I get the corresponding account number. From the other account? Yes, because it’s already been frozen, but it might take quite a bit of paperwork with the bank, plus their time involved in due diligence and all that.
We do have proof that she took the money from that one specific account, and it’s not in her name.
Also Grandpa’s been missing, and his login was used. ”
She stared at him and shook her head. “That’s a little bit too convenient.”
“Yep, but then she is quite insistent that anything that’s happened is nobody’s business,” he reminded her. “At this point, I’m thinking she has an exit strategy, and what I don’t know is whether Glenn and John do too.”
“When you say, exit strategy—”
“I think she’s planning on taking the money and running.
” He shook his head. “Grandpa is out of the picture, in whatever way that is, and she may or may not care. She’s already counted me out, and believe me that I’m struggling with that one too.
She went after a chunk of money that she knew was in Grandpa’s client accounts. ”
“But, if she had access to his accounts, wouldn’t she have taken more than that?” Crystal asked.
“And that is a good question,” he muttered, eyeing her. “Maybe she thought that if she took too much it would trigger an investigation, and maybe it did. I was back in town at that time, which also may have triggered her sudden larceny spree.”
“Jesus,” she muttered. “I can’t believe that she stole money from other people’s accounts.”
“Again,” he repeated. Then he froze and asked her, “Shit. Does she have access to your account?”
She stared at him in shock. “I sure hope not.”
“But you don’t know that, do you?”
“No. God, no.” She quickly reached for her phone.
“Yeah, I would definitely check that.”
“Christ.” She swore a few times.
“And, if she doesn’t have access, I’m assuming Glenn and John, probably John, might have access to your accounts.”
“No way,” she cried out. “Why would you assume that? Nobody should have any access at all.”
“Well,” Ashton explained, “John is the sleazier one out of those two. Still, you should change your password.”
Just in case he was right, she quickly tried to log in. Relief filled her expression. “There’s been no change.”
“Good, now change your password.”
With that warning, she did that right away too. Then sighed as she put away her phone. “That’s very disconcerting when you personalize it that way.”
“Yep, I know it is,” he said, with a dry laugh. “Been dealing with it a little too long myself.”
“Christ,” she muttered, “I can’t, … I can’t even imagine. I’m sitting here trying to find a way to justify her actions. And yet …”
“And yet?” he asked, raising one eyebrow.
“It’s not so hazy anymore. And you think it’s all about gambling?”
“I don’t know what else it could be. Yet I do know that her gambling has become the only thing in her life that she cares about.
I also know that Grandpa was very close to doing something about it because we’d had enough arguments and other discussions about it.
Grandpa finally realized that it couldn’t go on and that he couldn’t keep covering for her.
I don’t want to think very far past that. ”
She let out her breath. “I presume you’re avoiding any link to her having something to do with his disappearance.”
“Yep, I’m absolutely trying not to, but, when she turns around and takes a big chunk of money out of a client’s account, then opens her own account and somehow stole half-a-million dollars to hide there?
She is quite possibly looking to skedaddle,” he suggested, pulling out his phone. “It’s hard to think otherwise.”
“What are you doing now?”
“I wonder if she’s made any flight plans or other attempts to leave.
She hasn’t pulled any cash out because hopefully she can’t, unless she knows the bank tellers and gets someone to take a risk.
” He nodded with his phone to his ear. She heard his side of the conversation with his lawyer.
When he ended the call, he shared, “Anderson will double-check that she has no flights booked. And he’s also brought the deputies in too.
He’s meeting with them in the next little bit as they try to recover the money she has moved, first to keep it from her, then to get it back into the client accounts. ”
“And you’ve been hanging on to all this … for how long?”
“Too long,” he muttered, “way too long.”
There wasn’t so much fatigue as almost resignation in his tone, a grim fatalistic attitude that this was what he had to do.
And he never really had another option. Even with everybody else fighting him—left, right, and center—he really had no other option at all.
“Does Grandma know that you own as much of it as you do?”
“She’s not supposed to.” He shook his head. “It depends on whether or not Grandpa lost his cool and told her. If so, that would give her even more incentive to do this, just to screw me over. Because, now that I am back, she would know she’s in trouble.”
Khan stopped up ahead beside a huge oak tree. His ears up. His tail up. He stilled, those huge eyes staring straight ahead.
And then Ashton pointed. “And there’s the house.”
He brought his horse slightly behind a tree and looked at the property. She came up beside him and asked, “Is there a reason we’re hiding?”
“Yeah, I’m looking for an outbuilding or something close by.”
“For what?”
“Someplace where they could stash a hostage.”
She shot him a look, but he was serious. As she started to study the area, he was already way ahead of her.
“There’s a shed off to the side that looks the part.” He shot her a hard look. “You stay here. I’ll go over and find out for sure.” He slid off Mirage and handed her the reins. “If anything happens or looks ugly, even a whiff of trouble, you get your ass home and call Richard.”
She stared at him, swallowed hard, and noted, “This is one hell of a way for you to return to my life.”
He smiled at her and nodded. “Yeah, about time though, isn’t it?” And, with a wave, he strode toward the property, staying to the tree line the whole way. He called Khan to heel at his side.
Khan moved into position, but, just like Ashton, the casualness was gone. Both were alert. Both were in what she could only describe as hunting mode. It was scary and reassuring.
She wanted to call out something but knew it was already too late. Ashton was already in hunter mode. A strange feeling came over her as she realized just how well he did it.
She moved the horses deeper into the shadows, not wanting anybody to see them because she didn’t have any explanation as to why she was here.
And just as she thought that maybe Ashton was overstaying his welcome, wherever the hell he was, he slipped out of the one building and moved into another one.
She realized this wouldn’t be quite so fast or so easy.
Every farm, every ranch, had outbuildings like this all over the place. If he planned to check each and every one, that wouldn’t be good. And just when she thought maybe it was all okay, she heard a vehicle approach.
She sent him a text, letting him know, then moved even farther back.
With her heart slamming against her chest, she watched as the new arrival parked outside the front of the house and then walked inside, before pausing and staring around the area, as if sensing something.
She closed her eyes, trying hard to not even breathe in case he could hear it, which was incredibly foolish because he was a long distance away.
But then he stopped and moved toward the barn that Ashton had gone into. She froze in a panic. Then Oliver’s phone rang, he answered it, talking loudly as he turned and headed to the house.
Whew! She let out a sigh of relief.
This time, and maybe only this time, Ashton’s luck was reigning. It was enough to know that he was safe, at least for the moment.
With the first building revealing nothing, Ashton moved through the next few buildings, looking for any sign of life. He moved in the shadows, Khan at his side, perfectly in tune, a game they both knew from their own dark histories.
It wouldn’t necessarily tell him if Grandpa had been here because, of course, somebody had been. People were moving through these outbuildings all the time. But, on instincts, Ashton kept going. And Khan had turned from a silent companion to an eager animal who raced around, his nose to the ground.
Something was seriously wrong with this particular area, this barn, and Ashton couldn’t figure it out.
He moved up into the loft, then saw a room segregated off to the side.
Khan joined him, then started to scratch and whine, almost howling at the door.
It took Ashton a minute to figure out how to get into it.
As soon as he did, he froze. There on a bed, with a gag in his mouth, was Alexander Nelson, his grandfather. And Ashton saw almost no sign of life left in Grandpa.
Khan raced over, shoving his nose into the old man’s neck.
Ashton joined him, pulling Khan back so he could check for a pulse, which was thready at best. Then he pulled out his phone and started texting, sending photos, looking for backup.
With Grandpa alive, even hanging on barely, there was still hope.
Ashton sat back and considered how he would get Grandpa out of here.
Then he remembered that Crystal was outside.
If his grandfather was here, someone had brought him here, had kept him here.
Was Crystal safe for these few minutes alone?
A part of him had been sure his grandfather was here.
Yet another part of him really hoped he wasn’t because of what that would mean.
He’d seen the earlier text from Crystal and knew that the owner was back on the property too. He would have to confront Oliver, his grandfather’s life hanging in the balance while found on Oliver’s property.
No matter, this was damning news for all of them. His grandfather didn’t wake up, and that was another concern. He was old, had been through way too much already in his life, and, if the prior stress hadn’t killed him, this newest nightmare could easily be the end of him.
Ashton hunkered down next to Grandpa, as he waited for backup, turning off the sound on his phone as he watched as the texts rolled in. Everything from shock to mutiny to an ambulance being ordered. Ashton then sent a text to Crystal and waited to hear back from her.
When no answer came, he turned and looked out the barn window, but he couldn’t see her.
He sent her a message requesting a response.
When he didn’t get one, he closed his eyes, knowing that somebody probably picked up that he was here, and now things would get ugly.
He texted Richard, saying that Crystal was no longer responding to his texts and that he feared the worst.
At that, Richard sent a confirmation, saying three vehicles were on the way, plus an ambulance, and to sit tight.
Ashton had to smile at that. Sit tight? Yeah, not likely.
Not if Crystal, who had followed him here willingly, was in trouble.
She was his responsibility. He stared down at his grandfather, hating the pale gray look to him, not sure whether it was drug-induced or something else.
Torn, he whispered, “You stay here, old man. I’ve got you now, but I have to make sure Crystal’s okay too. ”
And, with that, hating to leave him, Ashton got up, ready to find Oliver in the main house.