Chapter 3
Erica checked her calendar, then added her availability to her email. While she no longer saw clients, she refused to let her hair skills atrophy. In addition to attending classes the salon offered the stylists, she did the hair of several employees every month. Between the four salons she owned, it took her a while to work through everyone, but she kept at it. Not only was it a good way for her to stay current with trends, but the time she spent with her staff also allowed her to get to know them and them to feel more connected with her. In the next few weeks, she would do a cut and color for a massage therapist and a nail tech. A level-four stylist was getting hair extensions. For that appointment, Erica would act as the assistant. While she was certified in hair extensions, she hadn’t done them enough to be good at them.
Most months she managed to get to around four employees, but this time of year, that was impossible. Summer’s softball season was starting and that meant at least twenty games in less than three months. Erica did her best to get to every game, so the season seriously ate into her work time. Still, she wanted to be supportive and that meant showing up every single time.
Her calendar updated, she closed her computer, then glanced at the clock. Nearly eight. Summer should be getting home soon. Her daughter wasn’t usually one to ignore curfew.
Erica prowled her home office, more restless than usual. If she was by herself in the evening and wasn’t working, she often didn’t know what to do. Watching a movie alone wasn’t very fun and while she read most nights, that was more of a before-bed activity.
She needed a hobby, she thought for possibly the eighty-seventh time—although she had no idea what. Crafts had never been her thing. She supposed she could text her mother and see if she wanted company. Mara lived in the carriage house at the rear of the property. Not that it was likely her mother was home. Mara was the most social of the Sawyer women with a large cadre of friends and a rotating selection of men with whom she did the wild thing on an uncomfortably regular basis. Erica often tried to tell herself she should be happy her seventy-year-old mother had a healthy sex life. While on an intellectual basis, she was okay with it, emotionally, she was still a little grossed out by knowing her parent had sex. She supposed there were some things a child never outgrew.
She walked toward the family room. Once she knew Summer was safely home, she would take a bath and maybe give herself a minifacial. That would fill the rest of the evening. Tomorrow, she would spend some serious time thinking about a hobby. Or making a list of female acquaintances she thought might be possible friends. A transition she frequently found awkward and uncomfortable.
Peter had always teased her about being slow to warm up to people. No, she corrected silently. At first he’d teased her. At the end of their relationship he’d accused her of being a heartless bitch who refused to trust anyone.
“Not going there,” she murmured to herself. While she was long over the man, thinking about the end of their marriage always depressed her. She’d come to terms with the divorce, but even after four years, she still didn’t know what had gone wrong, nor could she understand the speed with which everything had changed between them. From her point of view, one day they’d been perfectly happy together and the next he’d told her he wanted a divorce. When she managed to recover from the shock enough to ask him why, he’d claimed that he no longer loved her, that he found her sexually repugnant and regretted every second he’d spent in her presence. But not to worry. His loathing was quickly changing to indifference.
They’d been standing in the main bath. She remembered how the chandelier over the large tub had almost created a halo over his head. Then he’d crossed to his vanity and pulled out a drawer. He’d tossed a prescription bottle toward her.
“I have to take these to get it up,” he’d said coldly. “I’m not willing to do that anymore.”
He’d walked out then, leaving her staring after him, unable to grasp what had just happened. She’d picked up the bottle and read the label. Viagra.
Shame flooded her, then and now. But with the passage of time, Erica was better at shaking it off. Peter had changed. He’d fallen out of love with her. Her job had been to accept that and move on, which she had. The cruelty wasn’t her fault or her responsibility. While that lesson had taken longer, she’d been determined to learn it.
“Why am I even thinking about the man?” she asked herself, not that she had an answer. She supposed it was because Summer was spending the evening with him and his family, as she often did.
Summer burst into the house from the garage.
“Mom! Mom! Where are you?”
Erica heard the tension in her daughter’s voice and hurried toward the kitchen.
“I’m here. What’s wrong?” Her chest tightened as a thousand possible disasters filled her mind. “Were you in an accident?”
Her daughter came running around the corner and barreled toward her. She’d been crying. Her face was blotchy and her eyes red.
She dropped her bag on the floor and flung herself at Erica.
“Oh, Mom, it’s so awful. We have to do something.”
Erica grabbed her daughter’s arms and shifted back enough to see her face. “What are you talking about? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. It’s not me. It’s Dad and Allison. Dad’s in jail!”
Erica stared at her daughter. “What are you talking about? Peter can’t be in jail.” It was a ridiculous thought. He was an ordinary person. He rarely drank, wasn’t much of a gambler and ran an accounting business, for heaven’s sake. Accountants weren’t wild enough to go to jail.
Summer twisted free of Erica’s hold. “He is! It’s horrible.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “Allison was so upset, which freaked out Jackson. Mom, it’s awful. The accounts are frozen and there’s no money and Allison couldn’t eat. She’s scared and I am, too. We have to do something!”
Summer wasn’t making sense. Erica pointed to the stools at the island. “Sit down and take a breath. Then start at the beginning.”
“Mo-om! You’re not listening!”
“That’s because you’re not making sense. Please sit down. I’m going to listen, but you have to calm down a little so I can understand what you’re saying.”
Summer groaned but did as she was told. She slumped on a stool, the ratty flannel shirt she wore as a light jacket hanging off one shoulder.
Erica allowed herself a second to lament, yet again, that her only child had no interest in anything related to her appearance. Aside from showering and wearing sunscreen, Summer did nothing to take care of her skin. She eschewed makeup of any kind, dressed in jeans and sweatshirts in the winter and shorts and T-shirts in the summer, and refused to do more than tie her long hair back in a ponytail or braid. She was a beautiful young woman but acted as if she were invisible. Or indifferent.
Peter’s doing, Erica thought grimly. A few years before the divorce Peter had started dismissing Erica’s business as frivolous and superficial. At first the comments had been teasing but over time they’d gotten more pointed. Eventually they’d taken root.
She held in a sigh—yet something else not to think about.
“You saw Allison,” she prompted her daughter. “She was upset.”
Summer nodded vigorously. “They were both crying and she tried to tell me it was nothing, but I knew something had happened. She said it was pregnancy hormones.” The tears returned. “She couldn’t eat, Mom. Allison always does what they say to take care of the baby. She’s a really good mom.”
Erica told herself to ignore the admiration in her daughter’s voice. It was nice that she got along with her stepmother. Erica should be proud of her, and she would be. Later.
Summer detailed how Allison had tried to hide a problem, but after Jackson went to bed, she’d confessed the truth. Peter had been arrested and the family bank accounts had been frozen, leaving Allison with no money and no husband.
“She’s pregnant, Mom. Bethany is due in like three months. She already works two jobs, but she can’t stay at the grocery store much longer because it’s too hard on her. And now Dad’s in jail and we’re all so scared.”
Erica took a seat as she tried to process the information. Peter in jail? She couldn’t imagine it. He wasn’t a stellar businessman but he wasn’t dishonest. All right, he’d taken money from her company, but she’d assumed that had been more about bitterness and wanting to hurt her than because he was a criminal.
“She doesn’t know what’s happening or how to contact him,” Summer continued, pushing a strand of dark hair off her face. “She’s alone and pregnant and there’s no one to take care of her.”
Erica tried not to show her annoyance at Summer’s insistence on protecting her stepmother.
“Allison is very capable and together,” she said, her tone soothing. “She’ll figure it out. I know this sounds awful, but it’s probably not as bad as it seems. This has to be a misunderstanding. Your father isn’t a criminal. He can get out on bail.”
Summer wiped her cheeks. “How? There’s no money. Everything is frozen by the bank. I didn’t even know they could do that. It’s not right. She has to buy food and diapers. They’re going to starve, Mom!”
“Not today. Let’s give Allison some time to figure out what’s going on.”
“But she doesn’t know how. She’s not like you, Mom. You can do stuff like that. Or Killion can. Please. She’s so scared.”
Erica held in a sigh. Obviously Summer wasn’t going to let it go.
“I’ll talk to Killion,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound as grudging as she felt.
Summer pushed off the stool and hugged her. “You’re the best! Thanks, Mom. It’s just Allison is all alone and Dad’s in jail and I don’t know what to think.”
Erica nodded. “It’s a lot, but we’ll figure it out. Allison will be fine. You’ll see.”
“I hope so.” Summer picked up her backpack. “You’ll come talk to me after you call Killion?”
“I will.”
She waited until her daughter had gone upstairs, then pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her contacts.
“It’s me, Erica,” she said when Killion answered.
He chuckled. “I have you in my contact list, Erica. I know that it’s you.”
She smiled. “I’m happy to hear that.”
She liked Killion. He was a good guy—successful, low-key emotionally. He worked hard and liked that she did the same. Trust had come slowly, after her divorce. She’d waited nearly two years before going out with a man. Her first forays into the dating scene had been a disaster, so she’d given up on the idea, only to meet Killion a few months later. While theirs wasn’t a conventional relationship, she enjoyed having him in her life.
“I need your help with something,” she said slowly. “Summer came home nearly hysterical from dinner with her stepmother.”
She detailed what her daughter had told her.
“Your ex-husband is in jail?” He sounded more amused than shocked.
“Yes, there is an interesting karmic element, but Summer is worried about Allison and her father, so I’m trying to get some information. I don’t even know where to start. I thought you might have some ideas.”
“Of course.”
She heard him typing.
“He’s being held in SeaTac.”
“By the airport? There’s a jail?”
“He’s in federal custody. Let me make some calls. I’ll get back to you within the hour.”
“Thank you, Killion. I appreciate the help.”
“Of course.”
She went upstairs and told Summer what he’d said. Her daughter was sitting on her bed, phone in hand. Her eyes widened.
“Dad really is in jail? I was hoping Allison was wrong. What happened?”
“I don’t know, but we’ll find out. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear from Killion.”
She went back to her home office. As she waited, she thought about texting her mother, but she was fairly sure Mara was out with one of her male friends. So she played computer games until the phone rang thirty minutes later.
“He’s been arrested on several charges, including money laundering and wire fraud.”
“What?” Her voice was more of a yelp than she’d expected. She cleared her throat. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. There’s also something about threatening the police with a gun, but I can’t get specifics on that.”
“Peter doesn’t own a gun.” He never had. “Threatening the police?”
“That’s what I was told. Someone in his office tipped off the FBI about illegal activity and the FBI got in touch with the Secret Service.”
“Why? He didn’t threaten the president, did he?”
Killion chuckled. “They’re part of Treasury.”
As in the Department of Treasury? “None of this sounds right.”
“More charges are pending. I’m guessing they want him to flip on a bigger fish. I hope he has a good lawyer.”
“This can’t be true. Peter isn’t the criminal type. All of this sounds terrible. Did I mention the bank has frozen all of their accounts?”
“Given the charges, I’m not surprised.”
“But half the money belongs to Allison. Shouldn’t she be able to access it?”
“The government doesn’t work that way. Plus banks tend to overreact at the first sign of trouble.”
“It doesn’t seem fair.”
“They would tell you if he hadn’t broken the law, he wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.”
Erica nodded slowly. “You’re right, of course, but I still can’t take it all in. None of this feels real. Peter was never ambitious. I can’t imagine him putting together a plan to steal or whatever and then executing it.”
“I doubt he was in it alone.”
“You think he’s working with someone?”
“Or for someone.”
Peter, a criminal? “I still can’t believe it.”
“Imagine how the wife feels.”
Not anything Erica wanted to think about. “She’ll be fine.”
“As long as Summer thinks so. What are you going to tell her?”
“I genuinely have no idea.” She sighed. “Thank you, Killion. I appreciate the information.”
“Anytime.”
He hung up. She tucked her phone into her pocket before heading down the hall. Just outside her daughter’s open door, she paused, still not sure what to say.
Summer jumped to her feet as soon as she saw her. “What did he say?”
“He doesn’t know much. Your father is being held in a facility in SeaTac. There are several charges. I don’t know the specifics.”
Summer’s brown eyes widened. “I can’t believe it.”
“Me, either. None of this sounds right. I was with your dad over ten years. He’s not a criminal.”
“What are we going to do?”
Weweren’t going to do anything, she thought grimly. “You can tell Allison what Killion found out. I’m sure your dad is already talking to a lawyer.”
“How is he supposed to pay for one?”
An excellent question. “He can’t be the first person this has happened to. The lawyer will take him on with an agreement they’ll get paid when the accounts are released. I’m still having trouble believing this isn’t all a big misunderstanding.”
Especially the part about Peter pulling a gun on police. He just wasn’t the type.
“But we have to help!”
“We don’t know what the problem is. Try not to panic. We’ll know more in a few days.”
Summer drew in a breath. “You’re right. It’s just hard not to freak out.”
“I know. This is difficult.” She hugged her daughter. “Are you going to be able to sleep? I know you’re worried but the season starts soon. You need your sleep so you don’t let down the team.”
Because the team mattered.
“I’ll be okay,” her daughter murmured. “Thanks, Mom. And thank Killion for me. I’m going to text Allison right now.”
Erica nodded and left. When she was in her own room, she shut the door and turned on the TV. What a mess, she thought as she walked to the bathroom. Thank God it wasn’t her problem.