Chapter 28
28
Rachel
R achel put her head in her hands. Her eyes burned from staring at the computer screen for so long. She rubbed at her temples. Everything she’d searched for when it came to the company that had wanted the property came up normal, nothing suspicious.
What was worse was that the company was involved in charities. There was no way she’d be able to accuse them of sabotaging her project when they were known for doing so much for communities all over the country.
Her head pounded, and her hope shriveled. At this point she hadn’t progressed at all. The only thing she had was the conversation with that stranger—a man she’d never seen before in her life. Not only that, but he wasn’t in any of the pictures at the company. There was literally nothing to connect him to the developer who wanted to buy the sanctuary.
A whimpering sound drew her eyeline to the floor near the door. Cookie scratched at the door with her paw, then stood and turned in a circle. The puppy sat and glanced over her shoulder toward Rachel.
Those soulful eyes were heartbreaking. Lately, Rachel hadn’t allowed Cookie to be outside without her, and right now, she was too busy to go out. Odin remained on guard where he’d been since Hudson had left. Rachel didn’t know if Henry and Athena were here or if they’d gone out to run errands. Based on how quiet it was in the house, she figured they were alone.
“Not right now, sweetie. I have to do some work first.”
Cookie whined again and plopped down onto her stomach.
Rachel turned back to the computer and continued scrolling. Dead ends everywhere she turned. Why couldn’t she find even one crumb that could lead her in the right direction? She placed her chin in her hand.
While she’d managed to get the bank to tell her the name of the company that had shown an interest in the property, that was where her hopes ended. Charity after charity populated the screen. For no other reason than her personal interest in that sort of nonprofit work, she continued going back to the organizations that were linked to this developer.
There were footsteps outside her office door, and Cookie lifted her head before the door opened a crack. Cookie scampered to her feet, with her tail wagging so hard it thumped against the wall at her side. She stuck her nose through the door, sniffing and whimpering again.
The second Athena pushed the door wide enough, Cookie charged through the opening. Rachel heaved a sigh. Now she was going to have to track down the dog and make sure she didn’t get into trouble.
Athena leaned against the doorjamb. She folded her arms and gave Rachel a pointed look. “You find anything?”
Rachel shook her head.
Her sister frowned. “That guy was a creep. There’s seriously nothing? He has to have a criminal history.”
“Unfortunately, without his name, I can’t look him up. And it was dark. I don’t think I’d be able to recognize him even if I saw a mugshot.” Rachel ran a hand through her hair and sat back with a frustrated breath. “The problem is that there is literally nothing tying this developer with crime. No one on their board has a criminal history. They’ve got their fingers in several charitable organizations. How much do you want to bet that everyone they employ has had background checks and wouldn’t set off any red flags? We just have to face the fact that there is nothing we can do.”
Athena pushed away from the door and moved into the room to sit on a chair. “Don’t say that. You can’t give up when you’ve been working so hard to figure this out.”
“I’m not giving up. I’d rather die than let that happen. But sometimes we have to accept that things will be tough. I don’t think they’re going anywhere. If they were willing to put someone’s life in danger, what are they going to do next? I just don’t know how long I’ll have the energy to deal with their nonsense.” Rachel’s eyes darted to the computer screen. “I can’t believe how many charities they’re involved in. It’s not normal. I feel like there’s something there, but I just can’t see it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that usually when a bad company is involved in stuff like that, they’re using it in a nefarious way. Why can’t I see what’s going on?” She asked the question more to herself than anything, and yet her sister still responded.
“Because you’re too close to the situation.”
Rachel’s eyes shifted to her sister.
“I know you already know that. But it’s true. You care too much. You’re worried that you’re going to get it wrong. Something is blocking you from seeing what’s right in front of your face.” Athena shrugged. “Maybe it’s Hudson.”
“I’ve barely talked to him.”
“No, I mean, maybe it has to do with the fact that he got hurt. No one wants to see the person they love get hurt.”
Rachel tore her eyes from her sister and returned them to the screen. She wasn’t ready to discuss her feelings for Hudson. While she’d decided to stick around and protect the sanctuary she’d put her heart and soul into, she hadn’t told him anything. She didn’t want him coming back for any other reason than he wanted to fight for her.
Face flushing, she scooted closer to the computer and grabbed her mouse. There had to be at least three dozen charitable organizations. It would take all night to comb through each one and look at all the people involved in them. But maybe that’s what she would have to do to find that guy who had threatened her the other night.
Rachel moved the mouse to the top one on the list. She clicked through the web page and the contact page. It was a charity for a big hospital that served most of the Pacific Northwest. For all intents and purposes, it was legitimate.
Athena hadn’t left the room. She continued to stare at Rachel, even while Rachel kept her focus on the computer.
“I’m not going to say something about Hudson if that’s what you’re waiting for,” Rachel said.
“I’m not.”
Rachel clicked on the next one down. “Good.”
“I was going to ask you about something, though.”
She sighed. “If this has to do with the sanctuary or Hudson?—”
Athena cleared her throat. “With everything going on, I’d understand if you didn’t want to be my maid of honor.”
Rachel’s head snapped up and she gaped at her sister. She’d completely forgotten that she’d accepted that honor when Athena had announced their engagement. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been so wrapped up?—”
“Oh, I don’t blame you at all. I totally get it. You’ve been dealing with… a lot.” Athena leaned forward. “I told Henry that we might need to postpone the wedding until you figure things out.”
“Don’t do that!” Rachel shot out of her seat and moved beside her sister. “Just tell me what you need, and I’ll figure it out.”
Athena didn’t seem to be convinced.
“Seriously. I’m just doing some research. Since that fire, things have gone quiet. I’m guessing they don’t want to draw even more attention than they already have.” Rachel grimaced, her smile crooked. “Maybe you should consider getting married sooner rather than later.”
She laughed. At least she still had a sense of humor. “It’s fine, Rachel. I didn’t want to put you on the spot. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay, and if you wanted to drop out from being my maid of honor, you know I’d understand.”
“Well, I don’t. It’s the one thing I’ve been looking forward to… since this whole thing started.”
“Okay.” Athena nodded. “I won’t make any changes then.”
Rachel pulled her sister to her feet and gave her a hug. “I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t found you.” They held each other for a few moments before Athena pulled back. “I’m going to take the dogs for a walk, then I’ll be right back.”
“Good luck with that.” Rachel laughed. “Odin isn’t willing to listen to anyone right now. But I’m sure Cookie would love it.”
With Athena gone, Rachel returned to her search through each board of directors and many of the department heads who worked with the charities. One hour in, and she froze. Her heart stuttered as she stared at a familiar face on the screen. From what she could tell, the man’s specialty was finding people who fit with their brand and could help run different chapters of their organization.
Rachel’s breath caught in her throat as she pushed away from the desk. Mr. Grant was involved with the developer. It had to be a coincidence. Her parents were familiar with him. He’d worked with them on other projects. How deep did his influence go? Had he been sent to influence her to walk away from this project?
She lunged forward and started a new search. Her parents should have named her Alice because she couldn’t stop herself from falling down this rabbit hole. Not only was the man involved in that charity, but he was also slated to join the board for an up-and-coming resort.
The developer in question was the owner of that brand of resorts.
Rachel couldn’t stop her hands from shaking. She couldn’t find any definitive proof that Mr. Grant was involved in something illegal, but her gut said otherwise. She had to take this information to the sheriff.
She shot to her feet and grabbed her laptop from the desk. Maybe he’d be able to connect some dots so they could finally put this investigation in motion. The drive to town went by in a blur. She didn’t even remember pulling up to the sheriff’s station.
But as she stood in front of the sheriff and pointed out all the connections between the developer, Mr. Grant, and herself, she realized that she sounded more like a conspiracy theorist than anything else.
The sheriff steepled his fingers, his brows low over his eyes. When she stopped talking, he lifted his gaze to meet hers. “I’ll admit it’s all a little strange, but that’s it. I don’t think it’s enough to get the big guys involved. You’d need something more. Has this Mr. Grant said anything to indicate that he’s involved?”
“No,” she said.
“Unfortunately, I can’t help you on this one. We’re still looking into the break-in. We’ve got some leads on the fire. Hudson gave us a used cigarette butt that we sent to a lab. If we can get a match on the DNA?—”
“Sheriff?” The door behind Rachel opened, and she turned to find the sheriff’s secretary looking worried. “There’s someone here?—”
A man in a familiar cowboy hat dragged another disgruntled man past her. “Sheriff, I’ve got someone you’re going to want to talk to.” Hudson’s eyes swung to Rachel, and he froze. The man jerked his arm free of Hudson’s hand, and he glanced toward Rachel as well.
She had to be seeing things. It hadn’t been long, but Hudson had already started to grow some facial hair. He looked like he hadn’t slept since they’d last seen each other. But it was the way he stared at her like he had been wandering in the desert and she was a tall glass of water.
Her heart fluttered, and her breath caught. “Hudson,” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”