Chapter 26
After getting assistance from one of Eddie’s IT staff members to get access to the Prestons’ financial statements at various banks and financial institutions, and making a few phone calls, Benjamin parked his car outside a massive Victorian mansion in Nob Hill.
“Is that one house?” Catalina asked from the passenger seat.
“It used to be two, but when Samson and Delilah’s kids were born, they bought the house next door and just broke through some walls and turned it into one house.”
“How old are the kids?”
“You met them at the party: Isabelle, Grayson, and Patrick. They’re in their late thirties like Damian and I. We practically grew up together.”
“You have wonderful friends,” she said with a warm smile.
“Wait until you really get to know them. You couldn’t wish for a more loyal bunch of friends.”
And he was certain that his friends would love Catalina just as much as she would grow to love them. She would fit perfectly into his extended family—just as soon as he’d told her that he and his family and friends were all vampires. Good vampires. Decent people with strong ethics and big hearts.
“Come, let me introduce you to my boss’s wife,” he said and got out of the car.
He reached for the computer bag behind his seat, then walked around the car to open the passenger door, but Catalina was already exiting, evidently not used to someone opening the door for her.
It was one of the many old-fashioned manners his father had taught him and Damian: raising them as gentlemen who respected women.
At the door, he rang the bell. It didn’t take long until the door was opened. However, it wasn’t Delilah who stood there greeting them, but Monique.
“Oh, hi, Monique,” he greeted her. “We came to see Delilah.”
Monique waved them in. “Come in, come in. She’s in the playroom trying to get Ross to sleep.” She cast a smile at Catalina. “Nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you too,” Catalina replied as they entered the house.
“I didn’t realize she’s babysitting,” Benjamin said, just as Grayson came out of one of the other rooms.
“Hey, guys,” Grayson said. “Isabelle thought she could drop her little rascal into our laps so she could be at the club with Orlando, but Mom saved us.”
“Your nephew is a sweet boy,” Benjamin protested.
“Yeah, if you have to hold him for ten minutes, but after that, he turns into work,” Grayson claimed. “Do you have any idea how exhausting little kids are?”
Monique rolled her eyes and put her arm around her blood-bonded mate. “Don’t listen to him, Benjamin. Once we have our own, he’ll sing a different tune.”
Grayson turned his head to nuzzle his face against Monique’s. “Baby, I’m not ready to share you yet, so get your fill of kids while we’re visiting.”
At the sound of a door opening farther down the corridor, Benjamin looked past Grayson’s shoulder. Delilah came out of a room, looking a little frazzled.
“Oh, hi,” she said and walked toward him.
Grayson and Monique both looked over their shoulders.
“How is Ross?” Grayson asked.
“I swear he’s more difficult than all three of you were together,” Delilah said with a sigh before she smiled.
Grayson chuckled. “Aren’t you glad that Monique and I have decided to wait a little with giving you another grandchild?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t wait too long. I might not feel up to babysitting when I’m older.”
“Nice try, Mom,” Grayson said and kissed his mother on the cheek.
With a smile, Delilah turned to Benjamin. “So, Benjamin, why don’t you introduce me to your friend?”
“Delilah, this is my girlfriend, Catalina.”
Delilah squeezed Catalina’s outstretched hand.
“Delilah is Samson’s wife. She was an auditor before she met him,” Benjamin explained.
“So nice to meet you,” Delilah said with a big smile.
“Likewise. I’m so sorry we’re intruding on you in your home,” Catalina replied. “You must be so busy…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Delilah said. “I’m sure Grayson and Monique will look in on Ross while I’m looking at the documents Benjamin mentioned.” She turned her head to him. “Let’s go to the office.”
She motioned for them to follow her to the end of the corridor.
“And should Ross cry, try and get him back to bed,” she called over her shoulder.
“We’ll be going out in a while,” Grayson said.
“Don’t worry, Delilah,” Monique interrupted. “We’ll let you know before we leave.”
Delilah ushered them into the office: a wood-paneled room with floor-to-ceiling bookcases, a large, imposing desk with two computer monitors, and a comfortable leather seating area in one corner.
It had a definite masculine feel. This was Samson’s office for when he didn’t want to go to headquarters.
From here, he had access to all Scanguards systems via a secure connection.
With the door closed now, it was quiet, and even with his vampire senses, he could barely hear any sounds from the others in the house.
Benjamin placed his laptop onto the desk. “Thank you so much for doing this, Delilah. I really appreciate it.”
“So, give me some background so I can figure out what I’m looking for,” Delilah said with a nod.
Benjamin cast Catalina a look, and she nodded. They’d discussed earlier that it was okay to let Delilah know who she was and what was at stake.
“Catalina’s brother is Santiago Vargas. He was convicted of stealing a priceless necklace from the Preston family,” he started.
“Oh, I’ve read about the case.”
“Good. Catalina believes that the Prestons framed her brother, and that the necklace was never stolen, but that the Prestons staged it so that they could collect the insurance money. But there’s a problem with that theory…”
He looked at Catalina, who continued, “The problem is why they would do that and not just sell the necklace if they needed cash, but that’s another problem we can figure out later.
But first, we need to know whether they needed money so desperately that they would risk committing insurance fraud to get it. ”
“That should be relatively easy to figure out,” Delilah said confidently.
“Excellent,” Benjamin said and booted up the laptop. “I downloaded everything IT could hack into: financial records of all their accounts at the various banks and brokerages, deeds to their properties, and anything else we could get our hands on.”
Delilah sat down behind the desk. “Well, let’s see. What’s the password?”
“Use Scanguards’ universal password,” Benjamin replied. “The laptop is a spare. All documents are on the desktop.”
She typed the password, and the computer unlocked. Benjamin stood behind her, watching, when she turned her head.
“You might want to sit down. I said it was easy, not fast.”
“Oh,” Benjamin said apologetically, “got it.”
As he walked around the desk to join Catalina, who stood there expectantly, his phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket and looked at the display.
“It’s Nicholas,” he said and motioned to the door to indicate that he would take it outside.
Catalina followed him into the hallway when he accepted the call and put it on speaker.
“Hey, Nicholas, you’re on speaker. Catalina is with me.”
“Hey, bro. Got some news on the public defender.”
“That fast?” He was impressed.
“It was a doozy. Turns out that Gloria Evans is getting married to some bigshot investment banker. He actually purchased the car for her as an engagement present. So, she’s clean.
She’s got no need for any bribery money.
Her fiancé makes a shit-ton of money, and he’s not stingy if you know what I mean. ”
He exchanged a look with Catalina. “Damn. That’s a dead end.”
“Yep, sorry. Anything else?”
“How about the prosecutor?” Catalina suddenly said.
Benjamin nodded. “That’s a possibility. Can you check him out too?”
“What’s the name?”
“Let me check in the file,” Benjamin said.
“No need. I remember his name. Steven Young,” Catalina volunteered.
“Great,” Benjamin said. “Oh, and while you’re at it, can you also check out the judge who presided over the trial?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“His name is Tylor Norton,” Catalina said quickly.
“Okay, I’ll run backgrounds on both. Let you know if I find any red flags.”
“Appreciate it,” Benjamin said before he disconnected the call.
“I’m not surprised,” Catalina said now.
“About the public defender?”
“Yeah. She had very little influence on how the trial went. It would make a lot more sense that the prosecutor would do something that would guarantee a conviction. I mean, he brought in all the expert witnesses that testified to the authenticity of the forensic evidence, and Gloria didn’t get to do her own investigation.
If any of the witnesses lied or tampered with the evidence, there was nobody to contradict them. ”
Slowly, he nodded. “It’s a possibility. Let’s wait to see what Sebastian can find when he’s examining the security video. That’s our best shot.”
Catalina stifled a yawn.
“You must be exhausted,” he said.
It was late, and while he was used to being up all night, she wasn’t.
“I’m fine,” she claimed.
“There’s nothing you can do right now anyway, so why don’t you lie down for a little while?”
“I can’t just lie down in somebody’s house,” she protested.
“Of course you can. This is like a second home for me. My father and Samson have been best friends for centuries.”
The word was out before he could stop himself. Fuck!
“Centuries?”
He quickly made a dismissive hand movement. “Just an exaggeration. I mean, they’ve known each other for so long, they’re like brothers. So, please, let me show you to the den, where you can stretch out on the sofa.”
At first, she looked like she wanted to protest again, but then she relented. “Alright. But you have to wake me up as soon as Delilah finds something, anything.”
“Promise.”
“And what are you gonna do in the meantime?”
“I’ll make a few calls, and then see if I can help Delilah with anything.”
“Aren’t you tired too?”
He shook his head. “I work most nights. I’m used to it.”
He ushered her into the family room, which was in a new part of the house, opposite the formal living room that was part of Samson’s original house before the massive renovations.
Nobody would disturb her here. Samson was at headquarters, Ross was asleep in the playroom two doors down, and Monique and Grayson would be going out soon.
It was quiet here, and even if Ross woke up and cried, she wouldn’t necessarily hear him.