Chapter Four
He was really enjoying hanging out with Ashley and Brian, Eric realized, a little surprised at the thought. He’d been somewhat on guard when he’d heard that Brian had married none other than Ashley Mitchum.
In fact, he’d kind of wondered if Brian had lost his mind.
But Eric had been pleasantly surprised when he’d arrived tonight. Even though she was as beautiful as he’d expected, Eric couldn’t sense a trace of the spoiled rotten girl that Ashley had been while growing up. Easygoing and down to earth, Ashley was most obviously deeply in love with his brother.
Eric felt right at home as they sat down for dinner in the dining room.
“I really like the way you guys have fixed up the house,” Eric observed, glancing around the dining room before proceeding to scoop food from all the dishes resting on the table. “You’d never know it was the same house we used to sneak into as kids.”
“Thank you,” Ashley replied, smiling. “We were lucky that the floors and the woodwork were still in great shape.”
Brian cleared his throat, glancing at Eric. “I wouldn’t know about the flooring and woodwork. I guess I never mentioned that Ashley was working in construction in Eau Claire for several years before she returned to Crystal Rock. She did most of the work in the master bedroom and kitchen before I even met her again.”
Eric’s fork paused in midair. “Construction? Really?”
Ashley nodded. “When we first moved in with my grandparents, I got a job at the local home and improvement store and started developing serious skills and one of the local builders offered me a job.”
“Who’d have thought?” When Eric burst out laughing, Brian and Ashley joined in.
Ashley finally continued, “I wanted every room to be comfortable, which is why I went with shabby chic furnishings and lots of padded chairs and benches throughout the house, instead of uncomfortable furniture that went along with the house’s time period. I’ve even strengthened the antique seating we’ve bought at auctions so that everything is sturdy and can serve dual purposes.”
Eric became thoughtful. “Everything seems to fit somehow, not being all stiff and formal. I’d say you definitely have a knack for decorating.”
“I keep telling her she ought to start a side business. Since tourism is pretty big here in town, she’d probably make a killing during the summer without even having to do anything online. You ought to see the tower room upstairs,” Brian said, grinning. “Ashley converted it into a master suite by knocking down some walls into the other bedrooms. It’s got a fireplace along with a huge master bathroom and tons of closet space. We’ve been working on the nursery a little at a time, but it’s easier to keep an eye on Arielle downstairs when we’re working, so we set up a crib in the library to make it easier during the day.”
The food sure tasted good. Despite Ashley’s confession that she and Brian were both lacking when it came to cooking, they’d definitely improved their skills.
They talked about nothing in particular for a while, but eventually, Arielle woke, so Brian and Eric cleared the table and put the food away while Ashley went to feed the baby.
Once everyone was finished, they gathered in the living room with the baby, who never seemed to stop smiling. Ashley played with her for a while on her lap as she sat on the couch, handing Arielle over to Brian when she was ready to head to the kitchen to fetch the coffee she’d made after feeding the baby.
Brian stood, hoisting the baby in the air, which Arielle obviously loved since she was gurgling happily.
“All of a sudden, she’s getting around a lot better. She’s just started to crawl, and geez, does she ever go crazy once she starts,” Brian muttered, resting Arielle on the floor, where she proceeded to gradually flip over and take off on wobbly knees.
“Uh, oh,” Ashley said, smiling down at Arielle while resting the coffee cups on the end table. “She’s not pulling herself up on the coffee table yet, but it could be soon.”
“At least we still have the playpen and swing,” Brian said.
Ashley grimaced. “My guess is that the playpen isn’t going to hold her too much longer either."
The panicked look on his brother’s face was priceless, Eric thought, smiling widely. You’d never know that he was a former Army Ranger.
“How’s the leg been doing?” Eric asked suddenly. Despite his injury, Brian didn’t appear to have too much of a limp.
“Good,” Brian answered. “As long as I keep up with my required exercises. I’ve noticed that if I even skip a day, I regret it. Eventually, I’m going to purchase some equipment and set up a weight room downstairs, but I’ve been allowed access to the wounded warrior rehab facility, which isn’t too far from here. I have a regular sign in time daily, after hours.”
Eric nodded. “I’ll bet they’ve upgraded the facilities quite a bit since the last time I was there.”
“They sure have,” Ashley replied. “They’ve even added on a new wing for rehab training with prosthetics.”
Brian grinned. “Ashley knows everything there is to know about the place. She and I are the ones who create the buzz for the annual Christmas charity event. This year we’re doing most everything online because of COVID. There are too many high-risk individuals involved with organizing the event.”
Ashley grimaced. “Hopefully, both sets of grandmas and grandpas will be here on Wednesday, the day of the charity event. Brian and I are going to have to go help out at the Dragonfly Pointe Inn. We’re part of the skeleton crew that will appear online and describe the items for auction.”
Feeling a tug on his shoelace, Eric glanced down at Arielle, who looked like she was ready to start climbing along his leg and onto his lap.
Eric started laughing. “Well, if not, even though I have no experience with kids, I’ll do what I can if you need me to. Speaking of which…”
Somehow, Arielle had managed to roll into a sitting position, propping herself up against Eric’s leg.
Both Ashley and Brian laughed.
Standing, Ashley scooped up Arielle, resting her on Eric’s lap. “There you go, sweetheart. I didn’t introduce you to your Uncle Eric, did I?”
Gently, Eric rested his hands under the baby’s arms, bouncing her lightly up and down before bussing his nose against hers and making a game of it.
She seemed happy, gurgling and smiling.
“I haven’t looked outside for a while,” Brian said, standing to approach the wide picture window overlooking the lake. “If I’m not mistaken, the snow’s still coming down pretty hard.”
Reaching for a remote that was resting in a tray on the end table, Ashley punched a button, while Eric stared through the window too. As light spilled across the front porch, puffy snowflakes filled the air. The wind seemed to have finally died down.
“We didn’t put up many Christmas lights, except for on the front and back porch,” she observed.
“Next year, we’ll do more,” Brian said reassuringly. “The two of us have been somewhat sleep deprived and working from home has been a little challenging financially this year.”
“I get it. I’ll bet heating this place alone costs a fortune,” Eric said, continuing to bounce Arielle up and down.
“We’ve been considering some solar energy options. Or rather Ashley has been, since she gained a lot of knowledge from working on so many different construction sites,” Brian answered with a rueful grin.
Eric smiled as Arielle reached out to pinch his nose.
“Ouch,” he muttered, teasing.
Her hand moved down to lightly tap his lips, which he began smacking together.
Cocking her head, she appeared to be puzzled.
Until he made a smooching noise, kissing her cheek, something she most definitely recognized.
Eric stood, scooping Arielle into one arm and cradling her against him as he approached the window. Her eyes went wide as they looked outside together at the snow coming down.
Seeming excited, her fists bumped together.
“Look at that, Arielle,” Eric crooned softly. “Pretty soon, you’ll be out there playing in the snow.”
After standing in place for a few more minutes, he realized it was probably a little cold for the baby, even though it appeared that the window they were gazing through was relatively new.
“Come on. Let’s go back and talk with your mom and dad,” he said, turning and noticing the arrested look on Brian’s face. “What? Just because you’ve never seen me hold a baby before doesn’t mean that I’m afraid to.”
Ashley began laughing. “He’s probably remembering how terrified he was the first time he held Arielle in his arms.”
Eric grinned at Arielle, sitting back on the couch. “Arielle knows that her uncle is going to spoil her rotten.”
Brian laughed. “Just like everyone else.”
Arielle began smacking her lips together.
“I think she’s hungry,” Eric observed, touching her mouth gently. “She’s trying to use my finger as a pacifier.”
“I’ll go heat up her bottle,” Ashley said, grabbing the empty coffee cups. “She’s already eating some solids including finger foods, but at this point, it’s more convenient to feed her during the day in her high chair where it’s easier for me to clean up after her.”
A few minutes later, Ashley returned with a bottle and bib.
As she reached out for the baby, Eric asked, “Is it alright if I feed her?”
“Why, sure,” Ashley replied, looking surprised as she glanced at Brian.
Brian shrugged, grinning. “Mom’s going to get a kick out of this.”
“Both moms will,” Ashley said dryly, laying the bib under Ashley’s chin and assisting Eric with the bottle as he gently stuck the nipple into Arielle’s mouth.
Eric gave Arielle a tender smile as she ate. It didn’t take long for her to finish the bottle, and soon she’d dozed off.
“Want me to put her in the playpen?” Ashley asked.
“Nah, I’m kind of enjoying this,” Eric admitted gruffly, gently twirling Arielle’s wavy blond hair around one of his fingers. “Blond hair and deep blue eyes. Where did she get the blond hair from? The two of you are both dark.”
“I had white-blond hair when I was young,” Ashley replied.
Eric nodded.
A few minutes later, he glanced at Ashley and Brian. “Is this the wrong time for me to ask what happened with the traffickers situation last year?”
Brian had turned on the television a little earlier when they’d been drinking their coffee to watch Monday night football but had turned down the volume.
Brian settled back in his chair. “This is as good of a time as any.”
Ashley nodded her agreement. “Would you like more coffee, Eric?”
“Maybe I’ll have one more cup. Thanks, Ashley.”
When she left for the kitchen, Brian began to go over the bare bones of the story. “You remember Jeff Barton and Michelle Ashford?”
“Of course. They were your best friends,” Eric replied.
“Basically, it came down to this. Michelle’s father didn’t commit suicide ten years ago. After a second autopsy, they realized he was murdered, but didn’t spread the word. I think that I already told you some of the story, but Michelle’s father had been pushing a property investment scheme which his silent partner had lied to him about. Michelle was so relieved to be able to clear her father’s name. We believe that the money that was being collected was really going to be used to reestablish a new human trafficking connection here in Crystal Rock.”
Ashley returned with his coffee, resting the mug on the coaster on the end table before sitting across from him near the fireplace.
“Everyone assumed that when Michelle’s father, Mr. Ashford, was killed it was for the money, because it all disappeared. That’s why Mom and Ashley’s dad, Mr. Mitchum, had to pretend they’d gone off together. It made it look like they were the ones who took the money because Mr. Mitchum had apparently been at the real estate office for an appointment on the same day before Mr. Ashford was killed, and our mom, as his secretary, was there working in the office at the same time. Whoever killed Mr. Ashford thought that he’d told both of them the truth about the investment scheme, so they were both in danger.”
“In fact, they were both even shot at,” Ashley muttered. “It turned out that there were some notebooks filled with names and figures that Mr. Ashford had hidden in his office at their home, where he was found dead. Jeff and Michelle discovered one of them when they began the restoration of her old family home on the lake when she returned to town early last year.”
“Let me guess,” Eric said, becoming thoughtful. “They think that the names in the notebook were actually trafficking connections or clients who were supposed to remain confidential. But they only found one notebook? How do they know there were more?”
Ashley pursed her lips. “I can’t remember. So much has happened during the past three or four years since I returned to town to take the job I was offered at the Inn. I think Jake Loughlin was the one who told us that there were three more missing. You remember Jake, don’t you—the owner of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn?”
“And former FBI special agent,” Brian added.
“Really?” Eric replied pursing his lips. “I don’t think I knew that he was a special agent. Then again, he was the one who was helping us out when we left town ten years ago, so maybe I kind of guessed that he was more than he seemed to be.”
“Supposedly, his investigation into the trafficking is ongoing. Every time a group of people are arrested, it seems like others are eventually sent to replace them,” Brian admitted. “After all these years, Jake has yet to determine why this town seems to be so important to the traffickers.”
“What about the missing money?” Eric asked.
“They found it in a secret account belonging to Michelle’s grandfather, her mother’s dad,” Brian responded. “I gather he was a real jerk, but they don’t know if he was the one who killed Tom Ashford, or if he came upon Mr. Ashford after he was dead and happened to find the funds, so he took advantage of the situation.”
“Anyway,” Ashley said. “There’s a little more to the story, but we can save that for another time.”
“Like the part about Ashley getting kidnapped,” Brian growled.
“What?” Eric snapped. “No one mentioned anything about that.”
“That’s because the guy that did it had information, so he’s being used even now as an informant. But he’s behind bars.”
Eric shook his head dazedly. “If Mom and Mr. Ashford were the ones that they suspected knew about their scheme, why did the rest of us have to move to Chicago?”
Brian heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Eric, but that was my fault.”
Puzzled, Eric asked, “How so?”
“I came here that night after Ashley had moved away with her mom. We’d had words, and I went over to her house to apologize but she was gone. When I drove here to the house just to think about things, I walked down to the pier without realizing that the basement of this house was most likely a gathering place for several of the traffickers and possibly even some clients.” Brian inhaled an unsteady breath. “They saw me. I ran straight to the Inn and talked to Jake, and he sent protection over to our house so we could pack and get away. I went into the Army immediately because it was easier to hide in plain sight for a while.”
Stunned, Eric sat silent, looking down into the sweet innocent face of Arielle, still sleeping in his arms.
Finally, he spoke grimly. “I don’t know who I’m mad at most—you or Dad.”
Brian hung his head. “I’m sorry, Eric. It really was safer for everyone that way. The worst thing about it was that I went through tons of mug shots, but I could never identify any of the men, even though I got a pretty good look at all of them.”
“I had the advantage of overhearing my dad’s conversation with my mom the night before he left town, to supposedly run off with your mom,” Ashley admitted, looking sheepish. “I knew that it was planned, although I didn’t understand why it was happening.”
“We might have found a way to stay in touch if I hadn’t been such an ass,” Brian grumbled.
Ashley pursed her lips. “There’s no use dwelling on the past, Brian. And truthfully, the circumstances just made us stronger. And we still ended up together.”
Brian grinned.
“On those words of wisdom, I should get the baby tucked into bed upstairs,” Ashley said, standing to approach Eric, who gently held up the baby so she could easily scoop her into her arms. “I can’t believe how lucky we are that she sleeps so well.”
“I guess the two of us should be getting to bed, since I’ll have to get up early and plow,’ Brian said.
“Eric hasn’t even seen the apartment downstairs,” Ashley said, turning back to Eric as she headed from the living room toward the wide staircase inside the front entrance. “Feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen, including tonight’s leftovers. You’ll have a TV and internet access downstairs, so you can stay up as late as you’d like or sleep in. We don’t have any set time for breakfast since we’ve been working from home.”
“Thank you for everything, Ashley. Dinner was great,” Eric replied, smiling.
She snorted. “I don’t know about that, but we’ll see you in the morning. Night.”
“Night,” Eric responded, standing as Brian began turning down the lights before shutting off the electric fireplace. “Anything I can do?”
“Nah. I’m just glad you’re not mad anymore,” Brian answered, grinning.
Eric gave him a rueful smile. “Like you said, the past is the past.”
“Just follow me.”
As Eric followed Brian through the kitchen and down the staircase, he realized that Brian’s limp was a lot less pronounced. “You barely limp at all anymore.”
“It usually gets worse when I overdo it. Say I spend too much time shoveling or working outside in the summer,” he said, waving his hand around the huge space downstairs. “What do you think?”
“I love it,” Eric replied, his eyes going wide. The space was actually set up like a family room, with a sectional and big screen TV. There was even a small kitchen on the opposite side of the room. The bedroom area was sectioned off behind one side of the sectional with a panel that appeared to slide open so he could see the TV from the king-sized bed.
Brian led him to what appeared to be the beginning of a hallway with access to only one door on the left. “This is your rest room. We intentionally have the hallway closed off with an exterior door because on the other side is the room which has access to the tunnels I was telling you about. We think we have everything closed off but the tunnels are like a maze, so we decided to set up a security system to play it safe and install motion detectors in some strategic places inside the tunnels.”
Eric must have looked intrigued, so Brian held up a staying hand, grinning. “I know you love that kind of stuff, but I’ll tell you all about it and give you a tour some other time.”
When they walked back into the family room, Brian picked up a remote and turned on the TV. “Here you go. I remember how you always liked to fall asleep with noise.”
Eric grinned. “I can sleep anywhere these days.”
“Well, you have your own thermostat down here in case you get cold. And another electric fireplace, as you can see. You can make any adjustments on the remote.” Brian grimaced. “Ashley likes installing all these digital upgrades and sometimes I forget how everything works.”
Eric began laughing.
“Well, I’d better get to bed,” Brian said, heading toward the staircase. “One thing. We have security installed on the exterior doors. I’ll give you the code tomorrow for down here. Just don’t go outside until after I’m awake.”
“Alright,” Eric replied. “Hey, Brian? Do you remember Anya Weldon?”
Suddenly looking troubled, Brian stilled. “I do.”
“I ran into her at the flower shop tonight.”
Brian nodded.
“Okay. I can tell by the look on your face that something’s wrong. What is it? I knew when I saw her that something was really off. She looks…” Eric shook his head, not knowing the right words.
“Like a victim?” Brian asked quietly.
Eric stilled, finally replying, “She wasn’t…?”
Brian pursed his lips. “I don’t think so. Jake hasn’t told me everything of course, but right after you left, her entire family went to pieces. Her dad was driving drunk and was killed when he drove off an icy bridge. I think it was the one that crosses over Stone Lake.”
“ Oh, no.” Eric frowned . “I knew that there was trouble brewing because of his drinking but Anya tried not to talk about it.”
Brian paused before heaving a sigh. “There’s more. A lot more. Do you remember her younger sister, Shanna?”
Eric nodded. “She was kind of a troublemaker, but deep down, I always thought she was a good kid.”
“She disappeared.”
“What?” Eric’s jaw dropped open.
“Her mom was certain she was kidnapped by traffickers, but Shanna was doing a lot of things her mother and sister were unaware of.”
His eyes met his brother’s. “You mean…?”
“I’m afraid so. Jake found out she’d gotten pregnant,” Brian confessed.
“She was only thirteen, ” Eric growled.
“Jake wasn’t going to tell Anya or her mom without following up on her disappearance first. Her mom believed she was taken by the traffickers, which could very well have happened. But her disappearance didn’t follow the pattern.”
Eric shook his head in disbelief.
“Her mom ended up going a little off the deep end, not willing to give up on trying to find Shanna. She became so obsessed that Chief Danielson decided it was better not to give her false hope even though they never stopped investigating.”
“How’s Anya’s mom doing now?”
Brian held his gaze.
“Oh, no. What happened?”
“I think it was a heart attack,” Brian said. “It happened about a year before I came back to town. That’s apparently when Anya returned.”
“Returned?”
“She was working down in Madison. She went on to college after graduating high school. Anyway, she quit her job down there and came back to settle their affairs. Anya’s actually the manager of Sander’s Floral. She’s some kind of accounting wizz. I have a feeling her mom was deeply in debt when she died.” Brian sighed. “We can talk more tomorrow. I’m not even sure if what I’m telling you is what really happened. I’ve picked up bits and pieces from people here in town.”
“It’s probably close enough,” Eric replied. “Thanks for letting me know.”
“Don’t try to blame yourself for having to leave Anya without letting her know why,” Brian said. “I have a feeling everything that happened would have happened anyway.”
“I know. But I knew things were bad at home, and I avoided discussing the situation with Anya just as much as she avoided telling me. Maybe I could have at least spread the word to my friends to keep an eye on her younger sister.”
“My guess is they had no clue about Shanna, so why would you need to watch her? Don’t be too hard on yourself. You were only sixteen.”
Sighing, Eric closed his eyes. “Goodnight, Brian. I can’t tell you how much it means for me to see how happy you are.”
Brian laughed softly. “Now it’s your turn, bro.”
After Brian hiked up the staircase, Eric dropped onto the sectional, propping his feet on the attached ottoman.
Staring sightlessly at the TV, he knew what he had to do.
Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he punched in the number for Anya’s phone which he’d entered under speed dial while he’d been warming up his truck in the parking lot after leaving the flower shop. If he was right, the number she’d given him was for her personal cell phone. It wasn’t too late. Plus, she wouldn’t go into work tomorrow until two.
It rang a few times before she answered, “Hello?”
“Anya? This is Eric. I hope it’s not too late to talk?”