Chapter 15
Chapter fifteen
Walker
Xavier didn’t mess around the next morning. He was already waiting in the conference room with the others when I got there, folders in front of him, tie loosened like he’d been digging into this all night.
He just looked at me. “You leave her at the bakery?”
I grunted. “She’s happy there.” Understatement.
She’d been so excited, but I was counting the seconds until I could go pick her up.
She'd barely stayed still long enough to promise me she'd let Vera know if she felt like she needed to sit down, and for good measure I also made her promise not to leave the shop under any circumstances until I came back.
She'd giggled at that one.
Maddox rolled his eyes but didn’t comment. Gideon smirked. “All right, Xavier, what do we have?”
Xavier flipped a page then pushed a photo across the table. Molly. Pale, curly brown hair, big soft smile. The kind of girl who’d stop to rescue a lost kitten in the rain. My gut twisted.
“Do we know anything else about the night she vanished?” I asked.
Xavier was ready. “She came to Kingdom with a complimentary ticket.
The sort we give out at promo. It was an opening promo we sent to all the local businesses.
No idea where our girl got it from, but after Vanessa, our server, recognized her and saw she was on her own, she invited her to the VIP area, as we know. "
We all nodded approvingly.
“Unfortunately, we were slammed, and Vanessa noticed she had joined Ruby’s party. " He looked at me, eyes sharp. “We have no evidence to suggest Ruby was expecting her, as it was Vanessa that invited her to the VIP floor.”
“Ruby’s background?” Maddox asked.
“Nothing criminal. She’s a professional event planner. Tai Chi with Molly on Mondays, probably how they met. Spends a lot of nights clubbing, as that’s her business, but she’s never been flagged in our system, and according to the video she made sure Molly got her ride then went back to the party.”
Gideon tapped the photo. “So, we don’t know positively if Ruby wasn’t just helping an acquaintance into her cab home?”
“Except it wasn’t a cab and Molly looked wasted,” Xavier said.
Gideon sighed. “That’s exactly what she said to the cops. That Molly said a friend was collecting her.”
I grunted in agreement. “Who was at the VIP party?”
Xavier handed over a list. “All corporate types. Most from Tampa and some from Orlando.”
Gideon’s voice went flat. “Boris isn’t going to like this.”
“Boris doesn’t have to like it,” Xavier snapped.
“This poor kid could be anywhere.” I eyed my friend.
Xavier was usually one of the calmest people I knew, but he was getting worked up over this one.
Not that I didn't appreciate that he would take someone disappearing from Kingdom very personally. We were all careful to get our staff home safely, but Xavier always went the extra mile. “Eric got the police interview notes. Ruby said she knows her just from the gym, but when she saw she was on her own she invited her to join them. Molly complained of a headache and said she’d called for a ride. Ruby followed her because she seemed drunk, but Molly told her where the ride was collecting her, so Ruby just went with it. Her brief description of the driver roughly matches the ID. Vanessa’s distraught, obviously. "
Gideon leaned back. “Options while we’re waiting for Eric?”
“Traffic cams I’m assuming are being checked?” Maddox asked.
Gideon just arched an eyebrow.
“What about her classmates?” I asked.
“The cops have already interviewed them, and no red flags,” Gideon confirmed.
It was frustrating. I glanced at my watch.
Lottie was training for three hours today, but she’d been offered three mornings a week on a regular basis.
I knew Lottie thought she should be working more, but I’d managed to convince her that until we saw the endocrinologist, she shouldn’t overdo it.
Mornings weren’t too busy, and really Vera only needed someone to manage the front so she could get her baking done.
Just then all our mobiles buzzed with an alert from Eric. Gideon immediately leaned forward and clicked to answer. A second later, Eric’s face came on the screen.
“I have something on the uncle.”
It took me a moment because I was still thinking of Sidorov. “Wait, Lottie’s uncle?”
He nodded grimly, and my stomach bottomed out.
“I was going through her parents’ will, and yes they left everything to her, but there’s a reversionary trust clause.” We all looked blankly at each other. "I had a friend check the legal meaning."
“Which is?” I asked first.
“In the event of Lottie’s death before her twenty-fifth birthday, assuming she has no direct heirs” Eric paraphrased, “her entire estate including all assets, property, and benefits, shall pass in equal shares to her uncle, Stephen Mallory, or to his lawful heirs if he predeceases her.”
I frowned. “But doesn’t he get it anyway as next-of-kin? What does her age matter?”
“It's not that simple,” Eric said. “Because he also stops being her legal guardian when she reaches twenty-five, but more significantly she can write her own will.
Once she's twenty-five she can leave the whole thing to a charity if she wants.
It's called vesting and its legal gobbledygook but it's also typical in an estate this size. The main takeaway is that the uncle will lose everything, the properties, the business, the cars.”
I could practically feel the blood drain from my face. Lottie was twenty-four. I knew that now, “When’s her birthday?” I should know it.
Eric clicked and I saw his eyes widen. “Tomorrow.”
All four of us lurched from our seats and bolted for our cars.
Lottie
I eyed the small birthday cake Vera was just giving a customer for their daughter, and for the first time in years I wished for the same.
I'd just about blocked my birthday out of my mind because once I'd left school no one cared, and as I'd gotten older, I had bigger things to worry about.
In fact, it had only been when Vera had noticed from the forms I'd completed for the job that I remembered.
I'd begged her not to say anything because I hadn't decided what to say to Daddy.
Asking for any sort of fuss after he'd been so good to me felt greedy, but I couldn't help feeling he might get angry if I didn't say something. I chewed on my lip. I was glad of the distraction when my phone rang but my stomach sank when I saw it was my uncle again. I was so tempted not to answer but I knew he wouldn’t let it go so I did. “Charlotte, you didn’t text me your address.”
“Sorry, I’m busy at work,” I fibbed.
“Well, if you work in town I can drop it off. I’m here now.”
My stomach twisted. I didn’t want to see him. Not at all. But Walker would be here. It would be okay. I could just…take the letter and go. Get it over with.
“That’s fine,” I managed. “I’m here until one, so…”
“Perfect. I’ll text you before I get there. Wouldn’t want to interrupt your shift,” he said, all fake concern.
“Okay.” I told him where I was and ended the call, hand shaking, and put the phone face down on the counter. It didn’t matter. He was just dropping off a letter. I wouldn’t even have to talk to him, not really.
I took a deep breath, trying to get my heart rate back under control, then grabbed the cookies and headed for the front.
I carefully stocked everything and after another thirty minutes I was done, and I took my apron off and hugged Vera, telling her I was going to wait by the window.
The phone buzzed again and I answered. “There’s nowhere to pull up,” Stephen snapped.
"I’m heading for the corner, you’ll have to meet me. ”
I bit my lip. Daddy had made me promise to wait inside, but my shift was over, and I just wanted to get this meeting over with.
I walked outside the shop and rolled my eyes.
Sure, it was busy but there were at least two spaces I could see so he hadn’t tried very hard.
I saw my uncle’s Mercedes pass, but he didn’t seem to see me and drove around the corner.
I huffed because it meant I would have to get the crosswalk to reach him.
My phone buzzed loudly in my pocket just as I was about to step onto the crosswalk.
It was my uncle again. “I can’t stay here long.
” My phone buzzed with another call. Walker.
I sent it to voicemail with a mental apology.
I’d call him as soon as I got rid of Uncle Stephen.
“Charlotte, are you coming?” Stephen snapped again.
“Yes,” I snapped back and clicked to end the call, hurrying as the crosswalk lights had just turned so I could get across, and my phone rang again. I answered an apology for Walker on my lips just as I stepped into the road.
“Lottie! Stay inside the store. Don’t go outside for any reason!” His voice was sharp, urgent, filled with panic I hadn’t heard before.
I paused. “What? Walker—what’s wrong? What’s happening?” I glanced up and saw my uncle winding down his window and holding an envelope.
Walker’s breath hitched, frantic, “Princess stay inside the store! I’m on my way, but—
Then I heard it—a violent screech of tires, rapidly approaching.
I glanced to my right but before I could react, the vehicle hit the curb.
Metal tore into the trash cans, scattering debris everywhere, and I stumbled and went down.
People yelling, cars honking, then running footsteps toward me, a man I didn’t know talking but the rushing in my ears was so loud I couldn’t understand a word he said.
“I’m okay,” I whispered, hearing more screeching tires and running steps, but then the hands I knew were on me and I burst into tears. Walker wrapped me up in his arms.