Chapter 27 #2
"After I finish refurbishing the farm and selling it, and move to Dallas permanently, can I help you with them? I can also work on the vintage vehicles you want."
Gregory smiled. It sounded like Red was already taking the first step to make a huge change in his life. "Yeah, I can always use another able-bodied person to help. I don't expect you back at work for several weeks while you work on the farm. I think my life is pretty safe for now."
Sascha didn’t think so.
"But you do have more bodyguards now, maybe because of it.”
“Okay, well, keep in touch,” Gregory said.
“I will,” Red said.
Then Gregory escorted Sascha out to his car.
When Gregory and Sascha drove home, she sighed. "I don’t think he was telling the truth. He never actually said he tried to kill you, except when you asked him what trucks were used in running over your vehicles.”
“But the vehicles used in the attempts were different than what he described.”
“The police didn’t see any videos of anyone stealing the vehicles and then dumping them later?”
“They were stolen late at night at places where people worked late. So they were sitting in parking lots and were picked up there. They saw a dark-clothed figure in a black ski mask grabbing both of the stolen Chevrolet pickups on separate nights.”
As they were driving home, Sascha looked out the window and felt unsettled. "I…I don’t know. It seems too pat."
Gregory glanced at her. “Pardon?”
"If Red was able to go after you when he wasn't working for you, why would he hire on to protect you? He could have easily eliminated you at any point when you were more vulnerable."
Gregory didn't say anything for a moment. "Okay, so you're saying he hired on as my bodyguard to really protect me."
"Yes! Which would mean he's probably trying to cover for someone else who actually did go after you." To Sascha's surprise, she got a call from Janie. "Hi, what's up?" She put the call on speakerphone so that Gregory could hear what was being said.
"Brendan's in the shower right now, so I wanted to call you quickly. I looked up when Mr. Landry had his first accident, and during that time, Brendan was with me here in Austin. I didn’t buy that he was involved in any of the attempts on Mr. Landry’s life.
And the way he hesitated on telling you what the vehicles looked like that he used?
He didn’t have a clue. He was guessing. He would never destroy one of his vintage vehicles after he put so much muscle and love into them, so I know none of them were used in a crime. "
Sascha didn't say anything for a moment, figuring she had been right to suspect Red didn’t have anything to do with trying to kill Gregory. "What about the second accident?"
"We had split up by then, so I don't know.
But I checked the dates, and Brendan was with me for that first one.
We had gone to an afternoon movie—a horror flick—and had tickets for it on my phone.
Then we had a special dinner out, but he was here with me all day and all night.
No way could he have made the three-hour trip up there to do that. "
"Okay. But you wouldn't know about the date when the truck knocked Raymond and me off the bridge in the limo."
"No. By then, he was working for Mr. Landry. But we weren't really talking much at the time. We'd broken up, and I didn't think we would get back together."
Sascha pondered the situation. "You're really sure about that first accident then?"
"Yeah. I looked up the public records of accidents since it wasn't in the news. I really don't believe Brendan would do any of this. The other thing is, did he trash your apartment? Maybe. But I think there was a reasonable reason for it if he had done it."
"Okay."
"I've got to go. He's getting out of the shower. I don't want him to know I talked to you."
"Thanks, Janie."
"I'll send you a copy of pictures of us having dinner and the receipts for the movie and for dinner."
"Sounds good. Thanks so much for helping us with this."
"I love him, I'm sure you can tell. I'm not going to let him take the fall for something he didn't do."
"I agree. And the thing of it is, if he didn't do any of this, the attempted murderer is still out there, and we're not safe."
"Exactly!"
Then they ended the call.
Sascha soon got the photos and receipts for the time of the accident, though she didn't know the actual date of the first one herself. "Is this when you were involved in that first accident?"
Gregory pulled off the road and examined the receipts and the photos. "Hell, yeah. So Red is clear for that time period anyway."
"Do you think he was working in conjunction with someone else?"
"No. I've always thought it was a one-person job."
"I still wonder if Belinda knows anything.
" Sascha looked for the woman on Google and found her phone number. Then she called her and put it on speakerphone. "Hi, this is Sascha Lassiter, Gregory Landry’s fiancée. Brendan says he committed the crimes of attempting to murder Mr. Landry.” Sascha fibbed a little.
“But he couldn't have. He has alibis for the time period.
" He didn't have alibis for all of them, but Belinda might not know that.
Belinda didn’t say anything.
"You called me and warned me that someone was out to get Gregory." Again, Sascha didn't know that Belinda had called her, but she presumed it had been her since Janie didn't do it. Unless it was some other random person. Which she didn't believe.
There was a significant pause, and then finally, Belinda said, "Yes. I called you. I worried when I saw you had been in the accident. It was all over the news."
"Right. Well, thanks for warning me. But we already knew someone was after Gregory. Do you know who?"
"Why would Brendan say he did it? Forget it. He's always trying to get their approval."
"You mean your parents'?" Sascha asked.
"I gotta go. Sorry about what's happening to Gregory. And to you. Neither of you deserve it." Then Belinda hung up the phone.
"One of her parents is involved," Sascha said.
"We thought it was a man."
"But it could have been a woman."
"He’s protecting someone in his family," Gregory guessed.
"That's what I suspect after what Janie and even Belinda said.
He's always trying to prove something to his parents, to win their love, but he can never measure up.
Maybe he doesn't know for sure whether one of them was after you, but he suspects as much.
Maybe someone said something to him, and then rather than outing the person, Red goes to work for you to protect you. "
"Well, hell."
"I know, right?"