Chapter 9
Hearing Micah’s raised voice brought Bryn back to the living area of the cabin. He was on the phone, appearing frustrated and concerned given the deep grooves entrenched in his forehead. When he saw her, he rose to his feet. His expression cleared as he quickly masked his feelings.
“Is there anything else?” he asked.
She couldn’t hear anything from the other side of the call. She assumed he was speaking with Rex, explaining why they hadn’t gone to the police to provide their statements.
Rex was probably not happy with their decision. She hoped her actions hadn’t driven a wedge between Micah and his boss. She would feel a hundred times worse if Micah lost his job too.
“Okay, thanks. We’ll be in touch.” Micah lowered the phone. Avoiding her gaze, he said, “That was Rex.”
“Sounds like he’s upset with you. With us,” she amended. “We can still go back and arrange to speak with Detective Krogan. I completely understand we put him in a tough position by not following through.”
“It’s fine.” He waved a hand, still not looking directly at her. She frowned, realizing he was hiding something.
“What’s wrong?” She moved toward him, searching his expression. “Did Rex give you bad news?”
He sighed, then reached for her hand. Drawing her toward the sofa, he sat, urging her to drop down beside him. “Yes, there is troubling news related to the investigation into Damien’s death.”
Her stomach clenched with fear and her mouth went dry. She licked her lips and forced herself to remain calm. “Okay, what is it?”
Micah stared down at their joined hands for a long moment before he finally met her gaze. “The ME has determined Damien was shot and killed by someone shorter than he was. The bullet apparently went in at the base of his head and exited through the top of his forehead.”
“Someone my height, is that it?” She battled back a wave of panic. “I’m sure there are plenty of other people out there who are short who could have done this.”
“I understand, but there’s also an electronic money transfer through your personal bank account.” He tightened his grip on her hand. “You’re being set up as being responsible for the embezzlement and as Damien’s killer.”
Stunned, she stared at him. “But—you’ve been with me. You know I didn’t do this.”
“Rex pointed out that you didn’t call me until after you heard the gunshot and left your house, running through the marsh to the pub. And worse, he thinks the police won’t believe me because I was close friends with Tommy.”
It was difficult to believe what he was saying. “Rex thinks I did this?” She forced the question through her constricted throat. “You think I did this?”
“No, Bryn. I know you’re being framed for murder. But my believing in you isn’t going to sway the cops. Not with this new evidence coming to light.”
“Fake evidence.” A burst of anger hit hard.
She yanked her hand from his and shot to her feet, pacing the length of the cabin.
“Anyone could hold the gun a specific way to make it look as if someone shorter was responsible for the shooting. And the same goes with the money transfer. The company pays all employees through direct deposit. That means they have my banking information.”
“Yes, which points the finger right back at Damien’s partner, Richard.” Micah’s blue eyes were full of compassion. “I know you’re innocent, we just need to figure out a way to prove it.”
A harsh laugh escaped her throat. “Sounds like the Madison police are taking the easy way out by following the blatant trail leading straight to me.”
Micah winced but didn’t argue. Probably because he knew it was true.
She raked her fingers through her hair, trying to hang on to a thin thread of control. The entire situation was surreal. How was it possible her boring life had morphed into being framed for embezzlement and murder?
Yet now that she thought back, she could see what Micah meant. She’d heard the gunshot and assumed she was the target. But maybe that was wrong. Maybe the shooter had killed Damien at that moment?
And when she’d run off, the shooter had taken the opportunity to frame her for the crime? No, he must have intended to frame her from the very beginning. Before he fired the shot that ended Damien’s life.
Either way, she’d played into his hand. The more she thought about it, the more she believed Richard as responsible. As the co-owner of the company, he must have discovered Damien had stolen the money, eliminated him, and then framed her for the crime.
Why he couldn’t have just had the police arrest Damien, she wasn’t sure. It seemed extreme to go as far as killing his former partner and framing her.
There seemed to be a piece of the puzzle missing. More than one piece. Blowing out a breath, she turned toward Micah who was watching her with his intense blue gaze.
“Okay, so Richard or someone else from the company is behind this. I think we need to connect with some of the other employees at the company. Maybe one of them knows something that will help us.”
Micah frowned. “I don’t know about that. It’s hard to know who we can trust.”
He was right. The truth was that she didn’t really trust anyone. Except for Micah. Yet hiding out in a cabin wasn’t going to clear her name.
They needed to do something. Figure out what was really going on.
The other option was to stop fighting and turn herself in. Her shoulders slumped as she thought about sitting in jail for weeks on end.
“No, Bryn.” Micah seemed to read her mind. “We’re not going to the police until we know more about what’s going on.”
Despite being grateful for his support, she couldn’t deny that she was dragging him down with her. “What if you get arrested for helping me?”
“Don’t worry about me.” He offered a crooked smile. “We’ll get through this.”
Would they? She wasn’t so sure about that. But she knew she hadn’t done this, and there had to be some way to prove it.
She turned and eyed the computer. Then she crossed to the kitchen table. As she sat in front of the laptop and entered her personal email password, Micah crossed over to join her.
“I still don’t like this,” he muttered as her personal email bloomed on the screen revealing several unread messages along with those that she’d kept in her inbox for future reference. “It’s risky to contact your former work colleagues.”
“They can’t all believe I’m guilty.” At least, she hoped not.
She took a moment to scan the work emails she’d forwarded to her account.
Several had the recipients’ emails and phone numbers listed in their signature line.
She was glad to have the information, although she suspected Micah had a way of identifying personal phone numbers as well.
After a brief hesitation, she decided to reach out to her closest friends. Gwen first, despite how her friend had eyed her with suspicion when Richard had fired her. Then Tabitha and Sam.
She kept the emails brief, asking if they could please talk privately about what was going on. She didn’t give out her new disposable cell number, figuring she should wait until she received an affirmative response.
After reaching out to Gwen, Tabitha, and Sam, she sat back in her chair. The seconds ticked by slowly. If she’d thought she’d receive a quick response from at least one of them, she was sorely disappointed.
“Maybe I should call rather than wait for an email response.” She glanced at Micah. “Or text. It’s a Saturday, they could be busy doing routine weekend chores or running errands.”
“I’d rather not use our new phones in case one of them is involved,” Micah said. “Let’s hold off for a few minutes to see if one of them will respond.”
She nodded, staring at the screen. No messages popped up. The silence was louder than any scream. In that moment, Bryn had never felt so alone. Obviously, she was persona non grata with everyone at the company.
It seemed as if her so-called friends were eager to think the worst about her.
She was about to turn away when her gaze landed on one message related to the data center project. Their newest client was the main subject of her recent work messages. “Maybe we need to look at this Wild Prairie Data Center project more closely.”
“You mentioned it was a big account.” Micah looked thoughtful. “Aside from the financial aspect of the deal, what makes you think the project is a part of this?”
“I could be grasping at straws,” she admitted.
“It’s just that Damien worked for weeks to get the company on board.
Looking back, it just seems odd that things happened so quickly after signing the contract.
It was only a week later that Damien disappeared.
” She wondered if Damien had disappeared the same day the deposit from the data center had landed in the company’s account.
“Okay, let me do some research on them.” Micah reached over to snag the computer. “I know they’re controversial, but there could be more behind the resistance to having a data center built than we realize.”
“You mean other than the fear of wasting local resources like water and electricity?” She frowned, wishing she’d paid closer attention to the media hype about the project.
“Those were the main sticking points from what I remember. Well, that and the noise issue. Apparently, the generators humming can be heard up to two miles away. Honestly, that would drive me bonkers if I lived in the area. Still, it’s difficult to imagine any of that would result in murder. ”
“I agree, unless there’s more to this than we know.” Micah spoke absently, his gaze focused on the computer. “And really, embezzling funds from a company is probably the main motive for Damien’s murder.”
Funds that had been tracked through her personal bank account. Bryn turned away, her previous desire to find the person responsible fading beneath a wave of exhaustion. Proving her innocence would be difficult if they didn’t find something to go on soon.