Chapter Twelve. #2
“No. I don’t want to talk about it,” I muttered, and Stone held my gaze before nodding.
Rose bustled in with a trolley full of finger foods and a huge pot of tea.
Clara relaxed, but I sensed her lingering worry.
Salisbury had frightened more than one person today.
For scaring my Clara, I’d never forgive him.
Harlequin
April explained what had happened when everyone was in bed.
When I asked why she’d lied about seeing their faces, she stated that Salisbury would no doubt have a cast-iron alibi.
It would be her word against Salisbury’s.
That annoyed me, especially as over the next few days I saw how jumpy she was.
April should be able to live her daily life without looking over her shoulder.
Chance assured me that Salisbury would pay restitution, but that wouldn’t stop the lingering fear in Clara and April’s eyes.
No monetary compensation or marker would help remove that.
The hospital, alarmed at the occurrence, had guards walk females to their vehicles if they were alone.
Most tended to stick with groups, and they all watched to ensure everyone reached their cars safely.
April had taken a few days off work, as what had happened had shaken her badly. She spent the time looking at murder shows on TV, binge-watching several entire series. Once a day, she headed out to ride, and I accompanied her on Nycteus.
April had become quiet, and I guessed she was recovering from her kidnapping. She once muttered she’d expected Salisbury to kill her because she could identify them.
Salisbury was a bastard of the highest order, but I doubted that he’d have killed her. As April had already figured out, the asshole would have had a cast-iron alibi ready, should the cops have turned up.
Today I was working before meeting Briar.
My sister had asked me to lunch, and I guessed she was finally ready to talk.
I’d done some paperwork and checked the motion sensor cameras I’d placed around Margrave’s house and his tracking information.
I’d hidden a tracker on his car. So far, nothing abnormal was showing.
The fucker stayed home or went for groceries, but didn’t do anything else.
Margrave worked from home as an IT technician, fixing computers remotely. It was worrying that a man like him had access to potential prey. Margrave could be watching, and the victims wouldn’t know. That gave me a bad gut ache, but with no evidence, I couldn’t move on him.
Distracted, I tapped my pen against my desk; something, somewhere, had to give.
Margrave’s story didn’t add up, not in the slightest. Too many things were inconsistent, and he’d inserted himself into the investigation.
When I spoke to Lio Hawthorne, I’d been under the impression that Margrave had been seen as per a previous statement.
But Lio had informed me that Margrave had called the station the following day after Julie’s disappearance.
“Hey, are you ready, baby bro?” Briar asked from the doorway.
I looked up and smiled when I saw her. “Sure. Come on, we’ll head to Clio’s diner.”
“The food’s good there,” Briar agreed as we walked out. I told Marie I was out for lunch and opened the door for Briar. Before she could walk through, Slaughter entered.
“Sorry, didn’t see you there,” he said, barging past. Slaughter skidded to a halt as he saw Briar.
“Ma’am.”
“Don’t ma’am me. I’m Briar,” she said, putting her hand out.
“Briar. Unusual name, are you a new client?” Slaughter sent me a glance that said, lucky guy.
Briar began to laugh when she saw it. “Stone’s my younger brother.”
“Commiserations,” Slaughter quipped.
“This is Slaughter, he’s a brother in the MC. He owns the company,” I introduced and gave Slaughter a stay-away stare.
“A pleasure. Hopefully, we’ll meet again,” Briar replied. Slaughter nodded with interest in his eyes before stepping back and letting us pass.
Briar linked her arm through mine as we walked towards Clio’s cafe. Briar seemed content to walk in silence. As much as I wanted to ask questions, I held back, wondering how long it would take until Briar spoke about what had sent her home.
“Table for two,” I told the waitress when we entered the café. She led us to a table and handed over menus.
“Well, you gonna talk or what?” I asked after placing our orders.
“Long story.”
“Usually is, sis.” I reached out and took her hand, which was nervously tapping on the table.
“Shit, Stone, I fell for a guy. Didn’t tell the family because I know how you all get, and it was new.
Plus, I didn’t want to introduce him until I was certain of the relationship.
But he began flaking on me, and then I discovered he was committing fraud, and outed him.
Everything went to shit, and I upped and left. ”
“You nut shelled that perfectly. There’s gotta be more between the lines,” I replied as Briar took a deep breath and released it slowly.
“Yeah. Christ, I was a damn idiot. The bastard was using me the whole time. I was notorious for being a workaholic. When he asked me out on a date, I initially thought it was an office bet. A friend assured me it wasn’t, so I agreed.
We had a good time, and at first, we had dinner on a weekly basis, which slowly led to building a relationship.
Once a week rolled into twice and then several times.
But I didn’t let him move in.” Briar took on a vacant stare.
“What’s his name, honey?”
“Do I have to?”
“By not naming the bogeyman, you give him power,” I said, and Briar laughed bitterly.
“I used to tell you that.”
“Name.”
“Travis Fellowes.”
“What happened next, sis?”
“Travis wanted to move in after four months, I refused. That was moving far too fast, plus he’d not even met the ‘rents. Travis claimed he was fine waiting, but seemed off. I began to suspect he was courting me to take my client list. But when nobody jumped ship, I convinced myself I was being paranoid.”
“But you weren’t?”
“No. Travis started acting shifty about a year in. By then, I knew deep down something was wrong, so I didn’t bother telling any of the family about him.
One night, I was working late and thought I was the only one left in the building.
As I was heading to the bathroom, I heard voices.
Travis was in his office on the phone. He was assuring somebody that his creative accounting wouldn’t be discovered. ”
Briar sucked in another breath and blew her cheeks out.
“Travis outright admitted to committing fraud and keeping two sets of books.
He hinted that someone else, higher than us, was involved.
Shocked, I crept back to my office, left, and informed law enforcement.
For two months, I had to continue as normal.
The police needed me to gather evidence before they finally arrested him.
Alongside him were two partners and three other accountants who were also dirty.
“I started receiving threats, and the authorities couldn’t help.
Stone, that’s why I packed up and came home.
Travis has no idea where the ‘rents live because he never asked, and I don’t keep an address book.
By accident, I stepped into something huge, and it’s got massive repercussions.
They’ve stopped, but I’m constantly on edge, waiting for them to start again. ”
“Fuck! Briar, you should have called me. I’d have come straight away!” I exclaimed. Briar reached out and grabbed my hands.
“I couldn’t let you. Shit was hitting the fan, Stone.”
I stared into her eyes and realisation landed. “Someone made an attempt on your life.”
“Twice. My car brakes failed, and somebody barely missed me in a hit-and-run. The agent dealing with my case knows where to find me, but nobody else does. Because I never mentioned family, Travis assumed we were estranged. He wouldn’t expect me to return home.”
“Is he inside?”
“Out on bail, they all are. Somehow, they convinced a judge that they weren’t flight risks. One of the partners disappeared immediately. The others arrested were placed on ankle monitors. If anyone leaves the city, they’ll be detained.”
“When’s the court case?”
“Right now, it’s scheduled for a couple of months. But the dates have changed twice already. The entire situation is fluid.”
“Right. We have to tell Mom and Dad because I’ll be increasing their home security. They’ve got a strong system, but this requires more. Briar, I need you to wear a tracker, okay? If someone grabs you, I want to be able to find you.”
“The threat is real,” Briar whispered.
“Yeah. Very, sis. Trust me, I won’t let anyone hurt you,” I promised. My spine tingled, like somebody was staring holes in my back. That wasn’t important right now. I reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Briar’s ear.
“Stone…”
“No arguments. Accountancy is your world. Security is mine. This time, you’ve got to do as I say,” I replied.
Briar smiled and then cocked her head. “Hey, is that April Graham?”
I spun around and caught sight of April across the street. Her face was blank, but I sensed the fury and hurt coming off her. With the dirtiest look in her arsenal, April turned and walked away.
“What the fuck was that?” Briar demanded.
“Guess I’ve got something to tell you, too,” I muttered.
“No shit!”