Chapter 35
Thirty-Five
Poppy
I rocked back and forth on the floor with my knees pulled to my chest as Lisa and Officer Hughes talked in the kitchen across from me.
They’d tried to move the money from his account to the one listed under Paco, but encountered an error that pissed Officer Hughes off enough that he took his frustration out on the wall, punching several holes in it.
Suddenly, the front door burst open, a gust of wind rushing inside and sending a chill through the small space.
My heart raced as I tried to lift my head, hoping it was Patrick or Gage coming to rescue me.
But instead, it sank when I looked at the man who stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
He glanced down at me, his eyes piercing me with an odd familiarity, before he walked into the kitchen and glared at Lisa and Officer Hughes.
“You had one fucking job,” he snarled, leaning on the island as he stared at Officer Hughes.
“I know, Dad,” Officer Hughes said tightly. “I thought we were well ahead of everything and didn’t think they would freeze the account yet.”
“Yeah, well, it appears you weren’t.”
The man turned and walked over to me, pulling out a folding chair and flipping it around as he sat in front of me.
“Hello, Poppy. Nice to see you again. I trust your dinner was good,” he said, his voice even as realization hit. He was the man from the restaurant who had been watching me and left the note with the hostess.
My lip trembled as I clutched my knees tighter to my chest, trying to stay warm as a mixture of fear and anxiety rushed through me.
“It seems I know a lot about you, but you don’t seem to know anything about me,” he continued, his posture poised as if he were a man of sophistication.
“It seems my business partner kept his word and didn’t tell anyone what we were up to, though I find that hard to believe given that he changed all of our accounts suddenly before he died.
Wouldn’t you agree that it’s a bit strange that he put all of those accounts in your name, just days before he was brutally murdered? ”
His dark eyes stayed fixed on mine while I swallowed hard. Murdered. He knew what really happened.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said firmly. “I didn’t know those accounts existed until about half an hour ago.”
He nodded and looked around the room before letting his glare rest on me again.
“I find that hard to believe.”
I shrugged the best I could and tried to hide that I was shivering.
“Do you want to know what I think happened?” he pressed, leaning forward and resting his arms over the back of the chair.
I sat there quietly, not responding.
“I think that you found out about the money and joined forces with Dale to cut me out of the deals. I think that once Dale found out that the FBI had found the offshore account, you both agreed to remove him from the other accounts to keep that money safe. If you were the sole owner, you could move quickly and transfer the money into another account with the fake identification he created for you. The only problem was that you killed him before that could happen.”
Lisa and Officer Hughes came over and stood behind him as he continued talking.
“You see, I thought I knew Dale, but I was wrong. I thought he was a trustworthy guy and believed him when he said he had a solid plan for the Fentanyl we were moving. He assured me that marrying you would be the best move because you were so desperate to be loved that you would marry anyone. We even worked with Lisa, who hired you and gave you a job, even though she knew your background. We all thought that with your record of embezzlement, you would be an asset to our team. Never once did we think that you would cross all of us.”
I glanced at Lisa, trying to read her face.
It had seemed like pure luck when she approached me at the diner that day, noting how upset I was when I’d lost my job as a waitress at the local bar.
She’d offered me a job on the spot, even though I had zero experience working in a salon.
It was an entry-level position where I handled all scheduling, stocking supplies, and basic cleaning, but it was a job.
I never would have expected her to have ulterior motives the entire time.
“So, that leaves me with one question,” he continued, his body rigid as he sat in front of me. “Where is the information on the new identity that Dale had created for you?”
I looked away from him, not bothering to answer because it didn’t matter what I said. I had no idea what he was talking about, and telling him that would only make him angrier.
His nostrils flared as he got up, threw the chair across the room out of his way, then reached down and grabbed me by the throat. He pushed my back against the wall as he lifted me, his fingers tightening to the point I could barely breathe.
“I’m not fucking playing. I want that information, and I want it now. I know that Dale had several other offshore accounts open under that name, so you’re going to tell me before I kill you,” he snarled.
My eyes watered as I tried to claw at his arms, the effort useless. My body was sore, and I still felt weak from whatever drug they had given me.
Just then, the door flew open, followed by loud voices and something that sounded like a gunshot. He pressed harder on my throat until everything went black, and silence fell around me.