Chapter 5
She couldn’t react the way she wanted to. She was stunned but also not sober enough to react normally. It was him. She couldn’t believe it.
“But, how did you know?” Willow asked.
“Word travels fast in this town. Let’s just say I overheard the locals talking about it and I wanted to help. So I pulled some favors. I feel like you could use someone in your corner,” Micah explained while he drove her home.
He looked over, and she was fast asleep when he pulled up to the cottage. He picked her up and carried her to the door, grabbing Willows keys from her purse to let them both inside. He carried her to the bed and placed a blanket over her before leaving. He knew she would probably remember what he told her, but he didn’t care about keeping it a secret anymore. He had done a good deed and that was all that mattered.
The next morning, Willow got herself up and tended to her throbbing headache. Her memories from last night faded in and out. There were definitely parts that she was missing. But one thing she remembered for sure was that Micah had dropped her home, and confessed to… the envelope. The evidence. The clues.
Willow forced down a tall glass of water while she waited for her coffee to brew. She was going to need a lot of coffee if she was going to get through today.
She texted Richy to say she was awake, and to meet her at the cottage as soon as he could. There was a lot to discuss. She’d just found out Micah was sending her clues, but couldn’t work out why he would want to or how he was tied in with it all. He knew things that no one else knew. He knew where to look, too. He was very good at figuring things out. Maybe he could help Richy and Brandi out with a thing or two.
She was in the middle of her thoughts when the doorbell rang, bringing her back to reality. She took in a deep breath and opened the door.
Richy stood there with a huge box full of things. He seemed like a different person to the one she first met on the beach, with the serious look on his face. He came prepared to work.
“I am so glad you could meet me here. I was really racking my brain trying to figure out who was crazy enough to go through all of this. I thought of you instantly. Of course.” She smiled.
Richy didn’t mind being buttered up. In fact, he kinda liked it. He knew Willow needed help and he was ready. He stayed calm while setting up his laptop and workstation at the kitchen table.
“Just so you know, you don’t have to do this every time. I’m well aware that you need my help, so we can skip the small talk. If that’s okay, I’d just like to get started on things.”
They hadn’t seen each other fully since they ventured out to Tallahassee on their own. It was insane that Richy had brought himself to almost get kidnapped.
“So, I finally figured out who’s been leaving these clues.”
“Micah Landry? Yeah. I knew. He’s been obsessed with you since you got to town. Have you seen the way he follows you when you walk into a room? I’ve never seen anyone so enamored before. It’s quite entertaining actually,” he explained. She hadn’t even thought about it that way. She thought Micah was a great guy, but she had her sights on Tommy.
“What about Tommy, though?” she asked. It should have been so obvious to him that she was more interested in Tommy, well before he started acting out.
“What about Tommy? I mean, I know you were flirting with him, but Tommy is a different case entirely. He doesn’t really look at anybody. At least, not the way that Micah looks at you.” He tried to explain.
Was she really that blind? How has she’d missed the very obvious signs from Micah, while secretly thinking she had a chance with another man who is completely and emotionally unavailable. Tommy didn’t have the capacity for her. Maybe that’s what made him more attractive…
“Okay, but how was Micah able to get his hands on all of this?” She was still confused.
Micah just seemed like a regular guy. A bartender. He didn’t seem like the Detective type at all. Yet, here he was. The one leaving her breadcrumbs on the trail to find Charlie.
“You must underestimate just how small this town is. All he had to do was ask. Micah is a powerhouse. He doesn’t just own the pub. He owns several different businesses. Several.” Owning several businesses still didn’t equate to how he found out so much.
“Still, how can he get his hands on this kind of information?”
“You’re asking me that, while your husband has been a mastermind at this very thing for at least the better part of a decade?” He asked, a little too blunt for her liking. Sometimes she wished he wouldn’t be so factual but he wouldn’t be himself if that were the case.
“Ex-husband.” She corrected him. Willow was done calling herself the wife of someone so horrible. She no longer wanted to think of Charlie as her husband, but she knew it would take some time getting used to this new life, knowing she would still slip up from time to time. But it was a start. “Well… soon to be ex-husband.”
Richy looked at her with a face she couldn’t quite read, then went back to typing on his laptop. It was almost like he looked proud of her, but she couldn’t say for sure. They continued working through each of the files. For a moment, Willow almost became desensitized to the whole situation. Reading through the madness like it was someone else’s life and not hers that had completely flipped upside down.
After a while Richy closed his laptop and looked up at her.
“I’m starved. You in the mood for lunch or should we just order in?”
“I could stand to go out.” She nodded as she picked up the keys off the table and waited for Richy to stand.
“I could go for a burger. How about you?” he asked. He was the one helping her, and working tirelessly to make sure she was okay. He was a true friend indeed, the least she could do was let him have the kind of lunch he wanted.
“Whatever we get, it’s on me.”
She peered over at Richy as he stood up and walked towards the door.
“Burgers it is!” he exclaimed. If there was one thing certain about Richy, you could pay him in food. He loved solving cases, but he loved a good meal even more. “And I’m bringing the rest of this folder so we can continue while we eat.”
“Sounds like a plan. I haven’t had a good ole juicy burger in a while.”
They made their way over to the pub together. They were starved and just wanted a good and quick bite before running more interference on the case.
He slathered ketchup on his burger and fries and slid a few between the burger patties. He was hungry and wasn’t trying to hide it.
“So, the way I see it. He’s on his way here. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was here already. The cops are out here looking for him and they keep asking you things because they want to know what you know. But I know that you don’t know anything. The last case he had, he hacked a quarter of a million dollars from an unsuspecting heiress. He did it a little over time so that she wouldn’t notice it right away. The thing about this time is, she did notice. When she confronted him, he fled.”
“Wait, you found this out just now? Umm, where was this and when?”
“Looks like it happened about 3 months ago.”
She was dumbfounded. He was still making his rounds, making victims. She couldn’t believe her ears.
“3 months ago!?! I—did he marry this Heiress too?” she asked. She didn’t really want the answer, but she knew he would give it to her straight.
“No. He didn’t. He just used her for the cash. Does that make you feel better?”
“Yes. I mean, no, it doesn’t make me feel better. It’s just… we were still very much together at that time.”
“I’m sorry Willow, but he’s not going to change. No matter how much you wish he would. He’s going to continue to be the same guy because he’s getting away with it.”
Willow was doing her best to process the new findings. She needed to break free from Charlie. Everywhere she went, he followed her. It was like her last name was haunted, although it wasn’t even her last name. It wasn’t even really his last name.
They continued to eat while they talked about the files in the folder. Micah had really outdone himself. He was a pro. Or at least hired one. She didn’t know how he did it but he got it done.
By the end of lunch, Micah’s information had named scam after scam that Greg/Charlie had pulled. Richy couldn’t believe his eyes and she couldn’t believe her ears. They really weren’t happy with the results. Charlie had hit once again while on the run. It was just insanity.
They walked to her car when Sheriff Tommy came by. He was always looking to start something. He couldn’t help himself.
“Oh! Mrs. Shorts. Or would that be Mrs. Taylor now?” He smirked, knowing it would only make her more annoyed.
“Just call me Willow. How can I help you today, Tommy?”
“Well, you’re wanted at the station for questioning at some point today.”
“Wait—what? How? What did I do?” she asked. Surely he was just trying to get a rise out of her.
“You didn’t do anything. I didn’t say you did. I just… have a few questions.”
“Okay. Well, how about you just ask me now and we can save us all some time?” She smiled sweetly, trying not to show how frustrated she felt inside.
“Alright then. When was the last time you saw Charlie? And what would you say his disposition was last time you saw him?”
“I told you, I haven’t seen him since I left for Sanibel. He was his normal rude self.”
“And do you know if he’s licensed to carry? If he is, is he carrying now?”
“I don’t know… I don’t think so. I don’t believe he is. But I also didn’t believe he was capable of half of the things he’s done so…”
“You sure you haven’t at least heard from him?” he asked.
She was tired of being tested, and even more, she felt disrespected. Her husband had a slew of victims, but there was one that seemed to fall through the cracks. Her.
“I haven’t heard from him. Nor would I want to. I’m extremely over being treated like a criminal when my life is upside down with grief and sadness because of something someone I love decided to do.”