Chapter Eight
Ben hadn’t expected to have to explain himself under these circumstances. But the way Brenda was looking at him, he had no choice. It was time to come clean or risk losing her trust entirely. She had been lied to so much, even the slightest hint of skirting the truth was an egregious offence.
“Agent Cummings has an agenda—find the facts at any cost. Today that cost was an attempt at unsettling you,” Ben started to explain, but she cut him off.
“No,” she argued. “He was trying to warn me. Why would he do that?”
“I’ll tell you everything,” he assured her. “I have no reason to keep anything from you…now.”
“Now?” She stood, took a step away from the sofa and him, arms folded protectively over her chest. “I want to know everything now.” Fury tightened the features of her face. “Right now.”
She was worried and she had every right to be. This business her—Scott had allowed himself to fall into was deadly. As much as Ben wanted to stand and reach out to her, he knew better. So, he remained seated. Whatever necessary to make her feel comfortable and hopefully safe in his presence.
“My name is Ben Clark, and I’m from Illinois.
” He studied her expression as he spoke.
Hoping to see something besides the anger and disappointment.
“I grew up on a farm, just as I told you, and the focus of my work is people—sometimes observing them, other times working with them to sort out a situation. Sometimes protecting them. I am employed by the Colby Agency, a private investigations firm in Chicago. I assure you I am not here to cause trouble or to harm you or your daughter in any way. I’m here to help. ”
Her eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. “If you work for a private investigations firm then someone hired you. It wasn’t me. Who was it?”
“Would you sit down with me, please?” He didn’t want to answer her with her standing there looking ready to run…or to crumble.
She sidestepped to the chair vacated by the agent who’d offhandedly outed him.
When she’d eased down onto the cushion, he braced his forearms on his knees and allowed his hands to hang, unmoving in clear view.
He needed her calm and rational. With her and her child’s safety hanging in the balance, he recognized that it was difficult for her to be either one.
“Tell me,” she demanded, “who hired you? The cartel? Lena Jenner?” Outrage had chased away some of her uncertainty and propped up her bravado.
“Oh my God, it was Lena, wasn’t it? She’s trying to make sure she and her family are in the clear.
” She shook her head. “I can’t believe this.
She and I have known each other for years.
How could she do this? How could she believe I would be involved in this in any way? ”
“Ms. Jenner did not hire me,” he said. “I’ve never met her or spoken with her.”
“Well, then who? Obviously it wasn’t the other victim. The…” She shook her head in frustration. “The FBI handler, Pratt. Who does that leave?” Her face paled. “The cartel hired you. Oh my God.” She shot to her feet once more.
He stood then, held up his hands surrender-style.
“Brenda,” he said, wishing she would just sit back down and take a moment, “your husband hired me.”
Her breath caught, the sound tearing at him. He hadn’t wanted this moment to happen this way. “I don’t believe you,” she argued.
The shine of emotion in her eyes tightened his chest. Brenda was a good person. She didn’t deserve what was happening to her and her daughter, but it was done. The only thing Ben could do at this point was attempt to protect her from what was transpiring and what without doubt was coming next.
“It’s difficult to believe,” he admitted. “But if you’ll hear me out, I think you’ll understand.”
One shoulder moved up and then fell as if she couldn’t care less. “Keep talking.”
“Two months ago, Scott recognized he was in over his head. He set up a secret meeting with my employer and presented his case. According to him, his partner, Tate Jenner, had lured him into a deal with the devil—those were his words.”
Brenda shook her head. “Of course, he would blame someone else. Scott never took responsibility for his own actions.”
Ben acknowledged her conclusion with a nod.
He’d gathered as much about Scott Devers over the past few weeks.
“From what we’ve been able to ascertain, he was likely telling the truth in this instance.
Jenner appeared to have made the first move with the Jalisco cartel.
Since their firm, J&D Investments, was failing, it was only a matter of time before they lost everything.
The last couple of years were difficult on everyone.
The smaller firms like theirs have repeatedly been the first to fall. ”
She sucked in a breath, then moistened her lips. “Okay, let’s say you’re right so far. I’m still not convinced he did this for me or for Janey. But I’m prepared to keep listening.”
That was all he could ask for.
“Tate convinced Scott they never had to get their hands dirty,” Ben went on.
“Just take the cartel’s money and invest it.
Return the proceeds, keeping a share for their trouble.
It was a win-win situation, and no one was going to be hurt by it.
To his way of thinking they weren’t selling drugs or trafficking people…
they were simply serving as a bank. Banks set up accounts for bad people all the time.
If they didn’t do it, someone else would.
This was how Jenner justified what they were doing. Eventually Scott bought into it.”
“Except banks,” she argued, “don’t recognize the serial killers and criminals from the other people who walk through their doors wanting to set up an account. Scott and Tate knew these were bad people when they agreed to take them on.” She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.
“I’m not justifying the decision,” Ben said, in hopes of somehow regaining her confidence despite the sticky situation. “But the decision he made to come to the Colby Agency was a good one. It was a good choice made by a man who, despite his past bad choices, cared about his family.”
She laughed out loud then. “Please. I’ve told you all about him. How can you say anything even remotely nice about him?”
He got it. He really did. “I’m not saying he was a good husband, Brenda. I’m saying when the chips were down, he did the right thing as a human.”
“Like being in the Los Angeles area with some blonde and pretending he didn’t see me.” She sent Ben a look that said top that one.
“The agency has confirmed that Scott did board a plane in Los Angeles. His destination was Nashville, about two hours or so north of here.”
She stared at him a moment. “How did you confirm this? Surely Scott didn’t use his name. I’ve never known him to be that kind of careless about himself. He wouldn’t have wanted to take the risk.”
“He used the name Stan Dayton. We have a contact who confirmed his ID via the airport’s facial recognition system. I’m sure Agent Cummings and Detective Shelton are aware of this already but are not prepared to share it with you.”
“I can’t believe this.” She held up her hands in obvious frustration. “Anyway, you’ve convinced me that he retained the services of your agency. Explain to me what that entails.”
“Scott asked that if anything happened to him or he disappeared, that we were to step in and protect his family until the situation was resolved. He leased the house next door when the previous owner moved. He suspected there was going to be trouble. My assignment is to keep an eye on you and Janey. Protect you from physical harm if the need arises and help you navigate the fallout from this investigation.”
“Then how did that intruder get into my house if you’re supposed to be watching? Why didn’t you stop him?” she demanded.
“I intercepted him,” he explained, “in the alley.” He gingerly touched the back of his head. “But he had a friend. The blow came from behind me. When I came to, the police were already here. Believe me, no one is more frustrated and disappointed about that than me.”
The horrified expression on her face told him she wasn’t sure whether to be angry or worried. “Are you all right?”
“Other than a lingering headache, I’m okay.”
“Do you need medical attention?” Her face had softened now.
“No. Really, I’m fine. The only thing I need is for you to understand who I am and why I’m here.” He smiled hopefully. “And maybe to trust me.”
Brenda appeared to consider all he’d said for a bit before she spoke again.
“So, I’m supposed to believe that you’re here to protect me.
” She shook her head, her expression weary.
“I’m sorry, Ben, you seem like a nice guy, but I need something more concrete than your word.
This is my daughter’s life—my life—we’re talking about here. ”
“Fair enough. The Colby Agency is among the top, most prestigious investigative agencies in the country. Whatever else your husband is guilty of, he made an excellent choice by coming to us. Let me make a call. I want to introduce you to the woman in charge. I think when you hear what she has to say, you’ll understand. ”
Ben reached for his cell phone and put through a call to Victoria’s direct line. She answered immediately. “Victoria, I’m here with Brenda Devers. We need to have that face to face.”
“Give me one minute,” Victoria said. “I’ll set up a video call.”
The call ended.
“She’ll call right back, using video,” he explained. “Meanwhile, feel free to search the Colby Agency on the web. You’ll find images of Victoria and Jamie. They run the agency. You’ll see the reviews. Read them. Then you’ll understand.”
Whether Brenda realized it or not, she could not be in better hands.