Chapter Nine
Still reeling with emotions, Brenda reached for her phone and did as Ben suggested. She opened a browser, typed in the Colby Agency of Chicago and hit Search.
Line after line of relevant information filled the screen.
Former clients lauded the agency, the staff and the results of their work.
Thousands of reviews were available. She scanned the photos of Victoria and Jamie.
Theirs were the only images available of staff members.
She supposed investigators like Ben weren’t shown for the protection of ongoing cases.
No matter how Brenda framed her search criteria, the conclusions were the same: The Colby Agency was the very best. No complaints…no outstanding issues. Only thankful clients and glowing recommendations.
The sound of an incoming call made her jump. She looked to Ben, who’d tapped the screen of his phone. His employer was apparently returning his call. Brenda squared her shoulders and braced for this next step in her ongoing nightmare.
Scott had hired a private investigator to help her and Janey if anything happened to him…but had anything really happened to him? He was alive… She’d seen him.
It was nearly too much. She felt like coiling into a ball to hide until this whole thing was over.
But real life didn’t work that way. She had no choice but to face whatever the hell he had gotten them into.
It was difficult to be grateful for any steps he’d taken under the circumstances.
Why wasn’t he here trying to protect them himself?
Right now, more than anything, she wished she could get her hands on him. The idea that he would hide while they dealt with this mess infuriated her. The least he could do was turn himself in to the FBI—the people he had agreed to work with. Why the hell was he hiding from them?
From her?
Because he was a self-centered ass!
“Victoria, Jamie,” Ben said, “this is Brenda Devers.”
Brenda lifted her gaze to the screen and the two women there. She wasn’t sure what to say. With effort she forced a shaky smile. “Good afternoon.” Though it was far from good, actually.
“Brenda,” Victoria, the older of the two, said, “this is a difficult time for you. You can rest assured that Ben is one of our top investigators. He will do whatever is necessary to protect you and your daughter while navigating the puzzle this situation has put in front of you.”
“We’re doing all in our power,” Jamie chimed in, “to track Scott’s movements since the explosion. We have little to report at this time, but we will be keeping Ben apprised of our findings.”
Brenda nodded, uncertain how to respond. Once more she found herself in a situation that felt utterly surreal.
“When Scott retained our services,” Victoria went on, “our goal was to familiarize ourselves with him and those close to him—specifically you and Janey—in preparation for whatever steps we would need to take if and when the worst happened. But now that Scott is unaccounted for, our primary goal is to keep the two of you safe. All else is secondary.”
Brenda couldn’t argue with the way Victoria and Jamie laid out the agency’s plan and, based on what she had read in those reviews, there was every reason to trust their motives as presented.
She looked at Ben, then back to the faces on the screen. “My daughter is with a friend at her family cabin. For now, I believe she’s safe.”
“We’ve found no reason to believe otherwise,” Jamie agreed.
“Although, we are still verifying background details on Mallory. To date she appears to be exactly who she represents herself as being. Her parents check out. That said, we won’t stop looking until we feel completely confident we haven’t missed anything.
We’re doing the same with your closest neighbors and anyone involved with the investment firm. ”
“Mallory has been Janey’s nanny for two years,” Brenda reminded Jamie. “I have no reason not to trust her.”
“Still,” Jamie returned, “we’ll keep digging just in case—as we will with all the others connected in any way with your family.”
“I appreciate your efforts.” She really did. Maybe more than she’d realized. There were so many possibilities and details she didn’t know; she was genuinely grateful for the support of such a prestigious agency. “With all that’s happened, what should I do next?”
The idea of sitting around here waiting for the next shoe to drop didn’t feel right.
“We searched the house and garage,” Ben spoke up then, “before the intruder. Huntsville PD has done the same. I say we look again just to be sure nothing was missed. This time we’ll focus on any potential hiding places Scott may have created specifically for concealing this insurance policy he claimed to have. ”
Though Brenda couldn’t imagine where that hiding place could be, she was game. “Whatever we have to do. I would really like to find some answers so perhaps my daughter can come home.” She missed her desperately already.
“At this time, I believe that’s the best plan,” Victoria agreed. “We will keep you informed of anything new we discover. We are here to help in whatever way you need, Brenda.”
“Thank you.” Brenda swallowed at the lump stuck in her throat. She’d never expected to find herself in a situation like this one. No matter how many mystery or suspense stories she had created, she had never once envisioned being thrust into the middle of a real-life one.
Ben ended the call and turned to her. “At the risk of sounding repetitive, I know this is a troubling time, but I hope you recognize now that I’m here to help.”
She nodded. She was convinced and relieved.
If this man had misled her the way Scott had so many times, Brenda wasn’t sure she would have ever been able to trust another man ever.
That her instincts had been right about him was reassuring.
“I do and, as I told your employer, I am grateful for your support.”
“We can start our second round of searching in the garage,” he suggested, “and we can put things in order as we go along. That’s only a small thing, but it may help you feel as if we’re getting your life back in order on some level.”
“That would be great.” The mess the intruder and then the police had left felt somehow reflective of the state of her world.
She couldn’t fix the issues that had intruded into her life, but she could straighten up the disarray around her to the degree possible.
If she were lucky, she would find something useful to solve this unsettling mystery as well.
Some would say recent events were great story fodder, but Brenda wasn’t sure her readers would ever believe anyone—particularly a heroine in one of her stories—would be so naive as to have missed what her husband was up to for all that time.
No going there.
At the back door, Brenda grabbed her car fob from her handbag.
Continuing to dwell on the reasons for all that was happening wouldn’t solve anything.
It was a waste of time to punish herself for not realizing what Scott was up to the past couple of years.
Particularly since they had been separated for an entire twelve months.
She rarely had any idea what he was doing.
He typically let her know when he would be out of town or if for some reason he couldn’t have his visit with Janey at the agreed-upon time, but that was about it.
He certainly hadn’t warned her that he would be in the Los Angeles area because she had thought he was dead!
She still couldn’t figure out how they had both ended up there at the same time.
Her meeting was set by her agent, so she’d had nothing to do with the timing.
Had Scott known somehow? Chosen a flight around the same time as hers just to rattle her?
To send a message? Or maybe to warn her about the coming DNA results.
He surely recognized that would be coming.
And once she was officially made aware that he hadn’t died in the explosion, the least he could have done was let his daughter know he was alive.
What kind of person hurt the people he supposedly cared about this way?
This was not some missed weekend visit… This was… She couldn’t think about it anymore.
She glanced at the man walking into the garage with her. At least Scott appeared to have done one thing right. He’d ensured they had someone to help them through this mess. She had to give him that.
If she had the chance when this was over, she intended to let him have it. Even if he somehow managed to come out of this without serving prison time, she would never allow him unsupervised visitation with Janey. Never. Nor would she ever trust him on any level.
In the garage, the mess looked worse now than before. Brenda grimaced. At least Ben had painted over the message left on the overhead door. The question—WHERE IS IT?—hung over her like a dark cloud. She was grateful not to have to stare at it.
“I’ll back my car out,” she offered. “Then I’ll start with the decorations.” Colorful ornaments were scattered over the floor like a pinball machine had exploded.
Ben gave a nod. “I can start with the tree. Check the inside of the pole sections that hold the limbs.”
Brenda would not have thought of looking there. “Good idea.”
She backed her car into the alley, careful to park to one side so as not to block the passage of others. There was really no traffic, but the three residents whose garages backed up to the alley used it regularly.
Maybe if she were writing the situation into a scene in one of her books she might have a better perspective—that omniscient view.
But with this being so real and so personal it wasn’t as easy as creating fiction.
She almost laughed; this was certainly a perfect example of the adage “stranger than fiction.”